Mickey - The View From Here PART TWO - Gallavich

Pretty Drinks

While Ian chatted with his brothers, I took the liberty of ordering our drinks from Kev. I sidled up to the bar next to Tami as she watched Lip from across the room with an air of pure affection.

I must admit, I didn’t think they’d be together at his point. I had expected it to fall apart after their son, Fred, was born. Instead of the stress pulling them apart, the pair seemed to actually fall in love while figuring out how to navigate parenthood for the first time.

When I noticed she had no beverage in her hand, I asked her what she wanted to drink.

"Oh, no,” she smiled politely. "I’m fine, thanks.”

"Look, I know he ain’t a fuckin’ cocktail artist, but I bet Kev could whip you up one of those girly, colorful drinks that don’t taste like alcohol.”

She only continued to smile, shaking her head before she wondered thoughtfully, "how do you now what they taste like? I thought you were all about manly beer and hard liquor.”

"You didn’t know me in Mexico. Drank that fruity shit all the time, veg out on the beach, get burned as fuck,” I reminisced fondly. Before Mexico and Russ could completely intrude my thoughts, I dismissed them as faraway memories.

Though her edges were sharp, I liked Tami. I wanted her to enjoy herself, especially when Fred was with a babysitter. What better time was there to get shitfaced when you had a toddler at home?

"Tell you what,” I suggested, reasoning that she wasn’t in the mood to be made fun of for her soft, expensive taste, “you get one, I’ll have the same girly drink.” Maybe she would loosen up with some solidarity from the other Gallagher spouse.

She fleetingly placed a hand on my forearm, assuring me she was okay. "That’s very nice of you, and don’t get me wrong. I want a raincheck on that. But I’m not drinking tonight.”

"Why not?” I said as more of a response than a question, joking, "you knocked up again?”

Tami pursed her lips, refusing to answer.

My sympathies went out to her. She and Lip had had a tough year. A second baby at this point was unquestionably unwanted. "Shit.”

She stared down at her fidgeting hands. “I don’t know for sure yet. But…I’m sure, you know?”

Though it wasn’t my business, Tami and I had grown closer over the past year, enough so that it didn’t feel completely invasive to inquire, "what are you gonna do?”

With a long sigh, she shrugged. "Not a whole lot of options. My gut says adoption, but…I dunno. Me and Lip gotta figure it out.”

Absent-mindedly, I thought out loud. "We’re looking to adopt. Well, Ian’s ready to pull the trigger on it. I'm just…”

"Hold up. Are you asking if you can take away my unborn child?”

"N—no!” I sputtered, frustrated at myself for sharing too much.

A wide smirk stretched across her lips before she playfully smacked me in the arm. "It isn’t a horrible idea. Maybe we should consult our men and revisit later?”

Pleasantly surprised, I found my hands shaking. I needed to ask myself if this was getting too real too fast.

Before I could dive into contemplation, Ian came up behind me and kissed my neck. Intoxicated on booze and my husband, I let him drag me away from my conversation with Tami and into the bathroom, excited for what was to come next.