by Joan Jonker
‘I’ll be happy to,’ he told them, laughing. ‘It will get me out of washing the dishes.’
‘Don’t you kid yourself, light of my life,’ Gwen said. ‘The dishes will be waiting for you when you get back.’
‘They will not!’ Ann began to stack the dirty plates. ‘Me and George will do the dishes.’
‘What! Guests washing dishes!’ The very idea was enough to lift Gwen from her chair. ‘Not on your life!’
‘Well at least let me help?’ Ann didn’t want to seem pushy. ‘I’m not used to sitting on my bottom doing nothing, I’d much rather be on the go. So you’d be doing me a favour. And George can go and see the chickens.’
The Welsh woman curled her fists and leaned on the table. ‘If it got about that I’d let paying guests do the washing-up, I’d be the talk of the village. And I’d never live it down.’
‘Who would know?’ Ann grinned. ‘I’m sure the chickens wouldn’t snitch on you.’
George pushed his chair back. ‘I hope your garden is a mile long, ’cos I could do with walking that dinner down.’
‘It’s not a mile, I’m afraid,’ Mered said. ‘But it’s a fair size, as you must have noticed. We’ve got the garden you can see out of the window, with lawn, shrubs and the big swing. Then there’s an orchard behind that, and the trees are laden with apples and pears at the moment. Oh, and there’s a plum tree, as well, but the plums are not ripe enough for picking yet. So don’t eat any of them, girls, because you’ll end up with a tummy ache.’
‘It sounds just what the doctor ordered.’ George held his hands out to the two girls. ‘Come on, let’s taste the country life.’
When the two women were left alone, Gwen pointed to Ann’s chair. ‘Sit down again for ten minutes and relax. Once we make a start we can have the table cleared and the dishes washed before they come back.’ She sat down heavily and her bonny face beamed when the wooden chair groaned its disapproval. ‘One of these days this chair is going to give up on me and I’ll end up on my backside. Still, I’m so well padded I wouldn’t feel a thing.’ When she began to shake with laughter, there came a creak from the chair to remind her it could only take so much. ‘It would be the price of me if I went through the floorboards and ended up in the cellar with my legs in the air. It wouldn’t be a sight for the fainthearted, I can tell you.’
‘You’ve got a cellar, then?’
Gwen nodded. ‘A big one, and it’s very clean and dry. It’s a good place for storing fruit, and my jars of home-made jam. I make stacks of it in the summer when the fruit’s plentiful, and it lasts through the winter months. And of course we throw all our odds and sods down there out of the way.’
‘This cottage is very deceiving from the front,’ Ann said. ‘You wouldn’t dream, standing outside, that it was so spacious.’
‘Everyone gets a surprise when they come for the first time. But its size is in depth, not width. There’s four bedrooms, all double like the two you and the girls have got. Then there’s the front parlour, which is only used by guests. The only time I go in there is to clean it. Me and Mered feel more comfortable in this room, it’s easier to keep warm in the winter with a log fire roaring up the chimney. And then there’s the decent-sized kitchen with scullery off. The place is more suited to a big family, it’s far too big for just me and Mered. We’ve talked of moving a few times to a smaller place, but we both know we’ll never move because it would break his heart. You see, his parents bought Rose Cottage when they got married, and he was born upstairs in the front bedroom. And when we got wed, we lived very happily with his parents for twenty years, until, sadly, they passed away within a short time of each other. That’s when I started to take in holidaymakers. It was partly to give me something to do, and partly because we needed a bit extra coming in to help pay the bills.’
‘I can understand you not wanting to leave here,’ Ann said. ‘I know I wouldn’t. It’s a lovely cottage in beautiful surroundings.’ She looked down at her laced hands and began to make circles with her thumbs, while wondering if she would offend if she said what was in her mind. Then she decided Gwen wasn’t the type to be easily offended. ‘I don’t know how you can make money taking guests in. Not if the meal we’ve had tonight is anything to go by.’
‘It’s cheaper to live in the country than it is in a big city. I was going to tell you this earlier when you remarked on the amount of food on the table, but I thought it might upset the girls and I didn’t want to do that. You see, being surrounded by farms, we get meat very cheaply. When a lamb or a pig is slaughtered, I can buy from the farmer for half the price I’d pay in the shops. And it’s the same with potatoes and vegetables. In fact, to be truthful, most of the time I don’t have to pay a penny! My hens are such good layers I have more eggs than I need and do a swap with the farmers. But I don’t want you to tell your daughters about the animals being slaughtered because it would upset them and spoil their holiday.’
‘It would upset Theresa, she’s very tender-hearted. She’s never been a strong child and we’re inclined to keep anything from her that would worry her.’
‘She’s a lovely girl, and so is Maddy. Polite, friendly and well mannered. You’re well blessed, Ann.’ Gwen looked around the littered table and pulled a face. ‘Better make an effort and get this lot washed and put away.’ When she stood up, she cocked an ear. ‘There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with Tess now, she’s screaming her head off with delight. If she keeps that up, my egg quota should be double tomorrow.’
It had taken some persuasion to get Tess inside the chicken coop. When the hens came running towards the wire netting, anxious for their food and clucking their heads off, the girl got frightened and refused to follow her sister through the gate. Then, when she saw Maddy throwing food from the bucket, and the birds flocking around her, she took her father’s hand. ‘They’re going to like Maddy more than me if I don’t give them some food. Will you come in with me, Dad, please?’
Mered handed her a bucket similar to the one her sister had. ‘I’ll come with you as well. The birds all know me and I know every one of them by name.’
‘They’ve got names?’ Tess was stunned. ‘Every one of them?’
‘Come in if you don’t believe me, and I’ll call them over by name.’ Mered held the gate open to allow George and his daughter through, then quickly closed it behind him. People thought chickens had no brains, but they certainly knew an open gate when they saw one. And he didn’t fancy the job of rounding them up.
‘Stand there and watch them eat out of my hand.’ Mered dipped his hand in the bucket and called, ‘Nelson, come on, Nelson.’
When Nelson waddled towards them, followed by half the other birds, George couldn’t believe his eyes. He’d never seen such a large chicken in his life. The bird was enormous! And when Tess tightened her grip on his hand he knew she was afraid. But her fear soon turned to wonder as the bird fed from Mered’s hand. ‘Just look, Dad, isn’t Mr Mered brave?’
‘I think I’ll have a try myself.’ George took a handful of seed from the bucket, split it between his two hands and held them out to the birds. He was fully expecting to be bitten when he saw how quickly the birds pecked, but all he felt was the beak lightly touching his hand.
When Maddy saw what was happening she quickly moved closer to them. ‘Will it be all right if I try that, Mr Mered?’
‘Of course it will. Just keep your hand steady, don’t pull it away quickly.’
Maddy was over the moon and her giggle had them all laughing. ‘This one’s very greedy, Mr Mered, what’s his name?’
‘It’s a she, and her name’s Clarissa.’
‘Ooh, that’s a posh name.’ Maddy noticed a small bird standing by her side and making no effort to join the noisy, gobbling, pecking birds. ‘Ah, this one isn’t getting anything! It seems frightened of the bigger birds. Look, Tess, why don’t you feed this poor hen, otherwise it’ll end up getting nothing to eat.’
The words had the desired effect,
as Maddy knew they would. Her sister would never let the smallest bird in the flock go hungry because it was afraid. And it was that small, quiet bird that took away all Tess’s fears by feeding gently from her outstretched hand. And as the girl delved in the bucket for more seeds, her laughter rang out loud and clear. ‘This one likes me, Maddy, she’s made friends with me.’
‘I’m afraid it’s not a girl, Tess,’ Mered said, his heart lifting at the sheer pleasure on her face. ‘His name’s Cagney, after James Cagney.’
‘You mean the film star?’
‘Yes. We thought if we gave him a tough name it might toughen him up.’ Mered was thinking he’d never enjoyed feeding the chickens so much. ‘The trouble is, we’re still waiting for him to stick his chest out and pick a fight with Nelson. Still, there’s time yet, he’s a few months younger than the others so he’s got some growing to do.’
Tess gave this information some consideration before filling her hand with seed and bending down to the bird, which was waiting patiently. ‘Now see here, Cagney, you’ve got to begin sticking up for yourself. Don’t let the others bully you. And if Nelson starts throwing his weight around, you just remind him that the last person called Nelson lost an eye. Tell him to put that in his pipe and smoke it.’
While the men roared with laughter, Maddy put her bucket down and put her arms around her sister. They clung together until the tears ran. ‘Oh, Tess, that was so funny.’
‘Yes, but I meant it. And if Mr Mered will let us feed them again tomorrow, I’m going to make sure Cagney gets more than the others, to fatten him up. And if I’ve got the nerve to go near Nelson, ’cos he’s awful big, I’ll tell him to leave my friend alone, otherwise he’ll be losing more than an eye.’
The laughter that followed carried to the two women in the kitchen and they smiled at each other. Gwen lifted a hand from the soapy water to scratch her nose. ‘Best sound in the world, that of a child laughing.’
Chapter Five
The family were finishing their breakfast when Gwen bustled in carrying a canvas shopping bag. ‘I’ve made some sandwiches, so when you’ve looked around the farm and seen all the animals, you can find a nice spot somewhere and have a picnic. I’ve put four slices of apple pie in, well wrapped up, and a Thermos flask of tea. There’s two cups on top of the Thermos, and two enamel mugs that have seen better days. But they are clean and you won’t get foot and mouth disease.’
‘Oh, you shouldn’t have gone to all that trouble, Gwen,’ Ann said. ‘The breakfast we’ve just eaten will keep us going all day. And if we did feel peckish, we could get a cup of tea somewhere.’
‘I had plenty of meat over and it was too good to feed to the chickens. It’s only taken me about fifteen minutes to prepare and hasn’t cost me a farthing. And on a day like this there’s nothing nicer than sitting by a stream, breathing in God’s fresh air with the sun shining down on you. It beats sitting in a café any day, and it costs you nowt.’
‘You’re going to spoil us, Gwen,’ George said. ‘We won’t want to go home.’
As the rosy cheeks moved upwards, chubby arms were folded under a generous bosom. ‘You’re on your holidays, you’re supposed to get spoilt. Otherwise you might just as well stay at home. I’m not having anyone leave here unless they’ve put a couple of pounds on in weight, it wouldn’t be good for business.’
‘I’ve already put on a couple of pounds,’ Ann said, her eyes rolling to the ceiling and a hand running over her tummy. ‘It’s heaven help me by the time Friday comes.’
‘Maddy said we’ll need a carriage to ourselves on the train. And she said we’ll be so fat we’ll roll down our road and the neighbours won’t know us.’ There was merriment in Tess’s eyes. ‘Nita Wilkins will get her eye wiped, she won’t be able to call me Skinny Links any more. And she’ll be dead jealous when I tell her my dad’s promised to bring us back next year.’
‘That would be bragging, Theresa, and nice people don’t brag. The Wilkinses went away on holiday last year, and we didn’t because we couldn’t afford to,’ Ann told her daughter. ‘But I bet Nita didn’t boast about it to you.’
‘Yes she did, Mam! Every time I saw her she told me how much fun they’d had paddling in the sea, and how they’d laughed themselves sick at the Punch and Judy shows they watched every day. That went on for weeks until I was fed up listening to her. So that was really bragging, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes, dear, it was, but that doesn’t make it right.’
‘No, you mustn’t brag, love,’ George said, his lips quivering with suppressed laughter. ‘The first time you see her, just in the course of conversation, tell her about Cagney and Nelson and how you and Maddy fed them. Then the next day you could casually mention Goldie, and riding in the trap.’
Ann tutted. ‘Really, George, you shouldn’t encourage her to show off, it’s not nice.’
Gwen was leaning on the sideboard, happy to have people in the house for company. And this was a family she’d taken to right away. She was watching Tess, and saw the frown of concentration before a wide smile creased her face. ‘I know what I’ll do, Mam. I won’t say a word to Nita or Letty, not a word. That’s if I can take Goldie, Nelson and Cagney home with me. Then I’ll wait until they ask me about them. I mean, they’re bound to ask ’cos you don’t see a horse and two chickens in our road very often, do you? And if I answered their questions I would be being polite, not showing off.’
Maddy’s imagination took over as laughter filled the room. ‘I know what we can do, Tess. We can put a lead on Nelson and Cagney, and we’ll walk down the road first, with Dad riding Goldie behind us. That would be good, wouldn’t it? Better than Punch and Judy any day.’
‘And what about me, pray?’ Ann asked. ‘What will I be doing?’
Maddy couldn’t answer for laughing. And it was so contagious everyone joined in, even though they had no idea what was in her head. ‘You’ll be miles behind, Mam, struggling with the case and all the bags.’
Her mother bit on her bottom lip in an effort to keep her face straight. And with mock severity said, ‘That is not very ladylike of you, Madelaine. What should happen is that I ride Goldie and your father carries the luggage.’
Tess pursed her lips and shook her head from side to side. ‘That wouldn’t work, Mam, ’cos how would you cock your leg over the horse?’
‘She has a point there, love,’ George said. ‘I would willingly join my hands to make a step and push you up, but I have a vision of you going right over the horse’s back and ending up on the ground.’
Gwen had long since pushed out of her mind the work she had to do. What would it matter if she just flicked a duster over everything for the one day? The work would be here when she was dead and gone. Right now she was enjoying herself, so she might as well make the most of it. ‘I’ve got a suggestion to make. Why not put a saddle on Nelson, he’s big enough?’
This brought forth gales of laughter from the two girls. ‘Oh, that’s good, Mrs Gwen,’ Maddy said, pressing at a stitch in her side. ‘That’s the funniest thing yet.’
George took a hankie from his pocket to wipe his eyes. ‘That’s all the problems solved except one. How do we get the animals to Hanford Avenue?’
Gwen tapped a chubby finger on a chubby cheek. ‘That is a big problem. You could wrap Cagney in a shawl and pretend it was a baby. But the passengers on the train might think it unusual if the baby decided to crow.’
Ann couldn’t remember a time when she’d laughed so much her cheeks hurt. ‘Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! Never has a breakfast time been so enjoyable.’ She smiled at the Welsh woman, whose rosy cheeks looked as though they’d been highly polished. ‘I feel so at home here, as though we’ve known each other for years.’
‘That’s the way I feel, Mam!’ Maddy said, surprised at her mother’s words. ‘I was just thinking that when you said it.’
‘And me!’ Tess said. ‘I love being here.’
George cleared his throat. ‘I’m not going to be the odd
man out. So I’ll say quite sincerely that I could easily spend the rest of my life here. Providing, of course, that my family were here with me.’
Praise indeed, Gwen thought as she straightened up and threw out her chest. ‘You’re all welcome to come whenever you like. And who knows, Ann, but that in the years to come you’ll be able to say we have been friends for many years.’
‘We’ve certainly been treated like friends, Gwen, and we’ll definitely come again,’ George told her as he cast an eye on the clock on the sideboard. ‘I think we’d better make a move now. Tom said he’d tell the family we’d be there at eleven and we haven’t the faintest idea where the farm is, or how long it will take us to get there.’
‘Twenty minutes if you walk at a steady gait. The weather’s too hot to be rushing, so take it nice and easy. I’ll come and show you the road where you turn off, and you just keep on that road until you come to the Thomases’ farm. It’s the first farm you come to, so you can’t get lost.’
George looked puzzled. ‘Is his name Thomas Thomas, then?’
Gwen chuckled. ‘No, his name’s David. But there’s quite a few people in and around the village with the surname of Thomas, and so we know who we’re talking about, we call them by their jobs. Like Thomas the butcher, Thomas the postman and Thomas the farmer. There’s a few more, but that was just to give you an idea. Anyway, when David’s parents died years ago and he inherited the farm, he got fed up being called Thomas the farmer and started to refer to himself as Tom. The name stuck, and that’s what he’s called by most of us. A few of the old folk who knew his parents and grandparents still refer to him as Thomas the farmer, and they’ll not change, not at their time of life.’
‘You’re lucky living here,’ Ann told her. ‘Away from the hurlyburly of city life. And away from the noise and smells. It must be paradise living in a place like this.’
