She was, all in all, very fond of her daughters-in-law. Theresa felt blessed that her sons had each found wonderful women, decent women – who were, in reality, far too good for the men they had chosen. Not that she would ever say that out loud, of course. Consequently, she was finding it very hard to forgive her Daniel his treatment of Lena. In fact, she found herself biting her tongue not only with him, but with Lena too. She wanted to shake her so hard she had to physically restrain herself at times. She never interfered with the boys’ private lives; if the girls came to her with a problem, she tried her hardest to be fair. She was amazed that, more often than not, she found herself coming down on the girls’ side. She loved her sons, but she was not blind to their failings. If she had one criticism of Lena it was that she acted as if nothing was amiss. Theresa, ever the realist, found this was driving her demented. But saying it out loud was tantamount to criticism, which couldn’t be tolerated.

‘There is never a right time for having children, you’re right there, Lena. Look at me, I had two men in my life and, through them, two children. If I had stayed in Ireland, I would probably be married now, a respectable married woman, and surrounded by an army of fecking children. I’d look years older than I am, would have lost all me teeth before I was thirty, and would live my life by the church bells, say the rosary every night, and thank God every day for the life I was living. Instead I came over here, got into trouble – as they called it in them days – and now I have a great life, sure Jaysus, out and about, and still able to enjoy meself.’

Lena laughed again. ‘You’re still gorgeous, even at your age now.’ She’d always envied her mother-in-law’s bright sovereign-coloured hair and porcelain skin.

Theresa smiled. ‘This girl here is gorgeous. I swear I have never seen a child so contented. But don’t say that to Ria – Imelda was a fecker of a baby. She cried for the first two years of her life – miserable as fecking sin she was.’

Lena grinned. ‘I remember. She screamed if anyone even looked at her. I hope little Tania will have a happy life – I really want her to be somebody, you know? I want her to follow her star. I don’t want her to be a part of this life, not when she grows up. I want her to be outside all this. Imelda’s just married her father – or as good as – she is one of us now, and I’m not putting her down, but I want this little one to be able to choose what she wants from this life.’