The English Boy

Chapter 35

It's Christmas Day!!!

Luigi's concert last night lasted for 2 hours, and I fell asleep right after the intermission number when the kids were given a 20-minute break. After the concert, Callum went to the bathroom. When he wasn't around, Sam came to me just to tease me. She said when I was sleeping, my head was on Callum's shoulder and she caught him smiling. I told her it's not saying much.

We didn't really fight that night when she was "counselling" me about my relationship. I have to admit, she was kind of right, but she was wrong at the same time, or she could be wrong, because she doesn't know Luke at all.

Right now, we're having a Christmas Dinner at the backyard of the Mansion. I saw new faces, like, lots of them! I never thought I had so many relatives here in Ireland!

It reminded me of the dinner we had last October at Uncle Tom's house in Otley, that time when I just met my cousins and Ralph walked out and told me his secret? Yeah, that one!

Uncle Rob was saddened because he knows to himself that this will be the last Christmas Dinner that the McCarthys will have in this Mansion, since it will be sold in a few months. I mean, I do understand Uncle Rob, since he's the one living in this Mansion for years now. Dad admitted that this is the reason why we have all come together just this year, and why he and Uncle Tom have decided to come to Ireland just now. It just so happened that I too came to Great Britain this year.

Instrumental Irish music was playing. I think the first song playing was Docherty's Reel, which is what dad said he plays on his music player every St. Patrick's Day.

Callum and I decided to be isolated from everyone else because we feel awkward around them, since I am meeting them for the first time. While everybody else is celebrating Christmas in the backyard, Callum and I are just chilling out with Toby on the Front Yard, eating some biscuits and beef we stole from the dinner table.

Callum was giving most of his beef to Toby.

I gave a small laugh.

"That's really sweet, but give him all of your food, we're gonna have to go back in there to get you some more." I said, and I'm sure, I do not want to go back in there!

"Toby's a carnivore, Joe, it's alright!" he said, as he was giving more of his beef to the dog "How's your Christmas so far?"

"Christmas in Ireland?" I said.

"Why don't you go to your cousins anyway?" he asked "They don't bite! Besides, they're all English-speakers."

"Really?" I asked.

"All of your cousins are, actually, even Sam and her siblings," Callum explained "You will struggle to find people in Dublin who can speak Irish with a high degree of fluency."

"Dad's fluent in Irish, and he's from Yorkshire," I said "And now, he's trying to get me to learn the language too."

"That's because your dad is special, just like you-"

I turned to him, and he was smiling at me.

"Special, like, a person with a lot of capabilities?" he said "Just like you can speak four languages."

I shook my head.

"I speak four languages?" I asked "Dude, get your facts right! I only speak English and Filipino!"

"You're fluent in French, and you speak a little Mandarin-"

"Who said I'm fluent in French?! I didn't say that!" I said.

"Well," he shrugged "The people at Randolph say so."

"I'm only good in French, because I've been learning it for fun since I was six years old, but I'm not fluent with it!" I said.