The Wake - Table of contents

The Wake - episode 38

“You’re wrong,” said Seamus to Margie. “It was Mick the Taxi. Sure didn’t he tell me himself the Sunday he was driving a whole crowd of us from the Keg o' Poteen I think it was back up to Derry that time after we missed the last bus the Sunday Brandywell Harps were playing Celtic Swifts in the Buncrana Cup semi-final. And by the way, the anti-treaty league you were asking me about there Margie had nothing to do with the other thing. It just so happened some people that were in one were in the other as well. It’s like a Venn diagram. Did you ever hear tell of a Venn diagram did you?”

“What’s that you’re saying?” asked Bill who should have known better.

“It’s got two parts that cross over each other,” explained Seamus with a trace of condescension. “Like circles. What’s the word? Intersect. I did it in Maths at Saint Columb’s. Maybe they didn’t do it in your day.”

“No no,” said Bill impatiently. “Not the Venn Diagram. I know all about that of course. I passed Mathematics with distinction. What were you saying about the anti-treaty league?”

“There was actually no such thing in point of fact,” continued Seamus. “It wasn’t a league as such.”

“A misnomer,” said Margie.

“Misnomer’s the word,” agreed Seamus. “The crowd that were against the treaty with England were the Republicans, not the anti-treaty league. And that wasn’t actually the name at all in point of fact. What’s this now it was?”

The kitchen door opened and a woman from the house next to Aisling's flat came in. I decided to lie low, figuring she knew where the coffin was. She knelt down and stayed down for ages and then I heard the sobs starting as she was getting up. Margie put the empty glass that was in her hand sitting under the chair and went over to comfort her, rubbing away at her back as if she was trying to bring her wind up.