by Joan Jonker
‘Tell me while I’m leaning against the sink, girl, and I won’t fall.’
‘The kettle’s coming to the boil now so yer can wait.’ Kate put a spoon on one of the saucers and poured a drop of milk into each of the cups. ‘Five minutes isn’t going to kill yer.’
When they were sat facing each other, their cups in front of them, Kate started by saying, ‘By the way, yer owe me tenpence.’
‘Tenpence! What for?’
‘Come on now, Monica Parry, don’t be coming the little innocent with me. It was you what said yer’d bet me ten to one I wouldn’t get anything out of Winnie Cartwright. So don’t be trying to wriggle out of it.’
‘That was if yer got anything off her, but yer didn’t, did yer?’
‘Only the name of the lad who fathered Margaret Blackmore’s baby.’
Monica nearly choked on the mouthful of tea she’d just sipped. She swallowed before saying, ‘That’s not something to make a joke about, girl.’
‘You don’t really believe I’d joke about anything so serious, do yer, sunshine? No, it’s the God’s honest truth.’ Kate related the whole story, leaving nothing out, while her friend stared at her with amazement and bewilderment. ‘That is the whole story, word for word,’ she finished.
‘Greg Corbett, eh?’ Monica was still trying to come to terms with what she’d been told. ‘His mam and dad are in for a shock, aren’t they?’
‘That’s if we tell them. I want to hear what you think would be the right thing to do?’
‘The right thing would be to go round to Betty’s right now and put her in the picture. It won’t solve all her worries, but it’ll sure help to relieve them.’
‘Yes, that is what I thought at first,’ Kate told her. ‘Then when I’d had time to think it through, I wondered if it would do more harm than good. I mean, I can just picture what would happen if Betty was told. Her first reaction would be to go round to the boy’s house and create merry hell. And that wouldn’t make for good relations between the two families, would it? Also, it would mean dragging Winnie into it which is what I didn’t want to do. She had the guts to tell me what she saw, and I don’t think she should be put through it again.’
‘I agree with yer there, girl. I was wrong about her, she’s certainly come up trumps.’ After being silent for a short while, Monica said, ‘I also think what yer said about Betty going round to the Corbetts’ house is right, too. If she went in there with all guns blazing, it wouldn’t help. But there is one thing that springs to mind that won’t involve anyone but Margaret and the boy. If it was handled right, it could solve everything.’
‘What have yer got in mind, sunshine? It would be marvellous if, after all the hurt and heartache, there could be a happy ending.’
‘I couldn’t promise a happy ending, girl, though it would be better to aim for that than spoil everything by going about it in the wrong way. But it’s your shout because you were the one who was clever enough to pick up on what Winnie said. I wouldn’t have given it another thought, she was just a gossip-monger to me.’ Monica realized how wrong she’d been to criticize the woman she really knew little about. ‘I can be a clever bugger sometimes, can’t I, girl? I certainly got me facts wrong with regard to Winnie.’
‘Yer can make it up to her by asking her round for a cup of tea one day. When yer get to know her, yer’ll find out she’s a lovely little lady.’ Kate leaned her elbows on the table and cupped her face in her hands. ‘Yer still haven’t said what yer had in mind?’
‘It could be a load of rubbish, girl, just me talking out of the top of me hat. But listen, and see what yer make of it.’ Monica drained her cup before carrying on. ‘I think it would be worth trying to get through to the boy, Greg. He’s probably terrified of his parents being upset, and that’s why he’s telling lies. If he’s confronted by someone telling him he’s been seen in the entry with Margaret, it might make all the difference. But whoever it was that told him would have to be diplomatic and not frighten the life out of him. After all, he could still deny it, even if he knows he’s been seen. No one can make him marry the girl if he doesn’t want to. So it needs to be handled with kid gloves.’
‘That lets me out, then, ’cos I wouldn’t know what to say to the lad. I’d be so embarrassed, I wouldn’t be able to look him in the face.’ Kate’s brown eyes rolled. ‘After all, it’s not a subject I’m well up in!’
Monica chortled. ‘Yer know more on the subject than the lad does. Yer should do, anyway, after being married for fifteen years and having two children of yer own.’
Kate suddenly sat up straight. ‘Ay, I’ve just had an idea. What about talking to Margaret and seeing if she’ll tell the boy? What d’yer think?’
Monica pursed her lips and shook her head. ‘She’d run a mile if anyone mentioned it to her. She’s frightened of her own shadow, that’s why I find it so surprising she’s pregnant!’ Once again she shook her head. ‘Yer can forget about her, she’d take to her heels before yer could get a word out.’
‘Well, I don’t know what we’re going to do,’ Kate said. ‘Everything we come up with, we find a reason for not doing it! At this rate, we’ll be too late, Margaret will be showing soon.’
‘It’s far better to take a little longer and get things right, than to go at it like a bull in a china shop and end up with a disaster. You’ve come up with something of importance which could help at least one young girl and her family. So yer’ve got to make good use of it. How it should be done, well, we’ve got to give that some very serious thought.’
‘I know that, sunshine!’ Kate was beginning to despair. ‘But we could think about it until the cows come home and still not have an answer.’
‘I’ll mull it over in me head while I’m getting meself ready for the shops. I’ve got a glimmer of an idea, but I want to give it more thought before I tell yer. And with no offence to you, girl, I can think better when I’m on me own.’ Monica scraped her chair away from the table. ‘You go and get yerself ready, but give me at least half an hour to finish this room and tidy meself up.’
‘Yeah, okay.’ Kate made for the kitchen. ‘I’ll go the back way ’cos I’ve left the door on the latch.’ She stepped down on to the cobbled yard, then looked up at her neighbour. ‘Two heads are better than one, sunshine. I’m glad ye’re me mate. When we’re walking down to the shops, the fresh air might clear our brains and we’ll come up with an inspiration.’
Monica’s laugh was loud and hearty. ‘I’ve never come up with an inspiration in me whole life!’ Then she held up a hand. ‘No, I tell a lie. When I first saw my feller, it was at a tuppenny hop and I didn’t know me left foot from me right. Anyway, he caught me eye, and I didn’t half like what I saw. But he was such a good dancer, all the girls were excusing him. He didn’t even notice me until two months later after I’d made it me business to learn to dance as good as anyone. I excused him in a waltz one night, and we’ve been together ever since. So Tom was my first inspiration, if yer see what I mean.’
‘Ah, that’s not half romantic,’ Kate said, her pretty head tilted. ‘Did he ever find out that yer’d set yer cap at him?’
‘Not bloody likely! After that first dance, he did all the running and I lapped it up. We didn’t go to many dances after that, we preferred the back row of the pictures or the couch in his mam’s front parlour.’
‘Ooh, did Tom’s mam live in a parlour house?’
‘Yes, she did, girl, but if I start to tell yer about that we’ll never get the other business cleared up. So scram, poppy off, and I’ll see yer in half an hour.’
Later, on their way to the shops, Monica said, ‘I’ve made up me mind that you and me have got to be positive. Otherwise we’ll dither for so long, nothing will get done. So what I was thinking is that if we can find out where Greg works, we could meet him one night and confront him.’
Kate missed a step and gave a little skip to get back in line. ‘Ooh, er, d’yer think that’s wise? We could end up with the whole
of his family on our backs.’
‘That’s if he tells them, which I very much doubt. Admitting to being the father of the baby is one thing, but to have to tell his parents he was seen in the entry performing the very act that made Margaret pregnant, well, that’s a different ball game. If we can persuade him at least to see the girl that would be a start and wouldn’t involve you and me in anything to do with the families.’
‘That would be wonderful, sunshine, but how will we find out where he works?’
‘Leave that to me. I’ll call at Betty’s later, just to see how they are. In the course of the conversation I might get the opportunity to ask where he works.’
But Kate had spied someone ahead of them. ‘Yer might not have to call to Betty’s, I’m sure that’s her walking up the road. Can yer see her, she’s by the Post Office?’
‘Yeah, that’s her, we’re in luck. Let’s catch up with her, we can worry about our shopping later.’
Betty Blackmore turned when she heard her name being called. Both Kate and Monica were shocked at how bad she looked. Lines were etched deep into her face. Her eyes were dull and she seemed weary, as though she was carrying the woes of the whole world on her shoulders. ‘Hello, ladies, I was miles away. I hope yer weren’t shouting me for long?’
‘No, we were just strolling along window gazing,’ Monica lied, ‘when we saw yer in the distance. Where are yer off to?’
‘Great Homer Street Market. Everything is a lot cheaper there. Anyway, I thought the walk and fresh air would do me good. I’m not sleeping too well.’
‘We’ll walk that far with yer, it’ll do us good to stretch our legs. We can just as easy do our shopping there as along Stanley Road, and as yer say, it’s cheaper.’
The two friends automatically walked on either side of the tormented woman, and linked her arms. ‘How are yer getting on, sunshine?’ Kate asked, her heart filled with pity. She wanted to blurt out what they knew. But Monica was right, that would solve nothing. ‘Are you and yer husband feeling any better?’
There was a deep sigh. ‘Worse if anything. Our Margaret comes home from work and goes straight up to her bedroom. She won’t have anything to eat, and we can hear her crying her heart out, night after night.’
‘No word from Greg Corbett or his family then?’ Monica asked. ‘They haven’t been in touch?’
‘No, lass, and I’m too weary to go fighting it out with anybody. Jack said he thinks we should move out of the area before anyone knows about the baby, but it would break my heart! We moved into that house as newly weds, and I don’t want to live anywhere else. Why should I when I haven’t done nothing wrong?’
‘I should jolly well think not!’ Monica’s voice rose. ‘Why the hell should you? As yer say, you haven’t committed a crime. You just stay put and to hell with everyone else.’
‘I would do, lass, if it weren’t for the fact that we live so near the Corbetts, and Margaret would continually be coming face to face with the boy. Well, he’s not a boy, he’s a man. He’s nineteen now. I think he told Margaret, before this trouble came up, that he’ll be twenty in July.’
Monica asked casually, ‘Has he got a decent job, or don’t yer know where he works?’
‘Yeah, he works for Jenkins and Howett in Seaforth. It’s a place that makes railings and iron gates, that sort of thing. And she did say something about machinery which was made to be sent abroad. When he’s out of his time he’ll be on a decent wage.’ Another deep sigh. ‘Our Margaret really likes him, that’s the hardest part. She only went out with him twice on proper dates, but she used to dance with him a lot at Blair Hall and if they met in the street they’d always stop for a chat. She’s spoken to him a few times since he . . . er . . . since, well, yer know what I’m getting at. But when she missed her period, she avoided him like the plague. I didn’t know this, of course, because at that time the poor girl was terrified to say anything. I always thought of him as being a nice, quiet lad.’
‘Perhaps he is, Betty, and what happened wasn’t something yer’d expect of him in the usual way of things,’ Kate said, thinking the time might come when the lad would have to face this woman. ‘He might have got carried away and not thought of the consequences.’
‘Well, it’s too bloody late to be thinking of the consequences now, ’cos yer can’t turn the clock back.’ There was bitterness in Betty’s voice. ‘I hate him for what he’s done. He’s ruined our Margaret’s life and put the whole family through hell. I just wish he could have a taste of what we’re going through, see how he’d like it.’
Monica put her arm across Betty’s shoulder and pulled her close. ‘He’ll get paid back, girl. Some way or another, he’ll get paid back. And God is good, He’ll look after Margaret and the baby. But let’s not talk about it any more, ’cos ye’re only getting yerself upset. Let’s put our minds to what we’re giving our families for their dinner.’
‘I’m doing liver and onions for my lot,’ Kate said, her voice light even though she felt quite upset. ‘With potatoes mashed with a knob of margarine. That usually goes down well with all of them.’
‘Thanks, girl!’ Monica leaned forward to look at her mate. With a conspiratorial wink, she said, ‘Yer’ve saved me racking me brains. We’ll have the same as you. What about you, Betty?’
‘I might as well join the club. Liver and onions sounds good to me. I’ll get a pig’s trotter while I’m in the butcher’s for my feller’s dinner tomorrow. He says yer can’t beat a pig’s trotter for getting yer teeth into, but no one else in the house will eat them.’
‘Me neither!’ Kate shivered at the thought. ‘Just the look of them puts me off.’
‘I’m not keen,’ Monica agreed. ‘But I’ve got to say they do make a good pan of scouse. With carrots and turnip, onions and barley, left to simmer for a few hours, they’re delicious. And cheap, so I have them when I’m hard up.’
‘Shut up, ye’re making me mouth water!’ Betty said, licking her lips. ‘I could just go a bowl of it now.’ For a short while she forgot her heartache. This cheered Kate and Monica, who made sure she didn’t have any further chance to dwell on her worries until they left her at her front door two hours later.
‘We can’t both go, we’d frighten the life out of the lad.’ Monica was in Kate’s house and they were facing each other across the table. ‘If we both turned up, it would look as though we’d come to make trouble. Whereas if he found himself being stopped by one woman, especially someone as good-looking as you, he wouldn’t run off before yer could get a word out.’
‘Me? On me own!’ Kate was horrified. ‘Oh, no, yer don’t, I’m not doing that on me own. How soft you are, Monica Parry, palming all the dirty work on to me!’
‘In case yer’ve forgotten, girl, it was you being a detective what started this off. Yer were full of righteousness then, wanting to help a family in trouble. Now ye’re getting cold feet and don’t want anything to do with it.’
‘But I’d be hopeless. You’d be a much better choice, sunshine. Yer have no trouble talking to anyone . . . even complete strangers!’
‘Yes, I am more talkative than you, girl, I admit. But sometimes I speak before I think. And I lose me rag and flare up, which is something you never do.’ Monica leaned across and patted her hand. ‘Besides, one look at your face and figure, Kate, and no man with red blood in his veins would walk away from yer. My money would be on you to pull it off.’
‘Well you’d have to come with me ’cos I can’t stop every man coming out of the factory and ask him if he’s Greg Corbett, I’d look ridiculous. That’s if I could find the ruddy factory! I haven’t a clue where it is.’
‘God, yer can be a right pain sometimes, girl! If I hadn’t lived next door to yer for fifteen years, and been yer mate, I’d say yer were frightened of yer own shadow. But I know better, don’t I? I know yer can be as stubborn as a bloody mule and yer’ll get yer own way even if it kills yer.’
‘Ay, I’m not stubborn! No more than you, anyway!
And I don’t always want me own way, yer make me sound like a spoilt brat.’ Kate stuck her chin out, a sign she meant business. ‘Ye’re a fine one to talk about anyone getting their own way. I don’t think Tom stands an earthly with yer. The poor man is henpecked!’
Monica’s shoulders began to shake with laughter. ‘Don’t let him hear yer say that or he might start sticking up for himself, and we can’t have that.’
‘Ye’re awful, you are! Yer don’t know how lucky yer are, having Tom for a husband.’ Kate couldn’t keep back a chuckle when Monica started to contort her face. She had the ability to touch her nose with her tongue while squinting with both eyes. This always reduced Kate to hysterics. ‘Will yer stop it, yer daft nit! We’ll never get anywhere at this rate. Now put yer tongue back where it belongs and put yer eyes straight. Yer’ll be stuck cock-eyed one of these days and it’ll serve yer right.’
Monica pouted like a child. ‘Will yer still be me mate if I go cross-eyed?’
Kate tutted while shaking her head. ‘We’re not going to get anywhere the way we’re going on. Will yer be serious for a few minutes until we get the problem sorted? I’ll agree to go and see the lad if you’ll come with me. I’ll approach him on me own and even agree to tell him what he needs to know without rubbing him up the wrong way. But I’ll only agree to that if you’re around in case I need yer. Yer can stand on a corner somewhere and just keep an eye out to make sure he doesn’t take off on me. I’m not a coward, but I’m no ruddy hero either.’
‘I’ll come with yer, girl, there’s no way I’d let yer go on yer own. But we do have a problem, in that when Greg’s coming out of work, so will our husbands be. How do we get over that little obstacle?’
‘That had crossed me mind, sunshine. I’ve decided I’m going to have to tell John the truth. I can’t just say I’m going somewhere with you and not say where or he’ll think it’s fishy. It’ll be quite safe to let him in on it ’cos he wouldn’t tell anyone.’
‘I’ll tell Tom as well or he’ll wonder what’s going on. But what about their dinners, and what about the kids? I wouldn’t trust our Dolly not to say anything, she’d broadcast it all over the street and then it would be round the neighbourhood in no time.’ A glimmer of a smile came to Monica’s face. ‘The women in the wash-houses would have a field day. A bit of juicy gossip like that would keep them going for weeks.’
