Maura rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, go on, you! Just get the cases in, drop me and the kids at Kathleen’s, and off you go.’

‘I’ll drop you back on my way down, pal,’ the taxi driver said.

Tommy exclaimed, ‘Would you mind? That would be just grand and save me the walk.’

And at that moment, Maura knew. ‘Hang on a minute! The pair of you planned this, didn’t you? Did he ask you to do that when he called you over at the Pier Head? Tommy Doherty, you think I came down with the last shower, don’t you?’

She leant forward with her hand on the driver’s seat as they pulled up outside 42 Nelson Street and he protested, none-too-convincingly, ‘What, me? No, I know nothing! But welcome back home to Liverpool, everyone!’

*

Kathleen felt moved to tears and covered in shame when she walked into Peggy’s house, carrying seven paper bags of Simpson’s mixed sweets in her hand. Three of the children were sobbing and little Paddy was trying to placate them. The fire was out, the range was dead, it was dark and the house smelt of hopelessness and despair.

‘Have you not switched the lights on, Paddy?’ said Kathleen as she took in what was before her and sprang into action. ‘Nellie, take the coal bucket and go down to the coal hole and see what you can find. If there’s none, go to Shelagh and tell her I’ll send little Paddy round with a bucketful from ours to replace it tomorrow.’ Kathleen flicked the toggle on the switch, but there was no light.

‘The meter ran out,’ said little Paddy.

Kathleen opened her purse and gave him four sixpences. ‘Top the meter up, Paddy,’ she said and shouted after her granddaughter, ‘Nellie, bring me some milk and tea and sugar from our house.’ Then, as she placed the sweets on the table, she turned to the Nolan boys. ‘Has everyone washed their hands like I asked?’ The row of little boys nodded their heads, barely able to believe their eyes. ‘Right then, here’s your sweets.’ The boys stopped their crying and, wide-eyed and excited, began to take their sweets from the table.

‘Did you find Mam at St Cuthbert’s?’ asked little Paddy. ‘Is she coming?’

‘I did,’ Kathleen lied. ‘She just had a few more games to go and then she will be home, but I want this lot in bed by then.’