"First time ever I knaw'd you and Joe get acrarst each other," she said.
Ernie, biting home on his pipe, did not meet her gaze.
"First," he said. "Not the last, may be."
She put down dish-cloth and dish, came to him, and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Let me look at you, Ern!"
His jaw was set, almost formidable: he did not speak.
"Kiss me, Ern," she said.
For a moment his eyes hovered on her face.
"D'you mean anything?" he asked.
"Not that," she answered and dropped her hand.