Counting Chimneys: A novel of love, heartbreak and romance in 1960s Brighton (Brighton Girls Trilogy Book 2)

by Sandy Taylor

  ‘What flat?’

  ‘The one that was advertised in the newsagents. I’ve got the card here.’ I pulled the card out of my pocket and held it up for her to see.

  ‘That was ages ago, dear, forgot it was still there.’

  ‘So you don’t have a flat then?’

  ‘I never said that, did I, dear?’

  ‘So you have got a flat?’

  She pushed her glasses further down her nose and stared at me.

  ‘I might have, dear.’

  I didn’t know what to say except well either you’ve got a flat or you haven’t, but I didn’t want to get off on the wrong foot.

  ‘Just for you is it, dear?’ she asked.

  ‘No, there’s three of us.’

  ‘Not all girls, dear?’

  ‘Well no.’

  ‘Good. I find that girls are very unreliable.’

  ‘Do you?’

  ‘So who is it for then, dear? You and a gentleman friend?’

  ‘We are getting married.’

  ‘Are you, dear? Well that’s nice, but to tell you the truth, as long as I get my rent on time, I am of the opinion that a person’s living arrangements are their own business.’

  ‘And there’s a child.’

  ‘Not a baby, is it, dear? Because I don’t want my other residents being disturbed by a crying baby.’

  ‘Oh no, she’s five, she doesn’t cry… much.’ Except when I’m around, I thought.

  She stared at me a bit more then said, ‘Would you like to view the flat?’

  Before I could answer, she had closed the window and reappeared at the front door.

  ‘It’s at the top of the house, dear. Will that be a problem?’

  ‘No, no, I think that will be fine.’

  Now that I could see more than her head, she was quite a vision really. She wasn’t exactly fat but she was sort of wide and solid looking. My Aunty Brenda would have described her as thickset. My Aunty Brenda described a lot of people as thickset.

  She was wearing an unusual assortment of clothes, which were, in their own way, quite spectacular. In fact it was hard to tell exactly what she was wearing. She had on a long patchwork skirt that came down to her feet, but over the top of that there seemed to be another skirt, red this time, with green flowers on it. Her blouse was bright yellow, and she had a belt around her middle with a bunch of keys hanging off it. The whole outfit was topped off with a long purple scarf.

  ‘The name’s Mrs Toshimo, dear,’ she said, starting to climb the stairs. ‘Rose Toshimo. My oriental gentleman passed on some time ago.

  ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘Oh, he’s fine. I talk to him every evening.’

  I didn’t quite know what to say to that, but thankfully Mrs Toshimo didn’t seem to need a response.

  ‘People found it quite amusing, dear, that I was married to an oriental gentleman and we lived in Oriental Place.’

  ‘My name’s Perks,’ I said. ‘Dottie Perks.’

  ‘That’s nice, dear.’

  It was taking ages to get up to the flat, because Mrs Toshimo had to keep sitting down on the stairs. She was going so slowly I was frightened that I was going to tread on her skirt and send her toppling down on top of me.

  ‘It’s the rheumatics, dear,’ she said. ‘I’m a martyr to them. Not far now.’

  Even though it was a sunny day, it was dark inside the house. On every landing, Mrs Toshimo pushed a light switch on the wall. I worked out that the light was supposed to last long enough to reach the next landing, but because of her rheumatics, we kept getting plunged into darkness.

  We eventually made it to the top of the house and, after much fiddling with the keys, she opened the flat door.

  The first thing that hit me was the mess. Dirty crockery filled the tiny sink and overflowed onto a grubby draining board. What you could see of the carpet, under all the rubbish, was threadbare.

  ‘There’s two bedrooms, dear, will that do you? And a nice little bathroom with your own private convenience. All mod cons, dear.’

  I walked gingerly across the floor towards the window. It felt sticky underfoot.

  We couldn’t live here. Well that’s what I had decided until I lifted the dirty net curtain and saw the sea. There it was, beyond the roofs and chimneys of the buildings on the other side of the street, all green and grey, its surface ruffled by white-tipped waves that raced and jumped beneath the wind. I knew that if I opened the grimy window I would be able to smell it. I thought about how, if I lived here, I would be able to look out of the window and see this every day. I imagined holding Peggy in my arms and showing her the sea. We would be able to watch the ships together. I imagined telling her stories about who was on the ships and where they were going. And that thought reminded me of Mary and all the places she had wanted to go, all the things she had wanted to do with her life.

  I looked back into the room. It was a good size and with the two bedrooms it would suit us fine. It needed a good clean and a bit of paint, but if you could look beyond the mess, it could be nice. Together we could make it nice.

  ‘How much is the rent?’ I asked.

  ‘Two pounds fifteen shillings a week, dear,’ she said and then added. ‘In advance.’

  I chewed my lip. We only had Ralph’s wages until I started getting paid. ‘We can afford two pounds ten,’ I said hopefully.

  Mrs Toshimo stared up at the ceiling as if she was expecting spiritual guidance from her oriental gentleman, then she smiled. ‘Well as it’s not girls, dear, I will make an exception. Two pounds ten shillings it is, and I’ll have it looking like a little palace. Will you be wanting the furniture, dear, or have you got your own?’

  ‘My boyfriend has a council flat, so we have our own.’

  ‘Ahh, I see. You’ve decided to go upmarket have you, dear? I like to see young people trying to better themselves.’

  I had to stop myself from laughing out loud. If she thought this place was upmarket then God help her.

  ‘I bettered myself when I met Mr Toshimo. He was very exotic, dear.’

  ‘Was he?’

  ‘Oh yes, dear, he was a cut above the rest.’

  She chattered away as we went back downstairs.

  ‘When do you want to move in, dear? Because I will need some time to clean it up. The girls that lived here did a moonlight flit you see, dear. Left me in the lurch, so to speak. I shan’t have girls again – unreliable and messy.’

  ‘Could it be ready in about two weeks?’

  ‘Two weeks will be fine, dear.’

  As we got to the bottom of the stairs she said, ‘This must have been your lucky day, dear. There’s not a finer flat in the whole of Brighton. All mod cons, dear. All mod cons.’

  I was smiling as I walked across the road and onto the seafront. The tide was out and the sun glistened on the rivulets of water running down to the shore.

  Mary and I used to love to run barefoot across the sand, our feet sinking into the cold wetness of it. I wondered what she’d think about the flat. I wondered if she’d be happy that Ralph and Peggy and I would be together as a family. I hoped so.

  29

  Peggy’s face was bright red and sweaty as she stood in the middle of the front room glaring at us.

  ‘I don’t like it here,’ she screamed.

  ‘We’ll make it nice, Peggy,’ I said. ‘Once it’s painted and you’ve got all your own things around you, you’ll love it, I promise.’ I looked at Ralph for support.

  He knelt down so that he was on Peggy’s level, took a handkerchief out of his pocket and gently dried her eyes. ‘You’ll have your own room, sweetheart, and you can choose your own wallpaper and curtains. You and Dottie can have a girls’ day out and choose everything.’

  ‘Of course we can,’ I said, smiling at her.

  She scrunched up her face. ‘I’ve got my own room at home, and I don’t want new curtains.’

  ‘This is going to be your new home, Peggy.’ Ralph lifted her up into his a
rms and carried her across to the window then pulled aside the old net curtain. ‘Look, Peggy you can see the sea, imagine that. You will be able to see the sea every day.’

  ‘I don’t like the sea.’

  Ralph shook his head in despair as he put the little girl down. ‘Now you know that’s not true.’

  Tears were now streaming down Peggy’s face. ‘Well it is true, it is. I don’t like the sea, and I don’t like it here.’

  Yesterday I had brought Ralph to see the flat. ‘Don’t expect too much and you won’t be disappointed,’ I’d said.

  We had taken the bus into town and then walked down West Street and onto the seafront. It was a blustery day, and the sea was kicking up white foam and splashing over onto the prom. ‘Mary and I used to love it when the sea was like this,’ I’d said.

  Ralph put his arm around my shoulders as we stared out over the grey choppy water. ‘We’ll always be together, my love. Nothing can come between us now.’

  I desperately wanted Ralph to like the flat, but as we’d turned into Oriental Place my heart had sunk. If anything, it had looked worse than the day I’d first seen it. We’d walked up the steps of number fifty-five and rung the bell. As before, the window had opened and Mrs Toshimo had stuck her head out.

  ‘Yes?’ she’d said, as if she’d never seen me before.

  ‘It’s me, Mrs Toshimo. Dottie Perks.’

  ‘Of course it is, dear.’

  ‘This is Ralph,’ I’d said. ‘I’ve come to show him the flat, if that’s all right.’

  ‘Now, it’s not quite ready, dear, but two of my gentleman friends have moved all the furniture out, and they’ve cleaned it up a bit.’

  I wondered how many gentleman friends she had.

  ‘They are theatrical men, dear. They live in the flat below yours, lovely men. Very cultured, dear.’

  Without saying another word she’d shut the window and opened the front door. She’d fiddled with keys around her waist while we stood in the dark hallway. Today she was wearing a long purple dress with silver embroidery around the neck. Silver and glass earrings hung from her ears, and a matching silver comb was holding back her red frizzy hair.

  ‘Here’s the key, dear,’ she’d said, smiling. ‘You don’t mind seeing yourselves upstairs, do you? It’s the rheumatics, they’re giving me gip today.’

  ‘We’ll be fine,’ I’d said, taking the key from her.

  ‘Just knock on my door, dear, when you’ve finished.’

  We’d walked up the dark stairway, pushing the light switch on every landing. Every time we pushed it, I’d said, ‘Run,’ and we’d giggled as we raced up to the next floor.

  ‘You’ll need a lot of imagination,’ I’d said as I turned the key in the lock.

  Ralph had turned me round so that I faced him and put his hands on my shoulders. ‘Stop worrying, woman,’ he’d said. ‘I don’t care what it looks like, okay? As long as I’m with you, I don’t care where we live.’

  ‘You haven’t seen it yet.’

  I’d opened the door and was pleased to notice that the smell had gone. Then we’d stepped into the room. It looked a lot bigger without the furniture, and I’d started to relax.

  Ralph had smiled at me as he’d looked around the room. ‘It’s positively palatial.’

  ‘Hardly,’ I’d said, grinning.

  ‘Really, it’s fine.’

  We’d walked around the rest of the flat. When we’d got to the bedroom, he’d taken my face in his hands and kissed me. ‘No memories here, Dottie, just you and me and Peggy. I’ll make everything up to you. I promise I will.’

  I’d leaned against him and felt that I had at last come home.

  ‘You haven’t seen the best bit,’ I’d said, taking his hand and leading him back into the front room.

  ‘It gets better?’ he’d asked, grinning.

  I’d pulled back the net curtain. Ralph had stood behind me with his arms around my waist, and I’d leaned into him as we gazed out over the sea.

  ‘Perfect,’ he’d said.

  We’d run down the stairs and knocked on Mrs Toshimo’s door.

  The room we’d entered had been bathed in light and as colourful as Mrs Toshimo herself. She had some good pieces of furniture, but they’d been laden down with papers, magazines and clothes. A faded pink chaise longue had stood against one wall with two green velvet chairs either side of a beautiful marble fireplace. The wallpaper had been old-fashioned, with a busy pattern of roses and green trailing ivy, and the curtains at the long windows had been grey velvet, held back by ornate gold tassels. On every available surface she’d had photographs, in mismatched frames. An old upright piano had stood in the bay, piled high with sheet music, some of which had slid onto the floor. The light that had streamed through the window had showed up the layers of dust on the old wood. She’d had a number of what looked like theatre posters on the wall, and I’d walked over to them.

  ‘Those were my days in the theatre, dear,’ she’d said.

  ‘You were on the stage?’

  One poster had been pretty faded, but I’d just about been able to make out the words. ‘Madame Rose. The girl with the magic fingers.’ ‘Was that you?’

  ‘That was in my glory days, dear.’

  ‘How wonderful,’ Ralph had said.

  ‘I could have been a concert pianist, dear, but it never happened. You needed to come from money to pursue a career like that. But I played the halls and the theatres, and that’s where I met my oriental gentleman.’

  ‘Was he on the stage as well?’

  ‘He was, dear. He was what was called an illusionist. Very exotic he was. This house was full of musicians and artistes when he was alive.’

  Mrs Toshimo had closed her eyes as if she was remembering happier times.

  ‘It’s a lovely room,’ I’d said.

  ‘It is isn’t it, dear?’ She’d opened her eyes and smiled at us, saying, ‘I like your young gentleman, dear, he’s got the same colour hair as me.’

  That was yesterday. Now we were staring at a little girl whose whole body was shaking with anger. How could one little body hold so much anger?

  She glared at me. ‘And I don’t like you,’ she said, sticking out her tongue.

  ‘Say sorry to Dottie. That was a very unkind thing to say.’

  ‘Well I don’t like her. I want Fiona,’ and she flung herself on the floor.

  As I stared at the writhing little heap with sadness, Ralph’s words came back to me. ‘Nothing can come between us now,’ he had said. He obviously hadn’t reckoned on Peggy. I hoped that he was right.

  30

  Clark and Ralph struggled into the bedroom with the double bed.

  ‘You could have told me it was three floors up,’ said Clark.

  ‘Now why would I tell you that?’ I said, grinning.

  Emma and I were putting plates, saucepans and cutlery into drawers and cupboards.

  ‘Have you seen the view out of this window, Clark?’ said Emma.

  ‘I haven’t had time to breathe yet, Em.’

  ‘I think it’s a great flat, Dottie.’

  ‘You really like it?’

  ‘I wouldn’t mind living here – it’s quirky.’

  Emma had a liking for all things quirky. I really liked her and you could tell that she and Clark were totally in love. My little brother was a lucky guy.

  Ralph had wanted Peggy to be part of the move, but she had dug her heels in where the flat was concerned. Part of me thought that he should have insisted she came, but the other part of me was glad that she wasn’t here. I wanted Ralph and I to sort out the flat on our own. We’d made her bedroom as pretty as we could. Ralph had rigged up some shelves and I’d filled them with her books. I’d bought her a big soft brown teddy bear, and it was sitting on her bed. I wanted Peggy to be happy here, for us to be a family.

  ‘I fancy an ice cream,’ said Emma. ‘Anyone else up for one?’

  ‘Great idea,’ said Clark. ‘I wouldn’t mind a break.
That okay with you guys?’

  ‘Of course,’ I said. ‘But I won’t join you. I want to make the bed up.’

  ‘You go on,’ said Ralph. ‘We’ll find you on the seafront in a while.’

  Once they were gone Ralph put his arms around me. ‘I can’t believe that this is actually happening. I can’t believe that we are going to live together, under the same roof. How long has it taken?’

  ‘I think maybe all our lives.’

  I took his hand and led him across to the window. We stood together, looking out over the rooftops and chimneys to the sea beyond, and I whispered, ‘We made it.’

  ‘And tonight it will just be you and me,’ he said, kissing the back of my neck.

  We still hadn’t actually made love. Peggy was always at the flat, and we couldn’t do it at my house. I wished that I was a virgin, and I wished that Ralph was too. That’s the way it should have been – that’s the way it was meant to be, discovering each other, discovering sex for the first time. both of us together.

  Ralph was talking, but I hadn’t caught what he’d said. ‘What?’

  ‘I told Mum that we’ll collect Peggy tomorrow.’

  I turned to face him. ‘That’s wonderful. I can’t wait for her to see her room. I hope she likes it.’

  ‘You’ve done a great job. Thank you, my love.’

  ‘I enjoyed doing it. I just want her to be happy here, Ralph.’

  ‘I know you do. None of this is your fault, you know. It should be me she’s angry with, not you. I sold her this whole new life, this whole new wonderful life, in Australia. I told her that she would swim in the ocean, that we would have barbeques outside in the sunshine. I even took her to the library and showed her picture books full of kangaroos and wallabies and koala bears. I told her that Fiona was going to be her new mummy and that we would all be happy together. She was so excited, Dottie. She was so happy she practically slept in that bridesmaid’s dress. Then I took it all away. I didn’t even take the time to sit down with her and explain why none of this was going to happen. I left my mum to do that, and I ran away to you. She should be blaming me, not you.’

  Ralph had never explained all that to me before. No wonder she was so unhappy and angry – she had every right to be. Well I was going to make it up to her. I may not be able to give her Australia, but I could fill her life with love and I could make her feel safe.