Page 50 of Calling Frank O'Hare

Frank stepped into the little hall of Siobhan and Dermot’s new house. The smell of fresh paint and paper hit him straight away. Unlike some people, he loved that smell. It spoke to him of hours spent with Da, just the two of them, making something new out of something old.

Da pushed the living room door to fully open. ‘We’ve only this room to finish papering. Get a brew on and I’ll get started.’

They worked for a few hours and stopped to eat the sandwiches they’d brought with them. Frank made more tea and they sat in the kitchen, the only room with any furniture.

‘Are you fond of this girl of yours, Francis? Is she a keeper?’ said Da.

‘Aye, I am. I think she is. Her parents don’t like me though.’

‘Did he serve over here, this brigadier?’

Frank nodded. Best not to dwell on Brigadier Montague’s thoughts on Ireland.

‘You’ll not be bringing her over here anytime soon then. We’ll have to come over to you if we’re to meet her.’ Da chewed on his sandwich, cheese and enough onion to blow your mouth off. Just the way he liked it. ‘So you’re over the other one then?’

‘Yes. I haven’t seen her since Billy got taken. I heard she stayed over here.’

Da nodded and took another bite on his sandwich. No feigned surprise this time but Da knew where Eve was now. Frank was certain of it. He definitely knew.

They finished up in the late afternoon. Da had done a great job on getting the house ready for the newly-weds. They packed up the tools and took a last look around. It was a nice house, with enough room for Dermot, Siobhan and a couple of kids.

Da closed the front door. ‘Well, we’ve done all we can to get them off to a good start. The rest is up to them.’ It was another thing that didn’t get discussed, but Martin had told him he’d overheard the parents talking about Dermot. In their opinion, Siobhan was making a mistake.

Frank got into the car. ‘Da, how come you never went into decorating full-time?’

‘If I did that, what would I do for a hobby?’ Da switched on the engine and the radio started up. They listened to it until the news came on and he switched over to Van Morrison on the cassette player. Da had a rule about the news. He had two designated news slots in his day. Six o’clock and ten o’clock. The rest of the day he kept news free.

When they got in, Siobhan and Ma were at the kitchen table, surrounded by papers. Ma glanced up at them ‘We’re just going over the final guest list and seating plan. Are you all done now?’

‘Aye, all finished. It’s like a little palace in there now, so it is.’ Da dropped Siobhan’s house keys on the table. ‘There you are, love. All yours.’

Siobhan hugged him. ‘Daddy you’re a lifesaver. That’s the best wedding present ever.’

‘That and your brand new bed,’ Martin called out from the living room.

‘Shut up, Martin,’ shouted Ma, Da and Siobhan. He was still very much in the doghouse.

Frank picked up the guest list. ‘Let’s take a look.’

‘We’re keeping it small and low key. Just family and close friends.’ Siobhan was on the defensive. She didn’t need to be. Frank got it. Small and low key was the same as keep a low profile, stay under the radar, stay out of trouble.

There was however one glaring omission that Frank didn’t get. ‘Billy Mac’s not on the list.’

Siobhan snatched the paper away. ‘He’s your friend, not mine. Anyway, he’s too high profile.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You know why. His girlfriend.’ She looked at Da, then back at Frank. ‘Has nobody told you? Oh, for… He’s living with your ex.’

‘Eve.’ Martin was in the doorway now. ‘He’s living with Eve.’

Frank pushed him out of the way and went through the front door. Martin followed him out onto the street. ‘Frank, wait.’

He grabbed Martin’s shirt. ‘You knew and you didn’t tell me. You let me think it was you.’

‘I wanted to. I just–’

‘Wanted to make me look like a wanker.’

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