He cleared his throat and read the tweet out loud. ‘ “Atheist and journalist Rabbit Hayes died today #AllDressedUpNowhereToGo.” ’

For a moment Grace thought she might vomit. ‘Sweet suffering Jesus.’

‘And it’s trending.’

‘What does trending mean?’ Molly asked.

Lenny walked in carrying a box of wine and four bags of shopping. He knew instantly there was a problem. Molly Hayes looked like she was going to explode, but it was the look on his wife’s face that terrified him.

‘What’s up?’ he said, placing the boxes on the kitchen table and the bags on the ground.

‘You better get your son out of here now.’ Grace’s blood boiled and her breathing intensified. She was in full-on raging bull mode.

‘Red alert,’ he called out, ‘red alert.’ Lenny didn’t even have to ask which one. ‘Ryan,’ he shouted, ‘get to the car, son.’

Ryan walked into the room and Grace turned on him.

‘All dressed up and nowhere to go!’ she screamed.

‘Run, Ryan. I haven’t a clue what’s going on, but run,’ Lenny said. Ryan grabbed his coat and ran. Lenny kissed his wife, ‘Calm down, calm down, OK, love? Marjorie, get her a drink, something strong.’ He ran out to Ryan, who was waiting in the car. Davey got Juliet and handed her off to Lenny, who was sitting with the engine running. Grace took herself out to the backyard, opened her dad’s shed and took an old chipped hurley stick that was lying by the door and just started whacking the large plastic recycling bins. Marjorie sidled next to Molly, watching from the open window.

‘Should we do something?’

‘Nah, she’ll tire herself out.’

‘She’s done this before?’

‘Before the recycling bins we used to keep an old washer-dryer there, just so she had something substantial to clobber.’

‘Oh! I always wondered about that.’

They talked about her as though she couldn’t hear them. She didn’t care. She needed to pound something. She needed to obliterate it. It took Grace ten minutes of hardcore bin bashing, a blistered hand, a stiff whiskey and a talk with a visiting Father Frank to calm down. She was spent – emotionally, physically, psychologically – and the wake hadn’t even begun.

Chapter Fifteen: Jack

Chapter Fifteen

Jack

FATHER FRANK ARRIVED HALF an hour before the crowd, and after he’d talked Grace off a cliff, he shook Jack’s hand. ‘I’m just paying my respects the same as anyone else.’

‘It was good of you to come,’ Jack said.

‘You’ll have a word with Molly,’ Father Frank said, ‘she’s asking for a rosary.’

‘I’ll talk to her, Father, but to be fair, one wouldn’t hurt.’

Father Frank shook his head. ‘Rabbit had such strong opposing views.’

‘Rabbit is gone,’ Jack said quietly.

Father Frank sighed. ‘Of course, I’d be happy to lead a rosary.’

‘Thank you, Father,’ Jack said. They walked together to see Rabbit.