The Parting Glass

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Authors: Emilie Richards
Tags: Fiction, General, Family Life, Contemporary Women
heard a man’s voice. Jon. He was glad to put a name to it. Then he heard a woman’s, and he knew the worst moment of his day wasn’t over.
    “Megan,” he croaked. He turned his head to see a vision in white running in his direction. She fell to the ground beside him.
    “Are you okay? Don’t move. What happened?”
    “Explosion. Gas leak. Maybe in the cellar. Fumes ignited by the—maybe the water heater. I should have thought to blow out the pilot light.” He coughed.
    Jon joined them. “Were you in the cellar when it blew?”
    Niccolo tried to remember. “Almost. Where am I?”
    “About ten yards down the tunnel.”
    Niccolo realized he must have been knocked off his feet by the explosion and catapulted to this place. “I should be…”
    “Dead,” Jon supplied. “For sure. I don’t know why you aren’t. It’s nothing short of a miracle. Can you move your arms and legs?”
    Niccolo tried. He felt bruised all over, but nothing seemed to be broken. “Josh?”
    “Down below. You should have waited to find out.”
    “Time wasn’t a friend.”
    “You said you were going up to the road,” Megan said. “You lied to me.”
    “I didn’t want you to worry….”
    “You two settle that later. Right now, I think we need to get you out of here,” Jon said. “The fire department’s on its way. They’ll address the leak, wherever it is, but we don’t want another explosion while we’re in here.”
    “Fire…” Inevitably, it followed explosions.
    “There’s not much to ignite down here. We can assume the furnace room will be a total loss.”
    Niccolo struggled to sit up. At the second try, and with Jon and Megan’s help, he managed. The world spun, but when he opened his eyes again, the Virgin still stared down at him.
    “Tell me I’m not imagining her,” he said.
    “Nick, you’re not imagining me,” Megan said.
    “You’re real. I know. Her.” Niccolo shined his light on the wall again.
    Jon and Megan turned to see what he was talking about. Niccolo watched Megan’s face. He watched his bride’s eyes widen. She stared at the wall, then at him. And then Megan, whose relationship with the Church was suspect at best, made the sign of the cross.

chapter 6
    C leveland’s Hopkins airport was open for business, and planes were still flying. That seemed incongruous to Peggy, who only the day before had wondered if she or Cleveland would survive the tornado’s devastation. Now, she stared at the ceiling in Niccolo and Megan’s guest bedroom and wondered how she would feel tomorrow, when she woke up in another strange bed. This time in Ireland.
    A faint rapping launched her to her feet. She opened the door a crack to see her sister’s serious face.
    “Phil tracked you down,” Megan said softly, so not to wake Kieran. “Nice of him.”
    Peggy wasn’t surprised at her sister’s tone. Megan did not like Kieran’s father, nor, for that matter, did Casey. “At least he’s calling, Megan. I should have called him myself last night. There was just so much going on.”
    “I suppose even Phil finds it hard to ignore the fact that the saloon was struck by a tornado. We’re the toast of the town. We made statewide news.”
    “You’re supposed to be on your honeymoon.” Peggy looked around for something to pull over her T-shirt so that she could take Phil’s call.
    “We’ll go after I get the estimates for renovations. I’ll have plenty of time to relax. I won’t be working for months.” Megan shook her head as if she was still adjusting to that thought. “Let me get you a robe. There’s nobody in the kitchen. You can talk to Phil there.”
    Peggy checked Kieran, who was sleeping soundly, his tiny body curled in a ball. She wanted him to sleep, since their flight to Ireland was going to be trial enough. When Megan returned, she wrapped the flannel bathrobe around her and secured it; then, with a nod to her sister, she went down to the kitchen and picked up the

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