The Parting Glass. Emilie Richards

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      He picked at the felt eyes of a teddy bear. He never held or cuddled his toy animals. He found something to pick apart, and he could work at it for long stretches of time, only pausing to rock himself when he tired.

      “Then we’ll be in Ireland,” she said. “And Mommy will set up a classroom for you at Cousin Irene’s. We’ll have toys and games, and you’ll learn so much, Kieran. I know you will. And when we come back to Cleveland, you’ll be able to speak and make eye contact and…”

      He looked up. The living room curtain rustled and caught his attention. “Hi. Hi.”

      She gathered him close, although he whimpered at her touch. “You’re going to have every chance I can give you,” she said fiercely. “If I have to fly to Mars and back to make sure of it.”

      

      Four of the Brick kids found an untouched tray of Guinness and took it into the storeroom for their own private party. Casey spotted them before Niccolo could and confiscated their hard-won treasure.

      Marco, his wife Paula and their two young daughters staged a slide show on one of the saloon walls of photos of Niccolo as a little boy. Not to be outdone, Uncle Den enthralled a group of admirers with story after story of the three sisters as children.

      “Please, God, let the toasts begin,” Megan said. “I won’t survive much more of this.”

      “Hold your head up,” Peggy said. “You’re only getting married once.”

      “Can’t you get Kieran and Aunt Dee and bring them down? All of you have to be here when we cut the cake.” Peggy had settled Kieran upstairs in the apartment an hour before. Now Deirdre was sitting with him and saying her goodbyes.

      “Do you really think it’s time?”

      Niccolo joined them. “You know, if we’d ever put all these Andreanis and Donaghues in the same room, we probably would have been too scared to merge our genes. Can you believe our children will have both sets?” He shook his head.

      Megan couldn’t imagine a child of theirs at all. She knew Niccolo wanted children right away. She’d tentatively agreed to have them someday, but not on his timetable. Marriage itself was going to take enough trial and error.

      “Will you start herding everybody to the back of the room?” she pleaded. “I don’t think I’ll live through much more of this.”

      “You’re having a ball.” He leaned down and kissed her, and people began to clap.

      “I would like to get away sometime before dark,” she said, smiling up at him.

      “Don’t look now, but it’s been dark all afternoon.”

      “You know what I mean.”

      “I’ll herd. But don’t expect this to end any time soon.”

      “They can party until the wee hours, but you and I are leaving once the cake’s been served.”

      “Promises, promises.” He winked at Peggy before he left to begin edging people toward the wedding cake.

      Megan watched as Niccolo made remarkable progress. At her suggestion, the cake had been set up in the back of the saloon. She had tried to get into the kitchen to make sure everything was ready for cutting and serving it, but she’d been outmaneuvered. There had been a conspiracy all day to keep her as far away from the kitchen as possible.

      As if she would try to take over her own reception.

      Casey joined them. “That time already? Will you be able to bring Kieran down now?” she asked Peggy.

      “Maybe now that he’s had some quiet time. I can’t guarantee he’ll be tantrum free.”

      “All two-year-olds have tantrums,” Megan said. “You certainly had your share.”

      “You’ve got to get used to the idea that he’s not just any two-year-old, Megan,” Peggy said. “It’s the only way we can help him.”

      Megan knew Peggy was right. At first Peggy, too, had struggled to accept her son’s disability, but at last she had made the adjustment. Megan was still rooted firmly in denial. “I love him. I love you. I don’t want to lose either of you.”

      Peggy kissed her cheek. “You won’t. Now let me get him.”

      “And I’ll help Nick,” Casey said. “He’s managed to get everybody moving. Which was the key to getting them into the back of the room faster, do you think? Cake or champagne?”

      Megan was only yards away from Niccolo when the building began to shake. For a moment she thought the band had turned up their amplifiers to grab everyone’s attention. But the sound was more freight train than feedback.

      The saloon shook again. A woman screamed, and Megan registered alarm on the faces closest to her. Then, as she saw Niccolo struggling through the crowd in her direction, the building shook once more, the roar grew deafening, and the front facade of the saloon collapsed inward.

      The building shook again as more screams erupted. Glassware at the bar shattered and fell to the floor, and a hole the size of a child’s wading pool opened to the left of her head. Debris rained down, followed closely by water. Then both the cacophony and the tremors ceased.

      “Megan!” Niccolo reached and grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her. “Are you okay?”

      “What—” She realized she couldn’t breathe. She struggled, but her lungs wouldn’t inflate. Her legs felt like rubber bands, and she clung to him and fought for air. People were pushing past her, heading away from the destruction.

      “Take it easy. It’s okay.” He smoothed her hair, but his hand trembled.

      She caught a breath at last. “What—”

      “Tornado,” he said. “It sucked up part of the roof. Damn, we’re idiots. Nobody was listening for tornado warnings. I—”

      “Nick!” Casey reached them. “Where’s Jon?”

      Niccolo released Megan. “He was in the very back. I’ve got to see what kind of damage was done. I’ve got to find my family.”

      Megan started after him. She knew his real mission was to see if anyone had lagged behind and been caught in the collapse. The sight that greeted her nearly tore the breath from her lungs again. The roof over the front quarter of the building had fallen to seal off the entrance completely. What rubble she could see beneath it was waist-high. “Oh, God!”

      Casey grabbed her. “Stay away, Megan. For Pete’s sake, don’t get near—”

      Jon reached them. “Get in the back with everybody else. Please. It’s safer.”

      “What if somebody—” Megan couldn’t finish that thought.

      “Most everybody was in the back milling around the cake. If we’re lucky…Just help us get everybody else back there now. We’ll do head counts. Start, would СКАЧАТЬ