MB09 - You Stole My Heart Away

by Joan Jonker

  Nellie waddled into the kitchen, a hand on each hip. And she put a question to the dark, empty room. ‘Shall I make a cup of tea first, or see to me washing?’ Then she tutted. ‘What’s the point of asking you? I’m more likely to get an extra biscuit off me mate than I am to get an answer from you.’ She began to laugh, and her eighteen-stone body shook. If the floor had been a wooden one, it would have joined in the laughter because floorboards had a sense of humour. But concrete was too thick to see the funny side of anything. ‘I’ve often heard people say it’s like talking to a wall, and here’s me doing it meself. I must be going barmy.’

  Rolling her sleeves up, Nellie put the plug in the sink and turned on the tap. While she was waiting for the sink to fill, she had a word with the window. ‘I’ve changed me mind about making meself a cup of tea. I’m going to wait until I get to me mate’s. I don’t enjoy sitting at the table on me own with a cup in me hand and no one to talk to, or have a laugh with.’ She saw the sink was now half full, and turned the tap off before bending over the dolly tub and pulling out a pair of her husband’s working trousers. She wrung as much water out as she could over the tub, then quickly transferred them to the sink, where she dunked them up and down in the clean water.

  Now Nellie didn’t believe in wasting time on any job, so the trousers were only given the one rinse before being carried, dripping wet, out to the yard, where they were thrown haphazard over the line, while Nellie went back for some pegs. The next item to receive the same treatment was a double sheet, followed by two shirts belonging to her son Paul. And last but not least came a pair of her own bloomers. And it was when she was hanging these out that she heard her mate’s voice from three yards away and called, ‘Is that you, girl?’

  ‘It is, sunshine. I was just passing the time of day with me next door neighbour, seeing as we are both putting our washing out. I was saying it was a good job out of the way. Have yer got yours out yet?’

  ‘Of course I have, girl. I don’t mess around, yer know that.’ Nellie’s eyes went towards the heavens, and she said, very quietly, so her mate wouldn’t hear, ‘That’s only a white lie, St Peter, not worth yer making a note of. I’ll be putting the rest of me washing out later, after I’ve had a little break. You wouldn’t understand, being a man, but a woman’s work is never done.’

  Molly’s voice floated over the walls. ‘Did yer say something, sunshine?’

  ‘Yes I did, girl, but it wasn’t something I want the whole world to know, so I’ll tell yer later. I’ll be in yours in fifteen minutes.’ With that, Nellie moved as speedily as she could up the step into the kitchen and banged the door shut. She didn’t want to hear her mate’s reply.

  Molly had called out once and got no reply, so she shouted louder. ‘Half an hour, Nellie, and not a minute sooner. I haven’t made me beds yet.’

  ‘She mustn’t have heard yer, Molly,’ the neighbour, Irene, said. ‘Is Nellie hard of hearing?’

  Molly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. But she did know she’d better get in and make the beds in ten minutes flat. ‘Irene, I’m going in, sunshine, and I hope the weather stays dry for us. See yer later, perhaps. Ta-ra.’

  Ten minutes later, Molly was puffing when she stood on the landing. She’d never made the beds so fast in all her life. What with a line full of washing out, pushing the heavy mangle back into the space in the corner of the kitchen, cleaning the grate and dusting the living room, she felt worn out and it was only quarter past ten in the flipping morning! Just wait until Nellie McDonough came. ‘I’ll give her a piece of me mind. It’s all her fault that the day’s routine has been turned on its head.’ And she’d tell her so, as well.

  Holding on to the banister, Molly took her time going down each stair to allow her heartbeat to slow down. And as she reached the last stair, she was telling herself this would never happen again. In future, no one would get over the doorstep until she’d done all her housework and was ready, and willing, to receive visitors. Even the Queen wouldn’t be allowed in. But standing in the hallway she decided she’d weaken in her resolve on one condition, and only one. And that was if the person knocking on her front door was Robert Taylor. Now that was something that would make her very happy. And she’d make sure Nellie didn’t get a foot over the doorstep that day, for she’d hog the limelight and no one else would get a look in.

  Molly’s wishful thinking was brought to an abrupt end when there came a loud knocking on her door. She didn’t have to open the door to see who it was, ’cos her mate was the only person she knew who was so heavy-handed. ‘Yer can wait until I’m ready, Nellie McDonough,’ Molly said as she sat on the second stair. ‘Yer’ve upset me whole day with yer shenanigans, and I’ve a good mind not to open the door to yer! If I set eyes on yer, I’m sure I won’t be able to stop meself from throttling yer.’

  Nellie knew she was in her mate’s bad books, so she thought she’d better do a bit of crawling. Bending down, she opened the letterbox and peered through. She could see Molly sitting on the stairs and said, coaxingly, ‘Come on, girl, open the door. Yer know yer’ll get a headache if I keep on knocking. And besides, it’s not like you to go back on yer word.’

  Molly sat with her chin cradled in her two hands. ‘What word was that, Nellie? Quite a lot of words were spoken this morning, and most of them childish and unnecessary. So I think the best bet for us is not to see each other at all for the rest of the day. Let’s cool off, and we’ll feel better tomorrow. Yer see, right now I feel like marmalizing yer for ruining the whole day for me. It’s only half past ten and I’m worn out.’

  Nellie called through the letterbox. ‘Is that all it is, girl, half past ten? Well, fancy that! I’m just in time for our usual cup of tea and two custard creams. So yer can’t tell me off for coming too early.’

  It was on the tip of Molly’s tongue to shout back that Nellie’s eight o’clock call had ruined the usual daily routine, and now everything had gone to pot. But she knew if she did it would just be a waste of breath. She knew her mate well enough by now to know that if Nellie was determined to get in, then there was nothing more certain than that she would get in. Even if she had to climb over the back yard wall. It wouldn’t be the first time. Mind you, it was many years ago now, and both she and Nellie were a lot younger then. Molly had told her mate not to come in one day, because she wasn’t feeling so good. It was not long after Tommy was born, and she wanted to feed him before putting him down to sleep for a few hours. She wanted a break, so she could put her feet up while he slept.

  These thoughts took Molly back in time, and although it had happened over twenty years ago she could see it in her mind as though it was only yesterday. She’d fed Tommy, nursed him until he dropped off to sleep, then laid him in his pram in the hall. Then, looking forward to putting her feet up for a few hours, she’d walked back into the living room and flopped on the couch. She was just about to swing her legs round, to stretch out full length, when she saw, through the back window, a sight she thought must be an illusion. She’d rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hands, thinking she must be seeing things, for that couldn’t be Nellie sitting astride her back yard wall, surely? She thought she was imagining it at first, until her mate waved to her. It turned out that Nellie had asked her neighbour for the loan of her stepladder. The neighbour was very dubious, but Nellie could talk anyone into thinking the sun was shining when in fact there was two foot of snow on the ground. Anyway, Nellie had ended up on the wall, but couldn’t get down into Molly’s yard. And to add to her dismay, the neighbour had taken her steps back in, saying she wasn’t going to be involved with Nellie’s falling and breaking her neck. So, armed with a chair, Molly had had to forgo her rest to rescue her mate. Remembering it now brought a smile to Molly’s face as she pushed herself off the stair. Nellie had been a ruddy nuisance at times, and caused Molly much embarrassment, but those times had been few compared to the number of occasions she’d had Molly doubled up with laughter at her antics. And not only Molly, but all
their friends and families.

  The letterbox rattled, and Nellie shouted, ‘Come on, girl, those ruddy biscuits will be stale by the time I get them. And me throat is parched with shouting.’

  ‘Well stop ruddy well shouting, yer silly nit.’ Molly was feeling a lot more relaxed as she walked towards the door. She should take a lesson from her mate and not worry so much. If she lived at a slower pace, she’d live longer.

  Her jaw dropped when she opened the door to see Nellie kneeling on the second step. ‘In the name of God, sunshine, what are yer doing down there?’

  ‘I had to get down here to look through the letterbox, girl, and it’s taken yer so long to move yerself me knees must be locked, because I can’t get up now.’ Nellie was holding on to the edge of the wall to keep her balance. ‘It’s your fault I’m down here, so the least yer can do is give us a hand up.’

  Molly saw the funny side and chuckled. ‘Seeing as it’s you, and ye’re me best mate, then I’ll give yer me two hands.’ She pulled Nellie upright, then stepped back to let her enter the hall. ‘But don’t think that means I’m taking any responsibility for yer being on yer knees, ’cos I’m not. Move along now so I can close the door, unless yer want to stand tummy to tummy while we chat.’

  ‘How many times do I have to tell yer that sarcasm doesn’t suit yer, girl?’ Nellie asked as she waddled into the living room. ‘Yer’ve got the wrong face for it.’

  Molly had just closed the door, and was about to follow Nellie, when there was a rap on the knocker. With a sigh of resignation, she wondered aloud, ‘Who can this be now?’

  But when she saw who was standing outside, her face lit up. ‘Hello, sunshine, this is a nice surprise. Do yer want me to get something from the shops for yer, when me and Nellie go shopping?’

  Doreen was Molly’s second daughter, and lived in the house opposite with her husband Phil, baby Bobby and ninety-year-old Victoria Clegg, who had lived in the house alone for about fifty years. She had offered a home to Doreen and Phil when they got married, and it was a happy arrangement. ‘No, I’m going out to do me own shopping, Mam, to give Bobby some fresh air. I’ve come over because I thought there must be something wrong, with Auntie Nellie shouting through the letterbox. I could hear her shouting but couldn’t make out what she was saying. Are you all right?’

  ‘Of course I am, sunshine. It was just me and Nellie playing silly beggars. I’ll tell yer about it some other time; it’s nothing exciting.’ Molly called through to the living room, ‘Are yer listening, sunshine? I’m just telling Doreen we’ve been playing silly beggars.’

  ‘I can’t answer yer, girl,’ Nellie croaked, ’cos me mouth is as dry as a bone.’

  Molly winked at her daughter, and very quietly whispered, ‘Tell her a Beecham’s powder is good for a sore throat.’

  Doreen whispered back, ‘But a Beecham’s is no good for a throat. They’re more for colds, or headaches.’

  ‘I know that, sunshine, but do it anyway, and see what me mate has to say about it.’

  Doreen shrugged her shoulders, then called out, ‘Try a Beecham’s, Auntie Nellie, that’ll ease yer throat.’

  Nellie’s voice came back as a growl. ‘Ha, ha, very funny. Yer look like yer mam, and now ye’re beginning to take after her for being sarky.’

  Doreen passed her mother and went into the living room. ‘I wasn’t being sarcastic, Auntie Nellie, I was trying to be helpful. It sounds to me as though ye’re getting a cold, ’cos yer voice is really gruff. And the best medicine for a cold, I’ve always found, is a Beecham’s powder.’

  ‘I’ll clock the next one who mentions that bleeding stuff again. I’ve heard nothing else since eight o’clock this morning.’

  Doreen’s eyes widened. ‘Eight o’clock this morning? You weren’t up and about at that time in the morning, surely? If yer were, Auntie Nellie, then ye’re definitely sickening for something.’

  ‘Oh, I’m sickening for something all right, and that’s a ruddy cup of tea and two custard creams. I was promised them by your mam at eight o’clock, when she threw me out of the house without any pity. She’s a hard woman is your mam, and if she doesn’t stop messing around, and get me tea and biscuits, then she’ll be a hard woman with two black eyes.’

  Molly chuckled. ‘You better go home and see to Bobby, sunshine, and me and Nellie will see yer later. As soon as she gets an injection of tea and biscuits, she’ll brighten up and be back to her lovable, happy self.’

  Doreen bent to kiss Nellie’s cheek before walking to the front door. ‘Aunt Vicky will wonder what’s keeping me. She’ll be on pins, thinking there’s something wrong, like I did.’

  ‘Oh, I’ll tell yer the whole tale later, sunshine.’ Molly looked down at her daughter from the top step. ‘All in all it’s been quite an eventful morning so far. It seems like a week to me; I can’t believe it’s still only half past ten. Still, by the time we get across to yours, me and Nellie will be back to normal.’

  Doreen grinned. ‘When ever has Auntie Nellie been normal, Mam? I’d think there was something wrong with her if she was.’ She turned to cross the cobbles. ‘Give us a knock before yer go shopping. Add a bit to the story to make it more exciting. It’ll give me and Aunt Vicky something to talk about. Our life is very dull compared to yours.’ She waved when she got to her front door. ‘I can hear Bobby complaining because he’s due for a feed. See yer later.’

  Molly closed the door and walked through to the living room. ‘Did yer hear that, sunshine? Doreen wants an exaggerated account of our shenanigans. So while I’m making the tea, you put yer thinking cap on.’ She hesitated at the kitchen door. ‘But keep it clean, sunshine, ’cos Victoria enjoys a laugh as long as there’s no swearing or tales of what happens in your bedroom.’

  Nellie jerked her head back, confusing her chins. They were used to swaying from left to right, even enjoyed the up and down sensation when she nodded, but the quick backward jerk of her head had them flying all over the place. ‘If I’m not allowed to swear, or mention my George’s lust for me voluptuous body, then I’ll have nothing to say. So I’ll leave the talking to you while I sit yawning. ’Cos yer have to admit, girl, that you can’t tell a tale like what I can.’

  ‘Don’t yer mean I’m not as good a liar as you, sunshine? Because surely yer don’t think for one minute I believe half the things you come out with? Your George, who I have the greatest sympathy for, would have to be Tarzan and Hercules rolled into one to keep up with you. Have yer ever heard the word “stamina”, Nellie?’

  Nellie gazed at her with eyes as wide as she could get them. ‘I’ve never heard of half those words, girl, and I’m sure yer make them up as yer go along. When I get the tea and biscuits yer promised me hours ago, then we’ll go across the road and yer can repeat it word for word to your Doreen and Victoria. And they’ll tell me whether yer were making little of my George’s staying power in the bedroom.’

  ‘I’ll make the tea, sunshine, and then we’ll sit quietly and enjoy our biscuits while I explain about Hercules and Tarzan. And then perhaps we’ll see a smile on yer face.’

  Nellie opened her mouth in surprise. ‘Oh, I know who Tarzan was, girl. He was a man and a half, he was. And did yer say my George reminded yer of him?’

  Molly knew when it was time to give in, or they’d be late getting out. Not that they weren’t late now, but she’d be best keeping quiet about that. ‘Yes, I did mention your George in the same breath as Tarzan, sunshine. I think it was the eyes, and the shape of their faces. In fact I’d go as far as to say they could easily be taken for brothers.’

  Nellie gave this some careful thought. ‘The eyes and the shape of their faces, yer say? So the only resemblance, as you see it, is from the neck upwards?’

  Molly’s mind told her to choose her words carefully or she’d be digging a hole for herself. ‘Well, no, Nellie, I don’t think that’s the only resemblance. But yer have to remember I have nothing to compare Tarzan with. While I’ve seen his chest and his arms
, I haven’t seen him from the waist down. And as for George, well, I have only seen him from the neck up. So yer must understand why I can’t compare them from head to toe. George is too much of a gentleman to walk round without a vest and shirt on, so chances are I’ll never know properly how alike the two of them are.’ She smiled, chuckled, then doubled over with laughter. ‘If yer were wanting them to look alike, yer could buy George a monkey and call it Cheeta.’

  ‘Very funny, girl, very funny. But if yer take a good look yer’ll see I’m not laughing. And d’yer know why I’m not laughing? It’s because I haven’t got the energy. Not a drop of water has touched my lips since half past seven this morning. And not a crumb has touched my mouth. I’m so weak, I couldn’t get off this chair even if yer held out a cream slice to me.’

  ‘Oh, dear, you must be in a bad way, sunshine, if yer haven’t the energy to lift yer hand for a cream slice. I’d better put a move on in case yer conk out on me.’ Molly reached the kitchen door, then pulled up sharp. ‘Aye, buggerlugs, ye’re not the only one hungry and thirsty, so I don’t know why I’m feeling sorry for yer. I haven’t had a drink or bite to eat since eight this morning, thanks to you. In fact, let’s face it, Nellie, your shenanigans have ruined the whole day for us. Our routine has gone to pot. So when we eventually get our tea and biscuits, we’ll have to make up for lost time. We’ll do everything at the double, so no stopping to gab to everyone we pass. D’yer hear me?’