Honour Thy Father

by Honour Thy Father (retail) (epub)

  ‘Please God that won’t be for a long time,’ Anne said gently. ‘Gerry was very happy-go-lucky when he was a young lad but Margaret’s been a good influence on him. He’s grown up since he met her.’

  ‘Ah well, youth is the time to be carefree. But he’s still a happy lad. Like a breath of fresh air when he comes in but sensitive and reliable too. You must be very proud of him.’

  ‘We are,’ Anne exclaimed fervently, near to tears as she remembered the worries of the past. ‘I’m glad you’re as happy about the engagement as we are. It’s a good start for them.’

  Later, while Julie and Laura washed up after the meal, the others moved to the sitting room where Gerry pushed a sofa close to the fire for Margaret’s parents and he and Margaret, Anne and John grouped themselves around them.

  After commenting on the comfortable room, Mrs Norton took her husband’s hand and said directly, ‘Father would like the wedding to be soon if everyone’s agreeable.’

  ‘We are, certainly,’ John said immediately.

  Gerry smiled at Margaret. ‘Can’t be too soon for me.’

  Mr Norton seemed tired, leaning back against the sofa cushions, but he said in a weak voice, ‘There’ll be no problems. Margaret is our only one so everything we have will be hers. Tell them about the house, Mother.’ He closed his eyes.

  Mrs Norton said briskly, ‘Gerry and Margaret know about this. When we bought our house my mother was a widow and not very strong so we had a little bungalow built on so she could be independent but near to us if she needed help.’

  Mr Norton opened his eyes. ‘Granny flats, they call them now,’ he said.

  Mrs Norton pressed his hand. ‘My mother died fifteen years ago and we’ve suggested that we move in there and Gerry and Margaret can have our house.’

  ‘That’s very generous of you,’ John exclaimed.

  Gerry said that he and Margaret felt that they should go in the bungalow and Mr and Mrs Norton stay in the house. ‘You’ve lived there so long,’ he said to Margaret’s mother. ‘And you’ve got all your own things about you there. You shouldn’t have that upheaval.’

  ‘That’s thoughtful of you, Gerry, but really we’ll be happy to move to the bungalow. Father drew up the plans for it very carefully to make life easier for my mother so it will be perfect for him now.’

  ‘The house is too big for us. Too much for us,’ Mr Norton said. His wife added, ‘My mother’s furniture is still there so we’ll do some swapping and changing between the house and the bungalow. We’ll be happy there and I hope you young people will be happy in the house.’

  The trembling of Mr Norton’s hands and head had become more marked and a glance passed between Mrs Norton and Gerry. He stood up immediately. ‘I’ll get your coats,’ he said.

  Julie and Laura had come into the room and Margaret’s mother said how happy she had been to meet them. Julie made an appropriate reply and Anne said anxiously, ‘I hope we haven’t overtired you, Mr Norton.’

  ‘No, no, I’ve enjoyed myself,’ he assured her. ‘And we’ve got things settled.’

  ‘It’s been very nice to meet you,’ John said heartily. ‘Of course we expected to like anyone who had a daughter like Margaret.’

  ‘Yes indeed,’ Anne concurred.

  ‘And we’ve enjoyed meeting you,’ Mrs Norton said. ‘Believe me, you’ve got a son to be proud of.’ She slipped her hand through Gerry’s arm and looked up at him affectionately. ‘I couldn’t find a better man for a son-in-law if I knitted him myself.’

  They all laughed but Mr Norton said reprovingly, ‘You’re embarrassing the lad, Mother.’

  ‘No, don’t stop her. I can take any amount of that,’ Gerry laughed as he helped the older man with his coat.

  Later Laura commented to Julie, ‘What came over Dad? I’ve never heard him so amiable – effusive even. I thought he’d resent them claiming his darling son.’

  ‘I think Dad liked hearing Gerry praised and so did Mum. After all, they’ve taken a few knocks about him during the past few years. It’s nice for them to know he’s appreciated.’

  ‘He’s certainly that,’ Laura laughed. ‘He’ll have a head like a football with all the praise.’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Julie said seriously. ‘He’s gone through a lot himself too and worried about letting Mum and Dad down. This is just what he needs, I think.’

  Laura felt ashamed of her comments and said quietly, ‘I’m sure you’re right, Jul, and he will be a good help to Margaret’s parents. That’s a terrible thing, Parkinson’s disease, isn’t it?’

  ‘At least it hasn’t altered Mr Norton’s character. A man who used to work in the library has got it and he’s changed completely. Of course he’s much younger.’

  It was still early evening and Anne rang Sarah to tell her about the visit. She came back into the living room saying, ‘Sarah, Joe and Rosa are coming over for an hour.’

  Laura immediately wondered whether Rosa had told them about the baby.

  As soon as they arrived, Anne launched into a description of Mr and Mrs Norton’s visit. ‘They’re really nice,’ she said. ‘And very fond of Gerry but the poor man seems so ill. I think that’s why he wants Gerry and Margaret to marry quite soon.’

  ‘So you said on the phone,’ Sarah commented vaguely.

  Joe added quickly, ‘If they have somewhere to live, there’s no reason for them to wait, is there?’

  Gerry had not returned but when the rest of the family were settled with the inevitable cups of tea Sarah said abruptly, ‘We have some news too. Rosa is going to have a baby in June.’

  For a moment there was a stunned silence then Anne hugged Sarah and John leaned forward and put his hand over Rosa’s. ‘I’ll tell you something, love,’ he said. ‘No baby could come to a home where it would be better loved.’

  Anne and Julie said together, ‘That’s very true,’ and both kissed Rosa.

  Laura said nothing. She was staring at her father in amazement, wondering how someone she thought so lacking in sensitivity could so quickly find the right words to say, but just as she began to feel more warmly towards him he asked roughly, ‘What’s wrong with you, Laura, sitting there saying nothing?’

  ‘Laura’s known since Thursday, haven’t you, love?’ Sarah interjected quickly.

  Laura said in a low voice, ‘I didn’t know whether you knew that Ros had told me. I thought you might mind.’

  ‘Not at all.’ Sarah said. ‘I’m glad Rosa was able to talk it over with you and get things clear in her mind.’

  Joe added, ‘We appreciate your keeping it to yourself until Rosa told us, Lol.’

  ‘Rosa told us after Mass so we were able to tell Nana and Grandad,’ said Sarah. ‘We thought it might be a shock to them but they were delighted at the idea of a new baby in the family.’

  ‘I’ll bet Nana’s already rooting out patterns for bootees and matinee coats,’ Julie laughed. She stood up. ‘Should I make more tea, Mum?’ she asked but John jumped to his feet.

  ‘No. This calls for a drink.’ He went out and returned with bottles of sparkling wine. Glasses were quickly found and John raised his glass of wine. ‘To Rosa’s baby. Welcome,’ he said and Julie and Rosa burst into tears.

  ‘We’ll drink ours in the other room,’ Laura said, ushering the weeping girls out, but not before Rosa had kissed John.

  ‘Thanks, Uncle John,’ she murmured.

  They soon calmed down and Rosa said as she dried her eyes, ‘Your dad has the knack of saying the right thing, doesn’t he?’

  Laura laughed aloud so heartily that the others smiled. ‘I’ll bet that’s the first time anything like that has been said about him. I’d have said he had a reputation for saying the wrong thing.’

  Julie agreed that their father was often tactless but when the occasion demanded he could find the right words.

  ‘He has a compassionate heart, as Nana would say,’ said Rosa. ‘And at times like this he shows it, but then everyone has taken the news very we
ll.’

  ‘Why shouldn’t they?’ Laura demanded. ‘A baby should always be welcomed. As you told me, Ros, this baby was conceived in love and it’ll be surrounded with love from all of us. I wish I knew whether it was a boy or a girl. I don’t like saying “it”.’

  ‘I don’t mind which it is,’ Rosa said dreamily. ‘I’d like a girl for some reasons and a boy for others. I hope it’s not like me though. I couldn’t stand the hassle,’ and they all laughed.

  In the living room no one had mentioned the father of the child until Joe announced quietly, ‘The actor fellow Rosa was living with is the father but Rosa doesn’t want him to be involved.’

  Sarah said, ‘I’m glad she doesn’t want to marry him. We never liked what we heard about him and Rosa doesn’t need him.’

  ‘He just seemed to bewitch Rosa, didn’t he?’ Anne remarked. ‘She’d always kept in touch with you no matter where she went until she met him.’

  ‘I wouldn’t like to go through that time again,’ Sarah sighed. ‘Not knowing where she was or how she was.’

  ‘Not even knowing if she was still alive,’ said Joe. ‘That friend of mine from the police has told us he feared the worst. He was keeping an eye on all reports of assaults or murders in case Rosa was among them. Good job we didn’t know at the time, although I must admit sometimes in the small hours of the morning I thought of the possibility but you know how it is. I pushed the thought away.’

  John nodded. ‘I know. We think it doesn’t happen to people like us but I suppose everyone thinks that.’

  ‘She’ll never be as thoughtless again,’ said Anne. ‘Not now she’s going to be a mother herself.’

  ‘Yes, it’s made a difference already,’ Sarah agreed. ‘I’m glad she was able to talk to Laura about it. We knew she was worried about something, didn’t we, Joe?’

  ‘Yes, but we thought she was fretting for that fellow. She’s seemed so much happier since Thursday and of course now we know why. She’d been able to talk to Laura and get things straight in her mind. Laura’s a good, kind girl and very sensible. She’s always been a good influence on Rosa.’

  ‘They’ll be able to see more of each other now that Rosa’ll be at home,’ Anne said. ‘Laura’s missed Rosa. They’ve always been such good friends.’ She sighed. ‘Perhaps she’ll be less moody when she can talk to Rosa. We never know where we are with her, especially since she’s been going out with this Nick. She tells me nothing and I’m afraid to ask when she’s got a mood on.’

  ‘Don’t you like Nick?’ asked Sarah.

  Anne shrugged, ‘I haven’t met him yet but he’s coming here on Thursday. But they seem to do nothing but fall out. It’s off and on all the time as far as I can make out.’

  ‘They’re a worry, aren’t they?’ Sarah said. ‘I’m sure our parents didn’t go through all this with us, Anne.’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said John. ‘I can remember you wanting your own way and defying Mum and Dad when you were a kid, Sarah, and I don’t doubt Anne was the same. Isn’t that right, Joe?’

  Joe laughed. ‘Anne didn’t have to struggle for it. Being the beloved youngest we all wanted her to have whatever she wanted but this is a different world, John. Young people have a lot more in material things but they don’t have the sense of security that we had and God knows they have temptations we never even knew.’

  ‘Yes, life was simpler for us,’ said Anne. ‘For one thing we never went very far from home. All our spare time we spent with the family or friends we’d known all our lives, dancing and cycling and that sort of thing. We were never tempted to do wild things because no one we knew did them, and as for drugs! We thought it was an American name for medicine – at least I did.’

  ‘Yes,’ agreed Sarah. ‘We knew exactly how far we could go and we kept to the rules without realising it.’

  ‘Without thinking, you mean,’ said John. ‘That was the trouble with us. We didn’t think. We accepted the status quo because we were all right but at least this generation thinks for itself. If it makes mistakes, well, that’s the price and they don’t mind paying it.’

  ‘Good God, John, when did you ever accept the status quo?’ Joe laughed. ‘What about going off to fight in Spain and carrying on your grandad’s battle where he left off? Don’t kid yourself, mate.’

  Anne stood up. ‘This is getting very heavy, as the young ones would say. I’ll make another cup of tea and a sandwich.’

  ‘And then we’ll have to be on our way,’ Sarah said. ‘Look at the time!’ She followed Anne into the kitchen and Joe and John lit fresh cigarettes.

  ‘That was a good thing you said to Rosa, about the baby being loved,’ Joe said quietly. ‘I didn’t really expect condemnation from the family but I’m surprised how well everyone has taken the news. It was a shock to us when Rosa told us. With all her wildness we never really expected this to happen.’

  ‘We all love Rosa and it’s true what I said, Joe. Everyone will love the baby. Anyway, we’ve got two girls ourselves. Who knows what’ll happen with them? Nothing’s sure these days.’

  ‘I don’t think you need worry,’ Joe said. ‘That reminds me. We haven’t told Tony and Helen yet. Their girls have never given them any worry and Moira’s settled now and Dilly engaged. I don’t know how they’ll feel about our news.’

  ‘I do,’ John told him robustly. ‘Helen will hug and kiss everyone, especially Rosa, then she’ll knit enough to fit out triplets and Tony’ll make a cradle in his workshop.’

  They were laughing when Sarah and Anne came from the kitchen and the girls came through from the back room and shortly afterwards Sarah, Joe and Rosa left.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Laura had deliberately avoided thinking about Nick during the day, pushing thoughts of him away to be considered when she was alone in bed, but tired by the emotions of the day she fell asleep immediately.

  It was only two weeks to Christmas and she was so busy at work and at home that there was little time for thinking. Still confused by the facet of his character she had seen on Sunday, she was glad to push away any thoughts of him that intruded and concentrate on Christmas preparations.

  She was able to avoid any discussion with Mary too as they spent their lunch hours rushing round the shops for gifts and clothes.

  Nick phoned her on Monday night but their conversation was brief and on his part breezy and confident as they made arrangements for Thursday night. He seemed unaware of having raised any doubts in Laura’s mind.

  On Thursday he came to the house and was introduced to Laura’s mother and to Julie. Gerry had just left and her father was out, Anne explained. Laura hoped that he would still be out when they returned for supper after the cinema.

  Nick seemed to make a good impression on Anne and Julie and Laura felt proud of him in spite of her secret misgivings. She had still not thought deeply about his behaviour on Sunday and was uncertain whether she could understand and accept it.

  As they left the house they met David coming in the gate. ‘Oh, are you off out?’ he exclaimed in disappointment and Nick’s face was thunderous until Laura introduced David as her cousin and said that her mother and Julie were in the house.

  ‘I’ll catch you again then, Lol,’ David said, and to Nick, ‘Good to meet you.’

  ‘Did you know he was coming?’ Nick asked as they walked on.

  ‘I knew he had just come home,’ Laura said. ‘He’s at Cambridge and he’d stayed on to do some research.’

  ‘And he drops in without invitation?’ Nick said.

  ‘He’s my cousin and a good friend too. They only live round the corner,’ Laura told him angrily. Then as much to her own surprise as Nick’s, something made her add, ‘And of course he’s a member of the uncouth working class. He knows no better.’

  ‘That’s nonsense and you know it,’ Nick snapped. ‘It was a simple remark but you make everything an excuse for a row.’

  They walked on in offended silence, in Laura’s case with difficulty as nume
rous retorts rose in her mind but were suppressed. If I hadn’t invited him back for supper I’d walk away from him, she thought, but I’m stuck with him for tonight now.

  She saw several girls she knew in the queue for the cinema and in spite of herself she softened towards Nick when she saw the approving glances they gave him. When they were in their seats and he slipped his arm round her and took her hand, she sat stiffly upright for a moment then relaxed into his arm.

  When they came out, the tiff was forgotten and as they strolled home Nick was gentle and loving, telling Laura how much he loved her and longed to be with her all the time. As they stood on the corner of the road before going into the house, Laura responded fiercely to his kisses and he crushed her close to him.

  ‘I wish we didn’t have to go in,’ she whispered.

  Nick murmured, ‘Or that the house was empty.’

  Laura drew away from him with a sigh. ‘We must though,’ she said and they went into the house hand in hand.

  David had gone but to Laura’s dismay her father was at home and was introduced to Nick. At first the conversation over the supper table was general but John had been at a meeting of the housing committee and before long his indignation burst forth.

  ‘This fellow Heath – what does he think he’s playing at, selling council houses?’ he demanded. The family were used to his outbursts and rarely argued with him but Nick seemed to think that the question was addressed to him.

  ‘People have the right to own their own homes,’ he said belligerently.

  ‘Of course, but council houses,’ said John. ‘They were built to rehouse people who had been living in slums and there are still thousands in that position. We’ve got a waiting list as long as your arm and they want to sell off our housing stock. What’s going to happen to those people?’

  ‘You can build houses for them with the money from the sales, can’t you?’ said Anne.

  ‘That’s just the point. We don’t know yet what’s going to happen to the money from the sales. It seems the government want to freeze it – maybe use it for something else.’