She had enjoyed her two weeks at the Albert’s Store but now she had to get used to going where she was sent. The scrap metal business in Dura Street would be a challenge. What kind of office would they have there she wondered?
The large family sitting a few yards away were squabbling. Someone had bought ice cream cones and they were melting in the heat. Then two of children lost theirs as the ice cream fell onto the sand. They let out a wail of disappointment and their mum had to intervene.
‘Will you stop howling. Look you can have mine and your auntie will give you hers.’
This satisfied the two youngsters but it annoyed the auntie.
Although she wouldn’t admit it, Edna was nervous about this new appointment because of the two hoaxes, but Mary had assured her that a woman had made the call so everything was all right. Wasn’t it?
It was still hot the following morning and Edna decided to wear a dress instead of her suit. She reckoned a scrap metal yard was hardly Buckingham Palace so she set off. She was really nervous and, when she got to Dura Street, she had to look for the address. She had the piece of paper in her hand but had to go quite a bit along the street before she found it.
There was a double wooden door with ‘Steven’s Scrap Metal and Rags’ written on it. The door looked weatherbeaten and could have done with a new coat of paint. She tried to open this door but it was firmly closed. Her heart sank. Not another wild goose job.
She surveyed the property and found a smaller door a few yards away and when she pushed it, the door opened. The yard was quite small but filled with piles of old metal objects and long lengths of piping laid out on the concrete surface.
I really do get the best of jobs, she thought. There was a small building at the rear of the yard and although its window was covered with old cobwebs and grime, the door was open. She walked towards it and called out, ‘I’ve come from McQueen’s Agency.’
There was silence and she suddenly wanted to turn and run back through the gate. But Mary had said it was a woman who had ordered some temporary help so she forced herself through the door.
The tiny office was dingy. A desk and a chair lay against the back wall and the desk was littered with piles of paper. Edna glanced at them and saw they were bills and invoices. ‘They certainly need some help here,’ she said out loud.
‘That’s why I sent for you,’ said a voice from the past and Edna nearly fainted with fright. ‘Hello, Reg. I thought we would meet up again.’
Reg emerged from a door at the rear of the office. ‘I’ve had a bit of bother getting to see you, Edna. You’ve been gallivanting around with different men, and I don’t like it.’
Reg was tall and heavily built. He was wearing a white shirt and dark-coloured trousers but the last time she had seen him he had been dressed in an army uniform.
Edna decided she wasn’t going to be cowed by him. ‘If you mean gallivanting with men during my working day then you’re right. And it’s got nothing to do with you.’
His face filled with fury and he pushed her down onto the dusty chair. ‘What do you mean, it’s got nothing to do with me?’
Edna was frightened. She knew what he was like when he got angry. She had to placate him … for Billy’s sake.
‘You’ve been gone a long time. What have you been doing?’
He lit a cigarette and blew smoke into the already airless room. It hung like a blue curtain between the two of them.
He pushed his face close to hers. ‘I’ll tell you what I’ve been doing, shall I. I’ve been fighting for King … no, for Queen and country in Korea. Three years of hell with thousands of Communists rushing at me. I was one of the lucky ones who survived. I was wounded but twenty of my comrades died right beside me. Oh yes, it was hell on earth I can tell you, Edna. But do you know what kept me going? The thought of seeing you again.’
‘Oh, I see.’ She knew she sounded banal but what else could she say?
‘And what do I find when I get home? My girlfriend seeing other men.’
‘Reg, I was never your girlfriend and you know it. I’m sorry you were wounded in Korea but you chose this life, just as Will did. Boy’s own adventurers, the pair of you. You both loved the army and all the danger and excitement of being in strange lands and in the thick of battles. As a result, I lost Will and Billy has grown up without a father.’
‘I always looked on Billy as my son,’ said Reg.
Edna was infuriated. ‘But Billy isn’t yours … and neither am I.’
Reg’s face became red with anger. ‘When I pulled your husband out of that shattered hotel in Jaffa, I tried to save his life. We were having a quiet drink when those murderous terrorists, The Stern Gang, blew it up. We had a terrible time in Palestine. Soldiers were being murdered by the Jews and the Arabs. Do you know what they did? They kidnapped two soldiers and hanged them from eucalyptus trees. What kind of people do that?’
Edna’s face softened. ‘I know you both had a hard time in the army and I’m sorry, Reg. I’m grateful you tried to save Will’s life and I always will be. And, thankfully, I have Billy who’ll always be a part of my husband.’
‘I’ve tried to look after you, Edna, and you know I asked you to marry me after I came home. But you said no, that you didn’t love me. But a lot of time has passed since Will died and I hoped you had changed your mind.’
‘I haven’t. As I said, I’m grateful for all the kindness and help you gave me after Will’s death but I don’t love you.’
‘I suppose you’ve fallen in love with one of your men friends from your work?’
‘No, I haven’t. Like you, they are just friends.’
Reg lit another cigarette and Edna felt sick. The room was quickly filling up with smoke.
‘Well I’m going to be honest with you, Edna. I don’t care if you love me or not. I want to get married before I leave this country again.’ He saw her astonished face. ‘Oh no, I’m not in the army any more but I’ve got a good job with a security agency that goes overseas. I’ll be leaving in a week’s time and I want you and Billy to come with me. Just think, Billy will love being in another country and a different culture.’
‘Why all this cloak and dagger stuff, Reg? Why didn’t you just come to see us at the house?’
He laughed but it was without humour and it frightened her. ‘And meet up with that dragon of a mother of yours again? No, I don’t think so.’
‘My mum objected to you because you hit me, not to mention your remark about using discipline on Billy when he was a toddler. You’re right, my mum doesn’t like you and she’s right.’
‘I said I was sorry for hitting you, didn’t I? In fact, I got fed up always having to apologise when you annoyed me and Billy was screaming the house down at night. A bit of discipline wouldn’t have hurt him.’
Edna stood up to leave. ‘Goodbye, Reg. Don’t contact me again and don’t approach Billy or I’ll go to the police.’
She was almost at the door when he pulled her back and shoved her onto the chair.
‘Are you not listening to me, you stupid woman? I said we are getting married before I leave. And you’ll give up that job at that agency.’
Edna’s head hurt. She had banged it against the wall when he pushed her and she put her hand up to see if it was bleeding.
‘I should have finished you off at the park gate that morning,’ he said, his face an inch away from hers.
So it had been him, she thought.
‘Well, Reg, are you going to beat me up and then hope I’ll agree to what you want? If that’s what you want then go ahead because I’m not going to change my mind.’
Although her voice sounded quite calm, she was frantic with worry. How was she going to escape from him?
He sounded peeved. ‘I don’t know what you’ve got against me. Loads of women have fancied me but I always wanted you.’
‘I’ll tell you why I don’t want to marry you, Reg. As I said I was grateful at the time, but you always had to be in control. I w
ould never have had a life of my own. You’re ruthless, vindictive and cruel. You sent me out on hoax calls two weeks ago because you like to be in charge. I would always be worried about Billy as well.’
‘It was just a joke, those hoax calls. Can’t you take a bit of a laugh?’
Edna couldn’t believe her ears. ‘A bit of a laugh? Are you mad? This is my job and I need it to look after my son. It’s a blessing that I have an understanding boss otherwise I would now be unemployed.’
She knew she had to get away. The room was small and apart from the door at the rear, the only other means of escape was the main door and he was blocking it. She wondered where the other door led to. If she could reach it, maybe she could get out and run.
She jumped up but he was too quick for her. He gave her a slap across the face and this time she screamed. Edna could feel blood seeping down her cheeks. Or maybe it was tears, she wasn’t sure.
She thought, he’s going to kill me and there’s nothing I can do.
He was lighting another cigarette when the door opened. Edna couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw Eddie standing there.
Reg let out a loud laugh. ‘Well, well, well. If it isn’t lover boy from the grocer’s shop. The skinny guy.’
Eddie came over to the chair and told Edna to leave but she pleaded with him, ‘Just go, Eddie. He’ll hit you and I don’t want you hurt.’
Eddie said, ‘Oh, I don’t think so. His kind only hit women.’
Enraged by this remark, Reg put his head down and charged at the young man. Later, when Edna recalled the incident, she couldn’t believe her eyes. As he lunged at Eddie, the lad seemed to grab him and Reg landed on the floor with a loud thud. Huge mounds of dust flew up and mingled with the cigarette smoke.
Picking himself up, Reg gave another charge and once more he hit the floor, but this time he banged his head against the wall.
Eddie grabbed Edna’s hand and they both ran out of the door. ‘He’ll come after us,’ said Edna.
‘No, he won’t. Anyway I’ve got the van.’ As they drove away, she felt so relieved that she had escaped relatively unharmed. The blood had seeped onto her frock but it was just a superficial cut she thought.
‘What did you do to him, Eddie? He’s a big man.’
‘I go to martial arts class every week. We learn self-defence.’
‘He’ll be enraged and come looking for you. He’s got a very nasty temper.’
Eddie said nothing and concentrated on his driving.
‘How did you know where I was?’
‘You showed me the address, just as I hoped you would. Do you know he’s been watching you for days? Dolly alerted me about him and I’ve been keeping an eye on him.’ He looked at her stained frock. ‘I’d better take you home.’
Edna didn’t want Billy to see her like this. ‘Can you go in ahead of me and warn my mum?’ she asked.
When they reached Paradise Road, Eddie went up the stairs while she remained in the van. Then he came down again with Irene in tow. Her mum was upset and angry.
‘I’ve sent Billy downstairs to play with his pal.’ She leant inside the van and helped Edna out on to the pavement. ‘Look at the state of you.’ She tried to smile but her eyes were full of rage.
‘Here, son, help me up to the house,’ she said to Eddie and he put a strong arm around Edna’s waist and half carried her to the house.
Edna’s cut wasn’t too bad. It had bled a lot but it was superficial and Irene bathed it in warm water.
Irene said, ‘I have to thank you for helping Edna. That Reg is a bad lot and I’ve never liked him. I think you should go the police about him, Edna.’
Edna said no. ‘I have to remember how good he was to Billy and me after Will died. It was when he wanted the relationship to go further that he turned nasty.’ She twisted her handkerchief in her hands as if remembering that time. She smiled at Eddie. ‘The ironic thing is I almost married him when Billy was eighteen months old. Then one night we were coming out of the La Scala picture house when this young lad with a rucksack on his back came up to me. He wanted directions to Victoria Road so I told him where to go. Reg said nothing at the time but further up the road he accused me of flirting with the lad. He gave me a hard slap but immediately apologised for it. Then it happened again on another occasion followed by the same apologies. Then he threatened to smack Billy and that was the end for me. I told him I didn’t want to see him again and although he hung around for a couple of months, I haven’t heard anything from him for the last three and a half years. He’s been fighting in Korea, he said, and now he’s off to a job overseas, so I hope he’s gone for good.’
Edna walked down the stairs with Eddie. ‘I know you said I showed you the address of this job today but why aren’t you at work, Eddie?’
‘I asked Albert for the day off. I said I had to go to the dentist so no one knows about any of this.’
‘Thanks again.’
‘Oh, before I forget, Dolly is coming to see you tonight. I hope you don’t mind but she was worried about you.’
‘She’ll get on well with Mum and I’ll be pleased to see her.’
After he left, she went back upstairs and burst into tears. Irene let her cry, as she needed to get all this out of her mind and she was furious at Reg for causing all this mayhem. Edna said he was going abroad but Irene was worried he could cause trouble before then.
Dolly arrived not long after teatime. She brought a Dinky car and a comic for Billy who immediately started playing with the car, putting it in his little garage.
Dolly told Irene that Edna was being missed already. ‘Nancy turned up this morning, late as usual and scowling. I think that lassie has seen too many gangsters’ molls in the pictures and likes to think she looks like them. She says she has a smouldering look but she has a pained expression, like she’s lost a half crown and found a tanner.’
‘There was a wee queue waiting to pay for their messages and what do you think wee madam was doing?’
Edna and Irene said they didn’t know.
‘Filing her nails and putting on her lipstick. Totally ignoring us all. Well Albert shouted at her and told her to get her backside off the chair and start manning the till. She just gave him her usual snooty look and ignored him. He was heard muttering, “I’m going to get Edna back.” Well, what do you think of that, Edna? We all want you back.’
Edna was touched but she said, ‘I’m not sure what I want to do, Dolly. I might have to give up my job and look for something else but I’m not sure. My head’s in a mess.’
Dolly patted her hand. ‘Just you get back to normal, lass, and take as long as you like. You’ve had a terrible shock with that awful man, but don’t let him ruin your life.’
Irene said, ‘I’ve said the same thing, Dolly. If she lets him ruin her life then he’s won.’
‘I’ve got Eddie to thank for helping me. I didn’t know he did martial arts.’
Dolly said, ‘He’s been a member of the club since he was a laddie. I always used to tell him it would come in handy one day and it has.’
Edna knew she would have to go to the office and explain everything to Molly but she had made up her mind to leave the agency. She had brought nothing but trouble and worry in her wake.
She was also worried what Reg’s next move would be. She knew he wouldn’t be happy at Eddie for showing him up in front of her. He was a proud man and she knew he would get his own back in some way.
She hoped this job he was boasting about was imminent. If that happened then he would be away and life would become normal again. Wouldn’t it?
28
At the moment when Edna was worrying about his reaction, Reg was in his dingy bedsit flat in Ann Street, seething with anger at Edna and the skinny guy who had made such a fool of him.
He stubbed out his cigarette into an overflowing ashtray. Who would have thought a skinny guy like that could put him on the floor? And as for Edna’s rejection … well, he would leave that for now.
He was going back to Palestine with a firm who dealt with security for businesses abroad. Back to the Holy Land. Or, as he and Will had called it, the ‘Unholy Land’, where there had been so much carnage between the Jews and the Arabs.
He tried to forget about his time in Korea and the horrors of war over there. He had been injured with shrapnel before the ceasefire and had spent two months in hospital. But he was over that now and all he had on his mind now was revenge.
His small bag was packed, his rent paid up to the end of the week and he had returned the key for the scrapyard. He had decided not to rent it after all, he told the young lass on the desk; a pretty girl who looked at him admiringly. This had boosted his confidence and he almost asked her out to the pictures, but no, there would be time enough for that later.
Molly was still dealing with the country house sale. Kenneth and Joe must have bought the entire contents she thought but it was good to be busy. Kenneth didn’t go over to the shop that afternoon and as far as she knew neither did Lena.
Molly hadn’t seen Lena for a few days and was worried that something was badly wrong with her but Kenneth had said she was in bed with the ‘flu.
Christie, Joe and Mike were kept busy delivering items to customers but Kenneth never left the house. He spent most of the day upstairs and Molly saw him carrying trays of food and pots of coffee to Lena’s room.
When the phone rang, she thought it was for Lamont Antiques but it was Mary on the other end of the line. ‘I’ve got Edna here. She wants to speak to you.’
Molly knew there must be something wrong and when she heard Edna’s voice she was proved right.
‘I’m sorry to bother you at your work, Molly, but there’s been a bit of trouble again.’ She went on to tell her the entire sorry tale. When she was finished she said, ‘I’ll finish at the end of the week, Molly, as you have enough to cope with without all this hassle.’
Molly told her to wait at the office and she would be over as soon as she could get away. She thought Kenneth wouldn’t mind her going a couple of hours early.
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