by Joan Jonker
John turned the key in the ignition and set the engine in motion. It had taken Ada Perkins, out of her head with worry over a few bob, to make him see his wife as she really was. He was just a meal ticket to her; there wasn’t even a spark of love in her heart for him – never had been. He could never remember her hugging or kissing him, and any overtures he’d made had quickly been rebuffed.
‘I’ll be working again tomorrow, so have my dinner ready for six o’clock,’ he said brusquely. Looking over his shoulder to make sure the road was clear, he reversed out of the drive. Once on the wide road, he looked back to see his wife standing as though shell-shocked. She’d make some excuse for his absence, she was good at that. In fact she’d be the perfect hostess, as always. He was just glad he wouldn’t be there to see how false her behaviour was. She was his wife and he wouldn’t leave her, but he was tired of putting on a show of happily married bliss in front of her friends. She’d be as sweet as honey with him while they were there but as soon as they were gone she’d bid him a cool good night and retire to her own bedroom, closing the door on him.
‘Did yer have any luck today, Mam?’ Polly asked on the following Monday when she came in from school.
Ada shook her head. ‘I’ve tried every shop an’ pub in the vicinity but there’s nothin’ doing. They’ve all got cleaners. I’ve walked the length an’ breadth of Lodge Lane, Park Road and Mill Street, me feet are killin’ me, an’ to add insult to injury I’ve got a hole in the sole of me shoe. Proper happy little soul, aren’t I?’
‘It’s not your fault, Mam!’ Polly threw her coat over the back of a chair. ‘But what will happen when the rent man comes on Friday? Will he give yer more time, like he said, even though yer can’t give him any extra off the arrears?’
‘Polly, I’ve been honest with yer so far ’cos I think yer have a right to know, an’ I’ll be honest with yer now. The truth is, it doesn’t look as though I’m goin’ to have any rent for him this week at all. I’ve been dipping into the rent money already.’ Ada saw the shocked look on her daughter’s face and hastened to explain. ‘I had to give the club woman a few bob today ’cos she hasn’t been paid for weeks, an’ she said her manager would be out to see me if she didn’t get anythin’ this week. An’ I’ve had to buy food – we can’t live on fresh air.’
‘Oh Mam, what are we goin’ to do?’ There was a worried frown on Polly’s pretty face. ‘Won’t yer let me sag school for a few days, just for this week? Yer could give Doreen a note to take in to say I was sick.’
‘I couldn’t do that, yer dad would go mad if he knew.’
‘But me dad won’t know, will he? If I did Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday it would be three bob. That could go to the rent man.’
Ada stroked her chin. It would be wrong to keep her daughter off school, and she shouldn’t even consider it. But it was also wrong to have a twelve-year-old girl with worry lines on her forehead. The offer was tempting, no doubt about that. Three shillings would almost keep them in food until she got her wages on Saturday, so all the money she had left in the drawer could go towards their rent. ‘What about yer mate, Doreen? She’ll know yer not sick.’
‘How will she? If you tell her I’m in bed with a cold, she won’t know the difference. I’d be well away when she was goin’ to school, and I could sneak in an’ out the back way.’
‘D’yer know, Polly, I never thought the day would come when I’d sink so low as to encourage me own daughter to tell lies.’
‘Mam, did yer ever think the day would come when me dad would be in hospital an’ we’d be sittin’ here with no money, frightened of bein’ thrown out?’
‘No, love, I didn’t.’
‘Then write the note an’ give it to Doreen in the morning when she knocks for me. I’ll slip over to Auntie Mary’s when I’ve had me tea and tell her I’ll meet her in town at half eight.’
‘May God forgive the pair of us for tellin’ such lies, Polly. I just hope we don’t get paid back for it.’
‘God will understand, Mam. He knows we’re not really bad.’
Ada looked around the room to make sure it was tidy, just in case Mr Roscoe came in. She didn’t think he would; he probably wouldn’t be as friendly as he had been last week. He might even have changed his mind about giving her a bit of leeway. But at least she had a full week’s rent for him today, even though it was made up of the four shillings Polly had earned over the three days, and two bob she’d borrowed off Irish Mary until she got her wages. There was nothing to go off the arrears, and God knows how she’d manage next week, but she’d worry about that when the time came. All she could do was hope and pray. One thing was certain – no matter how bad things were, she wasn’t going to allow Polly to sag school again. It just wasn’t fair on the girl.
The rat-tat at the door sent her hand hovering over the rent book. Should she take it with her or not? Better had; he might get the wrong idea if she invited him in again – think she was a flighty piece.
‘Good morning, Mrs Perkins.’
‘Good morning, Mr Roscoe.’ Ada held the book and the ten-shilling note out. ‘I know I’m short, but I have done me best.’
John looked slightly taken aback. ‘Oh, I wonder if I could come in for a moment? I won’t keep you long.’
‘Is it about the arrears?’ Ada’s heart started to thump. Surely he wasn’t going to give her a lecture on the four shillings she owed?
‘No, not at all. Something entirely different.’
Ada stood aside. ‘Come in, please.’
Today he was wearing a navy-blue pin-striped suit with a white shirt and navy tie, and his bowler hat was in navy. Ada thought the dark colours made him look older, more sober. He was probably only a few years older than herself, perhaps around the forty mark, she guessed.
He stood inside the living room, hat in hand, and smiled. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve still got Mrs Mitchell’s china cups, have you? I haven’t had a drink since breakfast and I’m terribly thirsty.’
Ada clamped her lips together. She mustn’t laugh, he’d think she was making fun of him. But she couldn’t hold it in and her head went back as she roared with laughter. ‘She’s put them in a safe place in case I wanted to borrow them again, an’ she said if I ever invite yer to dinner she’ll redeem her canteen of cutlery from the pawnshop.’ Her laughter reduced to a chuckle, she went on, ‘There’s only one snag … she comes with the china and cutlery.’
John settled back in the chair and crossed his legs. Funny, but he felt perfectly at home here. It didn’t enter his head that in his expensive clothes he looked completely out of place in the poorly furnished room. ‘Your neighbour sounds a bundle of fun.’
‘Oh, she is! I don’t know what I’d have done without her since Tommy went in hospital. I’ve been out of me mind with worry, really down in the dumps, but she always manages to make me laugh.’
‘I’ll tell you what.’ John leaned forward and laced his fingers together. ‘Why don’t we attend to our business, then invite Mrs Mitchell, and her cups and saucers, to join us for a cup of tea.’
‘You don’t know my neighbour, Mr Roscoe, an’ don’t think I’m making fun of yer ’cos I’m not. But if I said to Dolly Mitchell that she was being invited to join us for a cup of tea, she’d never stop laughin’ for a week! If I said “brew’s up”, that’s more her style.’ Ada handed him rent book and money. ‘When yer’ve done that, I’ll go an’ fetch her. She’s mindin’ me youngest, Joey, so he can come back with her.’
He ignored her outstretched hand and said, ‘Will you sit down for a minute, I’ve got a proposition to put to you.’
For some unknown reason Ada felt as though she hadn’t a care in the world. It was probably talking about Dolly that made her so lighthearted. Taking a seat, she chuckled, ‘A proposition? Ooh, I hope it’s not painful.’
John had thought of her as a fine-looking woman, but when she smiled her face was transformed and he changed the word from fine to beautiful. ‘I may have
the answer to your problems. I’m looking for a cleaner and wondered if you’d like the job.’
‘You, lookin’ for a cleaner? D’yer mean for your house?’
John shook his head. ‘I have a property in Faulkner Square. It’s a large three-storey house, the ground and first floor being used as offices. It’s where the collectors pay their money in and where all the records are kept. The top floor is my inner sanctum, used solely by myself. I have an office there, a private sitting room and bedroom. Sometimes, when I’m working on the books and accounts, it can be quite late when I’ve finished and I’m too tired to drive home so I stay the night. It’s also a place to escape to when I need a bit of peace and quiet.’
Ada looked doubtful. ‘Haven’t you got a cleaner? I’d have thought yer needed one for such a big place.’
‘I do have one, but the work is getting too much for her. She won’t admit it, though, keeps saying that because she’s seventy it doesn’t mean she can’t do a good day’s work. But to my knowledge she’s been seventy for the last five years! She worked for my father until he died, and she’s been with me since I took over, so I haven’t the heart to sack her. But she definitely needs someone to give her a hand and I thought of you.’
Ada was telling herself not to build her hopes up in case there was a catch in it. It seemed too good to be true. ‘Can yer tell me what the hours would be, please?’
‘Agnes, the woman I’ve just been telling you about, starts at seven in the morning and has the offices cleaned by the time the staff arrive. But I know you have an early-morning job, so you could come after five-thirty when the offices close. That would suit old Agnes. She doesn’t like having to get up early in the morning.’
‘I’m pinchin’ meself to make sure I’m not dreaming. It seems too good to be true.’ Ada held his eyes. ‘You are in earnest, aren’t you, Mr Roscoe? I mean, yer wouldn’t build me hopes up an’ then let me down?’
‘There’s a job waiting for you if you want it,’ he assured her. ‘I’m afraid the place has been neglected because of Agnes’s age, but that’s not her fault. I should have got someone in to help her ages ago. She gets twelve shillings a week, and if you agree to take the job you’ll get the same.’
Ada was silent for so long John thought she was going to turn his offer down. ‘Have you lost your tongue?’
‘I’m speechless! I’m that excited I feel like a kid that’s been given a new toy.’ Ada stood up and thrust the book and money at him. ‘Mark that so I can go an’ tell Dolly.’ Suddenly remembering who he was, she added, ‘If you please.’ She twirled around, laughing. ‘I’m so happy, if I don’t tell someone soon, I’ll burst.’
John looked down at the book and the ten-shilling note. ‘Would it be impertinent of me to ask how you came by this money?’
Ada stood with her hands on her hips, a wide smile on her face. ‘I’ll tell yer the truth.’
When she’d finished, John shook his head. ‘You mean you would have paid me this and starved the rest of the week?’
She nodded. ‘But I’m going to be all right now, thanks to you. Oh, yer’ve no idea what yer’ve done for me. I’ll be indebted to you for the rest of me life.’
‘Would you allow me to do one thing more for you?’
Ada’s face clouded. ‘What’s that?’
‘Give you five shillings back so you can pay … what did you say her name was? Oh yes, Irish Mary. Pay her what you owe her, and put the rest to buying decent food for yourself and the children.’ He saw she was about to protest and held up his hand. ‘It’s not charity, Mrs Perkins. You can pay me back at a shilling a week. If it makes you feel better, I will deduct it from your wages.’
While John was rummaging in his pocket for change of the ten-shilling note, Ada studied him. And when he handed her two half-crowns, she asked, ‘Why are you bein’ so good to me?’
He dropped the coins into her open hand and smiled. ‘Perhaps one day I’ll tell you, when you know me better. Until then, let me assure you I only wish you well and do not have an ulterior motive for my actions.’
‘I believe yer, Mr Roscoe.’ A glint of mischief appeared in her eyes. ‘I know it’s a terrible thing to say, but wasn’t it lucky for me that Mr James broke his ankle?’
‘I hope you feel the same way when you’re scrubbing the front steps in Faulkner Square. They’re the bane of Agnes’s life. Because she’s been there so long, she’ll probably boss you around and give you all the jobs she finds hard going. But I would take it as a favour if you indulged her. You see, I’m very fond of the old girl.’ John rubbed his hands together. ‘Now, how about bringing in your neighbour? Not forgetting her cups, of course.’
Ada got halfway to the yard door, then turned. ‘No, I’ll not go out the back! I’ll go out the front way an’ give the neighbours somethin’ to gossip about. If they see Dolly comin’ in here, they’ll think yer’ve got two fancy women.’ She disappeared, calling, ‘Won’t be a tick!’
Chapter Nine
Polly stood beside the table and opened up the Snakes and Ladders board in front of Joey. He was sitting on one of the wooden chairs, elbows on the table, his hands cupping his chin and legs swinging back and forth. He had a mischievous glint in his eye, and as soon as Polly tipped the coloured counters out of the box he swiped them off the table with the back of his hand, chuckling with glee.
‘If yer don’t behave yerself, our Joey,’ Polly said, playfully smacking his hand, ‘I won’t let yer cheat.’
At that moment Ada came into the room with her coat over her arm, and Joey gave her a sly wink. ‘I don’t cheat, do I, Mam?’
‘No, of course yer don’t cheat, sunshine.’ Ada smiled as she slipped an arm into the sleeve of her coat. ‘Yer just make a mistake in yer countin’, that’s all.’
‘What time d’yer have to be there?’ Polly bent down and picked up the counters, keeping them safe in her hand. ‘Did yer say half-five?’
‘That’s when the office staff finish, so Mr Roscoe said if I got there just after, Agnes would be there to let me in.’ Ada was getting a bit jittery, which was understandable. The first day at a new job was always a bit nerve-racking because you never knew what to expect. ‘I hope this Agnes is easy to get on with.’
‘Don’t worry, Mam, you can get on with anyone.’ Polly tilted her head to one side. ‘Look at Mr Roscoe – he must like yer to be so good to yer.’
Ada grinned. ‘He’s on me prayer list, after you two an’ yer dad.’ She buttoned her coat then reached for the bag containing her wrap-around pinny. ‘Will yer put me laddo there to bed at seven? I don’t know what time I’ll be home – probably between half-eight and nine.’
‘Yer goin’ to be tired, Mam. It’s a long day from five o’clock this mornin’ till nine tonight.’
‘I put me feet up this afternoon for an hour after I’d finished me work. Me an’ Joey got on the couch and had a little sleep, didn’t we, sunshine?’
‘Yeah, it was good, our Polly! Me mam brought a blanket down an’ we snuggled up nice an’ warm.’ His pale face split into a smile. ‘Me mam doesn’t half snore, though.’
Ada gasped. ‘I do not snore!’
‘I was only kiddin’, Mam. Yer were breathin’ down me ear an’ it sounded like a snore.’
‘I’ll let you off.’ Ada heaved a sigh. ‘I’d better get goin’, it wouldn’t do to be late on me first day.’ She gave each of them a hug and a kiss before setting off for the unknown.
Ada gazed in awe at the houses she passed in Faulkner Square. They were very big and very beautiful. She hesitated outside one where the curtains were open and she could see a lovely chandelier hanging from the high ceiling. It was very ornate, with long fingers of glass shining and giving off different colours in the glow from the six candle-shaped light bulbs. ‘I’d hate to have to clean that,’ Ada spoke softly to herself as she walked on, looking at the numbers on the brass plates beside the huge front doors. ‘Mind you, if yer had enough money to live here yer’d have
enough to employ a couple of maids.’
She came to a stop outside her destination and stood for a while, her hand curled around one of the bars of the black railings. Then she crossed her fingers and took a deep breath before climbing the steps and ringing the bell.
The door was opened almost immediately by a woman who couldn’t be anyone else but the cleaner. She had a piece of sacking over her wrap-around pinny and it was kept in place by a length of string tied around her waist. She had a mop and bucket in her hand and a mobcap on her head that was all skew-whiff and threatening to cover her eyes any second. She looked down on Ada and growled, ‘Are you Mrs Thingy?’
Ada smiled. ‘Me name’s Ada Perkins, but I’m not fussy. If yer want to call me Mrs Thingy, I’ll answer to it. In fact, I’ll answer to anythin’, even Rover!’
The lined face broke into a smile, showing yellow teeth dotted at intervals in her gums. ‘Come in, girl, an’ let’s get this door shut. Those bleedin’ steps give me nightmares just lookin’ at ’em. I scrub them nice an’ clean every day, then the collectors come and leave their dirty ruddy footmarks all over them.’
She closed the door and set the bucket on the black and white tiled floor. Then she ran a hand down the sacking before holding it out. ‘Me name’s Agnes Connelly, but me friends call me Aggie.’
Ada took her hand, noting the thick blue veins standing out against the thin, tissue-like skin. ‘Pleased to meet yer, Aggie. I think you an’ me are goin’ to get on fine.’
‘’Course we are! If Mr John says yer all right, that’s good enough for me.’ Aggie picked up the bucket and made to walk down the huge, high-ceilinged hall. ‘I’ll show yer what’s what, eh?’
‘Would yer like me to do the front steps before it starts gettin’ dark?’ Ada slipped her coat off and hung it over the end of the bannister. ‘I don’t mind, and it’ll be off yer mind then.’
