His dad’s words came tumbling out, as if he was reading from a prepared speech. As quickly as Conor’s fears had gathered, they fell away. His father wasn’t sick. He’d found a new woman.

Conor had never given much consideration to what life had been like for Ginny. He knew that Tess had borne the stigma of having an absent father. He remembered various morons taunting her and, while she’d pretended not to care, the words had hurt. He could still see the determined set of her small face, the look that said, ‘These fools won’t get the better of me.’

‘Relax, Dad,’ he said. ‘Why would I be anything other than happy for you? Tess is one of my best friends.’

‘You’ve no idea how pleased I am to hear that. Ginny brightens up my life, and that’s the truth of it.’

Conor knew enough about his home village to realise that the swish of gossip would follow the new couple. His dad was the sergeant, a solid man in a uniform, whereas Ginny was … well, she was Ginny Fortune, the single mother with the spray-on jeans and red lipstick. The woman who didn’t go to Mass and didn’t give a damn what people thought. That both were more complex than these descriptions would suggest was irrelevant. The local busybodies weren’t known for their charity.

He remembered four years previously, on the night he’d spoken about joining the force, how his father had talked about Tess’s mother and the bad choices she’d made. He’d been thinking of her then. Going back even further, to the death of Father Galvin, Conor recalled his dad telling Ginny not to fret about the shed business, that there was no harm done. His old man was far more interesting than he’d suspected.

Conor finished his tea. He ought to get going. Presumably, Ginny had told Tess by now. It was then that he noticed Paula’s face. She still had an uncomfortable look about her. She squinted at their father, as if urging him to speak again.

‘Right,’ he said, ‘that’s not quite all.’

They waited for him to continue.

‘Ahm … what it is … we recently discovered we’re going to be parents. Ginny’s expecting a baby. In December, all going well.’

Conor felt his mouth go slack.

His dad continued: ‘To begin with, we were taken aback, but it’s great news. Great news entirely. Now, I know you’re thinking, Aren’t they too old for that? But you’ve got to remember, Ginny’s only forty-one. Loads of women have children at that age. She’s been to see the doctor, and once she takes care of herself, she’ll be grand.’