She worried, knowing it was unreasonable to do so. She worried because it had never happened before, because ever since they’d made the Monday arrangement he’d kept to it, in spite of his boyish touchiness. She always thought of him as a boy, she couldn’t help it. ‘My soldier boy,’ she’d said the first day, when he’d come in to listen to Get Along, Little Doggy on the gramophone. She’d been sorry for him, so young with his limp. When he’d come back another time he’d told her the details of the wound he’d sustained, still downstairs they were in those days. He’d told her about some other poor fellow who’d had the side of his face affected by shrapnel from a shell.

At five o’clock she heard sounds downstairs, but knew it was only the maid returning after her free afternoon. He wouldn’t come now; he wouldn’t even come in to explain in case he’d be seen by the boarders. He’d refused to take a cheque in any shape or form, so during the week she’d got the money out of the Munster and Leinster and the fellow, Corcoran, had the neck to be inquisitive about it. Ignorant lump of a fellow, telling her not to leave it lying around.

She dressed. She had seven to cook for. Bacon and eggs and fried tomatoes, a sausage each. Two pots of tea, one for McGrath and Tobin, the other for the family of five from Dunmanway. Tinned pineapple afterwards for the family of five, but McGrath and Tobin wouldn’t be bothered with that. The other houses did something extra for the families, so she’d taken to it herself, something they’d remember. She’d been explaining about that to him the last time, how she liked to offer pineapple pieces or jelly or a jellycream, or a slice of a Scribbin’s Swiss roll if she hadn’t anything else to hand. She’d kept to subjects like that because the other had given him a shock, but of course you couldn’t not mention for ever something that was close to you. If the sister could turn round and marry a string of fish like Balt, the subject could surely be at least raised. The sister was doing it for money, no argument about that; without in any way rushing him into it she’d endeavoured to make it clear that she did not intend to come empty-handed herself.