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received instructions from Diana about how to eat spaghetti properly using a fork only, but what was served was not as thin and slippery as the spaghetti Diana had made for her. The sauce was just as red, but was filled with flavours that she had never sampled before. It was, she thought, almost sweet. Every time she tasted it, she had to stop and hold it in her mouth, wondering what ingredients had gone into it. She wondered if the others, so used to this food, were being careful not to look at her too closely or make any comment as she attempted to eat it using only a fork as they did.

Tony’s mother, who spoke at times with a strong Italian accent, asked her about the exams and if she intended to do another year at the college. She explained that it was a two-year course, and that, when she finished, she would be a bookkeeper and could work in an office rather than on the shop floor. As Eilis and Tony’s mother discussed this, none of the boys spoke or looked up from their food. When Eilis tried to catch Frank’s eye so she could smile at him, he did not respond. She glanced at Tony, but he too had his head down. She realized that she would love to run out of this room and down the stairs and through the streets to the subway to her own room and close the door on the world.

The main course was a flat piece of fried meat covered in a thin coating of batter. When Eilis tasted it, she found that there was cheese and then ham inside the batter. She could not identify the meat. And the batter itself was so crisp and full of flavour that, once more, each time she took a taste, she could not work out what had been used to make it. There were no vegetables or potatoes accompanying it, but as Diana had explained that this was normal for Italians, Eilis was not surprised. She was telling Tony’s mother how delicious it was, trying not to imply that it was also strange, when a knock came to the door. Tony’s father answered it and returned, shaking his head and laughing.

“Antonio, you are wanted. Number eighteen has a blocked drain.”

“Dad, it’s dinnertime,” Tony said.

“It’s Mrs. Bruno. We like her,” his father said.

“I don’t like her,” Frank said.

“Francesco, shut your mouth,” his father said.

Tony stood up and pushed his chair back.

“Take your overalls and your tools,” his mother said. She pronounced the words as though with difficulty.

“I won’t be long,” he said to Eilis, “and if he says anything at all, report him to me.” He pointed at Frank, who began to laugh.

“Tony is the street plumber,” said Maurice and explained that since he worked as a mechanic they called him when cars and trucks and motorbikes needed repairing, while Laurence would soon be a qualified carpenter so that if people’s chairs or tables broke they could call him.

“But Frankie here is the brains of the family. He’s going to college.”

“Only if he learns to keep his mouth shut,” Laurence said.

“Those Irish guys who beat Maurizio up,” Frank said as though he had not been listening to any of their conversation, “they moved out to Long Island.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Eilis replied.

“And out there, they have these big houses and you have your own room and you don’t get to sleep in the same room as your brothers.”

“Would you not like that?” Eilis asked.

“No,” he said, “or maybe just sometimes.”

As he spoke, they all looked at him, Eilis noticed, and she had the impression that they thought the same thing as she did, that Frank was the most beautiful boy she had ever seen in her life. She had to stop herself looking at him too much as she waited for Tony to come back.

They decided to go ahead with dessert in Tony’s absence. It was a sort of cake, Eilis thought, filled with cream and then soaked in some sort of alcohol. And, as she watched Tony’s father unscrewing a machine and putting in water and spoonfuls of coffee, she realized that she would have plenty to tell her fellow lodgers. The coffee cups were tiny, and the coffee, when it came, was thick and bitter, despite the spoonful of sugar that she added. Although she did not like it, she attempted to drink it, as the rest of them seemed