‘Don’t rub it in,’ Rosa said. ‘But we could have one in our house, couldn’t we? Mind you, I don’t see Holy Joe going off to bed like your dad did.’
‘I wish you wouldn’t call Uncle Joe that. It’s not true. I know he does a lot in the church, SVP and that, and he’s devout like Aunt Maureen but he’s not narrow-minded. I think he’s smashing.’
Rosa shrugged indifferently. ‘I suppose so,’ she said but her attention had wandered. ‘You know that very dark fellow, friend of David’s? The one they call Mogsy? I’ve made a date with him for tomorrow night.’
‘What about Neil?’ Laura asked.
‘What about him? He doesn’t own me,’ Rosa said.
‘No, but he’s lasted longer than the others. And Ricky. What about Ricky?’
‘What about him?’ Rosa said again, but her voice was cool.
Laura knew that Rosa was still seeing the abominable Ricky, as she and Mary called him, although he never called at Rosa’s home to pick her up when they went out together or returned with her later, but she decided not to purse the subject. I’d probably get my head bitten off, she thought, and said only, ‘How long is Mogsy staying at yours?’
‘A few weeks,’ Rosa said. ‘He’s fab. Those eyes and that dark-brown velvet voice. Really swoon making.’
Laura laughed. ‘My God, Ros, you get worse. Where on earth did you learn that tripe? Dark-brown velvet voice,’ she mimicked.
‘You know what’s wrong with you, Laura Redmond?’ Rosa said. ‘You haven’t got an ounce of romance in you,’ but she laughed.
They parted at the corner of the road and Laura walked home slowly. No romance, she thought ruefully. Little does she know. My trouble is that I’ve got plenty of romance but no technique and a big mouth. She thought of Sean, one of the boys at the party whom she had fancied and who seemed interested in her yet they had never managed to get together. When she had gone into the kitchen for glasses, he had followed her and looked appreciatively at her long legs as she reached up into a cupboard.
‘Want any help?’ he asked.
Laura, flustered at finding him so close, said only, ‘Can you reach those glasses?’
‘I’d rather watch you reaching for them,’ he joked.
‘I’ll ask someone else then,’ she snapped back.
There was an amazed silence and before she could say anything to retrieve the situation Monica appeared beside him. ‘Laura’s very independent, aren’t you?’ she said in her sleepy voice, taking Sean’s arm and drawing him away.
Laura was still standing by the open cupboard when David dashed into the kitchen. ‘You found some, Lol. Great.’ He rapidly filled a tray then looked at her where she stood as though transfixed. ‘You all right?’ he asked and Laura nodded and managed to smile.
For the rest of the evening, whenever she saw Sean, Monica was close beside him and several times she saw Monica looking at her then talking to Sean. Probably dripping something in his ear about me being allergic to men or something, she thought bitterly, but it’s my own fault. I had my chance and blew it.
‘How did that Monica get in here?’ she said angrily to Mary. ‘I know I never asked her.’
‘She’s a pain, isn’t she?’ Mary said. ‘She’s got a talent for sliding into parties. Thick and Thin must have escaped tonight.’
‘Thick and Thin’ was the nickname by which two inseparable although unlikely friends were known. Bert was a podgy and unprepossessing youth with thick lips, snub nose and thin sandy hair already receding. Denis was small and thin with a reputation as a ladykiller. Monica had attached herself firmly to them and as the friends refused to be separated they were now a trio. A wit had suggested that they should now be known as Thin, Thick and Thicker.
Now Laura walked home thinking of events at the party and vowing that Monica would never gatecrash again but she was too honest with herself to believe that it was all Monica’s fault. I’ll just have to watch my tongue, she told herself.
When she reached home her father was crouched in front of the television set and he waved his hand impatiently when she tried to speak. ‘I’m watching this,’ he snapped but a few minutes later he exclaimed, ‘My God just look at this.’
The screen was filled with running figures and bodies with blood streaming from head wounds were being pulled along the ground. ‘I knew it, I knew it,’ he said excitedly. ‘They’ve been sitting on a powder keg for years just like South Africa.’
‘Where is it?’ asked Laura.
‘Where is it? Northern Ireland, of course,’ John shouted. ‘Don’t you take any notice of what’s happening around you? It’s been going on for a year, starting with a civil rights march – a peaceful civil rights march – and you haven’t even noticed.’
‘But they’re all white,’ Laura said.
‘It’s religious discrimination, not race,’ John said. ‘Catholics are second-class citizens. Boards outside shipyards and factories say “No Catholic need apply”. No jobs, no vote, no fair share of housing.’
‘Why do they put up with it then?’ Laura said. ‘That must be against the law.’
‘Oh Laura,’ John sighed. ‘What do you think all this is about? Grow up, for God’s sake. You can’t be as thick as you sound.’
Laura bounced out of the room, slamming the door behind her, but the argument was resumed over the evening meal. ‘I can’t believe that you know nothing about what’s happening in Northern Ireland, Laura,’ her father said. ‘The papers and the telly have been full of it for weeks.’
‘If it was anything about pop stars she’d know all about it, wouldn’t you, Laura?’ Anne laughed. ‘To each his own.’ But this only enraged John more.
‘What about you, Julie? Do you know about what’s happening?’
‘Only because we did it at school in current affairs,’ Julie said truthfully. ‘I haven’t read about it or watched the news.’
‘I despair of your generation,’ John declared. ‘What about the atom bomb? Do you know that China, China, has exploded an H bomb? That they did underground tests and last year they tested thermonuclear weapons? Do you take no interest in what’s happening in the world?’
Julie’s thoughts had evidently wandered away from the argument; she sat thinking of Peter Cunliffe and smiling dreamily to herself. Anne watched her indulgently but Laura said aggressively, ‘I don’t see what that’s got to do with us.’
‘Don’t you?’ said John. ‘Don’t you? I’ll tell you what it’s got to do with you, madam. Do you think I’m fighting to have it banned for my own sake? It’s not my generation who are going to suffer.’ He banged on the table. ‘It’s yours and your children’s and your children’s children. That’s who I’m fighting for,’ he said passionately.
Laura suddenly remembered a discussion with David and his friends and she said with a world-weary air, ‘What’s the use of worrying? If so many people have the bomb it only needs a finger on the button and we’ll be blown away anyway. No future for us.’
Anne rapped the table. ‘Look, can we stop this now. How can we digest our food with a discussion like this going on? I haven’t cooked this good meal for it to be wasted.’
Even John had to grin and the conversation turned to pleasanter subjects but after the meal he said earnestly to Laura, ‘There is hope for the future, you know, Laura. We can fight the people who are producing the bomb and those who are buying them. I’ll give you something to read about the CND.’
Laura, who had only been quoting David and his friends and had never seriously thought about the atom bomb, except to be irritated by her father’s CND activities, was taken aback. For once she managed to swallow a retort and only nodded.
A little later John came to her with a foolscap envelope full of papers and some pamphlets. ‘Read these, Laura, and you’ll see that something can be done if everyone pulls together.’
For a moment Laura felt ashamed that she was deceiving him but then she thought that it was his own fault for being so gullible
. And he thinks I’m thick!
Laura put away the foolscap envelope and promptly forgot about it. Life was far too full and exciting for her to think of anything but dates, discos and parties. She approved the move to the new house even more when she found that many of the boys she had met could be seen at the train station every morning. Most of them worked in the business centre of Liverpool near to the River Mersey.
A few days after the party she was delighted to meet Sean on the platform and they sat together for the fifteen-minute train journey to Liverpool. They found that the shipping office where Sean worked was only a few minutes’ walk from the office building where Laura worked, both near the station. They finished work at the same time so arranged to travel home together.
Sean asked if they could meet at lunchtime but Laura refused as she had arranged to meet Mary, but she was flattered by the request. She was almost too excited to work but she said nothing about Sean in the office. Her sharp tongue had made her a few enemies there who she knew would be only too pleased to scoff if her hopes failed to materialise.
She met Mary as arranged and as they walked down to the Pier Head to eat their lunchtime sandwiches Laura poured out every detail of the meeting with Sean and their conversation on the train. Her eyes were darting about, hoping to see Sean among the crowds from the various offices pouring down Water Street, but he was not to be seen.
Mary seemed unimpressed. ‘Got a big opinion of himself though, hasn’t he?’ she said. ‘Monica was buttering him up like mad at your party and he was lapping it up.’
Laura was instantly angry. ‘How do you make that out?’ she demanded. ‘Just because he listened to Monica. Have you ever tried to get away from her?’
Mary was surprised by her vehemence but she shrugged and said diplomatically, ‘I know she’s a leech. Look at Thick and Thin. I’m sure they’ve tried to get away often enough.’ She appreciated that Laura had kept her promise to meet her for lunch, although she was obviously smitten with Sean and must have been tempted to meet him.
A few weeks earlier they had found a small grassy slope between two riverfront warehouses and they sat there to eat their sandwiches and watch the shipping in the river, then lay back on the grass to sunbathe. It was very pleasant with the sun beating down and a warm breeze coming off the Mersey and they lay quietly, each dreaming her own dreams. All too soon it was time to return to the workaday world.
Laura began to tell Sean about it when they met at the station but he broke in to complain that he had been blamed for a mistake in a bill of lading which had been made by another clerk. ‘It’s always happening,’ he said. ‘The office manager’s got it in for me.’
‘Why?’ asked Laura.
Sean seemed surprised by the question. ‘Who knows?’ he said. ‘Might be a bit of jealousy because the boss talks to me about football sometimes.’
‘It seems a bit petty to be jealous just because of that,’ Laura exclaimed and Sean smiled self-consciously.
‘Actually it was because I played for the office team and scored the two goals which meant we won the shield,’ he said. ‘The boss was made up.’
‘I didn’t know you had a football team,’ Laura said, looking at him admiringly.
‘We haven’t really but someone donated the shield and all the offices got teams together to play for it. Grayson Rollo were favourites but we won it,’ he said. He looked smug and Laura suddenly remembered Mary’s words about his big opinion of himself. She firmly dismissed them. Mary knew nothing about him.
The train was crowded and they were both standing crushed close together. As the train swayed, Sean slipped his arm about her and smiled into her eyes. ‘A good excuse,’ he whispered as a middle-aged woman nearby strained to hear their conversation.
Their faces were close together and he put his mouth close to her ear. ‘I love your colouring,’ he whispered. ‘Blue eyes and dark hair. Very fetching.’
Laura smiled at him. ‘It’s the same as your own,’ she whispered and he grinned.
‘Maybe that’s why I like it,’ he said.
Laura’s spirits rose. If he can skit at himself he can’t be big-headed, she thought.
They walked from the station hand in hand and stood at the corner of the road near Laura’s house, talking for more than thirty minutes. ‘I must go,’ Laura said several times and they parted reluctantly, arranging to meet again later.
Laura walked home as though treading on air. She had meant to conceal her excitement from her parents but she was unable to resist telling them about meeting Sean at the station. Julie had received a letter from Peter Cunliffe and John looked from Laura’s flushed cheeks and shining eyes to Julie’s glowing face and joked, ‘It must be the Crosby air, Anne.’
Anne smiled and agreed but both parents were secretly dismayed. They felt that Julie was too young to be receiving love letters and worried that Laura might be hurt.
‘She’s so all or nothing about everything,’ Anne said to Sarah a few days later. ‘She’s been out with a few boys before but it never meant anything. This time she’s really gone overboard. I just hope the lad feels the same or she’ll be badly hurt.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Sarah consoled her. ‘Sean seems very keen and he’s a nice lad. He wants to spend all his free time with her, doesn’t he?’
Anne held her teacup in both hands, thoughtfully watching a bee exploring a nearby flower. ‘You know what worries me, Sarah? At present Laura can’t see a fault in him but when the first glow wears off she’s likely to tell him a few home truths. You know what she’s like – she can’t help herself. It might break things up between them and she’ll be broken-hearted.’
‘Don’t cross your bridges before you come to them, Anne,’ Sarah said gently. ‘It may never come to that but if it does Sean will know her well enough by then to know that she doesn’t mean it.’
‘I hope so,’ Anne said with a sigh.
‘Anyway, if she’s so much in love she won’t say anything to hurt him, will she?’ Sarah argued.
Anne looked at her quizzically. ‘It doesn’t stop John. He still comes out with things he regrets later but maybe you don’t think it applies with us.’
‘Oh Anne, you know that’s not true. There’s never been anyone but you for our John and he’s always been fathoms deep in love with you. You know that.’
Anne nodded. ‘There was never anyone but John for me, and I knew it was the same for John, but we had a few rows in our younger days when he sounded off at me. Mind you, he was always sorry afterwards and I knew he didn’t really mean it. I knew that what we had was rock solid and all that was just surface stuff that didn’t matter. He’s a bit better now, though not much, and I know he can’t help his nature.’
Sarah looked solemn and Anne suddenly threw back her head and laughed aloud. ‘Our kids wouldn’t believe this,’ she said. ‘Two old matrons like us solemnly talking about love. They’d split their sides laughing.’
‘I know,’ Sarah agreed smiling. ‘They think they’ve cornered the market as far as love is concerned. But don’t you find it’s worse worrying about them than when we were going through it ourselves?’
‘Yes, and it seems to have come so suddenly. I’m not ready for it. I remember Bridgie Phelan saying, “Jasus, I’m a grandmother and I hadn’t even got used to being a mother yet.” Anyway, I’ll take your advice, Sar, and stop crossing my bridges before I come to them.’
For the moment it seemed there was no need for Anne to worry. Julie watched anxiously for the twice-weekly letters from Cambridge and carried them away to her room but she always reappeared glowing with happiness, her eyes like stars. Her schoolwork was not affected and she was working hard for her A levels.
Laura’s happiness was unbroken too. She still had lunch with Mary a couple of times a week and on the other days she met Sean and spent a blissful lunch hour with him. She was able to see him nearly every evening too as Mary had fortunately begun a relationship with a young man in the importer’s
office where they both worked.
Laura and Sean parted more readily now when they walked home from the station after work, knowing that they would meet again within a few hours. The constant sunny days gave way to beautiful, balmy evenings and often they walked down to the shore to sit on the sandhills which had been warmed by the sun, wrapped in each other’s arms. They made a little nest for themselves, revelling in the seclusion and silence as they watched the changing colours of the sky as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon and colour drained from the river.
‘I’d love to go to sea,’ Sean said suddenly one evening as they watched a ship making her way majestically down the river to cross the bar. ‘I wonder where she’s bound for. It’s the wide wide world out there.’
‘Not now surely,’ Laura said. ‘I mean you don’t want to go now, do you?’
For a moment Sean hesitated then he sighed and said, ‘Oh well, it’s just a dream, I suppose. I’ll probably spend my life behind a desk but sometimes when I’m doing ship’s documents I wonder about the places they’re bound for.’
‘You wouldn’t see much of them if you went to sea,’ Laura said, ever practical. ‘A fellow in our office went to sea for years and he said they saw nothing but the ports. And not much of them because they were usually into the nearest bar.’
‘Oh Laura, you’re so down-to-earth,’ Sean said half exasperated and half rueful and Laura suddenly raised her face and kissed him.
‘I know,’ she said gently. ‘“Tread softly for you tread on my dreams.”’
He laughed quietly and hugged her. ‘Laura, you can always surprise me,’ he said.
Their courtship had now assumed a regular pattern, with meetings every night except Thursday when Sean went for football training. He came to the house every night to meet her but left her at the gate during the week. On Friday and Saturday nights they went to a disco or club, either locally or in Liverpool, and on those nights Sean came with her into the house. Anne prepared a tray of supper for them and they sat in a small room at the back of the house playing records.
Honour Thy Father Page 17