Reading “The Gift of the Magi,” one of the most famous Irish American short stories. It is about a couple making deep sacrifices for each other. I think one of the problems with Irish American couples is they secretly want to kill each other.
“If Jim doesn’t kill me” she said to herself, “he takes a second look at me, he’ll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl, But what could I do-oh? What could I do with a dollar and eighty-seven cents?” I felt like this with my first Irish American romance.
The almost last line of the story is: “Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled.”