Aperçu du sujet
Chuckieh ad been ashamedo f his mothere vers inceh e couldr ememberS. hame was, perhaps,t he wrongw ord.H is motherp rovokeda constantlo w-leveal nxieiyi n him. Sornetimesh, e would comforth imselfw ith thoughtso f her incontrovertiblme ediocrityS. he wasj ust an archetypawl orking-classP rotestanBt elfastm other. 5 After his fatherh
Chuckieh ad been ashamedo f his mothere vers inceh e couldr ememberS. hame was, perhaps,t he wrongw ord.H is motherp rovokeda constantlo w-leveal nxieiyi n him. Sornetimesh, e would comforth imselfw ith thoughtso f her incontrovertiblme ediocrityS. he wasj ust an archetypawl orking-classP rotestanBt elfastm other. 5 After his fatherh ad left homea nd Chuckiew as facedw itht he prospecto f livingw ith hism other,h e decideds implyt o avoidh era s besth e could.A nd he did.T hereh adb eena decade'sw orth of agile avoidance.H e couldn'tr ememberw hen they had last had a conversationo f morelh"n a minute'sd uration.l t was a miraclei n a housea s tiny as the one they shared.T he sittingr oom,k itchena nd bathroomw ere the flashpointsin this long 10 campaign.S he was alwayél eavingl ittle notes aroundt he house. He would read these 'missiveé. Stat calteda t sii. He'll meet you in the Crown.Y our cousin'sc omingh ome at the weekendH. e told her almosta ll the thingsh e neededt o tellh er by telephoneS. ometimes he would leave the house just so that he could find a phone box and call from there. Sometimesi t felt like Rommel and Montgomeryli n the desert.S ometimesi t felt much 15 worset hant hat. CarolineC austonl ookedu p and saw hima t hisb edroomw indow.H e did notf linch. 'What are you up to, Chuckie?q' uizzedC aroline' 'Nice evening'.C huckies miled.H is mother,t oo, was lookinga t him now. She couldn,tr emember-*h"n she had last seen her son's face split with a smile of such warmth. 'Are you all right,s on?' 'l wàs just listeningt o you talk', explained Chuckie gently. The two women exchangedlo oks. 'lt remindedm e of when I was a kid,'h e went on. Hisv oicew as quiet.B ut it was an /) easym attert o talk thus on thatd warfs treetw itht heirf aceso nly a few feetf rom his own. 'When I was a kid and you sent me to bed I woulds it undert he windowa nd listent o you two talk just as you'ret att<ingn ow. When the Troubless tartedy ou did it everyn ight. you'd stand and whispera bout bombs and soldiersa nd what the Catholicsw ould do' I couldh ear.I haven'tb àen as happys ince.I likedt he TroublesT. hey were liket elevision.' 30 As Chuckie'sm other listenedt o those words, her face fell and