by Kitty Neale
‘I can’t. My cookery book is at her house.’
‘Book! Since when could you read a book?’
‘I can’t,’ Mavis said sharply. ‘It’s all done with drawings.’
Lily’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Oh, yeah, and where did you get this book?’
‘I made it. It was Mrs Pugh’s idea, and I’ve got lots of recipes now, cakes too.’
‘I don’t see how you can draw a recipe for making a cake.’
‘It’s easy. For instance, I draw cups for measurements. Two cups means two cups of flour, and for margarine I draw a block, with dotted lines on it to show me how much to use.’
‘It sounds like a bloody good idea,’ Pete said. ‘That Edith Pugh must be a clever woman to have thought that up.’
‘I’m off, Mum,’ Mavis said. ‘I’ll be back in time for dinner.’
‘Yeah, and don’t be late,’ Pete called.
With a curt nod, Mavis hurried out, and Lily sighed. Mavis had been a bit better with Pete for the past month, yet she still went out almost as soon as he arrived. There was a change in Mavis too, something Lily couldn’t put her finger on. ‘Pete, do you think Mavis is up to something?’
‘Like what?’
‘Oh, I dunno, but she ain’t the same lately.’
‘She’s just growing up, love, and wants a bit more independence. You can’t expect a sixteen-year-old to be stuck in here with us. She’s just spreading her wings a bit, that’s all.’
‘Leave it out, Pete. She only goes round to see Edith Pugh and the woman’s older than us.’
‘Yeah, but don’t forget that she’s teaching her things, and, if you don’t mind me saying, I think Mavis is more intelligent than you give her credit for.’
‘Why? Just because she can cook from drawings! Kids learn to read and write at infant or junior school, but not Mavis. Unlike the other pupils, she was too daft to pick it up.’
‘Maybe it’s her eyesight. Have you had it tested?’
‘Pete, that was one of the first things they suggested at infant school, and yes, we had her eyes tested. They’re fine. Now can we change the subject?’
‘All right, but have you thought about Edith Pugh’s son? Maybe that’s who Mavis really goes to see.’
‘Alec Pugh. You must be joking. Mavis doesn’t like him, and from what I saw I don’t blame her. He’s a right stuck-up sod and he ain’t much to look at either.’
‘Nor am I, Lily. Let’s face it—I can never compete with Ron.’
‘You don’t have to. You’re a good man, kind and reliable, and that’s what matters.’
‘Yeah, if you say so, but women have never fancied me.’
‘I do,’ Lily said, and it was true. Pete may not be much to look at, but he had a wonderful muscular body and after so long she craved a man’s touch.
‘Don’t say that, Lily. It makes it even harder. I know I said I’d wait, for however long it takes, but to be honest it’s hell. If I saw less of you it might help.’
‘Oh, no, Pete, don’t stop coming round.’
‘Until Ron shows his face, it’s for the best, love. When he turns up and you tell him that it’s over between you, I’ll still be around, waiting.’
At that moment, Lily came to a decision. Ron might never turn up and she too was finding it harder and harder. Behind closed doors, the neighbours would never know, and she could still put on a front that Pete was just a friend.
She stood up, walked over to his chair to take his hand, saying softly, ‘You don’t have to wait any longer, Pete. Come on, let’s go upstairs.’
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Mavis found her mind wandering as she made her way to Ellington Avenue. She wasn’t sure when the dream had started, but it kept returning, and last night had been the same. There was a young man, reaching out for her, but she couldn’t see his face. She wanted him to get to her, felt a deep yearning, but there was always a barrier, something or someone in his way. Who was he? Why couldn’t she see his face? And why did he haunt her dreams?
Mavis shook off the image as she knocked on the door of Mrs Pugh’s house. Alec opened it and smiled his usual welcome as he invited her in. She found him more relaxed now, less formal, and after her lesson he would often join them for an update on how things were going. Not that there was much to tell him. So far, despite all Mrs Pugh’s patient efforts, Mavis found that she was still unable to make sense of the words that seemed to swirl on the page. She was beginning to despair, but Mrs Pugh always managed to pick her up, saying it was early days yet.
‘Look,’ Alec said, waving his newspaper as Mavis took off her coat. ‘It’s been nearly a month, but the Fleet Street maintenance workers have gone back to work.’
Mavis knew that both he and Mrs Pugh had missed their daily newspapers and smiled as she said, ‘I bet your mother’s pleased.’
‘Yes, but let’s hope they don’t go on strike again. They still haven’t come to an agreement about the two pounds a week wage increase they’re demanding.’
‘What does your mother say about it?’
‘Oh, you know her. She’s all for the unions, the rights of workers—there’s no arguing with her.’
‘Alec, I heard that,’ a voice called.
They grinned at each other, then both walked into the living room. ‘Well, Mother, there’s nothing wrong with your ears,’ Alec said, still smiling.
‘No, there isn’t. Now run along and leave us in peace.’
‘Yes, Mother. After all, far be it from me to interfere with your protégée’s lesson.’
‘Don’t sulk, Alec. It’s only for an hour and then you can join us.’
Mavis frowned, wondering about Alec’s curt remark, but as he left the room, Mrs Pugh spoke again.
‘Don’t take any notice of Alec. He seems to like your company nowadays and resents being chased out.’
‘Likes my company?’ Mavis squeaked.
‘Alec knows now that he misjudged you at first. He’s too much in my company and it makes a pleasant change for him when you’re here. He likes you, my dear, very much, but as a pretty and intelligent girl, I’m not surprised. Now come on, it’s time we got on with your lesson.’
Mavis was thrilled that Mrs Pugh had said she was intelligent, but wasn’t sure what to make of her comments about Alec. It was nice to hear that he enjoyed her company, that he liked her, but was Mrs Pugh implying that there was something more to it than that? No, no, surely not? She liked Alec too, but not in that way. And surely he wasn’t the young man who haunted her dreams?
Kate Truman was tight-lipped. It was early afternoon, but she’d lived next door to Lily Jackson for years and in that time, when she was upstairs, she’d come to recognise certain noises through the thin walls. Lily was always a bit loud, a passionate woman, something Kate envied. Her husband had never managed to raise the same passion in her, and their sex life was disappointing to say the least. Still, Bill was a good husband in other ways, and unlike Lily’s old man he was hard-working and reliable.
Kate didn’t consider herself a prude but, when all was said and done, Lily was a married woman. Huh, so much for Pete just being a friend. Of course, she’d had her suspicions, but Lily had been adamant that nothing was going on, and like a mug she’d believed her, even jumping to her defence when others in the street made sly comments.
With an angry huff, Kate stuffed the rest of the freshly ironed sheets into the cupboard and then marched downstairs, all her previous doubts about Lily that she’d shoved to one side coming to the fore as she stormed into the kitchen.
‘Bill, you’re never going to believe this, but Lily and her so-called friend have been at it like rabbits.’
Bill just shrugged, his eyes going back to his newspaper.
‘Lily’s a married woman and should be ashamed of herself.’
‘As her old man did a runner about ten months ago, you can hardly blame her.’
‘It’s still adultery and not only that, what about Mavis?’
‘How’s she going to feel about the way her mother’s carrying on? It’s hardly a lesson in morals, is it?’
‘For Gawd’s sake, Kate, get off your high horse.’
Kate ignored Bill’s comment. ‘Poor Mavis. Lily has used her like a workhorse for years, treating her like she’s an imbecile and it ain’t right.’
‘She’s backward, ain’t she?’
‘No, I don’t think so, and I’ve been telling Lily so ever since Mavis was little.’
‘She must know her own daughter.’
‘Lily has never had any time for Mavis. Honestly, Bill, it’s as if she’s ashamed of the girl.’
‘Kate, it’s none of our business, now if you don’t mind, I’m trying to read me newspaper.’
Her anger still raging, Kate snapped, ‘You’ve been reading the bloody thing all day and must have read it back to front by now. Oh, sod you, I’m going across the road to see Olive Wilson.’
‘Keep out of it,’ Bill called, but once again Kate chose to ignore her husband as, fuelled by righteous indignation, she hurried to Olive’s house.
Lily had lied to her and there’d be no more jumping to her defence this time—instead she’d tell Olive just what her neighbour was up to.
By the time the weekend had passed, the gossip in Cullen Street had spread like wildfire. Lily wasn’t aware of it until she went out on Monday morning, puzzled by the filthy look she got from Olive Wilson and the woman she was talking to on her doorstep.
Since her run-in with Olive and her son, Lily had ignored the woman, and did so now as she passed her. It had surprised her when Kate and Olive became friendly, especially as Tommy had tried it on with her daughter too, but that was Kate. When Jill Barnet’s husband had been nicked for thieving, Kate had gone to offer her sympathies, and, of course, it got her first-hand news of what was going on that she could pass on to the rest of her cronies. The gossip had been so bad in the street that finally Jill and her family moved away, and it wasn’t long after that that the friendship between Olive Wilson and Kate had blossomed.
Dismissing them from her mind, Lily’s thoughts turned to Pete and the blissful weekend they had spent together. As soon as Mavis went out of the door they fell into each other’s arms, both so starved of sex that they couldn’t get enough of each other. Of course, she made sure there were no shows of affection in front of Mavis, and insisted that Pete went home at a reasonable hour.
‘Morning, Mrs Davidson,’ Lily said absently to the old woman in the end house who was polishing her letterbox.
‘Slut,’ the woman spat before walking inside and slamming her door.
Lily blanched as the penny dropped. Oh, God! Oh, God, no! Olive Wilson had given her a filthy look, and now she’d been called a slut. They must know about her and Pete, but how?
With her heart thumping in her chest, Lily shot round the corner, hurrying away from Cullen Street. How was she going to face her neighbours now? How was she going to live this down? Oh, Pete, Pete, what am I gonna do? She’d have to stop seeing him, keep him away, but dreaded the thought of life without him. She had to talk to him, somehow prevent him from turning up at the house. There was only one thing to do, she’d have to go to see him at the building site, and, as it was only about a fifteen-minute walk away, she headed in that direction.
At last Lily reached the gates, her eyes scanning the site; seeing Pete, she shouted and waved to get his attention. At last he turned around, his face anxious as he hurried towards her.
‘What is it, Lily? What’s wrong?’
Pete had become her rock, her lover, but Lily knew she had to let him go. ‘I’m sorry, Pete. I don’t want to see you any more.’
His eyes widened, the questions coming fast. ‘What? But why? Has Ron turned up? Is that it?’
‘No, he hasn’t. It…it’s just that you’ve got to stay away. All the neighbours know about us, and one has already called me a slut.’
‘That’s no reason to keep me away. Sod the bloody neighbours.’
‘It’s easy for you to say that, but I have to live in Cullen Street. Every time I go out of the door I’m gonna have to face them and their nasty remarks. If I keep flaunting you under their noses it’ll just get worse, but it’s bound to die down eventually if I stop seeing you.’
‘Lily, I don’t understand. What does it matter what people think, or say? How you run your life is your business, not theirs.’
‘I can’t face being called a slut, or worse. I just can’t.’
‘Well, then, there’s only one thing to do. I’ve got the perfect solution,’ Pete said and, as he continued, Lily at last began to smile.
Yes, he was right, it was the answer to their problems. ‘Oh, yes, Pete, I’d love that.’
‘Right, leave it with me and I’ll sort things out. Now how about a kiss before I go back to work?’
Lily kissed him, her heart lighter as she got in a few things from the shop before making her way back to Cullen Street. She’d tell Mavis when the girl came home from work. If her daughter didn’t like it, that was just too bad. Like it or not, as always, she’d do as she was told.
Mavis walked home, her day’s work over. She always started with Mrs Pugh and then went over the bridge to Chelsea. Both of the houses she cleaned in that area were key jobs, ones where the owners were at work by the time she arrived. It was nice to be trusted with house keys, and though her employers were absent ones, Mavis never stinted on the cleaning and always made sure everything was immaculate, just as Mrs Pugh had taught her. Once she had found money lying on the floor and had left it on the sideboard where her employer would see it. When she had told her mother, she had laughed, saying that it was obviously a test to see if she was honest. In each house there had been occasions when her employers had turned up when she was working, and Mavis suspected that they were checking up on her. They had never found anything to complain about, had in fact praised her work, and nowadays she rarely saw them.
Mavis turned into Cullen Street and almost collided with Sandra Truman. ‘Oh…sorry,’ she said.
‘Listen, Mavis, I’m glad I bumped into you. I know it’s going to be rotten, but don’t take any notice of the gossips.’
‘Gossips? What do you mean?’
‘Oh, God, you haven’t heard.’
‘Heard what?’
‘Sorry, I’ve got to go,’ Sandra said hastily as she hurried away.
‘Wait!’ Mavis called, but it was too late. Sandra had turned the corner and was out of sight.
Puzzled, Mavis walked to her door, and letting herself in, she went through to the kitchen. ‘Mum, do you know what’s going on? I just bumped into Sandra and she was on about some kind of gossip.’
‘Yeah, but don’t worry about it. We’re moving anyway.’
‘What? Where are we going?’
‘I dunno yet, Pete’s sorting it out, but a long way from this bloody area and soon I hope.’
‘But why?’
‘Look, you ain’t a kid and old enough to hear the truth. Me and Pete are moving in together.’
‘But…but you can’t. What about Dad? When he comes back, he won’t know where we are.’
‘I’ve waited long enough without a word from your precious father. What do you expect me to do? Hang around forever, while my life passes me by? Well, no thanks. Pete’s a good man, he’ll take care of me, and he’s willing to take you on. He’ll be a proper father too.’
‘No, no! He’s not my dad,’ Mavis cried and turning she fled the house, running and running, unaware until she was almost there that she was at Ellington Avenue. Her refuge.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Edith heard the doorbell and frowned as she glanced at the clock. Alec wasn’t due home for nearly an hour, and, anyway, he had a key.
She struggled to her feet, groaning in pain. When Mavis had left after cleaning that morning, the house had felt so empty, and, feeling that the walls were closing in on her, Edith had v
entured out to the library, trying to find more information on word blindness. So far she hadn’t had any success in helping Mavis to read and was hoping to find out what methods Samuel Orton used. She had scoured the reference section without success, but, unwilling to return home to the deserted house, she had ventured to the shops. Of course, she had overdone it, and, though she had since rested, had listened to Mrs Dale’s Diary and The Archers on the wireless, Edith’s body still screamed in protest as she slowly made her way to the front door.
One thing Edith knew for sure, it wouldn’t be a friend calling round to see her. She had none. Friends would gossip, would want to pry into her past, and that was something she could never allow. To that end Edith had kept herself remote, and it had been fine while she was working, her days full and busy with the school activities, but nowadays, though she hated to admit it, she was sometimes swamped by loneliness.
At last, Edith reached the door, and opening it her eyes widened as Mavis staggered inside. ‘Mavis, what is it, my dear?’
‘Oh, Mrs Pugh…Mrs Pugh…’ she cried, gasping and unable to carry on.
It was obvious that Mavis was in deep distress so, gently urging, Edith said, ‘Come through to the kitchen.’
Mavis followed her, and taking a chair Edith gestured Mavis to sit down too. She took a breath, tried to ignore her pain as she asked, ‘Now, my dear, tell me why you’re so upset.’
Mavis ran both hands over her face, and then stammered, ‘It…it’s my mum. She…she said we’re moving, and…and away from this area.’
‘What?’ Edith cried, shocked and bewildered by this turn of events. No, no, this was the last thing she wanted. ‘When, Mavis? Did your mother say when? Or, come to that, why?’
‘She…she said we’re moving in with Pete, and I think as soon as possible. I don’t understand, Mrs Pugh. I don’t like him, but why can’t he just move in with us?’
‘I should think that’s obvious.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Mavis, how do you think your father would feel, or react, if he came home to find your mother living with another man?’
