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Margaret O�Shaughnessy sat back and admired the view from her seat on the Feehily�s front porch. It was a lovely day, the sky was a clear blue instead of the usual cobalt grey, and the sprawling emerald hills of Sligo could be seen stretching for miles around. The wind rustled gently by and Margaret breathed in deeply, taking in the fresh, crisp scent of the air. The sound of childlike laughter made her smile, and she turned her gaze from the scenery to the two small children who were playing quite happily in the dirt with small plastic shovels and pails while a black dog pranced happily around them.
One of the children was a small girl named Madeline, or Mattie as everyone called her. She was a spirited girl with silky dark blonde curls pulled up in two pigtails. Her inquisitive and often mischievous eyes were of a water-blue color, which reflected a vivacious temperament. The other was a small boy of the same age by the name of Mark. His light brown hair that stuck up in various and sundry spots. He too had blue eyes, but they were a deeper color, far more solemn than the girl�s, although they contained a steady spark of the same mischievousness.
Margaret continued to watch them play, smiling every so often at the miscellaneous shrieks and giggles the two of them would emit at various intervals. Just then, the door to the house opened and Margaret looked up to see Marie Feehily coming out with a tray of tea and biscuits.
�Oh, let me help you with that, dear,� Margaret said as she cleared away the table and helped to set down the tray.
�Thank you Meg,� Marie replied as she settled down into her own seat. She poured the tea and the two women sat talking for a bit about the goings-on in town and other topics of choice as they had their tea. Eventually, the subject turned towards their children, a subject which was always discussed thoroughly and enthusiastically by the two doting mothers.
�Have you got Mark over that radio habit of his?� Margaret asked, smiling.
Marie laughed. �Not in the least. I�m beginning to think he never will. If it isn�t on while he�s sleeping, he throws a fit!� She shook her head. �I don�t know what I�m going to do about him.�
�Perhaps you should just let it be,� Margaret advised. �Who knows, it might cultivate some musical capacity in the lad.�
�Lord, I hope so!� Marie laughed. �If Mark develops any talent for music, we certainly won�t have his father to thank, Oliver hasn�t a note in that head of his!� The two women laughed.
Both women gasped and started up from their seats when Mattie suddenly shoved a clump of mud through Mark�s hair. For a moment, Mark sat in shocked silence, but then began to laugh. Margaret and Marie sighed, then looked at each other and laughed.
�Our two wee ones certainly are a pair, aren�t they?� Marie remarked fondly.
�They�re partners in crime, they are,� Margaret agreed. �Only yesterday they somehow managed to get open the jar of jam that I had set on the table and by the time I found them, the two were sitting in the middle of the kitchen with an empty biscuit tin, crumbs all over the floor and both of them completely covered in strawberry jam.� She shook her head. �What a sight they were!�
Marie laughed. �Ah, children will be children.� She looked fondly at her small son, her expression soft in contemplation. �I wonder what the future holds for them,� she wondered out loud.
Margaret�s face softened also as she thought of the possibilities that awaited the two bright eyed, innocent young ones. �It�s wonderful to think of what great things they�ll do and what wonderful people they will be, isn�t it?� she commented, her tone thoughtful.
Marie nodded and smiled. �Life is going to have plenty of surprises in store for those two. Wouldn�t it be lovely if we could somehow go into the future and see what becomes of our little babies? There are so many roads they can take, so many chances and decisions that will shape who they are.�
Margaret nodded in pensive agreement. �Well, one thing�s for sure,� she said as she watched Mark and Mattie, who were now wandering about the garden, inspecting the various plant life, and every so often squealing excitedly when they came upon a bug.
�What�s that?�
Margaret smiled as she fingered the delicate silver cross that lay in the hollow of her neck. �They�ll always be together. They will always have each other.�
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