Her orders given, Shelagh sat down on the comfortable chair next to the fire and, without a second thought, she undid the top buttons on her blouse and placed Peggy’s crying baby to her breast. The eyes of every woman in the room met and they blessed themselves. For the first time they feared for Peggy’s life…
*
Cindy and Reg returned to their table to find it empty. ‘Oh, they’ve gone,’ said Cindy. ‘Do you think they left together or separately?’
Reg rubbed his chin. ‘Well, that’s a difficult one. What do you think? Eric lives with a harridan who scares him and half of his customers to death and she’s lived alone for the past twenty years. I think they’ve definitely gone together, Cindy.’
Cindy gasped and then she grinned. ‘Well, I hope so; it’s about time she had a bit of fun. Now, Reg, sit down, I’ve been thinking.’
Reg grinned. ‘Oh, hang on, this calls for a top-up, don’t go away.’
Cindy turned to the fire and, bending down, picked up a log and threw it on. She lost herself in the soporific warmth and the flickering flames as she thought about what she was about to do. It had taken someone like Mary to walk into her shop to make her realise that her shop was her baby and all she had needed was someone she could trust. Mary was special; it was obvious that she was smart and in her, Cindy had seen someone who needed to be rescued and who, in turn, would rescue Cindy.
Reg returned and placed the glasses on the table and straddled a stool opposite Cindy. ‘You look lovely tonight,’ he said before he took a sip of his drink.
Cindy smiled. ‘I don’t deserve you, Reg, you are a good man.’
Reg grinned. ‘I know.’
Cindy laughed. ‘You know that ring I told you to put away until I was ready?’
Reg’s eyes opened wide. ‘Yes…’
‘Well, do you still have it?’
Reg was almost too afraid to speak. ‘Yes…’
Cindy grinned because the colour had left his face. ‘Good, because I’d like you to ask me again, sometime soon. I’m ready, Reg, to do the settling down thing. Oh, I still want to keep the salon going, for now, but I think I’ve found someone who, once she’s trained up, I’d be happy to hand my baby over to.’
Reg swallowed hard. ‘Cindy, I-I don’t know what to say, except – of course I will!’
Cindy picked up her drink and gave him a mock toast. ‘I’ll look forward to it, then, this time. So, here’s to us, Reg!’
The pub suddenly fell totally silent and for an awful moment, Cindy thought they had been overheard.
‘Aye, aye,’ said Reg, ‘have the bizzies come in?’
Cindy craned her neck around. ‘Oops, they might as well have done! It’s Gladys and she has thunder in her eyes.’
*
‘Jesus, I wish they would get a move on. I can feel the cold in my back something wicked,’ said big Paddy who had been dragged out of the pub by Eugene and was now next to Jerry as they shuffled forward. Jerry could see some activity down at the water’s edge. Too much activity. He had a strange feeling and wanted to get rid of Paddy.
‘You go back to the pub, Paddy, and I’ll send Callum in for you when the load starts rising.’ He had a suspicion that Kathleen was due back up the steps and it would take some explaining to make him understand why Peggy might be with her.
‘Well, you know where I’ll be if you need me,’ said Paddy, and before Jerry could answer him he was gone.
Turning back to the dockside, Jerry noted that the customs hall was empty. So, too, were the harbour master’s office, the administration building and the office of the meanest man on the dockside, Mr Heartfelt. A haul was a huge operation, unlike the odd bag of spuds or flour or a crate of tea or barrel of molasses. Conor had left him in no doubt that there would be sacks needing to be sliced, spilt and collected as they hung in the net, suspended from the hook of a crane that he was using to move the bigger loads out. They would store the bigger bags in lucky shed seven with the broken lock, ready to be separated and carried up in smaller loads. The rolls of fabric would be stored in the shed built into the sandstone ridge and would take a week to transfer up.
Jerry scanned the dock for a sight of the bizzies, his nerves on edge. There were none. Seamus trotted up to him silently.
‘What’s the cargo?’ asked Jerry.
‘Tea, coffee, raisins, flour, almonds, tons of material on rolls, hard nuts, potatoes, rum, ciggies, molasses, bananas, cocoa powder, weird-sounding big hams – you name it, he has it. Conor has pulled a blinder this time.’
Jerry thrust his hands into his jacket. ‘Makes a change from unloading smelted iron. You can’t feed a family on a lump of iron.’
Callum joined them bringing a message from Conor. ‘We can’t start yet; something’s going on down on the bottom but he says not to worry, it’s not the bizzies. I’ll go back down and see if he needs me for anything.’
Jerry didn’t like it at all. ‘Whatever it is, I hope it’s sorted soon; if the bizzies arrive, it’s each man for himself. Pass the word down the line, Tommy…’
Tommy didn’t like it either; each minute of delay was a risk and he hadn’t come back from Ireland to find himself up before a magistrate on his first morning home.
Chapter Twenty-eight
It was Scamp barking that had alerted Alice.
‘Kathleen, is that Scamp? It’s coming from over here, quick.’
As she walked past the Morry, Blinks whispered down from the deck, ‘Kathleen, you’re a bit old to be working the docks! Short of a bob or two, are you?’
Kathleen scowled and craned her neck backwards to look up. ‘You wait until I can reach you, you cheeky bugger,’ she hissed back up at him. ‘I’ll be telling Conor on you. He said he saw Peggy down here and she’s been missing since this afternoon. Have you seen her?’
Blinks shook his head. ‘Not since earlier and we’re just getting ready to unload. The coast is clear, but not sure how long for, so we need to be getting on before your man realises he’s been had and comes back.’
Kathleen tutted. ‘We’re just going to walk along here and see if we can find her; Alice can hear a dog barking.’
‘Be careful,’ said Blinks, ‘it’s dark now. You only have the moon and that suits us, but don’t you go slipping. Watch out for the ropes.’
‘I will,’ said Kathleen. ‘I can’t swim, but who can?’
Blinks laughed. ‘Me! So good job I can then – I’ll dive in and pull you out if I have to.’
Kathleen and Alice hurried along the dock edge, following the sound of the barking.
‘Look, there she is!’ Alice exclaimed and from the light of the moon on the water, they could see Peggy sitting on the edge, Scamp dragging her backwards by her cardigan, barking between tugs.
‘Alice, go back and fetch Blinks,’ said Kathleen. ‘Go on! I’ll go to Peggy but we will need his help. And tell him to bring one of those trolleys he uses for unloading.’
Alice turned and ran back to the Morry as Kathleen edged closer to Peggy. ‘Peggy love, what are you doing there?’ she asked.
Peggy didn’t answer Kathleen; she appeared to be unaware that she was even there.
‘Peggy, Peggy love…’ Kathleen stepped closer and this time Peggy turned.
‘Go away, Kathleen,’ she said. ‘Leave me alone.’ She was shaking violently and her teeth chattered as she spoke.
‘I can’t do that, Peggy, I’ve got to take you back up – the kids need you and even that lazy oaf of a husband of yours needs you too.’
As Kathleen drew nearer she was stunned to see that Peggy’s feet were in the Mersey and that she was sitting on the very edge of the dock, inches away from the water. It would take just one move, one lunge, and she would be in. One of her slippers floated on the surface of the water while the other had sunk and was visible just below the waterline. Kathleen’s heart beat hard against her chest wall as she edged closer until she was behind Peggy, intending to hold on to the back of her blouse and thinki
ng to herself, what use would that be?
Peggy was rambling incoherently; Kathleen tried again. ‘Peggy, Peggy love, come on, what are you doing down here? Little Paddy says your chips are cold and we’ve Maura and Tommy home. I’ll open a bottle of the Golden Knight sherry to celebrate – you love a glass of that, don’t you? Come on now, lift your legs up out of that water and let’s go and see Maura.’
Bending as best she could, Kathleen placed a hand on one shoulder and with her other grabbed a handful of fabric. This would be her leverage, all she had to help her if Peggy should slip over the edge – and if she wasn’t careful, take Kathleen with her into the Mersey.
‘Come on, Peggy, shuffle your bum back. I’ll feel much better when your feet are out of that water and you’re upright. Let’s get you home.’
Peggy shook her head. ‘There’s no home to go to, I’ve lost it. I’ve been a terrible mother. My kids deserve better and they’ll be better off without me. Leave me alone, Kathleen, just go away.’ She finished on a sob and, in the reflected light from the water, Kathleen could see the tears rolling down her cheeks.
Kathleen let Peggy cry it out for a few moments and then tried again. ‘Peggy, I know all about it. About the letter from Heartfelt, about the bailiffs coming – and you’ve got nothing to worry about; we are going to sort it all out for you, me and Maura. She has a plan to make everything right.’
Peggy stopped crying and, looking up at Kathleen, she said, ‘But Maura’s not here. I’m lost without her, I did it all wrong.’
Kathleen patted Peggy’s back. ‘No you didn’t, Peggy. It’s not your fault your Paddy never went down the docks, it’s all his fault, not yours. You were managing the best you could.’ Kathleen got down and sat next to Peggy, and took her hand in her own. ‘The thing is, Peggy, and it’s my fault. I should have taken better care of you – and Jerry, he should have been firmer with your Paddy. I’ll tell you a secret, shall I?’ She looked sideways and saw she had Peggy’s attention. ‘They are going to make our Jerry the new gaffer on this dock and you know what that means, don’t you? It means every man on the four streets will be in work because they will get priority, for that’s how it works. And Jerry, he is going to make sure your Paddy is down there with him, give him a bit of responsibility, like. Put him in charge of the sheds.’
Kathleen looked out across the Mersey, at the shimmering moon, allowed her words to sink in, and then looking to her right and down towards Liverpool, she said, ‘I never knew how lovely it was down here. Really lovely, isn’t it? And I’ve other news for you that’s going to put a smile on your face: Maura is home for good and between us, her and me are going to sort out your rent arrears. Don’t worry, it’s a loan; you can pay us a back a shilling a week so you don’t have to feel like you’re in our debt. We will sort it for you, Peggy, and we’ll go to the pawnshop and get the kids’ shoes and your mam’s clock back.’
Peggy’s hand felt like ice in her own and she was shaking so violently Kathleen was half afraid she would shake them both over the edge. Peggy was completely unresponsive and, worryingly, staring down at the water. The bore was in, the level was high and then, just as Kathleen thought, Alice, where the hell are you? she heard her daughter-in-law arrive at a trot, closely followed by Blinks pushing a trolley.
Then Peggy whispered something Kathleen thought she had misheard. ‘What did you say, Peggy love?’
‘Kathleen, I had a baby, can you save her? And I’m sorry, Kathleen, but I have to go. Even Paddy will be better off without me.’
Just as Peggy shook herself away from Kathleen and shuffled herself to the edge, to slip into the water, two arms caught her from behind and she found herself being hauled six feet backwards to the concrete floor of the dock. Before either woman had time to speak, Blinks said, ‘Right, now you, Kathleen,’ and before she knew what was happening, Blinks did the same to her and stood her on her feet.
‘By God, you’re strong,’ said Kathleen, impressed.
He grinned. ‘Come on now, Peggy,’ he said and bent down again. Then, as though he were guiding and lifting a load from a crane into the ship’s hold, he placed Peggy on the trolley.
‘Hang on, hang on,’ Kathleen said. She had lived through the births of many unwanted babies, had persuaded women not to roll on their babies in their sleep, or leave them on the steps of the convent so she had recognised the voice of a mother in anguish when she heard it. ‘Peggy, Peggy, what did you say, you had a baby? Where?’
Alice was removing her coat to place over Peggy and Blinks, who had thrown some blankets over the handle of the trolley, was wrapping them around Peggy’s shoulders.
‘What baby, Peggy?’ Alice placed the coat over Peggy’s wet legs. ‘Kathleen, she’s rambling, she probably means one of the boys. We need to get Dr Cole.’
Kathleen was not convinced. ‘No, Alice, she’s distraught and she’s upset, but she’s not totally lost her mind. Also she said “she” and all Peggy’s babies were boys. Peggy, what did you mean, you had a baby? When? When did this happen, Peggy love?’
Peggy blinked and looked down at her hands. ‘I don’t know… Before, in the outhouse… We’re being thrown out onto the street, Kathleen, in front of everyone. They won’t let me keep her. The welfare will take them all off me.’
It was obvious, Peggy hadn’t taken in a word Kathleen had said. Blinks turned the trolley around.
‘Come on, Pegs, let’s get you back up the top, will we?’
Peggy was whimpering, ‘Let me go, let me go, please, that’s all I want to do.’
They all turned as Scamp barked into the dark. ‘Who is that, Alice?’ said Kathleen. ‘I can hear footsteps.’
Scamp, obviously satisfied that Peggy was in good hands, ran off into the darkness with his tail wagging just as they heard a voice shout, ‘Peggy! Peggy!’
Peggy turned, blinking. It was Maura’s voice and Kathleen had said something about Maura, but she couldn’t remember what. They heard the running footsteps, Scamp’s excited barks. All eyes were on Peggy as Maura, guided by Callum, came into view and said, ‘I’m home, Peggy!’
Maura took in the scene. Peggy shaking, the dripping feet, water puddled on the concrete, the look on Alice’s face and her hand flew to her mouth.
‘Peggy, you weren’t! Why would you do that? I’ve found your baby, Peggy, your baby. She’s with Shelagh and, oh Peggy, she’s so beautiful, just like her mam.’ Maura fell to her knees and took the hands of her friend into her own, as tears filled her eyes. ‘I’m back in the house, Peggy, back to help. Jer and Tommy will make sure your Paddy is down the docks every day and we will pay the rent arrears; we know all about it and you aren’t going anywhere. I’m home to help you, Pegs, I missed you.’
Peggy looked into Maura’s eyes and she couldn’t believe what she could see. She wrapped her hands around Maura’s face. ‘Are you an angel?’ she said through a river of tears.
Maura, almost too choked up to speak, said, ‘No… well, I am if you want me to be. I can be your angel, Peggy.’ Then, on an upbeat note, ‘Yes of course I’m your angel, and everything is going to be just fine now. I hadn’t realised, Peggy, you just needed that little bit of help, didn’t you? And here was me thinking I was an old bossy boots and you would be glad to be rid of me.’ Then Maura sprang to her feet. ‘Peggy has a beautiful baby girl,’ she announced as she took her handkerchief out of her pocket and wiped her eyes. ‘What better homecoming present could I have than that, eh? Blinks, let’s get this trolley up to the top and Kathleen, we’ll knock on at the midwife’s on the way past. Come on, Peggy, put this on you, we are taking you home.’
Chapter Twenty-nine
The light flashed from the bottom of the steps to the top, the sign Jerry had been waiting for. ‘At last,’ he said, ‘let’s go. Fetch Paddy out of the pub, Tommy – he doesn’t get a drop if he doesn’t pull his weight. And they’ve found Peggy, praise the Lord.’
The men blessed themselves and carried on with the business in h
and. Little Paddy and Harry, who knew the call was out for the older boys to help move the goods from the top of the steps to the Dohertys’ backyard, tried their luck and ran up to Jerry. ‘Can we help, Jer?’ they asked.
Jerry looked down at them and he couldn’t resist the urge to scoop Harry into his arms and hug him. ‘God, you are a grand lad and we’ve missed you,’ he said, ‘but, no, Harry, you cannot help because you’ve been sick in hospital, so you can both get home to bed. I know you will have sneaked out.’
Little Paddy grinned. ‘Ma’s at your house, Jerry; she’s had a baby, we have a sister.’
Jerry looked stunned, but he could tell the boy wasn’t lying. ‘Well, it’s going to be a double celebration tonight then,’ he said. ‘I’ll send a bottle back, just for your mam, as soon as the last crate is up and we’ll be round to wet the baby’s head. Now, both of you boys, out of the way – don’t break the chain.’
As the boys, keen not to upset Jerry, started do as they were told, they saw Gladys storming up the street.
‘Oh-oh, here comes Gladys!’ Little Paddy pulled Jerry by the sleeve and to Harry he said, ‘My ma says it’s a wonder she works in the dairy, because one look from her and the milk turns sour. Can you imagine that? She must have to stay in the house all day.’
‘That’s why she’s out now,’ said Harry, ‘because it’s dark.’
Gladys stormed up to the two boys and they froze. ‘Have you seen Eric, the milkman?’ she demanded. The two boys, open-mouthed, looked at each other. ‘Well, have you? Is he helping out with this illegal affair? Because if he is, I’ll be calling the police, I will. Jerry Deane, come here,’ she shouted across the street and Jerry, not wanting any trouble, sprinted across the street.
‘What’s wrong, Gladys?’ Jerry asked. ‘What’s the problem?’
Gladys had her arms folded, her black hat was jammed down over her brow and in the light of the street lamp, the yellow glow made her look jaundiced. Her head was bent low, her shoulders jutted upwards like two wing nubs.
Coming Home to the Four Streets Page 28