Just as the sun was sinking down on the mystic dusk of Bloom's day
the 16th of June AD 1904
the tree girlfriends were seated together on the strand
enjoying the evening scene and the air that was fresh but not too chilly.
Many a time and oft were they wont to come there to that favourite nook to have a cosy chat
beside the sparkling waves and discuss matters feminine,
Cissy Caffrey, Edy Boardman with baby Boardman in the pushcar
and little Tommy and Jacky Caffrey,
two dear little curlyheaded boys, scarce 4 years old,
/dressed in sailor suits with caps to match and the name H.M.S. Belleisle printed out on both.
And Edy Boardman was rocking the baby Boardman to and fro in the pushcar while that little fella
fairly chuckled with delight. Cissy Caffrey bent over the baby
to tease his fat little plucks
and the dainty dimple of his chin.
Now, baby, said Cissy. Say out big, big. I want a drink of water.
And the baby prattled along merrily after her: —A jink a jink a jawbo.
The third girl, Gerty MacDowell, seated near her companions, lost in thought
wished to goodness they'd take that squall and common brat of
a baby on her way home out of that and not be getting on her nerves.
She gazed out towards the distant sea just like one of those paintings
the man used to do on the pavement with all the lovely coloured chalks. And as she gazed,
her heart went pitter pat pitter pat because, yes, it was at her the strange gentleman was looking.
Seated over there on the rock he was, gazing at her intently., His dark eyes burned into hers.
Burned into hers.
‘Refuge of sinners, Comforter of the afflicted, Ora pro nobis’
came from the church nearby and the stained glass windows lighted up the candles, the flowers,
the blue banners of the blessed Virgin's sodality and Gertie put on a hat, the way she could see the
strange gentleman from underneath the brim, and she swung her buckled shoe to and fro, faster,
faster, and her breath caught as she caught the expression in the strange gentleman's eyes.
He was eyeing her now as a snake eyes its prey,
and in the church they sang the second verse, Tantum Ergo, and Canon O'Hanlon whispered to
Father Conroy that one of the candles was about to set the flowers on fire.
‘Oh look, Cissy’. It was little Jacky Caffrey and they all looked up at the sky over the church.
Was it sheet lightning there over the trees beside the church?
It was blue and then green and then purple. It’s fireworks, fireworks!
Cissy Caffrey said ‘Come on, Gerty, it's the bazaar fireworks’ and they all ran helter
skelter down the darkening strand, but Gerty had no intention of being at their beck and call.
If they could run like rossies she could sit so she could, so she told them she could see
perfectly well from where she was because the look in that man's eyes was making her pulses race.
He was still gazing at her. It was darker now but she could see that he was looking and he was
winding his watch and he put his watch back and he put his hand back in his pocket and his face
and hands were trembling and a tremor ran all over her too, and she had to lean back more to
look up at where the fireworks were and she caught her knee in her hand not to fall back looking up.
There was no-one to see her. No-one,
only him and then Jacky Caffrey shouted ‘look, Cissy, there's another, look! Look
there it goes and something queer went flying through the air, a soft thing to and fro dark.
And Gertie saw a tall roman candle going up over the trees, up, up and in the tenth hush higher,
higher, and she’d to lean back more to look up after it, high, high, almost out of sight and
she knew he could see her, and she knew and she didn't care, and then a rocket sprang,
bang, shot blind and, O the roman candle burst, and it was a sigh of ‘O’ and everyone went ‘O’
in raptures and it gushed out of it. A stream of rain gold tear threads
and they shed and fell and now it was all dewy changing greeny stars,
falling, falling, with lovely dewy soft and sweet, soft, sweet, soft, sweet.
And they all melted away dewily in the grey air and everything was silent.
And she looked at him for the last time.
Leopold Bloom, for it is he, stands there with bowed head before those young and guileless eyes.
What a beast he'd been, what a fool, at it again, at it again, at it again.
Very slowly, without looking back, Gertie walked down the uneven strand
to Cissy, to Edie, to Jacky and Tommy Caffrey, back to little baby Boardman.
It was darker now and there were stones and bits of wood on the sand and slippery seaweed
and Gertie walked with a certain quiet little dignity characteristic of her,
very slowly and with great care because Gertie McDowell was …
Tight boots? No. She’s lame!
Mr Bloom watched her as she limped away.