Walking My Baby Back Home

by Joan Jonker

  Dot nearly tripped over herself. ‘Yer don’t mean to tell me that ye’re marrying a widow, one with a family?’

  ‘If all goes according to plan, yes, I am going to marry her.’

  If Dot had glanced her son’s way, she’d have seen him grinning like a Cheshire cat and he would have given the game away. But she stared straight ahead and increased her speed. ‘All I can say is, yer want yer bumps feeling.’

  ‘There are times I would agree with you, D.D., but at other times I think I’m doing the right thing. Right for me, and right for her.’

  They turned into Province Road and automatically stopped outside Billy’s house. ‘Are yer leaving us here, Billy?’ Dot asked.

  ‘No, I’m walking Katy home. I always walk her home, wouldn’t seem right if I didn’t.’ His boyish face split into a wide smile. ‘Just like that song, you know – Walking My Baby Back Home. Except in the song it says “arm in arm” but Katy won’t link arms with me ’cos she said we’re too young and would look daft.’

  Dot smiled at his honesty. ‘She has a point, sunshine, but the time will come. Anyway, yer might as well have a cup of tea in ours.’

  ‘Like Billy, I’ll be a gentleman and walk you home,’ John said, a smile playing around his mouth. ‘Then I’ll go to the chip shop and get us some supper.’

  When Dot opened her bag to get the front door key, she also took out her purse. ‘I’m paying for the chips, you paid for us all to get in the pictures.’

  John shook his head. ‘Billy seems to be well-versed on the behaviour of a gentleman, so I’m sure he’d tell you that a gentleman never takes money off a lady. Besides, I’ll be eating the chips as well, don’t forget. Plus, I’ll be drinking your tea and eating your bread and butter. So I think that just about makes us quits.’

  Dot put the purse back in her bag without a word. She wasn’t going to stand and argue in the street, but she would later. And, she would tell him in no uncertain terms that she didn’t make a habit of holding a man’s hand in the pictures. The thought brought a smile to her face as she slipped the key in the lock. Since she’d never been out with a man since Ted died ten years ago, she could hardly call it a habit. Still, she would bring the subject up to clear the air and her conscience.

  John waved away the plate Dot was holding out to him. ‘I’ll eat them out of the paper, they taste better. Besides, it saves having dirty dishes.’

  ‘I think we’re teaching you bad habits.’ Dot spread the newspaper out on her lap and sniffed up in appreciation of the appetising smell of chips sprinkled liberally with salt and vinegar. ‘I bet yer’d never eaten chips out of newspaper before yer started coming here, now had yer?’

  ‘No, D.D., I hadn’t. Just think of what I’ve been missing for forty years.’

  ‘Is that how old you are, Mr Kershaw?’ Colin spoke with his mouth half-full. ‘It’s me mam’s birthday next week, did yer know? She’ll be thirty-eight.’

  Dot nearly choked on a chip. ‘Gee, thanks, sunshine! I suppose everyone in the street will know how old I am.’

  ‘No, they won’t.’ The boy looked hurt. ‘I don’t tell no one nothing any more. Only Mr Kershaw, and he doesn’t count ’cos he’s our friend.’

  Billy sat on the couch shaking his head. ‘I’ve told yer me dad always says it’s not worth arguing with women ’cos yer don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of winning. Well, he also advises never to ask a woman her age because yer wouldn’t get the truth anyway. He says one of our neighbours has been forty-five for as long as he can remember, even though she’s got snow-white hair, no teeth, and hairs growing out of a wart on her chin. They always knock a few years off, according to me dad, so it’s best to just smile and tell them they don’t look anywhere near their age. That makes for an easier life, he reckons.’ He turned to grin at Katy. ‘So if you want to tell me ye’re four years of age, I won’t argue with yer.’

  ‘I won’t bother, thank you,’ Katy giggled. ‘And when I’m older I won’t be walking around with no teeth in me head and a wart on me chin with hairs growing out of it.’

  ‘I hope not, Katy Baker,’ Billy put the last chip in his mouth, ‘’cos if yer do, yer won’t see my heels for dust. I’ll go away to sea and never come back.’

  ‘Are you still hankering for the sea, sunshine?’ Dot asked. ‘I thought yer mam had put her foot down good and proper over that.’

  Billy screwed the piece of newspaper up into a tight ball. ‘I think she’s weakening a bit, Mrs Baker. She said she might think about it when I’m fifteen, as long as it’s only for a few trips and I don’t want to make a career of it.’

  ‘Wouldn’t you be worried that Katy might find another boyfriend while you’re away?’ John asked. ‘If I had a pretty girl like her, I wouldn’t be going away and leaving her.’

  Billy turned to Katy with surprise written all over his face. ‘You wouldn’t do that, would yer, Katy? Nah, yer wouldn’t do that.’

  ‘Don’t you be too sure of yerself, Billy Harlow! You want to go away to sea, well you go. But while ye’re away, I’ll be doing what I want to do. That’s fair, isn’t it? What’s good for the gander is good for the goose.’

  Billy’s grin was never far away and it surfaced now. ‘Yer’ve got that the wrong way round, Katy. It should be, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.’

  ‘No, I haven’t so there!’ Katy pulled tongues at him. ‘You’re the gander what’s going away, and I’m the goose what’s staying and doing what she wants.’

  ‘That’s given yer something to worry about, sunshine,’ Dot said, thinking that Billy, like John, seemed to have become one of the family. She could understand the lad because he was, in his own young way, courting Katy. But why John spent most of his free time here was nothing short of a mystery to her. ‘If I were you, I wouldn’t go on a ship that’s away for long. You might be better satisfying yer taste for the sea on the New Brighton ferry. Me daughter couldn’t get up to much mischief in an hour.’

  ‘Can we get back to the matter in hand, D.D.?’ John asked. ‘About this birthday of yours, when is it?’

  When Dot didn’t answer right away, Colin did it for her. ‘It’s next Saturday, isn’t it, Mam?’

  ‘Oh, that’s the day we all break up for our holidays,’ John said. ‘Two whole weeks of not having to get up early in the morning. And two Saturdays when you can’t use the excuse of having to do your shopping.’

  ‘That’s not an excuse, it’s the truth! Yer don’t think I walk around the shops for pleasure, do yer? With me feet tired after a morning’s work, and me arms nearly pulled out of their sockets with lugging all the potatoes and stuff around. Yer must think I’m a ruddy glutton for punishment, John Kershaw.’

  ‘Well, you are not doing it next week, I forbid it. It’s your birthday and we, the five of us, are going to celebrate.’

  ‘Ah, no!’ Katy wailed. ‘I have to work on a Saturday, and I can’t ask for a day off because it’s our busiest day.’

  ‘I hadn’t thought of that,’ John admitted. ‘What we could do, I suppose, is I take your mother and Colin to New Brighton or Southport for the day and get back in time for us all to go to the pictures.’

  ‘Don’t mind me, I’m only here to make the numbers up. Carry on, just pretend I’m not here,’ Dot muttered. ‘After all, it’s got nothing to do with me, it’s only my birthday.’

  ‘Without wanting to sound rude, D.D., it really doesn’t have anything to do with you. Apart, as you say, from it being your birthday, of course. But what we’re talking about is your birthday present, and people don’t usually tell their friends what they want, or do not want, as a present. So if it’s all the same to you, your daughter and son, and Billy, will help me decide what we want to give you.’

  ‘Excuse me, Mr John Kershaw, but I am going to have my say. I’m not letting you spend any more money on me, yer’ve spent enough. It must have cost yer a fortune to take us to the pictures tonight, and although I’m very grateful, I’ll n
ot take any more off yer.’

  ‘Now you excuse me, Mrs Dorothy Baker,’ John said, leaning forward with hands on his knees. ‘If you want to tell me off, you will do it in the correct, and expected manner. You will get to your feet and put your hands on your hips, tilt your head and glare. If you don’t do that, I won’t think you’re telling me off and my colleagues and I will continue our discussions on how best to celebrate your coming birthday.’

  Billy was the first to start laughing, then Katy and Colin joined in. ‘Oh Mam, yer’ve got to laugh at that,’ Katy said. ‘Mr Kershaw said it beautifully.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Billy agreed. ‘It’s the opposite to what me dad taught me, but then he’s never heard anyone talking posh, like you do. I wouldn’t mind getting told off like that. It beats “bugger off” any day of the week.’

  Dot was bursting with laughter inside, but she kept it hidden as she jumped to her feet and stood in front of John. ‘What did yer say, Mr Kershaw? Hands on hips – like this, yer mean? Head tilted – is that OK for yer? And what was the other? Oh yeah, I know.’ She leaned forward and put her face close to his. ‘Is this glare angry enough for yer?’

  ‘Keep your face there, Dorothy, and you’re asking to be kissed.’

  ‘Kiss me, John, and ye’re asking for a thick ear.’

  ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained, Mr Kershaw,’ Billy said, daringly. ‘I’d take a chance if I were you ’cos Mrs Baker doesn’t half look pretty in that new dress.’

  Katy’s high squeal brought all eyes in her direction. ‘Oh, me new dress, Mam, I’d forgotten all about it!’ She jumped to her feet, her face alive with excitement. ‘Where is it, Mam?’

  ‘I’m sorry, sunshine, I forgot about it meself. It’s in a bag in the sideboard cupboard.’ Dot glared at John. ‘It’s all your fault, making me forget me own daughter’s dress. Getting something new is a big thing in this house, definitely more of a cause for celebration than my ruddy birthday.’

  Colin wasn’t standing for his hero taking the blame. ‘It wasn’t Mr Kershaw’s fault, it was me what mentioned yer birthday. If yer must shout at anyone, shout at me.’

  He looked so grown-up at that moment, so like his dad, Dot would have forgiven him anything. ‘I was only joking, sunshine, and John knows that.’ She turned around to see her daughter holding the dress aloft, her mouth and eyes wide open. ‘Do yer like it, sunshine?’

  ‘Like it? It’s beautiful!’ The dress was in a paler blue than her mother’s and had an all-over pattern of small pink and white flowers. It had a sweetheart neck, short puffed sleeves and a flared skirt. Katy held the dress to her and smiled. ‘I can’t wait to wear this – I won’t half be a swank.’

  John saw the pride in Dot’s eyes and would have given anything to be able to put his arm across her shoulders and be allowed to share in that pride. Instead he contented himself with asking, ‘Shall we call a truce, D.D., and ask Katy to let us see her in the dress?’

  Dot nodded, ‘Yeah, go on, Katy, put it on and give us all a treat.’ She watched her daughter hurry from the room, the precious dress clutched to her breast. Then she wagged a finger at John. ‘You keep yer eye off my Katy, Mr Kershaw, or yer’ll have Billy after yer. And remember, yer’ve already got one ladyfriend.’

  ‘Not for one second do I ever forget that, Mrs Baker.’

  Colin was standing behind the couch, leaning on the back of it. In his mind he was talking to himself, asking why Mr Kershaw didn’t take the bull by the horns and give his mother a kiss. After all, she could only clock him one.

  When Katy made her grand entrance, she looked as pretty as a picture. She twirled around for them to see it from all angles, and the reception she received had her cup of happiness overflowing. ‘Yer can take me for a walk tomorrow, Billy, so I can show me new dress off.’

  ‘Yeah!’ Billy showed his feelings openly. Katy was his girl and he adored her. ‘If any bloke looks sideways at her, I’ll thump him one.’

  ‘Why don’t we all go for a walk?’ John asked. ‘The weather is too nice to stay indoors, and your mother has a new dress to show off, too. And I might even follow Billy’s instinct to thump any bloke that looks sideways at her. Another thing, we could ask Mary to come with the baby, she’d enjoy that.’ When he saw the doubt on Dot’s face, he added, ‘It doesn’t cost anything to go for a walk – even the fresh air is free. So you wouldn’t be under any obligation to me.’

  Katy added her plea. ‘Yeah, go on, Mam. Yer can leave the housework until the following week, when ye’re off work. And if Mary comes, I bags first wheel of the pram.’

  Dot had learned that when her children sided with John, there was no point in arguing. And it would be nice for the whole family to go for a walk together. To refuse would be childish and spiteful. ‘You’ve got money for Mary, haven’t you, John?’

  ‘Yes, but it’ll have to wait until tomorrow now, I wouldn’t knock this time of night – it’s nearly ten o’clock.’

  Dot looked at the clock then at her son. ‘You little tinker, no wonder yer’ve been quiet for a while. It’s way past yer bedtime, so up the stairs yer go. And don’t bother pretending yer’ve got a tummyache or a sore throat in the morning because ye’re going to Mass if I have to carry yer.’

  Colin went to bed as good as gold after saying good night. Tomorrow was another day out and he was looking forward to it. He wasn’t half glad he’d run into Mr Kershaw’s bike that night, because now he didn’t feel left out when his mates were bragging about where they’d been and what they’d done. He was getting as many treats as them, if not more.

  The boy folded the blankets back before he got into bed. It was so warm, all he needed was a sheet to cover him. He lay awake for a while wondering if Mr Kershaw was having any luck persuading his mam over her birthday outing. If he did, and they asked him where he’d like to go, he’d say Southport. A lot of his mates had been to New Brighton, some had even been as far as North Wales, but he’d never heard one say they’d been to Southport. So for once in his life he would be the first to have gone somewhere special.

  When Katy stood on the front step saying good night to Billy, she was surprised when he said, in his usual forthright manner, ‘Mr Kershaw hasn’t half got a crush on your mam – it’s sticking out a mile. It’s a wonder yer haven’t noticed.’

  ‘Of course I’ve noticed, yer daft article, I’m not blind. Me and our Colin are doing everything we can to make her see how nice he is, and Mr Kershaw – well, he practically lets her walk all over him. If God loves a trier, then He must adore him.’

  ‘I’m glad you don’t give me the cold shoulder, like yer mam does.’ Billy kicked the step before remembering he was wearing his best pair of shoes. Then he wished he’d kicked himself instead, because if his mam saw them scuffed she wouldn’t be very happy and she was the best kicker of the lot. ‘We’ve always known we liked each other, haven’t we, Katy?’

  ‘There’s a big difference between me and me mam, Billy. Yer see, she often talks about me dad, and how much she loved him. Perhaps she’ll never love anyone else, no matter how nice they are.’

  ‘D’yer remember yer dad, Katy?’

  She shook her head. ‘Not really, ’cos I was less than four years old when he died. I can get images in me head of things, like being picked up by a man with a laughing face, and being tossed in the air. I can see meself lying on the floor, screaming with laughter as the man with the smiling face tickled me tummy. But the face isn’t clear, it’s just a blur. Me mam says our Colin is the spittin’ image of me dad, but I honestly can’t remember what he looked like. What I do remember of him was that he loved me very much, I could tell, even though I was so young. I also know there was a lot of laughter in the house and I was a happy child.’

  ‘Yer mam does laugh a lot, I really like her. She’s too nice to spend the rest of her life on her own being lonely. Even if she can’t love another man like she loved yer dad, she could be happy with someone who was good to her, like Mr Kershaw.’

>   ‘Me mam will never be lonely while me and our Colin are around, we’ll make sure of that. But I understand what yer mean, Billy. It would be lovely if she had someone of her own – especially someone as nice as Mr Kershaw, because I know he’d be good to her. She wouldn’t have to work herself to death, like she does now. That would be a blessing. And it would be nice for me and our kid to have a man in the house, like having a dad. But for heaven’s sake don’t breathe a word of that to anyone, in case it gets back to me mam. She loved me real dad so much, she might be very hurt if she thought we were wanting someone to take his place.’

  Katy gave a deep sigh. She felt better now she’d confided in someone and Billy was a good listener. ‘That was a long speech for me, wasn’t it?’

  ‘It needed saying, and yer said it.’ Billy chuckled, ‘But I hope when we get married yer don’t talk the ear off me every night.’

  ‘You cheeky begger! I don’t talk a lot, and anyway, what gave yer the idea that I’d marry yer? I’ve never said I would.’

  ‘Of course yer will! I’ve known since I was about twelve that you were the girl for me. If yer don’t feel the same, then ye’re mean for letting me go on thinking me life was all planned out and we were going to live happy ever after.’

  Katy giggled softly. ‘Billy Harlow, ye’re passed the post, yer know that, don’t yer?’

  ‘Well, seeing as yer’ve almost agreed to marry me, d’yer think yer could give me a little kiss? Just to give me a taste of things to come.’

  While Katy was getting her first real kiss, John was broaching the prickly subject of Dot’s birthday. ‘Let me take you and Colin out as my present to you. I know it’s not just a present for you because Colin and I would be sharing it. But it would give me so much pleasure to repay, in a small way, the friendliness and hospitality you’ve shown me over the last six or seven months. You have given me so much but are loath to take anything in return.’