Page 17 of Calling Frank O'Hare

She nodded slowly. He shoved his hands in his pockets to stop himself fidgeting and waited for her to make up her mind. He was about to accept defeat and go back to the records when she flashed a smile at him. ‘Do you wanna take me for a drink?’

12

Francis drives a hard bargain – 1978

Ma and Da sat on the other side of the kitchen table. Ma looked like she’d received bad news, but then she had that kind of face. You could tell her the paras had laid down their arms and were best mates with the enemy and she’d still have a face on her like the world was about to end. They’d been up to a meeting at the school. It was about him. That much Frank knew. He didn’t think he’d done anything wrong but that didn’t mean he wasn’t in trouble. He’d been summoned to the table. That in itself was worrying.

‘Well, son. It seems you’ve been hiding your light under a bushel. It seems you’re brighter than you act.’ Da’s eyebrows were nearly reaching his hairline.

‘Your teacher says you’re very intelligent!’ Ma made it sound like this had come as a complete shock.

Frank couldn’t think of anything else to say except: ‘Oh.’ It wasn’t news to him that he was clever, but it obviously was to them.

‘Very talented,’ she went on. ‘Especially good at the English and the art.’ Ma looked at Da, her eyes popping. ‘Imagine.’

Da gave her a look that suggested his imagination was struggling with the concept. ‘Anyway, son, you’ve to stay on at school and do your A-levels. Then we’ll think about the university.’

The idea of university had been mentioned to Frank at school but he’d assumed it would be out of the question. Anyway, he wasn’t sure he wanted to go. Him and Billy had plans. Well, Billy had plans and he was expecting Frank to go along with them. Unfortunately, his parents also had plans. It was one thing telling Billy he couldn’t meet his expectations. Telling his parents was a much more terrifying experience. He dug deep and found some inner courage: ‘Don’t I get a say in it? It is my life we’re talking about.’

‘No,’ said Ma.

Da held up his hand. ‘Hang on now, Clodagh. He has a point. What do you want to do, Francis?’

Frank was stunned into silence. He’d never been asked such a question before. University sounded like it might be cool. Hadn’t Eve told him she was going there as well? And Billy’s plans might not work out. He’d have to let Billy down but he could make out he’d been forced into it.

Da was watching him, his face blank. He wasn’t giving anything away. Ma was twitching, impatient for an answer. Frank knew he might never be asked again. He should make the most of it and try to wheedle some concessions out of them. ‘It’s not that I mind staying on, Da. Especially if it’s what you both want. It’s just that I won’t have any money.’

Ma’s arms folded. ‘You could get a Saturday job.’

Da’s hand went up again. ‘We could give you a bit of spending money.’

‘Okay. But if I was working like Siobhan, I’d have more freedom. I’d be allowed to go out later.’

Ma winced. ‘You’ll have your homework to do.’

‘Exactly. I mean, I wouldn’t have that if I was working. Although, if I was allowed a bit more freedom I could still have that and do homework.’

Da looked him in the eye. ‘So what you’re saying is, you’ll be fine staying on if you can have a bit of spending money and we loosen the reins a bit. And if we do that, you’ll work hard at school, do your homework, and make the most of the brains God’s given you. Is that the sum of it, Francis?’

Frank gulped. This suddenly felt like serious grown-up stuff. ‘Yes.’

‘And you won’t let us down?’

‘No Da, I won’t.’

‘Good man. That’s settled it then. We’ve a deal. You drive a hard bargain, Francis.’ Da stood up and patted him on the shoulder as he walked past. ‘Looks like those teachers were right about you not being stupid.’

Even Ma smiled at that. Frank decided to make the most of her good mood. ‘Is it okay for me to stay out till ten tonight then, now that we’ve got a deal?’

Ma got up and put the kettle on. ‘Don’t push your luck, Francis. School is still compulsory for you until the end of term.’

Ah well, it was worth a try. ‘I’m away to Billy’s.’

Ma looked out of the kitchen window. ‘You might think we’re hard on you, but we’re just trying to keep you safe. This could be your chance to get on in the world, get away from all of this. Don’t mess it up.’

Billy was not impressed by Frank’s news. He’d lined them up to work as roadies for a band he’d seen at the Harp. That was his big plan. The pay was peanuts but Billy didn’t care. It was better than a factory job. Or no job at all. But Frank knew it wasn’t promised. It was one of those maybe jobs that Billy often talked about. Ma would have said it was a pipe dream, like when Siobhan said she wanted to be a fashion designer. That came to nothing and Frank guessed it would be the same with the roadie job. Besides, now that he’d settled on it, Frank actually wanted to stay on at school and go to university. He wanted something different. For once, he was in agreement with Ma. This could be his chance. Still, he couldn’t leave Billy high and dry. ‘You could stay on too. You’re better than me at some subjects.’

‘Why the hell would I want to do that? I hate school.’

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