by Sheila Riley
‘I’d been sitting on my own while Grace was in the lav chin-wagging,’ Susie replied, most put-out. ‘She’d been gone ages, I felt like a spare part.’
‘Did it not occur to you to go and see what was keeping her?’ Evie asked, disgusted that this girl who claimed to be such a good friend to Grace and her family would think of storming out of the Tavern with her knickers in a twist.
‘I’m not her keeper.’ Susie’s lip curled upward. ‘She’s a big girl, she can find her own way back from the lavatory.’
‘Did you not consider the possibility that she might not be well?’ Evie could feel her blood pressure going through the top of her head. How could anybody be so selfish?
‘Grace is never well, she’s always got something to moan about, if it’s not sunburn then it’s a broken nail or—’
‘This is much more serious than a broken fingernail, Susie.’ Evie glared at the girl who was still gazing out of the window watching the stable lads working. ‘Grace was rushed to hospital last night. She needed an emergency operation.’
‘What?’ Susie’s head whipped round, and she was suddenly attentive. Leaning forward on her desk, she was all ears. ‘Why, what happened!?’
‘I found her on the floor in the ladies’, she had collapsed and was writhing in agony.’
‘What? When? Oh my God!’ Susie jumped up from her chair.
‘It’s a bit late for you to do anything now,’ Evie said. She had promised Danny she would not give away the truth of why Grace had been admitted to hospital as an emergency.
‘She had appendicitis. The surgeons operated through the night.’ Evie made it sound as sombre as she could, knowing Susie was hanging on to every word. She would never stoop to such levels under normal circumstances, but she knew Susie needed to be taken down a peg or two and understand the world did not revolve around her, as she had always been led to believe by her domineering parents. ‘Danny and I stayed all night waiting for results. It was touch-and-go at one stage. They had to give the poor girl a blood transfusion.’
Evie felt a hint of satisfaction in the look of horror on Susie’s face when she realised she had got the situation spectacularly wrong.
‘You spent the whole night with Danny?’ Susie chose her words carefully, Evie could tell, and she nodded.
‘I didn’t get into bed until the early hours,’ Evie said, giving a small yawn, ‘although, the way I’m feeling now it was hardly worth the bother.’ She could not judge if Susie’s face had turned the colour of putty because she had let her friend down, or if it was because Evie had spent the night in a hospital corridor with Danny. Telling Susie that her friend had been rushed into hospital with appendicitis would save Grace’s reputation at least.
‘Nobody told me,’ Susie answered, most put-out. ‘I thought Danny would’ve let me know, seeing as Grace is my best friend.’
‘I suppose he had other things on his mind,’ Evie answered. ‘Grace still isn’t out of danger. But don’t worry, she has somebody with her.’ Evie suppressed another yawn. She was owed a couple of hours for coming in on Sunday, so she was leaving early.
‘I have to go and see her,’ Susie said, pushing back her chair so hard it fell over and, not even stopping to pick it up, she headed towards the door.
‘There’s no point,’ Evie offered, ‘only one person is allowed in her private room and that’s Bruce.’
‘The millionaire?’ Susie said. ‘She mentioned him a couple of times, but I never thought they were that close.’
‘Really?’ Evie said, ‘I thought you knew everything there was to know about the Harris’s family, but obviously not.’
‘I didn’t say I knew everything,’ Susie was still reeling from the knowledge that Evie had been Danny’s shoulder to lean on when it should have been her. If Evie weren’t the office manager, she would tell her exactly what she thought.
‘Bruce is taking care of Grace. He said he has nurses and doctors on hand and when she is feeling up to it, he will have Grace moved to a private nursing home in the countryside.’
‘If I’d known, I would have helped her, you know I would,’ Susie said to Evie. ‘What will Danny think of me? You can’t keep news like this quiet,’ Susie said, lighting another cigarette, blowing a long stream of dissatisfaction.
‘Ada made sure Grace had everything she ever wanted. Nothing was too good for her only daughter.’ The gleam in Susie’s eye was malicious. ‘And now she’s fallen on her feet again with a bloody millionaire! Some people have all the luck.’ Her voice had turned to ice, and Evie realised Susie’s anger was the result of her own sense of entitlement as Susie sucked in a long shuddering breath of injustice. ‘I’ll never get out of Reckoner’s Row.’
Evie was more than ever convinced Susie had no compassionate bones in her body.
‘Shouldn’t you be doing something useful, like working for a living?’ Evie asked stiffly when Susie’s long nails were tap… tap… tapping the desk, aggravating Evie like a stone in her shoe and setting her teeth on edge.
‘Are you trying to provoke me?’ Evie asked, her patience worn thin. And Susie had the gall to look innocently surprised.
‘Who? Me?’ She stopped tapping.
‘Yes, you,’ Evie answered without lifting her head from the row of figures. If the other girl did as much work as she was supposed to do, she would have no time for drumming her nails on desks. Susie continued, ignoring Evie’s glare from the other desk. ‘I need those files today, Susie,’ Evie said, following a long vertical row of figures with her fingertips.
When Susie opened her mouth to speak again, she shot her a glare so sharp, Susie said nothing and got to work, and Evie was relieved when the only sound in the room was the tick of the clock and the clack of the typewriters.
Five minutes later, Evie drew in a lungful of air and rolled her eyes. She wanted these figures signed off before she left the office. It had been a long night at the hospital and her hand shot out, gripping the weighty black receiver as she removed a clip-on earring and answered the ringing telephone.
‘Good morning, Skinner and Son… How may I…’
‘Hello, Cinderella – I just wanted to say thank you for staying with me last night?’
Evie felt an exhilarated burst of energy and dropped the pen she was holding. Retrieving the pen before it rolled off the desk, the office was suddenly hot and airless, and the silence on the other end of the line told her that Danny Harris was waiting for her to say something. And by the questioning expression on Susie’s face, so was she. Evie took a deep breath.
‘Oh hello,’ she said brightly, reviving her docile response by sitting upright and sounding more business-like, ‘what can I do for you?’ She averted her gaze, not looking in Susie’s direction.
‘You were a real pal, waiting up so late.’ Danny’s voice sounded deep and warm and intimate.
‘It was nothing,’ Evie tried to keep her tone light, she didn’t want Susie to know Danny had walked her home when they were given the good news that Grace was out of theatre and the procedure had gone well. She was sure it was not her imagination, recalling his arm lingering longer than was necessary when he draped his still warm jacket round her shoulders. But her mind wasn’t playing tricks when she relived the moment when he leaned in and kissed her cheek.
‘Thank you for making the long night bearable.’ Danny’s voice sounded different, warmer, and Evie tried to keep the conversation light because Susie was watching her like a cat ready to pounce.
‘Think nothing of it,’ Evie said, rolling the pencil between finger and thumb.
‘Susie’s in the office, earwigging, isn’t she?’ Evie could hear the smile in Danny’s voice, and she nodded even though he couldn’t see her.
‘Yes. Yes, that’s correct,’ she said. ‘It is good of you to call and let me know.’
‘Oh,’ Danny said lightly, ‘if you are wondering where the flat-back is, I took it first thing for a dockside delivery, I’ll be back soon.’
&
nbsp; ‘Oh… okay, I would have assumed that was the case if I’d known it was gone.’ Danny was the only one who used the flat-back truck.
‘And just one other thing… I really, really wanted to hear your voice,’ Danny said and Evie, pitying her poor ribs being pummelled by her racing heart, turned the small gasp in to a cough, making a stab at a more professional approach and failing.
‘Well, that’s just wonderful…’ she replied. ‘I will expect the wagon back this morning.’
He doesn’t need your permission. Fool.
‘See you later,’ Danny said, and Evie heard the pips going on the other end of the line and took a deep breath. Back to business. Daydreaming was for later.
‘Susie, I need you to go along to the slaughterhouse and pick up this month’s invoices. They are long overdue. You were supposed to chase them up last week.’
‘I’m not going to the slaughterhouse,’ Susie’s eyes were round as side plates, and her defiance was wearing Evie’s patience. ‘Why do I have to go?’
‘You don’t,’ Evie said. Enough was enough. If this were her business, Susie would have been long gone. So why should she allow her to stay, sucking the life out of Mr Skinner’s business. She was fed up to the back teeth with Susie’s hostility. Evie was the one running this office, putting the long hours in. Bringing everything up to date had been a long hard slog and she felt she was carrying Susie. Well not any more! Susie was a hindrance with her lazy ways and arrogant put-downs. ‘There are plenty of girls out there who could do your job, and now that I think about it, they would be far less trouble.’
‘You’re sacking me!’ Susie’s jaw dropped. ‘Well, we’ll soon see about that Miss High and Mighty. I know things about this place and I’m not afraid to tell all.’
‘You do what you have to do, Susie.’ Evie was too tired to care. ‘But know this, Mr and Mrs Skinner are well respected in this town, whereas you are just a petty troublemaker who needs to grow up and stand on her own two feet. Get your head out of the clouds and stow the veiled threats – nobody is listening.’ She opened the office door just as Danny arrived. ‘Your cards will be in the post. Goodbye Susie.’
‘You haven’t heard the last of this,’ Susie threatened as she collected her handbag from her desk. ‘You’ll be sorry.’
‘I am sure I won’t be,’ Evie said as Susie crossed the office floor and glared at Danny.
‘And you… You…’ Susie was obviously lost for words, looking for someone to blame. But she had nobody to blame but herself, Evie thought as Susie stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
‘I thought you were on the dock?’ Evie said, confused as Danny stood in front of her with a twinkle in his eyes. He told her he rang from the ’phone box outside the Tram Tavern.
‘What was all that about?’ Danny asked, perching on the edge of Susie’s desk, and when Evie told him, he shook his head, giving her cause to think she had done the wrong thing, but she couldn’t be more mistaken.
‘It was a long time coming,’ Danny said, ‘you had more patience than most.’
‘They stayed at the hospital until Grace came out of theatre,’ Ada told Susie, both dabbing their eyes with a handkerchief. ‘She looked really ill. I would have changed places in a heartbeat,’ Ada wailed. ‘Everything I have done has been for my girl, nothing but the best for my Gracie. My only daughter.’ She looked over to her husband, sitting at the table, his head in his hands. If looks could kill, he would have been six feet under. ‘To think, my Gracie has travelled round the world and not a scratch, not a sniffle. Then she comes back here and in a crowded room, surrounded by people who processed to love her…’
‘I think you mean profess to love her, Mam.’ Ada’s crushing glance told Bobby she was in no mood to be corrected.
‘She must have felt so alone.’ Ada, mindful about giving too much away, saw Susie’s suspicious eyes narrow and she said, ‘Poisoned by her own appendages.’
‘I should have been with Danny,’ Susie said. ‘Holding his hand, keeping him company.’
‘Mm,’ Ada, not so distracted, said in a voice loud enough for all to hear, ‘that’s all he needs, a simpering drama queen.’
The single-bed ward was quiet when Bruce crept in to see Grace still sleeping off the effect of the anaesthetic. She looked the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. So serene, so pale, so still.
‘My darling, I am so sorry I wasn’t here when you needed me most,’ he whispered, holding her hand in both of his and gently kissing her fingers. He was beside himself with worry. If she did not pull through, he would never forgive himself. All that worry and pressure she had to endure alone. He had not yet told her his father had died, and that he had to go back to the States to tie up business loose ends.
If she didn’t pull through… Bruce did not even feel the tears running in rivulets down his suntanned face. He could think only of her recovery.
‘I will make sure you are never hurt again, my love. I love you so, so much. Please, don’t you leave me too.’
He didn’t know how long he had been sitting beside her bed, stroking her face, her hair, her hands. Willing her to wake up. He watched the sun rise and beam in through the window and when it shone on her face, Grace moved her head, her beautiful, gentle eyes slowly opening to see Bruce sitting in the chair beside her bed.
‘What happened?’ she asked not recalling she had seen him earlier, her voice thick from the anaesthetic. Then everything came flooding back and her tears fell too. Bruce held her in his strong arms and they both vented their grief together.
‘I love you so much my darling,’ he said, ‘I was so scared I would lose you.’
‘I love you,’ Grace answered, ‘I thought I had lost you too.’
‘Never, never, never,’ Bruce said with such depth of feeling she knew he meant it. ‘When you are feeling stronger, I will take you away and we will talk everything through, but for now, you must get your strength back. I am going nowhere.’
‘Grace is not feeling well, and I don’t want her disturbed,’ Ada Harris told Susie, who felt she should come and visit her best friend every chance she got. ‘The doctor will only allow two visitors at a time, because she needs her rest.’
‘What about the fete, Mrs Harris? Will she still be going?’ Susie knew her friend’s life was touch-and-go for a while and a day out in the countryside was just the ticket she needed to cheer her up. Also, she didn’t fancy going on her own, not now that Danny had lost all interest.
‘Having your appendages taken out is not a walk on water, you know, Susie.’ Ada was fully aware her daughter had lost the child she had been carrying but had put the story about that Grace had to have her appendix taken out. ‘Grace needed a blood transfer and everything.’ Ada’s misuse of her words was more acute when she was worried or upset, although she had no intentions of letting Susie, who had a mouth as big as the Mersey Tunnel, know that her only daughter had been in the family way and lost the baby. Susie would have spread the news quicker than the blink of an eye and filled their neighbours’ mouths in no time. Friend or no friend.
Bert, embarrassed by the whole thing, had taken solace in the Tavern and he made every excuse he could think of to get out of the house. Not that he needed much of an excuse.
‘Bruce is taking her away for a few weeks’ rest and reciprocation to get over the operation.’ Ada knew she would never be able to show her face in the Row again if the news got out. Her Grace would be a social piranha, an outcast, Bert had said. Ada had cut him off at the quick, deciding, the time had come to close ranks. ‘As far as anybody’s concerned, our Grace was rushed into hospital with poisoned appendages.’ The truth would soon be lost when news of her new rich man seeped into the public domain.
‘Evie, will you add this invoice to the Skellen farm account,’ Danny said when he entered the office, ‘I forgot to give it to you when I was here earlier.’
Evie had worked tirelessly to bring the office files up to date, making it known that all bill
s must be handed in to her before the end of the working day. The system had worked extremely well in bringing to light a few worrying discrepancies concerning the accounts.
21
June
‘Mam, my face hurts,’ Bobby was trying to have a day off school, Ada could tell. It was the end-of-term tests and he didn’t want to do them; she was sure.
‘Don’t come the old tin soldier with me, Bobby Harris ‘Ada said, ‘I know your game. You’ve got a school test.’
‘But it’s killing me, Mam,’ Bobby said, holding his jaw. ‘I won’t be able to think straight.’
‘You can beg ’til the cows come home blue in the face, but you’re going in.’ She knew when her kids were up to something, and Bobby wasn’t pulling the wool over her eyes.
‘What’s wrong with our Bobby?’ Danny asked as he picked up his flask and headed towards the door.
‘He’s trying to wangle a day off school because he’s got tests all week,’ Ada said clearing the table, she had an important errand to run and she wanted the place tidy when she got back. ‘He must think I was born yesterday, so I sent him to school with his head between his legs.’
‘I bet that was awkward,’ Danny was going to correct her but thought better of it when he saw the determined look on her face. ‘Right-o, don’t forget I’m going to Netherford today, so I won’t be home for me dinner.’
‘I have to go out today too,’ Ada said, ‘I’ve left some money on the sideboard for Bobby’s dinner, he can go to the chippy today.’
‘Where are you going Ma?’ Danny asked conversationally, ‘anyone I know?’
‘That’s for me to know,’ Ada said, ‘and you to mind your own business.’
‘Sorry I asked,’ Danny said. He’d had this conversation a thousand times and it never ended well. His mother had a little jaunt every month and told nobody where she went.’
