Lost & Found

by Kitty Neale

  The back door opened, a frizz of brown hair above a round face appearing. ‘Can I come in? I’m all in a tizzy.’

  ‘Yeah, of course you can,’ she said, pulling her skirt down as Marilyn Foster walked in. ‘What are you in a tizzy about?’

  ‘It’s my Rhona, and you’re not going to believe it, Lily.’

  Lily doubted that. Marilyn’s daughter was a handful, boy mad, and had been since she was fourteen. ‘What’s she been up to now?’

  ‘I found these in her handbag.’

  ‘What are they?’

  ‘The birth control pill, that’s what.’

  ‘Blimey, she’s only sixteen. How did she get hold of them?’

  ‘According to Rhona she got them from the clinic, but of course she’s lying. When Enoch Powell announced that they were going to be issued on the National Health last year, he said they were only for married women.’

  ‘Somebody must have flogged them to her, but surely it’s better for Rhona to take the pill than risk getting pregnant?’

  ‘Lily, she’s only sixteen and shouldn’t be going with boys yet.’

  ‘My daughter was married at sixteen.’

  ‘Yeah, you told me,’ Marilyn said, ‘but I still think that’s too young. All right, don’t look at me like that. You know I ain’t one to keep my opinions to myself and it ain’t something I haven’t said before.’

  Lily had to agree. Marilyn had never been slow in speaking her mind, and at first she’d been wary of her neighbour. Gradually though, she’d learned that though Marilyn might be a bit opinionated, she wasn’t a gossip. In fact, Lily had never heard her say a bad word against anyone, even old Mrs Biggs on the other side who was the bane of their lives. ‘Yeah, I know Mavis was young, but she’s doing all right, at least she was the last time I saw her. James must be five now, and Grace nearly three.’

  ‘You don’t look old enough to have a couple of grandchildren, Lily. Wouldn’t you like to see more of them?’

  ‘Thanks, but my mirror tells a different story,’ Lily said, hiding a secret that she had yet to reveal. At the moment she was keeping it to herself, but when she was ready to let it out, Marilyn would be the first to know. Shrugging now, she continued, ‘Yeah, of course I’d like to see more of my grandchildren, but I’ve told you what it’s like. Mavis rarely has time to visit me, and with the reception I get from my daughter’s hubby and his equally stuck-up mother, I hate going there. Anyway, back to your Rhona. What are you going to do about those birth control pills?’

  ‘I dunno, but I’ll have to make sure her father doesn’t find out that she’s got them. You know Ian. He’d go bloody potty.’

  Yes, Lily thought, he probably would. Ian Foster was all right, and he and Pete had become friends, but where his daughter was concerned the man was blind. When Rhona wanted something she could wrap him round her finger and the daft bloke still saw her as his innocent little girl. Lily was sure that one day he was in for a rude awakening, but so far he was in ignorance of what his daughter got up to. ‘You’re right, but if she got herself in the family way, it’d be even worse. To be on the safe side, maybe you should just let her take them.’

  ‘It doesn’t seem right, Lily. We were scared shitless of getting pregnant and it kept us in line. These pills take away that fear and God knows what it’ll lead to. Blimey, a girl could sleep with any number of men before she settles down and gets married.’

  And Rhona probably would, Lily thought, but kept this opinion to herself. Marilyn was worried enough about her daughter without adding fuel to the fire.

  ‘I’d best get back,’ Marilyn now said. ‘Ian will be home soon.’

  ‘Pete too,’ Lily said, feeling sorry for Marilyn as the woman left. To think she had once been worried about Mavis, about boys taking advantage of her, but there was no need for concern now. In fact, on the rare occasions she saw her daughter, she’d been impressed by how good a mother she was, and, thanks to Mavis, Edith Pugh’s house was always immaculate. Yes, Mavis had done well for herself and was well and truly off her hands now.

  Mavis undressed slowly, worn out after seeing to dinner, clearing up, and then getting the children to bed. She’d been upset to see the red marks on James, the tell-tale signs that he’d been more than just smacked. For a while she had lain beside her son, cuddling him, loving him fiercely. It was her fault that James had been punished so harshly, and though doing everything she could to keep her mother-in-law happy, sometimes it just seemed impossible and Edith would go out of her way to complain, to antagonise Alec. Mavis knew that to protect James, she had to try harder to placate her mother-in-law, but it was so difficult to keep the children quiet all the time.

  When the children were both asleep she had gone back downstairs, Alec insisting as always that they sat in his mother’s room to watch television until ten o’clock. It was then Mavis’s task to sort her mother-in-law out for the night. It wasn’t easy, the woman virtually bedridden now, and her constant chiding didn’t help.

  Mavis did the best she could, washed her, helped her onto the commode, but she dreaded what would happen when Edith could no longer manage even this small task. At six in the morning she would have to be up, Edith waiting to use the commode again, but there had been times lately when she had gone downstairs to find that it was too late and the sheets were wet.

  Alec was already in bed, waiting as usual, his eyes avid as she climbed in beside him. There was rarely a night when he didn’t demand her body, but nowadays, knowing as always she’d be left unsatisfied, reaching out for something that was never there, she was just thankful when it was over quickly.

  ‘Did you get my mother settled?’

  ‘Yes, she’s fine.’

  ‘Good,’ he said.

  ‘Did you have to punish James so harshly?’

  ‘I was angry, and that was your fault. In future, I don’t want to find my mother in pain.’

  She felt the sting of tears again. James was rarely naughty these days and didn’t deserve to suffer because of her. Thankfully it had been a long time since Alec had punished the boy so harshly, but once again Mavis knew she’d have to try harder, work harder to keep her mother-in-law happy and James safe.

  As Alec’s hands moved across her body, Mavis closed her eyes, trying to lose herself in the memory of her dream. Despite the passing of time it still came to haunt her and was always the same. Someone, a man, reaching out for her, yet she still couldn’t see his face.

  ‘Who are you?’ she asked inwardly, yearning to find out and wishing that, instead of just a dream, there really was someone to take her away from her wretched life.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  After Jenny Bonner had dropped her seven-year-old son, Greg, at school, and Mavis her son James, the two women walked home together, Grace in her pushchair. ‘Are you coming in for a cup of tea?’ Jenny asked.

  ‘Yes, but I’ll have to see if my mother-in-law is all right first. If she is, I’ll tell her I’ve got to get a few things in from the shops.’

  ‘Why don’t you just tell her the truth?’

  ‘If I do that she’ll just find one excuse after another to keep me busy and I’ll never get away.’

  ‘Out, Mummy!’

  ‘Not now, darling. We’re nearly home.’

  ‘Want out,’ Grace demanded as she struggled against her reins.

  Mavis gave in and, taking her mother’s place, Grace began to push the pram haphazardly along Ellington Avenue. It made conversation difficult as Mavis constantly had to assist with the steering, and though she knew that Mavis gave in too easily to her daughter’s demands, Jenny kept her own counsel. Mavis had a rotten life, and she was too soft for her own good, but she had to put up with enough criticism from her mother-in-law. ‘See you soon,’ Jenny said as they parted outside her house.

  ‘Yes, hopefully in about fifteen minutes or so,’ Mavis called.

  Jenny went inside, thanking her lucky stars that her life was nothing like her neighbour’s. Sh
e had a good marriage, her own home, freedom to come and go as she liked, whereas Mavis was living under her mother-in-law’s roof and tied to acting as her nursemaid. Though she had lived in Ellington Avenue for two years, Jenny had never met Edith Pugh and, from the sound of her, she didn’t want to.

  Jenny made a pot of tea, but then her eyes strayed to the letter she had tucked behind the clock. It saddened her that her cousin’s marriage hadn’t worked out, but she had never thought much of his choice for a wife. Of course, she’d have to talk to her husband before she could give Willy an answer, but surely Stan wouldn’t mind? They had a spare room and it was only until her cousin could sort himself out.

  Less than fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on the door and, opening it, Jenny smiled at Mavis. ‘You managed to get away then?’

  ‘Yes, but I daren’t stay for more than half an hour,’ Mavis said, urging Grace inside.

  Jenny found a few of her son’s toy cars to keep Grace amused, and with the child now pushing them around the floor she poured two cups of tea, saying, ‘I don’t know how you put up with that old witch.’

  ‘That’s funny. James called her a witch yesterday and she was none too pleased.’

  ‘Good for him. At least he’s got the bottle to stand up to her. Oh, sorry, Mavis. I shouldn’t have said that.’

  ‘It’s all right. I wish I had my son’s courage too, but I just can’t seem to stand up to my mother-in-law.’

  ‘I don’t know why. She’s confined to her bed now, and would be lost without you. You should try taking the upper hand. When she rings that flaming bell, make her wait until you’re ready, and let her know that if she’s nasty she’ll have an even longer wait next time.’

  ‘I couldn’t do that. She’d tell Alec and he’d go mad.’ Mavis shook her head sadly. ‘You may not believe this, but when I first married Alec my mother-in-law was really nice.’

  ‘Really?’ Jenny said, her brows rising sceptically.

  ‘Oh, yes, and she welcomed me into her home with open arms.’

  ‘So what changed?’

  ‘I’m not sure, but I know she hated it when Alec showed me any affection in front of her.’

  ‘Jealousy. I bet that was it.’

  Mavis looked startled, but then said, ‘You could be right. When I think about it now I can see that slowly but surely she began to belittle me, telling Alec how useless I was. Nowadays of course, Alec believes everything she tells him and he always takes her side.’

  Jenny had heard some of this before from Mavis, and though she could understand what had led her to marry Alec Pugh, she couldn’t comprehend why she allowed her husband to treat her like dirt. Mavis was beautiful, with a figure to turn any man’s eye. She could have done so much better, but instead was stuck with a man who was not only nothing to look at, but also dull, without a shred of humour.

  Mavis looked so downcast, and deciding that she needed cheering up, Jenny said, ‘Never mind. You’ll come into your own one of these days, I’m sure of it, and I’ll tell you what,’ she added, taking the letter from behind the clock, ‘have a read of that and you’ll see that you aren’t the only one who’s having a hard time of it.’

  Mavis paled as Jenny held out the envelope. ‘No, I can’t read your letter.’

  ‘Go on, I don’t mind.’

  Mavis shook her head vigorously. ‘You read it to me.’

  Jenny was puzzled by Mavis’s reaction and continued to flourish the letter. ‘Don’t be silly. Read it for yourself.’

  ‘I wish I could, but I…I can’t read.’

  ‘What? Why not? Didn’t they teach you in school?’

  ‘They tried, but I just couldn’t pick it up. I was considered backward, stupid, and the other kids used to call me Dumbo.’

  ‘Mavis, I’ve known you for two years, and one thing I’m sure of is that you aren’t backward.’

  ‘As a child I always thought I was stupid, but my mother-in-law said I have something called word blindness. I was hoping she’d be able to teach me, but it was hopeless. You see, when I look at words they appear to jump all over the page. I also see them back to front and in a jumbled mess. I tried so hard, really I did, despite getting terrible headaches. My mother-in-law would spend hours just trying to teach me one word, but the next time we went back to it I’d find it unrecognisable. In the end she gave up and, to be honest, I don’t blame her.’

  Jenny didn’t know what to say, so instead she took the letter from the envelope. ‘Well, love, I’m happy to read this to you, but suffice to say that it’s from my cousin. He moved out of the area when he got married and was doing well, buying a house in one of those new towns.’

  ‘That’s funny. My father worked in a new town just before he disappeared.’

  ‘Yes, you told me, and it’s awful that you’ve never heard from him. I know it doesn’t sound as bad, but my cousin says here that he found out his wife was carrying on behind his back, and not with just one bloke either. Now Willy doesn’t even know if their kid is his or not.’

  ‘How awful for him.’

  ‘Yes, and to make matters worse, when they filed for divorce his wife got nearly everything. The house can’t be sold until the boy’s an adult, and so he needs somewhere to stay until he can sort himself out.’

  ‘Oh, dear,’ Mavis murmured, ‘the poor man.’

  ‘He’s asked if we can put him up, but I can’t understand his mother. My aunt has always been a nasty piece of work, but would you believe she blames him, says he’s a failure and that she won’t take him in.’

  ‘Does she live in London?’

  ‘Yes, she’s local, but I keep well out of her way.’

  Grace was becoming fractious, obviously tired of the cars now, and apologetically Mavis said, ‘I think I’ll have to take her home. Sorry to rush off, but thanks for the tea.’

  ‘You’re welcome and I’ll see you later when we collect the boys from school.’

  Grace ran ahead of her to the door and with a rueful smile, Mavis said, ‘Back to the witch.’

  ‘Witch, witch,’ Grace echoed.

  ‘Now look what I’ve done! She heard me,’ Mavis cried worriedly as she crouched down in front of her daughter. ‘Grace, you mustn’t say that, darling, and definitely not in front of your grandmother.’

  It would serve the old woman right, Jenny decided as Mavis stood up again, but kept these thoughts to herself.

  ‘Bye, Jenny,’ Mavis now said.

  ‘See you later,’ Jenny called, and after closing the door decided that, as Stan was sure to agree, she’d reply to her cousin’s letter and then get his room sorted out.

  In Cullen Street, Kate Truman was at her window again, staring at the house opposite, sure that she’d seen the old bit of filthy curtain moving again. The place had been empty for over a year now, with no sign of new tenants moving in, and to her this reinforced the rumour that Cullen Street was going to be demolished. The area was changing, with streets being torn down and replaced by high-rise flats. The demolition gangs were slowly encroaching, but so far this street and others around them remained untouched.

  Yes, the curtain had definitely moved, and after seeing a brief flicker of light in there last night this now confirmed her suspicions. Someone was in there, and as they were obviously hiding it was someone who didn’t want it known. Was it a criminal? Kate shivered, frightened by the thought. She wanted to tell someone, but from day one she hadn’t got on with the family who now lived next door, taking over Lily Jackson’s house. There was still Olive Wilson, of course, and throwing on her coat Kate left the house, staying on her own side of the road until she crossed to number eighteen.

  ‘Hello, Kate, come in,’ Olive said. ‘I was just talking to Tommy’s wife on the telephone.’

  ‘That’s nice, and how is she?’ Kate asked as she managed a thin smile. Olive had been one of the first people in Cullen Street to have a telephone installed and loved the fact that she was one up on her neighbours. She was still one of th
e few and took every opportunity to rub it in.

  ‘She’s fine,’ Olive said as they both walked through to her kitchen.

  ‘I just popped over to tell you that someone’s in number ten.’

  ‘It’s about time. That house was going to rack and ruin.’

  ‘I don’t mean officially,’ Kate said. ‘I reckon someone’s hiding out in there, and it might be a criminal on the run.’

  ‘Who in their right mind would hide out in Cullen Street? With the nosy parkers around here they wouldn’t last five minutes—you’ve proved that. It’s probably a squatter.’

  ‘I’m not a nosy parker,’ Kate said indignantly, ‘but I could hardly miss the curtain moving.’

  ‘Did you spot anyone?’

  ‘No, but I’ll get my Bill to check it out when he comes home.’

  ‘Fine, and if he needs a hand to get rid of anyone he can give my old man a shout.’

  ‘Thanks, Olive,’ Kate said, relieved that if things turned nasty Bill wouldn’t have to handle it on his own.

  Edith hated her dependency, the indignity of having to ask her daughter-in-law for help. She rang her handbell, saying curtly as Mavis walked into the room, ‘I need my commode.’

  ‘Yes, all right,’ Mavis said.

  Edith also hated being confined to this room, unable to see what was going on in the rest of the house. Alec said that Mavis was keeping everything up to scratch, but without her supervision Edith doubted it. Not only that, she had lost control of the children, something she abhorred, and she dreaded to think what they got up to now that they were mostly out of sight. For a little while she had been able to use a wheelchair, but even that was beyond her now, her bed the only place that offered any comfort. ‘You were long enough at the shops,’ she snapped.