Cleeves toffee and a sign, TWO PIECES FOR A PENNY. I know Im
doomed but the water is running along the sides of my tongue and
when I put my penny on the counter for Miss Counihan I promise the
Virgin Mary the next penny I get Ill be lighting a candle and would
she please talk to her Son and delay the doom for awhile.
A pennorth of Cleeves toffee doesnt last forever and when its
gone I have to think of going home to a mother who let my father push
his excitement into her so that I could be born in half the time and
grow up to be a bastard. If she ever says a word about the red dress or
anything Ill tell her I know all about the excitement and shell be
shocked.
Saturday morning I meet The Red Hearts of Limerick and we wan-
der out the road looking for a football challenge. The boys are still
grousing that the bits of red dress dont look like hearts till Billy tells
them if they dont want to play football go home and play with their
sisters dolls.
There are boys playing football in a field in Ballinacurra and Billy
challenges them.They have eight players and we have only seven but we
dont mind because one of them has one eye and Billy tells us stay on
his blind side. Besides, he says, Frankie McCourt is nearly blind with his
two bad eyes and thats worse.Theyre all togged out in blue and white
jerseys and white shorts and proper football boots. One of them says we
look like something the cat brought in and Malachy has to be held back
from fighting them. We agree to play half an hour because the Balli-
nacurra boys say they have to go to lunch. Lunch.The whole world has
dinner in the middle of the day but they have lunch. If no one scores in
half an hour its a draw.We play back and forth till Billy gets the ball and
goes speeding and dancing up the sideline so fast no one can catch him
and in goes the ball for a goal.The half hour is nearly up but the Balli-
nacurra boys want another half hour and they manage to score well into
the second half hour.Then the ball goes over the line for touch. Its our
ball. Billy stands on the touch line with the ball over his head. He pre-
tends to look at Malachy but throws the ball to me. It comes to me as
if its the only thing that exists in the whole world. It comes straight to
my foot and all I have to do is swivel to the left and swing that ball
straight into the goal.Theres a whiteness in my head and I feel like a
boy in heaven. Im floating over the whole field till The Red Hearts of
Limerick clap me on the back and tell me that was a great goal, Frankie,
you too, Billy.
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