Second Chance Girl
Page 50

“I worked at home,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
“Pallas’s neighbors had to love the sound of a chain saw going at all hours.” Ronan crossed to the elegant carving and ran his hands down the smooth neck. “I don’t know how you do this.”
“I didn’t plan on a giraffe, but that’s what it wanted to be.”
Nick had also set out a couple of plant carvings, along with a crouching cheetah.
“I sense a theme here,” Ronan said. “And we’ll all be represented.”
Mathias glanced at his own work. The two pieces stood on a thick pedestal in the back of the studio. He hadn’t yet decided whether he would show them or not. When he’d finished, he’d been sure, now he wasn’t. He figured he would wait until Thursday night and make his final decision then.
The studio doors opened. In the second before the visitors appeared, Mathias felt something cold slip across the back of his neck. When Ceallach and Elaine walked in, he couldn’t help thinking of the late, great Obi Wan Kenobi. There has been a great disturbance in the Force. Only when compared with Ceallach Mitchell ready to assess his sons’ work, Darth Vader seemed kind and gentle.
“I just had to see where you worked,” Elaine said cheerfully, hurrying over and hugging each of them. “So I can picture it later.”
Mathias thought about pointing out that she’d been to the office to drop off Sophie and she hadn’t been all that interested in touring it back then. Then he told himself not to be an asshole. His mother would do what she always did in situations like this. Dance around her husband, trying to keep the peace without actually siding with any of her children. Funny how that had always pissed him off before, yet right now he couldn’t summon much beyond sympathy. She’d picked a difficult road when she’d married Ceallach. He wondered if she questioned whether or not it had been worth it.
Ceallach walked directly to Ronan’s bird pieces and studied each of them. The room went quiet. It was more than the principal showing up in a classroom. This was a god come down from on high. Mere mortals who wanted to keep their lives knew to be quiet and await judgment. Only when it came to his father, Mathias had never been very good at following the rules.
“Pretty rad, huh, Dad?” he said.
Nick and Ronan both shot him a look, warning him to shut up. He ignored them.
“The way the feathers seem to flutter. You can feel the breeze. Ronan has some talent.”
Ceallach walked around the pieces. Elaine hovered by Ronan, lightly touching his arm, as if wanting to reassure herself he was real. Mathias wondered if this was the first time she’d seen him since she’d arrived for the wedding. Ronan, being a total jerk, took a step away from her.
“There’s too much movement,” Ceallach said at last. “It’s distracting.”
Nick snorted. “It’s glass, Dad. How can there be too much movement? Movement is life. That’s what we’re trying to re-create.”
“Think what you want and be wrong,” their father said as he crossed to Nick’s carvings. “I see you’re still wasting your time with wood.”
“Every single day.”
Ceallach circled the giraffe. “I’ve seen worse.”
Nick put his hand to his chest. “Was that a compliment? I might faint.”
Elaine’s hands began to flutter, as if she wasn’t sure what to do. “It is nice, isn’t it? There’s going to be a special event on Thursday night. To raise money for Millie.” She frowned. “Or is it to get Millie a mate?”
Mathias took pity on her. “It’s to buy Millie a herd, Mom. Male giraffes are solitary, but the females stay together in a loose herd. Millie’s lonely, so we’re raising money to buy three giraffes and have them transported to the animal preserve.” He thought about mentioning the plans to hire a vet, but figured no one was that interested in the details.
“Ronan donated the large bird piece to be auctioned off,” he continued. “The rest of our work is going to be on display, as well.”
Elaine’s gaze settled on Ronan. “That was very generous of you.”
“It was Mathias’s idea.”
“Someone had to do something,” Mathias said.
“Yes, and it’s not as if you could have donated a set of dishes and raised more than a few dollars,” Ceallach said, still studying Nick’s work.
Elaine’s gaze darted around the studio. Mathias wondered if she was looking for a distraction or an escape. She spotted his piece in the back and hurried toward it.
“Ceallach, look. This is wonderful.” She paused. “Nick, you didn’t make this, did you? You don’t work with glass anymore and it’s not Ronan’s style.” She turned back to Mathias. “You made this! Ceallach, you have to see this. The way the woman is looking up and the giraffe is gazing down... It’s beautiful.”
Mathias felt both proud and annoyed. He wasn’t ready for his father’s assessment—whatever Ceallach had to say, it would be biting. Telling himself he was the bigger man didn’t make him feel any more comfortable with the situation.
But his father being his father didn’t even glance in that direction. He explored the rest of the studio, carefully avoiding the pedestal with Mathias’s statue.
Nick stepped close to Mathias. “He’s jealous as hell. That’s why he can’t say anything.”
Mathias nodded even though he wasn’t sure his brother was right. Maybe he’d been fooling himself into thinking he had something. Maybe he should stick to dishes and vases. Ordinary pieces people used in their everyday lives.
“Who’s in charge of the fund-raiser?” Ceallach demanded.
“Atsuko,” Mathias told him. “She owns the gallery.”
“I’m going to speak to her. I’ll donate a piece, as well. Something the whole world will want to see. We’ll raise enough for the giraffes and whatever they need.”
Elaine hurried to her husband’s side. “Darling, that’s wonderful. With you donating, they’ll get more press and the whole evening will be special.” She beamed. “Isn’t your father the best?”
The three brothers exchanged a look. Mathias knew they were all thinking the same thing. Ceallach didn’t give a damn about the giraffes or anyone but himself. He only cared about making sure no one got more attention than him.
Being in the spotlight had always been their father’s drug of choice and each of them had experienced the pain of stepping between him and that light. Punishment was swift and brutal.
Mathias started to say something but before he could speak, Ronan slipped out the studio door. Elaine saw him go, as well. Her shoulders slumped and her mouth turned down. She looked old and sad and lost. Then she drew in a breath and smiled at her husband, leaving Mathias to wonder if he’d only imagined the transformation.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CAROL KNEW SHE would wait as long as it took. Mathias had shown up at her door nearly an hour before. She’d let him in and they’d settled in her living room. She’d put on music and had waited for him to speak, only he hadn’t. Every few minutes, he got up and paced the length of the room, then returned to the sofa.
Just when she was about to give in and ask if he was all right, he looked at her.
“Sorry.”
“For what?”