The Sunday Edition

first edition

1. 1.

   Wrong ticket, wrong train, a funeral to get to. You looked at the ticket, looked at me, and said "go on, platform 6, walk fast." I know what that small yes might have cost you. It cost me nothing and gave me the chance to say goodbye.

   Dublin Heuston, Dublin

2. 2.

   I fainted at the till — new tablets, long story — and came around to find you'd sent someone for water, moved my shopping aside, and were telling the queue "give her air, it's warm in here" like it was the most normal thing in the world. You made an ambulance-sized embarrassment feel like a warm afternoon. I never got to say it: thank you.

   Tesco, Blanchardstown

3. 3.

   A parent was roaring at you from the sideline and you stopped the game, walked over to the boy he was roaring at, and told him he was having a great match. Then you played on. Every child on that pitch learned something about adults that day, and it was your version they learned.

   Porterstown

4. 4.

   The doctor's office was rushed and I left more confused than I arrived. You took the box back out of the bag, drew the times on the label in biro, and explained it again slower without a flicker of impatience. Half the country's healthcare runs on people like you doing that quietly at a counter.

   Castleknock, Castleknock

5. 5.

   You stood for forty minutes and never once made it a gesture. She noticed. So did the whole carriage.

   Maynooth

6. 6.

   Second visit ever, and you had the flat white going before I reached the till. It's a small thing. It's not a small thing.

   Insomnia, Blanchardstown

Best read slowly. Croissant recommended.