7/22/12

Family Interruptions
By Renella McNamara


Peter Brennan loved his family. That didn’t mean they didn’t annoy, frustrate, or make him want to beat his head against the wall. Thankfully, he was generally a quiet, unassuming kid unless absolutely necessary. His childhood had not been a fairy tale; his mother’s drinking and his father’s financial losses caused a lot of friction. Honestly, his extended family, which included his father’s 7 brothers and subsequent 25 cousins, helped him get through it. There were no secrets in the Brennan family. Not that they dealt with the problems in the best way possible or even dealt with them at all. But they were there, keeping their own upright.

At this family dinner, though, Peter was tired. Tired of the family politics and gossip. And especially tired of his grandmother’s attempts to set him up. In her eyes, Peter was the most eligible grandson. He was 6’5’’ with the classic Irish dark wavy hair and blue eye combo. He went to the Air Force Academy in Colorado and was top of his class. His grandmother’s only complaint was that he didn’t take advantage of his eligibility. Peter, again, was a quiet kid, never quite comfortable in his own skin or in his own family for that matter. His family was a loud, obnoxious, rambunctious group who liked to party. Maybe growing up with an alcoholic mother kept him wary of alcohol, of the center of the party. Maybe he was just more of an introvert than everyone else in his family. As a kid, he liked to stay in the background and when he hit his growth spurt, suddenly he was in the spotlight more than he would have liked.

However, all the speculation on how his childhood had affected him didn’t matter to Peter. He was just Peter Brennan and he liked who he was. But everyone else wanted to change him. It didn’t matter though. Peter was good at resisting and subtly redirecting their focus to something else.

As the family dinner dragged on, Peter blended more and more into the background, preferring to gaze upon the antics at the kids’ table. One of his younger cousins grinned manically as he drank the concoction he and 5 others had spent the last half hour creating by mixing everything edible in the room and giggling at every step. Peter shook his head in amusement as another cousin across the table’s laughter was cut short by the spewing of said concoction into his face. Cue the tears, Peter thought to himself before standing up and walking over. He blocked one of his aunts from intervening, lightly leading her back towards the party, “Hey, I got this. It’s normal kid stuff, no worries, Aunt Linda.”

She looked up at him, gratefully, “Thanks, Peter. You know you don’t have to sit at the kids table anymore.”

He smiled, “Yeah, I know. I fit in better over here.” She laughed and turned into her husband’s arms with surprise.

She looked at Peter with genial suspicion as her tipsy husband nuzzled her neck, “That was quite suave, Peter. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

Peter blushed, tipped his hand, and walked swiftly away to deal with the now escalated drink incident. The two boys were yelling at each other, one still dripping while the other took swipes with a napkin at his tongue. “All right, all right. Guys, come on. Apologize. Both of you.” Grumbling their apologies, they scowled at Peter simultaneously and he had to smother a chuckle. Then he dipped his hand in one of the snickering cousins’ water glasses and flicked the water at both of them.

“Hey!” they ducked, giggling a little, no doubt thinking this gave them permission.

But before they could retaliate, his hands shot out, binding their hands together, “All right, now can you both agree that was funny? And that Charlie here spitting out that foul drink onto Sean was funny too?”

Charlie and Sean grinned sheepishly and reveled in their surrounding cousins’ corresponding laughter. Peter was forgotten as the tale was now retold to the group of girl cousins sitting a couple seats down. Peter didn’t mind, settling his long frame back into the chair and scanning the party.

Someone, no, a group had just arrived, which was odd because the entirety of the Brennan family was already there. Peter strained his neck, trying to see past the welcoming crowd surrounding the newcomers. Giving up, he leaned back, prepared to wait for everything to settle back down.

Then, he saw her. She appeared to be about his age, at least in college. Her long straight reddish brown hair flowed around her as she smiled politely at the strangers that were his family. Someone must have said something funny because her face bloomed with a smile that nearly blinded Peter.

He shook his head and realized he was standing, with a spoon in his hand for no apparent reason. Peter internally punched himself but placed the spoon neatly back on the table. His hand froze over the spoon as the desire to find her nearly overwhelmed him. He struggled to keep his gaze on his cousins but lost his control and searched the crowd anxiously. When he found her, he nearly stumbled back as the force of her green eyes met his but his body reverted to its frozen state. After what seemed an eternity, she broke the eye contact, responding to someone’s question.

The crowd seemed to drift from table to table as the newcomers were introduced. Peter walked in a daze to one of the older cousin tables and without tearing his eyes away from her, asked, “Who are they?”

“The Nolans. Remember Jack Nolan? Grandpa’s Marine buddy? And Tom? Uncle Timmy’s friend from high school?”

Peter vaguely remembered the stories and distantly recalled meeting the family: a mom, a dad, and 2 little girls. His mind was too fuzzy though, too full of her. Suddenly, she was walking towards him, shyly peeking at him and looking away quickly. Obviously she was confused as to why he was staring at her or not confused but embarrassed at how obvious he was being. The humiliation flooded through him. He blushed furiously and stared at his shoes as they approached.

His grandmother began the introductions, “Hey guys! This is the Nolan family and these are some of my older grandchildren.” She smiled benevolently at them like the matriarch she was, “This is Jack and Richie, they are Timmy’s boys along with Julie and Jerry over at that table. These are Kevin’s kids: Carrie and Kyle and Susie is at the other kids’ table…” Peter zoned out as his grandmother went down the list. He concentrated on his shoes, counting the stripes, trying to distract himself from embarrassing himself further.

“And this is Peter! He’s your age, Annaliese. His brothers, Edward, Jake, and Francis, are somewhere around here. Tommy, this is Patrick’s oldest boy,” his grandmother beamed at Peter, gesturing like Vanna White.

Peter grasped Tommy Nolan’s hand, shaking it firmly, “Hello, sir. I’ve heard many stories. It’s nice to put a face to the legend.”

Mr. Nolan chuckled, “That was a long time ago. I don’t think I could live up to it nowadays. This is my wife, Mary.”

Peter smiled, “Mrs. Nolan.”

“And these are our daughters, Elizabeth and Annaliese,” he smiled, looking back at the two girls behind him.

“Dad, it’s Anna,” she corrected and her cheeks reddened, “Sorry, I go by Anna now. He seems to be the only one who can’t remember that.”

Peter was frozen again as she addressed him but snapped out of it, looking at the other daughter, “You must be Elizabeth, then?”

She nodded and snarkily remarked, “Yeah, I don’t go by Liz. No one ever remembers that.” She was jauntily posed, a hip popped that nearly disguised her lengthy height.

Her mom gave her a look and then smiled at him, “Sorry Peter. My daughters are a bit overwhelmed by your family.”

Peter grinned, “I have experience with the feeling.” Anna smiled at him and his breath caught. God, he was such an idiot.

He realized his grandmother had noticed his insanity because she was smiling knowingly, “Did anyone tell you that Peter here is at the Air Force Academy? You’re a 4th year as well, right Anna?” His grandmother had never looked more devious.

Anna nodded, “Yes, I am. I’m actually considering the Air Force to help pay for medical school.”

Peter’s grandmother leaped at the opportunity, “Well, Peter can tell you all about the program. Why don’t you guys go and chat about it?” She led them over to an emptier table, shoving both of them into chairs, “Tommy, I still have to find Timmy for you! I can’t wait to hear the truth behind all the lies I heard back then.”

“Eh, I’m not sure you want to hear all that,” Mr. Nolan chuckled nervously and reluctantly followed the matriarch, eyeing Peter with apprehension.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the situation and headed towards the buffet table while grumbling, “Where’s the freaking bar?”

Peter fiddled with a spoon on the table before looking up at Anna. She observed him with an amused smile, “So. Your grandmother is quite a force.”

Instantly, Peter relaxed, grinning, “She knows what’s best for her brood.”

“And this conversation is what’s best for you?” Anna cocked her head playfully.

He blushed but still felt confident with her smiling at him, “Definitely. It was the leading away of your dad though that I’m grateful for. I know the stories.”

Anna laughed, “My dad is a scary one. Never fails to intimidate my dates.”

“I’m not looking forward to that,” Peter said. Panicking, he glanced at her, his boldness abruptly striking him with fear.

She raised an eyebrow, “So that’s where this is going? In that case, I’ll give you some pointers.”

Peter felt the relief rush through him. He realized he had leaned steadily closer to her as they had talked and his eyes were magnetically drawn to her mouth.

Before Peter could actually kiss her, Anna moved her head and whispered in his ear, her lips brushing against his skin, “Pointer number one. Don’t kiss me while my dad is watching.”


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I am a 22 year old biomedical research technician on my way to medical school who devours books and wishes she could write masterpieces.