by Pam Howes
Back inside Miss Smart showed them into her office and arranged for tea and biscuits to be brought in. ‘I’m so glad you think we’re right for you, Mrs Evans. We try and make it a home from home for our residents. All the meals we serve are home-cooked, even the bread is baked here. Every other Sunday we have a chap comes in and he plays the piano and we have a lovely sing-song. We do a bit of gentle keep fit mid-week to stop joints from seizing up and if there’s a good film on nearby we arrange a private bus to take us to the picture house. We also have a hairdresser coming in on a Wednesday for shampoo and sets.’
‘Be like stopping in a posh hotel,’ Mam said. ‘I won’t know I’m born.’
Miss Smart smiled and reached into a drawer in her desk for a set of keys. ‘Shall we go and take a look at the room we’ve reserved for you, Mrs Evans?’
As they waited at the gates for Frank to pick them up, her mam squeezed Dora’s arm. ‘I am doing the right thing, aren’t I?’
‘Mam, of course you are. It’s time you took life a bit easier and let people look after you for a change. If I had a big enough house with a downstairs bathroom you could live with me and the kids, but I haven’t.’
Mam nodded. ‘You will make sure our Frank gets himself set up, won’t you, love?’
‘I will, Mam. He’s going to come and stay with me on odd nights and his mate’s on others. He said he’d put his name on the list for a one-bedroomed council flat once you’ve given notice on the house. Here he is.’ She waved at her brother as he pulled up, then helped her mam into the front passenger seat. ‘We’ll go and get our Jackie from Joe’s place now and then go back to yours for a couple of hours,’ she told Frank. ‘This weekend’s flown. Can’t believe it’s work again tomorrow. We’re getting really busy with wedding orders and young lads wanting their trouser legs tapering. It’s a new fashion from America apparently.’
‘You can do my jeans, Sis,’ Frank said. ‘Remind me to give them to you before I take you home.’
Joe brought Jackie to the door when Dora knocked. He didn’t invite her in as he usually did. ‘Where’s Carol?’ she asked. ‘I want to say goodbye to her.’
He looked over his shoulder, seeming nervous. ‘Er, she’s with Ivy learning to knit,’ he muttered. ‘She doesn’t want to come to the door. Best not to disturb them. Ivy’s not feeling too good. The girls have been scrapping and the noise gives her a headache.’
‘Does it now?’ Dora pursed her lips. ‘Funny that. They haven’t scrapped for ages. You should tell Ivy she’d better get used to the noise if she wants to be part of this family.’
Joe pulled the front door closed behind him and walked to the car with them. ‘Can I pop in with Carol for ten minutes tomorrow night after you’ve finished work? I, er, need to have a word with you. Not now,’ he added hurriedly as Jackie looked up at him, her blue eyes curious. ‘Tomorrow would be better.’
Dora shrugged. ‘Yes of course you can. We close about six so any time after that. You’ll have to come to the back door. Sammy’s had a doorbell fitted.’ She helped Jackie onto the back seat and climbed in herself. Joe shut the door and waved as Frank pulled away. Dora looked out of the back window as he walked back up the garden path, his shoulders hunched. She wondered if he’d had a letter or something from Mr Oliver. She hadn’t yet but whatever he wanted to talk about, she didn’t think it was going to be something she would like.
Dora stared at Joe as he looked down at his hands and twiddled his fingers. The girls were playing in the bedroom and he had just dropped the news on her toes that he and Ivy were getting married next month. Of all the months he could have chosen it had to be June. Their twins had been born in June and their daughter had died the same day. She felt sick that he hadn’t even considered the month before making the arrangements.
‘Dora,’ he said. ‘Are you okay?’
She sat back on the sofa and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds to compose herself before replying, determined not to break down in front of him. ‘Well, I have to be, don’t I? But couldn’t you have chosen another month than June? Not like you have to rush her up the aisle now she’s no longer expecting, is it?’
She saw a flash of pain cross his face and wondered if it was for their lost baby or for his and Ivy’s. ‘Shit, I’m sorry, Dora. It’s not that I forgot or anything, I never will, but Ivy chose the date.’
‘Why doesn’t that surprise me? Anyway, I’ll tell you this. If and when you marry her,’ she couldn’t bring herself to say Ivy’s name, ‘I’m changing my name back to my maiden name. Mine and Jackie’s surname will be Evans and if I get custody of Carol I’ll change hers too.’
‘You can’t do that; change your name and theirs, I mean.’
‘Yes, I can. I don’t quite know how, but if I can do it I will. I couldn’t bear to be Mrs Rodgers when she is.’ She blinked hard so that the threatening tears didn’t start.
Joe got to his feet. ‘Will you give Carol a call for me please? I need to get her home for bed now.’
She went to the bedroom and called Carol, who came running with Jackie on her heels. ‘See you at the weekend, sweetheart.’ She kissed Carol. ‘Just a thought, has she moved in with you now?’
‘Not fully,’ Joe replied. ‘She’s still not right in herself, so she stays at her own place most nights. She’s, er, left her job. She didn’t go back in after, well, you know… She’s looking for something with fewer hours.’
‘Really? Thought she loved working at the ROF. So if she’s out of work, how’s she paying her rent and bills?’
Joe blushed slightly. ‘She’s got a bit of savings and I’m helping her out.’
Dora shook her head. ‘Joe, she really saw you coming, didn’t she? You are such a mug.’
‘Dora, that’s not fair. She’s gone through a lot.’
‘Yeah.’ Dora nodded. ‘So she says. Did you ever go with her to the doctor’s after she lost the baby?’
Joe frowned. ‘No. She went on her own. Why?’
Dora shrugged. ‘It might have been to your advantage if you did go, that’s all.’
‘I’m not sure what you’re implying,’ Joe said.
‘Think about it. Now you’d better get Carol home.’
Dora settled Jackie into bed and made herself a cuppa. She sat with her feet up on the sofa and went over her conversation with Joe. Maybe she was barking up the wrong tree and Ivy had been expecting. But somehow she doubted it. Ah well, he’d made his bed, as Mam would say. It was up to him what he did with his life; she just knew he was about to make the biggest mistake ever. But there was no way Ivy was having her daughter. She’d be right on that phone to Mr Oliver in the morning and ask him to hurry up with his decision.
It was going to be a busy few months coming up, getting her mam settled in the home, Frank in a new flat and moving Carol in here. Sammy had mentioned the other day that his neighbour’s cat had recently had kittens. If he and Esther were in agreement, she might ask if she could have one of them for the girls when they were ready to leave their mother. Carol would love that and it might help her settle in better. A bit of bribery never went amiss.
28
MAY 1954
Mr Oliver placed the mug of tea Dora had made him on the coffee table and smiled. He laced his fingers together and looked at Dora over the top of his spectacles.
She took a deep breath and waited, staring at him, her heart pounding so loud she was sure he could hear it.
He cleared his throat and began to speak. ‘Well, I think I’ve seen all I need to see, Mrs Rodgers. The accommodation is very suitable and well set out. My only concern is that Carol will be sharing a bed with her sister and not have one of her own.’
‘Like I already told you, Mr Oliver,’ Dora said, ‘the double bed will be going and I will put in an order for two single beds. However, my girls love to share and sometimes they sleep better snuggled together.’
He ignored her comment and consulted his notes. ‘Er, you don’t have a bathroom either.�
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‘Neither do half the families of Liverpool, Mr Oliver,’ Dora replied pointedly, trying her best to be patient. ‘When the children visit their father they will take a bath there and the public baths are a stone’s throw from here. We use them all the time. I have an inside lavatory and hot running water. I can assure you my children will be kept spotless.’
Mr Oliver smiled. ‘I have no doubts about that, Mrs Rodgers. I’ll compile my report today with the recommendation that in due course Carol is to be removed from the custody of her father and put into your full-time care. We will notify Mr Rodgers of this. You’ve already addressed the issue of schools, I believe?’
Dora nodded; relief flooded her veins, but mixed with concern over what Joe would say when he got the notification letter. He’d go absolutely mad, but he knew this would happen sooner or later, and she’d waited long enough. ‘Her name is down at All Saints; the same school that Jackie will be starting in September.’
‘Right, what I’m going to suggest is that due to the reports of her unsettled behaviour in class, I feel Carol should finish the term at her current school. It will be an easier transition for her to accompany her sister to All Saints at the start of the new September term. I’m sure she will settle in better.’
‘Okay.’ Dora nodded. What he said made sense. ‘What if I have her for full weeks in the school holidays? It will give her time to get used to being with us all day.’ The holidays weren’t that far off and it would give her a chance to arrange for new beds and to prepare Carol for the change.
‘I was about to suggest that,’ Mr Oliver said. ‘How will you manage for child care while you work?’
‘I’ll be fine. I’ve already agreed to work part-time during the school holidays and when they go to their father’s at the weekend I can make up my hours.’
Mr Oliver got to his feet. ‘In that case, I’ll bid you good day. My reports will be in the post shortly.’
Dora saw him out through the shop and turned to Esther with a big grin on her face. Jackie was in the back room doing her number practice and singing softly to herself.
‘What did he say?’ Esther whispered, pulling the door to and looking as excited as Dora felt.
‘He said yes.’ Dora jigged up and down. ‘I can’t believe it. She’s got to finish the term at her old school, which is fair enough, and then she’ll start the new school with Jackie in September.’ She looked around. ‘Where’s Sammy?’
Esther shrugged. ‘Just popped out for a while,’ she replied airily, a secretive smile on her face. ‘He shouldn’t be too long now.’
As she spoke, Sammy arrived back, carrying a small cardboard box that appeared to be making a scratching sound. He placed the box on the counter and lifted the lid, which had holes punctured in places. A chunky black kitten with enormous ears, big green eyes and long whiskers stared at them.
Dora clapped her hand to her mouth. ‘Oh my goodness, he’s beautiful.’
‘He’s a she,’ Sammy said. ‘Meet Topsy. She was the last in the litter to go and I’d already staked a claim for you. I rather thought that if the powers that be say yes to Carol coming back, Topsy might help her settle in here.’
Dora’s eyes filled with tears. ‘Oh I’m sure she’ll be thrilled. She loves animals. Thank you so much, Sammy.’ She flung her arms around him and gave him a hug as Jackie, disturbed from her work by all the noise, appeared at her side.
‘There’s a bag of kitty bits and pieces in the van. I got a basket and some special food and my neighbour gave me a list of things she likes to eat. Seems she’s partial to pilchards.’ The kitten did a squeaky meow as though she recognised the word. Dora picked her up and showed her to Jackie, whose face lit up with a gleeful smile. ‘You are going to be so spoiled by my two,’ she said to the kitten. ‘What do you reckon, Jackie? Do you think Carol will love her?’
As Dora had predicted, Joe was not happy about losing Carol. She actually felt a bit sorry for him in that he would only have Ivy for company during the week and was really going to miss his little girl. As he brought Carol’s case up the stairs and helped her unpack her things and put them in a drawer, Dora saw tears in his eyes that he hurriedly dashed away.
She felt nervousness, mixed with excitement, at having both her girls under one roof for longer than a night and hoped Carol would settle quickly. She’d had the two single beds delivered and Frank had picked up matching bedspreads in pink and white candlewick, so the room looked girly and pretty with a pink and white rug in-between the beds. The pink flowery curtains had been a bargain that Dora had picked up on the market and altered to fit. Topsy was the centre of attention and Carol adored her on sight, squealing with delight as she picked her up.
‘Can we keep her, Mammy?’ Her hazel eyes were wide with delight as she cuddled the little cat. ‘I love her so much already.’
‘Of course we can, sweetheart. She wanted to come and live here when she heard you were coming to live here too.’ Dora crossed her fingers behind her back as Carol made no protest against that statement.
She sat the girls at the table with beans on toast for tea and made Joe a brew. ‘Would you like a sandwich with your cuppa?’ she asked as he parked himself on the bed settee with a despondent sigh. ‘I’ve got cheese or corned beef.’
He shook his head and looked away. ‘I’d better not. I said I’d pick fish and chips up on the way home. Ivy will be waiting.’ He finished his drink and got to his feet, looking wistful. ‘I’ll see you on Sunday, girls. Uncle Frank will bring you for tea while Mammy goes to see Granny. Now be a good girl, Carol. Look after Topsy for Mammy.’ He left the room and Dora saw him off downstairs. ‘I hope she settles for you,’ he said huskily. ‘You’d best phone me if not and I’ll come for her.’
Dora nodded. She locked up behind him and made her way slowly back up the stairs. He’d looked like he’d really wanted to stay longer and have tea with the girls. Jackie had got the big boxed compendium of games out ready to play and Joe always enjoyed a game of Ludo or Snakes and Ladders with them. It was such a shame he had to dash away, but maybe it was the right thing to do. Start as they mean to go on.
After a noisy card game of Happy Families that Carol won, Dora packed the pair off to bed with the promise of Uncle Frank taking Carol swimming in the morning while Jackie had her dancing lesson. Topsy meowed at the bedroom door and Carol called out, ‘Mammy, can she sleep on my bed, please?’
Dora chewed her lip. She scooped up the little cat and took a towel from the cupboard. She spread the towel on the end of Carol’s bed and sat Topsy down. Carol beamed as the kitten settled down and began to purr.
‘Don’t have her up near your face, now,’ Dora warned. ‘She might make you sneeze with her fur. I’ll leave the door ajar in case she needs to wee.’
When she checked on them all an hour later Topsy was curled up by Carol’s head on the pillow as spark out as both girls. She smiled and shook her head. The bond between kitten and child was already firm. It felt good to have her little family complete again. Sammy had been right about the cat helping Carol to settle. There’d been no crying as Joe left tonight, thank goodness, and if there ever was in the future, she’d no doubt it would get easier as time went by.
29
DECEMBER 1954
Dora snipped the thread of the wedding dress hem she’d just finished and cocked an ear. Was that the back door? She was expecting Joe to bring the girls home any time soon from their weekend visit to the prefab. Since Carol had moved back in with her and Jackie, Joe now saw them from Saturday afternoon after Jackie’s dancing and Carol’s swimming lessons, and he brought them back in time for tea on Sunday. Dora missed her weekends with them, but the free time gave her the chance to keep on top of the orders coming in through the shop and to do a regular visit to the care home to visit her mam with Frank. She got to her feet and hung the white lace dress over a mannequin as footsteps sounded on the stairs.
‘Mammy!’ Jackie burst in and flung her arms around h
er mother. Carol ran in behind her and Dora held out her arms but, ignoring her mother, Carol’s eyes searched the room, seeking out Topsy, who was lying on an old feather cushion on top of a box in the corner. She hurried over, dropping her bag on the floor, and stroked the little cat’s head, her face softening into a smile. Dora shook her head as Joe, carrying the girls’ small overnight cases, came up behind them. He raised an eyebrow as his daughter squealed with delight at being reunited with her pet.
‘She’s done nothing but talk about the cat the whole weekend,’ he said. ‘There’s a tin of pilchards in her bag.’ He smiled as Dora laughed. ‘I took them to the shops for sweeties and a comic yesterday and all Carol wanted to buy was a treat for Topsy.’
‘Ah well, Topsy has been the clincher in helping her to settle in here,’ Dora said. ‘I might as well as be invisible, but that cat’s been a life saver many times over.’ Dora hid the hurt she still felt at Carol’s occasional rejection of her, but she would never give up trying to make up for them being apart. ‘Come on, upstairs now, and I’ll put the kettle on and make Daddy a drink. Carry Topsy carefully, Carol.’
Up in the flat Joe sat down on the bed settee while Dora made mugs of Camp coffee and the girls went to the bedroom to put their things away, Topsy on their heels.
Joe cleared his throat. ‘How’s your mam doing?’
Dora shrugged. ‘Okay, I suppose. She’s settled in well enough, but I think she misses Sugar Lane. Hard to tell though as she’s away with the fairies most of the time.’
‘Sorry to hear that,’ Joe said. ‘As they say, there’s not much fun in old age.’ They finished their coffee in companionable silence and he got up to leave. He called for the girls, who came rushing out of their bedroom. Carol flung herself at him and burst into tears.
