Try a Little Tenderness

by Joan Jonker

  Jenny’s eyes were moist with tears. ‘I hope I find someone who loves me as much as you love me mam.’ She turned to her mother and was surprised to see she looked sad. ‘What’s the matter, Mam, are yer not feeling well? I’ve noticed yer’ve not been yerself for a few days. Are yer sickening for something?’

  Laura pricked her ears, remembering Gary saying the bubble had burst for Celia, and her family could be involved. There’d been no hint of trouble, but her mam had been quiet and that wasn’t like her. She was always happy and joking.

  ‘I’m all right, sunshine – a touch of the blues, that’s all. It’ll wear off in a day or two, you’ll see.’ Mary looked at the clock and raised her brows. ‘Hadn’t yer better start getting yerself ready? It’s a special night tonight, yer want to look yer best.’

  When Jenny had hot-footed it from the room, Laura said, ‘I’m not going out, so I’ll wash the dishes for yer. You sit down and rest, Mam, if ye’re feeling off-colour.’

  ‘Thanks, sunshine, I’ll do that.’ Mary hadn’t slept well for the last three nights. Even when she did manage to drop off for half an hour, she tossed and turned restlessly. Her father’s news had devastated her and she couldn’t see her life ever being normal again.

  Mick and John looked so happy walking down the street with Jenny between them, anyone would believe they’d come up on the pools. They didn’t do the pools, mind, but if they did, and they’d won, they couldn’t have looked happier. John carried her dancing shoes so she could link them, and you’d have thought he was carrying the crown jewels.

  ‘Yer look nice, Jenny, and yer smell lovely,’ Mick said. ‘Yer smell like a rose garden.’

  ‘Yeah, yer do, Jenny, but I think the smell is more like sweet-peas.’

  ‘It’s Evening In Paris perfume, I’ll have you know.’ Jenny tossed her head, sending her blonde hair swishing around her cheeks. ‘I put a dab behind each ear, and a tiny little dab on me throat. It’s only a little bottle and I don’t want to use it up too quick, ’cos one of the women in the office said it’s quite expensve.’

  ‘We thought about that, didn’t we, Mick?’ asked John, whose head the thought had never entered. But Bill Porter wasn’t going to go one better than them, even if he did seem to be out of the scene just now. ‘Didn’t I say “Shall we buy her Evening In Paris?”.’

  ‘Yer certainly did, pal! And we were in two minds about it, as well. But after much consideration, we decided Jenny would rather have the dance shoes.’

  ‘You are two of the biggest fibbers in the world.’ Jenny giggled and squeezed their arms. ‘But if I’d been asked, I would have chosen the shoes.’

  Martha Porter answered their knock and her eyes went to the heavens as she said, ‘Yer’d better come in, there’s been a slight mishap.’

  ‘Is Janet all right?’ Jenny asked, mounting the steps. ‘She’s not done anything silly like catching a cold, has she?’

  The smell that met them as they crowded into the hallway was sickly and overpowering. They sniffed up and looked at each other, but no one liked to comment for fear of upsetting Mrs Porter. Janet’s mother, however, was forthcoming. ‘That smell ye’re all afraid to mention is half a bleedin’ bottle of Evening In Paris, if yer don’t mind. The silly cow doused herself in it and it’s stinking the ruddy house down. She couldn’t go out like that, they’d smell her a mile away.’

  John tried his hardest but he couldn’t keep the laughter back. Mick joined him, and then Martha began to see the funny side. Only Jenny managed to keep a straight face. She wasn’t going to have a laugh at her best friend’s expense.

  ‘Can’t she just wash it off, Mrs Porter? The smell would go away then.’

  ‘Where did yer put yours, Jenny?’ Martha asked with an amused expression on her face. ‘A dab behind the ears, was it?’

  Thinking she was helping her friend, Jenny said, ‘And a dab on me neck, Mrs Porter. I bet Jan’s been a bit heavy with it, that’s all.’

  ‘Ah, but my daughter didn’t put it on her skin, girl, she put it on her dress. Half a bottle of the bleedin’ stuff. She’s upstairs now changing her clothes so people won’t be fainting all around her. Honest to God, she ponged to high heaven. I had to open the kitchen door to let some fresh air in.’

  They all looked up when they heard footsteps on the stairs. And down came Janet, looking so woebegone they all felt sorry for her. ‘My mam did the same thing once, curly top,’ John said, in an effort to put a smile back on her face. ‘Only she couldn’t afford an expensive scent so she used Essence of Violets. And yer know me mam, she wouldn’t wash it off for anyone. She said she wasn’t pouring good money down the plug-hole, and if me dad didn’t like it, he could go and sit in Annie Baxter’s for a few hours. Well, me dad preferred the smell to sitting in Annie Baxter’s.’

  ‘I was stupid,’ Janet said, ‘and ye’re all late now because of me.’

  ‘Who cares?’ John asked, while his head was asking him why she always appealed to his soft side. ‘We’ll be there before the interval.’

  ‘Come on, Jan,’ Jenny said, ‘yer’ll have forgotten all about it once yer get on the dance floor. Yer’ll be too busy trying to stop these two from standing all over yer feet.’

  ‘Yeah, come on.’ Mick thought the words would choke him, but he managed to get them out. ‘I bags the first dance with yer.’

  When John said, ‘I bags the second,’ Janet cheered up considerably and donned her coat. What was the use of worrying about a bottle of scent anyway? She could always get round their Bill to buy her another.

  The boys had agreed beforehand to swap partners for every dance. That was the fairest way and would save any arguments. So although it broke his heart, Mick gave way to John when he asked Jenny to dance. And while he was steering Janet around the dance floor, his eyes spent more time watching what John was up to, than they did watching Janet’s feet. It was only when the dance was over it struck him that she hadn’t done badly at all. ‘Yer did well, there, Janet, I’m proud of yer.’

  The girl preened. ‘Thank you, Mick, and you did well, too.’

  Mick looked at her closely to see if she was having him on, but her face was that of an innocent baby. He was an experienced dancer, but she’d managed to reduce him to the status of a beginner. And she’d done it in such a way you couldn’t fall out with her.

  When the other couple came off the floor, John had his arm across Jenny’s shoulder and they were laughing up at each other. This was enough to send Mick’s temperature shooting up to boiling point. Just wait, John Hanley, he said to himself, from now on it’s no holds barred. Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost.

  After turning the record over and winding up the gramophone, the MC announced a slow waltz. Mick was highly delighted. ‘This is you and me, Jenny, and as ye’re pretty good at waltzing, we can dance proper.’ With a cheeky grin at his friend, he led Jenny on to the dance floor and put his arm around her waist. If this wasn’t heaven, it was the nearest he’d ever been to it. ‘Just relax, Jenny, and yer’ll follow me easy.’

  ‘Ye’re not half holding me tight, Mick. I can’t see a thing only your chest.’

  ‘If you concentrate on the dancing, I’ll give yer a running commentary.’ Mick looked down at the top of her blonde head and had to stop himself from planting a kiss on it. He knew she’d clock him one if he did, and besides his mother’s words were ringing in his ears. ‘Don’t yer forget, me darlin’, the girl’s only fifteen and you’re nearly nineteen.’ He sighed, wondering how long he was supposed to wait. Hadn’t he been wishing his life away for the last ten years?

  Jenny pulled herself back and stared up at him. ‘I don’t think much of yer commentary, Mick Moynihan, yer haven’t opened yer mouth yet. There must be something going on, or has everyone gone home?’

  Mick grinned and pulled her towards him. ‘Well, let’s see. John has got hold of Janet’s hand and is walking her on to the dance floor. Yes, he’s holding her properly and I don’t see he
r complaining. Ay, hang on a minute! He’s just kissed her, right in the middle of the floor. Well, that’s cheek for yer.’

  Jenny jerked herself away and gazed around the dancing couples until she spotted her friend. ‘Ye’re a lying hound, Mick Moynihan. I’ve a good mind to tell them.’

  ‘It was wishful thinking, Jenny. Yer know me and John do everything together, and I thought if he’d kissed Janet it was only natural for me to kiss you.’

  ‘You just try it, Mick Moynihan, and yer’ll be sorry yer signed.’ Jenny went back to staring at his chest so he wouldn’t see her eyes dancing with merriment. ‘The very idea, indeed.’

  ‘Well, are yer at least prepared to discuss our relationship? That wouldn’t do yer no harm, just talking.’

  ‘Our relationship? Well, we’re good mates, aren’t we?’

  ‘That’s what I’m getting at, Jenny.’ By this time Mick had given up trying to dance and was walking Jenny around the floor. Still holding her close, though. ‘Yer told Auntie Lizzie that yer were looking for a boyfriend, and as I haven’t got a girlfriend I thought yer might like to team up with me.’

  ‘Are yer asking me for a date, Mick?’

  Mick sighed with relief. After going all around the world, and nearly having a heart attack, Jenny had said the words for him. ‘Yes, Jenny, I’m asking yer for a date. Will yer come out with me one night?’

  ‘What about yer mate? I thought you and John went everywhere together.’

  ‘Yer’ve got eyes in yer head, Jenny, and yer know that me and John both feel the same about yer. We’ve been rivals for years, even though we’re the best of pals. But the time has come, for me at least, to put me claim in before someone else comes along. It’s up to John to decide what he wants to do. If he asks yer, and yer would rather have him, then that’s the way it is. Me and him will always be pals, no matter what.’

  Jenny lapsed into thought. There was no way she would choose between the two boys; it wouldn’t be fair. It would ruin their friendship no matter what they thought now. And she didn’t want to be the cause of that, even though her heart lay with one of them – and always had. She heard John’s familiar laugh and turned her head to see him acting the goat with fancy footwork, and Janet was lapping it up.

  ‘Mick, shall I ask me mam if we can go to the pictures one night as a foursome? I’ve never had a boyfriend, never even been out with a boy. And I think I should get out and about a bit before I say I’ll be someone’s girlfriend. Don’t yer agree?’

  ‘Yeah, I suppose ye’re right.’ Mick was disappointed, but at least he’d made a start, put his cards on the table. ‘But don’t forget, I’ve got a lot to offer.’

  ‘What have yer got to offer, Mick?’

  Mick’s dimples appeared. ‘Meself, for a kick-off. And I know self-praise is no recommendation, but yer’ll not get anyone better. Then there’s me mam and dad, they’re definitely an asset. Oh, and I almost forgot, there’s next door’s cat.’

  Jenny giggled. ‘Mick Moynihan, ye’re as daft as a brush.’

  ‘Don’t tell yer mam that, or she won’t let yer come to the pictures with us.’

  ‘Come on, girl, out with it. What’s wrong with yer?’ There was concern on Amy’s face as she sat across from her friend. ‘For the past few days yer’ve had a face on yer like a wet week. It’s a wonder the bleedin’ milk isn’t curdled.’

  Mary sighed. She’d kept her worry bottled up inside her until it was nearly choking her. If she didn’t tell someone and get it off her chest, she’d go nuts. And who better to confide in than her best mate? ‘Not a word leaves this room, sunshine, okay?’

  Amy stiffened a finger and made a cross on her chest. ‘Cross my heart and hope to die, if this day I tell a lie.’ Hoping to lighten the gloom, she asked, ‘Yer haven’t got yerself a fancy man, have yer?’

  ‘I’m sorry, Amy, but I haven’t got a laugh left in me. I’m drained. I can’t eat or sleep, or even think straight.’ She came straight to the point. ‘Celia’s expecting a baby.’

  Amy’s jaw dropped and she sagged back against the chair. ‘Yer what! Christ, girl, yer’ve got to be joking.’

  ‘I wish I was. I wish to God I was.’

  ‘What’s the man thinking of? Has he lost the run of his senses? Blimey, girl, he must be sixty! And he’s got a slut of a wife!’ Amy’s eyes narrowed. ‘Is he sure he’s the father? I wouldn’t put anything past that one; she’s a real trollop if ever there was one.’

  ‘Me dad’s not that soft, he’d know if it wasn’t his. He’s not happy about it, yer can tell, but as he said, what’s done is done. He looks terrible and I feel heartily sorry for him. I’m afraid I told him what I thought, and I’m sorry now. He’s got enough on his plate without me turning against him.’

  ‘You’d never turn against yer dad, girl, and he knows it. But he couldn’t expect yer to welcome news like that, not from a man of his age.’

  ‘Well, he didn’t come last night and Wednesday’s his usual night to call. I must have really upset him and I’m worried sick.’

  ‘What does Stan have to say about all this?’

  ‘He’s not said much because he knows how bad I feel about it. His feelings are that it’s done and we can’t do anything about it.’

  ‘Do the girls know?’

  Mary shook her head. ‘I couldn’t tell them, I’d be too ashamed. How could I explain that to two young girls? If it was me expecting I’d be too embarrassed to tell them, never mind their grandad. They’ll have to know sometime, but me dad said not to say anything to them yet. I think he’s dreading the thought of facing them. And I’m such a coward, Amy, I’d rather they never had to know.’

  Amy’s huge bosom rose and fell as she let out a deep sigh. ‘I’m sorry for yer dad, ’cos I think the world of him. But I’ve got to say, girl, I think he’s been a stupid old bugger. Yer’d think, at his age, he’d be past that sort of thing now.’

  ‘Yeah, but don’t forget he’s got a young wife.’ Mary picked nervously at the plush of the chenille tablecloth. ‘Whatever I think, I’ve got to stand by me dad ’cos I love the bones of him. He’s been hurt enough, I’ll not add to that hurt. So even if it kills me, I’ll not upset him any more. But one thing I’m determined on, I’ll never visit that house while she’s in it, baby or no baby.’

  ‘I dunno, girl, life can be a bugger, can’t it? But I know how yer feel about telling the girls because I couldn’t tell my kids if I was in your shoes.’ Amy stretched her chubby arm across the table and patted her best mate’s hand. ‘The world keeps on turning, girl, and yer can’t stop it. It won’t do no good sitting in the house feeling miserable. So come on, get yer coat on and let’s get down to the shops. The fresh air will blow the cobwebs away and yer’ll feel better. And don’t faint when I say the cream slices are on me today.’

  Celia was waiting for her as usual. Leaning against the wall, cigarette smouldering between her fingers, she studied Laura’s face. ‘Ye’re a bit late tonight, kid, I was getting worried. I thought there might be trouble at home.’

  Laura was in a fighting mood. Last night, when John and Mick had brought her sister home, they’d been full of how much they’d enjoyed themselves. And because of this woman, she wasn’t able to bring her boyfriend home. Well, something had to be done about it, she’d had enough. ‘I can be late if I want, can’t I? And why should there be trouble at home?’

  ‘All right, keep yer hair on, I only asked.’ Celia blew the cigarette smoke straight into Laura’s face. ‘I worry about yer, yer see.’

  ‘Yer must have better things to do than worry about me, Celia. Yer see, I’m quite capable of looking after meself.’

  Gary came through the double doors of the dance hall and heard Laura’s words. He hesitated just for a second, then walked towards her. ‘Come on, babe, don’t be standing here nattering when we could be dancing.’

  Laura couldn’t help her face lighting up when she saw him. ‘I’ll just stick me coat in the cloakroom, I won’t be a ti
ck.’

  Putting her cloakroom ticket in her bag, she passed Celia without a glance. One wrong word out of her grandad’s wife, and she knew she’d clock her one. So she walked through the doors and into Gary’s arms. ‘I’ll kill her one of these days, Gary, I really will. Who the hell does she think she is?’

  Gary put a finger to his lips. ‘Yer never know who she’s got listening out for her.’ He waited for her to put her bag under a chair, then pulled her on to the dance floor. ‘Come on, babe, it seems like an eternity since I had me arms around yer.’

  ‘I’m not putting up with it any longer, Gary. I’ve had a bellyful of this once-a-week lark. Me kid sister can bring her boyfriend home, but not me. So I’m telling yer straight – either yer start taking me out proper, or I’m not coming here any more. And I mean it.’

  ‘Yer might not have to put up with it any longer, babe. I think our Celia has overstepped the mark this time. She’s confident she’ll get away with it, but I can’t see it meself.’ His bright blue eyes met her deep brown ones. ‘Has there been anything out of the ordinary happened at your house? Any news of anything?’ Laura looked puzzled. ‘What’s going on? Celia said something about trouble at home, but there’s been nothing that I know of.’

  ‘I think you and I are going to have to have a very serious talk tonight.’ Gary put his cheek next to hers. ‘I want to be yer proper boyfriend. I want to take yer home to meet me mam, and I want to meet your folks. I want to sit on the back row of the pictures with yer, go on the ferry to New Brighton – all the things courting couples do. And I think that between us we can make it happen. All it will take is our sticking together, come what may, and having the guts to tell her to her face to get off our backs. We can turn the tables now, because we’ve really got something on her.’

  ‘I’ll do anything if it means we can see each other as often as we like – but what have we got on her?’

  ‘When Celia and Charlie do their disappearing act, we’ll go outside and I’ll tell yer what I know. We’ll see what yer think, and take it from there.’