Darren Dillon expertly manoeuvred the Happy Hart tug on to the Crowsbridge quay and came out to help Conor usher the cars and one van off.
‘You’re a bit quiet this morning, mate,’ Darren noted as he took his gloves off, lit a cigarette and leaned on the side railing of the float.
‘Yeah, I’ve got something on my mind, true enough.’ Conor sighed. ‘Big shit, actually.’
‘Wanna talk about it?’
‘I’m not sure.’
‘Remember that I’ve kept a pretty big secret to myself for a good few years, so I do know how to keep my mouth shut.’
They both laughed.
‘Your Bill can’t hear about this just yet,’ Conor warned him. ‘Just so you know.’
‘I can respect that, mate.’
Conor looked out to the estuary mouth and took a deep breath. ‘Star’s pregnant.’
‘Oh man.’
‘Tell me. I really like the girl, she’s great as you know, but I wasn’t quite ready for this little bombshell.’
‘I can imagine.’
‘I really like it down here too, but again, it’s a big commitment to start a new life in a place I barely know.’
‘You have Frank and Monique and me and Bill already as family and friends, so it’s not as if you are on your own.’
‘My son is in Ireland,’ Conor said heavily.
‘And? How often do you see him? Cornwall is not a million miles from anywhere really.’
‘I know, I know. I think it’s the “where do I go next with Star” thing that’s bothering me the most. I don’t want to make another mistake. I’ve only known the girl five minutes.’
‘Well, you’ve made one big mistake, so what’s another?’ Darren laughed as he took a large drag of his cigarette and blew out a massive ring of smoke into the freezing air.
‘Thanks a lot.’ Conor jokingly swiped at his arm. ‘What’s important is herself at the moment. I mean, she’s got to go through the pregnancy and have the little mite.’
‘Give it the seventy-two-hour rule.’
‘That’s a new one on me. What do you mean?’
‘It’s something my old man taught me. Problems that seem impossible, you wait around three days – the seventy-two hours – before doing anything, and then they either don’t seem so bad, or something happens to take the edge off the drama.’
Conor said soberly, ‘That baby is not going away.’
‘Yes, but you may see things a little more clearly.’
‘Let’s hope your dad takes a bit of his own medicine there, eh?’ Conor put his big hand on Darren’s shoulder. ‘Thanks, mate.’
‘Glad to be of help.’ Darren gestured at the cars already lining up on the quay. ‘Right, let’s get back to business – and mum’s the word on this, I promise.’
‘Ha ha – very funny. Ever thought of being a comedian?’ Conor shook his head as he opened the gate and let the waiting customers stream on board the floating deck.