Patrick immediately opened the door. ‘My auntie who lives in Limerick got hold of it for me. Good, isn’t it?’ he said chuckling.

Eddie held out his right hand. ‘Patrick, I’ve just popped round to apologise for my drunken behaviour at your party. I was well sloshed and I probably upset a few people other than my wife.’

Patrick Murphy laughed loudly. ‘Bejesus, Eddie, you were fine. I’ve had a lot worse than you here over the years, that I have, for sure.’

Spotting the twins waving at him from the car, Patrick nodded towards them. ‘How’s your son now?’

Eddie smiled at Jessica and squeezed her hand. ‘He’s absolutely fine. No thanks to his dad though, eh, babe?’

Jessica nodded. ‘Well, we’d best be going now, Patrick, and once again, we’re sorry for spoiling your party.’

Patrick waved them goodbye. ‘I’ll see you both soon,’ he shouted.

The next stop was Dougie and Vicki’s house. ‘Hello yous two,’ Vicki said, as she opened the front door.

‘Is Dougie about?’ Eddie asked her.

‘He’s in his office. Spends half his life in there, he does. Come in, I’ll tell him you’re here.’

Jessica gesticulated to the twins to tell them that they would only be a minute. ‘Stay in the car, you’re not to get out,’ she shouted.

As Eddie stood apologising to an unfazed Doug, Vicki and Jessica swapped phone numbers. ‘How about you and Doug come over to ours for dinner next week?’ Jessica asked her.

‘We’d love to, wouldn’t we, Doug?’ Vicki replied.

Dougie smiled. ‘I’ve told Ed, the party’s long forgotten. Christ, if I had a pound for every time I’ve got pissed and made a prick of meself, I’d be a very rich man, and yes, dinner sounds great,’ he added.

Jessica and Eddie said their goodbyes and left. Driving towards Jimmy O’Hara’s house, Eddie felt his stomach start to churn. Two down and one to go and this was the bastard he was dreading.

Pulling onto O’Hara’s drive, Eddie was surprised to see that the beautiful grounds of the house he’d once been so keen to buy now resembled a shit-hole. There were two big, tatty mobile homes either side of the house, six lurchers, three Jack Russells and dog shit everywhere. There were a load of horses standing behind a wire fence and there was even a fucking goat staring at him.

‘Typical fucking pikeys,’ Eddie muttered as he got out of the car.

‘Can we go and see the horses?’ Frankie squealed with delight.

‘Can we stroke them? Joey asked.

With dogs leaping up at him from all angles, Eddie did his best to stay calm. ‘Yous two stay in that car and don’t move,’ he ordered the twins.

‘Please, Daddy, let us see the horses,’ Frankie whinged.