Chapter 7 Summary

The evening of Billy's funeral, friends and family gather in Maeve's living room. His sisters, Kate and Rosemary, are there, the next door neighbors, Dan Lynch, two Legion of Mary ladies, and Dennis and his daughter. Dennis takes the dog for a walk the moment he comes in, his thoughts full of memories of Billy and of Billy calling him just after he's taken the dog for a walk.

Relatives in the living room talk about another funeral, that of Daniel Lynch, when a friend of the family begins to sing "Danny Boy." They talk about Daniel's wife, Sheila, and her second husband, Mr. Holtzman, which brings them to the shoe store where Billy and Maeve met. Dennis comes in with the dog and gives her a biscuit, quietly assuring her of what a good dog she is. This is when Maeve rushes...