‘I promise, Larry. I’ll invite her home for Christmas,’ she assured him as the ambulance men hurried in to the office. ‘I’m so sorry I behaved so badly. I’ll make it up to her and you. I promise.’

‘I know you will.’ Even in his hour of affliction he was kind to her, she thought, riven with guilt. ‘We did good in spite of everything.’

‘We did, Larry!’

Imelda felt tears prick her eyes in this most tender moment when it seemed as though time was standing still and everyone else in the room had faded away and there was only the two of them.

‘Excuse me now, ma’am! We need to examine your husband.’ The ambulance man gently but firmly assisted her to her feet and edged her out of the way.

‘Imelda!’ Larry breathed.

‘I’m here,’ she gulped in terror, watching the light fade from his eyes as they become glassy and dim. Imelda didn’t need the sharp intake of breath from the ambulance man at his side to know that her husband was dead.

‘Larry!’ she wailed. ‘Don’t leave me. Don’t go! Larry! Larry! Larry!’

*

‘This is a surprise. We don’t usually get to see our favourite Mère, mid-week,’ Keelin exclaimed when Brigid walked through the door into the kitchen.

‘Keelin, I . . . sit down, dear. I have bad news for you,’ Brigid said sombrely and Keelin felt a jolt of apprehension.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘It’s your dad, love. He had a heart attack in the shop, earlier. He didn’t make it to the hospital. Imelda rang me and asked me would I tell you. She didn’t want you hearing the news that he died on your own. She asked me to be here with you.’

‘Daddy’s dead?’ Keelin whispered. ‘Dead!’ How can that be? He was with us a few days ago. He’s coming to visit us at Christmas. He can’t be dead.’ This had to be a nightmare, she thought frantically, as her body started to shake with shock.

‘I’m so sorry, Keelin.’ Brigid put her arms around her.

‘It’s my fault,’ she cried. ‘He shouldn’t have been driving up and down in the one day, in bad weather. If he’d have stayed at home he wouldn’t have had a heart attack.’

‘Shush, you and I both know that when it’s your time, a time agreed between you and your Creator, external circumstances make no difference. Don’t do that to yourself, Keelin. Larry would hate it.’ Brigid held her tight.

‘Oh my God. This is a punishment for what I’ve done!’ Keelin wept, devastated.

‘Don’t think like that, Keelin. God doesn’t punish. That’s attributing human thinking to a Creator who is all loving. You know that,’ Brigid rocked her niece in her arms, heartbroken for her.