Christmas on Coronation Street

by Maggie Sullivan

  ‘Then you’ve eaten,’ Elsie said with relief.

  ‘No, I’ve not,’ Arnold barked.

  ‘Well, I’m sorry but the shops will be closed so it’s too late now to buy anything for tea. Next time you’ll have to make sure to leave me a key,’ Elsie snapped.

  ‘Oh, so it’s my fault now, is it? Because you’re so careless as to slam the door shut without checking it was on the latch.’ This time Elsie saw the slap coming and she managed to dodge it.

  ‘We’ll have to go to the Rovers. Don’t they serve pies there or summat?’ she said.

  ‘You can count yourself lucky this time because I’m starving, so we’ll have to go over there and see what we can get. But don’t think of pulling this stunt on me again.’

  ‘How was I supposed to know bloody doors lock themselves?’ she muttered.

  ‘I can see there’s lots of things I still have to teach you,’ Arnold said angrily. And he slapped her bottom hard as he followed her into the house.

  It was busy when they arrived at the Rovers and they struggled to find a seat. Elsie could see that the windows of the pub were coverd by heavy blackout blinds. All of the houses had been ordered to cover up with paint or heavy curtains in order to minimise the light that might help the expected German bombers hit their targets.

  Arnold ordered them both a meat-and-potato pie and they ate it hungrily under the watchful stare of Annie Walker. By the time they walked back from the Rovers, aided only by the light of the moon as the streetlights had been extinguished, Elsie was feeling extremely tired but there was something about Arnold’s mood following the several beers he’d downed in quick succession that told her the night was not ending yet. Not that she minded his attentions; most times she felt flattered to think that he desired her, which in her book was far better than being ignored. And most of the time she enjoyed it, so she was happy to play along. What she didn’t like was when his whole attitude suddenly flipped in a way she couldn’t predict, for then he could really hurt her.

  As they’d walked home from the pub he seemed to be in a jolly mood, but she was alerted by the way he kept nuzzling into her neck and reaching out to painfully tweak at her breasts because he thought no one could see. He was still laughing when she joined him in the double bed and he kissed her in the way that she liked and then he sat astride her body as he fooled around with her breasts. It wasn’t until she realized that in his drunken state his sausage-like fingers couldn’t manage the buttons of her pretty nightdress that she saw the dangerous flash in his eyes. She felt and heard the rip of the delicate material as he cleared the last obstacle out of his way and she knew then this was going to be one of those painful nights. The more she struggled, the more he forced himself on her, finally pushing so hard into her that she actually feared for the baby. And she knew she’d have bruises in the morning in places she couldn’t even see.

  At the end of her first week in Coronation Street Elsie decided it was up to her to set to work smartening up the bedroom in the way that she wanted and she didn’t care what Arnold thought of her choice. He’d made it quite clear there was no money for such luxuries, using the war and the shortage of materials as his excuse. But Elsie wasn’t bothered for she had her own kind of decoration in mind. She stripped off the old floral wallpaper, replacing it with pictures she’d cut out of the picture-goer magazines of her heroes and heroines from the silver screen. She planned to buy a small pot of paint that would add colour to the picture rails, window sill and door. It was a painstaking job but as she worked her way up the first wall she realized how much she was enjoying it. When she stood back to look at it, she was impressed with her work, although Arnold had so far made no comment. But she hoped that by the weekend he would actually have something nice to say.

  On the Friday night after he’d been on a pub crawl with the rest of Wormold’s gang, Elsie knew better than to imagine he would say anything sensible, so she didn’t expect him to remark on the fact that she had managed to finish an entire wall. And on the Saturday morning she crept out of bed, careful not to disturb him in case he had a sore head. It never occurred to her that he might be up before her so she was shocked when she tiptoed into the kitchen to find him sitting at the table with the fire lit and the water already hot enough for coffee.

  ‘What happened to you?’ She looked at him anxiously. ‘Couldn’t you sleep?’

  ‘Sleep was no problem. I slept like a log,’ he said, and poured himself another coffee.

  It was then she noticed the small suitcase by the door.

  ‘What’s that?’ she said.

  ‘What’s it look like?’ he sneered.

  ‘Never mind playing silly buggers, Arnold. I’m asking what it’s doing there.’

  ‘It’s the bag I’ve packed to take with me. I’m going into the navy today. I’ve enlisted and I’m off to camp for basic training. There’s a war on, in case you hadn’t noticed.’

  Elsie had to sit down quickly. ‘Navy? What are you talking about? You’ve not been called up. You don’t have to enlist.’

  ‘True. I don’t have to – not yet, anyway. But I wanted to do it now, while I’ve still got a choice.’

  ‘But you’re … whatever they call a special case. You’ve got a wife with a baby on the way.’

  ‘That must describe half the population.’ Arnold laughed. ‘I’m not eligible for any exemptions. But by signing up before I’m sent for, I reckon I’ll get to call the shots.’

  ‘Shots on what?’

  ‘On which service I go into, for a start. I don’t want to be one of those army mugs on foot. Cannon-fodder they used to call them, because that’s all they are. I’d rather go into the navy. Me dad was a seaman and I reckon it’ll suit me just fine.’

  Elsie stared at him. ‘So how long will you be away on this basic training?’

  ‘I don’t know. A few months, maybe more.’

  ‘Months?’ Elsie repeated. ‘And then you’ll be back?’ She was struggling to understand.

  ‘No. Then I’ll be posted, most likely somewhere overseas.’

  ‘This is Joe’s work, isn’t it? He’s put you up to this.’

  ‘No one’s put me up to anything.’ Arnold was beginning to raise his voice. ‘But if you must know, Joe’s enlisted too.’

  ‘I still don’t get it. Why do you have to go so soon before they even send for you? I don’t understand.’

  ‘Because conscription is just around the corner and I don’t want to wait for that. Don’t you see? If I go early, I get what I want.’

  Arnold finished his coffee and went to collect his case.

  Elsie could feel panic rising in her throat and felt more hopeless than she had ever felt. ‘And what about me? What am I supposed to do while you’re gone?’ she asked. Elsie had tried not to say it but she couldn’t avoid the question now.

  ‘You’ll have the baby to keep you occupied.’

  ‘Bugger the baby. I’ve been here a week. How will I pay the rent? I’ve no money …’

  ‘You don’t have to fret about that. The rent will be taken care of. And I’ve settled my navy salary on you, so they’ll be sending money to you regular.’

  ‘When will you be back?’ Her voice was not as strong as she would have liked.

  Arnold shrugged. ‘That’s not up to me.’ He gave her a full kiss, thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth. Then, without a backward glance, left the house.

  Elsie sat there for some time without moving, trying to absorb the fact that she was now all alone.

  Chapter 32

  Elsie sat up in bed and stared round the room. Arnold had been gone a few weeks, but she still couldn’t get used to the idea of having the whole bed to herself. To her relief, the baby next door had stopped crying all night and she wondered if perhaps the family had gone away. If she was honest, now that there was no crying during the day either, she missed the reassuring feeling of knowing someone was on the other side of the wall. She didn’t feel any more comfortable with the em
pty silence.

  She had tried to put up a brave front after Arnold had left, but she couldn’t get away from the fact that she had no one else to think about now, no one to prepare a meal for and when she was cold there was no one to snuggle up to in bed. She battled constant angry thoughts about Arnold and his abandonment and thought back to Amy’s words about getting off to a good start. She couldn’t think of a worse one. She also thought of the family in Back Gas Street and the overcrowded bed they had slept in at home. Did they ever think of her, she wondered. She wished she could see little Jack again. Did he still remember her? But the person she missed most was Fay, for here there was no one to talk to any more. Not like she talked to Fay.

  She had been so desperate to get away and she knew she could never go back there, not even for a visit. She’d burned her boats, made her own bed, whatever the sayings were, so she couldn’t go back to the old house to see how they were getting on. Although maybe there was some other way she could get to see Fay.

  The truth was, she was bored with her own company, bored with having nobody else to care for. Whatever she had been up to before, at least there had always been other people around and things had just happened. Whereas now she was having trouble thinking of ways to fill her time. She never would have believed it, but she missed work. She missed her friend Aggie and all their old routines. And it wasn’t as though the house needed cleaning, she’d tidied the place only last week.

  She looked down at her stomach that was bulging out worse than ever, and knew she was also fed up with heaving such a heavy lump wherever she went. It felt like months since she had been able to see her own feet. But there wasn’t much she could do about that. It would soon disappear once the baby came along.

  She had decided on a girl’s name some time ago when she had first seen her favourite actress the glamorous Linda Darnell in the film Hotel for Women. If it was a boy, he would be called Clark after Clark Gable, the sexiest man on two legs. That needed no explanation as far as she was concerned.

  She was trying her best to get on with her neighbours and had gone for a drink to the Rovers Return with Jim Todd, Vi’s son from next door. He’d popped in to hammer in some nails when she’d had trouble hanging up a picture, and she felt it would be rude to refuse his invitation. Neither did he refuse when she offered to extend the evening to something more than a couple of glasses of gin. Now that Arnold had left her, Elsie decided that if he thought she was going to keep to her wedding vows he had another thing coming. For better or worse … Arnold hadn’t even given their marriage a chance before he’d joined up. She didn’t believe for a minute it was because he’d had a sudden attack of patriotism. She’d learned enough about him now to know that soiled terry nappies, colic and midnight feeds would be the last thing he’d want to get caught up in.

  Anyway, there was always a price to be paid. She’d had to put up with the snide comments from that sharp-tongued, evil witch Ena Sharples, who seemed to have her eagle eyes everywhere. She sat with her cronies in a corner of the snug that they’d claimed as theirs. One milk stout and she could sit there all night, muck-raking, pulling everyone in the street to pieces. Elsie hated the thought of what she called ‘that nosy bugger’ poking her nose into places where it wasn’t wanted, but it was a price she’d have to pay. She’d almost been thankful when Jim was called up into the army and their little fling was over.

  The old witch had had less to say when Elsie had gone to the Rovers with Alice Burgess from number 7. Alice was also a new bride whose husband had gone off soon after their wedding, so they had a lot to share.

  And Elsie found she liked Jim’s sister Sally, who worked at the Rovers. Unfortunately she didn’t take to the pub’s snooty landlady, Annie Walker, who looked down her nose at her each time she approached the bar. It was as if she’d brought in a bad smell on her shoes. Whenever she could, Elsie tried to get Sally to serve her at the bar as she let her have her favourite tipple of gin. Lady Walker, on the other hand, insisted Elsie was underage and would only serve her lemonade.

  She’d been treated with more politeness when she’d gone to register at the local shop where the shopkeeper was also called Elsie – Elsie Foyle. She was a small woman with blonde hair that was obviously from a bottle and she’d once been on the stage.

  ‘It’s good you’ve registered early,’ Mrs Foyle said. ‘That way I know who my regulars are and I can make sure you get your proper rations when rationing books are handed out in the new year.’

  ‘We’ll all be having one, won’t we?’ Elsie said.

  ‘Indeed we will. And I shall have to be very strict measuring correct portions.’ Elsie couldn’t imagine this woman being strict with anybody, but she was glad she was on her own, for her needs wouldn’t be so great once the government started to decree how much or how little everyone could eat.

  Elsie sighed. How the world was changing – and her world seemed to be changing more than most. She thought again of Back Gas Street as she lay back on her pillows and admired her handiwork on the walls. Maybe things weren’t looking so bad after all. Certainly she was pleased with the changes she had made in her new bedroom. She’d got the place looking quite different and in her eyes so much better than before. She loved the way the pictures of all her favourite stars went from the floor right up to the ceiling. That project had taken up quite a bit of her time and she’d really enjoyed doing it. Maybe she should think about decorating some of the other rooms too. She heard the noise of children outside calling to each other as they ran up and down over the cobbles and she looked over to the window. From the bed she couldn’t see out but when she stood up she noticed the small advertising poster for the latest epic, Gone with the Wind which had opened the previous week. Yes, she thought. That’s how I’ll fill the day today. I’ll go to the pictures. She stared a little longer at Vivian Leigh and then at her favourite, Clark Gable, and to her surprise felt her nipples stiffen and her insides flip a summersault for the first time in ages. She put her hand on the lump that was her stomach, her fingers almost reaching the tops of her legs. That’s what was missing, she suddenly realized. For all his rough ways and the bruises and the slapping, Arnold had brought her a lot of pleasure too. A pleasure that the puny lad from next door had hardly been able to match.

  Suddenly the noise outside swelled and she got up and went to the window. The street was filled with children who were gathering outside the Rovers. They were milling about as a young woman, possibly their teacher, was barking instructions as she tried to bring them to order. They each carried a suitcase and had a badge stuck to their coats. Elsie was reminded of the Pathé News item when she had seen German children on the station platform as their train was getting ready to depart for England. She doubted these children were leaving the country, though she had heard about youngsters being evacuated to live with families in the countryside, away from all the danger of falling bombs. She looked as hard as she could at the unruly group and a lump rose in her throat as she wondered if any of her sisters or Jack were being sent away.

  As she watched, the children were being told to hold hands in pairs, then to form a long line as they began to march down the street towards the train station. Thinking so much about the family made Elsie suddenly sad. She gave herself a shake and said out loud, ‘Come on, Elsie, not like you to feel sorry for yourself,’ and she got up and dressed and went off into town.

  The shop windows reminded her it was almost Christmas, although there were no Christmas lights anywhere. But most of the shops had some kind of seasonal display. It was the toy shop window that caught her eye and she pressed her nose against the pane. The Christmas tree in the corner reminded her of the newsagent’s window she used to admire each year. But this one was so much bigger. The tree glittered and sparkled in the winter sun and its shining green branches filled one side of the window from top to bottom. And in the other corner were little Christmas stockings, though to Elsie they looked more like giant socks, filled with oranges and nuts.
There were no surprise packages, for all the gifts were openly displayed on a bed of brightly coloured wrapping paper, covered in snow scenes and robins. There was no mystery about the dolls, the doll’s houses, the trains and cars or the books. They were there for all to see. In the front of the window there was a small nativity scene like Elsie had seen at school. The whole thing took her breath away. The difference was that this time she had a little money in her pocket so she could have bought something small. But that didn’t really matter, for there was still no one else around to buy a present specially for her. The last person to do that had been Stan, with his bar of chocolate, but that seemed like a lifetime ago.

  Fay had told her where she worked in the centre of town but as Elsie walked along admiring all the Christmas displays in the shop windows she wondered if her sister would appreciate being disturbed during the day, especially in the light of everything Fay had told her about Miss Turner’s insistence on strict time-keeping, and Mr Talbot’s demands on her skills. Much as she would have loved to meet Terry Butler, maybe this was not the best time to pay her sister a visit.

  She was still thinking about Fay when she realized she had reached the cinema where Gone with the Wind was showing. She wanted to be home before nightfall and there was a show about to start that would enable her to do that. She didn’t like walking home in the dark any more, she didn’t feel safe in the blackout. With no street lights or car headlights and all the traffic lights dimmed, it wasn’t easy for cars to see her or for her to see any kind of obstacle on the pavement or in the road. She could easily trip over something or fall down a hole and she was so close to giving birth she didn’t want to be taking any chances.

  She walked up to the box office and smiled to herself as she paid for the ticket. It was a good job she wasn’t relying on sneaking in through the fire door this time. She would never have been able to squeeze through the narrow gap. It felt like a long time since she had been slim enough to do that. The usherette showed her to a seat near the back and she settled down to enjoy the next few hours in the company of her favourite star.