call me mal.

My name is Malachy, I'm 27 and I'm Irish. And, really, that's all there is to know about me unless you need a roof fixed or a lightbulb changed.

[malachyaherne-blog]

Ben’s eyes narrowed, but he shrugged all the same, and then downed the shot he’d been trying to get Mal to drink. “Your loss,” he responded. Yes, it was stupid, yes, he’d told himself he was going to stay sober… but it had lasted all of a month and he’d been drinking again. Maybe not as much as before, but he was certainly going for it when he could.

“You might want to go a bit easier on that stuff,” he said, hating how naggy he sounded. Normally, he stayed the hell out of other people’s business and let them drink as much as they want but this guy had been blurry at best when he’d arrived and he looked even more unsteady now. “Or at least move onto something weaker. Like Sourz.”

[malachyaherne-blog]

Daisy looked discouraged, going back to licking her ice cream in silence but Nolan could understand. He was teasing him and it wasn’t like he was expecting too much, yet he hated seeing Daisy unhappy.

“You wanna at least come with us, then? Or you just gonna stay here like a loner?” He teased once more, a smile pulling at his lips.

“I’m always a loser,” Malachy replied, but having seen the little girl’s face and the flicker of disappointment which featured, he pushed to his feet, leaving his mostly full beer behind. “But I’ve always fancied getting my face painted like Spiderman.”

[benxscott-deactivated20170829]

“Oh, come on, just one more, it’s not going to kill you…” Ben shouldn’t have even been drinking himself, yet there he was, waving a shot in someone’s face, clearly drunk himself.

[malachyaherne-blog]

“It won’t,” Malachy replied, blinking a few times to steady the image in front of him. “But my sister might.” It was a lame excuse, but he knew he couldn’t keep drinking, lowering his guard. “By all means, though, you continue.”

[ollieramsey-archive]

“I Honestly didn’t think chemo was going to be this difficult.” Oliver said, letting his head rest on his chin.

[malachyaherne-blog]

Not sure if he had heard the man correctly, Malachy looked up, eyes widened slightly. “Chemo?” He repeated. “Shit mate, I’m sorry. I didn’t even know you were, you know...” He trailed off, the dreaded C word evading him.

[malachyaherne-blog]

Nolan couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking his head. He wanted to please his little girl but he didn’t want to get his face painted. That was the last thing he wanted to do with his day. He glanced down to Daisy who smiled back up at Malachy.

“Daddy would be a pretty bunny!” She agreed wholeheartedly and Nolan knew Mal just single-handedly decided his fate. 

“Guess it’s decided. I’m gonna be a bunny. Thanks, Mal.” He rolled his eyes before a thought came to him. “Honey, you know who else would make a pretty bunny? Him.” Daisy looked ecstatic at the information before looking to Malachy with a huge grin.

There were some things that Malachy enjoyed, the solitude of not having kids definitely being one of them and, though there were very, very few privileges that came from being away from the majority of your family, the fact that he didn’t really have to spend any time around his younger cousins and such was definitely one of them. He didn’t know how to act around children, really, and at the mention of him getting his face painted, he shook his head. “Nah, mate, I’m not really the bunny type,” he replied, throwing up his hands. “I’m more your Spiderman or...I don’t know.”

[malachyaherne-blog]

Nolan smirked, turning his attention out to take a hairline sip of his beer. At his comment, he glanced down to her as she absent-mindedly continued licking at her ice cream. She seemed too concerned with what she was eating than what they were saying. Smiling, he smoothed down her hair. 

“She also wants to get her face painted, and she wants me to get mine done, too. I think she set me up.”

A snort of laughter left Malachy at Nolan’s comment and he raised an eyebrow across in his direction. “You’d make a cracking tiger,” he replied, trying not to openly laugh at the image he was creating. “Or a rabbit. Definitely a rabbit.” Leaning back, he turned his attentions to the little girl, “What do you think? Your old dad could like like a rabbit, couldn’t he?”

[malachyaherne-blog]

“I’ll try to get out of the uniform first. I might just go for some sun and beer, you got a pretty good point here.”

“Can’t you just take the top part off?” he asked, trying to work out how the paramedics overalls worked. “Maybe not... Well, you know where I am if you fancy a drinking partner.”

[malachyaherne-blog]

“Gonna have to wait until it’s dark, I think…” Ben observed, glancing around the bay for a moment. “Who knows with the kids around here, I’m still learning, I can’t even get used to the grown ups, let alone the brats…”

Screwing up his face, Malachy peered down at the crowd which showed no sign of lessening any time soon. “Yeah, think you might be right. Who knew there would be kids at an Easter Egg hunt,” he laughed. Malachy knew all too well what it was like to be in that position and he nodded. “Seven months I’ve been here and I still don’t know half the people I see. I mean I know their face but...”

[malachyaherne-blog]

“Eh, I love writing those though, it gives me something to do, you know,” Faye answered with a light chuckle and a shrug of her shoulders. “Potentially, but so far I have no work, so at least it would be an improvement.”

“What? You like writing down ‘lollipop to the eye’, ‘choked on sand’, ‘fell down a slide’?” Raising an eyebrow, Mal shook his head. “Well by all means, continue to inflict potential injuries on kids. Who am I to stop you?”

[malachyaherne-blog]

“Pointless exercise, isn’t it?” Ben questioned, taking another drink of his beer, still wondering why he was even drinking it. “Nah, not yet… keep thinking I should probably take a walk down there, see what’s going on. But, what can I say? The mood hasn’t struck me just yet.”

“Just a bit,” he replied, stretching a little and focusing more on the festivities down at the Bay. “Hoping the kids clear off soon, to be honest; it’s a bit manic just now and I can’t really be bothered with all the screaming.”

[malachyaherne-blog]

“Fair enough,” Jinx replied. Her situation was pretty similar in that she was no longer obligated to attend after a certain point. There was no rebellion involved, just a parting not pinpointed to a certain date. “I never really liked going to church,” she admitted. “The building was beautiful, but it wasn’t something I really cared for.”

“I never minded it too much,” he replied with a shrug. Most of his friends had attended, too; when he was younger, that meant hanging out in the Sunday Mass Lesson with the other kids and when he grew older, it meant disappearing mid Mass to have a cigarette out it in the cemetery behind. Either way, it was easy enough, for him. “Never really thought about the building, though.”

[malachyaherne-blog]

“Thought so. And catholic guilt is a powerful thing to make you throw money around”, Alex nodded. “Add that beer to it and you’ll end up spending a lot.”

“Fair enough” Malachy laughed, knowing full well he didn’t have money to splash around. It was for a good cause, though, and he could spare a bit. “Is that your plan, then?”

[malachyaherne-blog]

Daisy’s legs swung back and forth as she enjoyed her ice cream, Nolan holding her on his lap as they sat in a comfortable silence before Mal’s voice broke through.

“I have that little voice. Feel kinda bad for not going, but I’d rather sip a beer on a bench. Besides, this little one wanted to get here as soon as possible for her ice cream and an egg hunt.”

He had almost missed the little girl completely, she was so quiet that he had not spotted her at first and, instantly, Malachy tried to think back, to make sure he hadn’t swore in front of her. He was sure he hadn’t though, and he relaxed a little. “First time I’ve had any inclination to go in years,” he laughed, taking another sip. “I’d probably burst into flames..” Laughing, he nodded, “Can’t really blame her, to be honest.”

[malachyaherne-blog]

“Won’t help what exactly?” Faye questioned with a laugh, although as he continued, her frown became thoughtful. “Guess that makes sense, to a certain degree… But who can resist sweets? If it keeps people quiet, I’m happy.”

“Injury lists,” he replied simply, chewing on the lollipop though he knew it was bad for his teeth. “I’m not complaining or anything. They’re nice. But, I’m just saying, you’re potentially giving yourself more work.” Snorting with laughter, he asked, “Not a fan of kids, then?”

[malachyaherne-blog]

“Wouldn’t know much about that,” answered Ben, “Wouldn’t know much about guilt full stop. I do my best not to think about it whenever I can. Doesn’t really get to anywhere in life.” Shrugging his shoulders, he took a drink from the glass in front of him, watching people racing around the beach with a light smile. “Exactly. I know which I prefer.”

“Best way to be,” Malachy replied, honestly believing it. For years, he had lived life exactly that way, without any guilt or regret, not thinking twice about the consequences of anything. Now, though, he was too aware of the backlash of just about anything he did. “You been down there, yet?” he asked, motioning to the Bay. “Today, I mean.”

[malachyaherne-blog]

Stella simply smiled, her amusement somehow growing as the man offered her a piece of her food. “I’m surprised you share - I don’t,” she commented, shrugging with her small shoulders before she decided to take a piece to taste. She remained silent as she chewed; enjoying the marvelous taste. “Wow.. just wow,” 

“Only because it’s Easter,” he replied, offering her a weak smile. He was trying, he reminded himself, trying to integrate himself into Harpoole life even more than he had done before. But it was hard, when he’d spent most of the time brooding and complaining. “Come Tuesday I’m back to food hoarding.” Watching as she took a piece and reacted so well, Mal grinned. “Told you.”

[malachyaherne-blog]

“Something like that,” she replied. Her separation from the church wasn’t a simple goodbye. For her it was a disconnect between her mother and faith, and a lacking existence of faith from her to begin with. “What made you stop going?” she asked.

Malachy’s face contorted as he tried to answer as honestly as he could. “I stopped living at home,” he said simply, taking a sip of his beer and rolling the bottle between his hands. “And the obligation to go to the chapel stopped there”