Derry Girls: A New Arrival Part 2

Chapter 7: November 1st 1996

Erin arose from a restless sleep. She rubbed her eyes and gazed at her bedside clock. 6:07am. Erin raised herself up from the floor, trying her best not to disturb Michelle and Orla, who had snuggled up with her amid cushions and duvets. Erin turned and regarded James who was asleep in the chair, she then turned and looked to see her friend Clare who was sound asleep in Erin's bed. Erin regarded her best friend with pity and sorrow as she lay asleep; in that moment, Clare appeared so peaceful. It was as if the catastrophic event that concluded their night had never happened. Erin quietly sat on the stool at the side of the bed. She spied the pair of angel wings that lay on the bedroom floor. They were all still wearing their Halloween outfits from the night before. The group had gone dressed as angels, which seemed ironic now, even though Orla had thought they were going as swans. Erin searched for happy moments from the previous night to shield herself from the realisation they all faced when Clare walked through the hospital doors, confirming the devastating news that her dad, Sean Devlin had passed away from a brain aneurysm.

There were very few moments. The group arriving at St. Columbs Hall... her private, passionate snog with James in her bedroom before they left her house.... Orla sporting a "beak" with her "swan angel" outfit.... She looked at Clare sleeping and remembered her jubilation after having her first lesbian kiss with Laurie. Erin thought.... That was the moment.... That should have been the culmination of a wild night out for the group. Only one week before, they had rejoiced with the news that Marco had been given a potential chance to pursue his chosen career, and be closer to Derry, and to Orla.

Erin surveyed her friends; they had been riding a wave of joy in the week leading up to the Fat Boy Slim concert; Orla had been so jubilant. Erin then recalled her own happiness, the past few weeks where James; her own wee English fella, had been so endearing to her, being every bit of the boyfriend that she'd dreamt of having. Michelle's elaborate scheme to get them VIP backstage passes had all but worked, even the sudden re-appearance of Mad Stab couldn't cast a cloud over Clare's moment, a moment she had waited for since showing her bravery in coming out as a lesbian. But tragically, life had delivered the most unfortunate blow to one of their own, and when one of them fell, they all fell.

Sean Devlin had always been a man who didn't take kind to the crazy shenanigans of the group, but then again, he was no different from the rest of their parents. But he had shown all the love and support that any father would for his daughter, especially for someone who showed incredible bravery in embracing her sexuality. For all the times that the gang feared the wrath of their parents whenever they were caught amid some kind of crazy antic; from being arrested by the RUC, or setting fire to Fionnula's chip shop, they all still loved their parents, they were their foundation of support. The group had come a long way together, and there were many good and bad times that they shared. But now, one of them faced the one thing they would all face one day, but still at such a young age, it seemed so unfair. All these thoughts swirled inside Erin's head as she gazed sadly at her sleeping friend, who would soon wake up and the realization would sadly dawn on her again that her dad was gone. Erin began to worry; she didn't know how to handle this; This was unchartered territory. No one in the group had any answers of how to deal with such a tragedy, all except one of them; the one who wasn't there, Marco.

Erin glanced at the bedroom door, needing to use the bathroom. But she was afraid of leaving Clare's side. Erin decided to be quick. She left the bedroom door open just in case she heard Clare call out or cry. When she came out, she walked quickly back towards her bedroom. She saw that Clare was still asleep. Erin breathed a deep sigh of relief as she saw Orla sitting on the stool next to her bed. Erin smiled sadly as Orla adjusted the blanket that covered their wee lesbian friend. Orla turned to see Erin in the doorway. Orla rose; her face was expressionless, she walked quietly up to her cousin and the two hugged.