‘Rabbit’s gone, and I’ve never been happier.’ She was crying again. He held her and he felt the same way. Then he reached into his pocket.

‘I was waiting for the right moment,’ he said, and he showed her the box in his hand, then flipped it open to reveal a diamond ring.

‘I know you’re fussy. We’ll exchange it for whatever you want. I just wanted to have something when I asked you to marry me.’

She looked at the ring and then at Davey. He could see she was starting to panic again.

‘We can be engaged for as long as you like if you’ll marry me. Will you? Marry me?’

She smiled and nodded. ‘It will be at least two years, the kid will be walking or maybe in school.’

‘That sounds good to me,’ he said.

‘This is insane,’ she replied.

‘It’s perfectly normal,’ he said. ‘We’re having a kid, buying a house and getting married. No big deal.’

‘You have changed, haven’t you, Davey?’

‘Had to,’ he said, and he took the ring out of the box and placed it on her finger.

She looked at it and smiled and they kissed. Then she took it off and put it back in the box.

‘Don’t want to damage it before it goes back,’ she said. He placed the ring back in his pocket and reached for her hand to pull her upright. ‘What about Juliet?’ she asked.

‘We’ll keep this to ourselves, and when she comes round – and she will – we’ll tell her and she’ll be happy.’

‘You sound so sure of yourself.’

‘Well, someone has to be sure of me,’ he said, and he winked at her. I’ve been king of the gobshites long enough.

They went back into the room and they signed the documents for their new home and the old Davey would have felt burdened and beleaguered by the prospect of marriage, a house and a baby, but this new Davey felt free as a bird.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Molly

Chapter Sixty-Eight

Molly

MOLLY SAT ON HER sofa for four hours solid reading her daughter’s book; her legs were numb, her back was sore, her arse felt like it was on fire and she had a bladder that was threatening to burst, but she couldn’t put it down. She inhaled every word. There ya are, love. There ya are. It was astounding to be so close to her daughter once again. She was dead to the world, but inside those pages she was vibrant and very much alive. My girl. Jack was right. She had nothing to fear; it didn’t matter what naysayers said. Haters gonna hate and fuck them, her girl was going to soar. Sorry.

The door opened behind her and Grace appeared.

‘Hiya, Ma.’

‘Hiya, love.’

‘What are you doing?’

‘Reading Rabbit’s book.’