by Joe O'Brien
‘You’re sad,’ grunted Danny, and just as he was about to follow Splinter into the shop, Todd grabbed his arm.
‘You’re jealous, mate!’ smiled Todd. It was a mean kind of smile.
‘Get your hands off me,’ said Danny and he pulled his arm from Todd’s clutches.
Todd burst out laughing.
‘You don’t actually think she’d be interested in you when she has me to chase, do ya?’
Danny took a deep breath in through his nostrils. That’s what Mick had taught him to do whenever a situation got out of hand on the pitch.
‘Why wouldn’t she?’ said Danny. ‘At least I’m not a liar, like you.’
‘I’m not a liar. What are ya talking about?’ Todd wasn’t smiling anymore.
‘You know exactly what I’m talking about Todd.’
Now it was Todd’s turn to go red.
Splinter was standing by the counter near the open door, listening to the heated argument.
‘You’re a liar, Todd,’ Danny reiterated.
‘Shut your gob,’ snarled Todd.
‘Shut it for me,’ said Danny. ‘Yeah! Maybe you’re dying for a scrap. Is that how you got kicked out of your school back in Australia?’
Todd pushed Danny.
‘How d’ya know that?’ Todd was raging.
‘I know a lot of things, Todd.’
Splinter decided that it was time to stop watching and start doing. If he didn’t get in between these two quickly, the team would probably be down two players for the final.
‘I said shut your gob, mate.’
‘You’re not my mate,’ said Danny. ‘Mates don’t tell their team mates that their da is a so-called famous AFL coach when really he’s just a mechanic.’
‘What?’ screamed Splinter, looking at Todd. ‘Your da’s a mechanic?
Todd looked at Danny, and then at Splinter. He was well and truly humiliated.
‘Aw! Rack off the both of ya. Ya can stuff your flamin’ final. I’m out of here.’
Todd turned on his heel and ran off.
Splinter turned to Danny.
‘Is his da really a mechanic and not an AFL coach?’
‘Leave it, Splinter,’ said Danny, but he nodded, just because he knew Splinter would keep asking if he didn’t.
Danny was already regretting having revealed Todd’s secret in anger; he’d just have to trust Splinter not to tell anyone.
Chapter Sixteen
Missing
It was lunchtime, and Dessie Dunne had just pulled up to the side of the Little Croker, where Mick and Jimmy had arranged for all the players to meet.
There was a trail of cars already lining the road on both sides, ready to follow Mick’s army.
Mick did his roster check as all the boys hopped on the coach.
‘Don’t bring your bag on, Darren, son,’ said Mick. ‘Throw it underneath with the others, there’s a good lad.’
‘Is Todd on the coach?’ asked Jimmy.
‘Em! I don’t think so. He didn’t get past me, Jimmy. Hold on! I’ll check again.’
Mick walked the whole length of the coach; there was no sign of Todd.
‘He’s not on, Jimmy’ said Mick, jumping back off. ‘Is he out here?’
There were only a few more boys to get on, and Todd wasn’t one of them.
Jimmy walked all around the coach, then looked up the road, and down the road, on both sides.
‘There’s no sign of him.’
Mick looked at his watch.
‘He should have been here by now. Keep an eye out for Scott’s car, will you, Jimmy. They’re just late.’
Jimmy waited and watched and waited some more and watched some more, but after fifteen minutes there was still no sign of Todd.
Danny and Splinter were sitting up the front in the second row.
‘You better tell your da about this morning,’ whispered Splinter.
Mick turned sharply. Splinter’s notion of whispering wasn’t exactly discreet.
‘What was that?’ asked Mick.
Danny scowled Splinter, then turned to face the music.
‘We had a fight.’
Mick hopped on the coach.
‘Did you hurt him?’
Danny frowned.
‘No! Anargument, I meant. Not a real fight!’
Mick laughed, nervously, then after a few seconds of thought, he gave Danny a look he hadn’t seen since the time he’d accidentally smashed Mrs Tyrell’s glass house with his ball.
‘You didn’t, Danny?’ fretted Mick, sweat pumping from his forehead. ‘You didn’t say anything about you-know-what?’
Danny didn’t answer, but that was as good as a ‘yes’ for Mick.
‘Ah, Danny …’
At Mick’s obvious disappointment, Danny slid down in his seat and hung his head.
Mick called Jimmy onto the coach.
‘Come on, Jimmy,’ said Mick. ‘We’re going.’
‘What about Todd?’
‘We’ll have to pick him up at his house’ said Mick. ‘Fire her up Dessie – Clifford Road.’
As Dessie drove up Clifford Road, Mick could see Sarah looking out through the downstairs window.
‘Over here, Dessie,’ said Mick, pointing towards Todd’s house.
Mick hopped off the coach and ran into the garden.
Sarah had seen the coach and was already at the open door. She didn’t give Mick a chance to speak.
‘We can’t find him, Mick. I sent him to the shops for a newspaper this morning and he didn’t come back.’
Mick had a big decision to make and he didn’t have a lot of time to make it.
Should he tell Sarah about Danny and Todd’s argument? Mick knew that if he did, Sarah would probably feel let down, and Mick didn’t want that.
‘He had a falling out with Danny this morning,’ said Mick. ‘Danny said that he just ran off. He’s probably just sitting it out somewhere. Has he done this before?’
‘No, Mick’ answered Sarah, looking very worried. ‘I thought Todd and Danny were getting on well?’
Mick just shrugged his shoulders. He was just about to tell Sarah the whole story about the two boys’ argument when Scott came driving down the road.
‘There’s Scott!’ said Sarah. ‘Todd’s not with him. He hasn’t found him, Mick.’
Mick was torn – he had to get to the final with his team, but Todd was one of his players, and he was missing. After a moment’s thought, he offered Sarah and Scott his help to find Todd – Jimmy could take the rest of the team to the match, and Larry would be there to help him. But Scott and Sarah insisted that he should get the boys to the stadium. There was no point in ruining their day, and after all, Todd was probably just sulking somewhere.
They exchanged mobile numbers. Sarah told Mick that she would ring him if she found Todd.
‘Just hop in a taxi with him, and the club will pay for it,’ said Mick. He got a jersey from his gear bag and gave it to Sarah. ‘Here, Sarah. If you do find him in time for the game, get him kitted out on the way over.’
Mick felt terrible as the coach pulled away from number twenty seven Clifford Road.
I should have told her the whole story! he thought.
As the coach drove down Collins Avenue, and approached the big church on the corner, Jimmy let out an unmerciful roar from the front.
‘Almost there, boys!’
Dessie Dunne swung his fifty-seater onto Clan Carthy road, then took the first left before a row of houses started.
They were at Parnell Park.
‘Is that it?’ asked Splinter with a hint of disappointment, pointing to a pitch behind tall railings, right next to a building with the name, Craobh Chiaráin on it.
Danny elbowed Splinter.
‘No! You muppet. That’s their training pitch. Look!’
Danny pointed out his window, to the right.
‘Nice one!’ smiled Splinter.
Parnell Park was indeed a fine stadium, and there were crowd
s of people flooding in and out of the grounds.
There had been finals on all morning. Crokes’ final against Chapel Hall was to be the last of the day, kicking off at 3 pm.
Mick and Jimmy guided their players down toward the dressing rooms in the far right corner of the stadium.
‘Just imagine, Danny,’ smiled Splinter. ‘This is where the Dubs play. I feel real important. Look, everyone is staring at us!’
Danny didn’t smile back. He was still feeling guilty about Todd disappearing.
I should have kept my mouth shut! he thought, as he walked along the red matting and into a corridor of the building that was lined on both sides with dressing rooms.
‘In here, Crokes,’ instructed one of the officials.
Mick closed the door behind him.
‘What about Todd, Mick?’ asked little John Watson.
‘I don’t know, son,’ said Mick.
Jimmy came over to have a quiet word in Mick’s ear as all the players ripped open their bags.
‘What are we going to do about Todd?’ whispered Jimmy.
Mick was looking over at Danny whose head was hanging low.
‘I don’t know, Jimmy’ said Mick. ‘It’s not looking good. And poor Danny is upset, too, and we need him playing his best …’
That wasn’t the answer that Jimmy was looking for. Mick Wilde always had a solution, but it looked like he was a little lost this time.
‘I have a suggestion!’ said Jimmy.
Even though Mick was a bit surprised to hear this, he was all ears to whatever Jimmy had to offer.
‘This has obviously affected the whole team, especially Danny,’ said Jimmy.
Mick nodded.
‘It’s all about confidence and feel-good factor. Isn’t that right Mick?’
Mick nodded again.
‘Okay!’ continued Jimmy. ‘Why don’t we tell the boys that Todd is on his way over, but he might not get here for the start of the game.’
‘Go on …’ said Mick.
‘Well, that’ll lift the boys’ morale a bit, especially Danny’s. We’ll put Todd down for playing and pray that he does turn up so we can put him on.’
‘What if he doesn’t turn up?’ asked Mick, looking a bit confused with Jimmy’s plan.
‘If he doesn’t, then he doesn’t,’ whispered Jimmy, ‘but at least it will lift the other boys for the moment, especially Danny. We don’t want them going out on the pitch like this. Do we Mick?’
Mick agreed. It was a decent plan. It was better if Mick’s players started the game with as much confidence as possible. If all failed and Todd didn’t turn up, well then they would just have to get on with the rest of the game without him.
‘Nice one, Jimmy,’ said Mick. ‘Let’s get them ready!’
Chapter Seventeen
A Riverside Meeting
Billy Stapleton was riding his horse down by the riverside, when he spotted someone familiar sitting on the edge of the boat dock.
Billy pulled up beside Todd and tied his horse to a pole.
‘Have a rest and a bit of grass, Vinny,’ he said, then he sat down beside Todd, who was trying to skip stones across the river.
‘What’s the story, Todd?’ greeted Billy.
Todd didn’t reply. He didn’t even look at Billy.
‘Are you not meant to be at the final today?’
Todd grunted.
‘Were you kicked off the team or something?’
Todd laughed.
‘Nah, mate. I left the stupid team. They’re all a pack of losers.’
Billy and Todd sat quietly for a couple of minutes just throwing stones into the river.
Todd broke the silence with a chuckle.
‘Did I hear you call your horse, Vinny?’
‘Shut up!’ muttered Billy.
‘That’s a stupid name for a horse, mate.’
Todd was laughing now.
‘No it’s not,’ argued Billy. ‘Vinny’s a sound name.’
‘Yeah, if you’re a loser!’ teased Todd.
Billy pushed Todd’s arm so hard that Todd nearly fell into the water.
‘My brother’s not a loser,’ said Billy.
Todd was confused now.
‘Your horse is your brother?’
‘Are you thick or something?’ said Billy.
‘What mate? You just said that your horse was your brother.’
‘No! I didn’t. I have a brother called Vinny, as well!’ said Billy.
‘Aw!’ said Todd. Then he laughed again. ‘What does your brother think of that?’
Billy went quiet for a moment, then he lifted his head.
‘He doesn’t know. I haven’t seen him in two years.’
Todd could see sorrow all over Billy’s face. Billy’s eyes were watery.
‘Why, mate?’ asked Todd. The boy from Down Under wasn’t laughing or joking or teasing Billy now.
‘Never mind,’ said Billy.
‘Look I’m sorry for having a go. Seriously!’
Billy dropped his head again.
‘He left home two years ago to go to England.’
‘Why, mate?’
‘Work, I suppose,’ said Billy.
‘Hasn’t he been in touch?’
Billy shook his head.
‘Aw, he’s probably having such a great time over there mate. That’s why. How old is?’
‘He’s nineteen now.’
‘Don’t worry mate. I’m sure when he stops partying, he’ll get in touch.’
‘He’ll never come back.’ said Billy. ‘Not while he’s still in the house.’
Todd left Billy alone for a few minutes. He sensed that there was something serious behind all of this.
‘Who’s “he” mate?’ Todd asked, after a moment of silence.
‘My da,’ answered Billy, his voice breaking a little.
‘Aw! My dad’s a jerk as well,’ said Todd. ‘Looks like we’re both in the same boat, mate.’
Billy lifted his head and turned to Todd.
‘What’s wrong with your da?’
‘He and my mum split up last year and now my dad has a new girlfriend. He used to come to all of my footy games, but he stopped. I think he lost interest in me. Total loser, mate.’
Billy stared at Todd and then laughed.
‘What?’ asked Todd. ‘It’s not funny, mate.’
‘Yeah it is,’ laughed Billy.
‘No, it’s not, mate,’ said Todd, but he was smiling now as he pushed Billy’s arm.
‘You haven’t a clue, do you Todd?’
‘What d’ya mean?’
‘Your da is a saint compared to mine.’
‘Why? What’s so bad about yours?’
Billy went on to tell Todd that his father drank a lot, and his parents were always arguing.
‘Everyone in the house is afraid of my da,’ said Billy. ‘He’s always shouting. That’s why I spend so much time with my horse. It gets me out of the house.’
‘Is that why Vinny left?’ asked Todd.
‘Well he was always threatening to leave, but he finally went after a big argument. My da and my mam were shouting, as usual, and when Vinny came home and asked what was going on, my mam told him that our da had sold Vinny’s watch that my grandad left him. He didn’t care that Vinnie loved that watch, and that he’d always taken care of it because it used to be our grandad’s, he just wanted the money. That was the last straw for Vinny. He left home two days later.’
Todd felt awful.
And I thought my dad was bad! Billy’s right! thought Todd. My dad is a saint compared to his. I’ve got to put things right!
Todd jumped to his feet.
‘Billy, boy!’ said Todd. ‘How d’ya feel about giving me a lift on your horse, mate?’
Now Billy jumped to his feet.
‘Vinnie can carry two easy! Where to?’
‘I need to get home, mate.’
‘Animal!’ cheered Billy. ‘Come on Todd. Hop on.’
Todd climbed onto Vinny’s back behind Billy.
‘Giddy up, Vinny!’ shouted Billy.
‘Yee haw!’ cheered Todd, as they thundered along the riverside in the direction of Littlestown.
Chapter Eighteen
The Féile Final
A short time later, as Todd and his parents raced across town in a taxi, the Under-Fourteen’s Division 1 final had just started.
Mick had taken Jimmy’s advice and told all the players that Todd was on his way. This had really helped Danny’s morale, and he was determined not to let his team down as he battled for every loose ball.
There was a tremendous crowd in the stadium – it was packed full. Most were supporters from both teams, and some were people who had stayed on from earlier games, and the rest of the numbers were made up from GAA enthusiasts who just came down to see the division 1 final – the big one!
Todd’s absence had definitely weakened the side. Little John Watson was playing his heart out in Todd’s place, but he was no match in either strength or skill for Chapel Hall’s centre half back.
Chapel Hall was leading with a score of 0-3 to 0-1 when suddenly Mick’s phone rang.
Mick had a golden rule, never to answer his phone during GAA business. Normally he’d have its volume turned down, and though he’d left it on this one time, he was so wrapped up in the match that he didn’t hear it at first.
Jimmy nudged Mick.
‘Your phone!’
‘Not now Jimmy – the match!’
‘It might be about Todd.’
Mick had completely forgotten! As he answered his phone, Jimmy was all ears!
‘That’s great!’ cheered Mick. ‘Yeah! It’s almost half time. Get him in as quick as you can. I’ll send Jimmy out to yiz.’
Mick hung up.
‘Nice one, Mick,’ Jimmy was rubbing his hands in delight. ‘Oh no! They’re after scoring another point.’
‘Todd’s outside, Jimmy,’ interrupted Mick.
Jimmy turned on his heel and hurried to the exit – the Crokes really needed Todd now.
Jimmy came back up the line with Todd just as the referee blew the half time whistle.
Chapel Hall was leading, 0-4 to 0-1.
Mick called his team over. They were thrilled to see Todd.