by Pam Weaver
‘We’d better keep it well away from the baby,’ said Ruby, lifting the cage onto the very top of the dresser. ‘And you be careful, too. It bit my fingers when I put my hand on the wire.’ The monkey hopped from one side to the other, but there wasn’t much room for it to move.
‘What in heaven’s name are you going to do with it?’ asked Rachel. ‘And where on earth did it come from?’
Ruby explained what had happened. ‘I’ve no idea who it belongs to, but it obviously can’t stay in that thing very long. It’s far too small.’
‘Are you going to keep it?’
‘Absolutely not,’ said Ruby. ‘I don’t want a thing like that running around the house.’
‘If you can’t find the owner,’ said Rachel, ‘it’s probably better to let it go again.’
‘I already suggested that, but Jim won’t hear of it,’ replied Ruby, pushing a piece of banana in between the bars. ‘And another thing: what do we feed it on? I’m sure it needs more than just bananas.’
The animal settled down to eat again, and Ruby put an eggcup full of water into the cage with it. After washing her hands, her thoughts turned towards her guests. Before long, the kettle was on for a cup of tea.
Rachel glanced towards the sitting-room door. ‘How is Jim these days?’ she asked in a low tone.
Ruby sighed. ‘I don’t know how to answer that,’ she began. ‘Miserable, grumpy, difficult . . .’ Her voice trailed off. Rachel reached out and gave her arm a sympathetic squeeze. ‘I know what happened to him was awful,’ Ruby went on, ‘but it’s like he’s given up trying, and I don’t know what to do.’
‘Oh, Ruby,’ said Rachel sympathetically.
Things had changed so much that it was hard to remember the carefree man who had wooed her and won her heart only a few years before. Ruby sighed. When they had married, she had loved Jim to bits and had been happy to give up all her dreams of foreign places and travel. She had promised to love him in sickness and in health, but as it turned out, they had only had a few short weeks of young love before everything changed. Although she knew she would keep her marriage vows, sometimes she felt old before her time. She was not yet twenty-one – good gracious, she wasn’t even old enough to vote under the Equal Franchise Act – and yet she was having to deal with some very difficult issues. And then there was the question of babies . . .
She shivered and forced herself to think of better things. She was lucky, she told herself. She had a loving family and good friends. She had a roof over her head and people who genuinely loved her. She glanced at Rachel again. Rachel had known heartache too. She had miscarried her first baby in 1935. Alma had been born the following year in December.
With the men out of the room, Rachel unbuttoned her pretty green blouse and little Alma sucked at her mother’s breast contentedly. But although she smiled, Ruby felt the ache in her heart grow with every passing minute. No, she mustn’t keep thinking about it. No good ever came of longing for something that might never be.
‘Any chance of something to eat?’ Jim called from the other room. ‘Only my stomach thinks my throat is cut.’
Ruby gave her sister-in-law a quick smile. ‘Not long now,’ she called cheerfully. ‘Just waiting for the spuds to boil.’
‘In that case, bring us both another beer,’ said Jim, and Ruby rose to do his bidding.
‘So tell me,’ she said, returning to the kitchen. Her sister-in-law had leaned back in her chair and put Alma onto her shoulder. ‘What have you two been doing with yourselves?’
‘Percy’s business is going from strength to strength,’ said Rachel, patting Alma’s back. ‘And most of my days are taken up with looking after the baby.’
Ruby was glad for them. Neither of them had had an easy start to life. As a child, and through no fault of his own, Percy had suffered for years under Nelson’s harsh regime. His father had always resented the boy, and there were times when her half-brother had suffered more than one tanning in a day. Their relationship was never that good and so eventually, when he was old enough, Percy stood up to his father. Things had changed from that moment on. He’d left home and joined Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts, just to spite Nelson. Although he had learned new skills whilst he was with them (skills that had been very useful after he’d left), he’d never really embraced their ideology. The one good thing that had come out of that whole episode was meeting Rachel. Percy was smitten from the moment he saw her.
Her sister-in-law had been a Jewish refugee who had escaped the tyranny of Nazi Germany in 1934. She had come to England after her own sister and nephew had been murdered; but, rather than nurse her grief, Rachel had attended British Union of Fascists rallies as a heckler, determined that people should know what Fascism really meant. She was a tough woman, but she had a gentle and loving spirit. Their baby was her pride and joy, and Rachel was a good mother.
‘Percy is branching out again.’ Rachel was putting a blanket on the floor and she placed the baby on top. Alma kicked her legs happily. ‘He’s going into long-distance haulage.’ Having learned to drive, Ruby’s brother Percy had begun working for a small business delivering perishable goods from Covent Garden to upmarket restaurants in London. He did well, and before long he was driving his own vans. ‘We’re looking for a place with some land. I’m trying to persuade him to come in this direction.’
‘Good-o,’ said Ruby, genuinely pleased. ‘Sounds just like our Percy. Always looking ahead.’
Rachel smiled. ‘He’s not the only one, you know,’ she said teasingly. Ruby put the cloth on the table and laid the knives and forks on the top. ‘I’ve just joined a committee trying to get Jewish people out of Europe.’ Rachel began to set the table.
‘Why?’ asked Ruby.
‘I know what they’re going through,’ said Rachel, ‘and I have to do something. They can’t work. Their houses are confiscated. They’re not allowed to mix with other people, and prices are so high that all their money is being used up. We have to help these people before it’s too late.’
‘We?’
‘Mrs Whichelow and I work for the Deborah Committee,’ said Rachel. ‘We have pledged ourselves to help single Jewish women get out of Germany while we still can. Other committees work for families, but what happens to single unmarried girls on their own?’
‘Britain is only a small island. Where will they all go?’
‘They can stay in this country, if they can get work.’ She hesitated. ‘Ruby, I wanted to ask you something.’
‘Fire away.’
‘Would you consider taking some of our girls in? We are looking for good, clean accommodation. These people have absolutely nothing and many of them are traumatized by the time they arrive here. I know you would be an ideal person to help them.’
Ruby cast her mind back to Isaac Kaufman, a German escapee who had been in the same digs as Jim before they got married. His landlady had thrown him out when her Blackshirt lodger objected to living under the same roof as a Jew. Ruby chewed her bottom lip anxiously. ‘Oh, Rachel,’ she began apologetically.
Her sister-in-law’s face coloured. ‘No, no, don’t worry,’ she cut in. ‘It’s all right. Forget I asked.’
‘It’s not that I don’t want to help,’ Ruby explained. She lowered herself onto a chair. ‘It’s just that this guest house is the only way I can make a living. The house at Newlands Road, where Mum and I lived, is empty at the moment; and, with Jim as he is, I can’t leave him to go out to work. The guests are my only source of income.’
‘We can pay you!’ said Rachel. ‘We are a charity, but we ask people to sponsor them. I promise you, if you agree to have them, your income would be guaranteed.’
Now Ruby felt embarrassed. ‘I wouldn’t want you to think . . .’
‘Ruby darling,’ said Rachel, ‘I know what you and Jim – and your mother, for that matter – did for Isaac. I would never expect you to make yourselves destitute by trying to help a fellow human being. The way it works is that the charity pays for t
heir board and lodging and, as soon as their papers come through, they move on.’
‘In that case,’ said Ruby, ‘we’d be delighted to have them.’
‘Don’t you need to discuss it with Jim?’ asked Rachel.
Ruby shook her head. Jim took little interest in the guest house. ‘It’ll be fine,’ she said.
‘Do you know anyone else?’ asked Rachel. ‘I mean, could you recommend another guest house?’
‘Mrs McCoody next door,’ replied Ruby. ‘I don’t know her well, but she keeps a clean house and she’s often sent her people to me, if she’s already full.’
‘I’ll pop round and see her sometime,’ said Rachel.
There was a soft knock on the back door and Bea called, ‘Anyone at home?’ as she walked into the kitchen, with Biscuit hard on her heels.
‘Mum!’ cried Ruby, running to hug her. ‘Lovely to see you.’
Clutching the bottle of beer that Ruby had pushed into his hand, Rex Quinn joined the other male members of the family. The house had two reception rooms downstairs: one at the front of the house, which was used as a dining room for Ruby’s guests, while the room Rex had entered was for the family. It was comfortably furnished with plenty of sofas and a bookcase in the corner. French doors led out into the garden, with a small vegetable patch to one side, which Ruby did her best to keep neat and tidy. From the sitting room, they could see across the grass to a tall hedge at the bottom of the garden, which hid the washing line and the compost heap from view.
‘They’re still clucking over the baby then?’ said Jim.
Rex smiled. ‘That’s about the sum of it,’ he said. He glanced towards Percy. ‘Can’t say I blame them. She’s a pretty little thing.’
Percy grinned proudly.
‘Good trip?’ asked Rex as they all sat down. Jim handed him the bottle-opener and he tackled the cap with a seasoned hand.
‘Not too bad,’ said Percy. ‘We did it in under two hours today. There wasn’t a lot of traffic.’
Rex poured his drink into a glass and all three men sipped their beers.
‘You and Mum completely settled here now?’ asked Percy.
Bea and Ruby’s father had relocated to the other end of Heene Road, where Rex, a GP, had a good practice and was popular with his patients. They had lived in Hastings when they first married, taking Ruby’s younger half-sister May with them; but as soon as the full extent of Jim’s injuries became apparent, they had returned to Worthing to help out.
‘I think so.’ Rex nodded. ‘This is quite a nice road. Not as quiet as the bungalow in Hastings, but the practice is growing all the time.’
‘That’s good,’ said Percy.
As if synchronized, they all raised their glasses and sipped more beer. After a short pause, Rex said, ‘I saw the wheelchair you brought for Jim. Rather splendid, isn’t it?’
‘Much better than that old bath chair,’ Jim agreed. ‘Ruby is useless at pushing.’
‘I noticed,’ said Percy with a laugh. ‘When we arrived, you and Ruby had only just come back from somewhere.’
Jim explained about the monkey.
‘I’d take it to the vet’s,’ said Percy, rearranging the cushion at his back. ‘You can’t keep it here, can you? Ruby’s got enough on her plate.’
‘If I take it to the vet’s,’ said Jim, ‘he’s just as likely to put it down.’
The other two nodded sagely.
‘No, I’ve decided I’m going to make a bigger cage,’ said Jim. ‘We’ll keep him here. He shouldn’t be too much trouble.’
They drank more beer, each lost in his own thoughts.
Rex turned to his son-in-law. ‘Have you been back to the swimming pool, Jim?’ When he and Bea first came back to Worthing, Rex had taken him to the municipal swimming baths across the road every Saturday, but lately Jim had made excuses, complaining that the water was too cold or the pool was too crowded.
Jim shook his head. ‘I reckon it’s not doing me much good,’ he said glumly.
‘Shame,’ said Percy.
‘There’s not much point,’ said Jim, ‘seeing as how I’m going to be like this for the rest of my life.’
‘Chin up, old chap,’ said Percy.
‘You should try to keep moving,’ said Rex, absent-mindedly running his finger along the rim of his glass. ‘Remember the old adage: If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.’
The three of them raised their glasses again.
‘I was talking to a mate of mine the other day,’ Percy said, after a quiet burp. ‘He’s a watchmaker. He tells me he’s looking for someone to do watch repairs.’
‘That might be something you could do, Jim,’ said Rex enthusiastically. ‘You could sit down to do that.’
‘I don’t know anything about watches,’ replied Jim.
‘He said he’d be willing to teach you,’ said Percy.
Jim frowned. ‘I hope you haven’t been going around telling all and sundry my business,’ he said crossly.
‘Of course not,’ said Percy. ‘He happened to ask me if I knew anyone who was willing to learn, and I told him about you – that’s all.’
The atmosphere had chilled, but they still drank in unison.
‘What about some other interest?’ asked Rex. While they were on the subject, he didn’t want to let it go until they’d made some sensible suggestions. ‘What do you enjoy, apart from photography?’
‘Nothing,’ said Jim.
‘How about writing an article on photography?’ Rex suggested. ‘There are plenty of magazines out there that are willing to buy something from an expert.’
‘Or maybe you should think about teaching people about photography?’ Percy added.
‘I don’t know why the both of you are so preoccupied with me and my life,’ said Jim tetchily.
‘No offence,’ replied Rex quickly.
‘Sorry,’ said Percy, and they lapsed into another awkward silence as they concentrated on what was left of their drinks.
‘Nice drop of beer that,’ said Percy, draining his glass. ‘Bright Star of Sussex – it’s brewed near Lewes.’
The other two smiled appreciatively, and all three of them wished the dinner would hurry up.
The women had spent their time in the kitchen. Ruby saw her mother two or three times a week, but she was still delighted to have the whole family together. As soon as she’d come in, May, looking particularly pretty in a cream dress with a blue sash, had gone straight to the dresser and looked up at the monkey. She begged her sister to get it down, so that she could have a closer look, but Ruby refused.
‘Sorry, darling, it’s not safe. It’s a wild animal and it may bite.’
‘But I know how to look after animals,’ May protested. ‘I’ve got my pets’ badge at Brownies.’
‘May,’ Bea sighed. ‘Please don’t argue with your sister.’
‘You can play with Alma, if you like,’ said Rachel, and a second or two later May was sitting on the floor beside Alma, the monkey quite forgotten.
Ruby smiled. Her younger sister was doing well at school and was all set to go to Worthing High School for Girls by the time she reached eleven later that year. An accomplished reader, she was good at sports and enjoyed drawing and painting as well. Any fears the family might have had about her not coping with her father Nelson’s death were short-lived, once her mother and Rex had married. The stability that Rex had brought into their lives seemed to make May flourish.
When Ruby finally called the men, everybody came together in the kitchen.
‘We were beginning to think you’d forgotten all about us,’ Percy teased.
‘All that clucking over the baby,’ said Rex.
‘I imagine you were doing your fair share in the sitting room,’ said Bea.
‘Absolutely not,’ replied Rex, pulling his chair out and sitting down. ‘Men don’t cluck. We were having a proper conversation.’
‘Time to eat now, May,’ said Ruby.
‘Up to the table now, darling,
’ said Bea, and her younger daughter got up reluctantly. Ruby smiled sympathetically.
At long last everybody was ready. She had put Jim at the other end of the table, with Rex next to him, then Rachel. Ruby sat at the top of the long table, next to Percy, May and Bea. It was lovely having them all together again, and she couldn’t help thinking how well everybody looked.
As for Bea herself, the transformation in her life was amazing. The gaunt face and bad chests that had put her in her bed for the greater part of the winter were long gone. These days Bea was the picture of good health and looked younger than ever. Although she was still wheezy at times, she had lost the worry lines from her face and, best of all, she laughed a lot. Today her mother wore a smart yellow jacket with a matching half-pleated skirt. The jacket had a pocket at the shoulder with a blue handkerchief in it. The colour matched the buttons on the jacket and a small blue belt at her waist. Her hair was cut short and she had a permanent wave.
Ruby smiled at her mother admiringly. Bea had always had flair when it came to clothes. It was clear that Rex adored her and did his best to make her happy. She herself loved having a father to hug. Although Nelson had always found time for May, he had never shown her any affection. On the other hand, Rex – her real father – was a good man, and Ruby was so glad that he’d come back into their lives. Since the accident, Rex had also spent a lot of time with Jim, encouraging him to persevere with his walking, although just lately she had noted that Jim was becoming less and less inclined to try.
Inevitably the conversation drifted towards the unsettling news coming out of Germany. ‘Do you reckon we’ll go to war, Rex?’ asked Percy.
‘If we do,’ said Jim, ‘they say the civilian population will be in as much danger as the front-line soldier.’
‘You may be right there,’ Rex sighed. ‘I’ve just been sent a government memorandum about these new air-raid precautions.’
Ruby shivered. ‘Oh, please let’s not talk about war on a day like today. I’ve so been looking forward to being with you all.’
