by Joan Jonker
‘Anyway, I went to confession with Nellie the other week and when she saw all the people waitin’ for Father Kelly, she said she hadn’t got all night so she’d go to Father O’Connor. An’ I had to go with her, there was nothin’ else I could do. But I made her go in first … I thought if she came out in a huff, I’d move down to the next confessional box even if she wouldn’t wait for me an’ I had to walk home on me own in the dark.
‘The church was deadly quiet, yer know what it’s like, yer can hear a pin drop. The only sound I could hear was me heart pounding with fear. Then suddenly I heard Nellie’s chuckle, followed by a loud cackle from Father O’Connor! Every head in the church turned – there was such a look of amazement on all the faces yer’d have thought we’d witnessed a miracle. An’ d’yer know what, Peggy? To this day I’ve never been able to get out of Nellie what she’d said to make him laugh.’
‘Go ’way!’ Peggy shook her head. ‘As I said, she’s a case.’
‘She’s more than that, she’s the one who puts the sunshine in my life. I don’t know what I’d do without her.’ Molly pushed the slip of paper into her pocket – she’d show it to Jack later to give him a laugh. ‘Now, Peggy, I want a quarter of butter for Miss Clegg. And don’t let me talk any more, or I’ll miss the shops.
Chapter Three
From the upstairs front bedroom window, Victoria had watched for her neighbour’s return. When she’d seen Molly turn into the street laden down with shopping, the old lady had descended the narrow stairs as quickly as she could to lift the kettle from the hob and pour the boiling water into the teapot. Now they were sitting at the table enjoying a refreshing brew out of china cups which had belonged to Victoria’s mother and which she treasured. ‘Molly, d’you think Doreen could do something with my hair?’ Her eyes were shy as they peered above the rim of the cup. ‘I can only manage to comb it myself and it always looks a mess. I do so want to look my best for Phil coming home.’
Molly placed the delicate cup carefully in the saucer then smiled at the old lady. ‘Yer know, sunshine, if I didn’t know better, I’d think yer were settin’ yer cap at young Phil.’
Victoria returned her smile. ‘I’ll be honest with you … if I was seventy years younger I’d be trying to push your Doreen’s nose out of joint.’
Her head tilted to one side, Molly gazed at the fine white hair. ‘What d’yer want doin’ to it? Our Doreen’s not a hairdresser, yer know.’
‘She’s so clever with her own, though, isn’t she? Every time I see her she’s got it in a different style.’
Molly chuckled. ‘That’s because she changes it every time she goes to the pictures! Sometimes when she walks in I think it’s a stranger come to the wrong house! It could be Veronica Lake with her hair combed forward to cover one eye, Joan Crawford with a page-boy, or even Mae West with all her hair piled up on top in curls! But she’s got the hair to do it with, sunshine, an’ for the life of me I can’t see you gettin’ away with any of them styles.’
‘Oh, I wasn’t thinking of anything so ambitious, Molly, I know I haven’t got the hair for it. I thought perhaps if it was parted down the middle and combed away from my face, it could be pinned into a bun at the back of my neck.’
Molly leaned her elbows on the table and cupped her face in her hands. For a few seconds she stared at the head of hair in question, then she closed her eyes and let her imagination take over. ‘Yeah, it would probably suit yer!’ Carried away now, she asked eagerly, ‘I don’t suppose yer’ve got a pair of earrings, have yer?’
‘I’ve got about a dozen pairs, but they’re very old. Some of them belonged to my mother and the rest I bought when I was working. But it’s years since I’ve even looked at them, never mind worn them.’
Molly rubbed her hands in excitement. ‘I’ll get our Doreen to do yer up like a dog’s dinner. Ooh, I can’t wait! It’ll be the first time yer see Phil in his soldier’s uniform, an’ the first time he’s seen how glamorous you can be.’
Victoria looked apprehensive. ‘I don’t want to look like mutton dressed as lamb, Molly!’
‘Don’t be daft!’ Molly patted her hand. ‘Just you get yer bits of jewellery out an’ leave the rest to me an’ our Doreen.’ She scraped back her chair. ‘I’ll have to go, sunshine, it’s my turn to pick Ruthie an’ Bella up from school an’ I’ve got stacks to do before then.’ Bella was the daughter of Mary Watson, Victoria’s next-door neighbour, and the two girls were inseparable. ‘I’ll send our Doreen over tonight and yer can have a chin-wag with her.’ Reaching the door Molly turned, a huge grin on her bonny face. ‘If she’s had a letter from Phil, she’ll be that thrilled she’ll leg it over here without being asked.’
‘Oh dear,’ Victoria put a hand to her mouth, ‘I didn’t pay you for my shopping! Will you wait till I get my purse?’
‘No, leave it an’ pay me tomorrow.’ Molly stepped into the street as the door to the Watsons’ opened and Mary appeared. ‘Hiya, Mary!’
‘I knew yer were in there, an’ I’ve been listening for sounds of yer leaving.’ Mary Watson was in her mid-thirties, a nice-looking woman with a slim figure, auburn-coloured hair, hazel eyes and a ready smile. ‘I want to ask yer a big favour.’
‘If it’s a loan ye’re after, I charge half a crown in the pound interest,’ Molly joked. ‘An’ that’s only for a week – me charges go up after that.’
‘It’s a bigger favour than that.’ Mary played nervously with the bow at the neck of her blouse. ‘I wondered if yer’d have Bella for a couple of hours? I’d like to slip down to me mam’s to see how she is … she hasn’t been too well lately.’
‘Good God, is that all! Considerin’ our Ruthie practically lives in your ’ouse, I can hardly refuse, can I? Of course I’ll have Bella.’
‘I know I’ve got a cheek, but would yer keep her straight from school an’ give her some dinner? Harry’s workin’ overtime, he won’t be in until after eight, so if I go now it’ll give me a few hours to do a bit of housework for me mam.’
‘Bella will be all right with us, so don’t be worryin’,’ Molly told her while mentally counting how many sausages she’d got in her basket. Then she decided it wasn’t worth troubling herself about. None of them would starve if they got half a sausage less on their plate. ‘An’ there’s no need to hurry back, either.’
‘Oh, I won’t be that late, I’ve got to get home to see to a meal for Harry. He only takes a few sarnies for his carry-out, so he’ll need something substantial after workin’ twelve hours.’
The wind was cold and Molly pulled up the collar of her coat to cover her ears. ‘Yer can go with an easy mind over Bella, she’ll be fine with us.’ Molly noticed Victoria was still standing at the front door and she shook a finger at her. ‘Get in by the fire or yer’ll be catchin’ ruddy pneumonia.’
‘Ta-ra, Molly.’
‘Ta-ra, sunshine.’ Molly began to cross the cobbled street. ‘Ta-ra Mary, an’ don’t forget what I’ve told yer … don’t worry!’
But she knew Mary would worry. Bella was her only child and she was frightened of the wind blowing on her. Still, I suppose I’d be the same if I only had one, Molly told herself as she slipped the key in the lock.
She carried the basket through to the kitchen and started to transfer the groceries on to the draining board. She couldn’t imagine only having one child. ‘I call my four fit to burn, sometimes,’ she told the bag of sugar, ‘but I wouldn’t part with one of them.’ To the packet of margarine she said, ‘I love them so much I could eat them.’
When she picked the packet of sausages out of the basket, she gave a loud chuckle. ‘Now if you’d been a nice cream cake, or a quarter of lean boiled ham, I might have told yer how much I love my husband … but even I’m not daft enough to discuss my personal life with a pound and a half of ruddy sausages! So there!’
Ruthie and her friend were sitting at the table playing a game of snakes and ladders. They’d been playing peacefully but Bella’s quick eyes noticed a wrong move. ‘You only
threw a four, but yer’ve moved five places.’ She gave Ruthie such a dig in the ribs she nearly sent her flying off the chair. ‘Ye’re a cheat, that’s what yer are, Ruthie Bennett!’
‘I didn’t move five, I only moved four!’ Ruthie’s pixie face, beneath the thick fringe, was set in stubborn lines. ‘Yer weren’t watchin’ proper.’
‘I was too!’ Bella poked a finger at the board. ‘Yer should have gone down that snake, but yer cheated an’ went up that ladder.’
In the kitchen Molly was mashing the potatoes, a smile on her face. Not for one second did she doubt that her daughter had cheated. But Bella was just as bad when it came to cheating: it was a case of who got caught out first. They’d been pals since they were babies and their quarrels were never carried over to the next day. Bella with the dark features of Mary, and Ruthie with the fairness of her mother and two sisters, were destined to be lifelong friends.
Molly went back to her mashing with an ear cocked. If things started to get out of hand she’d soon put a stop to it.
‘Put that counter back where it should be,’ Bella insisted. ‘Go on, down the ladder an’ down the snake.’
‘I won’t!’ Ruthie’s mouth was set.
‘Yer will too, or I won’t play with yer any more.’ Bella was equally firm.
‘Don’t then! See if I care.’
Bella moved away from the table and sat back in the chair. ‘I don’t care either, ’cos ye’re a cheat.’
‘An’ you’re a cry-baby.’
In the kitchen Molly speared a sausage with the prongs of a fork and turned it over in the frying pan. Was it time to intervene, or should she wait and see if they kept to their usual pattern? She decided to leave it a while longer.
Ruthie gazed at the offending red counter on a square at the top of a ladder. Silently, her pink tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth, she considered the options open to her. She couldn’t play on her own, that option was out. And she wasn’t going to admit she cheated, so that was out too! Pretending to scratch her head, Ruthie’s eyes slid sideways to where her friend was sitting, looking miserable but still determined. ‘I’ll tell yer what.’
Bella’s face lit up and she sat forward and leant on the table. ‘What?’
‘You can ’ave two throws of the dice.’
‘Yeah, OK!’ Satisfied that justice had been done, Bella picked up the eggcup and shook it. ‘An’ next time I cheat, I’ll let you ’ave two throws.’
‘Mam, there’s someone at the door.’
‘Open it for us, sunshine, I’ve got me hands full. It’ll only be Auntie Ellen.’
Molly came from the kitchen wiping her hands on the corner of her pinny. ‘D’yer know, Ellen, it’s been one of those days where I haven’t sat down but don’t seem to have done a damn thing! It was the flamin’ weather this mornin’, put a jinx on the whole day.’
Ellen called in every night on her way home from work. She only ever stayed a few minutes because her four children would be waiting for their dinner. Her eldest, Phoebe, was twelve now, and well able to take care of the others until she got home. She was a sensible girl, didn’t have to be told what to do, just got on with it. Right now, the pan of scouse Ellen had made last night would be heating slowly on the stove ready for her to dish out. ‘Molly, have yer thought about the blackout curtains we’ve all got to have?’
‘Thought about it, yes, but haven’t done anythin’ about it. I think it’s ruddy diabolical … black curtains, gas masks, and no street lights! I don’t know what the world’s coming to.’
‘It’s goin’ to be compulsory in a few weeks.’ Ellen always looked nervous, as though she was ready to bolt any minute. It was a legacy her husband had left her with. She had improved a lot since he’d been away, but old habits die hard. ‘Anyone without them will be fined.’
‘I know, me an’ Nellie were talkin’ about it the other day. I’ll get Jack to measure all the windows an’ see how much material we’ll need.’
‘How much d’yer think it’ll cost?’ Ellen had to count every penny and this was an expense she could ill afford.
‘I haven’t a clue.’ Molly felt deeply for Ellen, but pity was the last thing her neighbour wanted, so Molly didn’t give it. ‘You’ll need the same as me an’ Nellie, so we’ll get yours if yer like. We’ll look around for the cheapest – T. J. Hughes or Blackler’s will probably be the best bet. An’ our Doreen will run them up for yer on the machine when she’s doin’ ours.’
Ellen rubbed a hand across her tired eyes. ‘I’ll have to miss the rent one week to pay for it.’
‘Mr Henry won’t mind, yer can pay an extra shillin’ a week until yer make it up.’
Ruthie had been listening with interest. ‘Why ’ave we got to have black curtains, Mam? They’ll look ’orrible.’
‘Because a lot of men who should know better are playin’ silly beggars, that’s why. But it won’t be for long, sunshine, so don’t worry yer head about it. Get back to yer snakes an’ ladders and finish the game before I need to set the table.’
‘I’ll get home.’ Ellen wrapped her coat closer around her thin body. ‘Yer won’t forget, will yer, Molly?’
‘I couldn’t even if I wanted to – Jack’s at me about it every night. No, I won’t forget, Ellen, I promise. An’ I’ll get our Doreen to run them up while she’s doin’ mine and Nellie’s.’
‘Did I hear my name mentioned?’ Doreen came through the door bringing the cold air in with her. ‘What have yer got me doin’ now, Mam?’
‘Makin’ blackout curtains for us. I told Ellen yer wouldn’t mind doin’ hers as well.’ Molly’s eyes dared her daughter to refuse. ‘Yer will do them, won’t yer, sunshine?’
‘Yeah, they won’t take long.’ Doreen had learned to use a sewing machine at Johnson’s Dye Works, where she’d been employed since leaving school. She made all her own clothes, and Molly hadn’t had to buy dresses for herself or Ruthie for a couple of years.
‘Thanks, Doreen.’ When Ellen smiled her whole face was transformed. ‘I’ll see yer tomorrow, Molly … ta-ra.’
Doreen waited until she heard the front door close, then turned to her mother. ‘Guess what, Mam?’
‘Phil’s coming home on Monday, on two weeks’ leave.’
‘Oh, I suppose Miss Clegg told yer? She’s taken the wind out of me sails, I wanted to surprise yer.’
‘She couldn’t keep that news to herself, she’s too excited.’ Molly patted Ruthie on the head. ‘Time to clear the table, dinner’s ready.’ She motioned for Doreen to follow her into the kitchen, saying softly, ‘Little pigs have big ears.’
While setting the plates out, Molly told her daughter about the old lady’s wish to change her hairstyle for when Phil came home. ‘I told her yer’d go over tonight, so will yer?’
‘Yeah, ’course I will!’ Doreen nodded, setting her long blonde hair bouncing about her shoulders. ‘I promised Phil I’d keep an eye on her. An’ Maureen’s coming about eight o’clock, so she’ll have the two of us to keep her company.’
Molly looked pleased. ‘Oh, she’ll like that! She must get lonely, on her own all the time now that Phil’s away, so she’ll be glad of someone to talk to.’ Spooning some mashed potato on to a plate, Molly winked broadly at her daughter. ‘D’yer know what she told me? If she was seventy years younger, she’d give yer a run for yer money.’
Doreen’s wink was just as broad. ‘If that’s the way she feels I’d better make a mess of her hair, then, hadn’t I? I don’t want no competition.’
The dinner was over and the dishes washed when Mary came to collect Bella. ‘Has she behaved herself?’
Molly glanced at the two upturned faces, waiting wide-eyed for what she had to say. They looked as though butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths: nobody would have dreamed that just five minutes earlier they’d been going at it ding-dong over who was higher in the class at sums. Jack was settled in his easy chair smoking a Woodbine, and she grinned at him before answering Mary. ‘They’ve
been as good as gold, the pair of them … haven’t they, Jack?’
Jack thought that if Molly could stretch the truth, he’d stretch it even further. ‘They’ve been that quiet I’d forgotten they were here.’
“Then our Bella must be sickening for something.’ Mary gave a knowing smile. ‘Anyway, sweetheart, let’s get yer home, washed and in bed before yer dad comes in from work.’
‘Aw, Mam, can I just stay for another five minutes?’ After the glowing reference her friend’s parents had given her, Bella thought she was in with a chance. ‘Please?’
‘Uh-uh! Get yer coat on – pronto!’
‘Come on, sunshine,’ Molly urged, ‘Ruthie’s goin’ to bed now.’
When Mary had left, dragging her daughter behind her, Tommy emerged from the kitchen where he’d been getting washed. ‘Mam, yer can’t half tell ’em! They’re little horrors, the pair of them!’
‘We are not!’ Ruthie pulled out her tongue at him. ‘Me mam and dad said we’d been good, so there!’
Molly pinched the bridge of her nose. ‘Don’t start! It hasn’t been the best of days an’ I’d like a bit of peace an’ quiet … it’s not too much to ask, is it? You, Tommy, are old enough, big enough an’ ugly enough to know better. So get yerself out an’ up to Ginger’s.’
She turned to her daughter just in time to see the little pink tongue flick out in the direction of her brother. ‘Right, that does it! In the kitchen, yer cheeky madam, an’ get stripped. I’ll be out in a minute to wash yer down, an’ if yer give me any lip I’ll be using the scrubbing brush on yer.’
As meek as a lamb, Ruthie left the table. But on her way to the kitchen she had to pass her brother and she couldn’t resist the temptation to kick him in the shin.
‘Ow, ow, ow!’ Tommy lifted his leg and rubbed vigorously. ‘Mam, did yer see what she did?’
Her hands on her hips, her face red, Molly leaned towards her husband. ‘Jack, will yer put yer foot down with these two? An’ don’t tell me yer’ve been workin’ hard, ’cos I haven’t exactly been sitting on me backside all day, either!’
