Chapter 23
Fay was concerned when Elsie didn’t come home, she had never stayed out all night without telling her before. No matter how late it had been when she was going out with Stan, she always came home at some point so that she could get the children off to school in the morning. When Fay thought about it, Elsie had been rather secretive of late. It hurt to think her sister might have a new boyfriend that she hadn’t told her anything about. Surely Elsie knew she could trust her? Her big sister always confided in her, but if she had taken up with somebody new, for some reason this time Elsie had not said a thing.
Fay couldn’t share her worries with any of her other sisters, they were far too young to understand, but her main concern was that everything was all right and Elsie was safe. Anything else was unthinkable. She had to believe that at the age of nearly sixteen Elsie was able to look after herself. Hadn’t she been doing so already for many years?
The problem was keeping Elsie’s absence from her father. The fact was, she was probably safer out on the streets than she was at home. Fortunately, last night he had come in even more drunk than usual and had fallen into a deep sleep as soon as he’d undressed and got into bed. Fay thought it would be straightforward to cover for Elsie’s morning chores. Her mother, of course, would say nothing even if she noticed Elsie wasn’t there. And the younger girls knew better than to comment.
Jack was the one who was liable to get Elsie into trouble without even realizing it, because he was too young to know any better. Most mornings he nagged for his eldest sister to look after him and it wasn’t always easy to fob him off. Fay knew she would have to think of some story today that would keep him happy so that he wouldn’t keep asking for Elsie in front of their father.
If she was honest, Fay was put out at having to stay behind to cover Elsie’s chores. Recently, things had changed in her life too, and she didn’t have as much time as she once did to do her sister’s jobs as well as her own. Thankfully the weather was a little warmer now so it was easier to get through all the tasks first thing, and when she felt really pushed she could rope in Iris and Nancy – who at ten and eight years of age were old enough to help out more, even if they didn’t like it. She would have asked Phyllis too, had she not gone missing. But Freda and the other little ones were still too young.
Things had changed for Fay after Harry had left. Not that she was sorry he had disappeared, never to be seen by anyone in the family again. She never could forgive him for stealing Elsie’s money. But it had taken her a while to get over her infatuation with a man she had once thought might save her from her doleful life. She, as well as Elsie, had taken a beating from her father over it, as he believed they were both responsible for scaring away a foolproof source of income. But worse than that, it had spoiled her once-rosy view of men and as a result she was no longer interested in finding a boyfriend. Thanks to Harry, she felt she could never trust a man again.
The only good thing he’d done was to suggest a way she could raise enough money to go to secretarial college. Having taken his advice to heart and acted upon it, she’d been hired as a cleaner in the college. It meant she had to start work while most people were still asleep, then creep back home for a few hours’ sleep so she could be ready for the free classes she had earned. That had all worked very well at first, and Fay had been very excited to find she was finally able to fulfil her dream. But when she had to start covering for Elsie more and more, it became impossible to keep up with her cleaning job. Even though she was being paid with lessons rather than in cash, she knew they were growing impatient with her at this new unreliability.
She had told Elsie, but her sister seemed to have so many problems of her own she had either forgotten or chosen to ignore the warning. Fay was upset. She was sure Elsie didn’t mean to be so heartless. She would have to talk to her again. In the meantime she would cover for her today and give the cleaning job a miss. She still had enough credit in the lessons’ bank for another week’s worth of classes and now she had the hang of the thing she could at least continue to practise her shorthand on her own.
After her typing class that morning she was gazing at the noticeboard where opportunities for certificated students were advertised. There was a whole array of jobs, exactly as the college had promised would be available once she had passed all the examinations. She looked with longing at the kinds of places she might work. In the top corner of the board was a handwritten notice, ‘Cafeteria waitress wanted. To work lunch and coffee breaks only.’ Fay couldn’t believe her luck and she hurried along to the administrator’s office to present her case.
The college manager and the chief course tutor were deep in conversation when she arrived and a look passed between them when she explained why she had come. ‘Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to keep the cleaning job going as well,’ she apologized, ‘but the hours for this job would suit me much better.’
The manager pulled out her file from the metal cabinet behind her and shook her head as she began to read. She passed it to the tutor.
‘Tell me, Miss Grimshaw,’ the manager said, staring at Fay over the top of her half-moon glasses, ‘Why should we give you such a demanding job when you have proved to be so unreliable as a cleaner?’
Fay was ready for this, for she had thought about it on her way to the office and had decided to be honest. ‘Because at lunch and coffee break times I won’t have to cover for my sister at home.’ She hoped she wouldn’t have to explain any further. The two behind the desk looked at each other and raised their eyebrows.
‘I cannot pretend this will be an easier job,’ the tutor said, ‘on top of all your classwork and homework. And I hope you realize the difficulties you will face when everyone in the college requires lunch and breaks at the same time.’
‘I’m not afraid of hard work.’ Fay lifted her head proudly and looked directly at the tutor. ‘It was only the timing that was the problem.’ Then she softened her gaze. ‘But please, it would mean so much to me to be able to finish this course.’
‘Hm,’ the tutor said, leafing through the file. ‘You have been keeping up with both your shorthand and your typing speeds. And I see you have been doing some bookkeeping as well.’ She looked at the manager and nodded.
‘Very well,’ the manager said, ‘we will give you a month’s trial. We can see how hard you work when you are here, but I warn you: if your work or timekeeping are not satisfactory, then your lessons and the job will have to terminate at the same time.’
Fay wanted to hug and kiss them both but she made do with thanking them sincerely for their time, then she bobbed a curtsy and ran from the room to her next class.
After college that day, Fay, still anxious about Elsie, went to the factory in the hope of seeing her sister there. If she had gone from wherever she’d spent the night straight to work, she should be finished for the day about now. Sure enough, soon after the hooter sounded and everyone rushed to be first out of the gate, to her relief she saw Elsie among the crowd, looking as jolly and bouncy as ever. Fay ran up to her sister and they hugged and linked arms before setting off down the road.
‘Did the old bugger notice?’ was Elsie’s first question, and Fay was able to assure her that he hadn’t.
‘But where were you, Else? I need to know. We’ve got to talk about this because I can’t keep—’ She stopped talking because Elsie had whipped off her headscarf.
Fay’s jaw dropped. ‘Good God,’ she said. It took her a few moments to recover from her astonishment and then she demanded a full explanation.
‘Promise on your life you won’t tell a soul,’ Elsie said.
Fay took hold of her sister’s hand. ‘Cross my heart and hope to die,’ she said solemnly. Elsie began to tell her about Arnold, but she couldn’t help interrupting.
‘Where did you meet him? What’s he like?’ Fay couldn’t ask her questions fast enough. Eventually, Elsie told her everything. Everything except the most intimate details. On those she refused to be drawn.<
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‘Do you like him? Do you love him? Does he love you?’ Fay was still full of questions.
Elsie laughed. ‘Not sure how to answer any of those.’
Then another thought struck Fay. ‘Do you think he might marry you?’
‘I don’t know,’ Elsie answered honestly. ‘I know he likes me. He must do, to spend so much money on me. The thing is, he’s hoping to move soon, into Coronation Street.’
‘Wow!’ Fay was impressed. ‘On his own?’
Elsie shrugged. ‘Much too early to say.’
They had come to the end of the Back Gas Street terrace and they both instinctively stopped.
‘I would put your scarf back on.’ Fay suddenly felt anxious. ‘You can say you’ve got earache or something, otherwise the old man won’t let it rest.’
Elsie agreed, flattening her curls as she tied the woollen scarf over her hair once more. She sighed. ‘You know, Fay, I’ve got to get out of this place. I’m almost sixteen now and I can’t be living with that vicious old bugger much longer. You’ve got to help me. Then I can help you.’
Fay bit her lip. She wanted to go as much as Elsie did, she was sure, but she understood that as the eldest Elsie had a right to go first.
‘Do you think this Arnold could be the one to help you do that?’ she asked.
‘I don’t know yet. But if I play my cards right, he could be.’
‘What does that mean? What do you have to do?’ Fay was curious.
‘Not sure yet. It’s risky, so I don’t want to say anything I might regret.’
‘You can trust me, Else. You know that,’ Fay pleaded, not wanting to be left out of her sister’s plans.
‘I know. It’s not that.’ Elsie put her hand up to Fay’s cheek and for a moment Fay wanted to cry. ‘It’s just that, if you know too much, the old man could beat it out of you, so I won’t tell you for now – but I promise you’ll be the first one I tell.’
‘Are you going to be seeing him again?’ Fay said.
‘Oh yes.’ Elsie’s eyes brightened. ‘Oh, and by the way, he says he can help us find Phyllis.’
Fay perked up at that. ‘Do you think he really can do that? It would be wonderful if he could. How will he do it?’
‘He wouldn’t say, but I think he has lots of contacts who might be able to find out. It’s been keeping me awake at night, worrying what’s happened to her. There’s nothing worse than not knowing.’
‘I suppose she wouldn’t really want to come home, would she?’ Fay felt saddened again.
‘True, but it must be safer than stopping out on the streets, mixing with who knows what sort of people and putting herself in danger,’ Elsie said. ‘I know we both envy her a bit being smart enough to get out before we did, but she’s still just a kid.’
At that, Fay smiled. ‘I know. And I would like to see her again. Is that selfish of me?’
Elsie gave her quick hug. ‘Nah. It’s just being Fay-like.’ And they both laughed.
They had reached their front door and Elsie took Fay by the shoulders. ‘Listen, about the other thing. I will try to come home most nights, but you must understand it isn’t always possible. You know, one thing follows another and it’s easy to get carried away.’
Fay didn’t know about any of those things beyond feeling warm butterflies in her stomach. But she didn’t want to tell Elsie that.
Chapter 24
It wasn’t difficult for Arnold to guess where Elsie’s sister Phyllis might be, for there was only one place that all the young kids from around the Weatherfield area gravitated to when they ran away from home, and that was under the arches at Manchester’s Exchange station.
The station was close to the River Irwell, where some of them ended their sorry lives, no one ever being able to say exactly how or why. As for the rest, they tried to keep going as best they could. They’d sleep on old sacks and light fires to try and keep warm. They’d forage for food and generally do whatever they had to in order to stay alive. The boys could earn a few bob’s worth of crusts running errands, and taking and fetching messages, but the girls tended to be taken under a questionably kind man’s wing and shown how to earn some ‘easy money’, though most of it would end up in their so-called benefactor’s pocket and the poor girls would be ruined, often stuck in a life on the game. Arnold had never liked to use pimps, but he knew others in Wormold’s gang who threw an odd coin or two their way. So it was easy enough for him to put the word out that he was searching for a redhead about thirteen years old, though he pretended it was on behalf of a mate. It didn’t take long before he received a report of one such lass living the rough life down there. He didn’t say anything to Elsie but decided to go and see for himself.
As soon as he saw her, he had no doubt it was Phyllis. She was the spitting image of Elsie, before she’d had her hair cleaned up. But the moment she clapped eyes on him and realized he was looking for her, she tried to run away. Fortunately, it didn’t take him long to catch her and he held on to her bony wrist so she couldn’t escape.
‘What do you want, mister?’ she asked, trying to wriggle free of his grasp. ‘I ain’t done owt. Get your hands off me!’
‘I’m not taking you anywhere, don’t worry,’ Arnold said. He wondered why her parents hadn’t tried to find her. He’d met some callous people in his time and was a hard bugger himself, but even he was shocked at just how neglectful the Grimshaws were of their children. ‘I just want to know your name. That’s all. I’m not here to hurt you.’
‘Why are you here then?’ She peered at him curiously.
‘I told you. Now, how about you tell me what I want to know. What’s your name?’
‘What would you like it to be?’ She lifted her head in defiance. She certainly had Elsie’s spirit.
‘How about …’ Arnold hesitated. ‘How about, Phyllis?’ he said.
She laughed. ‘That’s a daft name. My name’s Mattie.’
‘Well, Mattie, I’ve got a message for you. It’s from your big sister Elsie.’
He saw her eyes flicker for a moment when he said Elsie’s name, but then she looked away.
‘I ’aven’t got a big sister,’ she mumbled as she tried again to shake her hand free.
‘She’s worried about you,’ Arnold persisted, as if she hadn’t spoken.
She looked at him out of the corner of her eye.
‘She’d like you to go home.’
‘I’m not going anywhere,’ the girl insisted. ‘Let me go or I’ll tell Rogers about you.’
Arnold stood up when she said that. Rogers was the leader of a rival local gang and he didn’t think Mr Wormold would thank him for causing trouble over the likes of the young scruffian he had here.
‘Fair enough,’ he said. ‘But I’ll tell Elsie I’ve seen you. You’re lucky someone gives a monkey’s about you – it was her that sent me looking.’
‘You can tell her what you like,’ the young girl whispered. She rubbed her wrist as he let her go and then ran off into the dark recess underneath one of the arches.
Elsie had taken to seeing Arnold most evenings after she had seen to the family’s needs. She would go to Joe’s flat, where he was usually ready and waiting for her. They didn’t see much of Joe as he was generally out drinking, so she and Arnold had the place to themselves. They had fallen into a pattern which Elsie had no objections to, though she tried not to stay the whole night. It caused less trouble that way at home.
Another reason she loved to be with Arnold was all the titbits of food he seemed to collect, despite all the scaremongering about shortages. The threat of war was definitely hotting up and although no one could be certain yet what was going to happen, there was talk of men having to sign up for a conscription register. Arnold was convinced he would have to undertake some basic training courses too. Officially, no food was rationed, but chocolate, fruits, like bananas and oranges, even sugar began to disappear from the grocers’ shelves. Elsie had never had enough money for such luxuries anyway but since s
he’d met Arnold he had given her lots of little extras that she was able to take home. Even now, he always managed to find things she knew were no longer in the shops.
One night they were lying together on the couch listening to the latest news on Arnold’s radio about Hitler’s march into Europe. He suddenly sat up and switched the radio off.
‘Never mind all that bloody doom and gloom,’ he said. ‘I’ve got something better to tell you.’ He tickled her playfully as he said, ‘Although you lost your bet, I’m afraid.’
‘Gerroff.’ Elsie tried to fend him off. ‘So what was that?’ She didn’t remember placing a bet. ‘Good news, I hope?’ She was in a good mood because she’d managed to avoid her father for several days now.
‘I think I may have found your sister Phyllis.’ Arnold waited for her reaction.
Elsie’s face lit up immediately. ‘Where is she? How is she? What’s she up to?’
‘It’s all pretty much as you might expect for a runaway, given that she’s living under the arches at Exchange Station.’
Elsie’s face fell. ‘Are you sure it was her?’
Arnold laughed. ‘With hair like that? It’s a dead giveaway. Besides, she looks exactly like you.’
‘Did she say her name was Phyllis?’
‘No, she’s bright enough to have changed her name. Said she was called Mattie. But I didn’t believe her and I’m sure she knew that.’
‘So what happened? What did she say? Why didn’t you bring her home with you?’ Elsie was eager for information.
‘She made it quite clear she wasn’t going anywhere. I’m afraid you’re wasting your time fretting about her.’
‘Maybe I should have gone too.’ Elsie suddenly jumped up and pulled at Arnold’s arm. ‘We could go down there now. I’ll come with you. I can talk to her. I’m sure I could persuade her to come home.’
Arnold gave her a look which told her the subject was at an end. ‘Look, love, I bet even if you went down there right this minute you wouldn’t find her. She’d be long gone. Believe me, she doesn’t want to be found. C’mon, enough bleating about that little ragamuffin, she’ll be all right, she’s in with the Rogers gang.’
Christmas on Coronation Street Page 16
