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said, “and this is Seamus whom I guess you already met.”
    “I’m so glad to meet you,” Sarah said.
     “John and I will help with the horses,” David said as he dismounted and shook the old woman’s hand.
    The woman ushered Sarah into her cottage, a miserable looking hovel from the outside, but surprisingly warm and cozy on the inside. Sarah could smell bread baking.
    “Sit, sit,” the woman said, motioning to a chair belonging to an old metal dinette set. “I’ll just put the kettle on.”
    Sarah sank into the seat, realizing that her knees were weak but whether from the ride or the situation in general, she couldn’t be sure.
    “Mrs. McClenny, do you know what’s happened? I mean, do you have any information?”
    “Oh, please call me Dierdre. About the war, you mean?” Dierdre set out three chipped mugs and opened the small refrigerator for a carton of milk. Sarah noticed the interior light was out.
    Sarah stuttered. “We’re at…it’s a war?” She had to steady herself with her hands against the table.
    “May as well be, my dear,” Dierdre said. “We were afraid you wouldn’t be able to get out and about. Most Americans aren’t interested in riding. Wouldn’t know one end from the other.”
    “Do you and Seamus get out?” Sarah looked around the room. It was simple and poor but tidy and clean. “Do you have a car?”
    “A car?” Dierdre laughed. “Not for ages now. We have a gig, you see.” She moved to the stove to get the kettle. She poured the hot water into an old brown teapot on the kitchen counter. “Seamus and I will be fine. In fact, no different, really.” She brought the teapot to the table. “We’ve got eggs, preserved fruit and jam and I always put away what I grow over the summer. We’ll be fine, please God.”
    She poured the tea into two of the mugs. “What about yourself? Have you been able to get word back to your people in America?”
    Sarah shook her head and felt tears welling up. “No way to reach them,” she said. She could hear David and John talking outside the cottage. John was laughing.
    Dierdre nodded and dropped sugar and milk into Sarah’s tea without asking. She handed the mug to Sarah.
    “Well, we’ll all hear when we’re meant to,” she said. “Meanwhile, there’s us getting on and getting by.”
    The tea was hot and good and it helped. Sarah felt better after just a few sips.
    “I’m not sure how we’ll survive out here,” she said.
    Dierdre frowned. “Surely, you’re joking?” she said. “You have a child. You’ll do what you have to.”
    “Yes, but if you don’t know what it is you have to do, how can you do it?” Sarah knew she sounded weak and whiny. She imagined that—if Dierdre knew their lives in Florida—she would look very rich and spoiled compared to her simple Irish country life.
    “Well, you’ll learn, my dear,” the older woman said kindly. “You’ll take it one day at a time and you’ll learn.” She leaned over and patted Sarah’s hand. “And you have neighbors,” she said. “We’ll help each other. You’ve met the Kennedys?”
    Sarah drained her tea mug. “Not yet,” she said. “We thought you might be them.”
    Dierdre laughed. “Now you’ll not wanting to be insulting me before we’ve had a chance to get to know each other.” She laughed at her own joke and Sarah laughed too. It felt like years since she had laughed.
    “Hey, what’s so funny, guys?” David said as he poked his head in the cottage. “I don’t want to track mud into your kitchen, Dierdre.”
    Dierdre stood up and ushered David and John into the house. “Don’t be silly, now. The very idea! And with Himself tracking in every manner of dirt all day long. Your tea’s right here.” She went to fetch another mug.
    “Where’s Seamus?” Sarah asked David.
    “He’s with the horses,” John said. “Mom, you can’t understand a word he says.”
    Dierdre returned and poured two more mugs of tea. She laughed.
    “He’s