“Okay. I loved how you threw in the Irish brogue there. Reminded me of Pops.” And instantly the smile fell from her face again.
“Tell me somethin’ funny, ‘cause I’m standin’ in line for a fuckin’ cab, at one in the mornin’, freezin’ me arse off and me date is wishin’ she was on the other side of the country instead of standin’ here with me.”
“Ooh, I can keep you warm, baby.” A woman spoke from behind them. Errin looked over her shoulder and rolled her eyes at the brunette who eyed her brother. Conner winked at the woman but didn’t give her a reason to come on any stronger.
“That’s us,” he said while leading them over to the cab.
After getting into the back of the cab and informing the driver of their destination, Conner began once more with prodding.
“How did it feel to be back on stage in the past few days?” he asked. Her brother’s questions weighed heavily on her chest, like she couldn’t breathe.
“Can you open the window for me, please? I think it’s locked.” Errin said to the driver after trying all the buttons.
“Yeah, but no puking in or against my car out of the window. If you gotta puke, get out the car,” the driver said. He narrowed his blue eyes at her through the rearview window. The boyish man seemed to be her age, and why she even noticed that was beyond her.
She shook her head. “Not going to hurl, mister Detergent.”
“What the f—”
“I’m sorry for my sister. She’s a bittouchy right now.”
“You’re lucky it’s only five more minutes.”
“Yeah. Thanks,” Conner said as he willed Errin with his eyes to keep her mouth shut.
After paying the cabbie and stepping out of the car, Errin walked together with Conner to their parents’ home.
Conner lived in an apartment in Manhattan, but since their mother had persuaded Errin to stay with her parents for the first few nights in Jersey, he’d stayed with Errin tonight.
“So weird that we’re here now and Kayla and Kate are still in Austin,” Errin said. She shook off her coat and threw it on the first steps of the staircase.
“You still do that shit, eh?” Conner said as he waved at her coat.
“Hmm? Yeah. Sorry,” she said, but made no effort to pick it up.
“Does Brennan know what kind of slob you are?” he said before chuckling and hanging up his coat at the rack in the hallway.
“Doesn’t matter now, anyway, Con,” Errin whispered as she passed him to enter the kitchen. She grabbed the ingredients for a hot chocolate and as expected, Conner joined her with their dads’ favorite bottle of whiskey.
“I think we shouldn’t break tradition, eh Bunny?” Conner said. They both laughed out loud. The first time Errin drank alcohol was at twenty-one during the Thanksgiving dinner a few weeks after her birthday.
Their dad had the brilliant plan to spike their traditional hot chocolate with whiskey, and since Errin had been the last to turn twenty-one, all of her brothers and sisters could easily drink along. But not Errin. Not because it had been her first time, she would find out later on. She just couldn’t hold her liquor.
The drinks were ready. Conner poured some whiskey in their mugs. Errin stirred with her spoon and took a sip. “Mmm, that’s actuallynice.”
Conner took a spot at the large oak kitchen table that could host eight people. He took his usual spot at the far end, next to the fridge. While growing up, Errin always sat next to him until their mother Catherine pulled them apart. An incident with flying spaghetti and rolling meatballs had something to do with it. Errin grinned as she reminisced.
“Whatcha thinkin’, Bun?” Conner said.
“We had some awesome times growing up here, didn’t we?”
Conner took a gulp from his hot chocolate and nodded. “Yeah, sure did.”
“I missed you all like crazy the first months I was in Austin. Like, I felt almost sick to my stomach from missing you guys.”
Conner placed his arm over her shoulder. “It’s okay if you miss him, sis. It’s okay to have doubts.”
“It’s just that I’ve only done one show so I can’t decide yet, but…” she sighed and took another sip.