There were one or two stifled giggles as she went out. The priest sat down, shifting his backside on the chair until it was settled comfortably. He looked around him benignly and his gaze came to rest on Mairead McCaughey to his left.
“Hello Mairead,” he said. “And how are you and all the bairns?”
“We’re grand Father. We’re all grand.”
“And Charlie. How’s Charlie getting on? Still helping out with the Saint Vincent de Paul?”
“He is Father.”
“Isn’t he the great one,” said the priest. Then duty done with Mairead the eagle’s head rotated ninety or so degrees due west and the blackbutton eyes found Susan Helferty.
“Ah, Susan,” he said. “I see you’re with child. How many will that be now?”
“Nine, God willing Father.”
He smiled, gratified. “The more the merrier. Aren’t you great now Susan."
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The Wake - Table of contents
HumorTHE YEAR is 1968 and the Swinging Sixties are still swinging - though not in Ireland. But wait! An old woman dies in a northern Irish town and her wake becomes a rendezvous for lesbians, bisexuals and political revolutionaries. And in there among t...
