MB09 - You Stole My Heart Away

by Joan Jonker

  ‘I won’t say nothing, girl, ’cos I’m fed up getting lectures off yer. It’s getting that way I’m frightened to open me mouth in case I put me foot in it.’

  ‘You, frightened to open yer mouth!’ Molly turned away from the counter and bolts of material. ‘That’ll be the day when you can’t open yer mouth, Nellie, unless yer get lockjaw.’

  Nellie squinted up at her. ‘What’s lockjaw when it’s out? I’ve never heard of it. Is it one of these words what yer come out with to confuse me?’

  ‘No, there is such a word, but I can’t for the life of me think what it really means. Except, perhaps, that the jaw locks and yer can’t speak. But don’t take that as being right ’cos I really don’t know.’

  ‘Why don’t yer look it up in that dictionary of yours and find out? And let me know, ’cos I don’t want me jaw locked so I can’t speak.’

  ‘I can think of an answer to that, sunshine, but I won’t spoil our shopping trip by telling yer. Let’s move away from here because there’s a shop assistant watching us. She’s probably hoping for a sale, bless her, but seeing as neither of us has enough cash for spending today, we can’t help her. Except to give her a big smile as we pass her.’

  ‘It is quiet in here today,’ Nellie said. ‘There’s hardly any customers. Everyone must be skint.’

  ‘It’s the weekends they’re busy, when people have been paid.’ They were passing a counter where gloves were on display, when Molly put a hand on Nellie’s arm. ‘Ay, sunshine, see those beige gloves on the model, well they’re just like the ones I bought last year for your Lily’s wedding. I’ve never worn them since, never had any cause to wear them. They’re in one of the drawers in the tallboy, wrapped in tissue paper, and they’re just like new, not a mark on them. It would be stupid, and a waste of money, to buy another pair, so I’ll wear them for the wedding and that’ll save me a few bob.’ She grinned down at Nellie. ‘That’s one thing less to worry about. And I’ve never worn the shoes I bought to go with them, either! I’m used to wearing flat heels, and a two-inch heel cripples me. I don’t know why I bought them. It was vanity, I suppose.’

  ‘I saw yer pulling a face when yer had them on, girl, and I knew yer were in agony.’ Nellie linked her mate’s arm and they made for the exit door of T. J. Hughes’ large store. ‘I remember at the reception yer were dancing in yer stocking feet.’

  ‘I can’t resist dancing when I hear music playing. Especially the slow, dreamy music, which makes me feel romantic. It takes me back to the day when I first met Jack at a tuppenny hop at the church hall, and I can remember the first time he came over and asked me to dance. He was really shy and red in the face, while I was terrified because I wasn’t much of a dancer. I was a raw beginner.’

  ‘Ah, ye’re getting all soppy now,’ Nellie said. ‘All these years we’ve been mates, and that’s the first time yer’ve mentioned that. Tell me, did yer stand all over his feet that night?’

  Molly chuckled. ‘We both trod on each other’s feet, ’cos he was so nervous he couldn’t concentrate, and kept bumping into other couples. If he said “Sorry” once, he said it a hundred times. But it didn’t stop him coming over for the next dance, and the one after. And we both did well in that, because it was a slow waltz.’

  ‘Did he ask yer if he could take yer home, girl, like my George did on the first night we met at a dance?’

  ‘He got two for the price of one, sunshine, because I was with a girl out of our street. When I told Jack he couldn’t take me home because I was with a mate, he offered to see us both home. That happened a couple of times, until Jack asked me if I’d go to the pictures with him. So me friend, whose name was Nancy, had to go to the dance on her own that night. And good for her, she met a bloke she liked and we both ended up happy ever after.’

  ‘Just like in the fairy tales, eh, girl?’

  ‘Yes, sunshine, just like in the fairy tales,’ Molly said. ‘Except in the fairy tales the prince doesn’t have to go through an interrogation by an Irish woman who asked him so many personal questions he didn’t know where to put his face. But, thank God, me ma didn’t put him off, and he kept coming back for more.’

  They stood on the pavement outside the shop, taking in the fresh air and sunshine. ‘It’s a nice day, Nellie, so we may as well walk down to Church Street. It’s a bit of exercise, which we get very little of. We only walk as far as the shops every day, and after that we sit on our backsides.’

  ‘I don’t mind sitting on me backside,’ Nellie told her. ‘It’s nice and soft to sit on. That’s one good thing about being well padded.’

  ‘Ay, Nellie Mac, I’m not all skin and bone, yer know,’ Molly said. ‘I might not be as well endowed as you are, but I’m not skinny, either!’

  ‘Let’s start walking, and we can argue on the way. Which shop are we heading for, girl?’

  ‘We’ll let our feet lead us, shall we, sunshine? The first shop we come to that we like the look of, we’ll go in.’

  ‘And what time are we going for our tea and cake?’ As usual Nellie’s thoughts were on her tummy, and the treat in store for it. ‘It’s getting near lunchtime, yer know. I bet it’s turned one o’clock now. I haven’t got a watch, but my tummy is as good as a watch any day. It always lets me know when it’s time to eat.’

  ‘Yes, I have noticed that, sunshine. I know yer are very fond of yer tummy. And seeing as yer insist on treating me, we’ll go when and where yer want to have our tea and cake. You’re the boss now.’

  ‘Don’t be too nice to me, girl, or I’ll think ye’re sickening for something. I can deal with yer when ye’re telling me off, or moaning, because I’m so used to it. But when yer go all sickly sweet, I don’t trust yer!’

  ‘Thanks for telling me, sunshine. I’ll watch what I say in future. Anyway, I don’t tell yer off ! If I think ye’re wrong, then I’ll tell yer so. But that doesn’t come under the heading of telling yer off. In my book it means putting the record straight.’

  ‘Oh, is that what it is? Keeping records, are yer?’ Nellie nodded her head as her mouth did contortions. ‘Well, I’ll have to get meself a notebook, and write down every time yer have a face on yer what would stop a clock. I’ll give yer one bad mark if the clock goes slow, and two bad marks if it stops altogether.’

  ‘When yer go in the shop to buy the book, yer can get me one while ye’re at it. Get me one with lines on, ’cos I’m not very good at writing in a straight line.’

  ‘Ah, me heart bleeds for yer, girl, it’s a hard life yer’ve got.’ Nellie wasn’t as good at sarcasm as Molly, but she did her best. ‘Would yer like the line to go across the paper or down?’

  ‘It doesn’t matter much, sunshine, because I’m going to draw lines in it meself. Six lines down I’m going to do, so there’ll be a line for every day of the week except Sunday, because I don’t see yer on a Sunday. And in the six spaces, I’m going to put words like “Nellie swore today,” or “Nellie told three lies today!”’

  ‘Ooh, that’s going to be some job for yer, girl. It’ll take a lot of yer time up. But I’ll help yer out, I won’t make things hard for yer. I’ll make a note of the number of times I say “sod”, and you make a note of me “bleedings”s.’ Nellie screwed her eyes up for a few seconds, then said, ‘We’ll share “bugger”, ’cos I don’t say that very often. Only when I bang me head or me elbow. Oh, and when I’m chasing after Elsie Flanaghan. That doesn’t happen often now though, because she takes to her heels as soon as she sees me. Talk about “now you see it, and now yer don’t” isn’t in it. And I miss me little spats with Elsie, ’cos they used to liven the day up. I used to enjoy them.’

  ‘You might have done, sunshine, but Elsie certainly didn’t and neither did I! There’s nothing I dislike more than seeing two grown women fighting in the street.’

  ‘Ay, girl, yer could draw another line in yer book, and put that in it. Put it in under the heading “Common as Muck”.’

  ‘Nellie, we’ve been standing in this one spot
for so long, it’s a wonder the police haven’t moved us on for obstruction. So will yer make up yer mind what yer want to do? Go in Owen Owen or Reece’s?’

  ‘I’ll let you choose, girl. I don’t mind where we go, as long as it’s Reece’s.’

  ‘Well, one thing ye’re not slow on, sunshine, and that’s anywhere where food is concerned. And as we’re standing right outside, we don’t have far to go. So stick yer leg in, and we’ll walk up to the café on the first floor.’

  Linking her mate’s arm, and leaning on it to climb the steps, Nellie said, ‘Ay, girl, if I keep forgetting to stick me little finger out, yer will give me a nudge, won’t yer? I don’t want no one thinking I haven’t been brought up proper.’

  ‘Nellie, not everyone drinks with their little finger sticking out. Have yer ever seen me doing it?’

  ‘I haven’t noticed, girl, ’cos I’m always too busy looking round at the tables what are near me. I can see you any time, I only see the toffs every blue moon, and I don’t want them to think I’m not as good as they are.’

  They were at the entrance to the café on the first floor of Reece’s and could see the tables were nearly all occupied, and the atmosphere was alive with the various conversations. ‘Ooh, we’ll never get in there, girl, all the tables are taken.’ Nellie looked disappointed. ‘That’s what we get for standing gabbing for so long.’

  ‘Have some patience, Nellie, for heaven’s sake. We’ve only just got here.’ Molly’s eyes travelled the room, and it was on her second sweep that she noticed a table for two in the far corner. ‘Come on, sunshine, there’s a table over in that corner. Let’s get over there before someone else spots it.’

  ‘Ooh, you’ve got good eyesight, girl,’ Nellie said, waddling behind and knocking a few elbows on the way. She ignored the dirty looks, telling herself they should keep their elbows to themselves, instead of sticking them out and taking all the room up. It was the little fingers what were to blame, and she wasn’t going to bother sticking hers out any more. It was daft pretending to be something yer weren’t. When they reached the table, there was a look of despair on Nellie’s face. ‘I’ll never get in there, girl, me tummy wouldn’t fit in. Can’t we find another table, where we can sit in comfort?’

  ‘I can’t see another one, sunshine, but I can see two ladies on the far side who are just about to put their coats on. I’ll nip over sharpish, before someone else bags the table. You follow on behind me.’

  Molly was just in time to secure the table before another couple reached it, and she was all smiles when Nellie reached her. ‘This is better, isn’t it, sunshine? The waitress hasn’t been to clear the table, but she’ll be along soon. And anyway, I don’t care as long as we’re sitting down. We’re not in any hurry.’

  ‘Some of the tables have got cake stands on, girl, and they have a variety of cakes on. Are they only for rich people, ’cos they’ve never given us a cake stand.’

  ‘That’s because we’ve never asked for one, Nellie.’ Molly sucked in her breath, as her brain ticked over. The cake stands came with a selection of cakes, six in total, and you just paid for the ones eaten. It would be nice to have a selection to choose from, but to put a stand in front of Nellie would be asking for trouble, ’cos she would eat the lot. ‘I’m quite happy to have a toasted teacake and a cup of tea, sunshine. More filling than a cake which you can eat in two bites and leaves yer just as hungry. How about it, Nellie, shall we settle for tea and toasted teacakes?’ Molly could see her mate wavering towards the cream cakes, so she coaxed, ‘They make lovely ones here, with lots of butter oozing out of them. My mouth is watering just talking about them, and I can practically feel the hot butter running down me chin.’

  Nellie was hooked now, and she licked her lips in anticipation. ‘Okay, girl, yer’ve talked me into it. In fact I’ll have two of them, ’cos they sound just the job.’

  ‘Yer can’t resist, can yer, sunshine? Why do yer have to have two? If one is plenty for me, it should be enough for you. But, seeing as ye’re the one with money to throw around, then you order two for yerself, and I’ll order me own.’

  ‘Keep yer hair on, girl, there’s no need to be sarky over a ruddy teacake, even if they are oozing with butter. And another thing, Molly Bennett, my George and Paul gave me the money to buy us both tea and a cake. They said it was a treat for us, and they’ll be upset if I tell them yer wouldn’t let me. They’ll be insulted, and yer wouldn’t want that, would yer? So when the waitress comes, you order tea and a teacake each, because yer do it better than me.’

  Molly could see her mate was getting upset, and it was the last thing she wanted. So she tried to put things right, and a smile back on the chubby face. ‘Nellie, I know yer think I’m a miserable so-and-so, but it’s only because I worry about you. If I didn’t, then I’d let yer go ahead and eat whatever yer wanted. The more cakes and biscuits yer eat, the more weight yer pile on, and it’s a strain on yer heart. I mean, in moderation, the odd cake and custard cream wouldn’t do any harm, but you don’t know the meaning of moderation, and yer stuff yerself as though there’s no tomorrow! And it does worry me, sunshine, I can’t help it. Ye’re me best mate, and I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I didn’t try and stop yer making yerself ill. If our roles were reversed, you’d do the same. In fact yer’d be more forceful than me, ’cos I know yer’ve got as much affection for me as I have for you.’

  ‘Here’s the waitress coming with her pad, girl, so you give the order in, and when she’s gone I’ll tell yer how much I love yer.’

  Molly smiled with relief. ‘I’ll ask her to clear the table first, sunshine, ’cos I won’t enjoy me treat with dirty crockery on the table.’

  The waitress was a little hot and bothered because she’d been run off her feet in the last couple of hours, but she quickly gathered the crockery on to the tray and smiled at Molly who was seated nearest. ‘I’ll clear the table, madam, then come back and take your order.’ As she picked the tray up, she again smiled at Molly, and said, ‘I couldn’t help hearing your daughter saying she loved you, and I thought it was really sweet.’ She hurried away, leaving Molly with a choice of laughing or crying. She looked across the table at Nellie, and realized it was easy to see why the waitress thought she was her daughter, for Nellie, sitting on the chair, looked very small, and as she had her head turned towards the table next to them, the waitress hadn’t really seen her face. So now Molly didn’t see it as the insult that at first left her flabbergasted. She’d tell Nellie, and give her a laugh, even though Molly knew she was asking for trouble, because Nellie would tell everyone she met that she’d been taken for Molly’s daughter.

  Little knowing what she’d missed, Nellie swivelled back in her chair and told her mate, ‘Ay, yer should listen to those two women on the next table, girl, it isn’t half interesting. One of the woman’s daughters has been courting a bloke for three years, and they were supposed to be getting married next month. And doesn’t the sod tell her last night that he’d met someone else, and she’d better cancel plans for the wedding.’ Nellie went into her boxing mood, eyes like slits, nostrils flared and hands curled into fists. ‘If I could get me hands on him I’d make him sorry he jilted a poor girl just weeks before her wedding. He deserves a good thrashing, the blighter.’

  Molly was horrified. ‘Nellie, have you sat there listening in to the intimate conversation of strangers? I don’t know how you have the nerve! It’s a wonder they weren’t angry, and told you to mind yer own business. It’s a good job they were deep in conversation and probably didn’t notice you.’

  ‘Oh, I think they knew I was listening, girl, because they kept looking at me. They knew I was on their side and felt sorry for them ’cos I was nodding and shaking me head at the right times. One of them kept tutting when she was listening to the mother of the girl what got let down, and I tutted with her.’

  Molly leaned forward so the two women at the next table couldn’t hear her words. ‘I think I should have stayed in bed this morni
ng, sunshine, because I think I got out on the wrong side. The first sign it wasn’t going to be one of me best days was when you and me had a difference of opinion over yer wanting George to call into the chip shop on his way home from work. I don’t like it when we have an argument.’

  Her face as innocent as a baby’s, Nellie said, ‘Yer don’t have to worry about being a bit of a misery, girl, ’cos I don’t mind. It’s like water off a duck’s back to me. So don’t get yer knickers in a twist. And as for me listening in to what those two women were talking about, well yer missed out on that because it was really interesting, and I’m sorry yer missed a treat. But I know you wouldn’t do such a thing because ye’re too good-living. So forget what’s gone ’cos yer can’t do nothing about it now, and pretend the day is just beginning. That should cheer yer up.’

  ‘Oh, you haven’t heard the best yet, sunshine. On top of everything else that hasn’t been to my liking in the last two hours, the waitress thinks I’m your mother! And if I hear yer laugh, or crack a joke, then so help me I will clock yer one.’

  Nellie thought she was having her leg pulled. ‘Ay, yer must be feeling better, girl, ’cos it’s not very often yer think up something as funny as that! I’m supposed to be the comedian, but I wouldn’t have thought that up in a million years. Not that it’s really funny in itself, like, ’cos anybody else would think it was corny. But because ye’re me best mate, I won’t say that.’

  ‘It’s not a joke, Nellie, I’m telling the truth. The waitress heard yer say how much yer loved me, and she said she thought it was really sweet. She was run off her feet, and she cleared the table saying she’d come back for our order.’

  Nellie stared hard into Molly’s eyes, to see if she could see a glint of humour, but her mate’s expression gave nothing away. ‘Give in, girl, and tell me the truth. Yer are pulling me leg, and it’s a joke.’