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aroma of melting cheese.
    ‘Danny gone to bed, too?’ Brigid enquired.
    ‘He has,’ Brendan replied. ‘Are they still singing in the bar?’
    ‘They are … but I’ll make the big pot of tea. Though there’s the glasses to wash and the place to tidy before Jenny and Percy join us. Not many landladies are as obliging as Jenny, eh? They don’t let the theatricals anywhere near the kitchen!’
    ‘Ah, she has a generous nature,’ Brendan agreed. ‘Especially as I have used up all the cheese!’
    Brigid turned to May. ‘Maybe this is a good time to ask you….’
    ‘Ask me what?’
    ‘Well, now we no longer have the top spot before the finale, that’ll be your mum and her partner. Please don’t think I’m complaining, because the new acts always get a chance at that! I am wondering if we can introduce something different into our performance … you’ve got a pleasant singing voice—’
    ‘Oh, no, I couldn’t sing on stage!’
    ‘Could you do a jig? To
Young May Moon
, for instance?’
    ‘Not an Irish jig – it’s more a Scottish tune, or played in a morris dance,’ May said. She thought about it for a minute. ‘Grandpa showed me the basic steps:
one, two, hop
, then
hop back, two, three and four
.…’ She sprang to her feet to demonstrate, but it was difficult in slippers. ‘My new shoes would be better.’
    ‘You really need the proper shoes,’ Brigid said, ‘but I’m sure you could do it!’
    ‘Sit down and eat your toasted cheese.’ Brendan handed May a plate. ‘Then you can take your sister her share. Look, if we decide to include you tomorrow evening – after all, you’ll be in the audience to see your mother’s performance anyway – it must come as a surprise to everyone else, including Pomona, if the spotlight picks you out, and you are invited to join us for a special number.’
    ‘I won’t say a thing,’ Paddy put in with a grin. ‘Promise!’
    ‘You’ve helped me with the Punch and Judy, so I’d like to do something in return for you all! I’m not sure my mum will approve!’
    ‘She’ll be proud of you,’ Brigid said optimistically.
    Later, when sleep eluded her, no doubt due to the cheese supper, May suddenly remembered her mother’s sharp words earlier, about her appearing on stage with the O’Flahertys, in their green kilts. Had she been too quick to say ‘yes’, when she’d only known them for a week, though it seemed longer than that? Would
she
now be cast as the devious one?

Seven
    T HE CHOIR BOYS were not in evidence on Saturday evening. No doubt they were at home, their spots being dabbed with that universal remedy, bicarbonate of soda, mixed to a paste with a few drops of water, and temperatures lowered with a crushed aspirin, administered in a spoonful of jam.
    The billboard outside the little theatre proclaimed:
    STAR ATTRACTION!
    CARLOS & CARMEN FROM SUNNY SPAIN!
    May was blushingly aware of some admiring glances, as they settled into their front-row seats. She felt conspicuous in the pretty new dress with her hair all loose, and apprehensive too. Oh, why had she agreed to perform with the O’Flahertys? Suppose Carmen made a scene? Her toes were cramped in the new shoes which also rubbed her heels. Fashion could be painful, too!
    Most of the acts were the same as last week. The O’Flaherty family appeared just before the interval. When it came to the duet
Tea for Two
, May began to get butterflies in her stomach. She said to herself, maybe they will change their minds, not call me up. Then Brendan stepped forward and announced: ‘By popular demand, that evergreen tune,
Young May Moon
! Once again, we have the young lady herself in the audience. Spotlight, please! May, would you care to come up on stage and take part?’
    A penetrating whisper came from an excited Pomona, as her sister sat there, illuminated, but unable to speak for a moment. ‘Oh, go on, May!’ May stood up, the audience clapped, and Brendan came down to escort her up the