out of bed.
She swung her legs to the floor, then stood and crossed to the door to pull the curtains back. No one for miles to see her standing there in the ratty old T-shirt she slept in, unless she counted some curious sheep a few miles away. The sky hung low with grey clouds, and sheets of rain swept across the harbor, obscuring and then revealing the hills beyond. In the nearest pasture the cows were huddled together in one corner. The land on the right was filled with dark pines, closely packed, with no visible buildings. A few birds she couldn’t identify swooped low over the water, then sped away.
She shook herself.
Take a shower
,
put some clothes on, and go eat breakfast. Then visit Mrs. Nolan. Then come back and take a long hard look at Sullivan’s.
She showered, dressed in her last clean pair of jeans, and shoved her feet, sockless, into her shoes. After running a comb through her hair, she declared herself ready to attack breakfast.
“Ah, there you are,” Ellen said cheerfully as Maura walked into the kitchen. “Will you be wanting the full breakfast again?”
“Don’t go to any trouble, please. You can give me whatever’s easy.”
“If you don’t mind what the children have left, there’s plenty. Always late for school, they are. Except Gráinne here.” Ellen reached down to tousle the curls of the little girl that had been hiding behind her legs. “Come on, darlin’, let Mummy do breakfast for the nice lady.” Gráinne didn’t budge, but stuck her thumb in her mouth and stared at Maura. “Shall I bring it out to you?”
“Do you mind if I sit in here with you again?” Maura asked. “I like having someone to talk to, and besides, I’ve got some questions for you.”
Ellen cocked her head at Maura curiously. “I’d be glad of the company—it’s a treat to talk with someone older than ten, and I have few guests this time of year. Gráinne, will you sit down at the table now?”
Reluctantly Gráinne sidled up to a chair across from Maura and climbed into it.
“Coffee, Maura?” Ellen asked.
“I’ll take tea, if you’ve got it made. I should get used to it, shouldn’t I?”
“Sure.” Ellen filled a mug and set it in front of Maura.“My husband, Thomas, tells me there’s a strange car out back—would that be yours?”
“Yes and no, I guess. Bridget Nolan offered to let me use it while I’m here, I think mostly to be sure I’d be able to come back and see her again.”
“I’d been wondering how you’d get around—Mick’s not always handy to give rides.”
“What the heck does Mick do? I gather he’s supposed to be working at the pub, but he’s not there much. Does he have another job?”
“He does a bit of this and that. When he’s away he’s usually in Cork City. He used to work for one of the big foreign companies that set up here, but then the economy fell apart and so did his job. You’ll hear a lot of tales like that, mostly from men sitting in the pub in the middle of the afternoon.” She took a swallow of her tea and handed Gráinne a toy. “Do you know, I’ve been thinking of your gran. Nora, she married a Donovan, did she not? I knew some Donovans back when I was in school, but that would’ve been after she went to Boston, I’d guess. When was that?”
“She left here not long after my grandfather died, more than forty years ago, I think. She managed all right while my dad was growing up, and I guess things looked up after he got married and they had me. But then he died in an accident at work.”
“Did you have the chance to know him?” Ellen asked as she dished up scrambled eggs from a pan on the stove. “Go on, finish them up for me. I never know what my lot is going to want to eat in the morning, so I make plenty.”
Maura obediently forked up some eggs. “I barely remember him—he’s more like a big shape to me than a person, ifyou know what I mean. Anyway, according to Gran, my mother couldn’t take it, living with an Irish
She swung her legs to the floor, then stood and crossed to the door to pull the curtains back. No one for miles to see her standing there in the ratty old T-shirt she slept in, unless she counted some curious sheep a few miles away. The sky hung low with grey clouds, and sheets of rain swept across the harbor, obscuring and then revealing the hills beyond. In the nearest pasture the cows were huddled together in one corner. The land on the right was filled with dark pines, closely packed, with no visible buildings. A few birds she couldn’t identify swooped low over the water, then sped away.
She shook herself.
Take a shower
,
put some clothes on, and go eat breakfast. Then visit Mrs. Nolan. Then come back and take a long hard look at Sullivan’s.
She showered, dressed in her last clean pair of jeans, and shoved her feet, sockless, into her shoes. After running a comb through her hair, she declared herself ready to attack breakfast.
“Ah, there you are,” Ellen said cheerfully as Maura walked into the kitchen. “Will you be wanting the full breakfast again?”
“Don’t go to any trouble, please. You can give me whatever’s easy.”
“If you don’t mind what the children have left, there’s plenty. Always late for school, they are. Except Gráinne here.” Ellen reached down to tousle the curls of the little girl that had been hiding behind her legs. “Come on, darlin’, let Mummy do breakfast for the nice lady.” Gráinne didn’t budge, but stuck her thumb in her mouth and stared at Maura. “Shall I bring it out to you?”
“Do you mind if I sit in here with you again?” Maura asked. “I like having someone to talk to, and besides, I’ve got some questions for you.”
Ellen cocked her head at Maura curiously. “I’d be glad of the company—it’s a treat to talk with someone older than ten, and I have few guests this time of year. Gráinne, will you sit down at the table now?”
Reluctantly Gráinne sidled up to a chair across from Maura and climbed into it.
“Coffee, Maura?” Ellen asked.
“I’ll take tea, if you’ve got it made. I should get used to it, shouldn’t I?”
“Sure.” Ellen filled a mug and set it in front of Maura.“My husband, Thomas, tells me there’s a strange car out back—would that be yours?”
“Yes and no, I guess. Bridget Nolan offered to let me use it while I’m here, I think mostly to be sure I’d be able to come back and see her again.”
“I’d been wondering how you’d get around—Mick’s not always handy to give rides.”
“What the heck does Mick do? I gather he’s supposed to be working at the pub, but he’s not there much. Does he have another job?”
“He does a bit of this and that. When he’s away he’s usually in Cork City. He used to work for one of the big foreign companies that set up here, but then the economy fell apart and so did his job. You’ll hear a lot of tales like that, mostly from men sitting in the pub in the middle of the afternoon.” She took a swallow of her tea and handed Gráinne a toy. “Do you know, I’ve been thinking of your gran. Nora, she married a Donovan, did she not? I knew some Donovans back when I was in school, but that would’ve been after she went to Boston, I’d guess. When was that?”
“She left here not long after my grandfather died, more than forty years ago, I think. She managed all right while my dad was growing up, and I guess things looked up after he got married and they had me. But then he died in an accident at work.”
“Did you have the chance to know him?” Ellen asked as she dished up scrambled eggs from a pan on the stove. “Go on, finish them up for me. I never know what my lot is going to want to eat in the morning, so I make plenty.”
Maura obediently forked up some eggs. “I barely remember him—he’s more like a big shape to me than a person, ifyou know what I mean. Anyway, according to Gran, my mother couldn’t take it, living with an Irish
Similar Books
