by Carol Rivers
‘That sounds exciting,’ said Eve. ‘Like something you might want to do.’
‘Yes, but I’d need to go up in the ranks first.’
Eve frowned. ‘So why are you down this way?’
‘I’ve come to see a pretty girl that sells flowers.’
Eve blushed and laughed all at once. ‘Don’t forget, you’re on duty.’
His expression suddenly changed. ‘Eve, I’ve been thinking about your husband.’
Eve stopped, her heart jumping. ‘About Raj?’
He nodded, pushing the brim of his helmet up. ‘As I said, I’ve been doing the paperwork and by chance found a letter from the Lascar Transfer Office. It named the body we saw at the morgue as Dilip Bal. It said the cause of death for him was a blow to the head, possibly suffered as the result of a fall from the ship. There is to be no further investigation.’
‘Like Raj?’
‘Yes, and although it pains me to admit it, I feel the port authorities are simply avoiding responsibility.’ He paused. ‘Are you all right?’
‘I think so.’
‘Come on, I’ll walk you home.’
They walked in silence, each with their own thoughts. When they got to Isle Street, Eve stopped and turned to him. ‘Has the Tarkay sailed?’
‘Yes, she put to sea just after . . .’ he gave an uncomfortable shrug. ‘What happened to you at Shadwell.’ He gently touched her arm. ‘Listen, I’m working this weekend, but I’ve two days off next week. I’ll come over and mend the roof if you’ve no objection to a copper in your backyard?’ He laughed, his blue eyes full of humour.
‘You can stay to dinner if you want.’
‘That would be nice.’
Eve watched him jump on his bike and cycle off, waving to her as he pedalled hard up the hill.
His news had brought back her fears. It was like a shadow that wouldn’t go away. Would she do better to face them instead of blocking them out? Added to this she felt a deep sense of guilt. She felt disloyal in starting her life again whilst Raj had lost his so young. Should she try to put her fear behind her and find out the truth?
When she got home Eve drew up the key and let herself in. Joan and Peg were going hammer and tongs, their voices reassuring and familiar.
Some things never changed.
Chapter Eighteen
The summer wore on and Charlie mended the roof. By late August the tarpaulin was gone and lines of slates were nailed neatly in to place. Eve looked forward to Charlie’s visits as did Samuel and Albert. After coming down from the roof he would take them to the park to play football or to the open air baths for a swim.
One glorious Sunday, Charlie took them all to the bakery for tea again. This time the wooden tables and benches were arranged in the large, paved area behind the garage. The space was surrounded by high, red brick walls and covered in beautiful flowering vines. Tea was brought out on trays – freshly baked bread, cakes and buns from the bakery – and a delicious smell rose in the air. Only Eileen and her children joined them, as Pamela was near to her time. It was a much happier experience for Eve, as the talk was of the forthcoming event. A birth that was going to be celebrated with as much eagerness as Pamela’s four boys. She wanted a girl now and hopes were high she would produce one.
Eve was delighted when, on the first Saturday in September, the last before returning to school, Charlie took them to the zoo. As they walked through the big gates, they could hear all the animal noises. The lion’s roar, chatter from the monkeys and the high pitched whistles from the aviaries. The boys laughed as the giraffes with their long, prickly tongues tried to eat their ice creams. The pygmy hippopotamus wallowed in the mud and splashed the onlookers. A tiger cub followed its mother into the shade and lay at her side. The air was full of excitement as they went into the warmth of the reptile house. Snakes of all shapes and sizes slid through the moist, exotic grasses and under damp boulders. A horned toad sat casually on the back of a tortoise. An Indian rhinoceros called Felix waded into the water and submerged, spilling water in every direction. Eve watched the wonder on the boys’ faces. They had never seen these animals before except in picture books. A day at the zoo was a luxury and one they could never afford. But Charlie had insisted that Eve wasn’t to pay for a thing.
Charlie and the two boys waited patiently for the camel rides. The slow moving animal finally arrived. The keeper helped Albert onto the saddle tied over its humpty back, whilst Samuel sat in the curve of its strong neck.
Eve waved as the animal was led off. Her sons had never been near such a big animal before, let alone ridden one.
‘Charlie, will they be all right?’ Eve stared after them as the keeper led the camel down the path.
‘’Course they will.’
‘It don’t look very safe to me.’
‘Stop worrying. They’re very competent young lads. Did they tell you how good they are now at swimming?’
‘Not really. They know I’m afraid of the water.’
Charlie put a gentle hand on her shoulder. ‘That’s perfectly natural after what you went through. Now, come on, let’s sit down while we wait.’ He led her to a wooden seat close by and they sat down. It was an Indian summer, the papers had said and Eve had worn a light cotton dress in a shade of blue that was not dissimilar, she noticed, to Charlie’s eyes. It was the colour that had attracted her to it on the second-hand clothes stall in the market. It had been a snip at sixpence and with a little alteration to the hem fitted her perfectly. She had set her brown hair loose from its plait and the curls softened her face. Charlie’s eyes hadn’t left her for very long that day.
‘When they return we’ll go for tea,’ he said and Eve smiled gratefully.
‘Charlie, it’s been such a lovely day. The boys have never been anywhere like this. The zoo is somewhere I always wanted to take them, but I’ve only ever sold flowers outside it.’
‘I’m glad it was with me you came. I’d be jealous if it was anyone else.’
She searched his face. Was he joking? ‘How long do you think they’ll be away?’ she said craning her neck, unable to look in his eyes.
Charlie chuckled. ‘Well, if the camel don’t take off at a gallop, then soon, I expect.’
‘It couldn’t could it?’ Eve was alarmed.
He put his hand over hers. ‘’Course not. I’m only joking.’ He looked into her eyes with such an intense expression that she shivered.
‘Are you cold?’
‘No, someone was treading over me grave.’ She blushed at her real thoughts.
‘Eve, this has been a good summer for me too.’
‘Has it?’ She felt his fingers tighten. It was only a small movement, but her body reacted at once. Why did he make her feel this way? After the kiss at the bakery, he had never attempted to kiss her again. Perhaps it was because the boys were always around.
‘Eve,’ he said quietly, ‘would you come out with me again? I mean, one evening?’
She felt hot and a little dizzy. ‘Where to?’
‘I thought we could go to the pictures, then have something to eat after.’
‘Charlie—’
‘If it’s the boys you’re worried about, we could take them too. But it would be a bit late.’
She saw the camel plodding slowly back up the path. The boys were now confidently waving from their perches.
Eve waved back but as she stood up, Charlie caught her arm, raising a questioning eyebrow. She smiled then, unable to resist the look in his eyes which searched for an affirmative answer. ‘Ask me again in a month’s time. It’s me birthday then.’
‘A month is a long time to wait. But I will.’
Eve stepped towards the keeper, her cheeks flushed as the boys came running towards them.
Eve’s summer flowers were more popular than ever. Sometimes she sold out by midday. Other days she arranged with Queenie’s driver to sell from Aldgate where there were many visitors, business people and office workers. On these occasions she took the
boys to help her since they had little to do in the holidays. But over the weeks Eve felt that even Samuel seemed to be losing interest despite the sixpence she gave them at the end of each working day.
When it was time for them to go back to school, there weren’t the usual moans and groans. On the appointed day in September, Eve accompanied them to school. She wanted to make certain the boys that had frightened them before didn’t start their old tricks again.
But when Eve bent down to kiss them goodbye, they turned shyly away. ‘Mum, we ain’t babies any more,’ said Albert, to Eve’s surprise.
‘It was just a kiss.’
‘We’re eight now,’ said Samuel, smiling nervously. ‘We don’t want to look cissies.’
‘You’re not cissies.’ Eve stared at her sons wistfully. They seemed to have grown up over the holidays. Samuel had filled out and Albert had lost his puppy fat. ‘Now, stay away from those boys, won’t you?’
Samuel and Albert looked at one another. Eve knew they didn’t need words, as twins they could read each other’s minds. This morning was the first time she felt a bit on the outside.
‘Bye Mum,’ they called and she watched them line up before a nun, who was blowing the whistle loudly.
When they had disappeared under the Victorian gable of St Saviour’s, Eve hurried to meet Percy, Queenie’s driver. She had told him she would be late today as she was taking the boys to school. He was waiting for her as she hurried up Westferry Road.
‘Nice day, innit?’ he mumbled as, dressed in his long leather coat and cap, he unloaded her flowers and helped Eve to arrange them in her baskets. Almost before he had finished the first customer arrived. Eve enjoyed a busy morning, but it didn’t stop her thinking about her sons, and feeling slightly hurt that they didn’t want her to embarrass them or be seen to be kissed by their mother.
The following Sunday morning Eve woke to hear a noise downstairs. It was early and Peg and Joan were always the last to rise on a Sunday. Quietly getting out of bed and putting on her dressing gown, Eve went out to the landing. All she could hear was the gentle breathing of the sleeping twins and the mews of the gulls outside. Even their cries were distant, the new slates on the roof being a barrier to exterior noise.
Hearing nothing, Eve went back to the bedroom, and in the privacy of her small quarter behind the curtain, washed in the bowl on the chest of drawers. After plaiting her hair, she put on her warmer clothes. It was chilly in the mornings now as autumn arrived. Soon they would light a fire. Her customers would want holly, red berries and mistletoe for Christmas. Could she ask Queenie to provide her with stock? Would Percy agree to continue in the same way? It had only been a temporary arrangement for the summer. She had thought a lot about the shop Charlie had suggested. But shop work had never interested her, and she wasn’t sure whether it would pay the rent.
Eve was still giving the subject some thought as she went downstairs. To her surprise the front door was open. Had Jimmy come in late? He was now working as an errand boy in the city and the hours were so long that they hardly saw him from week to week. Eve looked outside. It was a fine September morning. Quietly closing the door she went back along the hall. Peg’s door was also open. Maybe one of them had gone out to the lav.
Hearing nothing, Eve went into the kitchen. She looked through the window and onto the yard. A fine mist was lifting from the dry docks behind. The closet door was closed.
As Eve put the kettle on the hob to boil, she waited for the appearance of Joan or Peg. By the time she had made the tea, the yard and house were still quiet.
Eve put a cosy over the teapot and went out the back door. ‘Joan, Peg, are you in there?’ she called.
No reply came.
She pushed the closet door open. It was empty.
Returning to the kitchen she hurried into the hall. Putting her head round the open door, Eve gazed down on the makeshift bed. The mattress as usual was draped from the couch to the two wooden chairs that formed a base. The quilted eiderdown was pushed back. There was an empty space next to Peg, who lay asleep.
Where was Joan? She went out to the yard once more and into the street. There was no one.
Eve ran back inside. ‘Wake up, Peg,’ she said, shaking the limp arm.
Peg slowly opened her eyes. Without her false teeth in she was all gums. Her frizzy grey hair trembled as she moved. ‘Hello, ducks, what—’ She saw the vacant side of the bed. ‘Where’s Joan?’
‘She’s not in the lav. Or outside.’
‘Oh gawd!’ Peg pushed the eiderdown off.
‘Did you hear her get up?’ Eve asked as Peg pulled on her dressing gown.
‘’Course I didn’t. Or she’d still be here.’
‘I heard a noise early this morning.’
‘What sort of noise?’
‘It was a bang but not very loud. It must have been the front door.’
‘Her clothes have gone,’ Peg said pointing to the chair. ‘Or some of ’em have.’
‘That means she got dressed and—’ Eve didn’t finish as there was a tap at the door.
She hurried into the hall and opened it. ‘Joseph!’
‘I am sorry to wake you so early.’
‘I was up. We can’t find Joan.’
‘That is why I am here. I saw her this morning.’
‘Where?’ Peg demanded over Eve’s shoulder.
‘I was in my front room and looked out of the window. Your sister went by. I was not dressed or washed at the time or I should have come sooner. I know she does not venture out alone.’
‘I never let her out of me sight,’ said Peg anxiously. ‘Only when I close me eyes. I’ve often thought about tying her to the bedstead and I would if I had one.’
‘What time was this?’ asked Eve.
‘It could be an hour ago.’
‘Oh blimey,’ shrieked Peg, ‘she’s bolted.’
Eve opened the door. ‘Come in, Joseph.’
They were standing in the hall, discussing what to do, when Jimmy came down the stairs in his underpants. ‘What’s all the racket about?’ he asked, scratching his skinny chest.
‘Joan’s gone.’ Eve was trying to think what to do first.
‘You looked in the lav?’
Everyone nodded. ‘We had a tiff last night over her clothes,’ confessed Peg. ‘Said she was fed up wearing my old togs. She wanted to go back to Bambury Buildings to get her own. But I said that Harold’s probably chucked ’em out by now. She threw a tantrum and plonked herself in the armchair with a face like a poker. I made up the bed and told her to get her arse in it. She wouldn’t move. So I thought, bugger it, I’m too tired to argue. She’ll come to bed when she’s ready.’
‘So she could have gone back to Bambury Buildings?’ Eve asked.
‘Yeah. S’pose so.’
‘She must have been thinking about it all night,’ said Eve.
‘She’s been a bit funny lately,’ nodded Peg. ‘Fidgety and talking all about Harold. She ain’t done that whilst the drink’s been wearing off. Now he must be on her mind.’
They all looked at one another. Eve knew that if Joan had gone to Blackwall, it wasn’t for her clothes, but to confront the woman that Harold had taken up with.
Dressed for the first time that autumn in coats and hats, Eve and Peg made their way to Blackwall. It was a long walk, the best part of an hour and Peg’s rheumatics were playing up.
‘I’ll give her a piece of me mind when I find her,’ said Peg as they went through the quiet streets. There were only one or two people up, good Christians going to worship. Eve hoped that Jimmy would make certain the boys went to Mass. They had wanted to come with them to find their Aunty Joan, but Eve had refused. She didn’t know what or who they would find at Bambury Buildings.
‘When did she start talking about Harold?’ Eve asked.
‘It was when she found a photograph in me drawers. I caught her one day, looking through them, the nosey cow. It was a picture of me and her as kids, with our two b
rothers and Mum. Dad wasn’t around, but then he never was. It was me older brother that brought us up really. Mum died when I was about eight and Joan six. She was a good woman and a bloody good flower-seller. But what good did that do her? Benny was about fifteen, kept us all together till he went into the army and then we was turned out on the streets. That’s why I always felt sorry for Jimmy. Knew meself what it was like not to have no home.’
‘When did Joan meet Harold?’
‘He was a bit of a charmer, though he don’t look it now. And me sister was a good looker. Whilst I sold me flowers, she got a job up the Strand, in an office. We was sharing rooms at Seven Dials, a real pig sty with a load of brasses. Harold worked in the same office as Joan, she told him a story about being orphaned, didn’t have no one or nothing and he married her. A year or two later, Harold was up to his old tricks. Tried it on with me and the rest is history.’
‘So Joan ain’t been with another man?’
‘Not to my knowledge. The silly cow. If that’d been me, I’d have fleeced Harold for every penny and enjoyed meself into the bargain.’
‘Did Harold always live at Blackwall with his mother?’
Peg nodded. ‘That’s what he wanted Joan for. A nursemaid. Whilst he enjoyed himself. The old girl was a real tyrant too.’
‘Poor Joan.’
‘She should have ditched him years ago. She wouldn’t listen to me.’
‘She must have loved him.’
‘Don’t know about that.’ Peg caught her breath, clinging to Eve’s arm. ‘Can tell the weather’s changing. Me back’s playing me up something rotten.’
‘Let’s walk slower.’
They moved off again at a slower pace. Which only served to increase the tension as they made their way to Bambury Buildings.
Eve recalled the day they had first come to Bambury Buildings at the beginning of the year in the company of the young Salvationist Clara Wilkins. It was Joan who had opened the door to them after their climb up the dirty stone steps that led to the cold and soulless balcony outside the Slygos’ rooms. Joan had been well dressed in a green suit and wearing make-up, with her hair dyed red. But Eve had been able to tell they were sisters, even though Peg took no trouble at all with her appearance. As they went slowly up the steps, Eve remembered the cold greeting that had awaited them. If it hadn’t been for Harold, Joan would have turned them away. But Eve had soon learned that Harold had a motive for his actions.
