by Joan Jonker
‘Well, yer’ll soon know if she goes out with him tonight. If she does, then she was telling the truth about having a headache.’
‘I lay in bed last night, girl, and felt like saying a prayer that she’d finish with him. Then I thought I better hadn’t ’cos God would think that was wicked.’
‘I’m not saying anything, sunshine, ’cos all the talking in the world won’t make any difference. It’s Lily’s life, and although I understand how you feel, no one can tell her how to live that life.’ As Molly got to her feet, she was hoping her best friend would never discover the part she’d played in her daughter’s life. ‘Let’s get cracking, Nellie. I haven’t seen Vera Patterson all week, and I’d like to know how that Mavis’s husband is. We’ll give her a knock on our way to the shops.’
‘Come in a minute, don’t be standing on the step.’ Vera Patterson held the door wide. ‘I’ve been keeping an eye out for yer.’
Nellie couldn’t resist. ‘Which one?’
Vera looked blank. ‘Which one what?’
‘Which eye have yer been keeping out?’
Molly gave her friend a dig, but she couldn’t help laughing inside. The trouble was, not everyone shared Nellie’s humour. ‘Take no notice of her, Vera, she has a funny half-hour about this time every day.’
‘I could do with her staying and keeping me company, then. I don’t know what to do with meself all day since the kids went back next door. I know they were at school most of the day, but cooking and washing for them gave me something to do. And me and Bill don’t half miss them at night, it’s like a graveyard without their chatter.’
‘How did Mavis find her husband?’ Molly asked.
‘She got the shock of her life. He’s only half the man he was, she said, but the doctors told her that with time, rest and the right food, he’d put back the weight he lost. It’s his mental condition they’re more concerned about. He’s in a world of his own most of the time, and Mavis said he jumps at the slightest sound and looks terrified if anyone comes near the bed. He wouldn’t let her touch him at first, he would back away as though she was a stranger.’
Molly sighed. ‘Poor man, it just doesn’t seem right! All because some jumped-up swine called Hitler wanted to rule the world, thousands of men have been killed and wounded. If he wasn’t already dead I’d offer to hang him meself.’
‘Mavis said there were a lot more men in the ward like Frank. Some worse, some not so bad. It’s had an effect on her, I can tell yer. Going in that hospital was worse than any horror picture she’s ever seen.’
‘Any sign of him being moved nearer home?’
Vera nodded. ‘This week, she hopes. But it won’t be to Walton or the Southern, it’ll be to a special hospital in a place called Mossley Hill. At least she’ll be able to see him every day, and the kids might be allowed in. Mavis thinks that seeing the kids will be the best medicine he could get. It was the only time he showed that he was even listening to her, when she told him how the kids were doing at school. She’s asked me if I’ll go with her the first time she visits the hospital, just for a bit of moral support, like.’
Nellie felt she’d been left out of it long enough. ‘Me and Molly will always go with her, won’t we, girl?’ She was thinking about all the bad things she’d had to say about Mavis Sheild over the years, and this had taught her a lesson. You should never say bad things about anyone because the day might come when you’d regret it. ‘You could go with her one day, Vera, and we’d go the next. Just until she got used to going on her own, that is.’
‘That’s kind of yer. I’ll tell Mavis and she’ll be pleased. She hasn’t got many friends, I’m afraid, because of the life she led. But I’m sure everyone will rally round when they know all the circumstances, and how ill Frank is.’
Molly knew most of the neighbours would rally round, but it was the two with poisoned tongues she was afraid of. ‘Has Fanny Kemp and that mate of hers, Theresa Brown, had any more to say?’
Vera sighed. ‘Every time they see Mavis they call names after her. They’re always standing on their doorsteps gossiping, and they’ve only got to see her opening the door and they’re at it. So she hardly ever goes out now because she’s afraid of bumping into them. I get all her main shopping, and the kids run to the corner shop for the little things.’
‘She can’t be stuck in the house all the time just because of those two!’ Molly was disgusted. ‘It’s a free country and she has as much right to walk the streets as they have. And what’s getting my goat is they’ll be laughing their socks off because they know she’s frightened of them. It’s just what they want! Her best bet would be to stand up to them, Vera, and lift her two fingers to them.’
‘She’s got no fight in her, Molly! She knows she’s done wrong and is paying the penalty for it. And although I feel like giving them a mouthful when I hear the things they shout over to her, I’m no match for those two.’
Nellie squared her shoulders and thrust her bosom forward. ‘You might not be, Vera, but me and Molly are. If I hear one word out of them about Mavis, I’ll belt them so hard they won’t know what day it is.’
Molly couldn’t help smiling. ‘Ay, sunshine, don’t be expecting me to roll me sleeves up and have a go, ’cos I’m no fighter. I’d run like hell if they came at me. But I’d be in your corner, ready with a sponge and towel for when Fanny clocked yer one. She’s got muscles on her like a man, has Fanny, and I’d not like to tangle with her.’
Nellie looked really put out. ‘Thank yer for the vote of confidence, girl, it’s nice to know yer’ve got faith in me.’ Her shaking head had her chins flying. ‘I’ve a good mind to go and knock on her door this minute just to prove me point. Before she had time to ask what I want, I bet any money I could floor her with one belt.’
‘If she was standing on the top step, sunshine, and you were on the pavement, that would make her two foot taller than you. So the only place yer could belt her would be in her tummy. Now that wouldn’t floor her, but it might knock the wind out of her for long enough for you to make good yer escape.’
Nellie looked at Vera with a sweet smile on her face. ‘Doesn’t my friend have a lovely way of putting things? Me, I would have said, “Ye’re bloody pathetic, you are. Yer couldn’t punch a hole in a ruddy paper bag”. That’s the difference between us, yer see. She can be real hoity-toity, while I sound as common as muck.’
‘Ay, ye’re as good and as clever as anyone,’ Molly said. ‘Yer pretend to be as thick as two short planks, but I know different.’
Nellie was well pleased. ‘Did yer hear that, Vera? I knew she’d stick up for me ’cos she’s me best mate. But I still say I could knock the stuffing out of Fanny Kemp.’
Molly jerked her thumb towards the door. ‘Let’s get to the shops before they close. If yer want us, Vera, give us a knock.’
Vera stood on the step and waved them off. And she grinned when she heard Nellie say, ‘I won’t go looking for a fight, girl, ’cos I know yer don’t think it’s ladylike. But if Fanny stands in me path, I won’t walk around her, I’ll walk through her.’
Chapter Nineteen
Lily glanced nervously at the large round clock on the factory wall, and sighed when it told her it was a quarter to twelve. All morning she’d been chopping and changing her mind, but she couldn’t afford to waste any more time because the dinner buzzer would be going soon and then it would be too late. She moved closer to the girl she was working next to on the bench. ‘I feel lousy, Ginny, me tummy’s upset and me head is whirling. D’yer think Miss Birch would mind if I asked her if I could go home?’
‘Of course not. It’s you that’ll have yer pay docked, not her.’ Ginny was a pleasant woman in her late thirties. Her husband had been killed in the war, and with two children to keep she had to work to survive. Life was no bed of roses for her, but she never complained and was always smiling. ‘I thought there was something wrong with yer ’cos yer face is as white as a sheet. Go now, before the break, otherwise yer
’ll miss her and she wouldn’t be happy if yer took the afternoon off without asking permission.’
‘I better had, I couldn’t face standing here much longer.’ Lily gazed around the workshop and saw the supervisor near the office door. ‘I’ll come back for me things, Ginny, before the buzzer goes.’
Miss Birch was a stern-looking woman and strict with the women under her. But she was also fair, and willing to listen. ‘I noticed you didn’t look well, Lily, and if you had mentioned it earlier I’d have sent you to the nurse for something to settle your stomach. However, it’s too near dinner-time now, the nurse will probably have left for the canteen. So perhaps it would be better if you went home and took yourself off to bed. I’m sure your mother will get something from the chemist to cure whatever ails you.’
‘Thanks, Miss Birch, I’ll do that. I should be all right for work tomorrow, seeing as it’s only half a day.’
‘Off you go then, before the mad rush for the canteen starts.’
Lily took off her overall and folded it before placing it under the bench and reaching for her handbag. ‘I’ll see yer in the morning, Ginny, please God.’
‘All right, queen, and I hope yer feel better soon.’
As Lily took down her coat from a hook in the cloakroom, she asked herself if the lies had been worth it. She probably wouldn’t have the nerve to do what she’d spent the morning planning, and which had brought on the headache. Still, she’d carried out the first part of her plan, and when she was out in the fresh air, she might just find the courage to complete the rest.
Lily was shaking like a leaf as she walked up Tetlow Street. She hadn’t a clue what number she was looking for, and so far there’d been no one around to ask. Then one of the doors opened and Lily took her courage in her hand and stood at the bottom of the path, outside a small wooden gate. ‘I wonder if yer can help me, please? I’m looking for a family called Lofthouse.’
‘Number forty-six, pet, and yer should catch Ada in ’cos I’ve just seen her coming back from the shops.’
Lily thanked the woman, and although her heart was pounding and she felt like turning around and running miles away, she forced her feet to carry on walking up the street. The houses she passed were three-bedroomed terraced houses, with a small garden in front and a path running down to gates that were either wrought iron or wood. They were all well-kept and it seemed a nice area to live in. And handy for shopping. Walton Road was lined both sides with shops selling everything you could wish for, a pub on every corner and a Mary Ellen at the top of every side street selling fruit and vegetables from small carts or barrows.
But all of these things were far from Lily’s mind as she came to a stop outside number forty-six. Her teeth were chattering and her tummy was knotted with fear. But it was important to do what she’d come for because it was the only way to find out the real truth. So mustering all of her will-power, she pressed down the latch on the gate and pushed it open. She couldn’t feel her legs as she walked up the path, and although she only knocked lightly on the door, it sounded to her ears like a clap of thunder.
‘Yes, love, can I help yer?’
The woman looking down at her was the opposite to what Lily was expecting. For so long she’d been hearing from Len about how hard his mother was, but the woman she was seeing now had a kindly, pleasant face. ‘Mrs Lofthouse?’
‘That’s me, love. What can I do for yer?’
‘My name is Lily McDonough, Mrs Lofthouse, and I’ve been courting your son Len for nearly two years.’
The woman looked startled. ‘He never mentioned to me that he’s courting! Are yer sure yer’ve got the name right, love?’
‘I’m positive. I see him nearly every night! At least, I did before he went in the army, and since he came home. I wouldn’t tell lies about a thing like that, I’d have no reason to.’
‘No, of course yer wouldn’t, and I didn’t mean to imply yer were a liar.’ Ada Lofthouse was asking herself if her wayward son was bringing yet more trouble to her door. ‘Did yer want to leave a message for him, or something?’
Lily shook her head. ‘No, I wanted to talk to you. Could yer spare me ten minutes, please? I promise I won’t keep yer any longer.’
Ada could see fear in the girl’s eyes and her heart sank. What the hell had her younger son been up to now? Hadn’t he caused her and her husband Jim enough heartache? But chasing the girl away wouldn’t solve anything, and besides, she seemed a decent lass. ‘Come in, love, I’ve just put the kettle on so yer timed it nicely.’
The hallway was three times the length of the one at home, and sported a very ornate coat-stand with spaces at the side for sticks or umbrellas. Although it was on the dark side, Lily could see everywhere was spotlessly clean and highly polished.
‘Sit yerself down, love, while I see to the kettle. I’ll have a cup of tea on the table in two minutes, then yer can tell me what yer came for.’
After Ada had placed the two cups of tea on the table, she moved an aspidistra plant out of the way before sitting down facing Lily. ‘I was going to ask if yer were hungry and would like me to make yer a sandwich, but ye’re all tensed up so yer’d probably prefer to get what yer’ve got to say off yer chest.’
‘Yer might not want to tell me what I want to know, Mrs Lofthouse, but I think I have a right to know. I’ve heard some things about Len which are not very nice, and although he denied them when I put them to him, I can’t bring meself to believe him. Yer see, he hates coming to my home, and when I’ve asked why he didn’t bring me here, he always made excuses. I’ve been courting him for so long, yet you’ve never even heard of me! I’ve thought that was strange for a long time, but because I really loved him, I believed everything he told me. But I’ve been knocked for six by the things I’ve been told and I don’t trust him to tell me the truth. That’s why I’m here, to try and get to the truth.’
‘What have yer heard, love?’
‘I won’t tell yer everything, Mrs Lofthouse, ’cos there’s no point in hurting someone who has never done me no harm. So I’ll stick to the one thing I would never forgive him for if it’s true. I’ve been told a girl called Joan has had a baby to him.’
‘What did Len say when yer faced him with that?’
‘He said the baby wasn’t his and that the girl was blaming him to get her own back because he chucked her for me. According to him, she’s no good and the baby could be anyone’s. He blames her for spreading rumours about him and said if she doesn’t stop he’ll go to the police. He can be so convincing I almost believed him! But there’s been so many times I’ve had my suspicions that he was lying, I had to find out for meself this time. And now I’ve seen you, I know he is a liar. I’m sorry to have to say that, Mrs Lofthouse, ’cos he’s your son. But I can’t ruin my life by marrying someone who is a liar and a cheat.’
‘So yer’ve gone as far as talking about marriage, have yer?’
‘Yes, of course we have! We’ve been courting for two years and he told me he was saving up to get married.’ Lily was nearly in tears. ‘I mean, that’s what sweethearts do, isn’t it, Mrs Lofthouse? They get married!’
Ada’s sigh came from her heart. ‘Lily, if you married my son it would be the worst thing yer could ever do. Yer’d be letting yerself in for a life of misery, not ever able to believe a word that comes out of his mouth. I should know because I’ve had twenty years of it. He’s broken my heart so many times, it will never heal. It grieves me to say it, but he’s deceitful and doesn’t know what the truth is.’
Lily could hear the catch in the older woman’s voice and her heart went out to her. ‘I’m sorry, my coming here has upset yer and I didn’t mean for that to happen. It’s just that I didn’t know what else to do!’
‘You were right to come, love, and I’m glad yer did. At least I can stop him from ruining another girl’s life. Joan has had a baby to him, she got pregnant before he was called up. He says it’s not his, but the whole neighbourhood knows it is because the baby
is the spitting image of him. And although Joan is a forward, outgoing girl, she is certainly no trollop. She’s a good mother to the boy, who is about eighteen months old. And if she and her family have their way, Len will do the right thing and marry her. Me and me husband Jim agree. We both think it would be the makings of him, ’cos Joan wouldn’t stand any of his nonsense, she’d knock it out of him. And we’d both be over the moon to have a grandson.’
Lily’s sadness was turning to anger. Len had not only made a fool of her, he’d broken his mother’s heart, allowed Joan to bear the shame of being an unmarried mother, and worst of all he’d denied his own son. Thank God she came here today to hear the truth. And thank God Mrs Lofthouse was a decent woman who wasn’t blind to the faults in her son. ‘I appreciate yer being so honest with me, it can’t have been easy for yer. It hasn’t been easy for me either, ’cos I cared deeply for Len. But I’m only young, I can pick meself up and start all over again.’
‘I hope yer do, love. Yer’d be better off without my son. And if yer take my advice, if he tries to talk yer round, tell him to get lost and in future give him a wide berth.’
‘Would yer do me one more favour?’ Lily asked. ‘I’m supposed to be meeting him tomorrow night, but that’s out of the question now. So would yer tell him for me? He’ll know his lies have been found out when yer tell him I’ve been here, but he’s cheeky enough to come to our house to try and get round me. I don’t want him to do that, I don’t want to set eyes on him again. And if he’s wise, he’ll stay away. My two brothers wouldn’t take kindly to him bothering me.’
‘I’ll tell him that, love, and I’m sorry he’s hurt yer. But as yer say, ye’re only young and can start again. Just think of it as a lucky escape.’
‘I suppose most people will say I’ve had a lucky escape, Mrs Lofthouse, but it’ll take me a while to see it that way. After all, two years is a long time to love someone and I can’t just snap me fingers and forget all about it. But he’s let me down, lied and cheated, and I feel I’ve been made a fool of. If I think of it that way, then I’ll get over it a lot quicker.’ Lily pushed her chair back and stood up. ‘I won’t take up any more of yer time, yer’ve probably got work to do. But I thank yer for being so honest with me. Len doesn’t realise how lucky he is to have you for a mother, but I hope one day he will. And I hope for the sake of everyone concerned, particularly the baby, that he does right by Joan and marries her. Perhaps she can make a proper man of him. Then you’ll not only gain a grandson, but you’ll have a son yer can be proud of. A bit late in the day, but better late than never.’
