by Annie Murray
Bob pulled out several notes and, looking even more amazed, counted them up.
‘Christ – twenty-five pound!’ He jumped up excitedly. ‘She’s sent us bloody twenty-five pound!’
‘No!’ Cynthia cried. ‘Are you sure?’
Em caught the enormous excitement and felt a grin start to spread across her face, which grew even more as Bob went to Cynthia, waving the notes at her, then pulled her up, still holding Violet, and started dancing with her round the back room as if they were carefree children, both of them giggling in amazement. All the children laughed, loving seeing their mom and dad so excited. Joyce’s little face puckered up in a grin of sheer delight and Sid bounced, roaring, on his chair. They hadn’t seen a scene as jolly as this in a very long time.
‘Eh, Joycie – we’ll have to get you taken away more often!’ Bob joked, picking her up and swinging her in the air, while she let out gurgles of laughter.
‘Oh, don’t say that!’ Cynthia protested, but she was chuckling too.
‘Well, kids, we’re in the money. You can all have a treat. What’s it going to be?’
Sid and Joyce immediately thought of little toys they wanted, only small things: a model aeroplane for Sid and a little doll for Joyce that you could dress in her own clothes.
‘Em, what about you?’ Bob squatted down, his beaming face close to hers.
Em squirmed with pleasure but she knew she must not ask for too much.
‘Can I have a packet of chalk?’ she said daringly. ‘So we’ve got our own chalk to play hopscotch?’
Her father laughed, and stood to pick her up by the waist, twirling her round until she giggled.
‘Oh, I think we can run to that. A packet of chalk it is! That’ll keep you going for the whole of the summer, won’t it?’
‘Yes,’ she gasped as the room spun round her. ‘All summer and next summer as well!’
