The sound of Nellie’s laughter wiped from his mind the harsh and deeply worrying words the woman had spoken and the message he was meant to deliver to his mother. For a brief moment the sheer sweetness of last summer’s strawberries erased his worries about the unpaid rent, but the sight of Peggy running across the road in her slippers, calling Kathleen, soon reminded him. Scamp was hot on her heels and she didn’t appear to notice little Paddy at all.

‘Kathleen, can you do me a favour and lend me two and six? Big Paddy’s been that sick, we’ve had short weeks and, honest to God, I haven’t a potato for the kids’ tea or a drop of tea in the house.’

Kathleen sighed inside, but smiled outwardly. ‘Of course I have, Peggy. Now, do you want to come into ours for a cuppa? I’m just giving your little Paddy some bread I was about to throw out because our Jerry didn’t eat his breakfast.’

Paddy grinned up at his mam, his face smeared with jam and butter, his eyes alight. Peggy’s stomach grumbled so loudly they all heard it and Nellie looked at her gran, with pleading eyes.

‘I’ve more where that came from if you’ve room for a slice of toast with the tea too.’ Kathleen, large and round, eyes twinkling through her glasses, betrayed not a hint of irritation.

Peggy had known kindness like this from Maura every day of her married life and had sorely missed it, but now she felt self-conscious. ‘Well, if you have the time, Kathleen…’

‘I do that, so come on away in. Alice,’ she shouted over her shoulder to her daughter-in-law, ‘put that kettle back on before you go to Cindy’s.’ And then she remembered what she had seen as she had stood at the door with Nellie. ‘It’s Alice’s hair day,’ she said by way of an explanation, as though they didn’t know who Cindy was. ‘Now little Paddy, who was that woman you were talking to?’

‘What woman?’ asked Peggy.

‘She said she’s the police and she’s moving into Maura and Tommy’s house.’

The two women looked at each other, their faces the picture of shock. ‘Are you sure she said that?’ asked Kathleen.

‘Aye, I am,’ said Paddy. ‘Mam, she said you had to wash the nets and clean the step and there was something else too…’ Paddy frowned and thought hard. ‘Oh yeah, he said, no more playing on the wasteland, no more thieving – and something about a fence.’

‘Paddy!’ Nellie, waiting for him to cross the road to the side of the wasteland, called his name from the kerb as Kathleen and Peggy looked at each other, horrified.