Someone Lost, Something Gained

Veda wakes to an octopus clinging to her side, a lightness in her bones, and one helluva headache. She hadn’t drank more than a beer last night, but smacking her head against the headboard comes with consequence. Thankfully, it hadn’t interrupted the activities very much - once he stopped asking if she was sure she’s okay.

“Put away nurse-Niall and be boyfriend-Niall. I’ve had enough concussions in my life to know what one feels like.”

He’d frowned at her, brushing a kiss to her collarbone. “That’s not as reassuring as you might think.”

“Well, stop thinking.”

He did.

He grumbles, pushing his face further into her shoulder, and holds on tighter. Veda huffs out a quiet laugh and turns her head to watch him sleep. It’s always peaceful, the few moments between sleep and awake. She loves the stability that comes with being his. She loves the snuffling, the quiet snores, the heat of his body so close even when it causes her to get too hot.

She loves him.

Maura is already awake by the time Veda extricates herself from Niall’s grip. She made sure to replace her body with a pillow, so hopefully he sleeps on. And she put on clothes. Clothing is very important when one’s boyfriend’s mother is in the kitchen cooking breakfast.

“Good morning, love.”

“Mornin’. How’d you sleep?”

“I slept just fine.” Maura meets her eye, grinning. “You?”

“Really well. Your son is a great cuddler.”

“Mhm. He’s always been an affectionate one. He has also been one to jump too fast into a relationship, getting his heart so set on someone that he’s taken absolutely by surprise when it doesn’t work out.”

Veda sighs and sits at the table. “Do you think he’s doing the same with me?”

“Oh, no. I think… I think you’re a good one, dear. He’s told me how you two met and that you even told him there might be a chance that you’re latching onto comfort after your granddad’s passing. The fact you worried about that tells me enough about you.”

Maura pours a cup of coffee and brings it to Veda. They sit in silence together, morning sunlight slanting through the kitchen window. Dust motes dance in the beams of light. The white walls are golden in the glow, and Maura’s hair shines. Veda is mesmerised.

“He truly feels so deeply for you. All I’ve ever wanted was for him to be happy. I just wish he’d come home every once in a while.”

“I think I might be able to help with that,” Veda promises, grinning despite herself.

Leaving causes a physical ache in her chest. Not only because the distance from Niall, but because of their friends. His mother. She’d talked with her for over an hour, listening with rapt attention to all the stories he never spoke of. The trouble he got into growing up, his friends back home, even his first heartbreak.

Veda still wants to hug young him and tell him everything will be alright.

Chatting with her felt like the kind of relationship Veda should have had with her own mother. The affection and genuine interest on her face as Veda talked about Granddad were almost too hard to handle. She’s jealous. Niall has such an amazing mother. She never did.

She never even had a facsimile of one.

Thankfully, she’s distracted over the next twenty-four hours by the constant in-and-out traffic through her house. Neighbours pile in and pour out, each one promising they are prepared for the next day. Veda loves them all so much, for this and everything else they have done for her, but she is more than thankful when the visitors stop.

Her alarm goes off before the sun is even up, but she waits for a more reasonable hour to phone him. The last thing she wants is to irritate him and give him a reason to not come over. She wastes away the next three hours with cleaning the entire first floor, drinking cup after cup of coffee, and even doing a load of laundry.

“Come over,” Veda says as soon as Niall answers, his voice sleep-rough and muddled. “I miss you.”

He chuckles and yawns. “You just saw me two days ago, love. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.”

“How could I forget? It was a very memorable night.” Hattie stands on the bottom step and mimes gagging. Veda raises her middle finger. “Please, babe? I feel like I haven’t seen you in literal years.”

“Fine, since you asked so nicely. Noon okay?”

“Noon is perfect. Hey?”

“Yeah?”

I love you. She bites back a smile, waving at Hattie to acknowledge her cousin heading upstairs to get dressed. “You sound really sexy when you first wake up.”

He’s still laughing when they end the call. Veda sets her phone on the coffee-table and runs to the door. Her socks slip and slide across the hardwood floor, but she manages to get to the stoop without falling. The Costas stand on the pavement, staring at Veda’s door as if waiting for this moment.

They probably were. Nonna is far too snoopy to not.

“We have four hours, people. Let’s move it!”

This signals a rush of activity. Nonna sends Sofia Maria and Jimmy door to door to alert the rest of the neighbours, and Antonio sets off down the pavement to Mister Thompson’s house. Tommy follows close behind. Somehow, the old man had gotten his hands on twenty folding chairs and was willing to let Veda borrow them for the day.

Chilly though the morning is, Veda keeps her front door open and the screen propped out of the way. Nonna and Aida carry platter after platter of food across the street while Hattie directs them on where to put the food. The dining table nearly groans under the weight of so many dishes.

Veda barrels down the steps to help Miss Sylvia carry the cake into the house, and Becky carries in enough cases of soda to quench the largest army’s thirst. Mister Nadir pokes his head into the door only to scramble back quickly at the exuberant Hattie bolting out to help Antonio carry in the first stack of chairs.

“Miss Veda? Where should we put the games?”

“Shit. Uh…”

Veda forgot about the games. Now she’s left struggling to find a place for them. The living room will be too full; it would pose a safety hazard to have kids playing underfoot. The upstairs floors are off-limits to anyone who isn’t Hattie or Veda. Finally, she clears her throat and tells Carlos to set the games up out on the back patio.

“Not afraid of it raining?” Hattie pants as she drags another two chairs toward the living room wall.

“Forecast said it’d be cloudy, but no more rain for the day. We’ll just keep an eye on it.”

“Okay. Well, we’ve got everything. I’ll watch the Marion kids so they don’t kill each other while decorating. You go get dressed.”

“Thanks, Hatchling. What would I do without you?”

“You can pay me back later.”

Veda sprints up to her room and closes her door. She never knew planning a party could be this hectic. She’s never done it before.

No one has ever been worth it.

She blows her hair out of her face and crosses the room to her bureau. The sundress is still there in the top drawer. Staring down at it, she can almost hear Granddad’s voice encouraging her to wear it today. He would want her to wear it for something - someone - so special in her life.

“Hatch, need you!”

“On my way. No, Nelly, don’t try to stick your sister with a thumbtack. Nonna!”

Nonna’s voice drowns out any other sounds, then Hattie is stood in Veda’s doorway. Veda chews on the inside of her cheek then asks her cousin to do her hair. Hattie doesn’t look surprised when Veda tells her what she wants.

“You look beautiful, V. Really, really gorgeous. Like, I know I did this hairstyle for your date, but… That dress is amazing on you.”

“Wish Granddad could be here.”

Hattie scoffs as she slides the last bobby pin into place. “Grandpa woulda called you crazy for involving Nonna in this. Now, Veda, I’m trusting you with this next task. Can you handle it?”

“Christ, Hattie, what is it?”

“Go do your makeup.”

Hattie pats Veda’s cheek then disappears from the room. A loud thud, cursing, then “I’m okay!” Veda can’t stop giggling even as she does what Hattie ordered her to do. When she steps back from the mirror, she hardly recognises herself. There’s something in her smile, her eyes, that speak of a woman she wasn’t only six months ago.

To: Niall
< Hey, I have to jump in the shower so you’ll have to use your key when you get here.

A lie, sure, but one for his sake. What kind of surprise would it be if he walked in without any warning? She grabs a pair of flats from the box in her closet, sliding them on her feet while she walks down the stairs. It’s a difficult task, but she’s impatient.

Her boyfriend is on his way. Hopefully, this party helps say what she can’t.