MB07 - Three Little Words

by Joan Jonker

  Molly put the tray down before looking at her friend, surprise written on her face. ‘Nellie McDonough, that was quite a speech for you. And very well spoken, too! Yer can go to the top of the class, sunshine – yer did well.’

  ‘Ah, but was I right, girl, that’s the burning question?’

  ‘Yes, Nellie, you are right. I think Claire has had a hard time since her husband died. In fact, through Ken, we know she has. And she’s a thoroughly nice woman. I like her very much, and her two children. I also believe Derek is a thoroughly nice bloke, who will one day make a very lucky woman a fantastic husband. If we put all those points together, it comes out that Claire and Derek are made for each other. And that would make me, and her children, very happy. However, yer can’t force someone to love another person, can yer? With the best will in the world, I can’t make them love each other.’

  ‘Ye’re having a bloody good try, girl, I’ll say that for yer. And ’cos ye’re me best mate, I’m going to try and get a bit of help for yer. I’ll have a word with Saint Peter tonight, when I’m in bed, and with him on our side we’ll be home and dry.’

  Molly was pouring the tea out when the knocker sounded, and Nellie said, ‘Okay, girl, I’ll go.’ It was so unusual for Nellie to offer to take her backside off the chair, Molly’s face wore a look of utter astonishment as she watched the little woman head for the door. ‘Are yer feeling all right, sunshine?’

  ‘Top of the world, girl, top of the world,’ Nellie answered before opening the door to Claire. ‘You must be able to smell the tea, girl, ’cos me mate’s just pouring it out.’

  ‘I’ve timed it nicely, then.’ Claire was looking very happy when she entered the living room. ‘I’ve been looking forward to this trip to the market. After all yer’ve told me about Sadie and Mary Ann, I’m dying to meet them.’

  ‘Yer’ll love them, Claire,’ Molly said. ‘Apart from being nice, they’re really very funny. Me and Nellie have known them a couple of years, and they’ve been good to us. They always manage to find something to suit us no matter what we’re after. Anyway, yer’ll find out for yerself. But get this cup of tea down yer first, and I’ve made yer a butty so yer won’t be hungry. I don’t suppose yer’ve had anything since breakfast, have yer?’

  Claire shook her head. ‘No, but I could have lasted out. Yer shouldn’t have gone to any trouble for me.’

  ‘I wouldn’t call making a cheese sandwich going to any trouble, sunshine. It took me all of five minutes.’

  ‘One of these days I’ll pay you and Nellie back for what yer’ve both done for me. Not that any amount of money can repay kindness. But when Ken’s earning a bit more, I’ll treat yer to afternoon tea at Reece’s. They bring a cake stand to the table with a variety of fresh cream cakes, so yer could have as many cream slices as yer liked, Nellie.’

  ‘Now ye’re talking my language, girl. When were yer thinking of taking us?’

  ‘Ooh, let’s see now.’ Claire tapped a finger on her chin while looking thoughtful. ‘Ken will be fifteen soon, so it’ll be six years before he’s earning a man’s wage. D’yer think yer could hold out that long, Nellie?’

  ‘With great difficulty, girl, with great difficulty.’ Then she thought of something. ‘Ay, your Ken in the same age as Ruthie, isn’t he?’

  Molly sighed inwardly. What in the name of goodness was her friend going to come out with now? Best to head her off. ‘Come on, girls, drink yer tea and let’s be on our way. If we leave it too late, most of the best stuff will have been snapped up.’

  ‘Gosh, it’s busy here,’ Claire said, looking around in amazement. ‘It must be about seven years since I was here last, and I don’t remember it being so busy.’

  ‘It’s the nice weather, sunshine,’ Molly said. ‘A lot of people are probably just walking around. Anything to get them out of the house and in the fresh air.’

  ‘Me and Molly come here for our Christmas shopping, don’t we, girl? We know most of the stallholders, and we always manage to knock them down in price.’

  ‘Yer mean you always manage to knock them down, Nellie – I wouldn’t have the nerve. But I’m always grateful to yer for saving me a few bob.’

  ‘I’ll come with yer when yer do yer Christmas shopping, if yer’ll let me. I always think it’s more fun when ye’re with someone.’

  ‘Yer’ll be welcome, sunshine.’ Molly was wondering how she could bring up the subject of Derek, Ken and the football match. But she couldn’t think of any way except to ask straight out. ‘Ay, I believe Derek took Ken to see Liverpool play on Saturday.’

  ‘Yes, and our Ken was over the moon. He came back looking as though he’d won the pools, but with no voice. Derek said he’d lost it with shouting encouragement to the Liverpool players. And I believe that when Liverpool scored, Ken got so excited he slapped Derek on the back and nearly sent him flying.’

  ‘It was thoughtful of Derek to take him,’ Molly said, ‘and I bet Ken appreciated it.’

  ‘He did, Molly, and so did I. Honestly, I’ve never known my son to be as happy and outgoing since his dad died. He hasn’t had much of a life in the last, what, five years. It’s not been so bad for Amy, ’cos she doesn’t remember her dad. But Ken does; he’s never forgotten him. And because he looks so much like his dad, I am reminded of him every day.’

  ‘Well I’m glad for Ken, ’cos I think he’s a smashing lad. And I like Derek, too; he’s a man I would trust with me life. And ay, he brought his mam down to Corker’s a few days ago, and she’s lovely. She’s like Victoria, and Mrs Corkhill. I always want to hug them to pieces, and I felt the same about Derek’s mam. Her name’s Hannah, and she’s bright and bubbly.’

  Nellie pulled on her mate’s arm. ‘We’re there now, girl. I can see Sadie’s blond hair.’

  At that moment, Sadie saw the women and waved. Above the hustle and bustle, she shouted, ‘Go to yer usual speck and I’ll be with yer as soon as I can.’

  ‘What a lovely-looking girl,’ Claire said, hanging on to Molly in case they got separated in the crowd. ‘She stands out, doesn’t she? I bet she has all the boys running after her.’

  ‘Half the lads in the market have tried to date her,’ Molly said. ‘But she’s engaged to a lad called Harry, and she’s crazy about him.’

  ‘They’re getting married next year,’ Nellie said, her head and chins nodding. ‘Me and Molly are going to the church to see the wedding.’

  Molly stopped at the last trestle table. ‘This is our speck, and that’s Mary Ann, the woman who owns the stall, over there. She’s a character if ever there was one. Just watch the way she handles the crowd.’

  Mary Ann, with her bright red hair, long black skirt and white blouse, was standing with her hands on her hips in front of one of the trestle tables. ‘Aggie, I thought you and Elsie were supposed to be best mates?’

  ‘We are, Mary Ann,’ said Aggie, her huge bosom resting on top of a pile of clothes. ‘But that doesn’t mean I have to give her everything she wants. I saw this blouse first, and she tried to grab it off me.’

  ‘Why, you lying cow!’ Elsie was red in the face and very agitated. ‘Don’t yer take no notice of her, Mary Ann, she’s a bleeding liar. I saw the blouse first. It was me what said it was a nice colour, and before I had a chance to pick it up, this one had it in her hand.’

  Mary Ann’s head wagged from side to side. ‘Oh, dear, me heart bleeds for yer. It’s the end of a perfect friendship, and all over a blouse what won’t fit either of yer.’

  ‘It’ll fit me, Mary Ann.’ Aggie wasn’t going to let go of that blouse for love or money. It was a dark brown, just the colour she liked. ‘I know it will fit me, and I got me hands on it first.’

  ‘Over my dead body do yer walk off with the blouse what I was the first to see.’ An equally irate Elsie made another unsuccessful attempt to grab the article which Aggie was hanging on to like grim death. ‘And if I saw yer in the street with it on, so help me I’d tear the ruddy thing off yer back.’

  �
�If ye’re going to fight about it, why don’t yer come round the table and fight it out inside the square? If yer want to make a spectacle of yerselves, then the least yer can do is perform in front of a crowd.’ Mary Ann held out a hand. ‘While ye’re knocking the stuffing out of each other, I’ll keep the blouse safe. Hand it over, Aggie, or d’yer want me to come round there and take it off yer?’

  Knowing Mary Ann’s reputation for never losing a fight, Aggie passed the blouse over. ‘I want it back, though, Mary Ann, don’t yer forget that. Once I’ve sorted Elsie out, I’ll be taking that home with me.’

  ‘This blouse is a shilling, Aggie. Will yer pay that for it?’

  ‘I’ll give yer a shilling for it, Mary Ann.’ Elsie wasn’t finished yet, not by a long chalk. ‘Yer can have it now if yer like.’

  Aggie’s nostrils flared at that. ‘You flaming cow!’ She pushed the unsuspecting Elsie hard, and the woman would have ended up on the ground if it hadn’t been for the women crowded round waiting for the fun to start. They didn’t get much excitement in their lives, and they weren’t going to miss a punch-up.

  Elsie was rolling her sleeves up, ready for the fray, when Mary Ann said, ‘Hang on a minute, ladies, before yer tear each other limb from limb. I don’t care whether yer kill each other or not, but I’ll not let it happen at my stall. I’ve got me reputation to think of.’ She saw Aggie’s hand curl into a fist, and Elsie’s sleeves rolled up further. Then she looked round at the faces of those hoping for a free-for-all. ‘Before yer get too excited, let me show yer what these two silly buggers are fighting for.’ She held the blouse up, and there was a gasp from those looking on. For the blouse had been part of a school uniform, and looked about the right size for a tenyear-old girl. ‘Two grown-up women didn’t have the sense to see if the blouse would fit them before they let their greed get the better of them. But yer all heard Elsie offer me a shilling for it, so give me a shilling, queen, and yer can have the ruddy blouse.’

  ‘I’m not paying a shilling for a blouse what won’t fit me! Well, the bleeding cheek of yer, Mary Ann. I’ve never heard nothing like it in all me life. Did yer hear that, Aggie?’

  Yes, Aggie had heard, but she was in a quandary. Elsie was her mate, and lived a few doors away from her. Their husbands were mates, too, and went for a pint together every Saturday night. But Mary Ann had been good to her over the years, and she wasn’t prepared to fall out with her. ‘We asked for it, Elsie, and we’ve made a laughing stock of ourselves. I bet if we ask Mary Ann, she’ll find us each a nice blouse what will fit. Eh, Mary Ann?’

  But the stallholder’s eyes weren’t on them at the moment. She was looking at a woman standing at the next table. ‘That’ll be one and six, Tessie.’

  The woman stared back. ‘What are yer on about, Mary Ann? I haven’t bought nothing yet.’

  ‘Yer mean yer hadn’t paid for anything yet, don’t yer, Tessie? The blouse yer’ve put in yer bag is a shilling, and the underskirt a tanner.’

  There were murmurs from most of the women around, for Mary Ann was the most popular stallholder in the market. You always got a square deal off her, and she was always good for a laugh. ‘Oh, me mind must have been miles away, Mary Ann,’ said Tessie, now sporting a very red face. ‘I wasn’t going to go away without paying. It’s just that I was looking to see if there was anything for our Annie.’

  ‘I’ll believe yer where thousands wouldn’t,’ the stallholder told her. ‘Give the money to Sadie, she’s nearer to yer.’ Then Mary Ann turned back to Aggie and Elsie. ‘You two want yer heads banging together, and I’d do it meself if I wasn’t frightened of the few brains yer’ve got falling out. Now act yer age and have a root through the stalls. Give us a shout if yer find anything that yer like. I’ve got to see to some friends now.’

  Claire was enjoying the scene. ‘I could stand here all day, just watching. Let me know next time ye’re coming and I’ll ask for time off again.’

  Mary Ann was smiling when she approached them. ‘It’s good to see yer, Molly, and you, Nellie.’ She rubbed her hands and laughed. ‘Me takings will be healthy today, ’cos yer always spend a few bob. And I see yer’ve brought a mate with yer.’

  Molly made the introductions. ‘Each of us wants a dress, and they have to be in good nick and stylish, ’cos we’ve got a party coming up.’

  ‘Yer mean stylish as in Buckingham Palace, or stylish as in a knees-up next door?’

  Molly chuckled. ‘Somewhere in between, Mary Ann. Have yer got anything in mind?’

  ‘If I served you, Sadie would have me life. As far as she’s concerned, you are, and always will be, her customers.’ Mary Ann felt an arm go round her waist and turned her head to look into the bright blue eyes of the girl she looked on as a daughter. ‘Speak of the devil and he’s bound to appear. Yer mates are here, Sadie, and they’re looking for ten guinea dresses for ten bob. I’ll leave yer to see what yer can do for them, while I keep me eye on this lot.’

  ‘Some good clothes came in last week, and I thought of you two right away. So I put them on one side, on the rack,’ Sadie smiled at Claire. ‘Is the twosome now a threesome?’

  Nellie thought it was time she joined in. ‘Yes, this is Claire, and she’s a new friend of ours. We’ve all been invited to a party and want to look like film stars.’

  ‘Come over to the rack, then, and I’ll show yer what I put away. There’ll be something for yer friend, too, ’cos I can think of a couple of nice dresses in her size.’

  On the way over to the rack of clothes, Molly said, ‘Is the wedding still on for Easter, Sadie? Me and Nellie don’t want to miss it.’

  ‘Yes, it’s still on. I wish it was tomorrow – I can’t wait. But I’ll see yer loads of times before that, and I can give yer a definite time and everything.’ Sadie went straight to a lilac dress in soft cotton, and took the hanger off the rack. ‘I thought of this for you, Molly. It would go well with yer blond colouring.’

  Molly was delighted as she held the dress up for inspection. ‘Oh, it’s lovely, Sadie. Thank you. Ye’re a pal.’

  ‘Ay, we’ll have no favouritism,’ Nellie said, pretending to take the huff. ‘Whatever yer’ve got for me will have to be as nice as that one.’

  Sadie grinned and stretched to take another hanger from the rack. ‘I thought royal blue for you, Nellie, with a nice white collar. It will fit yer, and there’s a belt in the same material.’

  ‘Oh, brother, will yer look at that!’ To say Nellie was chuffed would be putting it mildly. ‘If I don’t get a feller in that, I’ll never get one.’

  While Nellie held the dress up to her shoulders and paraded up and down, Sadie gazed at Claire’s face. What a beauty she was. There was no dress on the rack to do her justice. But then beauty wasn’t reserved just for the rich. ‘Ye’re about my size, and there’s two nice dresses on the rack that would fit. I’ll show yer them both.’

  With Molly and Nellie watching, Claire looked from the pale blue dress to the one in a soft green colour. Without hesitation, her hand went to the green one. ‘That’s my favourite colour. I like the style, too. It’s lovely.’ There was doubt in her eyes as she worried about the price, and this wasn’t missed by Molly.

  ‘Sadie, there’s a dress at the end there. Could I have a look at it?’ Molly took the girl by the arm and led her away from Claire. ‘I did this on purpose, sunshine, so I could ask yer how much the dresses are. Particularly the green one, that Claire likes?’

  ‘All the same price, seeing as it’s you, Molly. Ten bob each. Is that all right?’

  ‘Wonderful, sunshine, wonderful. Yer look like an angel, and yer are an angel. We’ll be the best dressed at the party.’

  All the way home on the tram, Claire couldn’t stop talking about how she’d had her eyes opened. ‘I never thought I’d get such a nice dress for ten bob. I can’t believe it. At least I don’t have to worry about the party any more.’

  ‘The only worry you and me have, sunshine, is that Nellie will outshine the two o
f us.’

  Sitting on the end of the seat, with half her backside hanging over and defying the law of gravity, Nellie was grinning like a Cheshire cat. Just wait. She’d show ’em. On the night of the party she’d knock ’em dead.

  ‘No, yer can’t have the gang in on Friday night, sunshine, and it’s no good yer sitting there pulling faces at me.’ Molly was determined to hold out this time. ‘It’s the party on Saturday, and I’ll want to wash me hair tomorrow night. I’m not doing that with half a dozen youngsters watching.’

  ‘Don’t argue with yer mam, Ruthie,’ Jack said. ‘Be satisfied that yer’ve got the party to look forward to.’

  ‘I know I’m lucky, Dad, but me and Bella are skint after buying new frocks for the party, so we can’t go to the pictures. And it’s boring sitting in the house twiddling our thumbs.’

  ‘Then why don’t the pair of yer go for a walk and get some fresh air?’ Molly asked. ‘Or go round to yer grandma’s? Yer’d have a laugh with them, and Tommy and Rosie. It would certainly be better than twiddling yer thumbs.’

  There was a spark of interest in the young girl’s eyes as she sat up straight in the chair, and her legs stopped swinging. ‘Could we go round there tonight, Mam? It would pass the time away, and as yer say we’d have a laugh. Then tomorrow night I’ll wash me hair, same as you. I’m going to try and do something different with mine, a new style.’

  Jack raised his brows. ‘Yer hair is lovely the way it is. Why would yer want to change it?’

  ‘I thought of parting it in the middle, or combing it straight back and tying it with a ribbon.’

  Molly’s mind took her back to when she was Ruthie’s age, and how she’d tied her long hair back with a ribbon. ‘If yer like, sunshine, I’ll have a go at yer hair tomorrow night. I could comb it back and tie it, or perhaps a side parting would look nice. We could keep on trying until we came up with something yer liked.’