THE PRESENT-CHOOSING discussion was in full swing when they reached Maggie’s home. Her living room was crammed beyond capacity. All four seats on the settee were taken, the armchairs were taken, even the dining room chairs had somehow borrowed a square of carpet and juggled occupants.
The floor still had a few spaces that hadn’t been claimed. Stepping over legs and maneuvering around chairs, Rafferty and Abra found seats on the floor in the crowded living room and waited to gauge what was happening.
‘What about if we sign Ma up for a dating agency?’ said Neeve, lost in the depths of the big settee. ‘It’s about time Ma found a man. It’s been thirty years since Dad died.’
Rafferty, with his own too vivid memories of signing-up with a dating agency, shuddered, and vetoed the idea. Peering
