Mickey - The View From Here PART TWO - Gallavich

Party Like You're Frank

*HEY, GUYS. SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY. I WANTED TO PLOT OUT THE NEXT PART OF THE STORY BEFORE DIVING INTO IT. NOW THAT IT IS PLANNED OUT, I SHOULD BE ADDING A NEW CHAPTER EACH WEEK. I'M COMPLETELY OFF-SCRIPT NOW, SO IF YOU ARE STILL HERE, THANK YOU, LOVE YOU, APPRECIATE YOU. I WILL DO MY BEST TO GIVE YOU A GOOD STORY AND ENDING. AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEARING WITH ME AND FOR READING.*

Lip and Tammy took care of all the Frank stuff, everything I failed to do with Terry. Within a week, Frank was cremated, and we were all in the Gallagher house for the last time. The sale went through, and soon enough, that would be that.

Instead of a traditional funeral, Frank's children opted to send him off the way he would have wanted. We had a huge party. I guess Frank was better liked than I realized because the house was packed with friends, ex-girlfriends, and acquaintances before the sun began to set. There were plenty of people we expected, like Kev, V, Kermit, and Tommy, but we underestimated Frank's reach. So many people showed up, in fact, that no one noticed Fiona Gallagher walk through the front door for the first time in almost three years.

In the kitchen was a foldable table used as a battlefield for beer pong. The game thus far was tense, neck and neck. I was getting a little more drunk than I had planned, so I was eager to win the game. It was V and I vs Lip and Tammy, and V and I were booing Lip, jinxing him to miss the final cup on our side when Carl piped up.

"Fiona?" he asked, her unexpected appearance causing him to rub his eyes in disbelief.

Focus shifting to his older sister, Lip tossed the ping pong ball, overshooting the cup and hitting V in the tit. He assessed Fiona carefully, getting a read on the sister/mother figure that had up and moved away, leaving him with guardianship over Liam and ghosting the family. Going off the vein bulging from his forehead, I had to guess this wasn't a welcome reunion.

Fiona stared back at everyone with wide eyes and a wider smile. She looked healthy, happy even, her hair styled neatly into light waves of brown, her makeup understated but complimentary. She wore a black pantsuit and a pair of black heals. The look was professional, that was until she pulled out a tin container, plucked a joint from within, and lit it. "Happy to see you guys, too."

"Fi!" V screamed with joy as she ran to her best friend and embraced her.

"Thought you were too busy to come," Lip said to Fiona.

Unsure of where this was going, Tammy and I took a few steps back with the tried and true knowledge that sibling issues were nothing to meddled with by a spouse. Leaning against the far wall near the back door, we let the siblings hash and hug it out.

"So, he's still sober?" I asked about Lip's alcoholism.

"As far as I know," Tammy sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "He said this whole thing wouldn't be a trigger...so, here's hoping." She crossed her fingers.

"He seems fine," I told her, glancing at the subject of our conversation. "This whole thing's probably got him sober as fuck."

Tammy furrowed her brow, confused.

I shrugged, wondering how she hadn't come to the same conclusion. "Frank and Lip had a lot in common. Being that Frank drank himself to death, Lip might be seein' what happens to himself if he don't stay sober."

Tammy ruminated on this. "Yeah. I think his biggest fear is becoming his dad."

I chuckled. "He can join the club."

She shifted her focus to Fiona. "What do you make of her? We lived here at the same time for months, and I still can't get a read on her. A bit closed off."

"She can be cool," I reasoned. "Just don't piss her off. Think Debbie, but more competent. Bitch apparently has a right hook that could even put me to sleep."

Perhaps in a rare moment of insecurity, Tammy wondered with a forced chuckle, "you think she hates me?"

I met her gaze and answered honestly. "Probably, but don't take it personally. She hates me, too." With that, I tipped my beer bottle to her and snuck past the reunion. By now, all of the Gallagher siblings were gathering around their eldest sister, all but the two redheads.

As Liam and I passed one another, I inquired, "know where Ian went?"

He shrugged that he didn't know. "Franny went upstairs, though. I think the music's too loud for her."

I gave his shoulder a pat. "Thanks, bud," I said before I pushed my way through Frank's random guests until I made it upstairs. Assuming the first closed bedroom I came to contained Franny, I reached for the handle. Expecting my niece as I swung the door open, I was only a little surprised when I found my husband instead.