Sheena lifted the glass, sniffed it, and took a swallow. "Alien ale," she said on a sigh. "I'd forgotten how good it tasted. What do they put in it?"
"Best ya don't ask," Angus said. He lifted his glass. "Just enjoy. Let's drink to … "
"Familial DNA," Bri interjected brightly.
Angus laughed. "I was going to say getting to know each other better, but if ya must drink to those words, so be it." He lifted his glass and took a swallow. "Now that's refreshing."
Sheena chuckled and they all looked at her. "What? Can't I laugh too?" Her gaze went to the table. "Look at that. Either my results are off or you're not any kind of clone my test can identify."
"Or you could just simply be wrong about them, Dr. McNamara. Don't forget that option," Bri said, hiding her smile behind her hand.
"Shut up, Brianna. I did not make a mistake." Sheena started to drink and saw her glass was empty. She looked at Angus. "Did you fill my glass as full as the others?"
Erin covered her mouth to stifle a laugh as Angus fought to keep a straight face. He sipped his ale slowly, eyeing Sheena over his glass. "Are ya accusing me of something, lass? Or just asking for another in a less than charming way? I can't tell."
Sheena listened to her sister laughing at her rudeness. When she looked at Bri, really looked at her, she was startled to see her sister looking so relaxed and happy. Her troubled and always in trouble sister hadn't been happy since she'd been twenty for real.
Whatever these two people were, they somehow made Bri happy. How could she begrudge her sister such a reprieve? She was tired of feeling like shit herself, and more tired of all the disappointments of her life. Tomorrow she'd get to the bottom of this clone mystery, but tonight watching Bri be happy seemed like the best idea all around.
Deciding to be a good sport, Sheena held out her glass. "I'm sorry, Angus. I must have been thirstier than I thought. Can I have another please?"
Angus rose. "Of course, Sheena my love. I'll fetch it for ya right away."
Erin and Bri's giggling wrangled a reluctant laugh out of her. "You can both shut the hell up. It's not that funny. I was thirsty and I like ale. There it is … you got me to admit it. I like alien ale. Are you happy now?"
Angus grinned over the laughing as he slid a full to the brim glass into Sheena's hand. "Don't worry, lass. They'll remember none of their mischief in the morning. These two get like this after a couple sips."
Sheena snorted. "Really? I haven't even gotten a buzz yet, but it's a refreshing drink despite that."
Angus grinned wider. "Well, ya might look like an O'Shea, but I can see ya at least inherited a little something from the McNamara bloodline. Ya got the better part, if ya ask me."
Sheena laughed and looked into her glass. It was already half-empty. Smiling, she tipped it to where Angus could see. "How many of these will it take to turn me into them?" she asked, motioning with her head to Erin and Bri who were laughing at nothing except the looks on each other's faces.
Angus shrugged. "I don't know, but it would probably do ya a world of good to find out."
Sheena leaned back. "If you're not a clone of my father, what are you?"
Angus grinned. "You best ask Nate that question."
"If he bothered to answer at all, he would only lie to me. Nate's an ass," Sheena said, sipping her ale.
"Agreed, but ya should still take yer questions about us to him. If I told ya my version, ya wouldn't believe me anyway. I don't have the proper terms to explain it to someone as educated as ya are, especially when ya are so doubtful of yer instincts."
"I don't doubt myself," Sheena denied.
Angus set his glass on the table. He'd not even finished half of his first one yet. He met Sheena's direct gaze.
"Yer eyes find what they look to see, not what's really there. Erin and I … well, we're not yer parents, but yer parents knew about us. I can't explain why they never told ya or Bri what was happening, or going to happen, after they were gone. The only reason I can figure is that the two of ya both seem to shut real life out as often as ya can. I well know what that's like because I did it myself for nine years after I lost my Mary."
Sheena lifted her glass. "Oh yes. Your dead wife. Bri told me. You know that's really just a planted memory, Angus. They can do that to clones in vitro now. When a clone wakes up … BAM … they have a whole life they remember. It lasts for the entire year or two they live. You see that's the problem with clones, they die very quickly. You may die soon."