But seeing Moira so stressed about the possibility of Kevin wreaking havoc at the wedding, Kathy decided it was her duty as maid of honor to prevent that from happening. She just needed a plan.
The neighborhood block party seemed like the perfect venue.
Chapter Four
Kevin parked around the corner from his childhood home. The street was already blocked off by wooden horses and some families were assembling card tables and canopies to provide shade for the day ahead. The area hadn’t changed much over the years. Sure, some people died or moved away and younger families took their places, but the traditions remained the same. The families who had planted roots here decades ago passed the torch to the younger generation.
Many of his childhood friends came back for this party every year. They always had. In college, it had been a way to reconnect with high school buddies. Now they came with families of their own, and Kevin felt out of place in the crowd. Even his own damn brothers were falling in love and getting married.
He hefted the bags of groceries from the back of his SUV and walked around the corner. He glanced over at the O’Leary house. He’d spent his entire childhood jealous of that family. They were much like his, six children to the O’Malley five, but Kevin had no doubt that had his mother, Siobhan, lived, she would’ve had more children.
The lack of a mother was what separated the families.
Jimmy and Liam had remained best friends and Kevin and Moira had been in the same elementary school class every year. But once Siobhan had been killed, the O’Learys had stayed away. Climbing the concrete steps to the house, Kevin admitted that it had probably been the occupants of this house that had kept the O’Learys away. His dad had become distant, and Jimmy took care of everyone in his stead. The O’Malley boys had always been a little out of control.
He set a bag down and shoved the ancient door open. Whenever he got around to buying a house, he wanted a door like this one. It had taken a beating from all of the O’Malleys. It had been slammed countless times, had hockey pucks smashed into it, had baseballs thrown against it, and it still functioned. Scarred and battered, but working.
A lot like the man sitting on the couch.
“Hey, Dad,” Kevin called as he took the groceries into the kitchen.
“You bring burgers?”
“I brought meat to make burgers.”
Seamus huffed.
“What are you moaning about? All I have to do is plop that meat in front of Liam O’Leary and he works his magic. Best burgers you’ve ever had and you know it.” Kevin unloaded the food into the refrigerator, which had actually been stocked. Weird, since Norah had moved out last month.
Then Kevin remembered Tommy’s new wife, Deirdre. Another O’Leary. “Tommy and Sean around?”
“Tommy’s upstairs. Make sure you call out. Deirdre’s home.”
Kevin paused before getting to the steps. His dad not only gave a thoughtful warning, but something in his voice sounded odd. He looked at his dad, whose focus remained on the TV screen. “Yo, Tommy. Time to get ready.”
A few minutes later, Tommy pounced down the steps wearing nothing but a pair of jeans. “Since when do you show up this early?”
“Since it shouldn’t be Jimmy’s job to get food for all of us and do all the work. He’s getting married in a couple of weeks. Don’t you think it’s time we picked up the slack?”
Tommy crossed his arms and stared. “Who are you and what have you done with my brother?”
“Funny. Go make sure the grill is clean.”
“It’s clean. We cooked dinner on it two days ago.”
“We?”
“I’m a married man, now. I have a wife who wants to eat at home.”
Tommy had just married the O’Learys’ cousin who had been visiting from Ireland. They were all still getting used to the idea that Tommy had been the first to tie the knot. And in secret. “So your wife is the reason there’s actually decent food in the house?”
“I go grocery shopping. Been doing it for a while. If you were around more, you’d know that.”
His siblings were always making little digs like that. As if he was never supposed to grow up and move out. At some point, each of them had cycled back around and moved in with Dad again. Not him. He liked having his own place.
Softer footsteps sounded on the stairs. Deirdre entered the dining room wearing shorts and one of Tommy’s old T-shirts tied at the waist. Her red hair was pulled into a high ponytail and for a moment, Kevin was struck by how much she looked like a younger version of Moira.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi,” she replied with a small nod of her head. She turned to Tommy. “Will this do?”
“With that much skin showing, Cupcake, you better invest in some sunscreen. July in Chicago isn’t something a white girl like you can play with.”
“You speak as though you’re some golden Adonis,” she shot back playfully.
Kevin felt like an intruder even here. He cleared his throat. “When’s Jimmy getting here?”
“Probably any minute.”
Deirdre took Tommy’s hand. “What do we need to do? I’m excited for this party.”
“I brought food. It’s in the fridge. I’m going over to the O’Learys’ to see if they need help with the keg or anything.”
He grabbed the ground beef, left the house, and crossed the street. A few people called out to him, and he waved a greeting. Michael O’Leary stood at the corner of the house setting down a keg in a barrel.
“Hey, man. Good to see you,” Kevin called. “How’d you get off from the firehouse this year?”
“I worked the Fourth. Long-ass night of stupid people. I’ll take the neighborhood stupid shit
