Trespasses

Cushla attends a wedding with Gerry. During the best man’s speech at the reception, soldiers storm the building but leave without identifying anyone. Another guest asks Gerry if he can hide firearms in his garage, and Gerry and Cushla leave soon afterward. She asks him to take her to Michael’s flat. Michael isn’t there, and she worries for his safety when enormous explosions sound nearby. She looks through his case files on three young men named Kelly, McAleavey, and Coyle who are accused of murdering a constable. In their photographs, they appear “limp haired, hollowed out. Terrified” (189). Michael went to see a play, and he returns early because a car was blown up near the theater. Cushla thinks he’s being too calm about the situation, but he tells her that he is “fucking raging [...] the first time she had heard him swear” (190). The next morning, they have sex, and Michael bathes her, leaving her feeling renewed.

Michael and Cushla attend Jim’s birthday party. The only other Catholic present is Mrs. Coyle, who cleans Penny’s home and Michael’s flat. A mortified Cushla is convinced that Mrs. Coyle must think she’s promiscuous. Jane bursts into tears suddenly and confides to Cushla that she missed Penny’s art opening because she had her seventh miscarriage.