restaurant.
"Ah, there's nothing there for me," he said. "In the first few months I couldn't find my way around at all and I was desperate to go home. I would have done anything to go home. But now I'm used to it, and I like my wage packet and my independence. I like the way the boss at work, or even the boss in the place I was before, never asked me any questions; they both just made up their minds about me because of the way I worked. They never bother me, and if you suggest something to them, a better way of doing things, they'll listen."
"And what are English girls like?" Eilis asked.
"There's one of them very nice," Jack replied. "I couldn't vouch for the rest of them." He began to blush.
"What's her name?"
"I'm telling you nothing more."
"I won't tell Mammy."
"I heard that before. I've told you enough now."
"I hope you don't make her come to some flea-pit on a Saturday night."
"She's a good dancer. She doesn't mind. And it's not a flea-pit."
"And do Pat and Martin have girlfriends as well?"
"Martin is always getting stood up."
"And is Pat's girlfriend English as well?"
"You're just fishing for information. No wonder they told me to meet you."
"Is she English too?"
"She's from Mullingar."
"If you don't tell me your girlfriend's name, I'm going to tell everybody."
"Tell them what?"
"That you make her come to a flea-pit on a Saturday night."
"I'm telling you nothing more. You're worse than Rose."
"She's probably got one of those posh English names. God, wait until Mammy finds out. Her favourite son."
"Don't say a word to her."
It was difficult to carry her suitcases down the narrow stairs of the liner and Eilis had to move sideways on the corridor as she followed the signs that led to her berth. She knew that the liner was fully booked for the journey and she would have to share the berth.
The room was tiny, with a bunk bed, no window, not even an air hole, and a door into a minuscule bathroom that also, as she had been told, served the room on the other side. A notice said that passengers should unlock the other door when the bathroom was not in use, thus facilitating access for passengers in the adjoining room.
Eilis put one of her suitcases on the rack provided, placing the other against the wall. She wondered if she should change her clothes or what she should do between now and the evening meal that would be served to third-class passengers once the boat had set sail. Rose had packed two books for her, but she saw that the light was too weak for her to read. She lay down on the bed and put her hands behind her head, glad that the first part of the journey was over and there was still a week left without anything to do before she arrived. If only the rest of it could be as easy as this!
One thing that Jack had said remained with her because it was unlike him to be so vehement about anything. His saying that at the beginning he would have done anything to go home was strange. He had said nothing about this in his letters. It struck her that he might have told no one, not even his brothers, how he felt, and she thought how lonely that might have been for him. Maybe, she thought, all three of her brothers went through the same things and helped each other, sensing the feeling of homesickness when it arose in one of the others. If it happened to her, she realized, she would be alone, so she hoped that she would be ready for whatever was going to happen to her, however she was going to feel, when she arrived in Brooklyn.
Suddenly, the door opened and a woman came in, pulling a large trunk behind her. She ignored Eilis, who stood up immediately and asked her if she needed help. The woman dragged the trunk into the tiny berth and tried to close the door behind her but there was not enough space.
"This is hell," she said in an English accent as she now attempted to stand the trunk on its side. Having succeeded, she stood in the space between the bunk beds and the wall beside Eilis. There was barely
"Ah, there's nothing there for me," he said. "In the first few months I couldn't find my way around at all and I was desperate to go home. I would have done anything to go home. But now I'm used to it, and I like my wage packet and my independence. I like the way the boss at work, or even the boss in the place I was before, never asked me any questions; they both just made up their minds about me because of the way I worked. They never bother me, and if you suggest something to them, a better way of doing things, they'll listen."
"And what are English girls like?" Eilis asked.
"There's one of them very nice," Jack replied. "I couldn't vouch for the rest of them." He began to blush.
"What's her name?"
"I'm telling you nothing more."
"I won't tell Mammy."
"I heard that before. I've told you enough now."
"I hope you don't make her come to some flea-pit on a Saturday night."
"She's a good dancer. She doesn't mind. And it's not a flea-pit."
"And do Pat and Martin have girlfriends as well?"
"Martin is always getting stood up."
"And is Pat's girlfriend English as well?"
"You're just fishing for information. No wonder they told me to meet you."
"Is she English too?"
"She's from Mullingar."
"If you don't tell me your girlfriend's name, I'm going to tell everybody."
"Tell them what?"
"That you make her come to a flea-pit on a Saturday night."
"I'm telling you nothing more. You're worse than Rose."
"She's probably got one of those posh English names. God, wait until Mammy finds out. Her favourite son."
"Don't say a word to her."
It was difficult to carry her suitcases down the narrow stairs of the liner and Eilis had to move sideways on the corridor as she followed the signs that led to her berth. She knew that the liner was fully booked for the journey and she would have to share the berth.
The room was tiny, with a bunk bed, no window, not even an air hole, and a door into a minuscule bathroom that also, as she had been told, served the room on the other side. A notice said that passengers should unlock the other door when the bathroom was not in use, thus facilitating access for passengers in the adjoining room.
Eilis put one of her suitcases on the rack provided, placing the other against the wall. She wondered if she should change her clothes or what she should do between now and the evening meal that would be served to third-class passengers once the boat had set sail. Rose had packed two books for her, but she saw that the light was too weak for her to read. She lay down on the bed and put her hands behind her head, glad that the first part of the journey was over and there was still a week left without anything to do before she arrived. If only the rest of it could be as easy as this!
One thing that Jack had said remained with her because it was unlike him to be so vehement about anything. His saying that at the beginning he would have done anything to go home was strange. He had said nothing about this in his letters. It struck her that he might have told no one, not even his brothers, how he felt, and she thought how lonely that might have been for him. Maybe, she thought, all three of her brothers went through the same things and helped each other, sensing the feeling of homesickness when it arose in one of the others. If it happened to her, she realized, she would be alone, so she hoped that she would be ready for whatever was going to happen to her, however she was going to feel, when she arrived in Brooklyn.
Suddenly, the door opened and a woman came in, pulling a large trunk behind her. She ignored Eilis, who stood up immediately and asked her if she needed help. The woman dragged the trunk into the tiny berth and tried to close the door behind her but there was not enough space.
"This is hell," she said in an English accent as she now attempted to stand the trunk on its side. Having succeeded, she stood in the space between the bunk beds and the wall beside Eilis. There was barely
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