by Pam Howes
‘I bet they have,’ Cathy said, laughing. ‘I won’t have been the first and most certainly not the last.’
‘Well the current occupant definitely won’t be getting up to the tricks you and Gianni got up to. It’s Maude Parker and you know what she’s like. Thinks all men are heathens. Mind you, she’s not entirely wrong there.’
Cathy nodded. ‘She’s a decent enough nurse.’ Maude Parker’s bark was worse than her bite and she kept herself to herself, even though others had tried to encourage her into joining them in the communal sitting room to watch the telly at night.
‘I guess so,’ Ellie agreed. ‘Glad I don’t work with her though. She’s miserable with staff and creates an atmosphere, so I’ve been told.’
The pair tucked into their dinners and as they finished, Mavis brought over a tray with their laden dishes – two each – of apple pie and custard and mugs of steaming hot tea.
‘Thank you, Mavis, you spoil us,’ Cathy said as Mavis collected their empty plates.
‘You both work hard, you need looking after,’ Mavis said as she headed back to the counter.
Cathy finished her pudding and sat back in her chair. She blew out her cheeks. ‘I’m well and truly stuffed,’ she said.
‘Me too.’ Ellie sighed. ‘Well we won’t need any tea tonight.’ She pushed back on her chair, the legs scraping the floor tiles beneath. ‘Shall we go back upstairs?’
‘I could go to sleep,’ Cathy sighed. ‘I don’t know about going back to work.’
Six
Sandra lay on her bed in the room she shared with Rosie, listening to the end of Pick of the Pops on the little transistor radio Mam and Johnny had bought her last Christmas. Rosie was having tea with a friend, so she had the room to herself. She loved listening to the charts and all the hit records, singing along to all the songs she knew. Gerry and the Pacemakers were number one this week with ‘I Like It’. They’d just knocked ‘From Me to You’ by her favourite group the Beatles off the top spot.
She couldn’t wait to be fifteen in September because Mam had said she could go to the Cavern Club in the city when she was older. All the groups played there and some of her friends had already seen the Beatles more than once. Sandra felt she was missing out by not being allowed to go into the city at night with her school pals. It wasn’t fair. And if she didn’t get a move on with this growing-up business, someone would steal her almost-boyfriend Ben Jarvis right from under her nose. Ben lived on Bickerton Street, which ran parallel with Lucerne Street, and his mam used to mind her little brother Roddy before he started school, so their mams were friendly.
Ben was a few months older than Sandra, already fifteen. They went to the same school and youth club and he had a paper round that gave him a bit of spending money to go out. He went to a café called the Rumblin’ Tum that Cathy said she used to go to with Gianni a few years ago and another place called the Jacaranda in the city. Ben had told her that lots of beat groups were forming and playing in all these places and she was desperate to get out and see them. Mam had told her there was plenty of time for all that nonsense and she needed to concentrate at school this year so she could get her O levels and decide on what she wanted to do for the future.
Sandra knew exactly what she wanted to do. She planned to follow in her sister’s footsteps and train to be a nurse. She felt confident that she’d get the results she’d need to get into nursing school right away and not have to work first like Cathy had done. Sandra knew she was lucky to have a good stepdad who supported them all. Her own dad was a horrible man; he’d always shouted at her and Rosie and made them cry. He was nasty to her mam and Cathy too. She was glad he was in prison because he couldn’t hurt any of them any more.
She jumped as she heard her name being called. ‘Coming, Mam,’ she yelled back and turned off the radio. Damn it, she’d miss the end of the programme now, but she knew better than to argue with her mam. She placed the radio on the bedside table, jumped to her feet and ran down the stairs.
‘Ah, there you are,’ Alice said, peering out from the kitchen. ‘Fetch me that washing in off the line, love. It’s starting to spit with rain and I’m just buttering bread for our tea. Just drop it into the basket and then fold it when you bring it inside. I’ll iron the clothes tonight.’
Sandra picked up the laundry basket and peg bag and dashed outside as heavy spots of rain started to fall. She quickly unpegged everything as Millie from next door, bringing in her own washing, called over the fence. ‘Tell your mam and Johnny we’ll see them later. We’ll be round at seven for the London Palladium.’
‘Will do,’ Sandra called back. She used to love Sunday nights because her mam and Johnny and Millie and Jimmy got together to watch the best show of the week and they’d have a drink indoors and always treated the kids to a bottle of dandelion and burdock and packets of crisps. But now she was older she’d rather go out with her pals. Her mam had mentioned earlier that Frank Ifield was on the show tonight as the star and he was such a square compared to the Beatles.
Cathy lay back in the bath and closed her eyes, relaxing in the pine-scented Radox steam. Her aching muscles were easing already. Lucy and Roddy were in bed and the rest of her family was watching telly in the front room with Jimmy and Millie. She mustn’t fall asleep. There was a Babycham waiting for her downstairs and she was looking forward to it. Gianni had phoned just after she got in and it was good to hear his voice. He was currently pitched up somewhere in Yorkshire, she couldn’t remember where he’d said, and would be back in Liverpool in just a few weeks. She couldn’t wait to see him again. He’d told her he was missing her and Lucy and was looking forward to spending time with them both. They’d go and stay with him in the caravan while the fair was pitched up on Sefton Park. It would only be for a week, but it was better than nothing.
Climbing out of the bath, she yanked out the plug and towelled herself dry. She pulled on fresh underwear, jeans and a T-shirt, fastened her damp hair into a ponytail and dumped her dirty uniform in the laundry basket. She ran downstairs on bare feet, slipping into the front room, where her drink was waiting on the coffee table alongside a small dish of salted peanuts. Her mam and Millie were gazing dewy-eyed at Frank Ifield as he yodelled his way through his latest hit. She smiled and sat down on a chair under the window. Jimmy and Johnny were nowhere to be seen and she wondered where they’d sloped off to. Maybe the pub – but no, they would have taken Mam and Millie with them. She picked up her drink and took a sip. They’d tell her once Frank had finished his singing, no doubt.
As the final song came to an end and the Palladium audience cheered and clapped, her mam turned to Cathy and smiled. ‘Oh, he’s so good. What a lovely voice and such a nice smile. Did you enjoy your bath, chuck?’
‘I did thanks. I feel all relaxed now. It’s been a long and busy day. Where are the men?’
‘They’ve just popped out in Jimmy’s car for a few minutes to look at a house on Woodlands Road. It’s going up for sale as the owners have passed away and the family want to sell it. None of the family wants to live in it as it’s too big and it needs a lot of updating to make it modern again. The couple that lived there had six children. One son they lost in the war, another now lives in Australia, so it makes sense to get rid of it and split the money from the sale. Johnny and Jimmy won’t be looking inside it tonight but they just wanted to have a nosy round the grounds and to see what they can through the windows. It’s bigger than anything they’ve taken on before, but the pair of them went out of here all excited, so we’re waiting for the verdict.’
Cathy frowned. ‘Well what will they do with it if it’s too big for one family?’
‘No idea, love,’ Millie said. ‘They’ve just sprung it on us. They met one of the sons in the off-licence earlier when they went to get our drinks, and knowing they’re in the trade, he told them about it. A lot of big houses get divided up into flats now, so that might be an option. Anyway, they won’t be long, so we’ll find out soon enough.’
‘What was the house like then?’ Alice asked, once they were all settled again.
‘Not bad,’ Jimmy said. ‘We’d have our work cut out if we bought it, but there’s a lot of scope there. Plenty of upstairs windows, which means lots of bedrooms, and nice big rooms downstairs. There’s loads of garden and a big driveway. Would make a nice block of flats, or a doctors’ or dentists’ surgery. Or even a nice private nursery for kiddies. Of course the other option is a big family home, like it’s always been, but it’d be costly to run if you were also supporting a big family to fill it. The couple that owned it were teachers – well he was a headmaster and she taught piano and gave singing lessons from the house. They also had a couple of injured ex-soldiers lodging during the war. They lived a comfortable lifestyle in spite of having a big family. But as the son we spoke to told us, none of them could afford to keep it running and buy out their siblings’ shares as well. So it’s got to be sold. We’ll have a think about it and do some figures as soon as we are given a price. Then it’s a case of seeing the bank manager.’
Cathy’s ears had pricked up at the mention of a doctors’ surgery. She wondered if the house would be suitable for the venture that Jean, Karen and Ellie had talked about. It was certainly worth mentioning to them tomorrow when she went into work. Mind you, none of them had money to even think about that at the moment, but still. She looked across at her mam, who’d gone a bit quiet, and wondered why. Maybe worrying about the amount of money the pair would need to borrow for the house purchase and the work needed on it. Mam had just got used to not having to scrimp and scrape every day. Ah well, Johnny and Jimmy seemed to have good business heads on them and must know what they were doing.
Maria shook her head as Eloisa slunk out of the caravan. She watched as her daughter ran into Ronnie’s outstretched arms. The lad pulled her close for a kiss and squeezed her backside.
‘Eloisa!’ Maria called. ‘Quick as you can with those flyers, girl. When you get back I want you in here, helping me. No sloping off.’ She tutted as Eloisa rolled her eyes and grabbed Ronnie by the hand. The pair hurried away, swinging the bag of flyers between them.
Maria went back indoors and poured a coffee from the pot on the stove. She sat down as Luca hurried into the kitchen, his dark hair, now flecked with silver, glistening from his recent shower.
‘Has she gone?’ He helped himself to coffee and leaned against the sink to drink it.
‘Yes, thank the Lord.’
‘Did you tell her one flyer on each tree and lamp-post around the recreation ground, and to hand the others out to as many people as she could?’
‘Of course. She’s not completely useless, you know.’
‘Really?’ Luca raised an eyebrow. ‘She does a good job of pretending she is. It’s time she settled down, found a nice lad. Ronnie’s not the brightest button in the box, but he’s better than nothing. She seems to like him and he her.’
Maria frowned and shook her head. ‘Ronnie’s not the one for my Eloisa.’ She sighed and muttered under her breath. ‘Such a pity it didn’t work out for her and your son.’
Luca heard her mutterings and shook his head. ‘Well Gianni definitely wasn’t the one. Oil and water, those two. Thank God for Cathy. That girl’s been the making of my boy.’ He drained his cup and reached for his jacket. ‘Right, I’m off. The more we get done today, the better. I want a good opening day tomorrow. The nice weather looks like it is holding; should be a great weekend.’
Luca strolled around the recreation ground, checking the various rides and making sure the operators and hired hands knew which duties they were assigned to. He nodded at Lenny, who was busy erecting the Ferris wheel with his gang of helpers.
‘You okay, Len?’ he called as the burly Cockney wiped his sweaty brow with the hem of his baggy T-shirt and leaned against the framework of the wheel.
‘Not bad, boss, but we really could use some extra hands.’
Luca nodded. ‘Hopefully the flyers Eloisa’s handing out will bring in some enquiries.’ He and Maria had sat up late, adding a few words to the printed flyers asking for casual labourers. ‘We can but hope.’
‘Where’s Ronnie?’ Lenny asked.
‘With Eloisa. I’ll send him to you as soon as they get back.’
‘Not that he’s much use,’ Lenny said. ‘But he’s better than nowt.’
Luca laughed and made his way to the wall of death ride where Gianni, Luca’s younger brother Marco and a couple of the hands were almost finished. Luca felt a familiar thrill of anticipation course through his veins at the thought of the first test ride. No matter how many times he did it, the feeling never left him.
‘Hey, Dad,’ Gianni called from the top of the barrel. ‘You ready to roll?’
Luca smiled. He could see in his son’s twinkling brown eyes that he felt the same.
‘Maria’s waving at me,’ he called back. ‘Give me two minutes while I see what she wants.’
Alice was up early on the Monday morning, long before anyone else woke up. She sat at the table in the little back dining room, her hands wrapped around a mug of tea. She was on early shift at the hospital today and so was Cathy. But she needed half an hour on her own to get her thoughts in order. Johnny had talked excitedly into the night after their guests had left and they’d gone up to bed. He was really keen to buy the house and she would support him as much as she could.
But if he and Jimmy used their homes as collateral against the purchase, she was worried. She’d been in danger of losing her home in times past and didn’t think she could deal with all that worry again. And not only that, when it had been mentioned that ex-soldiers had lodged there her stomach had flipped over. Jack had taken lodgings after his wartime injury, in a big house on Woodlands Road. What’s the betting it was the same one? But then again, why would that matter? He was out of her life now and it was of no consequence. All the same, it had made her feel a bit strange for a while afterwards. She looked up as Cathy hurried into the room, fastening up the buttons of her blue uniform dress.
‘Sit down, love, and have a cuppa,’ Alice said.
‘Thanks, Mam. It’ll have to be a quickie. I need to get Lucy up and ready to take to Granny Lomax’s. I’ll make a couple of slices of toast and then she can eat some on the walk round. Granny will give her a proper breakfast when we get there.’
Johnny hurried downstairs followed by the kids, who were all talking at once – well, Rosie and Sandra were.
‘Put some extra bread on the grill, Cathy. Sandra, make sure Rodney has his tie and shoelaces fastened properly before you drop him off at school,’ Alice instructed above the noise. ‘Sit down, son; I’ll get you some cornflakes.’
‘I’ll drop Roddy off,’ Johnny offered as Sandra smiled secretly.
‘What you smiling at?’ Rosie asked loudly, sitting down at the table.
‘Tell you later,’ Sandra whispered, kicking Rosie’s shins under the table and helping herself to toast from the plate Cathy brought through.
‘Save a piece for Lucy,’ Cathy called as she ran up the stairs to get her little daughter ready.
Leaving her brood eating breakfast, Alice followed Cathy up the stairs and dashed into the bathroom. She took a deep breath, brushed her hair, pinning it up into her usual French pleat, and pulled on her pale-green uniform dress that was hanging behind the door. She opened her compact and dabbed Crème Puff powder on her face. A slick of lippy and she was ready.
Cathy was leading Lucy downstairs as Alice dashed out of the bathroom. ‘Are we ready?’
‘Just about,’ Cathy replied. ‘I’ll get her a quick drink of orange juice and her toast.’ She and Alice said goodbye to Johnny and the kids and left with Lucy.
‘She always is,’ Granny said, a warm smile lighting up her lined face. She put her hand to her mouth and coughed violently, her shoulders shaking. ‘Oh, dearie me.’ She patted her chest and caught her breath. ‘George next door is having his grandson today, so they can play nicely in the garden together. See you both later. Don’t work too hard.’
‘We’ll try not to,’ Cathy said. ‘I’ll stay at Mam’s again tonight so that you can get a full night’s sleep and not have Lucy waking you too early.
Granny nodded. ‘Okay, love. I’d be worried about disturbing you both as well.’
They said their goodbyes, Lucy waving until Cathy and Alice turned the corner.
‘Granny looked a bit pale today, don’t you think?’ Cathy said. ‘Hope she’s okay.’
‘Probably a bit tired,’ Alice said, ‘But yes, she was a bit paler than usual. Might have had a rough night with that cough. It’s still troubling her. She was coughing at Easter and it’s nearly July now. Has she seen a doctor, do you know?’
Cathy shrugged as they reached the bus stop. ‘I doubt it. She said it’s nothing that a bottle from the chemist won’t get rid of. But I don’t like the sound of it and I wonder just how many bottles from the chemist she’s taken now. I’ll speak to her later when I go back to pick up Lucy. Might be a good idea to see if Ben’s mother will look after Lucy for a while so that Granny can get herself right. I’ll nip round tonight and see if she’s got a free child-minding place.’ She stuck out her hand as the bus approached their stop.
Sandra hung back on Lark Lane as Rosie ran on ahead and caught up with her friend. She waited until the pair were far enough in front not to notice her and then ducked down a nearby alleyway. With Johnny taking Rodney to school, she could hang around and wait for Ben. He was always late; by the time he’d finished his paper round and gone back home for his breakfast, he never had much time. She took a peep around the corner and saw him coming out of the top of Bickerton Street. Good, he was on his own. She stepped from the alleyway and bent down to fiddle with her shoe as he drew alongside her.