His Father's Son: To save the son he loves, a desparate father must confront the ghosts of his past by Tony Black Page B

angry.
    “Who the feck is this?” she said.
    “Ahh, now,” said the man, who Marti thought must be Uncle Ardal.
    “Ah, now …” said the strange woman, and then she started to hit Uncle Ardal on the head. Uncle Ardal tried to grab her and stop the hitting but his great big black pants with buttons on all the way up over his big round belly fell right down onto his boots. The woman was very mad, thought Marti, and she was wailing and hitting out at Uncle Ardal and trying to scratch him with her nails, and when she scratched him on the face, he called her a mighty hoor’s melt and gave her a slap. She fell on the floor with the slap and Uncle Ardal bent over and pulled up his pants.
    Aunt Catrin was behind him when he bent over and when he fastened his buttons Aunt Catrin spoke at him in a very slow voice. “When your slut’s put her diddies away the pair of ye can go.”
    Uncle Ardal said nothing, and when he walked away the strange woman tried to stand up but fell over, then she tried again and got up and followed after him.
    Aunt Catrin had a look Marti had never seen on anyone before. Her lips were held together like a tight little knot, then she closed the caravan door and Marti heard her go back inside the house.
    “Mam, will anyone else come in tonight?” said Marti.
    “No, Marti, there’ll be no one else.”
    “But how do you know, Mam?”
    “Marti, I know. Did you see your Aunt Catrin? She could stop a clock with that look. There’ll be no one coming within a mile of this caravan for a long time. Now get to sleep.”
    Marti wondered how Aunt Catrin could stop a clock with a look and then he thought it was just one of the things grown-ups said that wasn’t really true.
    “Mam, I’m cold. My bottle’s gone cold,” he said.
    “I said get to sleep.”
    “But, I’m cold …”
    Mam sat up in bed, her voice was raised. “Marti Driscol, cold is the very least of our worries. I’d say your Aunt Catrin will scrap this caravan tomorrow and we will both be a damn sight colder then, I can assure ye of that. Now get to sleep, whilst we’re lucky enough to have any manner of roof over our heads.”

9
     
    Joey knew all the blokes at the transport section had been too good to him, but wasn’t this going farther than far enough. Macca had told Joey that he was no use to anyone the state he was in. People were too used to seeing him grinning like a pork chop, the stories flowing out of him, but he was a changed man. He knew it himself, sure hadn’t he a face on him as long as today and tomorra since Marti was taken. But what these men were after doing was a heart gladdener.
    Macca and the men from the transport section had the house tightly roped. When the winch was in place Macca gave the say-so and it was raised from its stumps. Joey heard the loud crack of it lifting up and felt the noise like a jab at him. He watched it raised higher, then he watched it lowered on the trailer and every sag and every creak was a blow to him.
    Marti had loved the house. Joey had loved it too. It had been their home, but now that was all over. Marti was gone and the house was going too. When Macca nodded, the men started to throw more ropes over. They slid off the roof and were quickly snatched and tightened under the trailer, front and back. Joey thought his home looked like some manner of giant beast, snared and about to be slaughtered. He could hardly watch.
    “Wait. Wait there,” he said.
    He ran to the trailer and the men stopped to watch him climb onto the white rails and into the house through a window. Inside all was roped and tied, everything from the beds and chairs to the television and the fridge closed tight, the morning’s milk still in it. It was Macca’s idea to auction it all together in one lot. Joey walked into Marti’s room and took down the Superman picture. It had hung there since the day they picked out the house. There was no way he could leave it.
    On the way out he had an urge to take one