She was a dancer herself, and a good one; one of the regulars at the Liddy céilís. “You should see him, Helen. Light as a feather.”
“You’re having us on,” said Ciaran.
“No, I swear it,” said Phil. “It’s true. He busted us on Thursday and played with us all night on Friday.”
Helen laughed. “Sounds like my kind of guard. Better get him up here.”
“I never thought of that,” said Phil. “I should have asked him. I wonder, would he come?”
“Do you know where he lives?” said J.J.
“No,” said Phil. “I could ask around, though. Someone’s sure to know.”
They went off; two people with a mission. Ciaran went back to his study, Helen to the cheese room, and J.J. took out his books again.
But he couldn’t work. He had to think of something to say to Jimmy. He couldn’t just stand him up.
An idea came to him. It was so simple that he couldn’t understand why it had taken so long to arrive. It would involve doing one of those jobs that were on the long finger, but if he left the history essay until tomorrow…
----
LAST NIGHT’S FUN
Trad
----
1
An hour later his puncture was fixed and he was just swinging up onto the saddle of his bike when he was spotted by Helen.
“J.J.!”
For a moment he pretended that he hadn’t heard, but he couldn’t hold out. He swung the bike round and skidded to a halt in front of her.
“Where you going?” she asked him.
“Just nipping down to see Jimmy.”
“What about?”
“Nothing in particular.”
Helen looked at her watch and J.J., in a reflex action, looked at his own. It was a fancy new one that he’d gotten for his birthday, with five different time zones and a calculator. It said four thirty.
“You’ll be back for dinner?”
“’Course I will. There’s loads of time.” J.J. began to move off again, but Helen called him back.
“Why don’t you do me a favor and drop that cheese in to Anne Korff on your way?”
It wasn’t on his way at all. Anne Korff lived in Doorus, about four miles southwest of the village. J.J. was about to point this out to Helen when he remembered her birthday wish. If it saved her time, he would do it. And the extra time on the road would give him a better chance to work out exactly what he was going to say to Jimmy.
But, oddly enough, he hadn’t even gotten as far as the end of the drive before he knew. He would tell Jimmy the truth. With a bit of luck they would be able to get away from the thirty-two-inch television in Jimmy’s sitting room and find somewhere quiet to talk. Then J.J. would level with him. Man-to-man stuff. “Look, Jimmy. It’s like this. I want to go clubbing, I really do. But I want to play music more. It’s in my blood. I was born to play, you know…?”
If there was time he might go on to tell Jimmy why; let him in on some of the Liddy history. Not all of it, maybe. Not the bit about Helen’s father and thefiddle. The rest, though. Then it would be up to Jimmy. If he really valued the friendship, he would understand. If he didn’t, there wasn’t much J.J. could do about it.
A new bank of dark clouds was rolling in from the west, but it was still dry. The bike was fast. It had had a puncture since the spring and now, flying along the autumn-colored lanes, J.J. found it hard to believe that he’d been without it for the whole summer for the sake of an hour’s work or less. Perhaps that was part of the trick of dealing with this time deficit? Get the priorities right. If he’d had the bike during the summer he could have saved time for himself and for his parents. Maybe Helen’s birthday present wouldn’t turn out to be such a tall order after all. Ciaran had always taught him that anything was possible if you just managed to think about it in the right way.
He crossed the main road at the top end of the village and hurtled down through Croshua toward Doorus and the sea. The bike was a delight. Oxygen was pulsing through J.J.’s brain. He felt
“You’re having us on,” said Ciaran.
“No, I swear it,” said Phil. “It’s true. He busted us on Thursday and played with us all night on Friday.”
Helen laughed. “Sounds like my kind of guard. Better get him up here.”
“I never thought of that,” said Phil. “I should have asked him. I wonder, would he come?”
“Do you know where he lives?” said J.J.
“No,” said Phil. “I could ask around, though. Someone’s sure to know.”
They went off; two people with a mission. Ciaran went back to his study, Helen to the cheese room, and J.J. took out his books again.
But he couldn’t work. He had to think of something to say to Jimmy. He couldn’t just stand him up.
An idea came to him. It was so simple that he couldn’t understand why it had taken so long to arrive. It would involve doing one of those jobs that were on the long finger, but if he left the history essay until tomorrow…
----
LAST NIGHT’S FUN
Trad
----
1
An hour later his puncture was fixed and he was just swinging up onto the saddle of his bike when he was spotted by Helen.
“J.J.!”
For a moment he pretended that he hadn’t heard, but he couldn’t hold out. He swung the bike round and skidded to a halt in front of her.
“Where you going?” she asked him.
“Just nipping down to see Jimmy.”
“What about?”
“Nothing in particular.”
Helen looked at her watch and J.J., in a reflex action, looked at his own. It was a fancy new one that he’d gotten for his birthday, with five different time zones and a calculator. It said four thirty.
“You’ll be back for dinner?”
“’Course I will. There’s loads of time.” J.J. began to move off again, but Helen called him back.
“Why don’t you do me a favor and drop that cheese in to Anne Korff on your way?”
It wasn’t on his way at all. Anne Korff lived in Doorus, about four miles southwest of the village. J.J. was about to point this out to Helen when he remembered her birthday wish. If it saved her time, he would do it. And the extra time on the road would give him a better chance to work out exactly what he was going to say to Jimmy.
But, oddly enough, he hadn’t even gotten as far as the end of the drive before he knew. He would tell Jimmy the truth. With a bit of luck they would be able to get away from the thirty-two-inch television in Jimmy’s sitting room and find somewhere quiet to talk. Then J.J. would level with him. Man-to-man stuff. “Look, Jimmy. It’s like this. I want to go clubbing, I really do. But I want to play music more. It’s in my blood. I was born to play, you know…?”
If there was time he might go on to tell Jimmy why; let him in on some of the Liddy history. Not all of it, maybe. Not the bit about Helen’s father and thefiddle. The rest, though. Then it would be up to Jimmy. If he really valued the friendship, he would understand. If he didn’t, there wasn’t much J.J. could do about it.
A new bank of dark clouds was rolling in from the west, but it was still dry. The bike was fast. It had had a puncture since the spring and now, flying along the autumn-colored lanes, J.J. found it hard to believe that he’d been without it for the whole summer for the sake of an hour’s work or less. Perhaps that was part of the trick of dealing with this time deficit? Get the priorities right. If he’d had the bike during the summer he could have saved time for himself and for his parents. Maybe Helen’s birthday present wouldn’t turn out to be such a tall order after all. Ciaran had always taught him that anything was possible if you just managed to think about it in the right way.
He crossed the main road at the top end of the village and hurtled down through Croshua toward Doorus and the sea. The bike was a delight. Oxygen was pulsing through J.J.’s brain. He felt