by Joan Jonker
Finally John banged on the table with the handle of his knife. ‘Can we have one talking at a time, please, because I’m not clever enough to listen to three people at the same time.’
‘Yer’d better let our Billy go first,’ Nancy said, ‘otherwise he’ll burst a blood vessel.’
Her brother glared. ‘Well, it was me being kicked and thumped by those lads, not you! So how can yer tell me dad what happened?’
Kate could see this was going to her son’s head, and tried to bring him down to earth. ‘What about Pete? Or have yer forgotten about yer best mate being there, in the thick of it?’
Billy was getting agitated. Why didn’t they just keep quiet while he told his dad the tale? ‘It was Alex Hudson wanting Pete’s marble that started it all! So I couldn’t forget he was there, could I? Not when I was trying to help him.’ Then, in a defiant tone, he added, ‘After all, I could have run away and left him.’
‘Of course yer could, sunshine,’ Kate said. ‘Yer were very brave and I’m really proud of yer.’
Nancy was feeling contrite. She shouldn’t have been so nasty with her brother, ’cos he had been brave to stay with Pete and take a battering. Most boys would have run away. ‘Yes, I think it was really good of yer to stay with Pete. Ye’re a hero, our Billy.’
Now that was more like it, the boy thought as he squared his shoulders. His sister had called him a hero, and he felt if he stood up he’d be ten feet tall. ‘Aw, it was nothing. They didn’t hurt us anyway.’
‘Now ye’re being modest,’ Kate told him, affection in her voice. ‘Yer’ve got an ugly bruise on yer arm, and another on yer leg.’
‘Nah, they’re nothing.’ Not for the world would Billy say that the kick he’d received on his shin bone was giving him gyp, and his arm was sore. He was nearly eleven years of age and would be going into the seniors after the summer holiday. And senior boys should be able to take it, they weren’t cissies. ‘I can’t even feel them.’
Eventually, John got Billy’s version of events, then Kate’s, and thought they both came out of it with dignity. ‘Like mother, like son, eh? Well, I think yer both did very well, and I know where to come if I ever need help.’ He pushed away his empty dinner plate and leaned his elbows on the table. ‘But, as man of the house and Billy’s father, don’t yer think I should go round to see the ringleader of these bullies and his parents, to give them a piece of my mind? I know yer said the headmaster was going to write to them, but a face-to-face confrontation might have more effect than words on a piece of paper.’
Kate shook her head with some vigour. ‘No, sunshine, leave things as they stand. I know how yer must feel, being Billy’s father, but that Alex lad was a real arrogant bully and his parents might be the same. He may even have got it from them. So don’t start anything, please, sunshine, ’cos I’ve had enough excitement for one day. I firmly believe Mr Sykes will sort this out in his own way. A few words from him will mean more than a hundred from us, believe me.’
‘I suppose ye’re right, love, but I believe in an eye for an eye. You punch me, then yer deserve a punch back.’
‘Yeah, but you punching a fourteen-year-old boy, well, that’s hardly fair play, is it?’
Billy took umbrage at those words. ‘What about those lads battering me and Pete? They’re years older than us, and bigger.’
‘I know that, sunshine, but two wrongs don’t make a right. So let’s not talk about it any more unless there’s further news.’
‘Can I tell me friends in school what really happened?’ Nancy asked. ‘There were all sorts of stories going around, and they’re bound to ask me what really went on.’
‘I’d far rather the truth stayed between us and Mr Sykes. But I know yer can’t pretend I only went to see the headmaster to have tea with him so just say that a couple of lads were fighting with Billy and Pete, and that’s why I was there.’ She looked to her son. ‘And I would like you to stick to the same story, Billy, d’yer hear?’
‘Okay, Mam, if that’s what yer want.’
‘Good boy!’ Kate’s eyes slid to the clock on the mantelpiece. ‘Look, I want yer all to do me a favour. I promised to call for Monica around seven, we’re going to see Winnie Cartwright for half an hour. I haven’t seen her around for a few days and I like to keep in touch with her ’cos I’m quite fond of her. So who’s going to offer to help with clearing the table and washing up? I want it done by the time I get back so I can start on that mound of ironing that needs to be done.’
‘I’ll clear the table, Mam.’ Billy sounded willing. Which he was, because he reckoned he owed his mam a big favour. If she hadn’t turned up this morning things might have turned very nasty, and him and Pete would never have gone to the headmaster to tell on the boys so they’d have got off with it. ‘And I’ll shake the cloth in the yard and fold it away in the sideboard.’
‘Me and Nancy will wash the dishes,’ John told his wife, thinking she looked a bit tired tonight. Mind you, she’d had a very busy day. ‘I volunteer to wash and Nancy can dry. Does that suit you, pet?’
‘Yeah, I don’t mind.’ Everyone told Nancy she looked like her mother, and she hoped so because her mam was really pretty. ‘You get ready to go out, Mam, me and me dad will clean up and have everywhere tidy for yer to come back to.’
‘I’m only swilling me hands and face, I’m not getting changed. What’s the point of me dolling meself up to go four doors away?’ Kate’s mouth opened wide in a yawn. ‘I put me feet up for half an hour before yer came in, but for all the good it did me I might as well not have bothered ’cos I’m still yawning me head off.’ She pushed herself away from the table. ‘I might feel better after I’ve swilled me face.’
Kate held her cupped hands under the tap and filled them with cold water. Several times she did this, splashing the cold water on to her face. And it did the trick, she felt a lot more awake after it. ‘I won’t be out long, love,’ she told her husband, ‘it’s just to keep her company for a while. And Monica said she’d come with me tonight, for a change.’ She kissed his cheek. ‘You behave yerself now, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.’
He glanced away quickly to make sure the children weren’t listening, then winked up at her. ‘I can’t do anything when you’re not here, so don’t stay out too long. Yer should have an early night in bed ’cos yer look worn out.’
She chucked him under the chin. ‘One-track-minded John, that’s my husband. But I can’t help meself, I do love him.’
Billy was coming through the door after shaking the tablecloth in the yard, and he heard. ‘Ye’re sloppy, you two. I’ll never be like that ’cos I’ve made up me mind I’m never going to get married. I think I’ll be a sailor and go away to sea.’
‘Well, that’s a lot different to getting married, son,’ John said with a twinkle in his eyes. ‘I personally don’t think it’s as exciting, but then everyone has different tastes.’
Billy shook his head in disgust. ‘How can being married be more exciting than going to sea? Just think of the ship tossing in the waves during a storm, and of landing in different places all over the world.’
‘What about the pirates?’ John kept his face straight. ‘They jump on board the ships, waving their cutlasses in the air. They’d slice yer throat if yer didn’t give them all the treasures yer were carrying. Oh, yes, son, if it’s that kind of excitement yer want, a life on the ocean wave will give yer that.’
Kate smiled at the doubt on her son’s face. ‘I’ll leave you to yer pirates and cut-throats, but ye’re not to sign on before I come home, Billy, d’yer hear? I don’t want yer going without giving me a farewell kiss. After all, I might not see yer for years.’
He chortled. ‘I won’t do nothing till yer get back, Mam, I promise.’
‘Yer mean except helping yer dad and Nancy tidy up, don’t yer?’ Kate gave one quick glance in the mirror to make sure her hair wasn’t all over the place, then made for the door. ‘I’ll see yer later.’
When she
opened the front door it was to find Monica waiting for her. ‘Yer can hear everything through the walls, girl, yer know that. I knew yer were coming out so there was no point in waiting for yer to call for me.’ They fell into step and Monica said, ‘So, yer son is going to be a sailor, is he?’
‘Over my dead body! I’m not raising a son to go off to sea so I’ll only see him once every blue moon. No, I’ll talk him out of that. Or get a pretty girl to do it.’
They came to Winnie’s house and Kate rapped with the knocker. There was no sound so after several seconds she knocked again. But still no answer. ‘That’s funny, she doesn’t usually go out at night until she nips down to the pub at ten o’clock for her jug of stout.’
‘Shout through the letter box,’ Monica suggested. ‘She may be in the kitchen with the tap running.’
Kate dropped down so that her mouth was near the letter box and lifted the flap. ‘Winnie, it’s Kate, can yer come to the door?’ Her eyes narrowed and she looked puzzled. ‘I can’t hear a voice, but I’m sure I heard some sound. You have a listen, sunshine.’
They changed places, and Monica held her ear to the letter box. ‘I dunno, but has Winnie got a cat?’
‘Not that I know of, I’ve never seen one. Why?’
‘I can hear something, but it’s very faint. Look through the window, girl, see if yer can see anything.’
‘I can’t look through her window, what would the neighbours say if they saw me? They’d think I was being nosy.’
‘Mrs Hastings lives next door, she wouldn’t mind yer knocking to ask if she knows where Winnie is. After all, she may have only gone to the corner shop.’
‘I’ll give Peggy a knock, then, but I’m not looking through anyone’s window. That’s an invasion of their privacy. What if she’s having a bath in the living room?’
Monica looked up at the sky. ‘God give me the patience not to get all het up about me mate. She’s just too bleeding good to be true, and she’s getting on me nerves.’
‘And you’re too impatient, that’s your trouble,’ Kate told her with a nod of her head for emphasis. ‘Yer’d think nothing of booting the door in, would yer?’
‘Well, I certainly wouldn’t hang around like you, that’s for sure. Now give Peggy a knock and see if she can tell us anything.’
But Peggy Hastings couldn’t help. ‘To tell yer the truth, Kate, now as I come to think of it, I haven’t seen Winnie for a few days.’ Her forehead creased. ‘And d’yer know, I don’t think I’ve heard a sound from there, either! She’s not a noisy person by any means, but I can usually hear her pottering around.’
Kate turned her head to look up and down the street. ‘I don’t know what to do. For all we know she may have gone for a walk and we’re worrying for nothing.’
‘Look through her window, like I told yer.’ Monica could tell by the expression on her friend’s face that she was going refuse, so she said, ‘All right, I’ll do it. I don’t give a bugger whether the neighbours think I’m nosy or not.’ She walked to Winnie’s window, and with one hand shading her eyes from the sun, peered through the glass. Within seconds she was back to where Kate and Peggy were watching closely. ‘She’s on the couch. There’s something not quite right, ’cos she seemed to have her eyes on me but didn’t make any move at all.’
‘Oh, dear, what can we do?’ Kate was wringing her hands. ‘I’m not a ha’porth of good in a situation like this, I go to pieces.’
‘I’ll go and get my feller,’ Monica said. ‘He can climb over the back wall and with a bit of luck the kitchen door won’t be locked.’
‘There’s no need for that,’ Peggy told her. ‘I’ve got a front-door key. Winnie locked herself out one day, oh, it was years ago now, and asked if I’d mind her spare key in case she did it again. Hang on a minute, I’ll get it for yer.’
‘You go in first, please, sunshine,’ Kate pleaded when the key was handed over. ‘I’ll probably pass out on yer.’
‘You just dare and I’ll clock yer one.’ The two women were in the narrow hall now, and Monica pressed her friend’s hand away. ‘Don’t be hanging on to me dress, ye’re nearly strangling me!’ She pushed the living-room door open and said softly, ‘It’s only Kate and Monica, Winnie, there’s no need to be frightened.’
She tip-toed into the room, Kate right behind her. And they both gasped when they saw the plight of the little woman. She was stretched out on the couch, one arm hanging loosely over the side, and for a woman who was always spotlessly clean, she looked dreadful. Her dress was covered in what could only be vomit because the room reeked of it, and although her mouth was moving there was no sound. But what affected the two friends the most was the look in her eyes, as though she was saying she was sorry they were seeing her like this.
Kate dropped to her knees and gently lifted the arm that was hanging over the side of the couch. She placed it across Winnie’s waist, and held it in place with hands she was trying to keep still because she was shaking all over with fear. ‘Oh, sunshine, what’s wrong with yer? How long have yer been like this?’
Winnie’s tongue came out to lick her dry lips, and she tried to speak but no sound would come. ‘I’ll put the kettle on,’ Monica said. ‘What she needs is a drink.’ She moved quickly to the kitchen and filled the kettle. There was a box of matches handy on the draining board and she lit one of the gas rings. Then she had a peep in the larder where she could see tea and sugar but no milk.
‘Kate, I’m slipping home to get some milk. I’ll be as quick as I can.’ Monica popped her head around the door. ‘There’s water on for tea, and to wash Winnie. Try and get that dress off her if yer can, girl, ’cos she must be really uncomfortable.’
Kate opened her mouth to call her friend back, thinking she couldn’t handle Winnie on her own. But just in time she asked herself how the older woman would feel if she thought she was being a burden, and forced a smile on to her face. ‘Winnie, have yer got a set of clean clothes upstairs?’ There came a slight nod of the head, and again the lips moved. This time there was a faint sound. Not a word, more of a grunt, but it gave Kate some hope. ‘I’ll go up and get the clothes ready for when Monica comes back. After we’ve got these off, washed yer down and put all nice clean clothes on, yer’ll feel much better. And when yer’ve had a drink, yer might be able to talk a bit and yer can tell us how yer got yerself into this state.’
Kate was upstairs, going through the tallboy drawers gathering the clothes and nightdress Winnie would need, when she heard Monica come in by the front door which had been left open. ‘I’m upstairs, sunshine, seeing to some clean clothes. I’ll be down in a tick.’
Monica, a small jug of milk in her hand, smiled down at Winnie. ‘I think a cup of sweet tea will do yer the world of good. God knows how long yer’ve gone without a drink.’
When Kate came down with the clothes on her arm, Monica said, ‘Give us a hand to sit her up, girl, and we can give her this.’ Between them they managed to sit her up with pillows behind her, and Kate held the cup while Winnie sipped from it. Monica had put plenty of milk in so the tea wasn’t too hot. As she sipped, the older woman was nodding her head as though telling them it was what she badly needed. And she gave a sigh as gentle as a leaf being blown along the ground.
‘We’ll get these stinking clothes off yer now, girl,’ Monica said. ‘And when we’ve given yer a wash down, put nice clean clothes on yer and made yer comfortable, then yer can have another cup of tea.’
There came a knock on the door and Kate saw Winnie’s eyes fly open in distress. ‘I’ll see who it is.’ She hastened to the door to find Peggy Hastings standing on the pavement.
‘I’m not being nosy, Kate, but is Winnie all right? We’ve been neighbours for years, and I’d hate to think she wasn’t well and didn’t give me a shout.’
Kate was flummoxed for a second. What should she do? But she knew Winnie wouldn’t welcome any more visitors, not the way she was. ‘She’s been a bit off colour, Peggy, that’s all. Some sort
of bug going around which makes yer feel sick and upsets yer tummy. She hasn’t been eating properly, but she seems to be brightening up now.’
‘She an independent so-and-so,’ Peggy said. ‘I’m fed up telling her that if she ever needs anything, day or night, all she has to do is knock on the wall and me or my feller will be in like a shot.’
‘I’ll remind her when I go in. We’ve just made her a cup of tea and we’ll try and get her to eat something. But thanks, Peggy, it was nice of yer to come. We’ll keep her key until tomorrow, if yer don’t mind, ’cos I’ll nip down early in the morning to make sure everything’s okay, and I don’t want to be annoying you too early.’
‘Yer wouldn’t be annoying me, Kate, I’d be only too glad to help.’
‘Thanks, Peggy, I’ll tell Winnie what yer said. It’s good she’s got a neighbour like you.’
When Kate got back in the room it was to find Monica had managed to get the dress over Winnie’s head. ‘Did yer bring a clean vest down with yer, girl, ’cos she’s badly in need of one.’
Kate nodded. ‘Nightdress, knickers, vest and brassiere. And her tallboy drawers are a damn’ sight neater than mine are. She puts me to shame.’
A large towel was put around the older woman to preserve her modesty while Monica washed her top half with scented soap on a nice warm flannel. Then, while she carried the bowl back out, Kate slipped the clean vest over a body that was so thin, there wasn’t a pick on her. A nice floral cotton nightdress came next, and Kate managed to raise Winnie off the couch so it could be pulled down over her knees. ‘Now I’m going to take yer knickers down, and put clean ones on. So don’t be going all red and embarrassed, it’ll be over in a couple of seconds.’
‘Ask her if she wants to go down the yard to the lavvy?’ Monica was rinsing the bowl under the tap, and the sound of running water had made her wonder how the older woman had managed. ‘I noticed there was a pair of slippers by the hearth. Put them on her feet if she wants to go down the yard.’
