by Joan Jonker
With a perplexed look on her face, Kate said, ‘I suppose there’s some logic in all that, but I’m blowed if I can see it. When I get home, sunshine, I’ll give it some thought and I’m sure I’ll see your point.’
‘Oh, I can see it, and I think it was very clever of yer. The work of a genius.’ Her face deadpan, Monica asked, ‘So yer didn’t buy any fish, then, even though it is Friday?’
‘Not bleeding likely I didn’t, not when I’m enjoying meself so much.’
‘What are yer having to eat, then?’
‘I haven’t thought about that, queen, but I couldn’t eat meat ’cos it would stick in me throat and me ma would turn in her grave.’ Winnie looked thoughtful for a few seconds, then asked, ‘What are you having?’
Kate could see her mate’s tummy shaking, and knew she’d egg Winnie on so she could have a laugh. She wouldn’t mean anything by it, it would all be in fun, but they’d both had enough laughs at Winnie’s expense for one day. ‘Me and Monica are having salad. We’ve just bought lettuce, onions and tomatoes, and we’re going to Irwin’s for a tin of John West’s pink salmon.’
‘Well, I declare! Yer’d never believe it but that’s exactly what I was telling meself as I was walking back here. “Winnie,” I said, “why don’t yer buy yerself a tin of pink salmon, seeing as yer don’t fancy fresh fish?” And you’ve just said the same thing. Now, if that’s not coincidence I don’t know what is.’
‘And did yer tell yerself yer’d have lettuce and tomatoes with it?’ Monica asked. ‘And perhaps the odd spring onion?’
‘No, I will not tell a lie, queen, I never gave a thought to spring onions. And I do like them, even if they do rift on me and give me indigestion.’
‘We’ll give yer a couple of lettuce leaves, a tomato and a spring onion, sunshine, save yer going back in the shop.’ Kate was laughing to herself because she was about to make Monica pay for her entertainment. ‘We don’t mind, do we, sunshine?’
‘If I don’t watch out, Kate Spencer, yer’ll be making me into a saint. And I don’t want that, ’cos saints are not allowed to swear or speak ill of anyone. Besides which, I can’t play a harp and I’d look stupid with a halo.’
‘If God doesn’t have the sense of humour yer say He has, then yer stand little chance of ever finding out whether yer’d suit a halo or not.’ Kate held a bent arm out to Winnie. ‘There yer are, sunshine, I told yer she wouldn’t mind. So stick yer leg in and we’ll go to Irwin’s. You buy yerself a small tin of pink salmon and me and my kind-hearted mate will sort yer out with the other things for a salad.’
‘Would yer like us to give yer a slice of bread and butter each?’ Monica asked. ‘Then that’s yer whole meal sorted out for yer.’
Kate’s mouth opened wide in horror. Fancy insulting the little woman like that! But when she looked at Winnie it was to see her chuckling happily. ‘That would be nice. Yer did say butter, didn’t yer, queen? ’Cos I can’t stand that margarine stuff, I only like the best.’
‘Yer can sod off, Winnie Cartwright, what’s good for me and my family is good enough for you. Take it or leave it.’
‘Oh, I’ll take it, queen! Butter would have been nice, but when I’m eating it I’ll close me eyes so I don’t see the colour. Because the colour is a dead give-away, yer know. Butter is a nice light creamy colour, and margarine is yellow.’
Monica muttered, ‘Some people are never bleeding satisfied.’
‘Isn’t it nice to be on our own for a while?’ John asked. ‘I love the bones of the children, yer know that, but I seldom have yer to meself. Even if we don’t speak, I get a kick out of watching yer sewing, or sitting with yer head cocked listening to the wireless.’
Kate was sitting in a fireside chair on the opposite side of the hearth. ‘Well, I like that! Yer spend most of the time with yer head stuck in the Echo!’
‘It might look like that, love, but me eyes have a mind of their own and they keep straying to you. I read the same lines over and over again until I lose interest. It’s much nicer just to sit watching you. Ye’re a feast for my eyes.’
‘Oh, lord, don’t start going all poetic on me or I’ll never get this sock darned. Billy needs it for tomorrow because he hasn’t another that doesn’t have a ruddy big hole in the heel. How he wears them out so quick is a mystery to me. And his trousers are the same. I’m putting patches over patches now.’
‘Well, hurry and finish the sock before the kids come in. We can sit on the couch for half an hour, holding hands like we did when we were courting and yer mam and dad had gone to bed.’ He laughed at the memory. ‘Though yer dad never gave me half an hour, did he? He was knocking on the bedroom floor with the heel of his shoe after ten minutes. Which I took to be a pretty broad hint that it was time for me to be on me way.’
‘He was no different from any other father. Since time began, fathers have always tried to protect their daughters from men with only one thing on their mind.’
John groaned. ‘There goes me quiet romantic half-hour. Monica’s just passed the window.’ The knock came before he got the last word out. ‘And I think she’s got someone with her.’
Kate quickly put the darning down at the side of her chair and jumped to her feet. ‘Fold the paper and put it away, sunshine, make the place look a bit tidy.’
When she went to answer the door, John shook his head. There wasn’t a thing out of place in the room, so how could one evening paper make it untidy? Women. They were hopeless for making more work for themselves.
While the evening paper was being pushed under the cushion of her husband’s chair, Kate stood on the top step with her hand still on the lock and a look of total surprise on her face for Monica was accompanied by Margaret and Greg. ‘Well, this is a surprise! But ye’re very welcome, please come in.’
John jumped to his feet when the visitors entered the room, and was equally surprised when they were introduced as Margaret and Greg, the newly weds. They weren’t a bit what he’d thought they’d be like. He’d imagined Margaret to be outgoing and a bit rowdy, but she was just the opposite. And the same with Greg. He hadn’t been expecting such a quiet bloke whose voice was soft, handshake firm, and eyes and face open and friendly. John remembered then what his wife had said. Just because a young couple had got themselves into trouble, it didn’t mean they weren’t nice people.
Kate waved to the couch. ‘Sit down and make yerselves comfortable.’
Monica leaned against the sideboard with her arms folded, looking very pleased with herself. She’d been caught on the hop when they’d knocked on her door, but unlike her mate didn’t worry what the room looked like. She was glad the couple had called, and when they said they wanted to see Kate as well it gave her an excuse to get out of the house for a while.
‘We won’t stay, Mrs Spencer, we just came to thank you for the presents.’ When Margaret sat down, Greg sat as close to her as possible and reached for her hand. If words could be put to that action they would be: Anyone who says anything to upset my new wife will have me to reckon with. ‘They’re lovely and we’re very grateful.’
Greg nodded. ‘It was a nice surprise, we weren’t expecting anything.’
‘I’m sorry it wasn’t more,’ Kate said. ‘But it was all a bit of a rush.’
‘I’ve told her we’re going to keep on knitting for her.’ Monica felt she’d been quiet long enough. ‘By the time the baby’s born, they’ll be well equipped for it.’
A flush came to Margaret’s face, and Kate was sorry her friend had mentioned the baby. Still, the sooner they were able to speak about it openly, the sooner the couple would start looking forward to it. ‘Yer’ve got time for a cuppa, haven’t yer? Monica can give me a hand, it won’t take long.’
‘I’ll help.’ Margaret smiled at Greg and took her hand back. ‘All girls together in the kitchen, so we can talk about yer.’
‘Okay, come on, sunshine, we’ll have a little gossip while we’re waiting for the water to boil. Leave the men to get to
know each other.’
While Monica was chatting to Margaret, Kate kept her ear cocked for any sound from the living room. And when she heard John asking, ‘Where is it yer work, Greg?’ a smile crossed her face. The two men would get on like a house on fire, she knew.
Chapter Twenty-One
Kate was on her hands and knees scrubbing the front step on the Monday morning when she heard footsteps crossing the cobbles. She turned her head to see Maggie Duffy coming towards her. Sitting back on her heels, she put the scrubbing brush into the bucket of water. ‘Good morning, Maggie. Yer gave me a fright at first, I thought there was something wrong with Miss Parkinson. But I can tell by yer face yer haven’t come with bad news.’
‘No, the old girl is fine, she’s enjoyed seeing her niece. Celia took a taxi early this morning to catch a train at half-nine.’
‘Yes, I saw her leaving when I was putting breakfast out. That was a hell of a big case she had, considering she was only stopping for two nights.’
‘Oh, she didn’t bring that with her, she only brought a small weekend case. The big one she took back belonged to Miss Parkinson.’ Maggie glanced across the street to the old lady’s house and could see her peeping out behind her curtains. ‘I don’t know much more really, but we’ll soon know how things went. She’s asked if you and Monica will go over this morning, and Winnie and myself, ’cos she’s got something to tell us.’
‘Ooh, er, that sounds mysterious, I wonder what it is?’
‘I honestly couldn’t tell yer. I’ve got me suspicions but I’m not saying anything because I’m probably miles out. Anyway, will yer see the other two for us?’
Kate nodded. ‘I’ll just finish me step, then give them a knock. What time did she say she wanted us to call?’
‘Whenever is convenient for yer. How about half-ten?’
‘Suits me, sunshine, and I don’t think me two friends have got any pressing engagements at that time. So we’ll see yer later, Maggie.’
Kate wrung out the floorcloth in the bucket, then wiped it over the step. It looked a treat now, all snowy white. But that wouldn’t last long once Billy came home from school. She was tired of telling him to step right up into the hall when anyone with half an eye could see the step had just been cleaned with a donkey stone. But when her son was dashing out to play, his mam’s step was the last thing on his mind.
The perspiration was trickling down Kate’s face and she wiped a hand across it before getting to her feet. It was going to be a scorcher today from the look of things, and while it was no weather to be working in, she hoped it kept up because the schools closed on Friday for the long summer holidays. In weather like today’s the children would be quite content to spend a day in the park with some sandwiches, a bottle of water and a ha’porth of lemonade powder.
After stretching her back and arms, Kate lifted the heavy bucket and placed it inside the hall. Then, using the door frame as a lever, she pulled herself over her nice clean step. She’d give herself a swill at the sink, and take her pinny off before knocking next door and then going down to Winnie’s. She wondered what Miss Parkinson wanted to see them for, then decided it was probably just to tell them how she’d enjoyed having her niece there, and how they’d talked about old times.
She was emptying the dirty water from the bucket down the grid when she heard the sound of someone walking down the yard next door. ‘Is that you, sunshine?’
‘That’s a bloody daft question, girl, who else could it be? It’s not me the milkman’s got his eye on.’ There was a familiar sound of the lid on the bin set in the yard wall being banged down. ‘Of course, I could have died in the night and come back as a ghost to haunt yer.’
‘There’s one way of finding that out for sure, sunshine.’ Kate was smiling as she imagined the look on her mate’s face. ‘Give yerself a good, hard pinch. If yer can’t feel it, then yer did die in the night and yer are a ghost.’
There came a loud yelp, then Monica’s voice. ‘Bleeding hell, I hurt meself then. But I suppose it was worth it to prove to meself that I’m still well and truly alive.’
‘That’s good, ’cos I’d hate to take a ghost over to Miss Parkinson’s with me, it would frighten the old lady to death.’
‘What are we going over there for?’ Then before Kate could answer, there came a groan. ‘Don’t tell me, girl. Her niece was a dirty, untidy beggar and she wants us to clean the house from top to bottom again? Well she’ll have to wait until the sun goes down, I’m afraid, ’cos I’m sweating cobs as it is.’
‘No, nothing like that, sunshine. At least I don’t think so. Maggie came over as I was doing the step and said Miss Parkinson wants to see you, me, Maggie and Winnie. She’s got something to tell us.’
She could hear Monica’s throaty chuckle, then her mate said, ‘Ay, the invitations are coming thick and fast these days. I wonder why we’re so popular all of a sudden?’
‘I think it’s only so she can tell us about her visitor. After all, she doesn’t see many people in her life, so when she does it’s a big thing.’
‘Have yer told Winnie yet?’
‘Ay, give us a chance, missus! I’ve only just finished scrubbing me step, and with the heat I’m worn to a frazzle.’
‘Serves yer right for being so fussy. I’m not doing any scrubbing in this heat, me step can be as black as the hobs of hell for all I care. So if yer like, I’ll slip down the entry to Winnie’s and give her the message. She’ll be tickled pink.’
‘If yer would, sunshine, I’d be grateful. I’m going to swill meself down in cold water to cool off and get rid of the smell of perspiration. I think I’ll change me dress as well, to smarten meself up. That new one will do me more good in this weather than hanging in the wardrobe. I may as well get the wear out of it.’
‘I should think so, the price yer paid for it!’ Both women burst out laughing. Then Monica said, ‘Never you mind, girl, we’ll be in the money one day and then we’ll go down to Blackler’s and buy a dress we really like, not one we’ve dragged out of a pile of second-hand clothes.’
‘I don’t mind wearing a second-hand dress, sunshine, I’m not too proud. Besides, the ones we got from the market are nice, and no one would know we hadn’t bought them new.’
‘I’m not bothered meself, either, girl, I’m quite happy with my lot. One thing I would really like, although I don’t suppose it’ll ever happen, is to go away on holiday. I wouldn’t care where it was, Blackpool, Wales or even Sefton Park, as long as I got waited on and didn’t have to do no housework, no washing or ironing, for a whole week. Just imagine it, girl, a whole week with nowt to do but enjoy ourselves.’
‘Oh, I’m coming with yer, am I?’
‘Well, yer don’t think I’d go anywhere without yer, do yer? I haven’t been further than the corner shop without yer in the last, what, eighteen years? So I certainly ain’t going to start now. All we need, kid, is the money.’
‘That’s the story of my life, sunshine. A little bit of extra money would cure all my wants.’ Kate remembered then the woman who lived on the other side of Monica, Thelma Robson, the biggest gossip imaginable. Neighbours could often be heard talking freely in the street, but the mere sight of Thelma sent everyone quiet until she was out of earshot. ‘I think we should be getting ready, sunshine. Besides which, it doesn’t pay to let the whole street know our business. Many a secret is let out of the bag by someone standing the other side of the wall.’
‘Oh, Thelma isn’t standing the other side of the wall, girl, she’s watching us from her back bedroom window. She’s even opened it a bit so she can hear what we’re saying. She wouldn’t sleep tonight if she thought she’d missed something.’
The two mates both looked up at the aforementioned window, and were just in time to catch the eavesdropper letting the curtain fall back into place. ‘I wouldn’t be arsed, would you, girl?’ Monica raised her voice. ‘I’ve got more to do with me time.’
‘Make a move, sunshine, or we’ll be late
. Nip down for Winnie and knock on me window when ye’re ready, I’ll come straight out.’
Winnie looked bright and eager when Kate joined her and Monica on the pavement. ‘D’yer know, queen, all these invitations are wearing me out. I think it’s a bit late in life for me to stand the pace of constant parties and weddings,’ she said jovially.
As Kate led the way across the cobbles, she said, ‘I wouldn’t knock it, sunshine, or yer’ll put a jinx on yerself.’
‘How d’yer mean, queen, I’ll put a jinx on meself?’
‘I mean the invitations will dry up, and yer’ll be left in yer old routine.’
‘Then from now on my lips are sealed.’ And to prove she meant it, the little woman clamped her mouth tight shut. But it didn’t last long because her bottom lip was soon pushing at her false teeth which were biting into her gum. ‘Sod that for a joke, I’ll take me chances with the ruddy jinx. Not that I know what it is, like, but I’ll be on the lookout for it.’
Maggie opened the door to them. ‘I think you lot can smell tea a mile off. I’ve just this very minute brewed up.’
‘Ah, ye’re a good ’un, sunshine,’ Kate said. ‘A woman after me own heart.’
Maggie lowered her voice. ‘Miss Parkinson is like a cat on hot bricks waiting for yer. Whatever it is she’s going to tell us must be important.’
They trooped into the living room one after the other, reminding Kate of when she’d done something wrong in class and had to go to the headmistress for a ticking off. ‘I hope ye’re not having a birthday party or getting married, Miss Parkinson, ’cos Winnie has just been saying she can’t keep up with all her social engagements.’
The old lady smiled. ‘I’m afraid my news isn’t so exciting. But I’ll wait until you are all sitting down with a drink in your hands.’
Winnie made for the kitchen. ‘I’ll give Maggie a hand.’
