So he shoved a pipe up his arse, lit a match to it, and there in a second
he had a fine flame ready to boil water in any billycan.Tommies came
running from trenches all around when they heard the news and they
gave him any amount of money if hed let them boil water. He made so
much money he was able to bribe the generals to let him out of the
army and off he went to Paris where he had a fine time drinking wine
with artists and models. He had such a high time of it he spent all his
money and when he came back to Limerick the only job he could get
was in the gas works shoveling coal into the furnaces. He said there was
so much gas in his system now he could supply light to a small town for
a year. Aunt Aggie sniffed and said that was not a proper story to be
telling in the presence of a dead child and Grandma said it was better
to have a story like that than to be sitting around with the long face.
Uncle Pat Sheehan, sitting on the floor with his stout, said he was going
to sing a song. More power to you, said Pa Keating, and Uncle Pat
sang The Road to Rasheen. He kept saying, Rasheen, Rasheen,
mavourneen mean, and the song made no sense because his father
dropped him on his head long ago and every time he sang that song he
had different words. Grandma said that was a fine song and Pa Keating
said Caruso better look over his shoulder. Dad went over to the bed in
the corner where he slept with Mam. He sat on the edge, put his bot-
tle on the floor, covered his face with his hands and cried. He said,
Frank, Frank, come here, and I had to go to him so that he could hug
me the way Mam was hugging Malachy. Grandma said, We better go
now and sleep a bit before the funeral tomorrow.They each knelt by
the bed and said a prayer and kissed Eugenes forehead. Dad put me
down, stood up and nodded to them as they left.When they were gone
he lifted each of the stout bottles to his mouth and drained it. He ran
his finger inside the whiskey bottle and licked it. He turned down the
flame in the paraffin oil lamp on the table and said it was time for
Malachy and me to be in bed.Wed have to sleep with him and Mam
that night as little Eugene would be needing the bed for himself. It was
dark in the room now except for the sliver of streetlight that fell on
Eugenes lovely soft silky hair.
Dad lights the fire in the morning, makes the tea, toasts the bread in the
fire. He brings Mams toast and tea but she waves it away and turns to
the wall. He brings Malachy and me to Eugene to kneel and say a
84