A Christmas to Remember

by Katie Flynn

  The boy stopped short. ‘Wharrabout my goldfish?’ he asked urgently. ‘It’s for my sister Elsie; it’s the only thing I could afford and she’s always wanted one.’

  Tess laughed. ‘Don’t worry – I’ll fish out the one you want just as soon as I come down again. See you presently.’

  Half an hour later, as Tess and Snowy emerged on to the pavement, Snowy glanced up at the windows of the flat. ‘I take it your gran’s out? No lights showing, at any rate.’

  ‘Well done, Sherlock Holmes,’ Tess said approvingly. ‘Gran and Albert have gone to the flicks, but not the one we’re going to. And afterwards they’re having a meal in the cinema café; Albert’s treat.’

  ‘And we shall do the same; my treat,’ Snowy said with a lordly air. ‘I want to have a bit of a talk, sweetheart.’

  ‘Talk away,’ Tess said as Snowy took her arm and they began to hurry towards the cinema. ‘But I must tell you that we had a very good day; I was on the go from half past nine until you came in, so I just hope I don’t fall asleep and miss half the film.’

  ‘I’ll wake you if you do; can’t have you snoring fit to drown the dialogue,’ Snowy said. ‘But we’ll talk later when we’re comfortably settled in the café. I’ve got enough sweet coupons left to buy you either a tiny box of chocolates or a quarter of a pound of mint humbugs; which shall it be?’

  Laughing, Tess said that she would settle for the humbugs, and they joined the queue at the box office.

  Despite the fact that the war had been over for more than seven years, menus were still not exciting. But it is always nice to have a meal cooked by someone else and served in pleasant surroundings, so Tess and Snowy ate fish and chips with marrowfat peas, followed by steamed ginger pudding and custard, and it was not until they were sitting back and sipping their tea that Snowy told Tess his news. ‘You know I deferred my National Service until I got my degree? Well, I know you must remember that, since it was such a momentous happening,’ he said, quizzing her with his eyes. ‘But the dread moment has come at last. I’m to report to Catterick on the third of January, and from that moment on I am no longer a free spirit, but the property of His Majesty King George the Sixth, to send where he wills.’

  ‘Oh, Snowy, I’m so sorry. But we knew you’d get your call-up papers sometime soon,’ Tess said. ‘Don’t you envy Jonty? Now if, like him, you were a farmer . . .’

  Snowy pulled a face. ‘I envy him one thing, and one thing only, and that’s his friendship with you,’ he said. ‘Not that you’ve seen much of each other lately. Despite all his promises to come up and see the shop he’s come neither near nor by, so I s’pose I needn’t envy him . . . need I?’

  Tess was conscious of a familiar pang of annoyance. Why did Snowy have to be so jealous of Jonty? He kept nagging on about that wartime friendship – damn it, we were nothing but a couple of kids, Tess thought crossly – every time the other was mentioned. She thought now that Snowy might be using that old friendship as an excuse to get her to become engaged, but fond though she was of Snowy she did not wish to be tied down yet. However, he was staring at her across the table, his gaze intent. ‘Look, the army could send me anywhere; lots of the fellers go abroad, and even if it’s only to Ireland, taking one’s leave at home is difficult if not impossible. So you might as well say we shall be apart for the next two years. Please, Tess, say we can get engaged.’

  Tess frowned and shook her head. ‘It isn’t on, Snowy, honestly it isn’t. My friend Lucy got engaged to her boyfriend – yes, you’re right, he was sent abroad – and spent two lonely miserable years not going to the flicks or to dances, not even to office parties, and when he came home he told her quite calmly that he was going to marry a girl he’d met in Malaya. Poor Lucy started to live normally again and met another national serviceman and agreed to go steady with him. Then he met someone else . . . Oh, Snowy, can’t you understand? When you come home, if you still feel the same we won’t just get engaged, we’ll get married if you like, but I won’t be like the owl and the pussycat . . .’ she giggled, ‘with a ring at the end of his nose, his nose, his nose, with a ring at the end of his nose.’

  Snowy laughed too but Tess reflected that his laugh did not hold much amusement. ‘Tell you what, if you’ll swear on your mother’s life – no, on your gran’s life – that you’ll not go down to Bell Farm, nor let that tedious ploughboy come up here, then I won’t ask you to get engaged,’ he said. ‘Oh, don’t fire up at me and start shouting, because if there was nothing in it you wouldn’t mind promising. Isn’t that so?’

  Tess opened her mouth to refute the remark but then thought better of it. During all the time that she and Gran had had the shop, Snowy had been a tower of strength. He had taught her how to balance the books, explained about tax and expenses, contacted suppliers and argued about discounts and prices. Jonty had done his best, but the distance had defeated him, though they had exchanged frequent letters at first. Unfortunately these had got shorter and shorter. Now they wrote probably every other month, and in the course of these letters the name Pamela Davies cropped up quite often enough to satisfy Snowy, or would have done had Tess allowed him to read her letters. But now, seeing the angry flush on his cheekbones, she decided that she was being rather unfair. Secretly, she thought there was little chance of Jonty’s coming up to Liverpool and even less of her going to Bell Farm, so why not give Snowy what he wanted? Alternatively, she could show him the letters, the ones where Jonty mentioned going dancing with Pamela, taking Pamela to the flicks or getting out the Ford to fetch Pamela down to help with the harvest.

  All might have been well had she made the offer at once, but she hesitated. ‘If you aren’t willing to commit then we might as well call it a day,’ Snowy said sulkily. And then, apparently on impulse, he leaned across the table, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her.

  Tess gave a startled squeak and pulled back. ‘What on earth do you think you’re doing?’ she whispered angrily. ‘Honestly, Snowy, in front of a whole café full of people!’ She cast a quick glance around them, but no one seemed to be taking any notice. ‘If that’s the way you mean to behave . . .’

  Snowy sighed. ‘I thought one of my delicious kisses might make you change your mind,’ he mumbled. ‘Look, I suppose you’ve got a point when you say you don’t want to get engaged until I’m home again. If we both promise to be faithful to the other one then that will have to do for now. Agreed?’

  But by now Tess had got tired of the whole conversation. She felt that Snowy had backed her into a corner by choosing such a public place to tell her that his call-up papers had arrived. And his recurring urge to get engaged, though flattering, did not somehow ring true. If she fell in love with someone else during Snowy’s absence, she was unlikely to let promises, or an engagement ring for that matter, get in her way. And as for kisses, well they were all very fine, but they didn’t change anything. She jumped to her feet, snatched her coat off the back of her chair and her handbag from beneath it, and stalked towards the door. She would have liked to sweep out, but could not, in all fairness, do so. Snowy had taken her to see the film of her choice and bought her a meal, and all she had done was refuse to get engaged and tell him off. So she waited whilst he paid the bill, her temper cooling, and when he arrived beside her and did not attempt to take her hand or touch her in any way she was sorry she had upset him. After all, soon he would be off to training camp, or whatever they called it, and she might not see him again for two years. So she tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow as they began to descend the long flight of stairs. ‘I’m sorry, Snowy, because you’ve been a good friend to me and a tremendous help. Jonty and I were close as kids but we’re neither of us kids any more. Jonty’s got a girlfriend – Pamela Davies – and I’ve got you, so why should either of us worry? When we get back to the flat, I’ll get one of Jonty’s letters so that you can read it.’ She squeezed his arm. ‘Agreed?’

  ‘Agreed,’ Snowy said rather sullenly. ‘And now let’s change the su
bject. That chap Mitch Roberts; they’re a decent little family. If you ever want a cleaner, you couldn’t do better than to employ his mam. I haven’t had much to do with the father but I believe he’s perfectly respectable unless drunk, and that goes for a lot of seamen, I understand.’ He scowled at her. ‘And don’t try and tell me that you and Jonty aren’t still pretty close, because you’ve just proved it. You keep his letters!’

  Tess groaned. ‘Oh, for God’s sake grow up, Snowy White,’ she said wearily. ‘It just so happens that I keep one letter or possibly two until I’ve answered them . . .’ she crossed her fingers behind her back, ‘then I chuck them in the rubbish bin. Satisfied?’

  ‘I will be when I’ve seen the letter,’ Snowy said after rather a long pause. ‘Oh, Tess, why have I had the misfortune to fall in love with a pig-headed little person with a weakness for hicks?’

  Tess laughed, though she was secretly annoyed with Snowy’s constant attempts to diminish Jonty, and as they reached the pavement she gave him a punch in the ribs, hard enough to make him gasp. ‘Serve you right,’ she said merrily. ‘I say, that was a super meal, but knowing Gran there’ll be hot cocoa and shortbread when we reach the flat. Aren’t you glad you didn’t march off in a huff? I know you came pretty near it – I could read it in your face.’

  Snowy shrugged. ‘Sometimes I wonder why I love you,’ he said, but his tone was teasing once more. ‘Race you to the pet shop, Miss Theresa Williams.’

  Tess had been right, Snowy thought as, having said good night, he set off in the direction of home. As he and Tess had entered the kitchen they had seen Gran and Albert sitting over their mugs of cocoa, looking so like a long-married couple that Snowy had remarked: ‘Darby and Joan, I do declare! Gosh, those biscuits look good.’

  ‘Told you so,’ Tess had said, heading across the kitchen. ‘Shan’t be a tick.’ True to her word she returned almost immediately and handed Snowy a sheet of notepaper. ‘Read that,’ she had commanded, ‘and say you’re sorry.’

  ‘What’s all this?’ Albert had said curiously as Snowy took the sheet and began to read. ‘Secrets?’

  ‘No, not secrets; just settling a bet,’ Snowy had said untruthfully. He read the line which Tess was indicating: Took Pamela to see Winchester ’73; she’s mad on Westerns, can’t get enough of them. But as I was saying . . .

  ‘Told you so!’ Tess had said triumphantly for the second time, snatching the sheet from his hand before he could read another word. ‘And now, having . . . er, settled the bet, how about some cocoa before you leave?’

  Snowy had agreed rather stiffly to have a mug of cocoa, though he had given her a very cold look when she handed him his cup. He could not wait to get her alone so that he could object to the way she had taken the letter back, and come to think of it it wasn’t a whole letter anyway, just one miserable page. If she was going to be frank and honest, if there was really nothing between her and the ploughboy, then she should have handed over the whole letter for him to read at his leisure.

  But Albert and Edie, clearly unaware of a slight frostiness in the atmosphere, had chattered gaily on about the film they had seen, and the meal they had eaten afterwards in the cinema café, so Snowy had drunk his cocoa too hot and burned his tongue, turned down the offer of biscuits and got to his feet. ‘Thank you very much, Mrs Williams,’ he had said formally. He had not taken off his overcoat when he entered the flat, and now he simply fastened the buttons, then turned to Tess. ‘Going to see me off the premises, love? Make sure I shut the door properly and click the Yale down?’

  Tess had begun to say that she would do so when Albert too got to his feet and reached for his overcoat. ‘Well, it’s time I was off as well,’ he had said. ‘Thanks very much, Edie. See you tomorrow.’

  Snowy could have screamed with frustration. How could Albert be so stupid? He was determined to have a word with Tess about the letter, since he thought her behaviour had been downright suspicious. But Edie, also getting to her feet, went over to the sink, giving Albert a warning look as she did so. ‘You can dry the crocks for me, Albert,’ she said. ‘I dare say these young people will want to say good night without an audience.’

  ‘Oh, rubbish, Gran,’ Tess had said breezily. ‘We sat in the back row at the cinema, you know!’

  Gran and Albert both laughed and Snowy had done his best to smile. ‘I do want a word with Tess,’ he had admitted. He grinned self-consciously at Edie, already clattering dishes in the sink. ‘After all, I may be off to foreign parts very soon, so every moment is precious.’

  ‘And you may not; you may find yourself stationed at Seaforth Barracks and able to come home every night,’ Tess had pointed out unkindly. ‘Why must you always imagine the worst?’

  Snowy had begun to protest that he was doing no such thing but merely putting into words what they both knew to be true; that the army, once you were in, ruled your life; but Tess had snatched the door open and was gesturing him to precede her down the stairs. There was another exchange of good nights, but when they had emerged on to the pavement, and Tess would have gone back into the flat, he had grabbed her and pulled her over to stand against the pet shop door. ‘If there’s nothing between you and the ploughboy, why didn’t you let me read the whole letter?’ he had demanded harshly. ‘Or at least the entire page?’

  It was a cold and frosty night and Tess’s face in the light of the full moon looked pale, the gentle lips pulled into a hard line. She had stared up at him, her eyes dark with surprise. ‘Look, Snowy, that letter was written to me, not for general publication. I showed you the bit about Pamela because it seemed you didn’t trust my word but wanted proof. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the end of the matter. I’m afraid I can’t think of any other way to convince you that Jonty and I are just good friends. So perhaps the best thing for us to do was what you suggested earlier; perhaps we should call it a day. Apart from anything else, I really resent you calling him a ploughboy. It’s rude and unfair and thoroughly nasty.’

  All this time they had been standing against the door of the pet shop, but now Snowy shook his head violently and pulled her roughly into his arms. ‘I’ll wash my mouth out with lye soap, and swear never to be rude about Mr Jonathan Bell again!’ he had said, trying to sound humorous and not outraged, which was how he felt. ‘As for not trusting your word, I didn’t mean to imply you would lie to me. Oh, darling Tess, can’t you see that I’m jealous and can’t bear to think of you with another bloke? Let’s just put the whole thing behind us and never mention it again.’

  Tess had agreed. ‘Kiss and make up,’ she declared, suiting action to words, and then she had turned quickly back towards the stair which led up to the flat, leaving Snowy to set off home, wondering whether he had done the right thing in not insisting that he should read the entire letter, which had been his initial impulse.

  Turning up his coat collar – for once out of the shelter of the doorway he was conscious of a nippy little wind – he thought back over his evening. He was still not sure why he felt as he did about Tess, because she was neither strikingly pretty nor brilliantly clever, though she ran an exceedingly successful little business. Because he helped Gran with the books he knew just how successful that business was, and admired her for that. But you didn’t suggest marriage to a girl because she had a pet shop, or because she was bright and intelligent. You suggested marriage, or he thought you did, when someone lit a fire of wanting within you, a fire so hot that it could not be ignored. He had known that feeling years ago, when he had first taken Marilyn out, and even now, whenever she happened to cross his path, he was aware of what, to himself, he referred to as a ‘slow burn’. But when he had discussed it with his friends at university, they had laughed the idea that this might be true love to scorn. ‘It’s lust, old feller, just plain wicked old lust,’ his pal Marlowe had said. ‘I’ve met your Tess; she’s the sort of girl who gets under your skin, and not because of her looks. If I were you I’d grab her and stop thinking about busty blondes, fiery redhea
ds or sultry brunettes.’

  Snowy admired Marlowe, who had his pick of girls, and had decided to take his advice, telling himself that if there had been no ploughboy – there was nothing to stop him thinking ploughboy in his head, was there? – then he would never have doubted Tess’s affection. And now he knew that Jonty had a girlfriend of his own he must stop worrying and start looking forward to the next two years, because though he had got his degree, and when he came out of the forces would be able to apply for maths teaching posts, such work seemed very dull when compared with Tess’s life in the pet shop. She had plunged wholeheartedly into the business and now knew most of her suppliers personally, and all her regular customers. He had suggested that in a couple of years she might open another shop, but though she had considered the idea she had decided against it in the end. ‘Because I’d not trust a manager to go to the lengths Gran and I do,’ she had explained. ‘I’ve heard that there are some pet shops where money and a quick turnover are all that matters. If I imagined someone was not treating my birds and animals right I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.’

  Now, however, walking briskly along the icy pavement so that the sound of his footsteps echoed off the surrounding buildings, Snowy thought that one of these days he would persuade Tess to turn her undoubted business talents into something rather smarter than a pet shop. He was not sure yet exactly how, but in the fullness of time he and she together might set the town on fire . . . Perhaps a bar? Or that ice cream parlour she had once talked about?

  Snowy reached the gate of his parents’ house, opened it and put his key in the lock. At this time of night both his parents would be in bed, and the house was in darkness. Snowy sighed, pushed open the front door, closed it softly behind him, and headed for the stairs. As he undressed and got into bed he was telling himself that it had been a good evening. He and Tess had quarrelled, but they had made it up. He flattered himself that he had no need to fear competition from any but the ploughboy, and judging from the tiny bit of letter Tess had allowed him to read Jonty Bell now had other interests. Snowy remembered hearing someone say once that land married land, and if it was true, and he rather thought it was, then this Pamela, no doubt a farmer’s daughter, would be a far more suitable match for young Bell than a girl living a couple of hundred miles away, whose only connection with the land lay in her ownership of a pet shop.