His Father's Son: To save the son he loves, a desparate father must confront the ghosts of his past Read Online Free

at yeerself, woman.” He grabbed Shauna by the arm and forced her to stare into the mirror hanging in the hallway. “Look … look, would ye?”
    “I won’t, I won’t look,” she said and struggled to free her arm from Joey’s grip.
    “Look, look at what you’re doing to yourself.”
    “No. I won’t. Leave me. Leave me .”
    Joey watched Shauna in the mirror, her face contorted, and then he threw her arm aside. “Gladly,” he said and snatched up his keys, showing her his back as he walked for the door he had just come through.

2
     
    When Mam and Dad had a fight Marti always missed what the fight was about. It was like someone had said, “Ready, steady, go,” and they did. He knew he could listen forever, but there would be no clue to explain the fight. It was just what Mam and Dad did. Sometimes after a fight one of them walked off and slammed a door. If it was Dad who slammed the door, Mam would curl up on the sofa, start the bubbling with the tears and call for Marti to come and give her a hug. But if it was Mam to slam the door, Dad would sit at the kitchen table and smoke the cigarettes called Majors until she came home and say, “So, is that your tail between your legs now?”
    This time it was Dad who slammed the door. Marti had come home to find Mam curled up on the sofa crying. He tried not to make a noise and creep past but Mam heard him and said, “Come here, come and give Mam a hug.”
    He didn’t want to give Mam a hug. He felt too big to be giving her hugs all the time. He didn’t want to feel too big to have Dad show him the trick with the green flower thing dancing but he wanted to be too big to give Mam a hug. Some boys at school were always getting hugs from their mam at the gate and they were called Mummy’s Boys by the others, and he didn’t want to be one of the Mummy’s Boys.
    “Marti, will you come over to me,” said Mam. She was all puffy in the face and had black stuff round her eyes. There was some snot too, some snot and a lot of wet tears on her big red puffy cheeks. She would probably give him a kiss with the hug and he might have to get some snot on him then, which wouldn’t be nice, he thought.
    “Marti,” said Mam.
    “I’m coming,” he said, and when he walked over and put his arms around her she grabbed him and started the hard bubbling with the tears. Marti wondered why he had bothered, but he thought she would have started the even harder bubbling if he hadn’t given her the hug. Mam hugged Marti so tight that he couldn’t move, and when he even tried there were more tears and little cries like bird noises. Mam hugged him for a very long time and it started to get dark outside. He could feel his eyes closing but his mind was awake and wondering if Mam had the sadness that Dad called the Black Dog.
    One time when Mam had the Black Dog Marti asked them what it was. “Sure, it’s the curse of the Irish, son,” said Dad. This made him confused, because when Dad had fallen in Pete’s swimming pool with the leaves in it Mam had said something else was the curse of the Irish. “I thought the drink was the curse of the Irish, Dad?” said Marti.
    Mam and Dad had both started to laugh very loudly.
    “Sure, we’re a very unfortunate nation altogether, son,” said Dad when the laughing was stopped, and then he looked at Mam and spoke again. “Haven’t we curses just queuing up for us.”
    When Marti woke in the morning Mam was still sleeping and hugging him tight. He thought maybe he should wake her to get him ready for school. Then he remembered Dad had said it was sometimes better to leave her when she had the Black Dog, because it was a bit like an illness, and when you have an illness, rest is the best thing for you.
    He left Mam to sleep. He thought about saying a little prayer for her. That’s what they would have said to do at school, but he knew they didn’t say prayers in the Driscol house anymore. Dad said they were all a long way from a state of