woke and found me there with more bread and jam. Theyd gobble
everything and then go on about my sins and the hanging.
Mam is still asleep though her face is red and theres a strangling
sound when she snores.
I have to be careful going through the street because its a school
day and if Guard Dennehy sees me hell drag me off to school and Mr.
OHalloran will knock me all over the classroom.The guard is in charge
of school attendance and he loves chasing you on his bicycle and drag-
ging you off to school by the ear.
Theres a box sitting outside the door of one of the big houses on
Barrington Street. I pretend to knock on the door so that I can see
whats in the box, a bottle of milk, a loaf of bread, cheese, tomatoes and,
oh, God, a jar of marmalade. I cant shove all that under my jersey. Oh,
God. Should I take the whole box? The people passing by pay me no
attention.I might as well take the whole box.My mother would say you
might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb. I lift the box and try to look
like a messenger boy making a delivery and no one says a word.
Malachy and Michael are beside themselves when they see whats
in the box and theyre soon gobbling thick cuts of bread slathered with
golden marmalade.Alphie has the marmalade all over his face and hair
and a good bit on his legs and belly.We wash down the food with cold
tea because we have no fire to heat it.
Mam mumbles again for lemonade and I give her half the second
bottle to keep her quiet. She calls for more and I mix it with water to
stretch it because I cant be spending my life running around lifting
lemonade from pubs.Were having a fine time of it till Mam begins to
rave in the bed about her lovely little daughter taken from her and her
twin boys gone before they were three and why couldnt God take the
rich for a change and is there any lemonade in the house? Michael
wants to know if Mam will die and Malachy tells him you cant die till
a priest comes.Then Michael wonders if well ever have a fire and hot
tea again because hes freezing in the bed even with the overcoats left
over from olden times. Malachy says we should go from house to house
asking for turf and coal and wood and we could use Alphies pram to
carry the load.We should take Alphie with us because hes small and he
smiles and people will see him and feel sorry for him and us.We try to
wash all the dirt and lint and feathers and sticky marmalade but when
we touch him with water he howls. Michael says hell only get dirty
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