A Sister's Duty

by June Francis

  ‘Sounds fun.’

  ‘Tomorrow night?’

  ‘I’ll meet you outside straight from work,’ she said.

  He blew her a kiss and went on into the dispensing room.

  Babs watched him go, tapping the tin of National Dried Milk against her teeth. He wasn’t Willy, she thought, but he looked nice enough.

  When Babs got home that evening, it was to discover the bedroom Iris had vacated had been given to Harry. Peter, having found the three boys fighting, had decided he would be better separated from the twins. Babs was pretty easygoing but thought she had more right to the room than her brother did. ‘A camp bed in that tiny room is no joke, Uncle Pete,’ she said severely.

  ‘We’re doing our best,’ he said, shaking open the evening paper. ‘If you have a better suggestion, let me know.’

  ‘Why can’t us girls have the twins’ room and they have ours?’ she said promptly.

  ‘Because Chris might come back and then he’d have to share with them.’

  Babs said nothing else until she was alone with Rosie and Dotty. ‘You might be prepared to sacrifice your comfort but I’m not,’ she told them firmly. ‘I got used to better in America.’

  ‘I agree with you,’ said Dotty immediately. ‘It’s not right, the twins having that big room to themselves. Chris might never come back. Uncle Pete’s putting his own before us. It’s not fair.’

  ‘It’s not fair but it’s natural,’ said Rosie patiently. ‘And at least he accepts that putting Harry in with them isn’t the best thing for him.’

  ‘But it’s boys against girls and the boys win every time,’ said Babs, tidying a ragged fingernail on a scrap of sandpaper. ‘You’re the eldest, Rosie. You should do something. You went on and on when Mam died about getting a job and us all being together. Perhaps now’s the time to do it?’

  ‘You want me to leave college, do you?’ she said, starting to get irritated.

  ‘No, but surely you can do something?’ said Babs. ‘I know it’s not easy with Aunt Amelia paying your college fees but can’t you think of something?’

  There was silence. Then Dotty dug her elbow into Rosie’s chest.

  ‘Do you mind?’ she said. ‘I’m thinking.’

  ‘It was an accident,’ said Dotty. ‘But you can see what our Babs means. Now they’re back we’re overcrowded.’

  ‘OK! Perhaps I can think of something,’ said Rosie, remembering she had arranged for them to meet their grandfather at Davey’s mother’s on Sunday. ‘There just might be someone who can help us.’ She turned over and pulled the covers over her head.

  Babs and Dotty looked at each other, wondering who on earth she meant.

  ‘Oh, isn’t it nice to be back!’ said Babs, hugging Dotty’s and Rosie’s arms as they shivered in the cold wind that blew up the street of soot-grimed terraced houses where they had spent their childhood. Despite the cold, there were some lads playing ollies in the gutter and a couple of others were kicking a ball about. There were several girls playing hopscotch and another one was skipping, reciting breathlessly, ‘Salt, pepper, mustard, vinegar.’

  ‘That takes me back,’ said Babs, a nostalgic expression on her plump face. ‘The street might be scruffier and the houses smaller than I remember, but it still gives me a warm feeling right here.’ She put a hand to her breast.

  ‘You are waxing lyrical,’ said Rosie, eyes twinkling. ‘What about you, Harry? Do you remember the street?’

  He wrinkled his nose. ‘Not really.’

  ‘But this is our old house,’ said Babs, releasing her hold on Rosie and seizing her brother’s arm. ‘Don’t you remember splashing in the gutter outside in your wellies, and Mam telling you off for getting the hem of your coat wet? Don’t you remember sitting on the step almost strangling the cat because you wanted to carry it everywhere with you?’

  He shook his head, chin jutting. ‘I’m younger than you. Anyway, I wanna see Granddad.’

  ‘And hopefully you shall!’ said Rosie, marching up the neighbouring steps and rapping the front door with her knuckles.

  There was the sound of hurrying footsteps. ‘So you’ve arrived at last,’ said Gwen. ‘Well, it really is lovely to see you all.’ She beamed down at them. Having discarded her pinny and released her hair from pipe-cleaner curlers, she looked quite attractive for her age, thought Rosie, and said so.

  ‘Thank you kindly,’ said Gwen. ‘Come on in! Your granddad’s here. He’ll be that pleased to see you. Walter, visitors!’ she called as they went up the lobby.

  He was looking very much at home, even down to wearing a pair of old slippers and smoking a pipe. He took it out of his mouth and rose hastily to his feet, trembling slightly as he looked at Rosie. She took a deep breath and decided there was nothing for it but to forgive him; even if he didn’t fall in with her plan. She went over and kissed him and the others trailed after her.

  ‘You’re my granddad?’ said Harry, gazing up at him.

  Walter stared down as his grandson. ‘Good God!’ he said, almost reverently, blue eyes suspiciously bright. ‘You’re our Joe reincarnated.’

  ‘What’s that mean? And are you crying?’ said Harry with a note of disgust in his voice.

  ‘Naw!’ said Walter, brushing away a tear, then sweeping the boy off his feet and hoisting him up against his chest. ‘What’s there to cry about when this is the happiest day of my life?’

  ‘So you won’t be going back to her then?’ said Rosie.

  Gwen shushed her and gave her a look. ‘Vera’s in the past,’ she whispered against Rosie’s ear, passing her to put the kettle on. In a loud voice Davey’s mother added, ‘What do you say? Cocoa all around, kids?’

  There was a chorus of agreement and they all sat down, starting to talk at once. Harry, on Walter’s knee, was telling him all about America. It was not until later that Rosie got the chance to explain to Gwen and Walter how things were at ‘Eden’.

  ‘So what do yer want me to do?’ said her granddad. ‘Is it money yer want, queen? I know I owe yer.’

  ‘Not only me,’ said Rosie. ‘I think we’re all owed something.’ She hesitated. ‘But it’s not money as such I’m after. It’s lodgings for Babs and Harry.’

  ‘They could come and live here,’ said Gwen, without hesitation. ‘Don’t you agree, Walt? I mean, we are getting married, aren’t we?’

  He looked startled but then the moment passed and he nodded. ‘Anything you say, Gwennie. I’d have to have lost all me marbles to refuse such an offer.’

  Harry gave a whoop. ‘I’ve got away from those twins!’ And he began to perform an Indian war dance.

  Babs winked at Rosie. ‘Nice going, big sister.’

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Rosie did not say anything to Amelia that evening when they arrived home, but the next morning she was up early, intending to have a good talk with her aunt before going to college. Even so, someone had beaten her to the lavatory. Inside she could hear someone being noisily sick. She crept back into the bedroom and put her eye to a crack in the door, eventually seeing Amelia vacate the toilet, looking washed out. Instantly she drew her own conclusions, deciding her aunt might be relieved at her having taken things into her own hands.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me what you were planning?’ said Amelia, nibbling an arrowroot biscuit and watching Rosie put on the kettle.

  ‘It mightn’t have worked out. As it is, it has and I’m glad because I didn’t want to fall out with you and Uncle Peter. I’ve got fond of the twins but I’d be bound to take Harry’s side if they started their tricks.’

  Amelia understood that and was relieved. ‘When will they go?’

  ‘As soon as they can pack. Babs is pleased about it. It’s nearer to the shop.’

  ‘And how does Dotty feel about not being included?’

  Rosie shrugged. ‘I didn’t ask her. She’s hoping you’ll let her have Chris’s room.’

  Amelia said quietly, ‘Why not? He’s been gone months. He might never come back.�
��

  Rosie was not so sure. During those months, Chris would have had time to think and realise how difficult life could be out there on your own without a family. If he had friends, Dotty had never mentioned them and they’d never been to the house. Sooner or later, Rosie felt certain, they would hear from him again.

  In the meantime, she helped Babs and Harry move in with Davey’s mother. Davey had sent his blessings, saying not to wait for him to come home because he wasn’t sure when that would be. So just before Christmas, Gwen and Walter were married in a quiet ceremony at St John’s. There was just enough money left over from the sale of Maggie’s jewellery for Walter to buy a wedding ring, a gas cooker and a bottle each of port and sherry. The couple were both amazed and gratified when Amelia gave them fifty pounds, saying she hoped it would go some way towards helping with their expenses with Harry and Babs in the coming year.

  It was just after Christmas when Dotty was leaving Scott’s the chemist’s that she was seized by the arm and pulled into the doorway of the newsagent’s next door.

  ‘Do you mi—?’ She stopped and gazed up into the young man’s face. ‘Chris?’ she said hesitantly.

  ‘Hello, Dotty!’ He smiled down at her, gripping both her hands tightly. ‘How are you?’

  ‘You can’t care when you haven’t been in touch for months,’ she said with a rush of hurt and anger, wrenching her hands free. ‘There’ve been times when I’ve thought you were dead, just like your mother!’

  His smile vanished. ‘Who put that idea into your head?’

  ‘Uncle Pete. We were all worried sick about you.’

  ‘But not now?’ he said, eyes bleak.

  She did not answer immediately. Then she said, ‘They don’t talk about you any more. And last time your name was mentioned, Uncle Pete said he’d kill you when he saw you.’

  Chris leant against the wall. ‘I suppose that shouldn’t surprise me. When was this?’

  ‘A few months back, when I thought I saw you.’

  He frowned. ‘You couldn’t have. I left the area, went down to Kent. I’ve only just got back.’

  ‘So it was your double, just like Rosie said.’

  ‘I’ve got a double?’ he said, an interested expression on his bony face.

  Dotty shrugged her shoulders. ‘Rosie reckons we’ve all got doubles.’

  ‘Where did you see this one?’ His gaze was intent.

  ‘Outside Miss Scott’s here, and then outside Aunt Amelia’s shop.’

  ‘Two chemists,’ said Chris thoughtfully.

  She stared at him. ‘You’re right! I never thought of that. Queer, isn’t it?’

  He was silent, gazing absently into space.

  She pouted, touching his arm. ‘Haven’t you anything more to say to me? You haven’t seen me for months and when you do you go into a trance. I thought you liked me. I cried for days after you left.’

  Chris shook his head as if to rid himself of his thoughts and said seriously, ‘I was in a state then.’ He took hold of one of her hands and squeezed it, seeming to come to a decision. ‘I never told you but Mam sent me a letter just before she killed herself.’

  Dotty’s eyes were wide, eyelashes fluttering like moths behind the thick lenses. ‘You’re joking?’

  ‘I wish I was. It seemed she had to get everything off her chest before she went.’ He paused, rubbing his eyebrow with his free hand, expression uncertain.

  Dotty could see that he was really wondering whether to tell her what had been in the letter. ‘You might as well tell me,’ she said in a low voice, ‘or how can we ever trust each other? I mean, why did you come back and pounce on me the way you did if you don’t care for me just a little?’

  ‘Of course I care for you,’ he said vehemently, lowering his head and kissing her hard on the mouth.

  ‘So what’s your secret?’

  ‘Your Uncle Pete’s not my father.’

  Dotty’s mouth opened but no words came out.

  ‘Bad, isn’t it?’ His expression was strained. ‘I’m a bastard. I kept thinking it couldn’t be true. It’s no wonder they don’t want me, is it?’

  Dotty did not have to ask who they were. ‘You think they know?’ she stammered.

  ‘Of course they do!’ His face turned ugly. ‘If Mam was driven to confess and told me, she’d have told them too. I worked that out while I was away.’

  ‘Did she tell you who your father is?’

  ‘Yeah.’ He toyed with her fingers. ‘Some bloke called Bernard Rossiter. Mam and Aunt Lee both knew him. In fact, Aunt Lee was engaged to him at one time but broke it off.’

  ‘Because she found out?’

  ‘No! It happened after that. But Mam did think Da—I mean, Pete, had a soft spot for Aunt Lee when they were young. He was all sympathetic when she finished with this Bernie.’

  ‘Then why did he marry your mother?’

  ‘They were engaged. It seems it was OK for women to break it off but it wasn’t the done thing for a man. But she didn’t think of all this at the time. It wasn’t until later, after she was seduced by this Bernie bloke – he was a bit of a charmer, apparently – and was having me, that she realised the mess she was in. So she just went through with the wedding to Pete.’

  ‘Golly, who’d believe it?’ exclaimed Dotty, eyes round.

  ‘Anyway, it’s all in the past now. But I wanted to come and see you one last time before I leave, and explain everything,’ said Chris, dropping her hand and looking down at the ground, scuffing a sweet wrapper with the toe of his shoe.

  Dotty stared at him in dismay. ‘What do you mean?’ she stammered. ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘To America. I’ve signed up on a cargo ship to work my passage. It leaves this evening.’

  ‘I’ll never see you again!’ Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over.

  ‘Don’t cry,’ he whispered.

  ‘What do you expect me to do? I love you and now you tell me you’re going away for ever!’ Her voice broke. ‘You’ll meet someone else out there and forget all about me.’ The tears were coming thick and fast now, so that her spectacles slid down her nose. ‘I need you,’ she sobbed.

  ‘Don’t! Don’t say that.’

  ‘Take me with you?’

  ‘I can’t.’ He sounded desperate. ‘We couldn’t get married, Dotty. You’re not sixteen yet. I love you but—’

  ‘I could lie about my age.’

  ‘I can’t do it.’

  She removed her spectacles and wiped her eyes. ‘If you don’t take me, I’ll stowaway on a ship to America. I’ll search all over there until I find you.’

  ‘Don’t be crazy,’ he said shakily, gazing down at her and thinking how lovely she looked, even though she had been crying.

  ‘It’s not crazy,’ she said passionately. ‘I know exactly what I’ll do. I’ll go to Sam. I’m sure his family will take me in. After all, he is my stepfather. Then, when I’m sixteen, we can get married.’

  Chris stared at her in astonishment. He’d never have thought she had the brains to think up such a scheme. ‘Perhaps you’re not so crazy.’

  Dotty clung to the front of his jacket. ‘Then smuggle me aboard your ship? If you leave me here, I’ll kill myself because I’ll never love anyone the way I love you,’ she said dramatically.

  He looked stricken. ‘How can you say that, knowing Mam—’

  ‘How can you leave me if you say you love me?’ She pressed herself against him. ‘Please, Chris? I’ve been so miserable without you. Please take me?’

  He was silent for a long while. Then he said, ‘Let’s go and get some chips from the chippy. I’m starving. We’ll eat them while we walk and discuss things.’

  Dotty slipped her arm through his, determined he would soon see things her way.

  ‘Dotty said she’d take us to the pictures this evening but we can’t find her anywhere,’ said Jimmy, entering the shed where Amelia was tying bunches of herbs to the rafters.

  She paused in her task. ‘Hav
e you looked in her room?’

  ‘We looked there first,’ said Tom with a touch of scorn.

  Amelia stared at him. ‘Don’t you speak to me in that tone. Perhaps she’s slipped out for a minute and will be back soon?’

  ‘If she’s not back in the next five minutes, we’ll miss the beginning of the first picture,’ said Jimmy, kicking the leg of the bench.

  ‘Don’t do that,’ said Amelia automatically. ‘Go back into the house, I’ll be with you in a second. If she’s not back soon, your dad and I will take you. Perhaps she’s forgotten and gone with Rosie to see Babs?’

  ‘She’s no right to forget,’ said Tom, brows knitted, strolling out.

  As there was still no sign of Dotty when Amelia went into the house, the four of them went off the to Carlton cinema. When they returned, Peter went upstairs with the twins and Amelia went into the living room where Rosie was sitting, listening to the radio. ‘Where’s Dotty?’ she said.

  Rosie turned a surprised face to her. ‘I thought she’d gone to the pictures with the twins?’

  Amelia frowned. ‘I wonder where she’s got to?’

  ‘Perhaps she’s gone to bed? I never thought of looking.’

  ‘Well, go and look, please. It’s not like her to go out on her own.’

  Rosie left her book and went upstairs.

  Dotty’s room was in darkness. Rosie whispered her sister’s name but there was no response and she felt sure the room was empty. She switched on the light. It was not only empty, it was tidy, which was a miracle in itself. Dotty was never tidy.

  Rosie did not know what led her to do it but she opened the tallboy to find it empty. She pulled out a drawer and that was empty, too. Her heart began to beat fast. Where had her sister’s clothes gone? What was this all about? Had somebody said something to upset Dotty?

  Rosie searched the rest of the room, even looking under the bed, and there she found an encyclopaedia which fell open in her hands to reveal a sheet of paper tucked between its pages. She read it and raced downstairs.

  ‘Chris! Scotland?’ Amelia’s mind seemed not to be focusing but had gone completely blank.