Suddenly the room was empty and everyone was gone. My mum and dad were downstairs seeing them off into the street, with the windows and doors open so I could hear the voices outside. Just me and Busola were left with the drinks on the table and on the radiogram and beside the chairs, so we were quickly tasting them all. The egg-flip was sticky and sweet, but had a strong smell of paint so I left it. When I put my tongue in the Guinness it was horrible, like licking the end of a battery, and I said, ‘Eaeuch!’ Busola looked up at me with a glass of whisky and giggled, ‘If you don’t like it, don’t drink it.’

‘Is your name really Kat?’ I was thinking how easily she could break up the evening. It was like she’d got a stick to an ants’ nest and you could see them all running about trying to fix it – but you’d have to drop the stick and move back. She didn’t, she sat up on my mum’s knee and looked at everyone. No one told her off, but it could have gone really wrong. Carmel said she was tired and wanted to go home. Tess and Nana were out the door putting on their coats, and Connor had to run after them with Nana’s hat. Manus helped Maggie and Eileen with Barry and sorting the records, while my dad shook Gerry’s hand and Annie went out to the toilet. Uncle Eamon went down carrying Carmel half asleep in his arms, then my mum got up from holding Busola and threw back the curtains and opened wide the windows. The night air came into the room and smoke started clearing in the draught. I could smell rain outside and the stale smell of beer. My mum went downstairs with my dad and Gerry, and everyone was out in the street.

‘It really is,’ she said.

‘What do you want me to call you?’

She took another sip of the whisky, and cleaned her teeth with her tongue. ‘Call me Kat.’

‘Who’s that?’

‘Try the whisky,’ she said, ‘it’s nice.’

‘You’ll get drunk,’ I said.

And she laughed.

One by one the cars started up, and I had a quick go at the beer. It was stale, so I spat it back in the glass and shook my head. Connor came in and saw me, ‘Don’t let him catch you.’ And he looked at Kat, ‘What d’you do that for?’

‘She doesn’t need them,’ she said, ‘she’s got us.’

‘You think you’re clever.’

‘You don’t have him touching your bum.’

‘Why does he do that?’ I said, and they both looked at me.

‘Because he thinks he can,’ Kat said.

‘You’re making it up,’ said Connor.

She just looked at him.

‘Why d’you have to spoil everything?’