Chapter 12: The Daily Life of the Gallaghers
"Fiona, are you sure Frank's really better?" Veronica, dressed in leopard-print pajamas, asked in surprise. She had just watched Frank hug Debbie, give Carl a squeeze, kiss Liam on the head, and head out the door early in the morning like it was completely normal.
Kevin and Veronica had been neighbors with the Gallaghers for years—they knew exactly what kind of man Frank was. He practically lived at the bar, spent more time with Kevin than with his own kids, and had never been remotely affectionate with them. So Veronica's "did I just see a ghost?" expression wasn't unjustified.
"What's up?" Fiona replied casually while bustling around in the kitchen.
"Frank's been acting way different lately. It's like he's a whole new person," Veronica said, still looking baffled.
"Who knows what happened? Maybe that hospital stay scrambled his brain," Fiona shrugged. Between working and taking care of five kids, she barely had time to pay attention to Frank, let alone worry about his mental state.
"Maybe it really did mess with his head. He hasn't even been to the bar lately—Kevin actually asked me about it," Veronica said offhandedly.
"He hasn't?" Fiona paused, slightly stunned.
Ever since Frank had "recovered" and gotten his memory back, he'd been out early and back late every day. Fiona just assumed he was still wasting away at the bar like always.
"I'm heading out~!" Debbie called as she ran toward the door.
"Be back early," Fiona reminded her.
But Debbie wasn't off to school or going out to play. She was making the rounds before anyone else in the neighborhood woke up—snatching newspapers off people's porches. In the U.S., morning papers are usually tossed in the yard or at the doorstep.
Debbie wasn't stealing all of them—just the ones with coupons. Those discount coupons could be used at the supermarket for serious savings.
"Conrad's here with the delivery," Ian called out.
"Let's go," Veronica said, standing up.
"Ian, grab a few extra jugs of milk," Fiona reminded him. Ian shot her an "OK" hand signal.
"How do I look?" Veronica asked as they reached the corner. She peeked around and spotted the delivery guy unloading boxes. Tugging her neckline a little lower to show off more cleavage, she turned to Ian.
"You look great," Ian gave a thumbs-up.
"Hey~ Conrad, how've you been?" Veronica said with a bright smile as she sauntered up to the guy.
"Uh, g-good," Conrad stammered, eyes glued to her chest like magnets.
While Veronica had him distracted, Ian snuck around the back, opened the truck, and helped himself to cereal, cookies, milk, ice cream, and other goods. He didn't take too much—just enough not to be noticed. Once he was done, he gave Veronica a subtle signal.
Veronica wrapped up the flirty small talk and walked away. Conrad stared after her, totally dazed, and slowly reached into his pocket like he didn't want the moment to end.
"Express delivery's here," Ian announced as he returned home, arms full of loot. Debbie was already back, sitting at the table cutting out coupons from the morning haul.
"Don't forget the coupons from Veronica's stash," Debbie reminded him.
"Got it," Ian said, dropping off Veronica's batch and grabbing the rest of the newspapers with coupons.
"Jam tarts, frosted cookies, biscuits, Heinz ketchup—and a huge sale on chuck roast!" Debbie said excitedly as she sorted the coupons.
"Perfect. Tomorrow, we'll hit the supermarket," Fiona smiled.
"By the way, where's Steve? Haven't seen him around lately. Did you two break up?" Lip asked casually.
"I was never with him," Fiona replied, rolling her eyes.
"So you're still mad about the whole Canada thing, huh? Do we have any leftover pizza from yesterday?" Ian chimed in.
"I told you, there's nothing going on between us. There's only bread left. Juice and eggs are in the fridge," Fiona answered.
"What a waste. Frank being a total jackass kind of made Steve look like the good guy. If you don't want that pretty boy, I'll take him—he drives a Beemer," Veronica teased as she strolled over.
"Be my guest—just make sure Kevin's okay with it first," Fiona shot back.
"Oh? And what about you and Tony? Are you trying to get back at Steve, or are you actually into him?" Veronica grinned.
"Vee," Fiona said, stopping what she was doing and giving her best friend a tired look.
"Okay, okay, I'll shut up," Veronica said, hands raised in mock surrender.
"Wait—Tony? As in Officer Tony?" Lip and the others perked up, gossip senses tingling.
"Eat your damn food," Fiona ordered flatly.
Steve was Fiona's boyfriend—or at least something like that.
The two had met at a bar and ended up sleeping together that same night.
After that, it was clear Steve had fallen for Fiona. He began pursuing her earnestly, often visiting her home. The whole family had met him, and Fiona herself seemed to genuinely like him too.
But then something happened that sent their budding relationship into a tailspin.
Frank had gotten on Steve's nerves one too many times. So, one night when Frank was passed out drunk, Steve secretly smuggled him across the border into Canada.
Steve hadn't known Frank for long, but he'd already seen enough to realize just how useless—and destructive—a father Frank was. In Steve's mind, getting him permanently out of the picture was the best thing he could do for Fiona and the kids.
Though Steve pulled it off without anyone noticing at first, the truth eventually came out.
And Fiona was furious.
No matter how awful Frank was, no matter how much of a deadbeat or junkie he'd become, the Gallaghers never abandoned family. That was a line you didn't cross. Frank was still the kids' father.
In the end, Steve had no choice but to smuggle Frank back.
That incident pretty much ended things between Steve and Fiona. Though he tried to fix things afterward, Fiona began avoiding him—subtly but deliberately. Their relationship dropped to freezing point.
As for Tony—he was the neighborhood beat cop: tall, handsome, young, and a fully employed officer of the law. In other words, a total catch. He had a long-standing crush on Fiona.
Even though Fiona seemed to go through boyfriends like socks, Tony never gave up on her. He'd often show his affection in clumsy but sincere ways—like lugging a blackout-drunk Frank off the street and back home.
And despite knowing exactly what kind of mess Fiona's life was—raising five siblings like a second mother, dealing with a father like Frank—Tony never seemed to care. He liked her all the same.