Page 34 of Calling Frank O'Hare

‘Well at least turn the other way.’

Frank lay in the dark, his brother’s back up against his and began to doze. A long whiny noise like a balloon being deflated made him start, and then a very bad smell invaded his nostrils. ‘Martin, have you just farted on me?’

‘I couldn’t help it, it sneaked out.’

Finn groaned. ‘Oh that’s atrocious. I can smell it from here. It’s hit the ceiling and rebounded on me. You’re one dirty bastard, Martin Thunder Arse.’

Martin chuckled. ‘Sorry guys. This is nice though, isn’t it?’

‘Not from where we’re lying,’ said Frank.

‘Reminds me of when we used to visit you in your student digs. Do you remember that?’

Frank covered his nose and smiled. ‘Aye, and you were one smelly bastard then as well.’

22

Da delivers freedom – 1980

Da steered the car into the boat’s lower deck. Frank had never been on a ferry before. He’d never been anywhere outside of Ireland. But that was about to change. Today he was on the way to his new life, and he couldn’t wait.

The summer had been endless, but not in a good way. He’d been stuck at home for most of it because of the guns and Balaclava debacle, and when he was allowed out, it was only with a chaperone. Sometimes the parents chaperoned him, which was bad enough, but other times it had been Siobhan and that was worse. She’d spent the whole time telling him what a fecking eejit he was. “Too many brains and not enough common sense” was a favourite saying of hers, along with “there are a million things I could be doing right now, if I wasn’t stuck babysitting you”. So to say Frank was ready for freedom was an understatement.

He was also dying to be with Eve again. He hadn’t seen or heard of her since the day the Balaclavas took Billy. He hadn’t seen a lot of Billy either. Billy was out of hospital now but the parents had added his house to the list of no-go zones, and Siobhan made sure he stuck to the rules. His sister was a pain in the arse and she was definitely the one he was going to miss least. Apparently, that was fine by her because, as she’d made clear on many occasions, she couldn’t wait to see the back of him either.

With the car safely parked, Frank and Da went up to the top deck and watched Belfast get smaller and smaller as they sailed away. When they hit open water, Da pointed out and named the sea birds while they ate the sandwiches Ma had made for the journey. She’d shed a tear that morning when Frank said goodbye, then reminded him not to mess up. That was Ma in a nutshell.

They docked at Liverpool and drove on to Birmingham to stay with Cousin Eamon who’d moved there before Frank was born. The area Eamon lived in was full of terraced houses, some with tiny front gardens and others with doors that opened straight onto the street. You could stand at one end of his road and see a line of the exact same little houses stretching from one end to the other. It was a lot like Billy’s road, without the soldiers.

After their tea, Eamon took them out for a pint. It was strange to be going to a pub with Da. Like he’d become a grown-up overnight. Frank sat listening to Eamon and Da chatting about home and thought about how Finn would never get to have a drink with his ould fella. Maybe Da would take Finn out some day just like this. Although it was entirely possible that Finn could already drink Da under the table.

Frank hadn’t expected to sleep that night with so many new things to look forward to, but he ended up managing it quite easily. His last thought before dozing off was that when he got to the university tomorrow, Eve would be waiting for him.

The next morning they went to the university and found Frank’s halls of residence in Edgbaston. Then they explored the campus in a state of wonder.

‘Sure, it’s a fine place, son. Your mother will be very pleased when I tell her,’ said Da.

They were sitting on the green in the middle of the campus watching students relaxing on the grass or wandering around with their parents. Frank was keeping an eye out for Eve but so far there’d been no sign. Probably just as well. He didn’t want to run into her ould man.

‘Do you think you’ll be happy here, Francis?’ It was a funny question to ask. The parents had never enquired about his happiness before.

‘Aye, I think so.’ He said it with more conviction than he felt. He was excited but it was a bit scary and he was already missing home, and Billy. He was even missing those two stupid eejits, Martin and Finn. Most of all he was missing Eve. But then, he’d been missing her since that day in June. Last night he’d been absolutely certain she’d be here. Now, he wasn’t so sure.

‘It’s a place to build a life, without all that nonsense. Just look at Eamon.’ Da was talking as if Frank was never going home again which was absolutely not the plan, as far as Frank knew anyway.

‘Right. I’m away. Come on and walk me to the car, son.’

When they reached the car, Da put his hand on Frank’s shoulder. ‘Promise me you’ll stay out of trouble, Francis.’

‘I will, Da. I promise.’

‘Good man. And try to keep a low profile until you’ve got the lie of the land. People have long memories. They’re still hurting after all that pub bombing business.’

‘Okay, Da.’

‘And phone your mother every week, otherwise I’ll get it in the neck.’

‘Okay, Da.’

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