MB04 - Down Our Street

by Joan Jonker

  ‘Ah, that’s mean, that, Molly.’ The butcher was having difficulty keeping a straight face. ‘Fancy stealing from someone in a sickbed.’

  ‘I’m getting paid back for it, Tony, ’cos the ruddy pips are stuck in between me teeth. And it’s worse for me ’cos I haven’t got false ones, like me mate.’

  Nellie’s jaw dropped. ‘I haven’t got no false teeth, girl!’

  ‘Yer’ll soon be needing them, sunshine, if yer don’t keep yer trap shut. Now stand there and don’t move.’ Molly laid her purse on the counter. ‘How much is that, Tony?’ She felt Nellie pulling on her coat and turned. ‘I’ll pay for yours and yer can settle with me later.’

  ‘It’s not that, girl! Yer told me not to move and I want to know if that includes blinking? Me eyes are sore keeping them open, yer see, and I’m frightened of getting stuck like that. So is it all right if I blink?’

  ‘Holy suffering ducks! What am I going to do with yer, Nellie McDonough? So help me, ye’re more trouble to me than any of me kids. And I’m warning yer now that if yer mention grapes in the greengrocer’s, I won’t be responsible for me actions.’ Molly passed over a two-bob piece. ‘That’s the right money, Tony, a shilling each.’

  Ellen leaned over the counter. ‘I’m glad yer’ve heard from Tommy and Steve. It’s a big worry off yer minds.’

  ‘Ye’re not kidding, Ellen, me and Nellie are over the moon. We’ll be having a knees-up jars-out party for them.’ Molly linked her arm through Nellie’s and squeezed. ‘But we won’t have it until Paul’s home, eh, sunshine?’

  ‘I’m glad yer said that, girl, ’cos I wouldn’t like my Paul to be left out.’ Nellie smiled at her mate before turning to Ellen. ‘What about you? Have yer any idea when Corker’s ship’s due in?’

  Ellen shook her head. ‘No, but now the war’s over I don’t need to lie awake every night worrying.’ Jimmy Corkhill had been a merchant seaman since he was seventeen. At six foot five, he was a giant of a man, a colourful character who was popular with everyone in the neighbourhood. He was Ellen’s second husband and had changed her life, and that of her four children, from one of poverty and squalor to one of perfect happiness. He was the complete opposite of her first husband, Nobby Clarke. A man of extreme violence, he spent his wages on drink, cigarettes and horses, while his family starved. And he got his pleasure from beating Ellen and the children. But since his death, four years ago, Ellen had never once spoken ill of the man who had stolen her heart during a quick-step at the Grafton ballroom, then broke it within weeks of their wedding. ‘It would be nice if he was home to welcome the lads – he’d really like that.’

  ‘He’d better be home for this party to end all parties,’ Molly said. ‘It wouldn’t be the same without Corker.’ She turned her mate around towards the door. ‘Now, let’s see if we can get the rest of the shopping in without any messing. See yer, Tony! Ta-ra, Ellen!’

  They were on the pavement when Nellie jerked her arm free and poked her head back in the shop. ‘She never did pick me dummy up, Tony. So if yer find it when ye’re brushing up, put it to one side for us. Yer see, I have trouble dropping off to sleep without it.’

  Molly and her three daughters were waiting with mounting excitement for Jack to come home from work. And when he walked through the door, he looked so tired Molly’s heart went out to him. He’d been working all the hours God sent during the last five years and it had taken its toll. His shoulders seemed to be more stooped, his black hair was peppered with white strands and there were lines on his handsome face.

  ‘Would yer like yer dinner first, love, or the news?’

  Jack sighed heavily as he slipped his jacket off. ‘I’m not very hungry, so if it’s good news I’ll have that first. If it’s bad news, don’t bother, I’ll go straight up to bed.’

  Molly crossed the room and put her arms around his waist. ‘Oh, I think yer’ll want to hear this news. Tommy and Steve will be home next week.’

  It was only a matter of seconds before the smile broke, but in that short space of time Molly could see the moisture build up in his eyes. She pulled his head down and kissed him soundly. ‘How about that, then, Mr Bennett?’

  Holding her close, Jack said, ‘The best present yer could give me, Mrs Bennett.’

  Jill left her chair to put her arms around her parents, followed closely by Doreen and Ruthie. This was a moment all the family wanted to share, and they clung together as the tears of joy flowed. Molly was the first to break away. ‘You show yer dad the letters, Jill, while I get his dinner out of the oven. I’ve got a feeling his appetite will have returned.’

  Out in the kitchen, Molly wiped her eyes on the corner of her pinny. She could hear the girls chattering to their dad, each one trying to outdo the other. And there was laughter in Jack’s voice, something that had been missing since the day his son walked out of the house in his soldier’s uniform. His going had affected Jack badly. Well, it had all the family, but it was worse for him because he carried a burden of guilt. As a father, he thought it was his duty to protect his children, his home and his country. Instead his son was called to war before his young life had even started. And as father and son worked for the same firm, Tommy as an apprentice, Jack missed travelling to work with him every morning and watching with pride as the gangling fourteen-year-old boy grew into a confident, hardworking young man.

  ‘Come to the table, love, and get this while it’s hot.’ Molly put the plate down and sat opposite her husband. The other chairs were quickly taken by the three girls who didn’t want to miss a second of this feeling of togetherness. The difference in their dad since he heard the news was unbelievable. He looked years younger with a wide smile on his face and in his eyes. It was as though someone had lifted a heavy burden from his shoulders.

  ‘Tuck in, love, while I’m telling yer about me day.’ Molly let out a hearty chuckle. ‘As yer might know, me mate was up to her usual antics.’ She went from the postman to the visit to her parents, then the saga of the grapes and the Welcome Home banners they were going to make. ‘At least I’m going to make, because Nellie said she can’t spell “welcome”.’

  There was much laughter around the table and it felt so good. And it would be even better next week, Molly told herself, when she would see her son sitting in his usual chair.

  ‘I’ll ask the boss tomorrow about Tommy getting his job back,’ Jack said, pushing his empty plate away. ‘There shouldn’t be any reason why not, ’cos he was a good little grafter. They took a lot of older men on when the young ones got called up, and I’ve heard a few of them saying they’ll be glad to retire.’

  ‘I’ve been thinking about that,’ Molly told him. ‘He’s missed part of his apprenticeship, so does that mean he’ll never be qualified as a skilled worker?’

  ‘I couldn’t tell yer, love, but it would be unfair if he was punished for serving his country.’

  ‘Mam, I could get the banners done in work for yer.’ Doreen worked in a factory where they made parachutes and barrage balloons. ‘Some of the women have already started making them for their husbands and boyfriends coming home. So don’t you worry, I’ll get that sorted out.’

  ‘That’s good, sunshine, ’cos I wouldn’t know where to start. I’d have a go, like, but it wouldn’t look very professional.’ Molly rubbed a finger down the side of her nose. ‘Can I be cheeky and ask yer to get one made for Paul? I know Nellie’s worried ’cos she hasn’t heard from him yet, but she’s bound to get a letter soon.’

  ‘Of course I will,’ Doreen nodded, sending her blonde hair swinging around her face. ‘I wouldn’t leave Paul out for the world.’

  ‘Auntie Nellie worries a lot more than people think,’ Jill said of the woman who would soon be her mother-in-law and whom she adored. ‘Because she’s always laughing and making jokes, folk think she doesn’t give a continental about anything. But deep down she’s very caring and worries about a lot of things.’

  ‘Yer don’t have to tell me that, sunshine, I know yer Au
ntie Nellie inside out. She’s a real softie at heart but doesn’t let anyone see that side of her. I wouldn’t hear a wrong word said against her ’cos she’s kept me going over the years.’

  ‘Me and George often talk about you two,’ Jack said before holding a match to his Woodbine. ‘All these years yer’ve been mates and never once had a row.’

  ‘Oh, I wouldn’t say that, love, ’cos it wouldn’t be true.’ Molly laced her fingers and laid her arms flat on the table. ‘When the kids were little and they were fighting in the street, neither me nor Nellie would have it that it was one of ours that started the fight. We used to shout at each other, roll our sleeves up and before yer knew it there’d be skin and hair flying. But it always ended up with us having a damn good laugh at ourselves and saying we were worse than the kids. We never, ever, fell out. And if I had a penny for the number of times I’ve thanked God for giving me Nellie McDonough as a neighbour, I’d be a rich woman.’

  ‘I love me Auntie Nellie, ’cos she always cheers yer up when ye’re feeling miserable,’ Ruthie said. ‘D’yer remember when me granda was in hospital, Mam and yer left me with Auntie Nellie while yer went with me nan to visit him? I was only little, and yer gave her me storybook and asked her to read me one of the fairy tales. Well, she said she didn’t need no book ’cos she knew all the stories off by heart. And she began with Little Red Riding Hood walking through the forest. Only instead of meeting the Big Bad Wolf, she was met by the Three Bears who shouted at her for eating their porridge.’ Ruthie joined in the laughter before going on. ‘I told Auntie Nellie Red Riding Hood was going to visit her grandma’s with a basket of fruit, and d’yer know what she said? “Oh no, girl, that was the day after. But don’t worry, ’cos the Three Little Piggies happened to pass by on their way to the market, and they chased the bears away. So Red Riding Hood was able to keep walking through the woods, and very soon she was safe and sound in her grandma’s cottage, eating an apple in front of a roaring fire”.’

  ‘Yer can’t complain over that,’ Molly chuckled. ‘Yer got three stories for the price of one.’

  ‘I almost got four!’ Ruthie said. It was five years ago now, but she could see the scene as if it were happening right now. ‘Yer know how me Auntie Nellie screws her eyes up tight when she’s thinking? Well, she did this for a minute, then said, “I don’t know whether I’ve got me facts mixed up, girl, but I’m sure some flamer had poisoned that ruddy apple”.’

  Jack banged a fist on the table as he roared with laughter. ‘She’s a bloody hero, that woman. I wonder if she knows how funny she is?’

  ‘What? She makes a career out of it!’ Molly was using the back of her hand to dry her eyes. ‘There isn’t a shopkeeper for miles around who doesn’t smile as soon as she walks in the door. And that’s before she opens her mouth! But she’s crafty with it. While they’re laughing their heads off she cadges an extra half ounce of tea or sugar off them.’

  ‘Steve adores his mam,’ Jill said softly, wishing she could go to sleep until the day her beloved was coming home. ‘He says he’s never once heard her complain, even when yer can see she’s not feeling well.’

  ‘Ye’re lucky to be marrying into that family, sunshine,’ Molly said. ‘They don’t come like that very often.’

  ‘I know how lucky I am, Mam. I’ve got the best mother in the world, and soon I’ll have the best mother-in-law in the world.’

  ‘Well, go along and see her and yer can both be happy together. She’ll be dying to show yer Steve’s letter.’

  ‘I’m going over the road to see Phil,’ Doreen said, ‘but we’re not going out so I won’t be late in.’

  ‘I’ll come with yer for ten minutes.’ Molly picked up Jack’s plate and carried it through to the kitchen. ‘I usually call every day to see how Victoria is, but with one thing and another I haven’t had the chance.’ She kissed her husband’s cheek. ‘I won’t be long, love, because me ma was going to ask Rosie to come round. She’ll be part of the family one day in the not too distant future, and I’d like her to share in the excitement and happiness.’

  ‘I’ll keep her company until yer get back, so don’t worry.’ Jack moved to his chair at the side of the fireplace with the Echo tucked under his arm. ‘I was going to say give my regards to Miss Clegg, but it’s a day for more than regards, so give her a big kiss from me.’

  ‘Will do, love. And Ruthie will make yer a nice cup of tea, won’t yer, sunshine?’

  ‘I’ll make him a cup of tea, but I can’t guarantee it’ll be nice.’

  ‘The way yer dad feels tonight, I don’t think he’ll notice what it’s like.’ Molly made her way to the front door followed by her two older daughters. Once outside, Jill turned to the left to go to the McDonoughs’ while Molly and Doreen crossed the cobbled street to a house on the opposite side.

  The door was opened by Doreen’s boyfriend, Phil Bradley. He was tall and well-built, with blond hair and vivid blue eyes. A handsome lad by any standards. ‘I’m really happy for yer, Mrs B.’ His smile for Molly was wide. ‘I can imagine what it’s been like in your house today.’

  Molly kissed him as she passed. ‘Laughter and tears all day, sunshine.’

  When her mother was safely in the living room, Doreen walked into Phil’s arms and their lips met. ‘I love you,’ she whispered.

  ‘And I love you.’ He released her and they walked into the room holding hands like the young sweethearts they were.

  Molly was kneeling down at the side of a fireside chair, her hands holding those of a frail elderly lady, whose sparse hair was snow-white and her face lined with age. ‘Well, Miss Victoria Clegg, the day we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived. This time next week I’ll have all me family around me and I’ll be the happiest woman in Liverpool.’

  Victoria’s faded eyes were moist with tears. In four weeks she would be ninety years of age, and she was alive now because of the kindness of three women in the street. Twice they had nursed her back from the brink of death. The woman kneeling beside her chair was one of them, Nellie McDonough another and Mary Watson, her next-door neighbour. A spinster, she had no family or relatives of her own, and these three women had made her part of their families. She owed them so much she could never repay them. She had shared their heartaches through the war and was overjoyed that now she could share their happiness. And she would like to think that her prayers every night for the safe return of the boys had been heard by God. ‘I can’t wait to see Tommy and Steve. I know it’s been worse for you and Nellie, because they’re your own flesh and blood. But I have missed them and worried about them.’

  ‘I know yer have, sunshine. And although yer might not be our flesh and blood, ye’re still part of our families. We adopted yer, didn’t we?’

  Phil, who was standing by the sideboard with his arm around Doreen’s waist, said softly, ‘Like you adopted me, Aunt Vickie. We’re not flesh and blood, but we love each other.’

  Molly turned her head to look at the young man whom Victoria had offered a bed to one night five years ago, and who was now like a son to her. Molly had been dead against the old lady taking him in because he came from a bad family who had moved into the street and had stolen everything they could lay their hands on. None of the neighbours had ever seen Phil, who went to work every day, using the back door to come and go because he was ashamed of the family his mother had married into. He was only waiting for the day when he earned enough money to get away from them. Then one night he’d caught his stepbrother, Brian, climbing over Miss Clegg’s back wall intending to break into her house and rob her. He’d pulled Brian down and was giving him a good hiding when the noise brought the neighbours out. It meant Phil couldn’t go home that night because he’d have got a leathering off his stepdad who made a living out of thieving. Miss Clegg had taken pity and offered him a bed for the night. She ignored Molly’s advice about taking him in, and he’d been there ever since. He was the family she’d never had and she adored him. He in turn had paid her back a
thousandfold and idolised her.

  All of this flashed through Molly’s mind in seconds. She’d been wrong about her ma and da taking Rosie in, and she’d certainly been wrong about Phil. Not only had he given Victoria something to live for, he’d brought about a change in her daughter she never expected to see. Doreen had always been the wayward one of the family, with her quick tongue and cocky attitude. But since she’d fallen head over heels in love with the blond, handsome Phil, she was kind and caring and more thoughtful for others.

  Molly smiled at the lad whom she’d be happy to have as a son-in-law. ‘Yeah, I think you two got a real bargain when yer adopted each other.’

  ‘They’ll be getting a bigger bargain when they get me,’ Doreen said. ‘This twosome will soon be a threesome.’

  ‘Well, God granted me this extra time on earth to see the lads safely home.’ Victoria pushed a wisp of hair from her eyes. ‘I hope He’ll also allow me to stay long enough to see you two married and settled in the house that has been my home for fifty years.’

  ‘Ah, ay, Victoria Clegg, don’t be getting so maudlin!’ Molly struggled to her feet. ‘I flatly refuse to be anything but happy today.’

  ‘Then I’ll put the kettle on, shall I, Aunt Vickie?’ Phil asked.

  ‘Yes, please, sweetheart. And I’m sure Doreen would love to give yer a hand.’

  Molly watched Phil limp into the kitchen, and once again her mind went back in time. Phil had joined the army before he was called up because he was afraid that while he was living with the woman he now called Aunt Vickie, she was in danger from his family. They’d been driven from the street by angry neighbours, but Tom Bradley, his stepfather, had returned to demand money with threats. So the boy had joined up and within weeks was sent overseas. He was one of the thousands of soldiers stranded on the beach at Dunkirk who had the sea behind them and nowhere to run. His leg had been shattered by shrapnel from an exploding bomb dropped by one of the hundreds of German planes whose mission it was to kill as many allied soldiers as possible. Phil had been lucky, he was picked up by one of the armada of small boats which had set sail from England to try and rescue as many of their countrymen as they could – many risking their own lives to do so. Phil had had several operations on his leg but they hadn’t been able to remove all the shrapnel and he’d been left with a permanent limp. He’d gone back to work but it had taken a year for the haunted look to leave his eyes. And he had never talked about the horrors he’d seen.