‘I’m fucking calling them anyway.’
Anyone who didn’t have a vested interested in being part of the fight was trying to push backwards out of the way. In the intervening minute, Crystal appeared to have attached herself to an off-duty sergeant and was trying to cling to his arm like a drug dealer’s moll. Ally could see that William, clearly dazed from the blow he’d received, was struggling to get back on his feet and obviously in trouble. Without a thought, Ally pitched into the mill, grabbed him by the arm as he scrambled to his feet, and the two of them stumbled towards the exit. She was certainly getting close to him tonight, just not in the way she’d expected.
In the meantime, Crystal’s sergeant was using his authority to break up the scrap, as blue flashing lights were already visible through the window.
‘Come on, let’s get out of here,’ said Rosemarie.
The three of them made for the door, only to find themselves face to face with two Gardaí in uniform.
‘Where d’you think you’re going?’ demanded the older-looking one. ‘Come back here, we might need witnesses.’
Oh God.
It turned out that all the Guards recognised each other and clearly nobody was going to get arrested that night. Crystal, who seemed to have volunteered herself as chief witness, claimed it was all a misunderstanding so, in the end, names were taken but there was no appetite to charge anyone with affray.
William’s mates, who were looking decidedly the worse for wear, were banding together, as each took a side of the concussed-looking William.
‘It’s OK, we’ve got him, thanks,’ said Fergus. ‘Never leave a man behind.’
He seemed to have completely forgotten about Rosemarie’s projectile cocktail and that his hair was starting to dry into a sticky helmet. Ronan, on William’s other side, seemed to be still shaking with adrenalin.
‘They were younger, fitter, trained killers .?.?.’ he declared.
Which seemed a slight exaggeration.
‘But we’re still standing,’ finished Fergus, emotionally. ‘This night will not be forgotten.’
He had a trickle of blood running from a cut above his eyebrow.
There was a murmur of assent between the three, and they staggered off into the night.
* * *
‘Well, that was fucking dreadful,’ said Rosemarie mildly, as though she’d been an accidental onlooker and hadn’t actually started the whole thing. ‘Will we go and get a burger?’
They sat opposite one another in Romayo’s fast-food joint, munching their way through a burger and chips, and to hell with calories tonight. It was all too upsetting for Ally to even dream of restraint. Rosemarie was humming and jigging on her seat.
‘It’s my happy food dance,’ she declared. ‘But the thing is,’ she went on through a mouthful of chips, ‘until Fergus insulted me, I was actually thinking he was a bit of a ride. Do you not think when a man is bleeding a bit, it makes him even sexier?’
‘Never occurred to me. I was looking at William. Do you knowwhat? Away from all my crazy shit, he’s actually a really nice guy. I mean, he’s really pretty good-looking, I could bring him home to Mum and Dad.’
‘Careful, Ally. Don’t start, this is you now .?.?. I’m watching the signs – you’re pleasing your family.’
Ally sighed. How could she ever hide anything from Rosemarie?
‘What is it about that male bonding, though? I kind of get the feeling that William would always be happier with his gang than with me.’
‘Naaa, that’s just until they meet the right girl.’
There was something star-crossed about her connection with William. All of their meetings had resulted in some sort of disaster. She expressed this to Rosemarie.
‘D’you think that’s just a coincidence?’
Rosemarie looked thoughtful. ‘Well, what I have noticed is that you have to work very, very hard at being with him.’
It was true – after all, Ally’d grown up in a family that prized hard work and effort above all else, so she wasn’t put off. But .?.?. maybe love was different, and maybe it didn’t all have to be so hard.
Just then, she practically hit the ceiling at a sharp rapping on the window right beside her.
