Read The Delaneys At Home for Free Online Page A

don't have weapons or the will to use them."
    "True. But all Mrs. O'Connell told me was how Liam's father hadn't wanted him to give it up, but Liam was determined this was exactly what he would do. We were only chatting, that's all."
    This last statement was directed at me, as now I was staring at him, eyes wide and jaw slack. Johnny had chatted with my mother? When had he done that? And, more importantly, what the hell else had they talked about? Visions of my mother getting a literal blow-by-blow account of what the twins and I had been up to lately filled my head, until I was ready to swear I'd be booking the nearest therapist the second I was allowed to talk again. But as I continued to stare at Johnny, he shook his head and grimaced.
    "I'm not sure Liam even needs to be able to speak to show us what he's thinking," he chuckled. "You'd never make it in our business. But no, we didn't talk about anything you wouldn't tell her yourself."
    "Though she has seen rather more of us than would be expected at a first meeting," Mark pointed out.
    Melissa's eyebrows almost disappeared into her hair at this point. "No, don't tell me. Please. Yes, I do know Liam and his father argued, but they're fine now. All families have their moments."
    Mark nodded and looked thoughtful. "Ours are short and tend to be terminal, for some."
    That was certainly true. And nobody knew it better than the Delaneys, but at least my own father was still alive. Without warning, Mark spoke to me.
    "We could bring this particular problem to an end, if you wished it and if it still bothers you, Liam. Entirely up to you, of course, but I can recommend..."
    The sight of my wide and terrified eyes brought Mark to a stop, thank God, as I didn't like to think of my father lying in a gutter somewhere in town with his brains blown out. My mother, for one, would never forgive me.
    "Ah," said Mark, "I see my suggestion isn't popular. You're right about Liam's eyes, Johnny. Good job he has other skills with his mouth. In fact, I can think of several things he can do very well with his mouth, which don't involve words at all."
    Melissa coughed and put down her drink with more force than she maybe meant to, as Johnny jumped and then tried to make it look as if he hadn't. Which brought another bout of coughing from Melissa. I made a mental note to buy her a packet of throat sweets if it was the last thing I did, just as Johnny entered the fray.
    "Perhaps we should ask Melissa what we brought her here for first," he said, "and then we can continue our evening."
    Mark sighed, then nodded. "Yes, well said, little brother. Business before pleasure. So, Melissa, if Liam did decide to paint again, what would you recommend?"
    My boss patted the corner of her lips with the napkin and smiled. "He has talent, but I'd keep away from doing what his father does. Any artist has to find his own style and make it grow. That takes time, and balls, if I may say so."
    Mark leaned forward and clasped his hands together. "Oh, you can say so, and don't worry. Liam has the time, and we have the balls."
    "Oh good," she replied with a bright smile, then with one of those great leaps of logic which made her the boss and me the gopher, asked, "So what you're asking me is if Liam brought something else, something different, to the gallery for consideration, would I think about taking it?"
    Johnny laughed, and even Mark looked impressed, though only for a moment or two before his customary dour expression returned.
    "Yes," he said, "that's what I'm asking. Liam's family now, and we Delaneys always want what's best for family. So what do you say, Melissa?"
    When she answered, she gazed right at me and paid the twins no heed at all.
    "I always have an open mind toward any artist who comes to me," she said. "And I'll be honest with my opinion, no matter who it is or whom they know. That's my duty. But what I would say is this: Liam could do well if he decided to take up his art again and be committed to