‘Noah, chew carefully,’ she warned as he tucked in. A moment later he gave an ecstatic cry and made a show of spitting the pudding out before poking his tongue out to show everyone the foil wrapped money.
‘Okay, son, that’s enough now.’ Colin finally decided to parent as Noah did his best Gene Simmons impersonation before taking the money off his tongue and putting it down on the table.
Roisin eyed Elsa, who’d also found treasure and then Colin, who grimaced as his teeth clamped on something solid. She rifled through her pudding with her spoon but there was nothing in it other than fruit. The old bat had probably rigged it that way, she thought, stuffing the rest of it down her, knowing she was going to feel queasy later when the gamey meat and brandy butter decided to rendezvous in her stomach.
The clatter of spoons ceased and Roisin got up, keen to disappear into the kitchen for a bit of peace. Between Noah’s monologue about how much he’d love a gerbil for Christmas and Elsa’s chatter about how the council were letting the bin men away with murder, and Colin going on about a new deal her head was beginning to hurt. ‘I’m on dishes, Elsa. It’s only fair, you did all the hard work cooking.’ She didn’t receive any argument and she left them to retire to the front room once more to let their lunch go down and hopefully let Noah rip into a few of the packages under the tree. She set about clearing the table, carrying them through to the kitchen and stacking them on the worktop. She felt rather Cinderella-like as she rolled her sleeves up and plunged her hands into a sink full of sudsy water.
What was it Mammy used to say to them when they’d moan and groan over their chores? Roisin pondered, wiping down the worktop once she’d finally finished. ‘You girls are making a mountain out of a molehill. Jaysus, Mary and Joseph if you spent as much time doing the dishes as you do moaning about being asked to get off your arses you’d have been back giving yourself the square eyes in front of that idiot box by now.’ It made her smile. Well, Mammy, you’d be proud of me now, she thought casting her eyes around the sparkling kitchen. Elsa would have no cause for complaint either, it was shipshape. As she hung the tea towel over the oven door, she heard a squeal. It was a good squeal, an excited one and she was keen to see what had prompted it. In just over two hours she’d be on her way home; the thought put a spring in her step as she ventured back to the warmth of the front room.
Her son was sitting with his back to the door she saw pushing it open, and wrapping paper was strewn every which way. Noah heard her come in and swung his head around, his face lit up like the fairy lights on the tree. She’d put money on it not being a new dressing gown or bubble bath that had him grinning from ear to ear.
‘Look, Mummy, look. This is the best Christmas ever!’
‘What is it?’ She smiled, his enthusiasm infectious as she glanced over at Elsa and Colin who were both perched on the edge of the Ercol sofa looking smug. The chinless gene had clearly been passed down from mother to son but had, mercifully, bypassed her handsome little lad. She turned her attention back to Noah who was swivelling round on his bottom dragging something along for the ride.
‘Mummy,’ he announced proudly, ‘come and meet Mr Nibbles.’
Jaysus, feck! Roisin jumped as something made a scuttling sound. She was looking at a cage, she registered. A cage in which a chubby, brown and white gerbil was happily rifling through the torn paper scattered over the bottom of it. She blinked just to make sure she wasn’t imagining things but no, the fat little mammal was showing off now doing a circuit on its wheel. Anger pricked through the surprise like a pin popping balloons. How dare Colin buy their son his first pet without checking in with her. She was going to be fun mammy, the mammy who bought her son a gerbil for Christmas. She conveniently pushed aside the little voice that said, “no you weren’t”. The point was she might have and now that choice had been snatched from her. Why hadn’t he asked her how she felt about Noah getting a gerbil? Roisin knew the answer to that question. He hadn’t asked because Colin never did. Colin did what he wanted to do. She was and always had been an irrelevant member of their family. She pivoted exorcist style to glare at him.
‘It would have been nice if you’d talked to me about—’
‘Mr Nibbles,’ her big eared son piped up.
‘Mr Nibbles.’ The name came out sounding clipped and sharp.
‘Well, you’ve been hard to get hold of now that you’re working full time and he’s talked about nothing else since November. I didn’t think you’d mind, knowing how much he had his heart set on it.’ Colin looked so pleased with himself her poor pinched toes burned with the urge to put the boot in, hard.
‘You’re not mad are you, Mummy?’
Roisin realised she had a choice here. She could be mean Mammy who wouldn’t let her son have his heart’s desire, a pet gerbil, for Christmas. Not a lot to ask for in the scheme of things, or she could embrace the fact she would be sharing her home from now on with Mr Nibbles. Colin had already pipped her at the post present wise and the thought of that saw her lips force themselves into a smile. ‘Of course not, sweetheart.
