Little Croker (4 page)

D
anny skipped school the next day and got the bus with his granny to the hospital.

Danny was in pretty good form going in. Ah, sure, Dad will be sitting up reading the sports section of the morning papers, he thought. But when they got to Mick’s room, Danny was horrified to find that there was absolutely no change, and Mick was still unconscious.

They sat watching over Mick for ages and ages waiting for some sort of movement or something from him.

‘Danny, pet!’ said Granny. ‘I’m gasping. Here’s a few quid. Go and get me a cup of tea 
from the machine, and get yourself a drink, too.’

Danny kicked the drinks dispenser as if he was taking a forty-five on the Little Croker. It had swallowed one of his coins.

The machine wasn’t co-operating and Danny cracked. He sat down on a chair beside it and cried with his face in his hands.

‘Are you okay?’ A girl, a little older than Danny, sat down on the chair beside him. She was quite a pretty girl, all dressed in Abercrombie.

Under normal circumstances, if a girl like this took any interest in Danny – and it hadn’t ever happened yet – he would be mortified to be caught crying.

But right now Danny didn’t really care what state he was in.

‘I’m Trinity,’ the girl said, ‘What’s your name?’

Danny removed his hands from his face and like a true young gentleman, snorted to clear his gunky nose.

‘Danny. Danny Wilde.’

‘Are you okay, Danny?’ repeated Trinity. It seemed to Danny that this girl was a little too concerned, considering she didn’t even know him.

‘What do you think?’ answered Danny cheekily.

Trinity turned her nose up at Danny, and in a very mature voice replied,

‘Well, if you’re going to be rude!’

Danny didn’t like being called rude, and it didn’t take him long to apologise to Trinity who had got up to leave.

‘I’m sorry,’ said Danny and he looked as if he meant it too.

Trinity sat back down, and Danny began to spill all his problems.

‘My mam died when I was young,’ he cried. ‘I don’t want to lose my dad too.’ 

Trinity put her arm around Danny.

‘I know how you feel, Danny,’ she comforted. ‘My father died a few years ago and my mother means the world to me.’

Danny stopped sobbing, partly because he felt a little guilty now that Trinity was probably starting to feel a little sad too, and partly (and more importantly) because he didn’t want to look like too much of a softy.

‘Who’s your father’s consultant?’ Trinity queried.

‘Eh!’ Danny had to think, and while he was thinking, he also thought that was a really weird question for her to ask him. How old is this girl, twenty-something? he thought.

‘Mrs Dawson, or something like that,’ Danny remembered.

Just as Danny spoke her name, Dr Dawson appeared through a door at the far end of the corridor.

‘That’s her there!’ said Danny.

‘Don’t worry about your father, Danny,’ 
said Trinity.

‘Why?’ asked Danny.

Trinity stood up and walked towards Dr Dawson. She turned to Danny and smiled at him.

‘She’s my mother, and she’s really good at her job!’

Then Trinity Dawson disappeared through the door at the end of the corridor, with her mother.

Danny sat on his chair for a few minutes thinking about Trinity.

He’d never really thought about a girl or girls, before. He only ever had time in his thoughts for football. Girls were a total waste of time!

But it seemed at that moment that Trinity Dawson had appeared to Danny for a special reason, and Danny was thankful for that – Trinity’s words of comfort had made him feel better and hopeful. Maybe girls weren’t that bad after all? 

When Danny got back to his dad’s room, his granny was standing outside the door.

‘What kept you, Danny?’ asked Granny

‘I was just talking to the doctor’s daughter!’ replied Danny.

Normally an answer like that would trigger Granny’s curiosity, but not this time. She had something important to tell Danny.

‘Your daddy’s awake!’ she announced with a little smile.

‘Savage!’ said Danny, and he immediately thought of Trinity and her kind words.

‘Can I go in and see him?’

‘Not yet, pet,’ said Granny. ‘The doctors are in with him. Where’s my tea?’

‘Sorry, Granny. The machine was broken,’ answered Danny with a huge smile. He was chuffed. Dad’s back! he thought.

It wasn’t long before the doctors came out and told Danny and his granny that they 
could go in and see Mick, but they warned them that he was very weak and had a long road to recovery.

Danny ran in ahead of his granny.

‘Dad!’ said Danny and he threw his arms around his father. There was no need for him to say any more as the hug said everything about how Danny was feeling, and that was the best medicine Mick could ask for.

When Danny sat back up onto the side of his dad’s bed, he noticed that the right side of Mick’s face was slightly droopier than the left and when Mick spoke, he struggled to get the words out properly.

Danny’s reaction was one to be proud of. He knew a little about strokes as Splinter’s granddad had suffered from a stroke the previous year.

‘It’s okay, Dad’ said Danny. ‘Just rest, sure we can talk later when you’re feeling better.’

Danny and Granny went home in Jimmy’s car that evening as Jimmy had popped up 
after work.

‘What about your trial, Danny?’ asked Jimmy as they pulled up outside Shady Cedars.

Danny had completely forgotten about his trial.

‘Did you ring them?’ asked Jimmy.

‘I forgot,’ replied Danny. ‘Anyway, my dad has the number somewhere. I don’t know where he put it.’

‘Ah, sure your daddy’s on the mend now,’ said Jimmy. ‘That’s more important.’

Just as Danny was getting out of the car, Jimmy remembered something.

‘Oh! You needn’t worry about tomorrow’s game, Danny.’

Danny had been so occupied with his dad, that he had completely forgotten about Saturday’s match.

‘I forgot about that,’ said Danny.

‘Don’t worry,’ reiterated Jimmy. ‘I phoned their manager today and told him everything. 
We’re all in shock Danny. I thought it would be best if we got the game called off.’

‘Good decision, Jimmy,’ agreed Danny. ‘So we’re playing them at the end of the season?’

Jimmy frowned. Danny knew instantly that Jimmy had made a hash of something.

‘What’s up, Jimmy?’

‘They couldn’t play the game then Danny, so we agreed to share the points.’

Danny closed the door, and rolled down his window to talk to his granny.

‘I’ll be in in a minute, Granny.’

‘Are you mad, Jimmy?’ asked Danny. ‘Malachi’s are at the bottom of the league. We’d have slaughtered them.’

Jimmy was sweating. He just wasn’t up for all these management decisions, now that Mick was off the scene. I shouldn’t have turned down Paddy Flynn, the Under-15s coach, when he rang this morning and offered to help me out! he thought.

After a moment Danny just said, ‘Don’t 
worry about it, Jimmy. We can still win the league.’

‘Thanks, Danny. Of course we can, and sure your daddy getting better is more important than points.’

‘But Jimmy!’ shouted Danny, as Jimmy was driving off. ‘You can tell my dad, because I’m certainly not!’

Danny slept better that night on Granny’s recliner and although he knew that there were hard times ahead, Jimmy was right, his dad was on the mend and things like football trials and league points did come second to family.

D
anny’s dad improved a little over the weekend and when Danny went to the hospital after school on Monday he was surprised to see his dad and his Uncle Larry talking.

‘All right, Uncle Larry?’ greeted Danny as he sat on the side of his dad’s bed.

‘Daniel,’ replied Larry.

‘I was thinking about your trial this morning,’ said Mick. He spoke slowly, but managed to make himself understood.

Danny wiped his dad’s mouth with a handkerchief.

‘No worries, Dad,’ said Danny. ‘There’ll be other chances.’

‘That’s very mature of you, Daniel,’ said Larry.

Then Larry went on to tell Danny what the two brothers had been talking about. The plan was for Danny to stay at Larry’s house until his dad was well enough to look after him. Larry wouldn’t oblige his brother under normal circumstances, but these were not normal times and Larry knew that it must have taken a lot for Mick to ask.

‘Do I have to, Dad?’ pleaded Danny.

‘It’s for the best, Danny,’ said Larry. ‘Your father needs plenty of proper hospital care and it’s going to be quite a while yet before he’s able to look after you again, or even come home.’

Danny didn’t continue the dispute. One look at his dad and he realised that Larry’s words were true, and his dad getting better – Proper better, thought Danny – was the main deal here.

It was agreed, against Danny’s initial 
wishes, that Larry would collect Danny from his house the following Saturday as there was no game on that weekend. Until then he’d stay with his granny at Shady Cedars.

Saturday arrived and Uncle Larry and
Jonathon
arrived with it. They weren’t in the
Bentley
this time, but in Regina’s BMW x5. According to Regina that morning, you never know how a twelve-year-old boy will pack, or what junk he will want to drag along with him, so Larry brought the car with the bigger boot!

This was to the great disappointment of Splinter who was waiting anxiously on his wall to catch a glimpse of Larry’s car, as never had a Bentley driven down his road before.

As Larry drove through Littlestown Lawns and by Danny’s football pitch, Jonathon got a reality check as he looked out at broken trees and burnt patches of turf where night fires 
had been lit to warm the hands that held the cider cans that were still smouldering in the ashes.

‘Take a good look, Jonathon,’ said Larry with a smirk on his face. ‘This is how life could be for you, if you don’t keep up your studies, or if you waste your time on pointless sports, or whatever these people get up to.’

Jonathon was embarrassed by his father’s words.

‘But this is where you’re from, Dad, and you’re successful,’ he muttered bravely.

His dad gave no reply.

Larry had been warned by Regina not to leave the x5 unattended, so he sat reading his paper while Jonathon helped Danny bring his stuff out.

‘You’ve a lot of posters on your walls,’ observed Jonathon in Danny’s room.

Danny’s room was plastered from wall to wall with GAA posters, all of the Dubs, of course, and he’d have covered the ceiling as 
well if Mick had let him.

‘Give us a hand, J?’ asked Danny as he started to strip some of the posters to bring with him.

‘“J”?’ replied his cousin. ‘Who’s “J”?’

‘You, ya’ spanner!’ laughed Danny. ‘Jonathon takes ages to get out. Just “J” sounds cool!’

‘Well! I suppose “J” is better than being called after a tool,’ replied Jonathon and the two cousins laughed while rolling up Danny’s favourite posters.

Finally, after Larry had read his paper twice from cover to cover, Danny Wilde locked the door of his home behind him.

‘Come on, Heffo!’ yelled Danny and his Jack Russell appeared out from under the hedge of next door’s garden.

Danny opened his door and Heffo jumped straight up onto Regina’s cream leather back seat.

‘Get that mutt off the seat,’ grunted Larry. 
‘You didn’t say anything about a dog.’

‘You didn’t ask,’ replied Danny and he closed his door. ‘Down, Heffo. I’ll keep him at my feet, he’ll be no trouble.’

Jonathon was trying his very best not to laugh or even smile as he appreciated that his father was struggling with his cousin. Jonathon was beginning to think that Danny coming to stay at his house was going to be very exciting indeed!

With great discomfort, every now and then Larry looked into his rear view mirror to see a sight he was neither familiar with nor happy with – his son and Mick’s son horseplaying together and having fun.

‘That’s enough, boys!’ corrected Larry.

‘We’re only messing!’ tutted Danny, and he caught a glimpse of Larry glaring at him in the mirror.

Jonathon never spoke a word to Danny for the rest of the journey and this made Danny very uncomfortable and very angry with his 
uncle. My dad wouldn’t treat me like that, thought Danny. Uncle Larry’s nothing but a bully, and Jonathon is terrified of him.

Danny pressed his nose against the glass and huffed steam all over it and then wiped it making squeaky noises that he knew would drive Larry mad.

Larry retaliated by putting on one of Regina’s opera cds.

Heffo began to howl.

‘Is that meant to be music? Your woman sounds in pain!’ Danny giggled to Jonathon and he gave him a friendly elbow to try and make him join in.

Jonathon held back the smiles that were bursting at the seams of his mouth to get out.

Danny continued the banter as Uncle Larry was now humming along with the cd.

‘Are there any puke bags in the back of this yoke, or what?’

That was too much for Jonathon – he burst out laughing and Danny joined in, raising the 
back seat noise above Larry’s music.

Suddenly Larry turned off the music.

‘We’re here!’ he announced, turning a corner into a cul-de-sac, and he opened Danny’s window so as to give Danny a good, clear view of his new surroundings.

‘Better view than the one earlier, Jonathon!’ bragged Larry.

Danny had been enjoying looking out at the tall, bushy oak trees that lined the paths and the huge detached mansions behind their black pointed railings until Larry made that smart comment.

Danny pressed the button and his window came up. Jonathon noticed his reaction. His father had hurt his cousin, who he was just beginning to really like, and that made Jonathon properly ashamed of his father.

‘Your new home, Danny, well – temporary new home!’ said Larry as two very tall and very wide black iron gates automatically opened and the x5 slowly crunched along the 
gravel driveway of number ten Aylesbridge Close, up to a house that looked to Danny as big as a hotel.

‘Wow!’ gasped Danny and he looked at Jonathon and smiled.

Regina came down the granite steps with Earl, her shitzu, in her arms.

As soon as Danny opened the door, Heffo jumped out and ran across the driveway and leapt up onto Regina’s dress barking his brains out at Earl.

Earl snarled down at Heffo, as if to say, Shut it, mongrel, this is my home!

Danny grabbed Heffo and apologised to his aunt who was shaking like a leaf. ‘Jonathon, bring Daniel around the side to the garage, and make up a bed for his dog!’ instructed Larry.

‘Yes, Dad!’ said Jonathon promptly. He knew that Danny was off to a bad start already.

‘What about my stuff, Uncle Larry?’ asked 
Danny while trying to muzzle Heffo under his armpit.

Larry gave Danny one of the looks that he was getting very familiar with, very quickly.

‘I’ll get it later, I suppose,’ he said, and set off after his cousin.

Jonathon and Danny made a cosy bed for Heffo out of a cardboard box and an old picnic blanket that was just lying around in the garage.

‘You lay down there, Heffo,’ said Danny. ‘I’ll bring you for a walk later.’ Then he looked at Jonathon and laughed. ‘We probably won’t even have to leave this place for a walk, it’s that big.’

Danny stared all around at the gardens as Jonathon led him to the back door of the house.

He had never seen a place like this before. It was like something his granny would watch on one of her boring ‘great houses and their gardens’ programmes. 

There were at least three lawns, not just one, and long, high, old, stone walls covered in thick, fleshy ivy surrounded the gardens.

There were granite steps leading up to the first lawn and a winding cobbled pathway curved around the dense, shrubby borders and then cut across the centre of the lawn to a big, mossy, cobbled circle with a large bronze statue of a boy and a girl holding an umbrella; crystal clear water was trickling down their umbrella and gently splashing into the pool that surrounded them.

‘Wow!’ gasped Danny to Jonathon. Danny had never given two hoots about gardens or fountains or, well, things that only grown-ups thought about, but then he had never seen such a beautiful place as this, and to imagine that people actually lived here, was unimaginable to Danny.

‘Would you like to see the tennis court?’ asked Jonathon. He didn’t mean to brag like his father would, he was just trying to be a 
good, polite host to his cousin.

‘No way!’ said Danny. ‘You have a tennis court?’

Jonathon led Danny down the cobbled path, across the lawn by the fountain, down more steps into another smaller garden with a circular lawn, and through a big archway covered in twining, thorny rose bushes and there, at the very end of the last garden, was a tennis court.

Animal! thought Danny. This place is like being on holidays!