"How long has it been, Aidh?"

Killian shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "You haven't changed much."

She laughed again. It was the same lilting, girlish laugh that he'd loved when he'd only been a snapper.

She squeezed his hand a bit harder.

"Are you still in America?" she asked.

"No, no, I've been back a few years now. England for a while, but back here for good I think."

"And you're in trouble?" she asked, with concern in those hazel eyes.

With her forehead knitting like that, she looked older. Old.

"A wee bit of bother, nothing for you to concern yourself with."

"Ha!" she said and pinched him. "I stopped worrying about you, last century. The nerve of ya!"

Killian's grin broadened.

There was a bang outside and he flinched, but when he looked out the window he saw that it was only fireworks they were letting off after the conclusion of the fair.

"Where do you live?" she asked. "Are you on the road?"

"No, I've got a wee place down in Carrick. I actually have some flats up in Belfast too. Can't get rid of them. You know what the property market's like."

"Is that the bother you're in?"

"No. It's a different kind of bother."

She nodded, drank her gla.s.s and dragged the bottle across the coffee table with her foot. She filled two more gla.s.ses.

"How's Karen?" he asked after a deep breath.

She beamed. A big easy smile with no recrimination in it.

"She's doing well. You know how hard it is for the first year."

"First year of what?"

"She has twins."

Killian's heart skipped a beat.

"Twins?"

"You hadn't heard? No, how would ya?"

She stood. "Hold on a wee minute. I've got a picture. Hold on there sunshine." She went to the back room of the caravan and came back a moment later with a small picture of two baby girls in pink nightgowns. They were about six months old in the photograph and both had a shock of red hair.

"Oh my G.o.d," Killian said, delighted.

His hand was shaking and he could feel the tears.

"You can keep that if you want," Katie said, moved. "They look like a couple of wee trolls don't they?"

Killian shook his head. "No. They look beautiful. I can really keep this?"

Katie leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Of course you can, love," she said.

It was the waterworks now and Killian sniffed and dabbed his face with his sleeve.

Rachel and her weans. And now these two little gangsters.

He turned his head from her.

It was almost too much.

He took his sodden wallet out of his back pocket and carefully put the photograph under the clear plastic where his driving licence should be.

The wallet gave him an idea.

He looked between the notes and found a slightly damp cheque.

"Have you got a pen?" he asked.

Katie looked at the cheque and shook her head. "Don't be doing that now," she muttered.

"I want to," he insisted. "It's okay. My problems aren't financial. It's the right thing to do and I want to."

"She's doing great. She's with this guy. Regular guy. Civilian. Not in The Life. English."

"She's married?"

"Not as such. But, you know, it's a steady thing. He's called Trevor. Works for the Civil Service. He has a goatee."

Killian laughed. "That's the clincher is it?"

"You can mock. I've met him. He's good. You'd like him."

"I like him already. Gimme a pen, woman."

After a wee bit more poking she found a biro and he wrote a cheque for ten thousand pounds and gave it to her. He knew he could trust Katie to give Karen the bulk of it.

"This is too much," she said.

"Take it."

Katie took the cheque and of course by now she was crying too.

"Have you seen Donal?" she asked by way of changing the subject.

Killian nodded. "Aye, he's fixing me a place. His place in fact."

"He's a good 'un too."

Killian sighed and got to his feet. "Well, I suppose I better..."

They stood there and looked at one another. The years and the mistakes and everything else seemed to evaporate and there they were two weans again, sort of, but not really, in love.

"How are the rest of your kids?" Killian said, remembering his manners.

"Everyone's fine," Katie said. "Now, look, the fireworks are reaching their climax which means that everything's gonna be over and my old man will be along in a wee minute."

Killian nodded and went to the door.

Katie hid the cheque under a coffee jar. "I won't cash this until you're free of your present difficulties," she said.

"No, no, cash it now, please, it'll make me feel better knowing that you're sending something to her. And really I'm fine for money."

"Okay," she said.

He put his hand on the door handle, but before he could leave she gave him a hug and a kiss and then pushed him outside into the dusk.

She waved to him from the living-room window and then pulled over the curtains.

He hoped she really would cash it.

He coughed and wiped the tears from his face and touched the wallet with the picture in it.

He couldn't resist another look.

Two wee gangsters indeed.

Donal saw him from the other side of the campsite and waved. Killian put the photograph away.

"You're all set, mate," Donal said. "It's a fairly big caravan as you can see, you and your lady friend will have a twin and the girls can share the double, unless you want it the other way around?"

"No, that sounds fine," Killian said. He'd probably sleep on the sofa anyway.

He shook Donal's hand. "You're a real lifesaver, mate," he said.

Donal shrugged. "Don't even mention it. Remember there's stew if you want it."

"I forgot about that, I'll ask the girls."

They shook hands again and Killian walked down to the beach.

Word had gotten round about him already and a skinny character, almost as tall as he was, intercepted him in the car park.

He was gangly and bearded with a sleekit wee player grin.

"I'm Tommy Trainer," Tommy said.

"Aye, I thought so," Killian said.

"Just to let you know, Katie's with me," he said.

"How old are you, son?" Killian asked.

"Twenty-two," Tommy said.

Killian nodded. "You take care of her, okay? She's a good woman and I wouldn't want to hear anything bad about ya."

Tommy blinked. "Why what would you do about it, pal?" he said.

Killian stroked his chin and thought about it. "I think with you I'd geld you like a horse, with hot wire, so there'd be no significant blood loss. Aye, I think that's what I'd do."

Killian grinned and held Tommy's stare until Tommy grinned and then both of them laughed. "You're a case, so you are, old man," Tommy said.

"Aye, that's right, I'm a case," Killian replied and walked down to the beach.

There was a still a small crowd watching the last of the rockets shoot into the air and burst in a display of green and golden sparkles.

The smell was cordite and seaweed and home-made ice cream and beer.

He found Rachel and the girls sitting on a tree trunk.

Rachel was smoking a cigarette and there were four other b.u.t.ts beside her. It had been a h.e.l.l of a day.

He sat next to her. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," she replied and pa.s.sed him the ciggie.

He shook his head.

"How are we doing, girls?" he asked.

"We got ice cream and we rode a donkey and we patted the horses and we even went to the water and a man gave us a necklace that he'd made and then there was fireworks!" Sue said breathlessly.

Their eyes were wide and excited and sleepy.

Killian smiled. "There's food if you want it, some sort of stew," he said.

Rachel shook her head. "I think we'll just put the girls to bed, it's been an emotional twenty-four hours."

"That it has," he agreed.