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chapter twelve! the stowaway
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"Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think your father has just driven through a police barricade," Gerry stated angrily to his wife, who attempted to wave off her father's actions that had caused them to get stuck in the parade, "Oh, that's true. It's probably not even that big a deal if you ignore the fact that Orangemen are circling us as through we're their fucking pray!"
Aoife leaned into James' side hugging Imogen close to her chest as the Orangemen circled the car. The three friends and the two little ones were crammed into the back seat of Gerry's car. Aoife and Anna's car seat were sharing the middle seat, with James on one side and Clare on the other.
"It'll be grand," Mary tried to calm her husband down.
"I'm starting to understand how Moby Dick must feel," Clare commented from where she was huddled towards the middle seat of the car.
"Christ, I'm sweating here," Gerry panicked, rolling down the window without thinking. Aoife clamped her hands over her sister's tiny ears to protect her from the noise. James wrapped his arms around Aoife hugging her and Imogen into his chest.
"They really don't look that happy, do they?" Gerry frantically looked around as the Orangemen that were surrounding them.
"Why don't we just explain that it was an accident, that we don't want any trouble?" Mary suggested, pulling her lipstick from her handbag and applying a fresh coat of lipstick.
"I'm not going out there," Gerry looked at his wife with wide eyes.
"Well, send one of the wee'uns out," Mary calmly suggested.
"Not it," Aoife quickly announced before Mary of Gerry could decide which of them to send.
"No not you Aoife, love, the wee fella's English. They might respect that," Mary continued, gesturing over at James who was tightly clutching Aoife.
"I think they would respect that, actually," Clare nodded,
"Away you go, son,"
"You're not serious!" James worriedly exclaimed as he glanced out of the window at the angry Orangemen.
"It'll be grand. Underneath it all, I'm sure they're reasonable enough people," Gerry waved James' nerves off.
"Absolutely no chance!"
"You can't send him out there Uncle Gerry," Aoife pleaded, resting her head on his chest, "They'll kill him."
