No Way to Say Goodbye - Anna McPartlin [37]
Barry came out at a Sunday lunch during his last year in college. His mother was relieved and kissed her son, ruffled his hair and told him his boyfriends would always be welcome in her house. His father was a little pale but resigned – after all, his wife had been preparing him for this over many years. He put his arm around his son, patted him on the back and said, “Never mind.” Ivan and Fintan didn’t seem to care either way. Ivan was preoccupied about how he should tell his parents he’d got his girlfriend pregnant, and Fintan was working out how to dump his latest, who was a great kisser but had a flatulence problem.
Séamus had been the most put out by his twin’s revelation. Barry had joked that his brother’s storming out of the kitchen suggested he thought that maybe Barry had tried to have his way with him in the womb. His mother had attempted a laugh before asking him to follow his brother and to have a quiet word. It turned out that Séamus was upset because what had been so obvious to his mother had not been obvious to him. He had always thought they had a special bond and that he knew all there was to know about his twin and suddenly Barry was a stranger. After that, their relationship had changed a little. They had always referred to each other as twins, but now they were merely brothers.
Over the years, most revelations had taken place at Sunday lunch – Barry’s coming out; Ivan’s impending fatherhood a mere two Sundays later. Ivan had not been met with the same understanding as his brother – in fact, his mother had threatened to have him shot and his father had had to hold her back while shouting at his son to run for it. A few months later it was Ivan and Norma’s engagement, a much more sedate affair, with congratulations and champagne – initially his mother had worried that he was moving too fast but by dessert Norma had won her over. A few years later Séamus’s engagement to Vicky became yet another announcement over the Sunday lunch table. Ivan’s wife’s infidelity was imparted over a salmon starter, the separation a few Sundays later. Fintan’s decision to move to New Zealand to start a bungee-jumping business had been the most recent.
But on this Sunday, aside from Barry and Steven nearly knocking themselves out, the twins being terrors and Pluto’s nervous disposition, all was going well. Until Ivan’s mother advised them that she had an announcement to make. Everyone fell silent and braced themselves.
“I’m pregnant,” she said.
Barry nearly choked, Ivan went red and Séamus stood up. Vicky looked confused and Steven seemed impressed.
Ivan’s mother laughed and his dad joined in.
“Only joking.”
Séamus sat down. “Very funny, Mother. You nearly gave me a heart-attack.”
Her face changed a little. “It’s funny you should say that.” She wasn’t joking any more. She squeezed her husband’s arm. “Your father had a mild heart-attack last Monday.” Everyone stared blankly at her.
“Everything’s fine. They only kept him for two nights in Cork. He’ll have to go back for tests and maybe a little operation. It’s nothing serious but of course he’ll have to change his diet.” She looked at her husband. “His cholesterol is off the chart but I won’t go into that.” She smiled at him and he grinned sheepishly at her, then at his kids, who remained blank. Steven was shifting in his seat, appearing embarrassed.
Barry spoke: “Dad had a heart-attack.”
“Yes,” his mother confirmed.
“And you didn’t think to call one of us?”
“No.”
“I cannot believe –”
Barry’s father put up a hand, silencing him. “I told your mother not to say anything. I didn’t want a fuss. It wasn’t serious – I was never at death’s door. The only reason we’re telling you is that I may have a genetic heart condition.” He stopped, as though he’d said enough.
His kids and their partners stared at him, waiting for the punchline.