Niamh crept into the gard's house very early in the morning. She opened the door of her marital bedroom as quietly as she could. She looked inside. Both Ambrose and Kieran were asleep in the bed. Niamh shut the door again.
Ambrose opened his eyes, trying to come to terms with the fact that she was only getting back just now. What had she and Sean been doing?
Niamh went into the lounge room, took off her jacket and sat down in an armchair. She put the jacket over herself and a cushion behind her head and she tried to sleep.
...
Giggling, Peter and Assumpta fell onto their bed, several items of clothing already gone. Straightening himself up on top of her, Peter suddenly let out a yell.
"What's wrong?" Assumpta wore an expression of concern that only parents and partners with strong foundation love are capable of wearing.
Peter sat up and looked down at his bare knees. "Oh," he said, and began to laugh.
"What? What is it?"
"I had an argument with a police car!"
"What?"
"Ambrose was driving away and I thought it was a good idea to jump in front…"
"You idiot!" Assumpta sat up and looked at his knees. There were enormous purple bruises on both, and some swelling. "Oh, I'm gonna kill Ambrose! Are you OK?"
"Yeah. He stopped, it's not his fault."
"Not quick enough, clearly! Doesn't he know that you're a stupid idiot who jumps out in front of cars?"
Peter snorted. "No!"
"Don't laugh about it, that was very stupid and you will not do it ever again."
"OK." He grinned. "Now, where were we?"
"You idiot." Assumpta paused. "So I'm on top, am I?"
"Yep."
She was on top of him very, very quickly.
...
Donal sat on a hill chewing on a piece of grass and humming. Liam was leaning, or rather, lying, against his back, his eyes closed. Donal began to sing:
"Seven million gallons of porter -"
"Oh, shut up, Donal, will ya?" grunted Liam.
"How d'you feel now?"
Liam looked like hell. "Oh God, me head's in bits."
"It was a great party last night, wasn't it?"
"No. I'm giving up the gargle."
"Ha."
"You know what it is, Donal? We're going nowhere."
"Are we s'posed to be going somewhere?"
"I'm telling ya. Things are so bad, I'm thinking of emigrating."
"To Cilldargan?"
"Cilldargan? Sure, that's only three miles away!"
"Yeah."
A kind of loud suction noise was heard behind them and the two men turned their heads. Something very large and rainbow-coloured was floating past them.
Liam became very distressed. "Oh Donal, I'm getting the DTs!"
"Well either that's a hot air balloon, or I am too!"
...
A large blue mug appeared by the head of the woman sleeping on the chair.
"Niamh?" said a voice. "Tea."
Niamh opened her eyes and looked up at Ambrose. "Thanks."
"I've given Kieran his breakfast. See you tonight."
"What time is it?"
"Eight-thirty." He paused. "You didn't have to sleep down here."
"I didn't want to wake you."
The tension was thick between them. Ambrose got up the courage to ask, "Did you enjoy yourself last night?"
"It was OK." Niamh stood up. "Do you have to go to work today? Can't you ring in sick?"
"I'm not sick."
"I know. But I want to talk to you."
"We can talk tonight. Unless you've got another party to go to." He turned and walked quickly to the stairs.
"Ambrose!"
"Kieran is watching a video, but he'll get bored with that in about half an hour, you'll need to check him."
"I know how to look after Kieran!"
He turned on the stairs. "Do you? Well at least one of us was here when he woke up in the middle of the night." He finished climbing the stairs and put his hand on the doorknob.
"Ambrose, don't walk out on me!"
"I thought it was you that was walking out on me!" Ambrose opened the door, walked through it and was gone.
...
"There's a picture of it in one of the books, I remember seeing it." Father Aiden opened the broken door of an old cupboard and took out a large leather-bound book. "This one, yes. You see, about two hundred years ago there was this balloon race from Faungloss to Knockbeg."
He found a tarnished poster inside the book and showed it to Orla. "There we go."
"L'ascent de Francoise D'argan," read Orla.
"Dargan, that's the French feller," said Donal.
"Nah, can't be the same one," said Liam. It wasn't his smartest hour.
"Might be a descendent," suggested Aiden.
"Pour le grond pricks de catrison -" Donal began.
"It's grand prix," Liam corrected.
"Heh! Formula One balloons!"
"It means a big prize," explained Orla.
"That's what the Dargan feller said," said Liam to Father Aiden. "He's having a balloon race today, for a big prize."
"And he wants you to start it," Donal added.
Aiden looked confused. "Why me?"
"You're the priest."
"Yes?"
"Yeah, everyone knows you need a priest to start a balloon race!" grunted Orla.
"Ah."
"Mind you," she continued. "There's a strong possibility he could be trying to make grand pricks out of the lot of ya!"
...
Niamh stepped out the front door of the Garda house with Kieran on her hip. She locked the door behind her and looked across at Fitzgerald's. Looking away again, she walked to her car. Kathleen, who had been sweeping the steps in front of her shop, watched her closely. "Morning after the night before?" she called.
"Something like that," Niamh replied, putting Kieran into his car seat.
Kathleen walked towards them, a look of disapproving pleasure in her eyes. "You looked like you were having a ball at Sean Dillon's last night," she said.
Niamh looked haggard, but she didn't falter. "I thought we all were."
"Ambrose left very suddenly, I thought!" Kathleen looked at Niamh curiously, probingly. "You didn't notice?"
Niamh could no longer meet her eyes. "Like you said, Kathleen, morning after the night before."
"I wish you a rapid recovery, then."
Niamh got into the car and closed the door, her heart racing.
...
The phone rang in the bedroom. Assumpta gave an irritated grunt, rolled over and opened her eyes. She picked up the handset. "Hello?"
"Just thought you should know," said Siobhan. "Niamh's left Kieran with me and she's gone to see Sean."
"Oh, right."
"I don't want to get involved in this, so I'm not going to do anything else."
"No no, that's fine, is Kieran OK with you, can you manage?"
"For now."
The receiver went dead. Assumpta replaced the handset, grunted again and rolled onto Peter.
"Who was that?" he asked.
"Siobhan. Apparently Niamh's left Kieran with her."
"Oh."
"Nice that she didn't leave him with us, gave us an extra five minutes' sleep, anyway." She closed her eyes again.
"Where's Niamh gone, then?"
"Can I go back to sleep, please?"
Peter raised his head and looked at the clock radio on Assumpta's side of the bed. "Oh my."
"Oh, what now?"
"It's ten-thirty."
Assumpta shot up in bed. "WHAT?"
...
Sean was sitting in a booth at a bar in Cilldargan, a look of worry on his face. The door opened and he looked around. It was Niamh. He stood up, and said an awkward, "Hi."
She smiled, looked behind herself to make sure nobody was watching, and sat down. There were dark shadows under her eyes.
"He knows, Sean," she said. "He saw us."
"Well what was there to see? We danced. We talked."
Someone else entered the bar and they both averted their eyes from each other until he walked away.
"And then you went home," Sean finished.
"Sean, Ambrose isn't stupid - if he saw us, he knows."
"What are you gonna do?"
"I s'pose go back and wait for him."
"Do you have to go right away?" His eyes were sad, pleading.
"What do you want to do?"
"Nothing. I just wanna be with you. I want us to go away together, and be by ourselves."
Niamh gave a tentative smile. "Let's go, then."
...
Assumpta was rushing around the bar, flicking switches and stacking glasses and hurriedly writing the day's menu on the blackboard. "Let's hope no-one orders any of these before they've finished cooking!" she said as Peter came down the stairs.
"I'm going to see Ambrose," he told her. "See if he's alright."
"Right." She didn't look at him, her eyes focussed on her hurried task.
Peter walked across the street and knocked on the door of the Garda house. No-one answered. He waited a few moments, and then he realised that the police car wasn't there.
He walked back into Fitzgerald's. His wife was no longer in the bar, but there were noises coming from the kitchen. As he approached the door, there was a thud and he heard Assumpta yell, "Ow!"
Peter opened the door to find a frying pan spinning on the floor and Assumpta hopping. Concern flashed across his face until he saw that the pan was empty, and then he smiled. "You OK?"
"Fine!" she grunted.
He stepped forward and put an arm around her.
"No no no, no time for hugs!" She grabbed up the frying pan and put it on the stove, then rushed over to the table and began hurriedly chopping onions.
"Err…Assumpta?"
"What? Why are you still standing there?"
"Most of the population of Ballyk were at a very happening party last night. I'd say that a fairly large proportion of them have woken up hungover, and there's a pretty good chance that that proportion includes absolutely all of your regulars."
She turned her head to look at him. "So?"
"So, would you want to go to a pub when you were hungover?"
"Oh."
He smiled. "Relax. Stop rushing. One injured soldier is enough around here!"
"Yeah."
"Have you got time for a hug now?"
She looked at the onions, then back at him. "OK."
He stepped forward, kissed her on the forehead and hugged her. "Now, I dunno if you know anything, but can I assume that wherever Niamh's gone, she's not with Ambrose?"
"Oh, yeah, Siobhan said she'd gone to see Sean."
"Right." Peter took this in. "He's not at home, so I'm going to look for him. Can I borrow your van?"
"Sure, the keys are over there. Only, don't dive in front of his car, either in my van or on your own!"
...
Ambrose pulled over on a patch of grass at the side of a narrow country road. He got out of the car and leaned against it.
A small voice came from within the car. "Alpha Bravo One, Alpha Bravo One, come in, please."
Ambrose leaned back into the car and picked up his radio.
"Alpha Bravo One, Alpha Bravo One, come in -" The voice stopped dead as Ambrose turned the radio off. He threw it back into the car.
He didn't even lock the car or roll up its windows, just grabbed his jacket from the back seat and began to walk along the road.
...
Two balloons flew high above the Wicklow countryside, one rainbow-coloured, the other black and white.
"Hey!" came Brian's voice from the black and white balloon. "How do you steer this thing?"
A garbled reply floated back to him in French.
"What?"
The Frenchman repeated himself.
"What did you say to him?" Donal asked.
"I told 'im to mind 'is own business'a!"
"Merci boku to you too, mate!" called Brian.
"What are we gonna do now?" Orla asked him.
"What are we gonna do, we're gonna compete!" He increased the gas and flames shot into the balloon. It jerked sideways and Orla yelped.
"Err...They're going that way," she said.
...
Peter drove around the whole of the parish of Cilldargan looking for Ambrose. To the lake, to the grotto, up into the mountains near the old mine. He even went up to Sean Dillon's place. "Ambrose!" he called across the fields. He went right up to the house, but there was nobody there. Not even Niamh and Sean were there.
...
Sean and Niamh stood in an old boathouse at the edge of the lake. Among many others like them, there were five letters carved into one of the rafters, "NQ JOD". Sean was peering up at them. "Niamh Quigley loves JOD…JOD…"
Niamh flashed him a wry smile. "Jimmy O'Driscoll."
"Jimmy O'Driscoll." Sean laughed. "I remember him!"
"I was younger then than Emma is now."
"It all seemed so easy then. Life. Falling in love."
"Falling in love is still easy." Niamh took him into her arms. "Being in love…I don't know." She pulled back and looked at him. "Why does this have to happen now?"
"What are we going to do?"
"Be grown up about it."
"Come and live with me."
The kiss was sweet, desperate, but short. She pulled away.
"Niamh." He wanted more.
"I'm sorry."
"No, I'm sorry." He let her take him into her arms again.
"I don't want to be grown up about it," she said, holding him to her as close as she could.
...
Ambrose strode down the windswept hill, and a small smile formed on his face as he saw the tiny beach below.
...
Brendan, walking alone along a quiet dirt road with his bicycle and a newly found canine companion, was most surprised to see not one, not two, but four cars fly past him and then pull up in a cloud of dirt. "What's going on?" he asked Aiden.
"Have you seen two balloons?" the priest replied.
"I have," Brendan looked above and to the right of himself, and had begun to raise his hand when he was distracted by Emma.
"What a lovely dog, what's she called?" she asked.
"Oh, we don't know her name, we think she's been abandoned."
"Brendan, where are they?" asked Aiden.
"Oh, poor thing," said Emma.
"Yeah," said Brendan. "We think they threw her out because she was pregnant."
Aiden was gazing up at the sky, his mouth open.
"All she needs is a good home, just while she's having her puppies," Brendan continued.
"Poor little dog."
"I know."
"Brendan." Aiden tapped him on the arm.
Brendan looked at the priest, then back at Emma. "Poor little defenceless puppies." He was really fishing now. "Siobhan would've taken her, but what with Aisling and the other animals…"
"Brendan," said Emma, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We'll have her."
"Oh?" Brendan looked delighted.
"Brendan, which way did they go?" Aiden repeated.
"Over there." Brendan pointed at a large hill.
"Right," said Aiden. "Well, there's nothing for it, then. Let's go!"
He began to stride up the hill, and the motley collection of Ballykissangel residents followed him.
"You don't seriously mean we have to climb this hill?" said Siobhan.
"It's just a brisk walk, Siobhan," Brendan stated.
"Come on, everyone," said Aiden, taking off his jacket and moving faster. He ended up taking Aisling's pusher from Siobhan and pushing it himself.
"This is ridiculous," said Siobhan.
"So turn back, then," said Brendan.
"I didn't ask you."
"What do you mean, Kathleen?" asked Father Mac, bringing up the rear.
"I know people think I'm a gossip, but there was something I wanted to say about…Niamh and Ambrose."
"Oh?"
"Not being married myself, I don't want to meddle in other people's marriages…"
"Specifically?" the priest pressed her.
"I think that…things are happening between Niamh and…somebody else."
"I see them!" called Aiden from the front, where he'd almost reached the top of the hill. "Up here! Come on!" He gestured for everyone to follow him.
He was right. The two balloons were hanging very close together in the air above the hill, not moving at all.
"Monsieur Dargan," said Liam, sipping a cup of espresso in the rainbow-coloured balloon's basket.
"Yeah," grunted the Frenchman, looking through his binoculars on the other side of the basket.
"Why aren't we moving?"
The reply came in French as Monsieur Dargan began flailing his arms about. "Why aren't we moving – there is no winnda!"
Donal sucked a finger and held it up. Sure, there was no wind.
...
Ambrose was strolling on the pebbly beach in the cove. He bent to pick up a smooth rock and looked at it. Then he heard it, the voice.
"Help! Help! Is anybody there? Help!"
Dropping the rock, Ambrose turned and ran.
...
Peter had almost given up, but he just thought he'd try this one last desolate road. He'd never been along it before, but it looked suitably deserted for somebody who was feeling heart-broken and depressed to take solace somewhere along it. But then, he'd told himself that about just about every road he'd driven down so far. "Oh, why am I doing this?" he said. He wondered if Assumpta needed help with the bar. He shouldn't have left her there by herself. Not that she couldn't handle it, but…
A flicker on the dash board caught his attention. The fuel light had just come on. "Oh, God…" he said. He was so unused to driving now that he hadn't thought to fill up. "Oh no, no, no…"
Peter stopped the vehicle and began to turn around. If he was going to run out of fuel, it couldn't be here, in the middle of nowhere. But the road was narrow, so he had to do a three point turn. It was as he was on the third point that he saw it in the rear view mirror. He couldn't even tell what it was at first, but it was blue and clearly man-made, which was very unlike everything else around. Peter turned and looked through the back window. Then, with a sudden rev of the engine, he swung the van off the road, pulled on the handbrake, got out and began running towards the police car.
