Rain and Revelation by Therese Pautz Page B

to be home. With you. Only you.”
    “But I told Jake and Hunter we’d go out.” Fiona pouts her painted lips. She says, “There’s nothing to do here. The time for fun is now. If you wait for it, you might miss it.” Fiona’s tone suggests this is a deep thought.
    Jake snickers. “Yeah, baby. That’s right. Life’s short.” His dark, beady eyes and hooked nose make him look like a weasel.
    Hunter steps forward and slaps Jake’s shoulder. “Let’s blow. They need time, and I’m wiped from all the driving we’ve done in the past few days. You’ll be fine without her one night. Remember what life was like before you became a hapless fool.”
    Jake whines, “But I want to be with Fiona.” Pathetic. Fiona puckers her lips, and he leans down to kiss her.
    I start crying. It’s the last thing I want to do. Fiona comes over, wraps her arm around me and purrs, “Oh, darling. Don’t. It’s alright. I’m here for you, love.”
    Shrugging her arm off my shoulders, I say, “Go. Leave me alone. I’m fine without you.”
    Stunned, Fiona glares at me like I slapped her. I look away. She gets up in a huff and mouths to Jake, “I tried.” Jake escorts her out like she’s Mother Teresa. Hunter says goodbye and saunters out behind them.
    The cold air sweeps in, sending shivers down my spine. Then the door slams, and I’m alone. Staring at the smoldering embers and the darkening sky, I listen for Da’s snores. Faint. Steady. Familiar. I reach for the crutches, propped against the arm of the couch, and hoist myself up. Each painful step brings me closer to my room.
    Sleep eludes me. I toss and turn all night and rise early in the morning. Da emerges from his room in wrinkled trousers and a half-tucked shirt. His face bears pillow marks. At first he doesn’t see me as he tromps to the refrigerator, opens it wide, and stares into it. It’s empty except for green bread and brown lettuce. I know because I looked there earlier for something to eat.
    He looks in the cupboard. “God dammit,” he says with his back still to me.
    “Time to make a proper trip to the store, or we’ll starve to death.” I have thought all night about what to say to him. This wasn’t it.
    He turns, sees my elevated leg and grimaces. “Holy Mother Mary, what the hell happened to you?”
    “I broke my ankle running Croagh Patrick and had to have surgery. Didn’t Paddy tell you?”
    “Haven’t talked to him.” Shaking his head, he walks over and looks at my leg more closely. “It’s not smart to run up that damn mountain alone.”
    “I wasn’t alone. Doc’s son was running with me and he helped me down.”
    “Thank the saints.” Da runs his hands through his disheveled hair and sits down in the chair opposite me. “What are you going to do now? How will you work at the B&B?”
    “Don’t mind me. I’ll figure it out.” I push myself up. The blanket slips off, to the floor, and I shiver. The fire had long gone out, and I didn’t make it over to toss on more peat. I reach for the blanket, not quite out of reach, and pull it up over my shoulders. Da doesn’t move to help me.
    I say, “How’s Ma?” Da, rubbing his greying beard, looks at me with tired eyes.
    I sit forward, causing the blanket to fall from my shoulders. “Is she coming home?”
    He avoids my eyes. “Might never, she says.”
    “What?” A chill climbs my spine. “Wait. Why did she want to see you ?”
    Da shakes his head and avoids my eyes. “That’s between us.”
    “I want to know.”
    “Some things are between a man and his wife,” he says as he twirls his wedding ring. “It didn’t pertain to you. But she asked how you were getting by, and I told her you were just fine, but not many guests this season. Not yet, anyway.”
    “You could at least tell me what the hell is going on.”
    His voice booms. “Shite, I don’t bloody know. For Christ’s sake, she won’t tell me why she did it.” He melts into the chair. “She doesn’t know if she