The Throwaway Children

by Diney Costeloe

  ‘Course I want to go,’ replied Lily, ‘but it ain’t that easy, Rick. It’s a lot of money to take from someone you don’t know.’

  ‘Oh, come on, Gran,’ cried Rick. ‘We do know him. He’s Rita’s dad now.’

  ‘Not quite, and even so, it’s too much money,’ maintained Lily.

  ‘But he ain’t doing it for us, Gran,’ Rick pointed out. ‘He’s doing it for Rita. What did he say…’ Rick picked up the letter and squinted at it. ‘Yeah, here we are… “I have become very fond of Rita, she is a girl of great character, and I know she had to travel a difficult road in her childhood.” This is the bit, “I would like to reward her for her courage and steadfastness.” There you are, see,’ Rick said triumphantly. ‘He’s doing it for her, not for us.’

  ‘It’s for us as well.’

  ‘I know, but it’s for her mostly. Look, Gran, he can afford it. He says so, don’t he? He says he knows I’m saving up to come, well OK, but he also knows it’ll take me years to save enough for the both of us. And let’s face it, Gran, you ain’t getting any younger. Don’t want to wait until the journey is too much for you, do you? He sees that, this Andrew bloke. He knows that if we don’t go soon, if you don’t go soon, it could be too late.’ He looked across at his grandmother and flushed red, as he realized what he’d said. ‘Sorry, Gran,’ he muttered, but when she said nothing, he added a little defiantly, ‘It would be dreadful if we didn’t go now and then couldn’t go later, wouldn’t it?’

  ‘All right, Richard,’ said Lily tartly, ‘you’ve made your point.’

  He got to his feet and went to the door, adding as his parting shot, ‘Just think how Rita would feel if she found out we could’ve gone to see her and we didn’t.’

  When he’d gone out, Lily sat looking out of the window and thinking about the letter and its offer. She thought back to the day when she’d got the telegram about the baby, and how anxious she’d been when it arrived. Telegrams were bad news, everyone knew that, except those special greetings ones that came at weddings, so when Lily had opened the door to the telegraph boy, it was with a shaking hand that she took the proffered buff envelope. Rick was at school, and she was on her own in the house. She’d looked at the envelope, wondering if perhaps she should wait till Rick came home to open it. But on the other hand, she thought, if it’s urgent enough for a telegram, then perhaps I shouldn’t wait.

  She retreated to the kitchen and sitting down at the table, tore the envelope open. When she read the message, she found she was crying, crying with joy at the news it brought.

  DONALD ANDREW HARRIS BORN 3 JUNE. MOTHER & SON DOING WELL. LETTER FOLLOWS. DAVID.

  Within moments Lily was on her feet, pulling on her coat and closing the front door behind her. Bursting with the news, she hurried to Baillies’ to tell Anne.

  ‘It’s a boy!’ she cried as she flung open the shop door. ‘Rita’s had a boy!’

  Anne came round the counter and gave her a hug. She and Lily had become very close over recent years. ‘That’s wonderful, Lil,’ she cried, ‘I’m so pleased for you.’

  ‘Donald, after Rita’s dad. Don’t you think that’s lovely? I do. Donald Andrew. David’s father’s called Andrew, I think. Oh, Anne! That I should live to see the day!’

  Lily decided she wouldn’t mention Andrew Harris’s generous offer to anyone yet, not even to Anne or Carrie. She would think about it and make her decision, then, if they were going, she’d tell them.

  ‘Have you thought yet?’ Rick demanded when he got home from school.

  ‘Sort of,’ replied Lily.

  ‘Does that mean we can go?’

  ‘I ain’t decided yet,’ Lily answered, ‘I’m still thinking on it. But, if we do decide to go I’ll have to speak to Mr Harris.’

  ‘We could get a phone put in,’ suggested Rick.

  ‘That’d take too long, wouldn’t it?’ Lily hadn’t bothered with a phone, but now she quite liked the idea.

  ‘No, honestly, Gran, it’ll be done in no time.’

  ‘I’ll see, but I’ll tell you one thing, young Ricky-me-lad,’ she said firmly, ‘we ain’t going nowhere, not till you’ve finished them exams.’

  Rick grabbed her hands and, holding them tight, said, ‘But we are going, Gran, yes?’

  ‘Yes,’ replied Lily. ‘We’re going, Rick. ’Course we are.’

  ‘Fan-tas-tic!’ cried Rick, enveloping her in a hug.

  ‘But we keep it to ourselves for now,’ she reminded him, ‘and certainly no hint to Rita if you write to her again. Right?’

  ‘Right,’ agreed Rick.

  There was no question of them going for at least a month. Neither of them had passports, and Lily had stuck to her guns about Rick having to sit his O-levels.

  The phone was put in, and when Andrew Harris rang to discuss the arrangements Lily was still having difficulty accepting such a generous offer.

  ‘I’d like to try and pay you back,’ she said, ‘for the tickets. It ain’t right for you to pay all that money out for us.’

  ‘It’s my pleasure, Mrs Sharples,’ he replied gently. ‘I know your grandson is saving up to come, but he can always use that money for a second visit.’

  ‘It’s too generous,’ Lily said, ‘but I do want to see Rita and the baby.’

  ‘Of course you do,’ Andrew said, ‘and I know they’d love to see you, so, that’s settled.’

  The plans were made and at last Lily was ready to tell her friends.

  Characteristically, Anne and Fred were delighted for them. ‘Ain’t that great news?’ Anne said. ‘Fancy! Flying all the way to Australia to see Reet!’

  ‘Flying,’ confirmed Lily. ‘Rita’s father-in-law has sent us the tickets.’

  ‘When you off, then?’ asked Fred.

  ‘Soon as Rick’s finished his exams,’ answered Lily. ‘We got our passports and that, so we’re all set to go.’

  Carrie was delighted for them too. ‘How long are you going for?’ she asked.

  ‘Not decided yet,’ replied Lily. ‘We’ll be back here for Ricky to start in the sixth form.’

  The day they were leaving arrived at last. John Maunder had offered to drive them to London Airport. Rick could hardly contain his excitement, but Lily was extremely apprehensive. ‘D’you think I’m stupid to go on such a long journey at my age?’ she asked Carrie. ‘S’pose I got took ill?’

  ‘No,’ cried Carrie. ‘You’re as fit as a flea, and there’ll be air hostesses to look after you on the flight, and when you get to Australia, well, Rita and her family’ll be there, won’t they?

  Lily had listened to Carrie and tried to dismiss her fears, but as they drew near to London Airport, she began to have serious misgivings. She was glad that Carrie had come with them, especially when they went to the airline desk to show their tickets and hand over their luggage.

  ‘It will get on the right aeroplane, won’t it?’ she asked anxiously.

  ‘Certainly, madam,’ replied the girl at the desk. ‘I’ve labelled it for Sydney.’

  ‘And it’ll go there all by itself?’

  ‘’Course it will, Gran,’ said Rick. ‘Don’t worry about it, it’s all took care of.’ He took the tickets back and stowed them in the leather money belt he’d bought for the purpose. ‘Safe in there, Gran,’ he assured her, giving the pouch a pat, ‘all strapped round my waist, see?’

  At last it was time to go through to the lounge. Rick pranced on ahead, turning back now and then to be sure they were all coming.

  Lily paused and turned to Carrie and John. ‘Goodbye,’ she said, giving Carrie a hug. ‘Thanks to you both for bringing us up.’

  ‘Pleasure, Mrs S,’ Carrie assured her, returning the hug.

  ‘You look after your Gran, young man,’ John said to Rick.

  ‘Will do,’ promised Rick.

  ‘He will,’ said Lily and turning away, she walked through the gateway into the lounge.

  ‘Give our love to Rita,’ called Carrie.

  Lily turned and wave
d once more before she and Rick disappeared from sight.

  43

  As Lily and Rick finally struggled out through the customs area at the airport in Sydney, Lily was afraid she wouldn’t make it. She had lost track of the times the aeroplane had taken off and landed on the way. Sometimes they had to leave the aircraft, other times they stayed in their seats. Passengers left the plane, others boarded; there seemed to Lily to be continual bustle. When the captain had finally welcomed them to Sydney, she hardly believed they’d actually reached their destination.

  It was early morning as they emerged into a wintery sunlight. They stood for a moment, looking round, and then Rick pointed.

  ‘Look, Gran,’ he said. ‘Over there.’

  Two men stood together, one holding a handwritten sign: Mrs Sharples. Rick picked up the two cases and led the way across.

  ‘Hallo,’ he said to the younger of the two, ‘How d’you do? I’m Rick.’

  ‘And I’m David,’ replied the other. ‘Here, let me take those cases.’

  Lily, following behind, saw the two men glance over Rick’s shoulder, looking for her. This time it was the older man who stepped forward, hand extended.

  ‘Mrs Sharples?’ he said. ‘Welcome to Sydney. We’re so glad you could come. I’m Andrew Harris, and this is David, Rita’s husband.’

  David shook hands as well, and said, ‘You’ve had a very long journey, Mrs Sharples, are you all right?’

  ‘Tired,’ admitted Lily. ‘Tired to the bone.’

  ‘We guessed you would be, so we’re taking you straight to my parents’ house. You can rest there and have a good sleep. I’m sure you need it.’

  ‘Where’s Rita?’ asked Rick, looking about him. ‘I thought she’d be here.’

  ‘She still doesn’t know you’re coming,’ replied Andrew. ‘Look, let’s get you into the car, and then we’ll explain the plans on the way home.’ He hailed a porter to take the luggage and led the way to the car. There was a chilly wind, and Lily shivered.

  ‘It is a bit cold today,’ Andrew said, ‘but we’ll soon warm the car up. It’s winter here of course.’

  Once they reached the car, Andrew installed Lily comfortably in the front seat, while David dealt with the porter, the luggage and Rick.

  ‘Comfortable now?’ Andrew asked Lily.

  Lily nodded wearily, ‘Yes, thank you, sir,’ she said.

  As they drove into the city Andrew explained what they hoped to do. ‘What we thought was that, as you’d be so tired when you first arrived, it would be better to take you to my home where you can catch up on a bit of shut-eye, have a shower or a bath, and generally recover from the journey. We’ll look after you, and then as it’s Saturday tomorrow, David will bring Rita and young Donny over for lunch. She won’t know you two are there, so it’ll be a real surprise when she walks into the room and finds you.’

  ‘So we ain’t seeing her till tomorrow,’ muttered Rick.

  ‘No, I’m afraid not,’ answered Andrew. ‘I’m sorry if you’re disappointed, Rick, but we thought your grandmother would need a while to get over the journey. It would be a pity to spoil her reunion with Rita just because she was too tired, don’t you think?’

  ‘’S’pose so,’ he grumbled, ‘I just thought she’d be here, you know.’

  Lily directed a quelling look at her grandson.

  ‘Please don’t listen to him, Mr Harris. I’ll be very pleased to have a good rest before I see Rita, I can tell you,’ she said firmly. ‘It’s very good of you both to have thought about it all, isn’t it, Rick?’

  ‘Yes, Gran,’ came the rather mutinous reply, but Rick’s disappointment faded as he turned his attention to the city, wide-eyed at the buildings, the traffic and the bridge. He heard no more of the arrangements as he pressed his nose to the car window, drinking in the sights and sounds of Sydney.

  ‘Rita’s foster mother will be coming too,’ David was telling Lily. ‘Delia. You’ll like her. She was the one who got Rita off that dreadful farm.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Lily. ‘Rita’s told me all about her. I shan’t be able to thank her enough for looking after her when there weren’t no one else.’

  When they reached the house in Parramatta, Norah was waiting to greet them at the front door. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting Rita’s grandmother to be like, but when she saw her, tired and pale from the long journey, she hurried out to welcome her.

  Lily spent most of the day asleep, as did Rick, despite his best efforts to stay awake. She woke as evening approached, and as she and David’s parents sat down to supper, Norah began to ply her with questions about Rita and her childhood.

  ‘What happened to her parents?’ Norah asked. ‘All we know is that she was an orphan and was sent out here to start a new life.’

  ‘Yes, well, that sort of happened,’ agreed Lily. ‘Her dad was killed in the war. Her mum looked after her and her little sister…’

  ‘Yes, her sister…’

  ‘Norah,’ interposed Andrew mildly, ‘I don’t think you should be interrogating Mrs Sharples like this. These are questions you should be asking Rita, not her grandmother.’

  ‘But Rita won’t talk about it,’ objected Norah. ‘She never tells me anything.’

  ‘Then they’re probably things she doesn’t want to discuss,’ said her husband. ‘So I expect Mrs Sharples doesn’t want to either.’

  ‘No, I don’t,’ agreed Lily with a firmness in which Andrew heard an echo of Rita. Then fearing she’d been rude to her hostess, Lily went on, ‘You can imagine these things are painful to Rita, so if she’s managed to put them out of her mind, then I’m delighted.’

  Lily turned to Andrew, sitting at the head of the table. ‘I’m sure you both realize how difficult it’s been for her. I’m just so happy that she’s found herself a lovely man like your David. After all, it’s the rest of her life what matters now, ain’t it?’

  Nobody mentioned Rosie again. Rosie was at peace. Rita was the important one now.

  Rita woke on Saturday morning, still feeling tired. She’d been up with Donny twice in the night, once at midnight, and again at four in the morning.

  ‘Do we really have to go to your parents’ for lunch today?’ she asked David. ‘Couldn’t we cry off, just this once?’

  David was alarmed. ‘Don’t you feel well?’ he asked anxiously.

  ‘I’m all right,’ Rita said, ‘just tired. I thought we’d have a nice quiet weekend just doing nothing. Not that I haven’t got loads to do,’ she added. ‘I need to wash nappies and the ironing’s reaching the roof.’

  ‘I’ll do the ironing,’ David offered.

  Rita gave a shout of laughter. ‘You? Ironing?’

  David looked offended. ‘Can’t be that difficult,’ he said, ‘just running an iron over a few shirts.’

  Rita put her arms round him and gave him a hug. ‘Sorry, darling, I didn’t mean to laugh at you. It’s sweet of you to offer, but I can do it. I just thought I’d give your mother a call, and suggest we came next week instead.’

  ‘I really don’t think we can do that at such short notice,’ argued David. ‘She’ll have got food in, and prepared things.’

  ‘She didn’t think of that two weeks ago when they were coming here for dinner and then didn’t because she had a headache,’ retorted Rita.

  ‘Oh, come on, Rita,’ David said. ‘She really was ill. You know she went to bed for two days with one of her migraines.’

  ‘Yeah, well, they seem pretty convenient to me.’

  ‘Look, Rita, I’m afraid we’ve got to go—’

  ‘Why?’ snapped Rita. ‘Why have we got to go?’

  ‘It’s been in the diary for more than two weeks.’

  ‘So what? We can still not go. Suppose I had a raging fever, we couldn’t go then, could we?’

  ‘Come on, darling,’ implored David. ‘Be reasonable.’

  Rita knew she wasn’t being reasonable, but somehow she couldn’t help herself. She was tired and cross, and the tho
ught of listening to her mother-in-law telling her how to look after Donny was more than she could cope with. ‘I don’t feel reasonable,’ she said petulantly.

  ‘Look, I’m going to let you into a secret,’ David said, ‘and then you’ll see why we’ve got to go.’

  ‘Well?’

  ‘Dad’s got a special present for Donny. ‘He’s got it specially, as a surprise, and he’s going to give it to him today.’

  ‘What sort of present?’ demanded Rita.

  ‘It’s just a present, a surprise. Something that Dad thought Donny would like. He’s gone to a lot of trouble to get it for him. He’ll be most disappointed if we don’t go.’

  ‘Couldn’t he bring it here?’ asked Rita.

  David sighed. What a day for Rita to be so awkward all of a sudden.

  ‘No,’ he said, ‘not easily. Look, I’m going to go, and I’ll take Donny with me. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. I’ll tell Mum you weren’t up to it, she’ll understand.’ He waited anxiously, afraid she might call his bluff.

  ‘Don’t be silly,’ Rita said sharply. ‘You can’t take him on your own. How will you feed him?’

  ‘Oh, Mum’s got a bottle and some powdered milk,’ answered David, playing his ace. ‘It won’t hurt him just this once not to be breast-fed. I’m not going to let Dad down, Rita. We’ll manage.’

  Rita stared at him obstinately, then she shrugged. ‘Oh, all right, I’ll come, if it’s that important to you. But we’re not going to stay all afternoon, are we?’

  ‘Not if you don’t want to,’ said David evenly, relief flooding through him at her capitulation.

  ‘I shan’t want to,’ Rita told him. ‘OK, I’ll be ready to go at twelve.’

  On the dot of twelve, David put the carrycot into the car, picked up the bag that contained everything they could possibly need for Donny and waited in the driver’s seat with the engine running. Moments later the front door slammed and Rita, smartly dressed in navy slacks and a red jumper, climbed into the passenger seat.

  David turned to look at her. ‘You know,’ he remarked conversationally to her stiff profile, ‘I think I love you even more when you’re cross, that stern expression makes you even more beautiful.’