Christmas Roses

by Pat Posner

  “Well, if it was her, Pearl, she’s not told me why she went there,” Connie said. Though she felt sure Rob had made a mistake.

  “There’s a lot of not telling things going on lately,” said Babs, munching on a biscuit. “I thought Felicity Noble was my best friend but she can’t be because best friends tell each other everything. Felicity’s got a big secret and she won’t tell me what it is.”

  “It’s likely something to do with your birthday with it being just two weeks off,” Connie said.

  “Oh, Nana Connie, you’re a corker. I never thought of that. I’ll go and call for Felicity now and I won’t ask what her secret is.”

  “If only I could solve my problem that easy.” Connie sighed as Babs dashed off.

  Pearl laughed. “Give us your tea cup, Mam, I’ll read the leaves and see if there’s any answer on its way.”

  Pearl swirled the cup three times then upended the cup on its matching saucer to drain away any liquid.

  “Right,” she said peering at the patterns the tea leaves had made inside the cup. “There’s an angel here, see? That means good news. And here’s a boat. That means a visit from a friend.”

  “Very clever, Pearl,” said Connie who believed wet tea leaves were for rubbing on work surfaces to remove smells and not for telling the future. “So, happen Mabel’s visiting and the good news will be she’ll only need to stop for a day or two.”

  “That will mean domestic changes,” said Pearl. “Just like this thimble here is forecasting.”

  “Right, now the tea leaves have told me Mabel will only be staying a little while, happen I should go home and mention it to Flo.” Shaking her head, Connie stood up.

  “Oh, ye of little faith,” Pearl said, laughing as they walked to the door together.

  It would be a weight off my mind if I could have faith in the tea leaves, Connie thought as she walked down the path and opened the gate.

  She hadn’t gone far when she saw Babs dawdling along, head down.

  Oh, dear, had her grand-daughter and Felicity had another falling out?

  As Babs drew close, Connie saw the tears rolling down her cheeks – heard the choking sobs.

  “Whatever’s the matter, Babs? Have you hurt yourself?”

  “It’s that secret Felicity was keeping, Nana Connie. She…she… the whole family’s emigrating to… To Australia. Got a special cheap ticket or something. And I’ll never see my best friend again.”

  “Are you sure, Babs? Maybe Felicity was teasing you or playing make-believe.”

  “She was not. She was crying. And her mum came in just as Felicity were telling me and Felicity is in big trouble because she weren’t meant to say anything. I’m going now. I want my mum.”

  Connie watched until Babs had gone inside and then walked on. She felt right sorry for Babs and Felicity. And no wonder Flo had been quiet and a bit down with Sam going to Australia. Such a shame when the two of them had become such good friends.

  As she rounded the corner into Broome Avenue, Connie found herself face to face with Sam.

  “Just been to see Flo,” said Sam.

  “And I’ve just seen Babs,” said Connie. “She told me how you Nobles have become Ten Pound Poms. Flo will miss you a lot, Sam. I hope you’ll write regular to her.”

  “What the heck are you on about, Connie?”

  “Oh, I know it was meant to be a secret but your Felicity went and let it out to Babs how you’re all going to Australia on a cheap ticket.”

  Sam stared at her and then a strange expression crossed his face.

  “Do me a favour, Connie, and don’t drop even so much as a hint of this to Flo. Not yet. I’ll sort it soon, you have my word.”

  *

  “It’s coming up to two o’clock,” said Flo. “Let’s turn the wireless on, Connie, and listen to Melody Mixture.”

  To be honest, it wasn’t one of Flo’s favourite programmes but she had to do something to try and stop her sister chattering. Talked non-stop, she had, ever since coming back from Pearl’s. Connie often did that if she was worried or nervous about something.

  Likely it was to do with the letter I’m sure I saw her hiding, Flo thought.

  They’d only just settled down when there was a knock on the back door.

  “That’s Sam’s special knock.” Flo jumped up. “He’s already been once today and I’m seeing him this evening. I wonder why he’s here.”

  “If you let him in, you might find out, Flo.”

  “Flo,” Sam said when she opened the door, “I want you and Connie to come round to Blakeley Road. Keith and Ellen have got big news and when you’ve heard what it is…” He leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss, “I reckon we’ll be able to tell them our news.”

  “Right.” Puzzled but hopeful, Flo called to Connie to turn the wireless off. “And put your coat on. We’re going round to Sam’s,” she added as she walked off to get her own coat.

  *

  Sam smiled across at Flo as she listened in astonishment to his son and daughter-in-law breaking the news that they and the children were going to Australia. For good.

  “We were that worried about telling Dad,” Keith said.

  “We knew he wouldn’t want to come with us but I couldn’t bear the thought of him being on his own,” Ellen added. “We just couldn’t find the right moment to tell him.”

  Sam chuckled. “But then I unexpectedly heard about it through a third party so I asked Keith outright if it were true. And of course it is. So, now, Flo, my love, shall we tell them—”

  “Sam. Them going off to t’other side of the world doesn’t solve our big problem,” said Flo.

  “Oh, but it does, Flo. See, when I moved in with them last year, Keith added my name to the rent book. There shouldn’t be any problem about me taking over tenancy of this prefab. So…”

  Joy bubbled through Flo as she realised what that meant.

  “You mean I can stop going to the Housing Office and begging them to find us a prefab here because we can live in this one together.”

  Connie cleared her throat. “Are you really telling us you and Sam want to live together, Flo?”

  Sam chuckled again. “She is, Connie. But not ’til after I’ve made an honest woman of her. Your Flo proposed to me on February 29th. Leap Day. And I accepted with bells on.”

  “Flo. I didn’t know you had it in you to do something like that,” Connie said. “Nor to keep it secret from me, neither,” she added.

  Flo felt herself blushing, but Connie was smiling kindly.

  “Sam and I were keeping quiet until we could find somewhere to live,” Flo explained. “I was worried about leaving you, Connie. But I knew if we could stay in the village we’d still see each other all the time. Only they didn’t hold out much hope at the Housing Office for me and Sam getting allocated a prefab here, but said they’d write and let me know if anything did come up.

  “It’s our age, see. They said any vacant ones were more likely to go to young marrieds wanting to start a family or them with children already. And Sam—”

  “I was worried you’d miss having me round to keep an eye on our Felicity and Norman when you and Ellen were at work, Keith, and doing odd jobs round the place,” Sam told his son.

  “But now,” Ellen said, laughing, “you’ll have your own new life to lead. You’ll have to get wed before we leave, though.”

  “Quicker the better for me,” said Sam. “When you’re lucky enough to find love at our age…”

  “We don’t want to waste any time we could be together,” Flo agreed.

  “How long before you go, Ellen?” Connie asked.

  “Seven weeks, on the last day of June,” she replied.

  “Enough time to arrange a lovely wedding, I reckon,” Connie said. “And having it before you leave could solve two more problems.”

  Reaching out to touch Flo’s hand, Connie explained about the letter from Mabel.

  “I couldn’t think of having her to stay before I heard
your happy news, Flo, love. But now I won’t have to upset either of you.”

  “We’ll invite her to the wedding, Connie, and she can stay as long as you both want,” said Flo. She was glad Connie would have her best friend around for a while.

  “What’s the other problem Flo and me getting married will solve, Connie?” asked Sam.

  “Babs and your Felicity being upset about things. How do you fancy having your great-niece and your grand-daughter-to-be as bridesmaids, Flo? Choosing pretty dresses and such-like might help take their minds off Felicity going to Australia a bit.”

  “I think that’s a wonderful idea,” said Flo. “Don’t you, Sam?”

  “I do, my love.”

  “We can tell all our friends we’re getting married when we see them at church tomorrow,” said Flo. “Oh, I’m so glad all the secrets are out in the open.”

  “Me, too,” said Ellen. “We’ll drink to that. Should be champers really but we’ll have to settle for tea.”

  “Happen we should get Pearl round to read the tea leaves,” Connie said. “She read mine earlier and she saw good news and domestic changes.”

  “Don’t need tea leaves to tell us we’re going to have a happy life together do we, Flo?” Sam said, smiling lovingly at her.

  Wrong Number

  “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.” Maddie heaved a sigh of relief as she made a right turn off Blakeley Road onto Broome Avenue. She always felt a bit nervous when driving the Reliant Regal. She’d only got a motor cyclist licence which meant the reverse gear on the 3-wheeler had been blanked off. If she’d driven past Broome Avenue, she’d no idea how far she’d have to have gone before she could turn round to get back here. And, now, here was number two where her sister Doreen, brother-in-law, George, and their young daughter lived.

  Maddie turned off the ignition and leaned back in her seat. She and Doreen had never got on particularly well. It was more that they tolerated each other because they were sisters; Doreen hadn’t asked her to be a bridesmaid when she’d got married and they’d never seen much of each other even before George and Doreen had been allocated a council property and moved to a different area. It had been quite a surprise when she’d got the letter from Doreen asking her to come and stay for a week: Mum wrote and told me you’d been really poorly with flu and you weren’t recovered yet. It’s like being in the country here, there’s a huge park at the bottom of the garden and the springtime air is so fresh. Do come, Maddie. I’ve enclosed a little map for you.

  Leaning forward, Maddie glanced in the mirror to check her hair – and pulled a face. She really wasn’t sure about her Poodle Cut hairstyle. Going from long, straight hair to permed curls might not have been such a good idea. And she was nearly twenty-eight, was the style too young for her? “Too late now to worry,” she said aloud. She got out of the car, grabbed her case and then stood and stared.

  The prefab didn’t look very big from the outside, it couldn’t have more than two bedrooms, could it? She shrugged and supposed she’d be sharing her niece’s bedroom. Jilly was five and Maddie hadn’t had much chance of getting to know her. It would be good to put that right. And maybe absence had made the heart grow fonder and she’d get on better with Doreen.

  Well, she’d soon find out, wouldn’t she? A flicker of apprehension coursed through her as she opened the gate and walked up the garden path. When she reached the front door, there was an envelope with her name on pinned to it. Maddie just knew she wouldn’t like the contents. She plonked her case down, tugged the envelope free and ripped it open…

  *

  The key’s next door at number three. Sorry, we won’t be here, it’s school holidays so we’re going to Rhyl for a few days. You can sleep in Jilly’s room. Please keep an eye on the council decorators, tell them I want blue paint not green.

  After reading the brief note, Maddie was in half a mind to turn round and go home instead of going to the prefab next door to fetch the key. Of course, if she hadn’t been suffering from after flu lethargy, she’d have realised there’d been an ulterior motive for the invitation. And Doreen hadn’t actually said in her first letter that they’d be here, had she!

  Fighting down her irritation, Maddie told herself that spending time on her own might make a pleasant change from working in her parents’ hardware shop and she could always go home in a couple of days if she felt like it. So she scrumpled the note and, leaving her case by the front door, she made her way to number three.

  “Ah, you must be Doreen’s sister come for her key. Maddie, isn’t it. Come in. I’m Flo and you’ll see my sister Connie in a minute. You’ll have to excuse her,” she said lowering her voice. “She’s got a bit of a cob on because the paper boy delivered someone else’s magazine to us again.”

  Flo looked to be in her seventies and seemed a friendly sort and Maddie couldn’t help smiling. “Do you both live here?” she asked.

  “We moved here from Liverpool so Connie could be near her daughter and son-in-law and grand-kiddies,” Flo explained. “They live on Blakeley Road. Rob, the eldest lad is here now. He’s fifteen and starting work in a week or two. Come on through to the living room and meet them.”

  They’d only taken a couple of steps towards the living room when a boy, Maddie knew must be Rob, came out into the hallway. “I think I’ve persuaded Nana Connie not to report the paper boy, Auntie Flo. He’d likely get the sack if she did. I think she’s madder at me for telling her Tit-Bits isn’t a rude magazine,” he added with a cheeky grin. “There’s a picture of Joan Collins on the front and she were in Our Girl Friday that Nana Connie took us to see just after you moved here and that wasn’t a rude film it were a comedy.”

  “Thank you for that information, lad,” Flo said, clearly trying not to laugh. “This is Maddie. She’s Doreen-from- next-door’s sister, she’s staying there a while.”

  “Hello, Maddie. Nice to meet you,” Rob said politely.

  “Sorry, queen, I don’t know your surname,” Flo said, turning to Maddie.

  “It’s Wood. But I don’t mind if Rob calls me Maddie. Miss Wood makes me feel like…like a school teacher or something.” She’d almost said spinster but wasn’t sure if Flo had ever married and she might not like the word spinster.

  “Right, I’ll be off now,” Rob said. “I’ll pull up some of that chickweed by your front gate on my way out. I promised I’d take our Jimbo to Broome Park. We can feed the chickweed to the rabbits in Pets’ Corner and then he wants to collect frogspawn from the big pond. Tara, Nana Connie,” he added, glancing over his shoulder as a lady with a round, plump face appeared in the doorway.

  Flo smiled and introduced Maddie to Connie. “We’ll put the kettle on in a minute, but first, come and sit down for a bit,” Connie said, walking back into the room. “It’s good to meet new folk. And you’ve come to keep an eye on things when they start painting our prefabs, haven’t you?”

  “Doreen told us they’d be away when they come to paint them so she asked you to come and stay so you can make sure theirs didn’t get painted green,” Flo said.

  Connie nodded. “It’s good when you can do things for your family. Though I couldn’t help my eldest grandson out today. He wanted one of my old stockings to make a fishing net and I haven’t got any I could let him have.”

  “We sell fishing nets in my parents’ hardware shop,” Maddie told her. “But if a little one comes for one and hasn’t enough money, I suggest them using a fine hair net to make one.”

  “That I can do, and Rob’s probably still picking chickweed,” Connie said, as she bustled out, calling to Rob.

  Flo laughed. “Dotes on her grand-kiddies, my sister. There’s Barbara as well, she’s the middle one. She loves your little niece. Calls for her every Sunday to take her to Sunday school.”

  “That’s nice,” Maddie said. “It’s a shame they’re in Rhyl, though. I was looking forward to seeing Jilly.”

  “Didn’t you know they wouldn’t be here?” Flo asked.

  “I thought I mig
ht see them before they went,” Maddie replied – not wanting Flo to know how Doreen had omitted to mention anything about them going away. Then, feeling her annoyance creeping back, she added, “I won’t stay any longer now, Flo. I want to get unpacked and then have a look around.”

  Flo got to her feet and walked over to the sideboard. “Here’s the key,” she said, taking out of a fruit bowl and then handing it to Maddie. “But you must call round for a cuppa and a chat sometime soon.”

  “I will, and thank you,” Maddie said.

  She saw Connie and Rob on her way out and Rob gave her a thumbs up. “A hair net was good thinking.”

  “I hope you get some frogspawn or maybe some sticklebacks,” she said before making her way back to her sister’s prefab.

  *

  Maddie scooped up the newspapers from the doormat and wandered into the kitchen. The novelty of having time to read over breakfast, and having nothing she had to do afterwards, was starting to wear off. True, she’d enjoyed the first three days wandering around the prefab village in the glorious spring weather. It was so different from the built-up, rather dismal area she lived and worked in. As Doreen had said in her letter, it was like being in the country.

  All the prefabs had good-sized gardens and the scent of daffodils, violets, primroses and wallflowers, what Maddie thought of as cottage flowers, filled the air. There was blossom on some of the trees, too, and every time she glanced across to Broome Park, Maddie wished she had a book on trees. In between her exploration, she’d chatted to the painters who’d painted the outside a pretty blue and met some of her sister’s neighbours.

  Perhaps that’s why she was feeling a bit down, though. Two of the neighbours she’d met were around Doreen’s age and happily married with young children. Maddie had hoped for that sort of life for herself and Roy until, after finishing his National Service, he’d decided he wanted to emigrate. She hadn’t wanted that at all and after one particularly bad row, their relationship had ended. That was over six years ago and she really should have got over it by now.