by Joan Jonker
Chapter Two
‘I’m going to throw this shopping in the hall, sunshine, then slip over to Doreen’s to see if she’s walking to the shops herself to give Bobby some fresh air, or if she wants me to get anything for her.’ Bobby was Molly’s eight-month-old grandson, and she was eager to see him for her daily hug and kiss. She turned the key in the lock and placed her basket inside before closing the door again. ‘Go and put yours in the house, Nellie, or we won’t make the shops before they close for dinner.’
Nellie rolled her eyes. ‘It’s only about half eleven, girl. We’ve got plenty of time.’
‘I want to go up to see our Jill after I’ve knocked at Doreen’s. So we haven’t got all the time in the world.’ When her mate made no move, Molly jerked her head. ‘Put yer shopping in, sunshine, or I’ll be going on without yer. I thought yer’d be eager to see the grandchildren.’ A sly look came to Molly’s eyes when she thought of a way to make Nellie put a move on. ‘If ye’re tired, sunshine, then why don’t yer take yer shopping in and put yer feet up for a while? If either of the girls want anything, I can get it for them.’
‘Oh, ye’re not soft, are yer, girl? I know what ye’re after, yer can’t fool me. Yer think if our Steve’s baby sees more of you, then he’ll wonder who I am. Well, ye’re not getting away with it, yer crafty so-and-so, ’cos I can see right through yer.’
‘Hang about, Nellie! What d’yer mean, your Steve’s baby? Much as I love Steve like me own son, it was our Jill what gave birth.’
Nellie’s eyes narrowed. ‘Are yer saying my son had nothing to do with it? Your Jill, who I love the bones of, would have had a hard job to get in the family way without the help of my son, so there! Or are yer going to tell me it was a miracle?’
‘Are yer going to put that shopping in yer hall, sunshine, or not? I’m not standing here any longer arguing the fat with yer. I’m crossing over to see Doreen, the baby and Victoria, but you can please yerself.’ Molly had just put one foot down in the gutter when Nellie dragged her back on to the pavement.
‘Wait for me, girl, ’cos I don’t want yer saying anything behind me back. I don’t trust yer to tell me what’s said when I’m not there, ’cos I know yer leave bits out.’
A door on the opposite side of the street opened, and Molly’s daughter Doreen stood on the step. ‘Are you two coming over, or not?’
Molly waved. ‘I’m coming, sunshine, but me mate hasn’t made her mind up yet. I’ve got a feeling she’ll still be standing here holding that basket when it gets dark. Which is sad, really, ’cos George and Paul won’t get anything to eat. And after working all day, yer husband and son deserve to come home to a nice meal.’
‘All right, girl, keep yer ruddy hair on.’ Nellie leaned forward and stared hard into Molly’s face. ‘You stay right where yer are, girl, until I come back. I don’t trust yer as far as I could throw yer.’ With a sharp nod of her head, and chins, Nellie waddled to her front door, which was the fourth from Molly’s. And after opening the door, she swung the basket back, then flung it with no concern for the contents, into the hall.
Tutting and shaking her head, Molly waited until Nellie was standing beside her again before saying, ‘Nellie, I’m glad we didn’t buy any eggs today, otherwise every one would have been broken.’
Nellie grinned. ‘I could have done scrambled egg with them. My George is quite partial to scrambled egg on toast.’
‘Would your George still be partial if he knew yer’d scraped it off the floor?’
‘How would he know that, girl? I wouldn’t have said nothing, and yer know the saying about what the eye don’t see the heart won’t know no difference.’
Doreen had been joined on the step by Victoria, and they both had smiles on their faces. Victoria Clegg was ninety years of age. A spinster, she’d lived a lonely life since her beloved parents had died forty years ago. But since the day she’d offered to share her home with newly-weds Doreen and Phil, her life had been transformed. She was part of a big family now, very much loved, and every day she counted her blessings. ‘I don’t know why me mam bothers, Aunt Vicky, ’cos half the time Auntie Nellie is winding her up on purpose.’
‘Oh, Molly knows that right enough, Doreen, but wouldn’t life be dull if they didn’t have this little set-to every day? Just listen, now.’
‘I’ve never heard that saying, sunshine. I think yer’ve just made it up yerself. The one I know, the right one, is what the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve for.’
‘Oh, that’s a new one on me, girl. I’ve never heard it said like that before.’ Nellie linked her mate’s arm and they began to cross the cobbles. ‘Anyway, if it makes yer feel better, you being so good-living, I’ll tell George I dropped the eggs but I dusted them off before putting them in the frying pan. He won’t mind. He’s easy-going, is my feller.’
‘But yer don’t need to tell him any lies, now, do yer, sunshine, ’cos yer never bought any eggs to ruddy well break!’
They had reached the opposite pavement by this time, and Nellie winked at Victoria, causing her chubby cheek to move upwards. ‘Good morning, Victoria, and you, Doreen. Mind you, if my mate had carried on acting daft much longer, I’d have been saying goodnight.’
‘Don’t be putting all the blame on my mam, Auntie Nellie,’ Doreen said, holding the door open for them to pass. ‘Ye’re both as bad as one another.’
‘We know that, girl, but it’s better than going round with a long face and being miserable. And it helps to make the day go quicker.’ Nellie brushed Doreen aside so she could get to the couch where Molly was bending over the baby, Bobby, whose arms and legs were punching the air with excitement. He could recognise his grandma’s voice now, and knew he would be getting picked up and cuddled. ‘Move along, girl, and let’s get a look-in.’ With a thrust of her hip, Nellie pushed Molly away so’s she could bend down and chuck the baby under the chin. ‘Ooh, he knows his Grandma Nellie, don’t yer, sweetheart? Just look at the way his legs are going. He wants me to pick him up.’
‘Oh no yer don’t, sunshine, it’s my turn first.’ Molly looked down into the baby’s laughing face and her heart went out to him. He was the image of Phil, his dad, and a better father he couldn’t wish for. ‘Oh, who’s a lovely boy for his grandma? I’ll swear yer’ve put weight on since yesterday, and grown another inch.’ She lifted him from the couch and held him up in the air as he kicked and punched, gurgling with pleasure. She loved her mate, Nellie, and more often than not she gave in to her. But not where her grandson was concerned. When Bobby had first been born, Nellie was so jealous that her mate was a grandma, they had all agreed she could be an adopted grandma. And in her eyes, so she told all the neighbours and every customer in every shop they went in, she was Bobby’s grandma. It was woe betide anyone who dared question how this could be. And even now, when she was a grandmother in her own right, she still insisted on sharing.
Nellie moved impatiently from one foot to the other. ‘Ay, girl, give someone else a chance, or the day will be over before I get a look-in.’
Molly gave the baby a big hug and kiss before she passed him over. ‘Here yer are, sunshine, before yer start crying. Ye’re just like a big soft baby yerself.’
‘D’yer think so, girl? Then how about putting me in the pram and going for a walk? Or yer could give me a piggyback. I wouldn’t mind as long as me corns weren’t feeling the pinch.’ Nellie was tickling the baby’s tummy and the more he laughed, the more her own tummy and bosom rose up and down. ‘Ay, listen, girl, I’ll tell yer something for nothing. If Bobby is your grandson, as yer are always telling me, then how come he’s got my sense of humour? I’m beginning to think there’s more to this baby than meets the eye.’ She nodded her head slowly. ‘Yeah, I smell dirty works at the crossroads. And never mind laughing, Molly Bennett, ’cos yer might be laughing the other side of yer face before the day is out. We all know that Jill and Doreen are as alike as two peas in a pod, so what’s to say that my Steve didn’t mistake D
oreen for Jill one night and indulge in a little hanky-panky? No, it’s not farfetched, Molly, ’cos that would account for the baby having a sense of humour. Our Steve takes after me, and this baby takes after him.’
Victoria chuckled behind her hand. ‘Well, Nellie, I’ve heard yer come out with some amazing stories, but I think that one takes the cake. How do yer think these things up?’
‘Easy, Victoria, just think about it. It’s not as daft as it sounds, ’cos even I’ve often mistaken Jill for Doreen. It’s easy done, especially in the dark.’
‘Ah, well, sunshine, nothing you come up with surprises me. But as Steve has black hair, and Phil is blond, don’t yer think Doreen would have twigged something?’
‘Listen, girl, when passion is at its height, who the hell is going to worry about the colour of someone’s hair?’ Nellie’s tummy began to shake, bringing gurgles from the baby who thought he was bouncing on a cloud. ‘On second thoughts, girl, I can well imagine you in bed, with a feller on top of yer, and yer suddenly pour water on his ardour by saying, “Ooh, but yer’ve got black hair!”’
Molly didn’t know where to put her face. ‘Yer’ll be the death of me yet, Nellie McDonough. Yer don’t care what yer say, or who yer say it in front of. Yer’ll have to clear yer mind out if yer ever want to mind Bobby, or Molly. Left alone with you, they’ll know the facts of life before their second birthday.’
Nellie’s face was one big grin. She loved winding her mate up. ‘Look at her blushing! A grown woman, what’s had four children, and she’s blushing. It’s Jack I feel sorry for, the poor bugger. I bet she makes him turn the light out every night.’
Molly didn’t know how she kept her face straight, for inside she was bubbling with laughter. She could hear Victoria’s quiet titter, and Doreen’s chuckle, but if she laughed it would only encourage her mate to come out with something more outrageous. ‘That’s it now, Nellie, that’s yer lot. Put the baby down, we’re leaving.’ When she turned her head to ask her daughter if she wanted any shopping, little did Molly know that behind her back Nellie was pulling faces. With her tongue sticking out, she put a thumb in each ear and wagged her fingers, as she’d done as a child behind the teacher’s back.
Doreen tried to focus on her mother’s face so she wouldn’t see her Auntie Nellie. ‘I’m going to the shops meself, Mam, to give Bobby some fresh air and to stretch me legs. I’m trying to persuade Aunt Vicky to come with us, seeing as the weather seems to be milder.’
‘Well, seeing as yer don’t need me, I’ll go to Jill’s and see if she needs anything. She’s probably not into a routine with the baby yet, only coming out of hospital four days ago. I can remember when Jill was born it took me ages to get used to washing her. I thought she was so fragile she might break. When you came along I was a bit better, then with Tommy and Ruthie I was a dab hand at it.’
She turned to her mate and asked, ‘Are you ready, sunshine?’
Nellie’s face was the picture of innocence. ‘I’m ready, girl. I’ve been standing here as good as gold waiting for yer.’
But Molly knew her friend too well, and she was suspicious. ‘What have yer been up to behind me back, Nellie? And don’t say nothing, ’cos I can tell.’
Looking really put out, Nellie spread her hands, appealing to Victoria. ‘Now, have I done anything behind Molly’s back? I wouldn’t do that, not to me best mate.’
Victoria chose to take a line between the truth and a lie. ‘I know yer were standing there, Nellie, but I was busy watching the baby.’
‘D’yer know what I think, girl?’ Nellie asked. ‘I think everyone knows their own tricks best, and that’s what you do when my back is turned.’
‘Oh, ay, what do I do when yer back’s turned, sunshine?’
‘Don’t be acting the innocent, Molly Bennett, yer know quite well what yer do.’
‘No I don’t, so tell me.’
Nellie rolled her eyes. She knew her mate inside out, but wasn’t quite sure whether today was a good day to test her humour. ‘Okay, girl, I’ll show yer. But only on one condition.’ She cast her eyes at Doreen. ‘You’re nearest to yer mam, girl, so if she as much as lifts her arms, I want yer to promise yer’ll grab her before she gets to me.’
Doreen was always glad to see her mam and Auntie Nellie, because they never failed to brighten the day. And it gave her and Aunt Vicky something to talk and laugh about afterwards. ‘I promise I’ll try, Auntie Nellie, but she might be too quick for me.’
Nellie shook her head slowly, allowing her chins to sway gently from side to side. ‘Nah, girl, yer mam’s too ruddy slow to catch cold. You just keep yer eye on her and I’ll show her what she does behind me back, all sneaky, like.’ But as a precaution, Nellie stepped back a few paces before sticking a thumb in each ear, wagging her fingers and putting her tongue out.
Molly pouted her lips and nodded. ‘Not bad, sunshine, but yer haven’t got it quite right, ’cos while I’m doing that, I also cross me eyes. But nevertheless, that’s not a bad imitation.’
‘Ooh, I couldn’t cross me eyes, girl, ’cos they might stick like that. And while it might suit you being cock-eyed, I don’t think it would do much for me. I mean, like, wherever I go I can see men gazing longingly at me voluptuous figure, and if I was cock-eyed I’d miss seeing that. Not that I’m big-headed, like, I wouldn’t want yer to think that, but it really makes me feel good to know so many men desire me.’
‘Now as though we’d think yer were big-headed, Auntie Nellie,’ Doreen said, laughing. ‘I think ye’re very modest and shy.’
Nellie went into her drama pose. With her head lowered, and her two chubby hands spread on her tummy, she said, ‘Oh, that is so kind of you. And you are so right, for I am shy and modest, but I try to hide it. And I have a good reason for hiding my true self, for if I were to act natural, as I really am deep inside, I’d show me mate up something rotten. People would look and listen to me, and then when she opened her mouth they’d think she was as common as muck. And I couldn’t hurt her, not my bestest friend in the whole world.’ She raised her head. ‘Oh, dear, I’ve come over all soppy. Could someone pass the smelling salts.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry, Auntie Nellie, but we ran out of smelling salts yesterday,’ Doreen told her, straight-faced. ‘But we do have Andrews Liver Salts. Would that help?’
Nellie’s chubby face creased. ‘I don’t think so, girl, ’cos the last time I had a dose of salts I went through me housework in no time, and I couldn’t be arsed doing that again. I had to sit twiddling me thumbs until it was time to call for me mate to go to the shops. Now I don’t mind a bit of housework, girl, but the whole house in two hours, well, that’s carrying things too far.’
‘It’s a good job we all know that these tales yer come up with are all fantasy, sunshine, and not deliberate lies. And it’s to be hoped that Satan does, too, or he’d be stoking the fires of hell to welcome yer. But I’m going to put a halt to all this frivolity and you and me are going to hot-foot it to Jill’s before the shops close for their dinner hour.’ Molly crossed the room to drop a kiss on Victoria’s cheek. ‘See yer tomorrow, sunshine.’ Then she gave her daughter a bear hug and a kiss. ‘Yer know where I am if yer want me, sunshine, never forget that.’
‘I know that, Mam, and thanks for the entertainment. It’ll give Aunt Vicky and me something to laugh about all afternoon.’
Molly and Nellie strolled up to the top end of the street where Molly’s daughter Jill, and Nellie’s son Steve lived. For the year they’d been married they’d lived with Lizzie Corkhill, who had offered to share her house with them when her son, Corker, told her the Bennett sisters had been hoping to have a double wedding, but wouldn’t be able to because Jill and Steve had nowhere to live. Steve was just out of serving his time and they hadn’t been able to save enough to buy furniture for a house. And offering to share her home with them had been the best thing Lizzie Corkhill could have done, for she’d been lonely since Corker married Ellen and moved in with her and her chil
dren. But now, with Jill and Steve, she had a family, and there were no more lonely days. It was only supposed to be a temporary arrangement, but Lizzie wouldn’t hear of their leaving, even when a very shy Jill told her she was expecting a baby, and that she and Steve had agreed they had enough money saved to furnish a house of their own now, for a baby in the house would be too much for Lizzie. But it was just the opposite: she was delighted and didn’t want them to leave. And the newly weds had grown to love her deeply. It had been easy for Doreen, as Phil was already living with Victoria Clegg, and her house was fully furnished. So everything had turned out well for both sisters, and Molly thanked God every night for her blessings. For as well as her two daughters, her only son Tommy had a beautiful wife in Rosie, and they were living very happily with Molly’s ma and da.
‘Ye’re very quiet, girl, are yer all right?’ Nellie didn’t like long silences. ‘Yer haven’t got a cob on with me for what I said in Victoria’s, have yer?’
Molly squeezed her arm. ‘Of course not, sunshine. I’ll have a good laugh with Jack tonight over what yer said. No, I was miles away, actually, thinking how lucky I am with me family and me friends. Three of me children married and as happy as they could ever be. And they haven’t moved miles away. I can see them every day. Two in the same street, and our Tommy just around the corner with me ma and da. What more could any mother ask for, Nellie, than knowing her children are well and happy?’
Nellie wasn’t having any of that! ‘I’m lucky, too, girl, with our Steve and Lily living in the street. I know yer’ve got three married, and have got two grandchildren, but I’ll catch yer up when our Paul gets wed. And if Archie pulls his socks up, I could have another grandchild by the end of the year.’
Molly pulled them to a halt just two doors away from Lizzie’s house. ‘Nellie, they’ve only been married three days, for heaven’s sake! Don’t you dare repeat what yer’ve just said when we get inside the house. Lizzie probably wouldn’t mind, but our Jill would die of embarrassment. And I can assure you that if Lily or Archie heard yer, they wouldn’t think it was the least bit funny.’
