I was black affronted, honest I was, though. Naebody told me I’d hae a visitor. I had to leave her sitting while I went to get my hair on. I’d been in my housecoat. My housecoat! See these wans, these ither wans that sit around here the whole day in their housecoats, you know I’m not like them, hen. You know. Nice wummin, anyway. Big. Tall. Great big rosy cheeks like a butcher. Visitor. There was news she came with but I can’t mind it. She didnae mind waiting. Not like some of them’ll push you and pull you and say Eileen, Eileen and it’s Mrs McIvor, actually. Mrs Campbell-that-was before that bad bastard. Mrs Campbell-that-was. A long time ago now. Bad blood, the Campbells. Bad blood will out, that’s what they said. Of course ye don’t think of that when you’re a wee lassie, do you, when he’s all charming you. You don’t think he’s going to be drinking your wage packet and marching you around the islands and you with a baby. No, you sit down, lassie. You work hard. You sit down while I have my tea and don’t you mind some of them. Aye, hard workers, that’s whit makes it happen. That’s why when you find yourself with a man that drinks your wage packet, you get yourself out of there. I was laughing with oor Senga’s girl about it. No I’d not met her before, well I might have. Was she oor Senga’s lassie, maybe? The height. She could be. Some colour on her. Big rosy cheeks. Oor Senga wasny stocky, though, no like this wan. Whit was I saying, oh that’s right, that he was that lazy, her father, that he never, well, my daddy told me not to marry him, right enough. He just wisnae like the men in my family, though, and that was exciting, right enough. When you’re twenty-two and stupit.

Here, you! That’s my biscuit. No, I’ve seen you. I’ve seen you take wan already. That wan’s mine. You can git tae is what you can do, ya cheeky besom.