Jake’s expression surged to barely-suppressed fury. Ivan coiled his muscles and opened his mouth to intervene. But luckily his mom strolled in, humming a little tune to herself.
“Oh, hello boys! I didn’t mean to interrupt – just grabbing a bottle of wine.”
Quinlan Senior wrapped her in his arms. “Come here my lovely lady!”
Ivan rolled his eyes at their public display of affection, but he was glad the tension had been defused. His father nuzzled his face into his mom’s neck making her laugh. They’d always been openly affectionate, but tonight they’d been drinking and they were in the pre-wedding party mood.
Mrs. Quinlan gazed at her husband like a pussycat. “Are you sure we’re allowed to see each other before the wedding, my darling?”
Mr. Quinlan laughed. “You’re thinking of Adam and Amy, love. We can see as much of each other as we like!”
Mrs. Quinlan giggled girlishly. “Oh good…”
Ivan smiled and shot Jake an apologetic look. They’d always been like this in front of his friends. Not that Jake was his friend…
“And who’s this?” Mrs. Quinlan asked, eyeing up Jake. She fell serious and frowned. “You look familiar. Are you Kathleen’s boy, all grown up?”
“No ma’am,” he muttered.
“This is Jake,” Ivan said. “And he was just leaving, right Jake?”
“Well, I…”
Mrs. Quinlan clapped her hands. “Oh, I insist you stay for the wedding. A friend of Ivan’s is a friend of all Quinlans! The boys are doing poker and beer in the den – I insist you stay for that.”
Jake opened his mouth to argue, but Mr. Quinlan intervened with a chuckle. “You’d best do as she says, son – you’re very welcome to join us. But before that, my wife and I are going to spend some time alone!”
He
wrapped his arms around Mrs. Quinlan and led her out into the hallway, making her laugh. Ivan waited for their voices to fade before turning to Jake. He was staring at the empty space ahead of him where his estranged parents had just been standing.
“You okay, Jake?”
He shook his head, seemingly humbled and stunned.
“Say something.”
Jake dragged himself back to reality and gazed into Ivan’s eyes. “They seem so nice.”
Ivan smiled. “They are.”
Jake ran his hand through his hair. “Jesus, Ivan… I hope you realize that you’ve got what I always wanted.”
Ivan sighed. “Yeah, apparently I’ve got criminal for a father.”
“But that’s irrelevant. You’ve got a loving family. Siblings. An awesome mom.”
“Your parents were good people, weren’t they? Your dad was a cop.”
“My dad was the kind of man who would blackmail another family to steal their kid. Not all cops are good you know. Sometimes we go bad.”
“You’re not bad, Jake. And you’re not a cop, not anymore. It’s easy to think the grass is greener, but believe me having a lot of siblings can be a pain in the ass. My brothers are all mad at me right now.”
“Why?”
“Because they think I’m acting reckless by marrying Samira on a whim.”
“It’s just because they’re worried. Because they love you. Never lose sight of that, Ivan. Your family loves you.”