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the AFL,’ said Mick.
    Sarah lifted her head from sipping her coffee.
    â€˜Excuse me?’
    Mick just stared back at Sarah, wondering what he had said wrong.
    â€˜Todd’s dad isn’t an AFL coach!’ laughed Sarah.
    â€˜He isn’t?’
    â€˜No! He’s a motor mechanic.’
    â€˜Oh!’ said Mick, looking very surprised.
    There was silence for a moment or two, then Sarah spoke again.
    â€˜That’s really funny. What made you think that Todd’s dad is an AFL coach?’
    Mick wasn’t sure whether he should answer that question, but after one look at Sarah’s worried face he knew he had to.
    â€˜Overheard that too,’ he said.
    â€˜Todd was telling somebody that?’ asked Sarah.
    Mick nodded his head.
    Sarah looked very worried now.
    â€˜Is everything okay, Sarah?’
    â€˜I’m not sure,’ said Sarah.
    Mick looked confused.
    Sarah opened up to him about how they had come to be in Ireland.
    â€˜Todd’s dad and I have been separated for about a year. Todd took it very badly at the beginning. It looked like he was just about getting used to us living apart, but then Scottmet another woman.’
    â€˜Oh!’ said Mick, raising his eyebrows.
    Sarah continued.
    â€˜Don’t get me wrong. I was fine. I had moved on. Scott and I had grown apart over the last few years of our marriage. We just sort of fell out of love, I suppose.’
    Sarah appeared to drift in thought.
    Mick waited patiently. He knew that this must have been difficult for her, but at the same time he felt good that she was telling him this.
    â€˜Poor Todd,’ said Sarah, putting her hands to her face.
    Mick reached out his hand and touched her arm for comfort.
    Sarah smiled.
    â€˜I’m okay. Sorry Mick. You don’t need to be hearing all of this.’
    â€˜No! It’s fine,’ said Mick. ‘Get it all out. You’ll feel better. Trust me. When my wife died, I kept a lot of my pain inside. You’re better off talking about things. A problem shared is aproblem halved,’ smiled Mick.
    Sarah smiled too.
    â€˜His dad used to go to all of his footy games, but when Valerie came on the scene, Scott just seemed to lose interest in Todd. That had a bad effect on Todd. He even insisted on changing his surname from Bradshaw to Bailey, when I decided to go back to my maiden name.’
    â€˜Ah!’ said Mick.
    â€˜Scott is a good father – he always was. He’s coming over next month to see how Todd is settling in.’
    â€˜Really?’ said Mick with a hint of disappointment.
    â€˜Todd started getting involved with some bad kids in Australia, he was getting into trouble a lot. He got expelled from school, Mick.’ Sarah looked to Mick with real guilt as if it was all her fault.
    â€˜You’re not to blame,’ comforted Mick.
    â€˜Really!’ said Sarah. ‘I should have done more. I didn’t realise at the time that he hadstrayed so much. He used to be such a good, happy boy. That’s why I brought him here. I received word from Ireland that my aunt Peggy was ill. She was my dad’s sister. My parents are both dead,’ added Sarah.
    â€˜Sorry to hear that,’ said Mick.
    â€˜Anyway! Here we are, back in Ireland.’
    â€˜Are you here to stay?’ asked Mick.
    â€˜Not sure. I was hoping that a break from home or a new start for Todd would do him good, but if he’s spinning these lies to his new friends, he’s obviously still very angry with Scott. I’m worried, Mick.’
    â€˜Don’t be,’ said Mick. ‘I’ll keep a good eye on him. He’s on the team now and he has this big competition coming up.’
    â€˜The Féile!’ said Sarah.
    â€˜That’s the one,’ said Mick. ‘It’ll do Todd the world of good. He’ll be grand.’
    Sarah smiled. Mick had put her mind at ease.
    * * *
    Later that evening, while Mick was getting the