A Grand Irish Wake

The three old men stood side by side, laagers in hand, tears in their eyes, singing in perfect harmony. Long removed brogues suddenly appeared as they sang.

♪ ♫...Look at the coffin with golden handles...isn’t it grand, boys,  to be bloody well dead? Let’s not have a sniffle. Let’s have a bloody good cry and always remember, the longer you live the sooner you bloody well die…♩ ♬ 

“Ah, Tommy would have loved to be here,” Michael said sadly, wiping away a tear.

“To be sure he would,” Patrick replied after a generous gulp from his mug, “Tommy loved a wake better than anybody.”

“T’is Tommy’s voice we be missing. Such a grand tenor he had,” Shaun added wistfully. “He be singing with the angels now.”

“That’s for sure and certain. Danny-boy! He loved Danny-boy. Let’s sing it for Tommy,” Michael said earnestly. He motioned for Charlie’s bouzouki to start the first slow, melancholy strains of the old wake favorite.

♪ ♫… Danny-boy...the pipes, the pipes are calling…♩ ♬ 

Jimmy turned away from them, tears running down his cheeks. Logan gripped his shoulder, gently squeezing.

“Grandpa should be here,” Jimmy said irrationally.

“That’s the problem with wakes, Jimbo. You can never be at your own. He’d be glad to know he was so loved, to have such a fine wake for him,” Logan said consolingly, “Such a good man. He wasn’t even angry with me for causing the first divorce in your family.”

Jimmy grinned. “He never blamed you, Logan. He didn’t even blame Claire. It was my fault. He knew it and he let me know it. He said I was dumb for not seeing the signs.”

“Signs? Were there signs?” Logan asked.

“According to him there were. He said he knew you were in love with her almost from the start,” Jimmy said. “Nothing got passed him.”

“Why didn’t he ever say anything?” he asked, looking horrified.

Jimmy shrugged. “Not his style. He allows you to live your life, mistakes and all. “Only way you’ll learn” he used to say,” he said then looking at the expression on Logan he laughed. “Stop with all the guilt, will you? What’s done is done and it’s been four years now. We’re good now, everything’s good now.”

“I’ll always feel guilty, Jimmy. I wouldn’t be Irish catholic if I didn’t,” he said, “I just hope he forgives me.”

“Come on. You had to know he loved you like a grandson, better even,” Jimmy said.

“How can you possibly say that? I’m nothing to him , just your friend. You and your brother were everything to him.”

“Yeah, but we didn’t give him great-grand kids yet, did we? But you did. He loved Liam and Chloe as much as I do, more maybe.”

“Such a great guy,” Logan said, tearing up, “I’m gonna miss him.”

“Me too. We’ll have a pint on that,” Jimmy said sounding very much like his grandfather. He lifted his glass and waited for Logan to clink them together. “To our grandpa. May he be singing with the angels.”

“To Grandpa, the greatest man to ever live,” Logan added. They drank down their lagers, slapped down their empty glasses and joined in the singing.

“...oh, Danny boy, oh, Danny boy, I love you so....”