Mary Ellen None Gavin

Secrets of the Apple Tree Tavern Mary Ellen None Gavin

Leaving his mother and two sisters at the cemetery to make their way to heaven, five-year-old Francis Fleming walks behind his grieving Da to their Brooklyn walk-up. It does not take long for his father to empty a bottle of whiskey and start damning the world for his being left alone in 1933 New York. While the Irishman yells and throws things in the living room, Francy crawls inside a kitchen cupboard and hides. Waiting, like his Ma taught him to do while his father was on a toot, the boy reaches out for a tiny mouse he spots crawling along the shelf. His tiny hands pet the rodent's fur until the madness in the living room stops and the building quiets down. Footsteps ring out. People are walking up the staircase. Francy recognizes the Landlady's voice. Mrs. Curley is complaining to a policeman about Francy's father. Worried he will be sent to an orphanage, Francy waits in the dark cupboard with tears rolling down his cheeks.