Page 32 of Calling Frank O'Hare

It was difficult to talk to Billy about what happened. He was in a room on his own so it should have been easy, but someone was always there to chaperone them. It was as if they couldn’t even be trusted to speak to each other.

The day after Frank’s exam results came through, Da took him to the hospital to see Billy. Billy’s ma was in there with him. She spent a lot of time there, considering she was never that bothered before the beating.

Billy’s face was back to normal, except for a few broken teeth but he was a long way off being his usual self. It wasn’t a good time to tell him Frank’s news but it had to be done. ‘Looks like I’ll be going to Birmingham. I got the grades I need.’

Billy said nothing. His ould lady got up. ‘Is your da out in the waiting room, Frank? I’ll go and say hello.’

Billy waited until she’d left the room. ‘You’re definitely going then?’

‘Aye. I’m sorry. I don’t wanna leave you like this.’

‘No. You go. Don’t let me stand in your way, Frankie Boy.’

The way he said it narked Frank. It wasn’t like it was his fault Billy was in such a mess. ‘Where were they from, those men? Were they our side or theirs?’

Billy zipped his mouth with his good hand. ‘Loose talk costs lives.’

Frank tutted. It was a bit late to be worried about loose talk. ‘What were you doing there with Eve anyway?’

‘Saving your skin.’

The door opened and a nurse came in. ‘Visiting time’s over.’

Frank nodded. ‘I’ll see ya, Billy.’

Billy looked at the open door. ‘Yeah.’

21

Dark times and bad smells

The next morning, while they were having breakfast, Finn announced he was keen to get on the road. ‘I want to get us set up early so’s we can go on a hike before the weather turns.’

There were two elements to Finn’s summary that raised alarm bells. The first was the mention of a hike. The second was the casual way he’d dropped in the possibility of the weather turning. Martin’s eyebrows lifted. He must have been thinking the same thing.

Finn caught him in the act. ‘When I say hike, I mean walk. Don’t you be worrying that I’m taking you on a long trek. I don’t think I could handle two cardiac arrests. One maybe.’

Martin put down his coffee. ‘I’m quite affronted by that accusation, Finn Meister. I’ll have you know I can walk the hind legs off a donkey.’

Finn Meister. Frank had forgotten their name for Finn’s alter ego. ‘I think you’ll find it’s talk the hind legs off a donkey. You can certainly do that, brother. Not sure about the walking element though.’

Martin grinned. ‘Okay then, a nice wee walk it is.’

They’d been driving for a couple of hours when the campervan turned off the main road. Frank followed it up a mountain track, and then along what seemed to be not much more than a dirt path, until they came to a halt on a space of flattened earth.

Finn jumped out of the van and opened up the Mini’s boot. ‘This is us. Come on and help me pitch the tent, Marty. Frank, can you make sandwiches to take with us?’

Frank looked at Martin and they both smiled. The Finn Meister was taking charge. It was a never seen before phenomenon.

With their lunch and drinks packed up into a backpack, they set off, Finn at the front with the bag and a compass around his neck. To Frank’s relief, they were going along the side of the mountain and not up it. At least that’s what he thought. It wasn’t long before he noticed an uphill gradient had sneaked into their wee walk and it was getting decidedly rockier. Up ahead, Finn was skipping along the terrain like a mountain goat. Martin, although heavier on his feet, also seemed to be managing quite easily. He was the only one stumbling along.

They carried on and on, up and along, up and along, until – hallelujah – Finn said they should stop for lunch. Frank staggered up to the other two and flopped down onto the ground.

Finn handed him a bottle of water. ‘Are you okay, FB? Have I pushed you too far?’

‘By the looks of him, it was too far as soon as we left the van,’ said Martin.

Frank got his breath back. ‘Feck off. You both have proper walking shoes on. All I have are my trainers.’

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