He looked towards the gate and thought of his brothers. ‘You look after your brothers, Paddy,’ his mam had said. But the pan would take him just five minutes. He pulled up his sleeves. ‘Come on then, Shelagh, I’m as strong as Popeye, I am,’ and they both laughed, his worries gone, as they walked back into Shelagh’s kitchen.

*

Alice tiptoed into the kitchen, having settled Joseph for the night and picked up the tea towel to dry the big scouse pan Kathleen had just scrubbed. Kathleen was cleaning down the range, Jerry was at the table, about to finish his supper and head over to the Anchor and Nellie was reading in the armchair next to the fire. Kathleen couldn’t have been happier to hear the news from Jerry that the Morry had berthed.

‘When will you know what she’s carrying?’ Kathleen had asked her son.

‘I’ll find out tonight, Mam. My guess is that Captain Conor will do what he always does, put his crew in the Seaman’s Stop with Malcolm, pop in to see his mam, Ena, throw his kitbag in her hallway and head down to the Anchor looking for Tommy and me to give us the news. So I’m away to see a man about a dog as soon as I’ve finished this, and give him the news that Tommy has gone and ’tis me and Seamus now,’ said Jerry as he blew on a steaming hot spoonful of food. ‘Seamus is already in the Anchor, and big Paddy and Eugene. High on the news, they were, and desperate for a pint of the Guinness to celebrate.’

Kathleen tutted. ‘How does Paddy afford the Guinness? He barely works. I don’t know how Peggy is managing. It would be better if he didn’t work at all, at least then she would get some help from the welfare. As it is, they exist on starvation money, neither one thing nor the other.’

Jerry lifted the spoon filled with potatoes and scrag-end of lamb to his mouth. ‘I’ve had him in three days this week, Mam. I’ve told him, if there’s a haul from the Morry, there’s nothing for him if he doesn’t pull his weight and work a full week. I’m not having part timers if I take over as gaffer.’

Kathleen was not impressed. ‘Three days this week, Jerry, one day last week – a family can’t survive on that. You keep on at him. Poor Peggy, she has one heavy cross to bear.’

Jerry’s spoon scraped against the plate as he made short work of his supper, eager to leave and get down to the Anchor. ‘Paddy loves his rum, and he knows the Morry is always good for it. Alice, don’t wait up for me.’