‘Space Mountain?’ Tammy asked, her heart racing. ‘Is that a good one?’
‘Good?’ Conor said, balking at the question. ‘It’s like, the best indoor rollercoaster in the world.’
‘Didn’t know you were such a rollercoaster exp—’
‘Nerd?’ Finn offered.
Tammy chuckled.
‘You kidding?’ Shay said. ‘Ever since he was a kid, Conor’s been nuts about coasters. I remember we went to this crappy funfair when we were still in Coonagh — dogdy as all hell.’
‘Dodgy?’ Tammy asked.
‘Do Americans not say dodgy?’ Shay looked gobsmacked. ‘Feck me sideways, you live in a place for fifteen years and you still don’t know it. Anyway, there was this one ride that—’
‘You pissed yourself when you saw it, didn’t you?’ butted in Conor.
Shay nodded. ‘I did need some convincing to ride it, I admit. But it was a piece of junk. It was one of those, you know, rotating death-trap things. Covered in rust. Like, on the joints and the gimbals.’
Finn nodded. ‘It’s true. It’s a miracle it didn’t break into a thousand pieces.’
‘Anyway,’ Conor had one ride on it and he washooked. How many times did you ride it, Con?’ Tammy had never heard Shay speak like this. It felt incredibly moving to her — he was a man transformed.
‘Once or twice,’ Conor said. They were already heading towards Space Mountain.
‘You said it was twenty-three times,’ Finn said.
Conor looked sheepish. ‘What can I say? It was the start of a lifelong love affair.’
‘So, what’s Space Mountain like?’ asked Tammy. She was holding Conor’s hand. On the PeopleMover, she’d held Finn’s hand. There was one more hand she was desperate to hold before the day was out.
‘Well,’ Conor said, clearly delighted to be asked. ‘It was actually the first-ever indoor rollercoaster. But everyone knows that. More interestingly, it was the first-ever rollercoaster to be controlled entirely by computer.’
Tammy saw Shay behind Conor, yawning dramatically. Finn playfully punched his brother on the shoulder.
‘Thatisinteresting,’ Tammy said.
‘I know,’ Conor scoffed. ‘Course it is. The computer control means that the position of the cars on the rails can be monitored at all times, which leads to an extremely safe experience.’
‘Ooh, safety,’ said Tammy. ‘Sounds exciting.’
Conor narrowed his eyes. ‘You're teasing me now, but when you’re being thrown around the vicious corners of Space Mountain, you’ll be glad for the excellent safety rating.
Tammy gulped.
*
‘But why did you have to buyfivecopies?’ Tammy whined. She sat next to Shay in the living room area of their bungalow. She was so close he could reach out and touch her.
Shay couldn’t keep the grin off his face. He couldn’t stop looking at the photos he’d picked up from the stall as they’d come off Space Mountain. They were all in shot: the three Healy brothers, with Tammy at the front. The expressions on their faces were a little embarrassing, to be honest, but Tammy’s was just… priceless.
‘Well,’ he explained, trying his very best not to break into peals of laughter, ‘there’s one each for me, Conor and Finn. One for you of course.’
‘You can burn mine,’ Tammy deadpanned.
‘Absolutely not,’ Shay said.
There was a muffled curse word from the kitchen and the sound of something sizzling.