The Family Firm

Chapter 58

Dinner was relatively easy, much to Frankie's surprise. They all sat in the rather large dining room that had been meticulously set by her and her mother and it seemed that everyone had really enjoyed themselves. She wasn't sure whether it was because it was the first real time they'd all gotten together properly in far too long, or if it was because Junior, after all those months, was finally well again, or even simply because their entire extended family hadn't come over, which was honestly a bit of a rarity in the Evans clan. If there was one thing pavees were known for it was the fact that nothing was more important that family and community, both of which could be massive in size.

But Frankie was thankful that it had just been her, Freddie, their parents, Donny, Junior, and Katie that had gathered together that Easter. That way, they got to connect without the hassle of monitoring young children and catering to a needy crowd of loud, drunken gypsies.

Regardless of whatever the change, things had gone smoothly. The food was good and the conversation even better, and Frankie was genuinely happy. Her family seemed like a real family now, coming together over a meal in the real Irish way, as her father Charlie liked to reaffirm. She was shrewd enough to realise this had more meaning to the old man than most; moving away from the caravan all those years ago had been hard on him. In fact her mum nearly ran him to the end of his tether with all of her antics and peculiarities, but it was times like these that old Charlie seemed to be really happy, and for that Frankie was thankful.

She had never really been close to her father. And her mother? That was a laugh. Freddie had always been her dear old mum's favourite. In fact, through most of their childhood, Frankie had been incredibly jealous of him. She regretted all those bitter feelings now. Freddie had always put her first, before anyone else, even their parents. He had taught her everything she knew, and had been with her through all the rough spots—and in their family, Lord knew there were plenty of those. He was a good man, no matter what anyone else said. As far as she was concerned, anyone with eyes should have been able to see that.

After dinner, when they were all tidying up, she was watching him, her brother, chatting away with Katie. Now that was a sight, wasn't it. It didn't seem that long ago that Katie had hated Freddie. She had never really trusted him, and Frankie suspected she still didn't, not really. But something had changed between them somewhere, and Franks wasn't quite sure what that exactly was.

'Need help, love?' This was from Beth as she manoeuvred into the kitchen, past the others. Frankie realised she was staring at her brother, who was slipping on his familiar leather jacket and preparing to head out into the cold spring air. Katie was stood next to him in her pea jacket, bundled up and nodding at something Fred was saying.

Frankie had to force herself to look away towards her mum at last, who was staring at her a bit curiously. 'Oh, sure, Mum. You're a star.'

Beth stepped forward and began sorting out the kitchen alongside her daughter, and Frankie was too lost in her own thoughts to realise the woman had noticed her lack of focus.

'Where are you, love?' asked Beth, who still seemed immaculate in her appearance, though the years had begun to age her faster than she could counteract with injections and creams. 'Somewhere on Mars?'

Frankie blinked away her thoughts and focused instead on pulling a roll of cling film over the pot of leftovers. 'Yeah, sorry. Just a bit tired is all.'

Katie approached them then, brushing some of her hair behind her ear. She was wearing it a bit longer then, down to her shoulders, and Frankie noticed, oddly, that while Katie had an almost masculine abrasiveness to her, her edges had softened over the years in her maturity.

'Freddie's taking me home,' she explained with a crooked smile that mirrored her father's, the father she would never really know she had. 'Where's Junior?'