The Oyster Catchers

by Iris Gower

  Later, when she had lit the fire, she cooked Joe a breakfast of bacon and eggs and set it on a tray with a fresh pot of tea on the side.

  ‘I’ve got to get off to work now, Joe,’ she said quickly. ‘I’ll be back at dinner time and Carys will be in later to see if you want anything.’

  Joe didn’t reply, he turned his back to her and after a moment, Eline left the house. As she walked along the road she was already bone weary; lack of sleep and the sheer hard effort of lifting Joe had made her spirits sink to an all-time low. How could she go on living such an existence? It surely was asking too much of her.

  At the door of the boot and shoe store, she turned and looked back along the roadway, her hand to her throat, her heart beating swiftly. Someone was entering the house, a woman and from where she was standing, Eline had the definite impression that the woman was Nina Parks.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Nina Parks walked right into Joe’s house without hesitating; she didn’t feel like an intruder, after all, she had lived there as mistress for some time, it was her home too. And in any case, the time had come for her to make amends with Joe for deserting him when he needed her. She must look after Joe, see to his bodily needs, it was her duty. His wife had gone out and left him alone, hadn’t she? Eline didn’t give a fig for Joe’s comfort or his state of mind.

  She had watched from her window as Eline passed on her way to work in Will Davies’s shop and bitterness overwhelmed her. Nina had had everything in the palm of her hand and now she had given Joe back to his dear little wife. Well, Eline would have no chance to deny her, everything would be settled before Eline came home, Nina would be back in her rightful place once more.

  Nina stood beside Joe’s bed and smiled down at him, affection rising within her for the man he had once been. It hurt her to see him brought low, like a wounded animal, earthbound and with much of the spirit knocked out of him.

  ‘Hallo, love,’ she said, rolling up her sleeves, ‘I’ve come to help out.’

  Joe glowered at her. ‘So you’ve come, have you? How good of you.’

  ‘Don’t be like that, Joe.’ Nina knelt beside him. ‘I know I should never have gone away from here but I thought it was what you and she wanted.’

  ‘Is that why you never came to see me in the hospital?’ he demanded angrily.

  ‘I’m sorry about that, Joe, but I’m not your wife, mind, I had no rights to come to the hospital to see you, they all made sure I knew that, too.’

  ‘Who do you mean by “they”?’ Joe asked and Nina shrugged. ‘A lot of the villagers, Eline herself, you know how it is, Joe. Anyway, I’m here now, now that she is out of the way. Come on, what would you like me to do, give you a lovely wash down first, is it?’

  Joe’s relief at Nina’s presence overcame his bad humour and she could see that he was glad that she’d come.

  ‘Aye, whatever you like.’ He paused. ‘I’ve been going mad lying here thinking all sorts of thoughts. I don’t want to be alone all day and every day, that’s no sort of life for any man, I’d rather be out of it.’

  ‘And what do you mean by that sort of nonsense?’ But Nina knew Joe, lying abed helpless and hopeless was not for him. He would want watching, otherwise he would be tempted to find a way out of his pain, for good.

  ‘Well, never mind all that, you are here now,’ Joe said. ‘I can bear it so long as I’m not alone.’

  ‘That’s right, cheer up, show the guts you’ve always shown,’ Nina replied and there was a break in her voice. She made an effort to gain control of herself before she spoke again.

  ‘I’ve brought some nice chicken for you,’ Nina said changing the subject. ‘Cooked it already I have, I’ll soon knock up a lovely crusty pie, you’ll see.’

  Nina went to the pantry and brought out some flour, she knew just where to put her hand on things. Wasn’t this her kitchen more than it had ever been Eline’s?

  ‘I’ll make you a nice meat pie for your supper,’ she called through to the parlour, banging the rolling-pin against the scrubbed table-top in the kitchen. ‘I know just how you like it, Joe, and as for your Eline, she will have to like it or lump it.’

  She was setting out the rules; Nina was telling Joe that she was here to help but not to take second place to his wife. Nina would come and go as it pleased her.

  Joe understood her and swallowed his disappointment. He could do with Nina around him all the time now, a grown woman who knew how to nurse a man not a young untried girl who put her work first. It was as though Nina, wise as usual, read his thoughts. ‘Got some guts that wife of yours,’ she smiled to herself as she rubbed the fat into the flour, ‘got herself a job, didn’t she?’

  ‘How come you are so nice about Eline, all of a sudden?’ Joe’s voice drifted to where Nina worked at the dough, moulding it with strong fingers.

  ‘I don’t say I like her taking over here, Joe,’ Nina spoke bitterly, ‘but she can earn money to keep you and it seems I can’t. Tried for work on the perches I have, but no one wants me, see. Too old I spects.’

  She lined the enamel dish with pastry and placed the chicken pieces inside. Deftly, Nina made a gravy from onions and chicken fat and added it to the meat. Lastly, she placed a funnel in the middle of the meat and covered the dish with a pastry cap.

  ‘I’ll just brush this over with some milk,’ she called, ‘then how about a nice cup of tea, Joe?’

  She was sitting down beside his bed sipping from one of the cups she herself had brought to Joe’s house when the door was pushed open and Carys Morgan came into the parlour, a look of surprise crossing her plump, good-natured face.

  Nina smiled at her. ‘Don’t worry, Carys, I’m not here to cause mischief, I’m going to help out all I can until Joe is better, I owe him that much.’

  Carys rubbed her hands on her apron. ‘I was just going to make a cup of tea, the baby is fast asleep and I’ve got a spare few minutes. Promised Eline I did that I’d watch out for Joe, see?’

  ‘No need,’ Nina said positively, ‘I know you’re busy what with your baby and your own house to keep, I’ll talk to Eline when she gets home, she’ll be right glad that I’m able to help, you’ll see.’

  ‘I’m glad enough of the company, mind,’ Joe spoke for the first time. ‘I know you’re a good neighbour, Carys, but I’ll go mad if I’m alone most of the day, you can see that, can’t you?’

  ‘Aye, I can see that,’ Carys said. ‘But will Eline see it that way?’ Carys had clearly made up her mind to speak bluntly. ‘Nina has been living with you, sharing your bed, isn’t it going to be hard for Eline to have her here now taking charge of things?’

  ‘We’ll see about it when she comes home from work,’ Nina said soothingly. ‘And if she don’t like it, I’ll go away and leave her be.’

  ‘Right then,’ Carys retorted stiffly, ‘I’ll leave you to it.’ She went out and Nina grimaced at Joe. ‘Don’t approve, does she?’ she smiled. ‘Neither will Eline at first but I’m sure she’ll see the sense of it after a bit of thought.’

  Joe’s eyes were closing in weariness and Nina took the cup away from his big, clumsy hands.

  ‘Have a sleep, you, I’ll peel a few potatoes and then see what green vegetables you got here.’

  ‘Nina,’ Joe’s voice stopped her as she made to leave the room, ‘if it gets too much for you, looking after me, you’ll help me out of my misery, won’t you? You know what I mean.’

  Nina knew exactly what he meant and after a moment, she replied, ‘No need for any of that talk, I’m going to do my best to make you better, Joe, but I give you my word that if I can’t make you better I’ll help you out.’

  In the kitchen, she knelt on the square, multi-coloured rag mat and put her hands together in prayer.

  ‘Dear Lord, I know it’s a sin to take a life but you must understand, I can’t see Joe helpless and hopeless like this. If it is your will then make him right again and if not …’ She shrugged eloquently knowing she would be understood by Him
above.

  By the time Eline came home at dinner time, Nina had prepared a meal of bread and cheese. The pie she would keep for Joe’s supper, all Eline would have to do was to put it out on to plates.

  If Eline was angry, she concealed it well until she and Nina were alone in the kitchen with the doors closed.

  ‘Now, what do you think you are doing in my house, creeping in behind my back?’ Eline said with soft, controlled fury.

  ‘I’m keeping Joe company, looking after him properly, because he needs it.’ Nina replied defiantly. ‘Do you know he was talking about doing away with himself? Is that what you want? Because that’s what will happen if he’s left alone too long.’

  Eline sank into a chair and put her hands over her face and for a moment, Nina almost felt sorry for her. Then common sense reasserted itself; Eline didn’t love Joe and didn’t really want him, she was offering him only cold charity and he knew it.

  ‘Let’s leave things as they are for now, is it?’ Nina suggested. ‘At least until Joe is more himself.’

  Eline remained silent and she accepted the meal Nina put before her without looking up. ‘I’ll take it into the parlour and sit with Joe,’ she said stiffly and Nina could only admire the girl’s control.

  Nina watched as Eline bent and kissed Joe but the kiss was not the salute of a lover, but rather the affectionate kiss of a dutiful daughter.

  ‘I need Nina, do you understand, girl?’ Joe asked, his eyes anxious. ‘Nina is such a comfort, she cares, see, and with all the best will in the world you can’t expect me to be alone all day, how am I going to manage … things?’ He looked away. ‘Well, things I couldn’t ask a neighbour to see to, you know.’

  Eline’s eyes sought Nina’s. ‘All right,’ she said simply, ‘if you can take care of Joe then I’ve got nothing more to say on the subject.’

  Nina suppressed the sudden rush of triumphant tears. ‘That’s all right then,’ she said briskly, ‘it’s settled.’

  Joe laughed suddenly, a real hearty sound. ‘Who would have thought it,’ he said, ‘my wife and my mistress breaking bread together?’

  ‘Don’t push your luck now, Joe,’ Nina said angrily, ‘we will never see eye to eye, mind, but it’s you who comes first right now.’

  Nina regarded Eline surreptitiously, the girl looked so very young and vulnerable that pity tugged briefly at her heart. Eline’s eyes were shadowed with blue and she was far too thin for her own good. But then why pity Eline? She had everything.

  With a pang, Nina thought of her own daughter Fon, Fon who was fey and mystical, dipping into her Bible at odd hours of the day. She would need her faith now to endure the future ordeal for when the lady of the house passed away, Fon would be the mainstay of the family. Were her shoulders too small to bear the load?

  And yet Fon, like Eline, had a built-in strength beneath that delicate exterior; it was big hefty women like Nina herself who needed love and guidance.

  Nina began to clear away the dishes, leaving Joe alone with his wife. There was nothing between them, Nina realized that. Eline and Joe were ill-matched, he following an obsession that he called love and she looking for a father.

  Well now the roles had reversed because Eline was the bread-winner and Joe the hapless dependent. How would he live with that kettle of fish? Badly, Nina thought dejectedly.

  ‘I’m going back to the shop now.’ Eline came out of the parlour, pulling her good coat on to her slim shoulders. ‘Nina, I want to talk to you.’ She stood head held high.

  ‘I confess I was angry at first, I saw you coming in here as I went off to work this morning and I felt sick inside. But now I see how good you are for Joe and so I will put up with things as they are. But don’t think you can walk in here and take over again because you can’t.’

  Nina wanted to strike out at the girl; who did she think she was, her with such airs and graces? ‘I can do just what I want to do,’ she said defiantly.

  She watched as Eline turned away and let herself out of the house. Walking quickly, Eline made her way along the Oystermouth Road towards Davies’s store and still watching her, Nina wondered if Gwyneth would be giving Eline a hard time. Nina sighed, there was a lot of herself in Gwyneth, a lot that was bad. Well, her daughter would learn life the hard way as she had done.

  ‘Right then Joe, boy,’ she said stepping briskly into the parlour, ‘let’s have a look at them bad legs, see what can be done.’

  Eline was happy while she was working in the shop. The hours slipped by so quickly that she had no time to brood on Joe’s sickness or the fact that she alone was responsible for keeping the roof over his head and the bread in his mouth.

  With Will she kept up an air of formality which at first he had tried to break down but then, defeated, Will accepted that Eline could only work with certain barriers between them.

  As the weeks went by Gwyneth was a constant source of irritation to Eline, and she made no secret of the fact that she found William attractive. Indeed her adoration of him must have been a balm to his feelings of hurt and rejection because his attitude to her had become distinctly warmer of late.

  Eline deliberately turned her thoughts away from the jealousy that beat at her like dark wings whenever she saw Gwyneth and Will in close conversation; sternly, she told herself it was none of her business.

  Eline was pleased and surprised when one morning Mrs Hari Grenfell paid a visit to the shop and asked Will’s permission to ‘borrow’ Eline’s services for a day or two.

  ‘I have some designs that I would like you to work on for me.’ Hari smiled warmly at Eline. ‘I have made children’s and men’s corrective footwear but haven’t ever attempted built-up shoes for ladies. I can’t solve the problem of how to conceal the platform and incorporate a decent heel so that the footwear at least looks fashionable.’

  Eline looked up at Will who was smiling benevolently at Hari Grenfell. He shrugged and draped a casual arm around Hari’s shoulder.

  ‘Who am I to stand in the way of genius?’ he asked leaning his head for a moment against hers.

  Eline envied the close friendship the two so obviously enjoyed. She could never be like that, not with William, but then their senses were so heightened when they were near each other, awareness crackled between them like dry tinder beneath a match.

  ‘Right then,’ Hari Grenfell said confidently, ‘if you don’t mind, Eline, we’ll go back to Summer Lodge and I’ll show you what I’ve done so far.’

  Eline had time to glance quickly at Will and then she found herself climbing into Hari’s coach. She sank back into the leather seat and rubbed her hand over her eyes.

  ‘I’ll have to be home by supper time,’ Eline said apologetically and Hari, leaning back against the leather seat, adjusted her full skirts and sighed heavily.

  ‘I know your predicament and I’m sorry about your husband, Eline, but you have even more need to think about your future now.’

  Eline bit her lip. ‘I must make a success of things for Joe’s sake,’ she said. ‘I don’t mind hard work, I’ll work from morning till night if need be, anything so that I can take care of him.’

  ‘That’s the spirit,’ Hari replied. She put her hand over Eline’s. ‘I know I look very rich and successful now, but I had to fight tooth and nail for it.’ She paused and looked directly at Eline.

  ‘I was poorer than you can imagine,’ she continued, ‘in debt and fighting all the odds but I was determined to do it and I can see the same quality in you, Eline. But you shall start off with more than I had because I mean to give you all the help I can and fortunately I have a lot of influence.’

  Eline was silent not knowing what to say. She felt humble and grateful but couldn’t put her feelings into words.

  ‘You have your talent,’ Hari said, ‘a great talent and I’m selfish enough to want to nurture that talent so that I can say I had a hand in the career of Eline Harries.’

  Eline smiled; she didn’t need words, Hari could read her thoughts in her e
xpression.

  The design for ladies’ shoes was in the throes of construction, drawings lay on the table, discarded designs of all sorts of shoes.

  ‘You see?’ Hari sat down on a chair and gestured towards the untidy papers spread over the table. ‘I just can’t get it right.’

  Eline sat down and studied the drawings, then picked up a pencil and a fresh piece of paper. She worked in silence, her brow furrowed while Hari watched her, a contented smile on her face.

  Later, Eline sat up straight and stretched her arms above her head. ‘I think I’ve got it.’ There was a subdued excitement in her voice that was not lost on Hari.

  ‘Look, you’ve been working on a high-heeled slipper where it is impossible to hide a built-up sole, but what if you make a ladies’ boot with what would almost be a gentleman’s heel, large and curved? Add to it a great fold-back cuff from the top of the boot, sweeping round the back to the instep which will effectively conceal the built-up sole.’

  ‘That’s fine!’ Hari seemed delighted. ‘I could make the cuff out of soft pigskin so that it appears almost like a skirt.’

  ‘And if you fringed the edges it would be a ladies’ boot with a sort of cloak around it.’

  ‘That’s what we’ll call it,’ Hari said quickly, ‘the Eline Cloak Boot. Excellent!’

  Eline laughed in joyous amazement, the ideas had bounced off from Hari to herself and back again with great success. ‘The Eline Cloak Boot,’ she repeated, ‘it sounds wonderful.’

  ‘Right, we shall make it all legal, so that you have the financial rewards as well as the credit,’ Hari said decisively. ‘And we shall go into production immediately.

  ‘You deserve a rest and some refreshment and then, Eline, you must take your rough drawing home and work the design out properly, add a few embellishments, decorate the cuff if you like, but leave a space for my own hand-tooled daffodil which I use as my trade mark on all prototypes.’

  Eline was almost too excited to drink the hot sweet tea and as for the tiny cakes, she knew she would never force one down, her throat was dry, constricted with the feverish wish to get on with the drawing as soon as possible.