In Dublin, Laddy found work as a porter in a small hotel. There, they soon thought of Laddy as part of the family He was invited to live in the hotel, and this suited everyone.

Rose became a nurse. She had trained as a nurse before her parents died. She was still an attractive woman in her forties, but she didn't want to marry again. One loveless marriage was enough. And she had Gus and Laddy.

The years passed peacefully enough. Gus did well at school and then studied Hotel Management. He loved his work. He was always prepared to work the longest hours and do the hardest jobs to learn the hotel business.

Laddy was very upset when his employers decided to sell their hotel. He was going to lose his job. At about the same time, Gus met the girl of his dreams. She was called Maggie and was full of life and confidence. She had trained as a cook and was perfect for Gus, in Rose's mind. All Gus and Maggie needed now was a hotel job together. It would be great to buy a small place and to slowly improve it.

'Couldn't you buy my hotel?' Laddy suggested. It was perfect, but of course they couldn't afford it.

'If you give me a room in the hotel to live in, I'll give you the money,' Rose said. It would be a home for Laddy and a start in business for Gus and Maggie.

At first it was not easy to make a success of the hotel. They were paying out more money than they were earning.

'I can work harder,' said Laddy, anxious to help.

'Thank you, Laddy, but there aren't many guests.' Maggie was very kind to her husband's Uncle Laddy.

'Don't worry, Laddy,' said Rose. 'Gus and Maggie will have some ideas. Soon it will be very busy, you'll see.'

And she was right. Gus and Maggie worked at it night and day. The number of regular visitors slowly grew, and these visitors told other people about it.

Gus and Maggie had two children, beautiful little girls. And Rose was one of the happiest women in Ireland.

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One day, something happened that gave Laddy a new interest. One of the hotel guests asked where he could play snooker. When Laddy found a snooker hall, the man asked Laddy to have a game with him.

'I'm afraid I don't play, sir,' said Laddy.

'I'll show you,' the man said.

And then it happened. Laddy was naturally good at the game. The man didn't believe he had never played before. He learned

the order of the balls: yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black. He hit them easily and with style. People stood around to watch.

A few months later, he was winning competitions. He had his picture in the paper and he was invited to join a club. He was famous in a small way.

Rose watched all this with great pleasure. Her brother was a person of importance at last. So when she discovered that she was seriously ill, she didn't worry about Laddys future. She knew that he would always live with Gus and Maggie. He was fine.

•

'We'll make sure that there's as little pain as possible,' the doctor said.

'Oh, I know you will,' said Rose. 'Now, I'd really like to go into a hospice, where I can be looked after. My family have a hotel to run. I'd prefer not to be there. They would give me too much time.'

When Rose's family came to visit her in the hospice, she didn't tell them about the pain and sickness. She told them all the good things about the place and the work it was doing. The months passed, and she became very thin. But at least her mind was still working well, she said.