Legacy

Shaun and Doreen Mahoney, married some fifty two years now, lived in a quaint but nice sized cottage  in the country  about two kilometers North of  Yorkshire a small village of about two hundred souls and a suspected two or three leprechauns and  which lies about thirty nine kilometers Southwest of Dublin.

 

Shaun was a good provider and their fine marriage was harmonious, not only because of a deep mutual love; but with a mutual understanding about what is woman’s work and what is mans work, and that which could be either.

 

Both Shaun and Doreen were retired and enjoying their golden years, that they were.  Things weren’t quite as fast paced as when they were younger and had to work for a living as well as keep up the homestead.  Still it seems as people grow older they slow down a wee bit faster you know, than things that need doing slack off.

 

For example, their was still the garden to care for, it was Shaun’s duty to plow it up and Doreen’s duty to plant it and weed it and water it; so that was the division of mans work and woman’s work as applied to gardening.

 

It was Shaun’s duty to fix the roof if needed, paint inside and out if needed.  It was Doreen’s duty to do the cooking, the washing, and house cleaning.  That was more standard division of woman’s work and man’s work.  It was the excepted way of things in the ol sod for centuries, well rooted tradition’s ye know.

 

After breakfast each morning Shaun would like to sit on the porch taking his morning pipe and sipping his coffee which by accident would have a few drops of nipping elixir mysteriously find its way into the cup.

 

Once in a while Shaun and Doreen had occasion to oversleep which kind of put thing behind schedule.  So when breakfast was a wee bit later than usual, Doreen wouldn’t be able to get the dishes done before the chickens started squawking their heads off demanding their breakfast. Normally it was dishes first, chickens second, except when squawking ensued.

 

Shaun had taken notice, yes he himself, that on occasion, Doreen would forget the dishes hadn’t been done until almost time to fix lunch.  Shaun paid attention to the fact that this was distressing Doreen more than a wee bit.  The clue was watching her put by accident a few drops of nipping elixir in her afternoon tea; that is when she had time to have some.

 

Now, fortunately this wasn’t a daily thing, just once or twice a week.  Even so, Shaun decided he hated to see Doreen in such a stew.  He decided he should be helpful, but not let it be found out that he was doing any woman’s work.  If that got out he’d never live it down, sure and begorra if that wasn’t a fact.  Never the less, the next time they overslept and the chickens started squawking before dishes could be done, Shaun quietly did them while Doreen was out feeding the chickens.

 

This went on for a few weeks and Doreen never caught on. Then one day she got to thinking and couldn’t remember having done dishes on some of those days.  Yet she thought she might have and this was driving her to other kinds of distraction.

 

Now Shaun also noticed something was up as Doreen started using the nipping elixir without benefit of tea to dilute it. So he inquired as to what was going on with her.  Doreen was a bit embarrassed and flustered as she explained she didn’t know whether or not she was loosing her mind or her memory.  She explained about the dishes.

 

Shaun knew that something had backfired, but couldn’t admit he was doing woman’s work.  So he tried to make light of it, he did, he himself, and said why worry about, maybe we have a friendly Dish Elf at work.  Why worry about it.  Doreen said by the Saints, do ye take me for a fool?  This is Ireland; we have no Elves, just Leprechauns.  Shaun said, well maybe it’s a friendly Leprechaun then, they say there are two or three living near Yorkshire.

 

Well Doreen didn’t feel like taking the conversation any further at that point, but she thought and she thought.  The next time they overslept, she just gave the chickens enough to shut them up, figuring on giving them the rest a few minutes later.  Then she rushed back to the side of the cottage and peered through the side window.  There was Shaun doing the dishes.

 

Aha! She said to herself, that’s the biggest Dish Elf I or anyone else ever saw.  I’ll take care of him, I’ll fix his wagon. And she did.

 

Now ever Sunday morning Shaun would clean and polish his boots to make them fit for church.  Sometimes if time permitted he would do it Saturday night so he could get a little more sleep Sunday morning.  Doreen was aware of this, so on the Saturday nights he didn’t clean and polish his boot’s, she snuck out of the bedroom and did it for him, even though that was man’s work.

 

After about three such occasions Shaun was getting as shook up as Doreen had been.  Doreen could tell because now Shaun was using the nipping elixir without benefit of diluting it with coffee.

So Doreen asked Shaun if he was having a problem.  Shaun explained about the boots and said he didn’t know whether he was loosing his mind or his memory.  Doreen said why worry about it, maybe we have a friendly Boot Elf in the area.

 

Well, that having been said, Shaun got the picture immediately.  The cat was out of the bag, Saints preserve me he thought, I’ve been caught; I can only hope Doreen don’t tell anyone.  I’d be laughed clear out of Ireland.

 

Doreen thought the look on Shaun’s face was the funniest thing she’d seen in years.  Poor thing, he must love me very much, to have risked being found doing woman’s work.

 

Well many hugs and kisses followed the revelation they had just shared, along with quite a few laughs and couple of stiff celebratory nips.  After all, the mystery’s had been solved.