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even danced with his daughter-in-law and her mother. Granny let him have a few whiskeys in the bar before the reception so that he could put on his public persona. He made a very good speech, too, and only mentioned re-election twice.
    And when it was all done, Granny sat back as the young people danced the rest of the evening away. She had done all she could and now it was up to Jeremiah and Jacinta, though she would be there to help them every step of the way—for her unborn grandson’s sake if not for theirs.
    But as Granny spent the summer making plans, arranging a nice flat for the newlyweds on the Terenure side of Rathgar and prodding Jacinta in the direction of motherhood, Fate played its own hand and took Bart. He died of a heart attack at the Galway races after a day of longshot winners.
    “Fate is fickle,” she reminded her son as they walked along behind his hearse.
    ***
    “They found a young fella named Declan Scully shot dead in the mountains,” his mother told Danny as she poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of him. “Didn’t you know somebody by that name?”
    Danny didn’t look up as his parents sat and waited. “I haven’t seen him in a few years. The last I heard he was into drugs.”
    His parents said nothing but he could sense them exchanging glances. He knew they wouldn’t force the issue. They couldn’t; he could turn it back on them so easily. “Did they say who did it?”
    “No, but the Garda said that it might be linked to the killing down in Rathgar, a few months ago.”
    His mother hovered but Danny didn’t answer. Instead, he reached across and took a cigarette from her pack and lit it with one of her matches, filling the kitchen with the acridity of sulphur.
    “Whoever it was should be given a feckin’ medal,” his father added as he gulped some tea and raised his newspaper. “We should get rid of all these little feckers, once and for all.”
    “Don’t be talkin’ like that. What if it was our Danny?”
    “And why would he get caught up in that shite? He’s not that stupid. Isn’t that right, Danny?”
    Danny agreed but didn’t raise his head. He couldn’t be sure what his eyes might tell them.
    He had to get away from them. He wasn’t a part of their world anymore. He had to get back to where he could hide away until he sorted it all out. He’d go down to the Dandelion while it was still there. His whole world was changing and he needed something to hold onto.
    “I’m going out.”
    “Where are you off to now?”
    “I’m going to busk for a while and then I got to look after a few stalls.”
    “Will you be home for your dinner?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “You won’t be late, will ya?”
    “I told ya, I don’t know.”
    “Well, I’ll leave something in the oven and you can heat it up when you get home.”
    *
    His parents watched in silence as he finished his tea and swung his guitar over his shoulder. His jeans were soiled and his denim jacket was tattered and frayed around the collar. His hair was long and greasy and he hadn’t had a bath in over a week.
    “I’m worried about him,” Jacinta said after she heard the front door close.
    “He’s not going to listen to either of us.”
    “What are you saying—that we should just give up on him?”
    Jerry lit another cigarette and shrugged. “Why are you asking me? How would I know what to do?”
    “’Cos you’re supposed to be his father.”
    “Right, like the little bollocks would listen to me, anyway.”
    “But we have to try. We can’t just turn our backs on him. He needs us.”
    “What he needs,” Jerry paused to stub out his cigarette. Her face was lined with worry so he had to sound reassuring. He knew what he had to do but he couldn’t tell her. Not until he had it all sorted, anyway. He had let her down so often, but not this time. This time he’d come through for them all. “Is a good, swift kick up the arse.”
    *
    Jacinta couldn’t let it go at that. She had to do