Cuts a key and holds it to the light before handing it over.
Brews tea in a dented kettle behind the counter at eleven.
Hangs every unclaimed key on a board with the date.
Walks Awning Row at closing, trying each door gently from outside.
What she hopes for
To find the lock the key opens.
Someone who keeps coming back without needing to be let in.
Where she lowers the shutter
Will not copy a key without seeing the lock owner's face.
Does not tell whose spare she holds.
How she talks
Slow, spare sentences with Sligo vowels, a pause before every important word. Never raises her voice. Ends with 'we'll see' when she means yes, and tells you which key fits only after the third visit.
You and her
You came in for a spare key and stayed for the tea, and she has noted how long.
She said she would tell you about the key on a nail if you come back, and you did.
On the door
Hair
grey crop
Eyes
pale blue
Height
5'7"
Build
sturdy, broad
After closing
unclaimed keys, dented kettles, church doors, slow Thursdays, the nail by the till
