by Joan Jonker
‘What does Doctor Greenfield think of your mam’s chances?’
‘He said he can’t say much until she goes into hospital. You know what doctors are, they won’t commit themselves. But he did say her face and speech should return to normal.’
‘That’s good news then, isn’t it.’ Bob pulled at one of her curls and watched it spring back into place. ‘I’ve got some news of me own.’ When he saw Mary’s eyes cloud over he caught her hand. ‘It’s not bad news, so don’t start getting all het up! It’s just that me mam and dad are going to live in Preston for a while, at me auntie’s. They can’t stay at our Joyce’s because she’s only got two bedrooms and she’s got the two kids. Me Auntie Nancy’s got a big house, and there’s only her and Uncle Dick so there’s plenty of room for Mam and Dad. It’s only till they can get fixed up round here.’
‘How is your mam?’
‘In a state of shock.’ Bob’s head shook in despair. ‘That’s why Dad wants to get her away from here. She keeps going back to our house … or what was our house … and while she keeps doing that she’ll never get better. I feel sorry for me dad! He wants to get her away from here but it means him packing his job in.’
Mary sought for words to comfort him. ‘There’s plenty of people moving away from here since the bombing, so they might get somewhere pretty quick. And your dad will easy find another job.’
‘Anyway, they’re going to Preston tomorrow and I’m going with them. I’ll stay two days to see them settled, then I’ll come back for the last two days of me leave. I can sleep at Joyce’s, and spend the days round here.’ He looked appealingly at Mary. ‘Any chance of getting someone to sit with your mam so we can go out?’
There were lines on his face Mary had never seen before, and she reached out to touch them. ‘Elsie Smith would sit with her, but she’s so miserable she’d make Mam miserable.’ Running her fingers lightly over his lips, she thought she’d never seen him look so unhappy. ‘I know! I’ll ask Vera Jackson from next door! I know she’ll come!’
‘Isn’t that the woman with the little mongol girl?’
‘Little Carol! Me mam loves her! She’d be made up if Vera brought Carol to sit with her. I’ll slip in later and ask her.’ The tinkling of a bell brought Mary’s brows together. ‘What the heck was that?’
Going into the living room she saw the small ornamental bell in her mother’s hand. She remembered giving it to her last night and telling her to ring it if she wanted anything. She remembered something else, too. ‘Did you ring that bell this morning, Mam?’
‘Eth.’ Martha nodded.
‘I thought I’d been dreaming! Were you telling me there was a knock on the door when Harry Sedgemoor called?’
‘Eth.’
‘And has there been a knock now?’ Mary was being too slow for Martha and she became impatient. ‘Eth, eth, eth!’
‘OK, keep your hair on!’ Mary laughingly made her way to the door. Let her get as bad tempered as she likes, she thought, it means she’s still full of spirit.
‘Hello, kid!’ Eileen stood on the step holding out a paper bag. ‘I met Mrs Sedgemoor in the queue at the bread shop, and she told me about yer mam. I thought she might just fancy these.’ Her eyes disappeared as she grinned. ‘I just ’appened to be there when they fell off the back of a lorry.’
‘Aren’t you coming in?’
‘Yer mam won’t feel like visitors. How is she?’
‘Don’t be daft and come on in!’ As Mary pressed back against the wall to let Eileen pass, she whispered, ‘You’ll see a difference in me mam’s face, but don’t let on.’
‘Well, now, will yez look at this! Here’s me feelin’ all sorry for yer ’cos I thought yer were sick.’ Eileen’s voice boomed out and suddenly the room was bright and cheerful. ‘I even tried to get grapes for yer, and the man in the shop asked me if I knew there was a war on!’ She sat on the edge of the bed and the springs groaned under her weight. ‘I think you’re just havin’ us on! Yer look bloody healthy to me!’
Bob’s head appeared round the kitchen door. ‘I thought it was your musical tones I could hear.’
‘Oh, you’re ’ere, are yer, General West!’
‘Now, Eileen! No sarcasm if you don’t mind. I may be only a private now, but you never know, I could end up being a general before the war’s over.’
‘Then all I can say is, God help us all! We’ll never win the bloody war!’ The bed springs groaned again as she stood up. ‘I only called to see how me mate is.’ She smiled fondly at Martha. ‘I’m in the middle of strippin’ the walls, but I couldn’t rest till I came to see yer for meself. I’d have had the walls stripped by now if it wasn’t for those kids of mine. They won’t leave me alone to get on with the job. Me mam, God bless her, tries to keep them out of the way but they take no notice of her. The trouble is, she’s too soft with them. Where I’d slap their backsides, she just pats them on the head.’ The laughter rumbled in Eileen’s tummy before it left her mouth. ‘She pats them on the head so often they’ve got square heads!’
‘Stay for a while,’ Mary begged.
‘No! I’ve got me two days off, an’ if I don’t get the rooms done now I never will.’ She handed Mary the bag. ‘Be careful with this; it’s got a couple of newlaid eggs in, a tin of Spam and a box of saccharins.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘Bloody awful things they are, but handy when yer run out of sugar.’
‘We can’t take these …’ Mary’s words were cut off as Eileen pressed the bag into her hand.
‘Get hold of them and shut yer gob! And for God’s sake be careful of the eggs or the poor chicken’s gone to a lot of trouble for nothin’.’ Turning to Martha, Eileen gripped her hand. ‘Look after yerself, me old mate. I’ll be back to see yer in a couple of days, an’ I want to see yer out of that bed! D’yer ’ear?’
‘So yer don’t know how long yer’ll be off?’ Eileen had to look up to Mary who was standing on the step.
‘It depends when they can get me mam into hospital. It could be a few days or a few weeks. Harry said not to worry though, he’d tell them in work.’
‘Mmm! Yer’ve seen Harry, then?’
‘Yes, he called this morning.’ Mary could have bitten her tongue out when she saw the knowing look on her friend’s face. ‘Oh, go on, you! He only called to see how Mam was!’
Eileen spread her hands in mock innocence. ‘I never opened me mouth!’
‘You don’t need to; your face is enough!’
Eileen became serious. ‘Is it true the Wests are going to Preston?’
‘Bob’s taking them tomorrow. He’s staying two days then coming back for the last two days of his leave.’
‘This bloody war’s not half upsettin’ people’s lives! I never thought when it started it was goin’ to be this bad.’
‘I wish Bob wasn’t going away.’ Mary shivered. ‘Another four days and he might be sent into the thick of it.’
‘If yez want to go out when he’s home, yer only have to ask, yer know, kid! I’ll come and sit with yer mam.’
‘But you’re on nights next week! You have to leave for work at nine.’
‘So, are we going to lose the war because I go in late for two nights?’ Eileen grinned. ‘Anyway, what’s more important … the war or your love life?’
Mary didn’t need much persuading. ‘I was going to ask one of the neighbours, but I’d much rather you came, and I know me mam would.’
‘It’s a date then, kiddo! I’ll come about six on Wednesday and Thursday, an’ yez can toddle off an’ enjoy yerselves.’ Eileen couldn’t resist the temptation to add, ‘Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, though!’
Guilt brought a blush to Mary’s face. ‘Is there anything you wouldn’t do?’
‘No, kid, not much!’ Her playful push nearly sent Mary flying, and her cheeky face grinned as she gave an exaggerated wink. ‘The trouble is, nobody asks me!’
‘She’s a case, that Eileen!’ Mary was closing the living room door after seeing her f
riend out, when she heard the rat-tat of the knocker. ‘We’re certainly having our visitors today!’
The colour drained from her face when she saw who their visitor was. ‘Father Murphy!’
‘Hello, Mary! I was told at Mass this morning about your mother.’
‘Come in, Father.’
‘Well, now, Mrs Bradshaw, and what’s this I’m after hearing about you?’ The young priest’s soft Irish voice had a lilt to it, and his blue eyes held a twinkle. He was the youngest priest in the parish, and in the three years he’d been there he’d become very well liked and respected. The pews in the church outside Father Murphy’s confessional box were always full. He was understanding and compassionate for one so young, and more people preferred to confide in him than the older priest, Father Younger, whose sermons were full of hell-fire and brimstone, and his penance for sinning was always twice as many Hail Marys as Father Murphy’s.
‘And how are you managing, Mary?’ The priest’s attention turned from Martha.
‘Fine, Father.’ Mary bent her head to straighten the bedspread, convinced her face would give away her guilty secret. ‘I’ll be getting plenty of help.’
‘Well now, I’m glad to hear that!’ The blue eyes turned to Bob. ‘’Tis a terrible thing that’s happened to your family, Bob! I’ve just been to see your parents, and they tell me they’re going away.’
‘Yes, Father! It’ll be better for me mam to get away from here for a while.’
‘What a wicked evil world we live in! We can only pray to the good Lord that it will all be over soon.’ Father Murphy sighed as he turned back to Martha. ‘You’ll not be able to get to church, Mrs Bradshaw, so I’ll have to bring the church to you. When were you last at confession?’
Martha’s eyes went to Mary for help. ‘She can’t speak, Father, but I know she was at confession on Wednesday.’
‘Then I’ll bring you communion tomorrow.’ The rosy cheeks creased into lines as he smiled. ‘I’ve got a young couple coming to see me about putting the banns up for their wedding, but we’ll say a little prayer for your speedy recovery before I go.’
Mary made the sign of the Cross and repeated the words of the prayer as her mind branded her a hypocrite.
‘I’ll see you out, Father.’
‘Will you be at Mass tomorrow, Mary? We’re having special prayers for all those who have suffered, and all our young men overseas.’
‘I’ll try and get to confession tonight, Father, and if I can leave me mam for an hour in the morning I’ll be at Mass.’
‘Good girl.’
Later, Mary asked Bob if he’d sit with her mam while she went to confession. ‘I won’t be very long.’ But she was gone an hour and a half, and when they were alone in the kitchen, Mary admitted she’d been too frightened to go to their own church and had gone to one in the next parish. ‘I was too ashamed to go to Father Murphy, and if I’d gone to Father Younger he’d have wiped the floor with me.’ But her heart felt lighter … as though she’d been carrying a heavy burden around for a long time and someone had just lifted it from her shoulders.
Chapter Seven
On her way home from Mary’s, Eileen was passing the corner shop when she remembered they needed potatoes. Might as well get them now, she thought, and I can pay me bill while I’m at it. Squeezing through the narrow doorway, she shouted, ‘I don’t suppose yer’ve got a leg of mutton under the counter, have yer, Milly? If yer have, I’ll have five pound of spuds to go with it.’
‘Ay, the only legs under this counter belong to me! And I’ll have you know they ain’t mutton, either!’ Milly Knight was the same age as Eileen, and almost as big. She kept herself tidier though, and her dark hair was always neatly waved, and her round, happy face was never without make-up. No matter what time you went in the shop you’d always get a smile from Milly; even though she opened at six in the morning and didn’t close till ten at night, seven days a week. You could buy anything from Knight’s corner shop. The smell of paraffin mixed with the smells of cakes and greengrocery, and whether you wanted a gas mantle or a reel of cotton, Milly could always produce it. She once said the only thing they didn’t sell was arsenic. Her husband, Les, had been called up a few months ago and she had her work cut out trying to run the shop without him. With all the young women either in the forces or on munitions, the only help she could get were two older women who came in to help when she was busy. Like Eileen, Milly would moan that she didn’t know how she kept so fat, but then she would grin and admit she couldn’t pass the bottle of Dolly Mixtures without stuffing a handful into her mouth.
‘Come ’ed, Claire, darling.’ Milly was patiently waiting to serve a little girl who was standing on tiptoe to see over the counter. But Claire shook her head. Biting a precious ha’penny between her tiny, pearl-like teeth, her eyes moved from the brightly coloured gob-stoppers to the black sticks of liquorice. It was a big decision and Claire wasn’t going to be rushed. ‘Claire’s one of me best customers, aren’t you, sunshine?’ Milly winked at Eileen. ‘So I’m going to do her a big favour and let her have a gob-stopper and two sticks of liquorice, all for her ha’penny.’
Claire’s angel face broke into a huge smile until she saw Milly pick up a pink gob-stopper. ‘Can I ’ave a green one, please?’
The shop filled with Eileen’s laughter, and as Milly went to change the offending sweet she said. ‘Give ’er them both, an’ another two sticks of that black stuff! She can have them on me … she deserves them!’
Little Claire ran out of the shop with the sweets clutched in her hot little hands. She couldn’t get away quick enough in case the big woman changed her mind. ‘I haven’t see her round here before.’
‘Yes, you have! It’s Irene Thompson’s little girl. Claire was evacuated to Wales last year, but she was fretting that much they had to bring her home! I didn’t know her meself at first ’cos she seems to have shot up.’
‘I often wish I’d let mine go when all the others went. Especially now with all the bombin’,’ Eileen said. ‘But it was bad enough Bill goin’ away without losing me kids as well.’ A glint came in her eyes. ‘Mind you, our Billy would have been in his element if he’d been evacuated to a farm in Wales. Can yer imagine ’im muckin’ out the pig sties?’
‘Speak of the devil!’ Milly nodded to the window. ‘Here he comes!’
Billy ran into the shop breathless. ‘Me nan said can yer let ’er ’ave a packet of biscuits, Mrs Knight?’ His eyes caught sight of Eileen and the words poured from his mouth. ‘Where’ve yer been, Mam? I’ve been lookin’ all over for yer. Me Auntie Rene’s in our ’ouse!’
‘Oh, gawd, that’s all I need!’ Eileen groaned. ‘Her house is like a show place, an’ she has to come when ours looks like a muck midden!’
‘She’s been cryin’, Mam, an’ me nan’s been cryin’ too!’
Eileen, who’d been leaning her elbows on the counter, straightened up. ‘Give us five pounds of spuds, Milly, and a packet of firelighters.’ She looked down on Billy. ‘Run ’ome and tell yer nan I’m on me way.’
‘What about the biscuits for me nan?’
‘Have yer got any biscuits, Milly?’ Eileen opened her purse. ‘Here’s a thru’penny joey. Get some sweets, but mind yer share them with Joan and Edna.’
‘I haven’t got much selection in biscuits, Eileen.’ Milly stood in front of a row of tins. ‘Only Marie or Arrowroot … the others are all broken.’
‘Give us some of each, will yer?’ Eileen waited till Billy had the biscuits and sweets, then told him, ‘Straight home, d’yer hear? An’ no pinchin’ any, or I’ll strangle yer!’ When he’d gone she pulled a face. ‘Sounds like I’m going home to a happy house, doesn’t it, Milly? Anyway, I’ll pay yer for these, an’ I got some tick off yer through the week, so I’ll settle up now.’
Eileen was thoughtful as she plodded her way down the street. I wonder what’s up with our Rene? She might have waited till I’d got the room papered. She turns her nose up at it even when i
t’s tidy, so God knows what she’ll think of it now, with half the walls stripped.
Her sister was five years younger than Eileen, and they’d always got along together until Rene had started courting Alan. He had a good job in an insurance office and his family were comfortably off. It was then the two sisters started to quarrel, with Rene being ashamed of her home and the way her family spoke. If ever Alan had been coming to pick her up – which wasn’t often because Rene kept him away as much as possible – their dad was warned not to wear his cap in the house, and Eileen told to watch her language and not tell rude jokes. When Rene and Alan had their big posh wedding, it was Rene who bought her mother’s and Eileen’s dresses, so they wouldn’t show her up in front of her new in-laws. And they’d gone straight from the wedding into the new house they were buying at the Old Roan, which had a garden back and front. From then on Rene had become such a snob Eileen hated her coming to visit them.
The funny thing was, Eileen got on well with Alan who wasn’t toffee-nosed at all! He’d joined the Army at the start of the war and was a captain now, serving under General Auckinleck in the Middle East.
The front door was open and as she walked down the hall Eileen heard her mother say, ‘It’s no good getting upset until you know what’s happened!’ Rene was sitting on a chair that had been rescued from the pile, and Maggie was standing over her. They looked round when Eileen walked in and the sight of her sister brought forth a fresh flow of tears from Rene, who was wiping her eyes with a sodden handkerchief. The two sisters were so different in looks it was hard to believe they came from the same set of parents. Eileen with her huge body and clothes that looked as though they’d come off the cart of a rag and bone man, and Rene with her tall, slim figure, dark hair that always looked immaculate and fashionable clothes she wore like a mannequin. She was an attractive woman, with a clear complexion and unusual green eyes.
