Dear Frankie Page #2

and be a good boy for your mammy.

Love from your daddy.

Hey, Frankie boy, bet you're dead excited

about seeing your da?

Why don't you just lay down and die?

Ignore him, Frankie.

Bet you didn't even know his boat was coming!

Of course he knew, stupid.

And you don't need to shout.

He can see what you're saying... unfortunately.

I bet you all my trump cards

your da doesn't come.

If he comes, I'll give you the lot.

If he doesnae come,

you have to give me every single one of

your stamps and your knife, to keep for ever.

No, Frankie, don't. Don't do it.

Dear Da, sorry I haven't written for a few days.

Things have been very busy here.

I suppose you've been busy too,

now that you've had to change course

and sail back north.

Ricky Monroe told me.

Trust him to put his big feet right in it.

I've told him hundreds and hundreds of times

you might not even get shore leave.

But he doesn't know about these things

He's not very clever. And he's a liar.

He said you wouldn't want to come

and see us, even if you could.

So, guess what, Da? I've made a bet.

I bet Ricky Monroe you were coming.

Then I said I'd bring you

to the football trials to prove it.

Hey, slowcoach, I'm waiting on those chips.

OK, hold your horses, I'm doing them.

Everything all right?

Yeah, everything's fine. Absolutely fine.

I need the money for the milk.

We owe three weeks

and he'll be here first thing.

My purse is on the table,

and don't do that again.

- Don't do what?

- Come in here without knocking.

I thought you were Frankie.

So? You shouldnae have anything to hide.

Shut the door.

I've got something I need to show you.

I knew something like this would happen.

I told you, didn't I?

What are we going to do?

Move?

Lizzie, darling, listen, you cannae keep running.

You've got to face this sometime.

Tell Frankie the truth. He should know, Lizzie.

He should know what his daddy was.

Then maybe he'd stop wishing for him.

Have you forgotten what it was like?

No, I haven't forgotten. But it's over now.

It's over and done with. Davey's dead.

Davey's not dead.

I check that paper every week.

I know he's not dead.

He could walk in through that door

any minute now and take what's his.

No, he won't walk in.

- How do you know that?

- I just know it.

Lizzie, darling, you're my daughter

and I love you, but you're wrong.

You've stopped living your life.

You're the one that's dead.

That's not what Frankie needs.

He doesnae need lies in a letter.

He needs flesh and blood.

- Where are you going?

- For cigarettes.

Hello?

Hello? Who is this?

Go away.

Just go away and leave us alone.

For God's sake, just leave us alone.

Do you believe in mermaids?

I do. I think the sea's full of them.

I saw one once, over at Meagle Point.

There. What do you think?

Do I look like a mermaid?

Frankie, why don't you ask your mammy?

Ask her if your daddy's going to come.

I know. You want to know,

but you don't want to know.

Tricky.

You know what I would do,

if I was in your situation?

I'd look in my mammy's wardrobe.

Whenever there's something

my mammy doesn't want me to see,

she hides it in the back of her wardrobe.

I've found hundreds of things in there.

Condoms...

...dirty videos, cheap cigarettes.

See, I bet your daddy's written

to your mammy and told her he's coming,

but not to tell you because it's a surprise.

Girls love secrets, Frankie.

It'll be in the back of her wardrobe.

Trust me. I know these things.

Wardrobe.

The key's here somewhere.

Aw!

Perfect.

Look, Frankie, a bride's dress.

What are you doing with that?

That's mine. Put it down.

What else did you touch?

What else?

What else did you touch?

Never go near my things again,

do you hear me?

They're mine.

They're nothing to do with you. Nothing.

I'm entitled to some privacy.

I'm allowed one thing of my own. Just one.

One single thing that's mine.

I'm here, Frankie.

I'm the one that's here.

I'm the one that's still here!

Are you still in a huff with me?

I wish you wouldn't sit there. You'll get a chill.

Suit yourself.

I need to tell you something important.

Of course he wants to see you.

He might not want to see me,

but he'll always want to see you.

You're his boy.

Maybe he just can't, Frankie.

It's been a long time.

Like yourself.

You look like yourself.

Heard from your dad yet, Frankie boy?

Hold on! I wasnae finished with that.

Well, hurry up. I haven't got all night.

Come on, Frankie, you too. Eat.

Where's the bloody fire?

I'm going out, that's all.

If the wind changes, your faces'll stay like that.

Bacardi and Coke, please.

I hope you're not working, sweetheart.

We don't do deals in here.

No. On your bike.

# Spiegel Im Spiegel

I suppose you're dying to know

what I was doing.

Well, I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't, but...

...that doesn't mean you have to tell me.

I was looking for a man.

A stranger.

No past, no present...

...no future.

I was looking for a man to be Frankie's dad.

Just for a day, one single day,

and I was going to pay him to do it.

Where the hell have you been?

I've been worried sick.

I've been at Marie's.

Everything's all right now.

Pass to me!

Dear Da, in case you're interested,

the football trials are on Saturday

at Boundary Park.

10:
30.

Mr Fraser said I could get

into the reserves if I want.

But I don't. I'm rubbish at football.

Who cares about a stupid bet anyway?

Yes!

Another goal by the master!

I know

you're only three whole days away,

so you might not even get this letter.

If you can't come and see me,

that's all right, I understand.

Ma says it's been a long time

and you've probably changed.

I have, that's for sure.

I'm now four foot eight inches tall,

and I have brownish hair, just like Ma's.

Do you know something funny, Da?

I think Ma knew you'd be coming.

That's why she brought us here.

I think she wanted you to find us.

Lizzie Morrison?

Yeah.

An Americano. Strong.

- Just water.

- Sparkling or still?

Tap.

Don't get service like this at Marie's.

Marie didn't tell me much about you.

No past, present or future.

That's what you said you wanted.

Frankie's letters to his dad.

He's been writing them for a few years now.

He's a lovely wee writer.

Well, you'll see that for yourself.

He sends them to a post office box

here in Glasgow,

and I collect them twice a month

and then I write back.

Um, this is one of mine.

That's a Scottish postmark.

Yeah, I've told him there's a central mail depot,

and that all the letters from the ship go there.

He doesnae question it.

I make it all up. I've been making it up for years.

I made up the boat.

I saw the name on a stamp.

How was I to know

the bloody boat actually existed?

That's Frankie,

a couple of months before his dad left.

And this is him now.

Frankie's deaf, but he's a champion lip-reader.

How old is he?

Nine.

And a half.

Does he remember what his dad looks like?

I don't remember what he looks like.

It's been a while.

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