Three Letters

by Josephine Cox

  ‘Because if it wasn’t for him letting me play at his stall, the people would never hear me, and so the coins would be a thank you to Patrick for being our friend.’

  ‘Hey! You’ll do no such thing.’ Patrick protested. The coins would be yours and yours alone. I’m not in the habit of taking coins from a lad. What next, eh?’

  Casey was disappointed ‘I just want to say thank you.’

  ‘All right then,’ Patrick had an idea, ‘I’ll tell you what, lad …’ he gave a sly wink at Bob, ‘… if you’re really set on saying a little thank you, I’ve got a suggestion.’

  ‘What’s that then?’ Casey brightened up.

  ‘Well … you know how the flowerseller lets the flowers go for a few pennies at the end of the day?’

  ‘Yes, I know that, Patrick.’

  ‘Right, well then, what if you spend a few of your pennies on buying a little bunch o’ flowers for my wife?’ He groaned. ‘It might stop her nagging at me. She never stops nagging at me. If it’s not about the birds who’ve been pecking at the milk bottle top, she’s nagging about the lavvie leaking in the cellar.’ He adopted a hangdog expression. ‘The woman drives me mad, so she does. I keep telling her, if it affects her that badly, I’ll fetch the wash bucket up of a morning, and we can leave a plate out for the milkman to cover the bottle tops. But as for the lavvie, I’ve got that in hand. John Lassiter owes me a favour, and from what I’ve heard, he’s a dab hand at mending leaks. I’m seeing him next week to see if we can cobble a deal together. So now, lad, if you’re in agreement about the flowers, we’ll both be satisfied. Mind you, I want you to have enough pennies left over, to treat yourself OK?’

  Casey gazed up. Waiting nervously for an answer, he kept his sorry gaze on Patrick’s weathered old face.

  ‘OK, yes. And this has to be the last time you spend any of your hard-earned pennies on me, or the missus, so you remember that, lad. And remember also that you will always be free to play your guitar beside my stall.’

  Bob clapped his hands. ‘You’ve got a deal, yes! It’s no different from what we’ve allus done. You help us and we help you. It doesn’t really matter what we barter, as long as we’re helping each other.’

  ‘Right, so make sure you get the boy to my stall on Saturday, round about one o’clock. Folks are always in a good mood by then, ’cause they’ve had their bite to eat and they’re in a mood to spend their hard-earned brass, so they are.’

  Patrick was tickled pink at the prospect of his woman getting a little bunch of flowers. ‘I’ve never been one for soppy gestures like that,’ he muttered as he went away down the street, ‘… but you never know. If she gets a bunch o’ flowers, I might get a thank you of the like I’ve not had for many a month.’

  He chuckled at the naughty thought, and went away with a renewed spring in his step.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  A FEW DAYS AFTER rescuing the woman from her attackers, Steve was still in Blackpool. All was not going to plan with his site purchase, and he was having to stay longer in the North to see it through. Luckily it was the school holidays and so Alice and Susie were able to stay on too, with the little girl enjoying the seaside.

  After reluctantly agreeing to read her a story at the end of a long day, Steve tucked Susie into bed. ‘Now then, Little Miss Know-all, you’d best remind me which page we were on, because I’ve forgotten.’

  ‘It’s all right, Uncle Steve, I remember.’ Collecting the book from under her pillow, she handed it to him. ‘We got to page fifteen.’

  ‘Oh, yes, I remember now. Wasn’t it where Mandy fell out with her best friend, and now she’s unhappy?’ Since reading to Susie, he should have discovered a great deal about female relationships, but all he’d learned was to keep his nose out wherever possible.

  ‘I want them to make up and be good friends again, don’t you, Uncle Steve?’

  Steve assured her in a solemn voice, ‘There is nothing I want more,’ thinking the sooner the characters made up with each other, the sooner he would be let off the hook. ‘Why didn’t you let Mummy read it to you? Then you’d be fast asleep by now.’

  ‘Mummy doesn’t read it like you do,’ Susie told him. ‘You make the characters seem alive, and you change your voice, and it’s really funny.’

  Flattered but weary, he took a deep breath and commenced, ‘Mandy did not know what to do. Her friend Jenny had really upset her, because she had told lies, and that was a bad thing …’

  ‘Was it?’ Susie interrupted.

  Steve glanced up. ‘Absolutely! Always remember, lies will get you nowhere.’

  ‘I know that.’

  ‘So why did you ask?’

  ‘Stop talking, Uncle Steve. I want to know what Mandy does.’

  He read on, ‘At school on Tuesday, Mandy saw her friend Jenny talking to the other girls, and they were all staring at her. It made her feel very uncomfortable …’

  ‘That’s awful! Jenny shouldn’t do that, should she, Uncle Steve?’

  Exasperated with the interruptions, Steve asked, ‘Susie, do you want us to talk, or do you want me to read?’

  ‘I want you to answer my question, please. After that, I want you to read.’

  ‘Well, I’m reading now … and please don’t interrupt, because it puts me right off my stride. You can ask your questions when I stop. All right?’

  ‘You said I put you “off your stride”. What does that mean?’

  ‘Well, I’m just getting into the characters and then you blurt out a question, and then I don’t know where I am.’

  ‘Are you angry with me?’

  ‘Not yet, but I’m getting there.’

  ‘OK, I’ll stop interrupting.’

  ‘Good!’ Fixing his gaze on the page, he searched for the line. ‘See that! I’ve lost my place now.’

  ‘Well, you should concentrate. Don’t you know anything?’

  Beaten as always, Steve had to agree. ‘You’re right, but I’m very tired and I’ve had a setback with the property, and your mummy and I haven’t had time to speak with each other today.’

  ‘Please, Uncle Steve, read the story.’

  ‘I will, if you stop chattering.’

  Susie crossed her chest. ‘I won’t chatter. Hand on heart, promise.’

  Steve took a deep breath, and resumed the story.

  For the next few minutes it flowed beautifully, though he twice looked up from the reading, eager to assure himself that she was paying attention.

  The first time he glanced up, Susie was so tired she was struggling to keep her eyes open; then a few moments later, he was relieved to find that she’d slithered down between the sheets and was fast asleep.

  Gently, so as not to wake her, he drew the bedcover up to her shoulders, then he placed the book inside the drawer and crept out on tiptoe, softly closing the door behind him.

  Once outside, he gave a sigh of relief. I thought tonight we might actually get to the end of the story, he told himself as he ran down the main stairs two at a time.

  A moment later, he was relieved to find Alice in the bar, perched on a stool and looking pretty as always.

  ‘I thought you might have gone up already,’ he remarked. ‘The reading took longer than I expected, what with Miss Chatterbox interrupting every other word.’

  ‘Huh! If you think her interrupting the story is hard, you wouldn’t have wanted to be with us today.’ Alice rolled her eyes in frustration. ‘Susie marched me all over the place as if she intended seeing and doing everything before we have to go home.’

  ‘That’s our Susie for you. When her mind is set, she won’t take no for an answer.’ Steve gestured to a small table by the window. ‘How about we sit over there?’

  ‘Fine by me,’ Alice smiled. ‘So, you managed to get her off to sleep, did you?’

  ‘Eventually, after a little banter or two, and always when I’m in the flow of the story.’

  ‘She does that to me, then it takes a while to find the place where I left off.’


  ‘Really?’ Steve laughed out loud. ‘Well, it’s time you learned to concentrate. Don’t you know anything?’

  ‘Cheek!’ She gave him a playful slap on the arm. ‘That sounded like something Susie might have said.’

  They both laughed, recognising Susie and her old-fashioned ways.

  Steve gave the bartender the order, and signed for the drinks. ‘It’s quiet in here tonight.’ He was surprised to see just one other couple in the bar.

  ‘It’s a quiet time of year,’ the bartender answered. ‘It’s been mostly businessmen this week, and they’ve moved on.’

  ‘Which is what I had planned to do.’ Steve had been disappointed in the need to stay another week, to discuss his plans in greater detail. ‘I should have known it was too ambitious a plan.’

  Making the drinks, the bartender was thinking he had his own problems. ‘Shall I bring your drinks over, sir?’

  Thanking him, Steve joined Alice at the other end of the room. ‘You look tired,’ he told her kindly. ‘So, our Susie’s been giving you the run-around, has she?’

  ‘You could say that. We went to Blackburn today and we must have been in every shop in the town centre. Then she wanted to walk along King Street, and she heard some boy playing the guitar in one of the shops. She wouldn’t even budge until he’d finished.’

  Alice, too, had been amazed by the boy’s talent. ‘I’m telling you, Steve, she had her nose pressed tight to the window for ages. Then all the way back to the bus stop, she kept talking about him, saying how the boy had been on the bus the other day, and he was really nice, and she wanted to go inside the shop to listen, but she was too shy.’

  ‘Shy? Our Susie? I don’t think so.’ Steve recalled the boy on the bus. ‘More like she was too embarrassed to go inside, in case he recognised her. The boy on the bus didn’t know where to put himself when she kept smiling at him. So, if he was the same lad, he wouldn’t have thanked her for going into the shop to watch him play the guitar.’

  Alice made a serious face. ‘It’s no good,’ she said mournfully, ‘my daughter is out of control. If she doesn’t pull herself together, I’ll have no choice but to put her in a nunnery.’

  Steve laughed out loud. ‘Have a heart for the nuns. Our Susie would run rings round them. I reckon you should get her a job on a building site. That’ll teach ’em.’

  Now it was Alice’s turn to laugh. ‘Honestly, Steve, she had me worn out today. But it was good to see her so interested in everything. She loved every minute of it, while, by the end, all I wanted to do was get back and soak my aching feet in cold water.’

  She had to admit, ‘I did enjoy the day, though. I never dreamed that Corporation Park was so magnificent, with pretty, meandering walkways and lots of majestic old trees at every turn. Standing proud right at the very top of the park are a pair of old cannons from the Boer War. Susie and I sat astride the cannons, and we were so high up, we could see right across the rooftops of Blackburn and far into the distance towards the countryside. It’s the most amazing sight!’

  ‘Sound like somewhere I should see.’

  ‘It is, and you must.’

  Steve reflected on what Alice had said earlier. ‘This boy she saw through the shop window – he was playing the guitar, you say?’

  ‘That’s right, and it took all my powers of persuasion to drag Susie away.’

  ‘Was the boy good … at the guitar?’

  ‘Yes, according to Susie. I didn’t hear too much, but what I did hear was impressive, I have to admit. But as you’re fond of telling me, I don’t have any musical inclinations. Added to which, I was too busy trying to shift Susie, so I could get back and soak my poor feet.’

  ‘Mmm.’ Steve’s thoughts were on the boy.

  Alice, however, was thinking ahead. ‘When’s your meeting with the planners?’

  ‘First thing tomorrow. And look, Alice, I’m sorry about all this. You and Susie really should have gone back last week. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you stayed, but I didn’t want you to put your own plans on hold.’

  ‘I couldn’t desert you, especially when Susie got herself all upset. She didn’t want to leave without you, what with her daddy away and everything.’

  ‘Yes, I know, and you must be home for Mike’s return very soon. The good news is, I’ve already secured the site and providing I can accommodate the Planning Department’s requirement, I should be home and dry. I’m told the architect is working late into the night in order to deliver the amended drawings first thing.’

  Leaning back into his chair, he drew a deep sigh of relief. ‘If luck is on my side, by the time the meeting starts, the planning committee should have studied the new plans, and made a decision.’

  ‘I hope for your sake, it all goes well,’ Alice told him.

  ‘Well, all we can do now is to keep our fingers crossed. Hopefully, once this meeting is over, I’ll have the green light and can go home, though I’ll need to travel back and forth for some time yet, which I don’t mind in the least. In fact, if needs be, I’d travel to the moon and back if it would get me what I want.’

  ‘You know Mike and I are behind you all the way, don’t you?’ Alice reassured him.

  ‘I do know that,’ Steve answered, ‘and I’m very grateful. I only wish Connie would show a bit more interest in what I’m doing, but she doesn’t, and probably never will.’

  ‘I can’t understand it, Steve. She should be encouraging you all the way; especially as it’s to her benefit as well.’

  Steve’s face darkened. ‘I wish I could fire her interest in it, but I can’t. Whenever I talk about having the studio up and running, she just nods her head, and makes pleasant noises, but there’s no real interest. No passion. No excitement.’ He shrugged. ‘Maybe I’m asking too much of her. Connie’s interested in other things. I guess I’ll have to accept that.’

  ‘She’s a lucky woman to have the love of a man like you.’

  When Steve made no comment, Alice grew curious. ‘You do love her, don’t you, Steve?’ The moment she’d spoken, Alice could have bitten off her tongue.

  Steve laughed it off without giving a direct answer. ‘I married her, didn’t I? So I must love her.’

  Feeling uncomfortable, he changed the subject. ‘I expect you’ll be glad to get back, won’t you, Alice?’

  ‘Well, yes, I can’t deny I’m ready for home. Also, your wandering brother will be back shortly, so I expect we’ll all be where we should be.’ She smiled graciously. ‘Mind you, Susie and I have really enjoyed tagging along with you. So, thanks for having us, and I hope we haven’t got in the way … even if you were roped in to read her bedtime stories.’

  Steve made a face. ‘That’s my punishment for not tying up the business quicker, though in the time we’ve had, I reckon the team and I have done wonders.’

  Alice agreed. ‘By the way the woman in the café today told us there’s a market on in Blackburn tomorrow, under the lovely old clock. When she mentioned that there were all manner of toy stalls, Susie wouldn’t let it drop. She’s been wanting to get a present for her daddy, and so far she hasn’t seen anything that excites her.’

  ‘Hmm! That’s because she’s a right little fusspot, and far too picky for her own good. But it might not be a bad idea to let her have a little walkabout, and who knows, she might find something.’

  ‘That’s what she said. So, I promised I’d take her over there.’

  Steve felt anxious about the meeting. ‘After wanting it for so long, I actually think that it might all be coming together. It’s been a hard business, but at long last I can almost see my vision actually edging towards reality.’

  ‘I hope so, Steve, but if it does happen, it’ll be your own determination and hard work that’s carried you through.’

  She felt no guilt in reminding him, ‘I know Connie hasn’t got the same appetite for the studios as you have. But you still pushed on regardless, and all credit to you for that.’

  She was only too aw
are of how long and hard he’d pursued this business venture; in fact she’d been greatly impressed by the speed in which he’d secured the site outside Blackpool.

  Unlike Steve, with his talent and passion for music, Steve’s brother, Mike, was a hard-and-fast practical man. Never a musician, his talent was buying and selling property, which he had done very well with.

  Like Steve, Mike was a kind and generous man, but where business was concerned, he was hard-headed, with no time for dreams.

  When Steve turned to see if the drinks were on their way, Alice quietly regarded him for a moment. She saw a fine man with a fine dream. A kind man. A man who had quietly tolerated his wife’s selfish ways, while providing her with the best of everything; even though Connie showed little interest in what he was doing.

  She was a selfish woman with a high opinion of herself and a low opinion of everyone else. From the day they were married, she had learned how to manipulate her new husband, until over the years she had managed to elevate herself to where she was today. She lived a pampered life, with a cleaner and a gardener, and money to spare. She demanded the best of everything, and got it, and the more she got, the more she wanted.

  Alice and the family first had their doubts about Connie when she came home with Steve from one of his long tours. Steve called her his ‘rough diamond’, and at the time she seemed devoted to him. She accompanied him on every tour, and rarely let him out of her sight.

  Then, on returning from another tour, Steve announced that they were married. At the time, family and friends thought he had made a mistake and as the years rolled on, their fears were proved right.

  Locked in a marriage without love, Steve confided to his brother that his marriage had brought him little joy. Connie increasingly treated him more as a trophy than a husband. There were also rumours about her seeing other men. And though he respected Connie’s decision not to have children, it was a deep wound to him, because he would dearly have loved to complete their marriage with children.

  While touring, Steve had many chances to stray with other women, but he remained loyal to his marriage vows.