‘Oh, poor Beany,’ she said. ‘I could kiss it better!’

It was a joke, and he knew it, but Jeremy nearly started to cry. ‘It’s really sore, that’s all.’

‘If you didn’t like me you’d tell me, wouldn’t you?’

‘You know I do.’ He hesitated. ‘I’m just …’

‘Just what?’

‘I’m …’

‘What?’ she said urgently.

‘… just bad at this stuff.’

‘You’re not.’ She smiled at him, a warm smile, the one that made her look so pretty and was so ridiculously catching and then they were kissing again and he resumed counting in his head. If only, Deirdre … You’re the one I want to like.

They emerged from the bushes first, but Rave was always last, no matter which girl he was with. The rain had stopped and the night sky was peppered with tiny stars. Mel and Dave were sharing the last cigarette and passing a bottle between them. Mitch hung upside down from the tree and Jonno was feeding him the last of the vodka.

Mel offered Deirdre a swig of whiskey.

‘Me da will smell that on me breath from a mile off.’

‘It’s good for the cold,’ Mel said.

‘Nah, I’m going home.’ Deirdre shrugged. ‘You coming?’

Mel thought about it. ‘I’ll hang on awhile. Me da’s brother is still visiting – he’s a freak.’

Deirdre nodded. ‘OK, take it easy.’ She turned to Jeremy. ‘Will you walk me home?’

‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘of course.’ His ma had raised him never to leave a girl to get home on her own. It wasn’t gentlemanly.

‘See yis,’ Deirdre said. Mel waved and the two lads grunted.

Jeremy rubbed his hand on his jeans furiously before she grabbed it. ‘Tell Rave I won’t be long,’ he called back to them.

‘Will you bring some chips?’ Jonno said, from under the tree where he was making what looked like a daisy chain with sticks.

‘With loads of salt and vinegar!’ Dave hollered.

Jeremy nodded. ‘All right.’

As he and Deirdre left the park, hand in hand, he looked up at the sky. It was black and threatening to turn nasty. For a moment he thought about dropping her off and going home to his warm room, his wild sister and his mad, sweet grammy. He ached for it. But he’d made a promise, and he couldn’t let his best friend down.

MONDAY,
2 JANUARY 1995

Chapter Three

‘You Are The World’
Live, 1991

Maisie