by Pam Howes
Jack tugged at his little beard and reread the bit added and handwritten in ink at the bottom of the flyer. The fair was looking for casual labourers to report for duty no later than tomorrow. He wondered what had happened between Cathy and the lad. Had they ended up together? There was no one he could ask. Alice wouldn’t have had reason to tell him, and he’d lost contact with the few mates he’d had before his arrest. He’d done a bit of fairground work in his teens before he’d started training as a motor mechanic and before the war had begun.
Back in New Brighton, helping to man the waltzers, he’d had a great time. There were always screaming girls who’d begged him to stand on the little pivoting cars and give them an extra spin. It often guaranteed him an easy lay at the end of the night. He grinned as he felt his balls tingle at the pleasant but long-ago memory. He’d give it a shot. Why not? They might even provide accommodation on a short-term basis and there was always half-decent grub to be had at a fairground, even if it was only hot dogs and fried onions. ‘Time to perfect that Scottish accent, Jack,’ he muttered, shoved the flyer back into his jacket pocket, and then made his way to the swimming baths.
Cathy waited anxiously in the front bedroom, watching from the window, waiting for the ambulance to arrive outside her granny’s bungalow. She’d called round on her way to her early shift to see how she was and, getting no response to her knock on the door, had let herself in with the key she kept in her handbag. She’d found Granny, still in bed and struggling for breath. After reassuring her she’d stay with her, Cathy immediately phoned for an ambulance and then called the ward to let them know what was happening and that she’d be in a bit later today. She’d hurriedly packed a few of Granny’s nighties in an overnight bag, along with some underwear, toiletries and a towel. She’d helped Granny to the bathroom and then had her sit on a chair by the bed with her dressing gown and slippers on, ready for her short journey to the Liverpool Royal.
‘It’s here, Gran,’ Cathy announced as the ambulance pulled up. ‘Is there anything else you want to take in with you?’
Granny shook her head. ‘I can’t think right now,’ she wheezed. ‘You look after my purse and the bungalow, love. If I don’t come back here there’s a letter for you in the bureau in the hall.’
‘Granny, don’t say that. Of course you’ll be coming back,’ Cathy said, her eyes filling. ‘I’ll go and let the attendants in.’ She dashed to the door, fighting back tears, and explained to the two men what the problem was.
They carried in a stretcher and a small tank of oxygen and laid them on the bed. They checked Granny’s temperature, pulse and blood pressure and gave her some oxygen to stabilise her breathing before making her comfortable on the stretcher.
‘Are you coming with us, Nurse?’ the taller of the two men asked.
‘Yes.’ Cathy nodded. ‘I was on my way in to work anyway. Thanks, it’ll save me getting the bus and I can stay with her until she settles in.’
Cathy held her granny’s frail hand as the ambulance sped towards the city. Granny’s eyes were closed and her colour pale, her lips tinged with blue. Cathy’s heart filled with love for the woman who’d always been by her side and supported her, no matter what. The thought of losing her was more than she could bear. She pushed the thought away and concentrated on thinking positively.
Granny Lomax was admitted to the women’s medical ward and Cathy stayed with her until she was certain she was settled. Halfway through the morning, with her granny sleeping and Sister’s reassurance she would call and let her know immediately if there was any change for the worse, she made her way over to Maternity with a heavy heart. The doctor would be in later to see Granny and the complete results of her recent X-ray and other tests that had been done at the same time would be with him.
Karen greeted her as she hung up her coat and hat in the ward cloakroom and fastened her apron around her waist. ‘Sorry to hear about your gran, Cathy. Sister told us earlier why you’d be late in today.’
‘Thanks. I’m afraid it’s not looking good. But I’m trying to be positive. It’s not easy though.’
Ellie popped her head around the cloakroom door. ‘How is she?’
‘Sleeping when I left her. She’s on oxygen. Not much else I can do down there. I might as well as be up here working to take my mind off things.’
‘We’re a bit quiet this morning,’ Ellie said. ‘No current labourers, but we’ve got two going home and who knows what else the day will bring.’
‘Right, well let’s get to it,’ Cathy said. ‘Otherwise it’ll be dinnertime and I won’t have done a stroke of work.’
Jack fastened the leather belt around his waist. The faded denims were a bit on the snug side like the Teddy Boys wore, but didn’t feel too bad. Not really his style but beggars couldn’t be choosers and the red satin shirt looked good with them. Black Cuban-heeled boots and a leather flying jacket in dark brown finished the outfit. He felt clean for the first times in ages. He combed his hair into an elaborate quiff with a neat DA at the back to look the part. It was a bit longer than was customary for Teds, but it would do. It had been a good haul at the baths. He’d spotted the Ted and followed his movements until he was sure he was out of the way. On top of the diving board and without his Buddy Holly-style specs the lad was blind as a bat, and totally unaware that his changing cubicle was in the process of being robbed. On his way back from the chippy last night, washing left out on a line had provided a couple of T-shirts, socks and pairs of Y-fronts. With his new look he reckoned he could pass for half his age and was planning to knock at least ten years off his forty-three if asked. He’d spent last night reading aloud from a binned newspaper he’d found, trying out his new accent. It was softer than his cellmate Andy’s, so he’d decided to say he was from Edinburgh. He’d worked with a guy from that neck of the woods at Garston bottle-washing plant not long after leaving school, before the fairground job, and reckoned he sounded similar.
He packed his few belongings into his rucksack and set off for a little café that was close to the recreation ground. A mug of strong tea and a couple of slices of toast should set him up nicely for the morning.
Eloisa stared at the man who was eyeballing her from across the recreation ground. He half-smiled and walked towards her. ‘Can I help you?’ she asked.
‘Err, aye. Is the boss around?’
‘Luca,’ she yelled. ‘Man wants to see you.’ She pointed in the direction of the wall of death ride and turned her attention back to setting up her hook-a-duck stall. She glanced back over her shoulder. He was still staring at her. She liked his leather flying jacket and slightly long hair. He looked older than her, hard to tell by how much though, but there was something almost attractive about him. She wondered if he’d come about a job. He had a look of the scruffy tramp she’d thrust a flyer at yesterday, more as a joke than anything because the likes of him would never get a job with Romano’s. But it couldn’t be the tramp, because this guy was clean and reasonably well-dressed. She watched as he spoke to her stepfather and saw Luca gesturing to explain things. Then he pointed to Lenny over by the Ferris wheel and the man walked across. He shook Lenny’s hand and Lenny hollered for Ronnie, who stopped what he was doing and ran over to them.
Jack couldn’t believe his luck as the lad Ronnie took him to the hired hands’ caravan. He stashed his bag away in an overhead cupboard and sat down on the bench seat that Ronnie told him would convert to his bed later. A sleeping bag, also in the cupboard, was for him to use. He couldn’t wait to sleep on something comfy and clean after the flea-ridden straw-filled sacks.
‘Follow me,’ Ronnie said. ‘Maria will be doing bacon butties and coffee in a minute for our break.’
‘Maria?’
‘Yeah. The boss’s missus.’
‘Right.’ Jack nodded and followed him across the field to the largest caravan. It was a big fancy silver affair and a table was set up outside, laden with plates of food and pots of coffee.
Maria was officia
ting, pouring coffee into mugs and yelling for the girl with the long hair he’d seen earlier to get a move on with the milk. She came out of the caravan carrying a large jug and set it down on the table. Ronnie sat down on the ground and the girl flopped down beside him.
‘Who’s your friend?’ She nodded towards Jack, lowering her lashes.
‘Dougie,’ Jack said before Ronnie could respond. He offered her his hand. ‘Dougie Taylor, at your service.’ He’d nicked the name of the pal from Garston bottle-washing plant as well as his accent. She took his hand and he held it for longer than necessary, giving a gentle squeeze. He smirked as she pulled it back and blushed slightly. ‘And you are?’
‘Eloisa.’
‘She’s Maria’s daughter,’ Ronnie said. ‘The boss’s stepdaughter.’
‘Pleased to meet you, Eloisa,’ Jack said. ‘I think I’m going to like working here. Until the fair moves on, of course.’
‘Are you just passing through?’ Ronnie asked.
‘Aye. Lost my job up in Edinburgh. Thought I’d take a bit of a trip, do some exploring. But a body needs to eat.’ He smiled up at Maria as she held out a plate, and helped himself to a bacon butty. Yes, he was going to like working here, very much indeed.
At dinner break in the staff canteen, Cathy told Ellie the news about Jack. ‘Please don’t worry though. The police are certain he’s not in Liverpool. I’m just letting you know so that you don’t take any chances at night and walk alone in the grounds.’
‘Flipping heck,’ Karen said as Ellie’s cheeks paled. ‘We’ll make sure none of us are alone. I guess he wouldn’t chance coming round here again, but we’ll make doubly sure we’re extra careful, especially on nights.’
Ellie nodded. ‘Thanks for the warning, Cathy. I hope he doesn’t show up at your home.’
‘If he does he’ll have Johnny to contend with and we’ve to notify the police right away if we see or hear from him.’
Karen got to her feet. ‘I suppose we’d better get back on the ward. I’ve never known it so quiet. You just wait though – calm before the storm. September and early October will be madly busy. All the Christmas and New Year celebration babies will be arriving.’
As they hurried back down the long main corridor, Cathy spotted a familiar figure dashing towards them. ‘Davy,’ she greeted him as he drew level. His blue eyes looked anxious and his hair stood on end as though he’d been running his fingers through it.
‘Cathy, good to see you’re on duty,’ he gasped. ‘I got a call from my mam at work. She’d gone to pick Jonathon up to take him to school and Debs was having pains. So when Mam got back to ours they waited a while until she was sure it wasn’t wind or something and then Mam called an ambulance, and she is being brought in.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Excuse me gabbling. Don’t know if she’s here yet, but the baby’s on the way. She’ll be so glad to see you. Not sure what to do with myself. Pace the corridor like you see men do in films, smoke a fag, or what?’
Karen laughed. ‘You dads! Come on, calm down and let’s get up to the ward and see if Deb’s has been admitted yet. We can make you a strong brew at least.’
‘Thanks, Karen.’ Davy looked relieved and followed them up the two flights of stairs.
‘Just wait here,’ Cathy instructed Davy as they reached the ward entrance hall, ‘take a seat and I’ll go and find out what’s happening.’
‘And I’ll make you that promised brew,’ Karen told him.
Cathy spotted Debbie right away near the bottom of the ward. Her auburn hair, piled up on top of her head, was so distinctive that she couldn’t miss her. Her cheeks were flushed and she sighed with relief as Cathy stood beside her bed.
‘Thank goodness you’re here. I spoke to your mam earlier and she said you’d brought Granny Lomax in. I’m really sorry she’s so poorly, Cathy.’
Cathy took Debbie’s hand and squeezed it. ‘Thanks, Debs. She was comfortable when I left her on the ward and there’s been no further news. I’ll pop in and see her again after my shift finishes. So, anyway, how are you doing? Has someone examined you?’
Debbie nodded. ‘Yes and I’m six centimetres dilated. So I guess I’m over halfway there. Ouch—’ She stopped and took a deep breath and then panted as another contraction washed over her. ‘Oooh, funny how you remember what to do when it’s not your first. I’m wondering if Davy’s mam got in touch with him at work yet.’
Cathy laughed. ‘She did. He’s in the corridor at the top of the ward being looked after by Karen, he’s having a cuppa.’ She checked her fob watch. ‘Fifteen minutes to visiting time. I’m going to pull your curtains round the bed and bring him down. The way you’re doing, you might be in the delivery suite by the time visiting is halfway through and it would be a shame to miss out. Have you been shaved and given an enema?’
‘I’m shaved but Sister said it was too late for an enema and I have been to the toilet already. I thought the pains were my tummy at first, giving me a bit of gyp, until they didn’t go away and Davy’s mam took charge and phoned for an ambulance.’ Debbie’s face screwed up and she took a deep breath before continuing. ‘Oh good, I’m glad Davy’s here. Thank you. I need to tell him that a letter arrived from the building society, after he went to work this morning. We’ve got our mortgage through. We can now buy Gianni’s house. What a great day this will be for all of us. New baby and— Aghhhhh!’ She reached for Cathy’s hand and squeezed hard as another contraction racked her body. ‘Will you be here to deliver it, Cath? It could be ages yet.’
‘I hope so.’ Cathy pulled the pink-and-blue striped curtains and wiped Debbie’s face with a damp flannel from the top of her locker. ‘It’s great news about the house. Now let me go and get Davy.’ She ran back to the top of the ward, where Davy was just finishing his cup of tea. The cup clattered back into the saucer and he jumped to his feet.
‘Is everything okay?’
‘Yes, she’s doing fine. I’ll just check with Sister that it’s okay for you to go in and see her a bit earlier.’ She retrieved the cup from his shaking hands and took it into the kitchen. Sister was finishing a phone call but looked up and beckoned her into the office.
‘Yes, Nurse Romano?’ she said, replacing the telephone receiver.
‘Is it okay if Mrs Ayres’ husband visits her now, Sister? She’ll probably be in delivery before visiting ends and he’s just dashed here from work.’
Sister nodded. ‘Just this once won’t hurt. We’re very quiet today. I think you’ll all be fighting over who delivers the Ayres’ baby, although Mrs Ayres tells me you’ve been good friends since your infant school days so I guess you’ll want to at least be in there with her.’
‘I’d love that,’ Cathy said. ‘She’s my best friend. It would be wonderful to deliver her baby today.’
‘Then take Mr Ayres down the ward now and put his mind at rest.’
Cathy thanked her and beckoned for Davy to follow her. It was only ten minutes before official visiting time anyway and most curtains were pulled around beds as mothers fed their babies or freshened up in readiness for their visitors, so it was unlikely anyone would see him being sneaked in and complain about preferential treatment.
‘Debs,’ Davy said, slipping through the gap as Cathy held the curtain to one side. ‘Are you okay, love?’ He dropped a kiss on her forehead and Cathy went to get him a chair. Debbie grimaced as another contraction washed over her.
‘Don’t worry, Davy,’ Cathy said reassuringly as she handed him a chair. ‘We’ll give her something for the pain in a few minutes. It’ll help relax her as well. Here, Debbie.’ Cathy held out the mask from the gas and air tank that was standing by the bed. ‘Take a few deep breaths on this and you’ll be floating. It just feels like you’ve had one G&T too many.’
‘Can I have a go as well,’ Davy said, laughing. ‘Floating sounds a nice place to be right now.’
Debbie shook her head and smiled. ‘You’ll be floating without any help in a minute when you hear the other good news.’
She went on to tell him about the letter from the building society. ‘New house, well new owners anyway, and a new baby on the same day. Cathy will let Gianni know if she speaks to him later. He’ll need to make sure he’s got things in place with a solicitor.’
‘He’s ringing me tonight,’ Cathy said. ‘Lots of good things to tell him now, well apart from Granny. Right, I’ll leave you two alone for a while. Press that buzzer above the bed if you need anything. One of us will come and check you in fifteen minutes.’
By four o’clock Davy had left to pick Jonathon up from his mother’s house, where he’d been taken after school, and Debbie was in the delivery suite, fully dilated and ready to give birth. Jean had come on her late shift and was the midwife in charge, with Cathy accompanying her. It was lovely to think her best friend’s baby would be one of the total of forty that she needed to help deliver before she qualified. She was well on the way to completing that figure now.
‘Okay, Debbie, now when I tell you to push I need you to put all your effort into it,’ Jean instructed. ‘As soon as that next contraction comes, give it your all, girl.’
Debbie grunted and signalled from behind the gas and air mask that she was ready to push. She let her chin fall to her chest, clutched the mask in her hand and, red in the face, pushed with all her might.
‘That’s it,’ Cathy called from the end of the delivery trolley. ‘I can see the head and it looks like it’s got hair the same colour as yours. As soon as you get another contraction, push again. In the meantime, pant just like you’ve been taught to do.’