A Glimpse at Happiness Read Online Free PDF Page A

Harry. ‘I know your ma’s business and I want no part in it,’ he said in a clear voice.
     
    Harry poked a black-nailed finger into Patrick’s chest. ‘Now, you listen here, you thick Paddy. Ma don’t have the likes of you saying no. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll not get ’er riled.’ Spit sprayed from his mouth as he spoke.
     
    ‘You might still wet yourself when your ma looks at you, Harry, but I don’t.’
     
    There was a low rumble of laughter from the back of the room and Harry’s face flushed crimson. ‘Why you—’
     
    A hard smile spread across Patrick’s angular face. ‘Now you listen to me, Tugman. Tell that old mother of yours that if she wants to move her pilfered stuff upstream she can look somewhere other than at my barge.’ He paused and cast his gaze around the pub. ‘Now, I’m just having a quiet drink so I suggest you hurry home like a good boy, and give your ma my message.’
     
    Harry’s knuckles cracked. A number of the men around the bar stood up.
     
    For one moment, Patrick thought the man’s temper would get the better of him and a part of him hoped it would - but then Harry’s toothy smile returned.
     
    ‘That’s right, lads, you have a quiet drink before you head home to your old ladies,’ he said with a forced laugh.
     
    The men sat down again but their eyes remained fixed on Patrick, and on Harry, who thrust his face up close to Patrick’s. ‘You and your bog trotters had better think again, Nolan, or be careful where you walk at night.’
     
    Patrick held his gaze until Harry turned and shoved his way back towards the door.
     
    When he’d gone, Brian whistled through his front teeth. ‘Jesus, I thought there’d be blood.’
     
    Patrick downed the last mouthful of his ale. ‘I didn’t. The Tugmans don’t fight you face to face; they slit your throat in the dark. I judged we were safe enough.’
     
    Brian signalled for the barmaid and she hurried over, all blue eyes and eagerness. Patrick guessed she wouldn’t be behind the bar for long; some eager fellow was bound to persuade her to marry him. She smiled and a dimple showed itself on her right cheek.
     
    ‘Same again?’ she asked, running her gaze slowly over Patrick.
     
    He held up his hand. ‘Not for me. I have to get home.’
     
    ‘You married then?’ she asked, looking disappointed.
     
    Patrick gave her the smile that had served him well in every port he’d ever been in. ‘Not necessarily,’ he said, sliding his empty tankard towards her and turning to leave.
     
    ‘Tell Mattie I’ll be around later,’ Brian said, searching in his pocket for the price of his next drink.
     
    The barmaid pulled hard on the pump. As she leant over the bar her cap caught in the ironwork above her head. Her hair tumbled out and Patrick stopped in his tracks as he watched the rich auburn curls sliding over her shoulders.
     
    Suddenly, he wasn’t in the crowded bar of the Town but at the May fair at Bow Bridge by the river Lea, with a laughing girl on his arm. He could almost smell the lavender she had used for rinsing her dark, auburn hair. It transported him back almost thirteen years, to a past before their lives had changed completely.
     
    Although he’d tried not to think about Josie O’Casey, over the years and in different places the memory of her dark green eyes and inviting smile had stolen back to him in dreams. He pushed the thoughts away. There was no point. He could never go back, and remembering the future he’d planned with her on that bright May morning would only add to his other regrets.
     
     
     
    Tapping her foot lightly on the carpet in time to the music, Josie watched her two younger sisters at the piano. Lottie was turning the pages for Bobby, who had been practising for weeks in anticipation of her grandmama’s visit. Now her playing was perfect.
     
    Josie’s gaze moved on to the person her sisters were so eager to please: Mrs Munroe, in widow’s black,