This was the first time you’d ever thoroughly prepared for an exam, and it was strange excitement to be familiar with every question, able to answer it more completely than the time allowed — all the evenings with the tin oil-lamp and the fire fusing here in mastery, feeling of absolute surefootedness, and then you were simply writing, watching the electric clock close to the crucifix on the wall, the three hours gone in a flash. Down in the bicycle room you went over the questions with the others — did you get this for that, what did you put down for No. 5—elation and disappointment but your answering was as irrevocably fixed as a life that has run its course. Better far to forget it, take off the coats and make for the handball alley. Arrange an even doubles, you and O’Reilly against Moran and Monaghan. Excitement and striving reduced the world to the concrete walls and the netting wire behind, the white lines on the concrete floor, the rubber with its Elephant brand that was driven and driven again against the wall as the aces fell away towards defeat or victory at twenty-one.
Holly with red berries was got from Oakport; ivy nearer home, for the bare walls. Fruit and some Santa Claus presents for the younger children came from town. Joan made a plum pudding with the help of the yellowed cookery-book. Though Mahoney took little part in these preparations he did not complain when they asked him for the extra the few luxuries cost, and on Christmas Eve he made his own strange gesture to the festival.
“Do you know what I think? I think we should give the Brothers something for Christmas.”
“But you never gave anything before.”
“No, but it’s your last Christmas at school. They’ve done a lot for you. It’s only right to show some appreciation.”
“What are you going to give?”
“I was thinking we could do worse than give them two good bags of spuds — two bags of the Golden Wonders.”
“It’s cigarettes or whiskey that’s usually given,” you tried to tell but he’d made up his mind. There was no use arguing. The potatoes were worth a bottle of whiskey but he could make a present of the potatoes without feeling the pain of parting with actual money.
“Well what do you think?” he was demanding.
“I suppose you better give the Golden Wonders so,” there was nothing else to say.
He found two new meal-bags and you helped him fill the bags out of the short Golden Wonder pit, the clay on its sides frozen hard as concrete, having to be broken with the spade. Afterwards dressed up and on his way to town Mahoney was very happy, not aware much of the freezing blue Christmas Eve, shouting at everyone that passed, and humming over and over “Christmas is coming the geese are getting fat”, while you sat ashamed, hot at how the potatoes and Mahoney would seem to the cool Benedict, in the stupidity of youth.
The embarrassment had grown almost to sickness by the time you’d to walk with Mahoney down the concrete path between the white lawn blocks and knock on the monastery door.
“We wondered if we could see Brother Benedict,” Mahoney asked the maid, a young girl with a pale nervous face.
“The Brothers are on retreat, but you go to the school, don’t you?” she said.
“Yes. That’s right,” Mahoney answered, and she put you in the parlour, and struck the brass gong once in the hallway to call Benedict, the single stroke because he was the Superior. Soon the sound of his crêpe shoes and soutane were on the stairs from the oratory.
“We’re sorry. We didn’t know about the retreat,” Mahoney apologized as they shook hands.
“It’s annual, it ends this evening, and it’s alright. Even retreats have to allow for human troubles or business,” Benedict smiled his cool ironic smile, with the eyes.
“No, there’s no trouble,” Mahoney was very uncertain. “We brought some potatoes for Christmas. We wondered where you’d like us to put them.”
“That’s very kind of you. Thank you. We can bring them round to the potato-shed at the back,” and the only change was that the smile seemed for a moment to take on more energy as he spoke. He got the bunch of keys and showed the way to the sheds at the back, where the cabbage garden and orchard and alley was. You emptied them on the floor with Mahoney, who took both the empty bags away.
“Our friend here has shown remarkable improvement. He carries our chief hopes this year in the examination,” Benedict referred to you as the bags were emptied.
“Well he works enough anyhow,” Mahoney was as uncertain, as embarrassed as you, it was strange.
“It was most generous of you to bring us the potatoes,” Benedict said at the gate, after five minutes of crucifying attempts at conversation around the sheds, no one at ease or knowing what to say.
“We wanted to show our appreciation,” Mahoney said and then tried to escape this unaccustomed burden of politeness by joking, “The old potato helps to keep the wind out of all our stomachs, doesn’t it?”
“It does indeed,” it seemed from Benedict’s smile and ironic agreement that he was dangling Mahoney’s words before his face in the cold, was sniffing them with the most exquisite nostrils, as he would a dead field-mouse. “It fills many a vacuum. I often think anybody writing a work on our character as a nation would have to closely investigate the influence of the same potato,” there was the cut of amusement in his voice.
“There was the famine the once it failed,” Mahoney was easier, and proud. He did not notice.
“Well we’re well provisioned against it this year,” Benedict smiled, and it was cold at the gate. “You were very kind. A happy Christmas to you both,” he put out his hand.
“A happy Christmas, Brother,” it was over, and you went with the two meal-bags between the shops, holly and fairy lights in the windows, a huge Christmas-tree at the Clock. People were hailing each other and going together for drinks, the pubs noisy and bright with coal fires, Murray’s and the Railway Bar.
“Nothing lacking except the snow,” Mahoney said as you left. “Those Brothers earn their salvation, up there praying with all this going on, and that Benedict is very clever. You can tell.”
You made some formal noise of agreement and wondered if Benedict would keep the potatoes or flog them for whiskey but you said nothing. And you had to think as you went with Mahoney home that if you passed the exams, and married, the fate it would be to have to walk with a son as taciturn and withdrawn as you now. It’d be real nightmare. You listened to Mahoney talk and talk. No matter what else, he had at least the beauty of energy.
He was in the front field when the postman brought the exam result after Christmas, it was addressed to him as parent, but neither would it have made difference if it hadn’t, he still opened every letter that came to the house no matter who it was addressed to. When he took it inside he tried to adopt a mannered casualness.
“Congratulations. You walked away with first place. All I hope is that it doesn’t give you a swelled head.”
“He’s gone completely ahead of the class and at this rate of progress there’s nothing he may not attain to,” he read.