Ginny took a drag of her cigarette and exhaled a thin stream of smoke. ‘You won’t catch me there, that’s for sure.’

‘I know you’re not a fan of Mass, but why not go to the funeral?’

‘I’ll be at work.’

‘Not for the removal, you won’t.’

‘The reason I won’t be there, Tessy, is because, unlike some people, I’m not a hypocrite.’ With that, Ginny stubbed out her cigarette in a way that made it clear the subject was closed. ‘So,’ she said, ‘we’d better find some candles.’

‘They’re in the cupboard under the sink,’ said Tess, ‘beside the gas stove we used when the electricity men were on strike.’

Ginny smiled at her daughter. ‘Where would I be without you?’

‘Lost. What about the food in the fridge? Will it go off, do you think?’

‘Hopefully, the power won’t be gone for too long.’

Nina had an idea. ‘I know what you can do,’ she said. ‘You can bury the food in the snow. That way it’ll stay frozen.’

‘That’s insane,’ said Tess.

Ginny, however, greeted the suggestion with enthusiasm. ‘You know what, Nina Minogue?’ she said. ‘You are a genius.’ She picked up her jacket. ‘Come on, girls. It’s time to go burying.’

The afternoon sky was a hundred different colours. Nina had never seen so many shades of blue and grey and white and cream. As if that wasn’t enough, the clouds were tinged with wisps of pink and orange. The wind had dropped, and the air had a lovely frosty tingle.

Tess’s mam reckoned the small front garden was the best place for their task. There was a streetlight there, so when they went to retrieve the food, they’d be able to see what they were doing. ‘It’ll be dark before we know it,’ she said, as she scooped out a hole in the snow, popped in a bag of peas and threw some snow back on top. ‘Beats me why everybody isn’t doing this.’

‘Probably because they don’t want to lose their dinner,’ said Tess. ‘How will you know where to find everything?’

‘It’s not exactly the Phoenix Park out here. There aren’t many places to look. And we’re only burying a few things.’ At her feet were a bottle of milk, a box of fish fingers and half a pound of sausages. ‘We’ll put them all in a line and we’ll have no bother finding them.’

‘But those few things are all we’ve got.’

‘Jesus, Tess, you’re a right moaning Minnie today. Calm down, would you?’

Nina stepped in. ‘What we could do is place a reminder on top, like – I don’t know – a stone or something? Just so you know where the food is.’