Anyone can see why I wanted your kiss,
It had to be and the reason is this . . .
There isnt much to clean in the house.She sweeps the kitchen floor
and the floor of Italy upstairs. She washes the four jam jars we use
for mugs. She says if Dads job lasts well get proper cups and maybe
saucers and some day, with the help of God and His Blessed Mother,
well have sheets on the bed and if we save a long time a blanket or two
instead of those old coats which people must have left behind during
the Great Famine. She boils water and washes the rags that keep
Michael from shitting all over the pram and the house itself. Oh, she
says, well have a lovely tea when your Pop brings home the wages
tonight.
Pop. Shes in a good mood.
Sirens and whistles go off all over the city when the men finish
work at half-past five. Malachy and I are excited because we know that
when your father works and brings home the wages you get the Friday
Penny.We know this from other boys whose fathers work and we know
that after your tea you can go to Kathleen OConnells shop and buy
sweets. If your mother is in a good mood she might even give you tup-
pence to go to the Lyric Cinema the next day to see a film with James
Cagney.
The men who work in factories and shops in the city are coming
into the lanes to have their supper, wash themselves and go to the pub.
The women go to the films at the Coliseum or the Lyric Cinema.They
buy sweets and Wild Woodbine cigarettes and if their husbands are
working a long time they treat themselves to boxes of Black Magic
chocolates.They love the romance films and they have a great time cry-
ing their eyes out when theres an unhappy ending or a handsome lover
goes away to be shot by Hindus and other non-Catholics.
We have to wait a long time for Dad to walk the miles from the
cement factory.We cant have our tea till hes home and thats very hard
because you smell the cooking of other families in the lane. Mam says
its a good thing payday is Friday when you cant eat meat because the
smell of bacon or sausages in other houses would drive her out of her
mind.We can still have bread and cheese and a nice jam jar of tea with
lashings of milk and sugar and what more do you want?
The women are gone to the cinemas, the men are in the pubs, and
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