Ma, He Sold Me for a Few Cigarettes(182)

‘Ah, fuck off! Ye’re only good fer findin Jacksers,’ I wanted te say. But I just kept lookin out the winda.

‘Next stop train station!’ the conductor roared up.

‘Come on, this is our stop,’ me ma said, gettin up. I followed her offa the bus an inta the station. She went up te the ticket hatch, an I watched a big black hairy dog stop an cock his leg against the pillar an give a big piss, sprayin the leg of a woman in a big hat wit a feather stickin out, an she jumped an shook her leg, an I roared laughin. She was complainin te the railway man about the dog, an it came back an sniffed her cloth travellin bag she left beside the pillar, an then it lifted its leg again an gave another piss all over the bag. ‘Mrs!’ I roared. ‘Look what it’s doin now.’ Enjoyin meself no end.

‘This is outrageous!’ she screamed, pickin up her bag an droppin it again. ‘It’s ruined!’

Me ma came back, holdin the tickets. ‘We’ve an hour’s wait. An we won’t get te Euston station fer hours. Then we’ve te catch another train te take us all the way te the boat. An we’ll have te get off tha one an change again. Jaysus! It’s goin te be a long aul journey.’

We sat down te wait. ‘Ma! Can we get somethin te eat? I’m starvin.’

‘I haven’t much money left. We’d better go easy on it. Come on, then, an we’d better be quick. We don’t want te miss the train.’

We went inta a shop across the road, an me ma bought a packet a biscuits an a bottle a milk. An we went back te the station an sat down an had two each, savin the rest fer later. An I took a few sups of the milk.

‘Train for London now sitting on platform two!’ the man’s voice roared outa the loudspeakers.

‘Come on, tha’s us!’ me ma shouted, jumpin up.

The man checked our tickets, an I ran ahead. ‘I’m here, Ma!’ an we rushed inta an empty carriage an shut the door behind us. ‘We have it all te ourselves,’ I said, stretchin me legs out on the seat. Oh, lovely! No smelly tilet. The door whipped open, an the woman wit the feather hat an the smelly bag put her head in. She looked at us fer a minute, then shut the door an moved on. I looked at me ma, ‘She doesn’t think much of us,’ I said, laughin.

‘Ah, fuck her!’ me ma said, laughin. Then we heard the whistle blowin, an the train shook, an I looked out. The man waved his flag, an the train took off.

I dozed, lookin at the fields an cows an houses flashin past. An then I was out cold.

‘Get up, Martha! We’re here.’ I lifted me head, an the train was pullin inta Euston Station. Me ma opened the door, an I followed her out, holdin onta her coat, cos I was still dopey. ‘Wait here,’ me ma said, leavin me standin beside a pillar. Then she appeared back, wavin an shoutin. ‘Come on, quick. It’s over here.’ An she took off, vanishin in the crowd. I woke meself up an raced in the direction I saw her headin. An she was givin her tickets te the man. ‘Hurry!’ she said te me.

‘You have to be quick, Madam! The train is leavin in three minutes.’

We ran down the platform, an the man was standin wit his flag an his whistle in his hand, an he saw us comin. All the doors were bein banged shut, an we leapt up onta the train, an the door was slammed shut behind us. We hurried down the passage, lookin fer an empty seat, an the whistle blew, an the train got ready te move. ‘In here!’ me ma said, openin a door. An we sat down in an empty carriage. ‘Jaysus! Tha was lucky!’ me ma said, tryin te get her breath back. Then the train moved, an we took off outa the station slowly.

I looked out at the rain pourin down, an it was very dark. Thunder was roarin an flashes of lightnin. ‘God, Ma, the weather is very bad here.’

‘Yeah! Just as well we’re not out in it,’ me ma said, openin the biscuits an givin me one. ‘Here, have a sup a milk.’ We ate another biscuit, an me ma said, ‘We’ll save these fer later.’

‘Yeah,’ I said, still feelin hungry. Then I lay down, havin the whole seat te meself, an dozed off again.

‘Wake up! We’re at the boat,’ me ma said, shakin me. I stood up, ready te move. ‘No! Sit down, wait till the train stops,’ me ma said, lookin out the winda. It was pitch black outside, an I hated havin te move. ‘Right! Let’s go. We have te hurry if we want te get a seat.’

But we needn’t have worried. There was plenty a room on the boat, cos there was very few people travellin. I followed me ma over te the long seats in the corner of the room, an we shut the door behind us. It was empty. I put me back te the wall an stretched out. Then the door opened an two more people came in an sat down at the other end an put their bags on the seat an stretched themselves out, the aul fella restin his head on his suitcase. An his wife got up an shut the door. ‘Here, have a biscuit,’ me ma said. ‘We might as well finish them. An ye can drink the rest a the milk.’ I put the empty bottle on the floor an lay down, puttin me hands under me head.