Colm Toibin's novel "Brooklyn" is about the story of a young woman stuck in between her life in Brooklyn and her hometown in Ireland. The protagonist Eilis Lacey had been married secretly to Tony where she has a job in Brooklyn. But when she had to go to Ireland for the funeral of her sister Rose, she was led to stay longer and even had a brief relationship with a man named Jim. But when her secret marriage was on the verge of being revealed, she decided to tell her mother about Tony, left a letter for Jim and went back to Brooklyn.
The statement that is mentioned in the question<em> "And we are worked off our feet"</em> is from the part where Miss Kelly had called on Eilis to offer her a job in her shop as a bookkeeper. By this implication, Miss Kelly meant that her shop is busy and that they have a lot of customer.
I think it's important to tell a new friend who doesn't know about the disability that you or someone has because if they say or do something it can get defensive triggered or they might just not understand what you're coming from
