CONNOR O'BRIEN
Currently 29, Connor was 13 when his parents divorced – which Connor took very hard. Nicknamed “Duck” by his older brother, this moniker stuck at an early age because of Connor’s early fear of being hit by any kind of ball (football, baseball, soccer ball) causing him to “duck” out of the way. The root of this fear grew after Connor was hit in the mouth (causing the loss of his two temporary front teeth) by a baseball thrown by his father who, ironically, was teaching Connor how to stay in front of the ball… and not be afraid of getting hit. Connor also had a lot of health issues as a child: croup, impetigo, tonsillitis, ear infections… And even though his mother was still married and living at home for these early illnesses, it was often his grandmother who stayed up nights with Connor while he ran high fevers, coughed, and cried in discomfort and pain – while his mother was busy caring for the other three, then four, children. As a result, Connor and his grandmother have a strong and unique bond, one that Megan wishes she shared with Connor and about which Megan is subconsciously jealous. Connor may feel like the family’s “odd man out” but the O’Brien “fire in the belly” so often referred to by Nell about Mick and Mick’s father, has been growing in Connor’s belly and has the potential of becoming a raging inferno.