“mrs murphy always lived” - Mary Magagna

mrs murphy always lived across the street after she married a man named spud who was the bartender at the club where she had been a prostitute. she married him when the brothel closed down by virtue of the local authorities because, as she said, she wasn’t getting any younger
she was as common as the weather.
my mother said so.
that’s why people always talked about her. my mother used to go out of her way to say hello.
I used to watch her sweep her sidewalks.
she swept them with a vengeance.
it was her misfortune to live next door to the local grocery store. she had to keep her sidewalks clean
or else
if someone slipped and fell with his arms full of groceries for his family he might blame her, then her life would flash before her eyes, the life she was forever trying to live down.