AESTHETE | derry girls

chapter twelve!

"Fucking," Imogen repeated with a cheeky giggle from where she was sat half on James' lap and half on Aoife's lap.

Aoife shook her head staring at the back of her uncle's head, "Look what you've done Uncle Gerry."  

• • • • • • •

"I hope your father appreciates the fact that I was the one that got us out of that mess," Gerry grumbled to Mary as they finally got out of the parade, due to Gerry's unidentifiable pretend accent and his pretence that they were lost tourists.

"He won't. Nobody back there actually believed you were a Japanese tourist, Gerry. They all thought you were a nutcase. They took pity on you," Mary dismissed her husband as she searched through her handbag.

"Also no tourists come to Derry," Aoife added, gently rubbing her thumb over James' hand. At some point during all the terror of being stuck in the parade James had grabbed her hand and neither of them were willing to let go.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Dear God, no!" Mary panicked, pulling random items out of her bag.

"What's wrong?" Gerry calmly asked his wife.

"I can't find my purse," Mary admitted, which made gerry sigh before pointing at the brown purse Mary had pulled out and placed on the dashboard.

"I can see your purse right there,"

"No, that's my sterling purse. I'm talking about my punt purse. I can't find my punt purse, Gerry," Mary panicked, crossing her chest and clutching her hands together, James glanced around the car unable to understand,
"Blessed St.Anthony, the Grace of God has made you the patron saint of all things lost and stolen. I turn to you this day with childlike love and -"

"Look, Mary, calm down," Gerry cut his wife off.

"Calm down, Gerry? We have no punts! We can't go to the free state without punts. We're puntless. We don't have a punt between us!" Mary exclaimed.

"I have some," Aoife spoke up, pulling the tiny purse of punts from the pocket of her jacket, "Mam gave me them."

"We have a handful of punts between us," Mary corrected before she began to breath heavy, "Oh, God, I think I'm having a panic attack. Oh, stupid purse."

"Over this?" Gerry asked, turning to Mary in shock, "So, what happened back there was totally fin, but this, this is worth having a panic attack about?"

"You're going to have to turn around," Mary declared, giving her bag one last look through.

"There is more chance of me eloping with your father to a flip-flop shop in Hawaii," Gerry shouted at his wife.

"I'd paid to see that," Aoife giggled only to be shot a glare from her Aunt, which quickly stopped her giggles.

"Look, okay, fine! But that means we won't be able to but anything, which means we'll have no food, which means we'll starve to death. So, you know, on your head be it, Gerry," Mary yelled, but suddenly stopped when she realised something,
"Oh, actually, do you know what? I think I put it in the suitcase."

"False alarm there, St.Anthony. Sorry for troubling you," Gerry sighed.

After a lot of begging, Gerry pulled the car over to allow Mary to search for her punt purse in the suitcase. Everyone pilled out of the car and Joe pulled up behind them and climbed out the car.