by Joan Jonker
‘Oh, my God!’ Molly dropped her sewing. ‘Here’s me day-dreaming, forgettin’ all about them, an’ they’ll be in any minute!’ She pushed herself up hastily from the couch. ‘I’ve left their dinners on the stove on top of pans of water and I bet yer any money the ruddy pans have boiled dry by now.’
‘Ah, ’tis a terrible housewife yer are, Auntie Molly.’ Rosie was settled in Jack’s chair and had no intention of moving until she’d seen Tommy. All she’d get from him was a grunt, but she would be satisfied with that. She’d told Bridie and Molly that she intended marrying Tommy when they were older, but the two women had decided not to pass that bit of information on to Tommy, as he had no sense of humour where Rosie was concerned.
Molly threw her a smile as she made a dash for the kitchen. ‘I suppose yer mammy has a saying for women like me, has she?’
‘She has that, right enough, Auntie Molly. But I’ve been told to think very carefully before I speak, so I’m doing that.’ Rosie was silent for a few seconds, then she said, ‘I’ll not be tellin’ yer that one, Auntie Molly, ’cos I don’t think Auntie Bridget would approve.’
Molly pulled the two pans away from the gas jets and with a towel shielding her hands from the steam, she lifted one of the plates. ‘Saved by the skin of me teeth. Another few minutes, and the pans would have had no backsides on them.’
‘Here’s me dad now, Mam!’ Doreen called.
‘OK, I hear yer! Be a good girl and get the knives and forks out for us while I bring their dinners through.’
Jack looked weary when he walked through the door, but he managed a smile for the girl sitting in his chair. ‘Hello, Rosie, been gettin’ tried on for the new dress, have yer?’
‘I have that, Uncle Jack, and such a grand dress it is. I’ll look a real lady when I walk out in that.’ She smiled before letting her eyes stray to Tommy. ‘Hello, Tommy.’
‘Humph.’
‘Ye’re working too hard, an’ that’s the truth of it.’ Rosie nodded knowingly. ‘Sure, working until this time every night is too much, an’ they shouldn’t expect it of yer.’
Tommy threw her a dark look as he made his way to the kitchen to wash some of the grime off. ‘There’s a flippin’ war on,’ he growled in a voice now fully broken, ‘or hadn’t yer noticed?’
Jack, following closely on his heels, gave him a dig in the back. ‘There’s no need to be sarcastic, son.’
‘Well, she gets on me wick.’ Tommy turned on the tap and reached for the block of soap. ‘Why doesn’t she mind her own business an’ leave me alone?’
‘There’s no call to be rude to her.’ Jack nudged his son to one side and held out his hand for the soap. ‘She’s a nice girl, and I’m blowed if I can understand what yer’ve got against her.’
‘I don’t know what’s nice about her.’ Tommy’s voice was muffled as he towelled his face. ‘I just wish she’d go back to where she came from.’
Molly’s mouth twitched as she carried the plates through. Little did Tommy know that the girl he was talking about had designs on becoming his wife. And she wouldn’t be put off that easy, either! She was only fifteen and a half, but she was a very determined little lady. Look how she insisted on tagging the half-year on to the fifteen. Said she was nearer sixteen, and that was well old enough to go courting. The only way Tommy would escape her advances was by joining the Foreign Legion!
Rosie proved she wasn’t easily upset when Tommy came back from the kitchen. ‘That’s better, Tommy! We can see yer handsome face now.’
‘Mam!’ Tommy’s eyes were pleading. ‘Will yer do somethin’ with her? Can’t yer shut her up?’
Doreen looked up from her sewing. ‘Some hope you’ve got, our kid! I’ve been trying to shut her up for over an hour an’ had no luck.’
‘Hush, the lot of yer.’ Molly pulled out a chair and sat down to study her husband’s tired face. ‘You look dead beat, love.’
‘Then I look just how I feel.’ Jack picked up his knife and fork and stared at the meal in front of him. ‘I haven’t even got the energy to eat this, an’ I’m not hungry anyway.’
‘You’ll sit and eat every bit, Jack Bennett, even if I have to feed yer off a spoon like a baby! Yer need food inside yer to keep yer strength up.’
‘I know that, love, but yer get past it. I’ve no appetite.’
‘Just try,’ Molly coaxed. ‘Once yer start yer’ll wake up yer taste buds.’
Jack glanced sideways to see Tommy tucking in with gusto. What it was to be young and able to work twelve-hour shifts without turning a hair. He felt more like flying than eating, but he knew Molly would sit there until the plate was clean, so he speared a carrot and began to eat.
‘D’yer have to work late every night?’ Molly asked. ‘Surely yer could have a couple of early nights?’
‘Molly, I’m not doin’ it for pleasure! I don’t want to be comin’ home this time every night because life is all bed and work. But there’s a war on and everyone’s got to do their bit. Remember, there’s lads of ours over in France, and they don’t want to be there either!’
Molly sighed, thinking of Phil. ‘I know that, love, but yer’ll kill yerself if yer carry on like this. And our Tommy!’
‘Tommy doesn’t have to work overtime,’ Jack said. ‘At his age they can’t make him. He does it to earn a few extra bob. Anyway, we’ve got somethin’ to look forward to … we’re off on Saturday and Sunday.’
Molly left her chair to round the table and wrap her arms around Jack’s neck. ‘Thank God for that!’ She kissed him soundly. ‘I’ll have me husband to meself for two whole days.’
‘Yer’ll have no husband at all if yer don’t leave go, ye’re strangling me to death.’
Molly planted a kiss on the top of his head and was returning to her chair when she happened to glance at Rosie. The young girl was staring into space, a frown creasing her brow. ‘What’s up, sunshine? Yer look as though yer’ve got the cares of the world on yer shoulders.’
‘I’ve been thinkin’, Auntie Molly,’ Rosie said, tapping a finger on her chin. ‘That’s what I’ve been doing.’
Tommy jerked his head to the ceiling. ‘What’s she been thinkin’ with?’
Rosie glared, the smile she usually reserved for him notably absent. ‘I’m not talking to you, Tommy Bennett, I’m talking to me auntie Molly. So I’ll be thankin’ yer to keep yer nose out of it.’
Jack nearly choked on a piece of potato, Doreen’s mouth gaped, Molly chuckled and Tommy blushed to the roots of his hair.
‘Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted,’ Rosie went on, ‘I’ve been thinking, because that’s what God gave me brains for! But if He hadn’t wanted me to tell anyone what I was thinking, then why did He give me a mouth?’
The room erupted with laughter. Even Tommy had to lower his head so they wouldn’t see his mouth twitching. He had no intention of giving her the satisfaction of knowing he thought it was funny. Give her an inch and she’d take a yard, that one would. But he had to admit to himself that the way she said it, so serious, was dead funny.
‘Rosie O’Grady, you’re priceless,’ Jack said, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand. ‘When I came through that door I didn’t think I had a laugh in me, but you’ve managed to raise one.’
Molly wiped the back of her hand across her nose. She was about to say that Rosie must come from a very warm, happy home, where there was always plenty of laughter. But she bit the words back just in time. To mention the family and home she’d left behind would only sadden the girl. But one day she’d ask her mother for Rosie’s address in Ireland and she’d write and tell her parents what a delight their daughter was.
Rosie’s face was wreathed in smiles. She liked nothing better than to see people happy. But she still wanted an answer to her question. ‘It’s true though, isn’t it, Auntie Molly? God gave us everything for a purpose.’
‘Of course He did, sunshine! Don’t take any notice of this lot makin’ fun of yer, �
�cos they really don’t mean no harm. Yer should hear them makin’ fun of me when I talk to meself.’
Rosie leaned forward, her face eager. ‘You talk to yerself, do yer, Auntie Molly?’
‘All the time, sunshine! The best conversations I have are with meself. Especially on a Monday, wash day. I stand in the kitchen with me dolly peg and call everyone for everything… all except me mates, of course.’
‘Here yer are – catch!’ Doreen tossed the finished dress across the room. ‘All finished, bar the ironing.’
‘Ooh, thank yer, Doreen, I’m grateful to yer, so I am.’ Rosie lifted the dress up for all to see. ‘Isn’t it posh? Sure if I was goin’ to a ball wouldn’t I be the belle of it?’
‘You certainly would, sunshine.’ Molly stood up. ‘I don’t want to throw you out, but it’s time you went home. Me ma will be worried to death about yer being out in the blackout.’
Rosie carefully folded the dress while eyeing Tommy. ‘Would yer like to walk me home, Tommy?’
Doreen saw her brother’s face darken and jumped to her feet before he had time to throw any more insults at the girl she had grown fond of. ‘Tommy must be tired after working all day, Rosie, so I’ll walk yer home.’
‘That’s true, right enough.’ Quite unconcerned about the daggers coming her way, Rosie smiled. ‘Some other time then, Tommy, when ye’re not so tired.’
Tommy waited until the front door closed before saying, ‘She’ll have to wait a bloody long time for that to happen!’
‘Hey, watch yer language!’ Molly warned. ‘And d’yer know when God was givin’ us these brains and mouths an’ everythin’? Well you must have been behind the door when He was giving us a sense of humour, because you ain’t got one.’
‘Just because I don’t think she’s funny doesn’t mean I haven’t got a sense of humour!’
‘I was only pulling yer leg, son.’ Molly ruffled his hair. He was her only son, the apple of her eye, and for all he was as tall as his dad, he was still only a kid and didn’t understand girls. ‘She’s taken a fancy to yer, that’s all. Yer should be flattered, I suppose.’
‘Well I’m not!’
Molly folded her arms and leaned her elbows on the table. ‘Let’s forget about Rosie an’ tell us what ye’re goin’ to do with all this overtime money yer’ll be picking up. D’yer want me to meet you and yer dad with a handcart?’
Now this was more to Tommy’s liking. He’d been working overtime for a few weeks now, and had a little nest egg stored away upstairs. ‘I’m puttin’ me money away until I’ve got enough to buy meself a good pair of trousers, a proper man’s jacket an’ a pair of shoes.’
‘That’s sensible, son,’ Jack said, smiling. ‘At least yer’ll see something for all yer hard work.’
Molly felt her heart bursting with pride. He was a handsome lad, tall and well built. A little rough around the edges, perhaps, a bit on the gawky side, but he’d grow out of that. After all, you couldn’t put an old head on young shoulders. A year or two from now and he’d have plenty of girls running after him. There was no doubt in Molly’s mind that Rosie would be leading the field. Right now she was a rank outsider, but didn’t outsiders sometimes win a race … with good odds?
‘Ooh, I enjoyed that laugh, girl, it did me a power of good.’ Nellie wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. ‘What did God give me a mouth for if it wasn’t to speak … oh, I think that’s the best I’ve heard yet. I was goin’ to say I’d tell George, give him a laugh, but I’ve changed me mind.’ Nellie was facing Molly across the dining table, and the creaking of the chair told her friend that laughter was once more on its way. ‘Yer know what George is like, he’d probably look me in the eye, dead serious, an’ say he didn’t think God intended mouths to be used as much as mine is.’
Molly chuckled. ‘Nellie, when it comes to talking, you’re not in the meg specks. I never thought the day would come when I’d say it, an’ I know it doesn’t seem possible, but Rosie O’Grady can out-talk you any day.’
‘Tell my feller that, girl! He won’t take no notice of me, but he might believe it if you tell him.’ Nellie stretched her hand towards the plate of biscuits in the middle of the table. ‘These are all broken, girl, did yer drop them?’
‘I know they’re broken, yer daft article, that’s how I bought them! And don’t be so flamin’ fussy! Anyone would think yer weren’t used to buying broken biscuits.’
‘Yeah, those were the days, weren’t they? I was only thinkin’ about it this mornin’ after all the gang had gone to work. I sat meself down to enjoy a nice quiet cup of tea, but I didn’t ruddy well enjoy it at all, just made meself miserable.’ Nellie stretched again to the plate, but seeing there wasn’t a piece big enough to be worth while taking on its own, she grabbed a handful. ‘I was remembering the days when the kids were all little an’ we only had the one wage coming in. Robbing Peter to pay Paul every week, weren’t we, girl? Now when we should be sittin’ pretty with enough money comin’ in to be on easy street, they’ve gone and rationed the bloody lot on us! We’ve got the money, but there’s nowt to spend it on!’
‘I know, it’s ironic, isn’t it?’
Nellie’s brow furrowed. ‘What did yer say it was, girl?’
‘Ironic! You know, er … what’s another word for it now?’ Molly searched her mind but couldn’t find an appropriate word to explain ironic. ‘Oh, I can’t think … yer’ll just have to guess.’
‘Shall I help yer out, girl?’ Nellie’s face was the picture of innocence. ‘Why don’t yer say it’s just our bloody luck?’
A knock on the front door took away the smile that was just about to form on Molly’s face. ‘I wonder who this can be?’
‘I’m in no hurry, girl, me time’s me own. So if yer want to sit an’ have a guessing game, it’s all right by me. Mind you, for most people the easiest way to find out who’s knockin’ on their door is to open the ruddy thing!’
Molly stuck her tongue out as she pushed herself up. ‘Very funny, sunshine, very funny.’ She made her way down the hall, saying, ‘It’s probably a rag-and-bone man.’
‘Well if it is, don’t let him in, for God’s sake,’ Nellie bawled. ‘He might throw me on his cart.’
When Molly opened the door and saw a young policeman standing on the pavement outside, her heart lurched. Had one of the family had an accident at work? Was it something to do with Phil? Putting a shaking hand to her mouth, she croaked, ‘What’s wrong?’
‘It’s all right, missus, it’s not you I’m after.’ The officer pointed to the house next door. ‘I’m looking for a Mrs Clarke, I believe she lives here?’
Molly breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn’t bad news for her. But what was in store for Ellen? ‘Mrs Clarke works in Tony Reynolds’s butcher’s shop on the main road. She won’t be home until tonight, is it important?’
The officer pinched his bottom lip. ‘Do you know Mrs Clarke well?’
‘Yeah, we’re good friends! Why, what’s happened?’
‘We were asked to contact her by Winwick Hospital. Apparently her husband is a patient there and they say it’s urgent she gets there as soon as possible.’
‘Oh, dear God, has something happened to Nobby? That’s her husband.’
‘I can’t tell you any more, that’s all the information I was given.’ He went to move away. ‘Thank you for your help, I’ll go along to the shop to pass the message on.’
‘Hang on a minute, Constable, please.’ Molly’s head was racing. ‘Mrs Clarke’s a very timid, nervous woman, and she’s goin’ to get a shock. I’ll slip me coat on an’ follow yer down, in case she needs someone with her.’
The officer smiled. Mrs Clarke was lucky to have such a good neighbour. ‘I’ll walk slowly and you can catch me up.’
Molly didn’t bother closing the door. She raced down the hall, grabbing her coat from the hall-stand as she passed. ‘Nellie, it was a policeman for Ellen. She’s got to go to Winwick Hospital right away. It’s somethin’ to d
o with Nobby, an’ it must be important for them to ring the police.’ Molly buttoned her coat and reached into a bowl on the sideboard for her front door key. ‘I’m goin’ down to the shop … yer know what Ellen’s like, she’ll go to pieces.’
For all her eighteen stone, Nellie was out of the chair like a shot. ‘I’m comin’ with yer, girl.’
They caught up with the policeman just before he reached the shop. He raised his brows. ‘D’you want to go in first?’
‘I think it might be a good idea to warn her,’ Molly said. ‘If you go in an’ ask for her, she’ll die of fright.’
‘Go on, then,’ the constable nodded. ‘But I can only wait a minute because I’m needed back at the station.’
Tony’s face lit up when he saw the two women he called the terrible twins. ‘If you two are after meat, I hope yer’ve got yer ration books with yer.’ He suddenly realized the usual smiles and cheery greetings were missing. ‘What’s up?’
Ellen came through from the store room at that moment, carrying a tray of stewing meat. ‘Hiya, Molly, Nellie!’
‘Ellen, don’t start panicking, but there’s a policeman outside with a message for yer. He let us come in first because I told him what a worry-wart yer were. So put the tray down and stay calm.’ Molly took a deep breath. ‘He’ll tell yer himself, but yer might take it better from me. It’s somethin’ to do with Nobby, and the hospital want yer to go there right away.’
Ellen stood like a statue, her face drained of colour. Tony took the tray from her, and as the policeman entered the shop Molly slipped behind the counter to put her arm around her neighbour’s shoulder.
The officer took his helmet off. ‘I can see your friend has told you, Mrs Clarke, but I have to make it official.’
Ellen didn’t hear a word the man said; her head was in a whirl. Oh, where was Corker? Why wasn’t he here to help her, tell her what to do? She could stand anything if the big man was by her side.
‘Get yer coat on and go home, Ellen,’ Tony said when the officer had left, his duty done. ‘I’ll be all right here, I can manage. You go with Molly and Nellie, they’ll look after you.’
