I was astonished when I saw the breakfast menu. I had expected just porridge, bread and tea, but this was like a banquet. Besides the porridge, we had a choice of smoked herring, potatoes and ham and eggs. There was even butter and marmalade for the bread. My mood brightened. Even Nora couldn’t complain about this feast.

We took our breakfast, dinner and tea in the same room, and the food was equally plentiful. The rest of the time we were free to go back to our cabins, out onto F deck, or, if we wanted company, we could socialize in what they called the General Room. From the morning until night Nora and I spent no time in each other’s company.

I didn’t mind being alone. I was content to sit and watch people coming and going. They were mostly young like us, faces shining with the excitement of this new adventure. There was talk of what they would do when they arrived in America. For them, the Titanic was the ship of hope. I was sure most of it was fantasy, but they were having fun and would face reality soon enough. There were some older people as well: mothers with young children, prim older spinsters and a few clerks in cheap suits. From conversations I overheard, most of them were going out to meet some relative who had already established him or herself in the New World. I felt a jolt of homesickness. I would know no one except Nora and, I realized, once we landed, I might never see her again.

The next morning, Dom, the lad from Kilcross, came over to where I was sitting. As usual, his sister, Maeve, trailed along behind him. He took off his cap and put it in his pocket.

“Are you by yourself?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Mind if we sit down and keep you company?”

My insides started to spasm with sudden panic. I looked around for Nora, but she was busy laughing with her friends. I turned back to Dom, and his earnest face calmed me a little.

“O-of course you can,” I said, putting on what I hoped was a smile.

He pulled out a chair for Maeve and dragged another one over for himself. He sat down, smiling pleasantly.

“So what are ye making of it so far?”

My heart lifted at hearing his soft, lilting Donegal accent, and I relaxed.

“’Tis grand.” I smiled. “A great adventure.”

He looked over at the table where Nora was telling a story while her new friends drank in her every word. “I see your Nora wasted no time making friends,” he said.

I said nothing and changed the subject. I looked at Maeve.

“How are you feeling, Maeve? You looked very pale on the train.”

She flinched, startled, as I spoke to her. “I’m all right,” she said, her head bowed.