my mother stirs Malachy holds the lemonade bottle to her lips and she
gasps till she finishes it. If she likes it that much Ill have to find more
lemonade.
We put the last of the coal on the fire and sit around telling stories
which we make up the way Dad did.I tell my brothers about my adven-
tures with the lemonade and bread and I make up stories about how I
was chased by pub owners and shopkeepers and how I ran into St.
Josephs Church where no one can follow you if youre a criminal, not
even if you killed your own mother.Malachy and Michael look shocked
over the way I got the bread and lemonade but then Malachy says it was
only what Robin Hood would have done, rob the rich and give to the
poor. Michael says Im an outlaw and if they catch me theyll hang me
from the highest tree in the Peoples Park the way outlaws are hanged
in films at the Lyric Cinema. Malachy says I should make sure Im in a
state of grace because it might be hard to find a priest to come to my
hanging. I tell him a priest would have to come to the hanging.Thats
what priests are for. Roddy McCorley had a priest and so did Kevin
Barry. Malachy says there were no priests at the hanging of Roddy
McCorley and Kevin Barry because theyre not mentioned in the songs
and he starts singing the songs to prove it till my mother groans in the
bed and says shut up.
Alphie the baby is asleep on the floor by the fire.We put him into
the bed with Mam so that hell be warm though we dont want him to
catch her disease and die. If she wakes up and finds him dead in the bed
beside her there will be no end to the lamentations and shell blame me
on top of it.
The three of us get back into our own bed, huddling under the
overcoats and trying not to roll into the hole in the mattress. Its pleas-
ant there till Michael starts to worry over Alphie getting Mams disease
and me getting hanged for an outlaw. He says it isnt fair because that
would leave him with only one brother and everyone in the world has
brothers galore. He falls asleep from the worry and soon Malachy drifts
off and I lie there thinking of jam.Wouldnt it be lovely to have another
loaf of bread and a jar of strawberry jam or any kind of jam. I cant
remember ever seeing a jam van making a delivery and I wouldnt want
to be like Jesse James blasting my way into a shop demanding jam.That
would surely lead to a hanging.
Theres a cold sun coming through the window and Im sure it
must be warmer outside and wouldnt my brothers be surprised if they
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