Burried

Aofie made a distressed sound, the tragedy too great for words. Night approached and the light left the tired land. Brendan smoked his pipe and stared into the hearth. Aofie lay her knitting down.

"Should I make the din, Bren?" she asked. Her husband continued staring into the flames. "Bren?"

He blinked and looked over. "What's that, love?" She smiled patiently, stood, and kissed his cheek. "Sometimes I worry there's too much goin' on here," she said, pointing to his head. "Someday you'll get so lost in thought you won't be able t'find your way home!"

He took her hand and kissed it. "Don't worry, m'dear. I'm just an old man reflectin' on his days. Now, what did ye ask?"

"Should I get the din ready?" He nodded. "A fine idea."

She squeezed his hand and went to the kitchen. Brendan put out his pipe and settled in his chair, eyes closed...

Banging on the door. Loud, impatient.

Brendan opened his eyes and coughed.

More banging.

"Could you get that, Bren?" Aofie called from the kitchen.

"Aye, aye, just give me a moment t'move me old bones." Brendan rose. He winced at arthritis pains and walked to the door. It was full dark now, though the half-moon still shed some light. Brendan turned on the front porch light and peered through the door window.

His mouth dropped. He blinked and stared for an astonished moment.

Then he groaned in dismay.

He opened the door. A hooded man stood outside, shifting anxiously in the dim light. He grinned wide at Brendan, crooked teeth peeking out from a big, salt-and-pepper beard. "Brother!" he cried. He held out his arms in embrace.

Brendan crossed his. "What're you doin' here, Felix?""Just stoppin' by to see me kin, that's what."

"I doubt that. What kind o' trouble are you in now?"

Felix dropped his arms. "I thought you'd be glad t'see me."

Brendan scoffed. "As glad as I'd be t'see the Devil himself at me door. You are here for some trouble, aye?"

Felix scratched at his beard. "Well...aye."

"Does it have anythin' to do with that bomb as went off this mornin'?" Felix stuffed his hands in his trenchcoat. "No, no," he reassured. "Well aye, t'is." Brendan started closing the door. "But not how you think! I swear!" He blocked the door with his boot. The two brothers stared at each other.

Brendan sighed and shook his head. "Close on ten years without a word and now you come to me? I didn't even know you still drew breath, Felix. Would it have killed you to send a letter?"

"I wasn't really in a place t'be sendin' letters." Felix chuckled nervously. "Damn loyalists had me in hidin' for a long while."

"Only yourself to blame for that. What is it you need from me and me wife?"

"Just t'stay the night. I'll be out before the morn, promise." Brendan eyed his brother with suspicion. "Please, Bren," Felix pleaded. "Just do me this one thing and I'll shove off for good."

Brendan didn't say anything for a long time. Then he closed his eyes and dropped his head. "I'm a fool," he muttered. He turned to Aofie, who had been watching cautiously from the threshold. "We'd better set another place at the table."

The table was set. Felix sat on one side, Brendan and Aofie on the other. A steaming shepherd's pie lay between them.

"Smells like a wonderful feast, Aofie," Felix said.

"Why thank you," she replied, not meeting his eye.

"May I say grace over it?" Aofie glanced at her husband. "Of course."

The three joined hands and bowed their heads.

"Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about t'receive from your bounty through Christ, our Lord. Amen."

"Amen," the other two muttered.

Brendan served portions of the pie without a word. Felix set on his like he'd been starved for a week, sparing no modesty in devouring the meal. He asked for a second serving and ate that almost as quickly. Brendan watched him with concern, barely touching his food. After they had finished, Aofie cleared the plates and started washing them in the adjoined kitchen.Brendan cleared his throat. "You would've heard about Mary, then?"

"Aye," Felix said.

"We missed you at the funeral. Thought maybe you'd show up to see her off, at least."

Felix said nothing. The pain on his face was plain enough to see.

"I'm sorry, Felix. I didn't mean to-"

"No," Felix said. "You're right. I should've been there. She deserved a better brother."

Brendan inclined his head. "She'd call your name in her sleep, y'know. Always said you'd come for her. 'Any day now,' she'd say. 'Any day.'"

Felix turned his head to hide his tears. He sniffed and wiped his eyes. When he turned back to his brother his smile was a bitter one. "She'll do better now, I think. No demons t'haunt her behind them Pearly Gates."

"True," Brendan said. He paused. "I'm afraid we'll miss ye there, too."

"Oh, I know I done wrong in my time, brother. At least I done somethin' t'all."

"Like blowin' up that young lad this mornin'?" "I told you I had nothin' to do with that."

"You said you're here on account of it."

Felix grimaced. "Aye. Some young punks in the Army, more gangsters than not."

"Sounds familiar."

He ignored the comment. "Bastards had no sense. Got themselves caught already, I gather. Prob'ly spillin' their guts about me and the others right now."

"So you had to run."

"That's right."

"How d'you know they won't search for you here?"

Felix gave a rueful smile. "Everyone knows we don't get on. I'm surprised you let me in, t'be honest."

"Not as surprised as me," Brendan replied. The hint of a smile touched his lips. "Fancy a dram o' whiskey?"

Brendan fetched the two glasses and whiskey from the kitchen. He poured each a finger and sat by Felix.

Brendan raised his glass. Sláinte."

"Sláinte!"

The two drank. Felix coughed a fit into his sleeve, his eyes watering.

"Don't tell me you've gone soft," joked Brendan. "Haven't had a proper drink in near a decade," Felix croaked.

That amused Brendan. "The way I remember it, you could out-drink a fish if you had to."

"Oh, aye. You remember that time down at the Old Dog-"

"O'Riley's place, aye?"

Felix nodded and grinned. "Old man O'Riley and that damn ridiculous hat of his."

Brendan's eyes lit up. "You're talkin' about the night you stole it, aye?" "Aye! Stole the damn floppy thing right from his head!"

"And he started chasin' you around, everyone cheerin' and all. Jumpin' up on tables, runnin' across the bar, all with that hat in one hand and a pint in the other!"

Felix leaned forward as if to share a secret. "It was a fair chase, y'know, him bein' so old and me bein' so drunk!"

The two laughed and laughed until their faces turned red and tears came to their eyes.

"As I recall," Felix said, breathless, "you're the one who got me home that night. God knows I couldn't do it meself."

"Someone's got to look after you." Brendan smiled and the two exchanged a fond look.

The brothers had another drink. They told more tales, reminiscing about their time spent together as young men. Brendan didn't ask of Felix's whereabouts. And Felix, for his part, brought no end to the boyhood stories of countless shared adventures. It was easy for them to forget what came after that, to focus only on the memories of unity rather than separation. Aofie came and joined them, listening with a smile to stories of her husband she never would have heard otherwise, blushing with embarrassment at times.

After a while, the two fell into a content silence, each reflecting on their past.

Felix laid his hands on the table. "There's somethin' else," he said.

"Aye?"

"I'm leavin' the country."

Brendan gave a resigned nod. "I figured as much."

"I need to leave a few things here before I go."

Brendan's eyes narrowed. "What things?"

Felix avoided his brother's gaze.

A moment of white-knuckled silence passed.

"I'm glad you came to see me," Brendan said, his tone even. "But don't think you can use that to bring us down with you. We won't have your damn weapons in this house."

"They won't be in the house," Felix replied quickly. "I'll bury them out back."

"Like all hell you will," Brendan growled. "I thought maybe you'd changed, Felix, but now I see you're the same as you ever were. Gettin' in trouble and expectin' me to bale you out."

"They'll be here all o' two weeks, Bren," Felix reassured. "Just enough time for things to quiet down, then some lads'll come to take 'em back." "To hell with your guns!" Brendan shouted. He rose from the table, clenching his hands into fists. Aofie sat with her eyes downcast, hands folded in her lap. "Bury them somewhere else. Or toss 'em in the river for all I care."

Felix shook his head. "They're my way out. Payment to the Army for safe passage out o' this country. Nothin's free, brother."

"So you came here and thought to involve us in your deal with the Devil!?" In three angry steps he reached for the phone and began dialing.

A look of terror passed across Felix's face. "What're you doin'?"

"Callin' the police."

Felix jumped to his brother's side and snatched the phone away. "You can't! They'd put me to death, Bren."

Brendan's eyes filled with contempt.

"It's all you deserve."

Felix gasped as if he'd been stabbed. "You don't mean that."

Brendan didn't budge.

"I'm your brother!" Felix begged. "Your own flesh and blood! All I need is this one favor, then I'll be gone for good. You can scratch my face from the pictures and strike my name from the papers, but just help me leave. Help me live."

Brendan didn't reply. He paced the dining room. Aofie and Felix watched him, not daring even to twitch. The moment hung suspended in time, a breathless eternity. Brendan stopped pacing and stared out the back window which afforded a view of the field behind the Collins' house.

"Fine," Brendan said eventually.

"Because you're my brother. But not after tonight."

Felix sighed relief. "Thanks, Bren."

Brendan stacked the washed dishes neatly in the cupboard while he watched Felix dig a hole under moonlight in the field behind the house. Aofie embraced her husband and whispered, "At least it's over now. No more worryin' about him."

Brendan said nothing.

Weeks passed, then months and years, and Felix's lads never came for the guns. They remain buried on the Collins' property to this day.

No one knows where Felix Collins is buried.