The Orphan Thief

by Glynis Peters

  ‘Do you have brothers or sisters, John?’ Ruby asked, finding a way for them to remain looking at each other.

  ‘I have a sister. Older by two years. She’s working in Halifax to help build ships. Quite different to the typing job she used to have.’

  ‘Oh, that’s interesting,’ said Helen and she shifted forward in her seat. ‘My sister-in-law lives in Halifax. I didn’t realise they built ships there. It’s more wool factories – or was.’

  ‘Ah, this is Halifax in Canada. Nova Scotia, to be precise. Our aunt Mary lives there, and Marsha is staying with her. According to her letters, she’s doing well, although the work is tough.’

  ‘Well, if she ever moves into making chocolate, let me know and I’ll visit her,’ said Beatty as she popped another slice into her mouth.

  John laughed. ‘I’ll remember to let you know, Beatty.’

  ‘Fred, I have a bottle of Scotch to be shared, if you’ll join me. You ladies too, if you enjoy a glass. I picked it up in Edinburgh during my last posting.’ John rose to his feet and went into the hallway. Ruby followed. His greatcoat hung at the end of the coat hooks, and it surprised Ruby she hadn’t seen it when she’d first arrived home.

  ‘It’s good to see you, Ruby. How are you doing?’

  ‘Coming to terms with what’s happened, and rethinking what I want to do now.’

  ‘Whatever you do, it will be for others. You have a good heart, Ruby Shadwell.’ To her surprise, John leaned forward and kissed her cheek. He stepped back, lifted a bottle from his pocket and waggled it in front of her. ‘Best go and soothe the guard dog. Fred’s watching us like a hawk,’ he said and walked back to the others.

  Ruby stood for a moment and placed her hand on her cheek. John had filled her heart with happiness, and made the day more enjoyable. A day she’d wanted to forget, but now would remember for ever.

  The following morning Fred nursed his head from too many celebratory tots. The smell of bacon wafted around the house and Ruby enjoyed a slice, accompanied by an egg from the now steady supply from their hens.

  ‘I meant to say. Young Tommy was outside when I got home from work last night. Trying to sell another trinket of his mother’s. The aunt wants money again, although he looked underfed. He’d been to the shop and he took it rather badly to hear I’m no longer trading. I did shout for him to come and see me today, but he ignored me.’

  Beatty placed a plate of food in front of Fred, who immediately pushed it away.

  Ruby scraped the contents onto her own plate and carried on eating. ‘Waste not, want not,’ she said.

  ‘Don’t talk with your mouth full,’ Fred retorted and left the room.

  Beatty and Ruby exchanged an amused giggle.

  ‘Poor Fred – one too many last night,’ Beatty said. ‘Your friend John soon won him over. Nice young man.’

  ‘He’ll be fine, and yes, John is good company. It’s Tommy I’m worried about. He looks worse than last time you saw him.’

  Beatty cleared the plates but said nothing, and Ruby readied herself for work.

  ‘Maybe he’ll turn up today, but don’t worry about the likes of Tommy; he’s a tough little button – a street child from London. I met a few when I visited my husband’s family. They were a tough crew. Hearts as big as plates, but fought each other and the world on a daily basis,’ Beatty said.

  ‘I’m sure you’re right. Only I keep thinking about the life my brother enjoyed at that age, and it wasn’t as tough.’

  Beatty wiped down the table as Ruby went to the door. ‘Your brother didn’t have to survive the war, Ruby. I know that sounds callous, but you understand what I mean, and the way I mean it.’

  Ruby nodded. Beatty was right. Her brother might well be dead and a victim of the war, but Tommy was every bit a victim too. She made up her mind to track down his mother and offer her support in some way.

  She also had something else to consider – getting a new job, rather than voluntary work. She’d applied for many, but always the same response sent her into raging rants. This one was the latest, and had the same effect. She held the letter, waving it around, reciting each word over and over until they blurred into one.

  ‘According to this, I’m not old enough for a lot of the work and my medical condition prevents them from allowing me to enter other types suited for those of my age. What is it with people reminding me I’m only a seventeen-year-old and a cripple, Beatty? I’m willing, hard-working and able. More able than some I know!’ Ruby slammed the letter onto the table, and Beatty remained standing at the other end with her hands clasped together under her ample bosom.

  ‘Stop calling yourself a cripple, and I know you’re not a girl to sit around and mope, so why start now? Fate has paved a way for you to rethink what you might like to do next. How about asking at the factories for work? They’re working flat out to get orders completed. Age shouldn’t be a problem there. Speak with Helen.’

  ‘I might. Thanks for listening, Beatty.’

  ‘When you come back we’ll measure up for a skirt from your birthday material Helen gave you. Time you had a treat. Just don’t be so hard on yourself.’

  Walking around the city, Ruby marvelled at how much work had gone into clearing the destroyed buildings. Word was out that plans for a new town centre were back on the table; Ruby looked forward to seeing it fresh and new again, but knew it would be years before all signs of the destruction would be erased.

  Planes continued to haunt them with their flights overhead, but once the sirens sounded the all-clear the residents of the city returned to their daily tasks. Conversations in the food queues were often about persuading family and friends to return here to live, but several families reported they’d settled down in new towns. Volunteers visiting the city settled into temporary accommodation and new friendships blossomed. Accents from around the country – and world – were heard on every corner and Ruby loved to listen. She entertained Fred and Beatty with attempts to copy some of them.

  Today, she heard the familiar accent of Tommy and went to walk towards him but stopped when she saw him chatting with a couple standing beside an empty shop. The man gave frequent nods, whilst the woman stood quietly to one side. As she moved her head, Ruby noticed a gash running down the side of her jawline. The woman tugged at the edge of her headscarf every now and then, in an attempt to hide it. Scars will be worn by many around the country, and a headscarf won’t ever cover some, Ruby thought to herself, and was grateful she’d not suffered such a nasty injury. She hesitated about approaching them to say hello when Tommy drooped his shoulders and looked to the floor. The man appeared animated and clenched his jaw as he spoke to Tommy. No doubt the boy had got himself into bother again, and it was not the right time for her to interrupt, so she turned around and walked away. She had other things to attend to that morning; it was time to face the new path Beatty spoke about, and Ruby made up her mind to pay Helen a visit.

  The queues to her office were not as long as they once were, thanks to various organisations taking up the reins and handling the multiple problems facing the residents. Mulling over where she might like to work whilst waiting for her turn, Ruby chose to go for a more physical post than office work – creating something to help the city get back on its feet.

  ‘Ruby, what a lovely surprise! What can I do for you – or is this a social visit?’ Helen said and moved from her desk to give Ruby a hug.

  ‘I’m here because another letter tells me I am a young cripple. I feel useless, Helen.’

  Ruby put the letter on Helen’s desk, dropped into a chair and gave a self-pitying sigh.

  ‘Oh, Ruby, I’m that sorry. What a disappointment for you.’

  ‘I wondered if you’d help me find work in one of the factories. I need to feel useful. I help on the park allotments but it doesn’t fill the day. I miss the shop. Fred and Beatty suggest I reopen, but I’m not ready. I want to earn a living though. They send their love by the way – Fred and Beatty.’

  Helen
pushed Ruby’s letter to one side and smiled.

  Ruby grinned. ‘Sounds right, doesn’t it – their names together. If it wasn’t for the war, they’d never have met. They are happy in their daily lives and I love how we’ve got a home together. Providing Hitler leaves us alone, that is. Do you think there’ll be work for me, Helen? It stops me thinking when I’m busy.’

  Helen jotted down a few words on a scrap of paper and put it to one side.

  ‘Come back in a couple of days, Ruby. I’ll ask about for you. Or, if I hear anything, I’ll drop by after work. In the meantime, think about setting up the business again. You can afford to do it, and I’m surprised you haven’t.’

  ‘I do think about it, but it broke my heart losing the shop, and I’m not sure I’m ready to start again. And is it useful to the war effort? That’s something I ask myself all the time now.’

  ‘Listen to me,’ said Helen. ‘There’s a need. People are struggling to get back to normal. Life will never be the same for any of us, but if there’s a way they can buy on the cheap and rebuild a home, then I consider that important war work.’

  CHAPTER 16

  ‘’Ello, Rubes. Ow you doin’?’

  Tommy’s voice interrupted her thoughts of John as she turned into Spon Street. He sat on the concrete column as before, and swung his legs against it, banging his worn-out shoes.

  ‘Tommy – great to see you again. I saw you with your parents this morning; I didn’t realise your dad was home,’ Ruby said and waved to the boy.

  Tommy scratched his head and Ruby immediately thought of headlice. Her hand went to her own head and she struggled to refrain from scratching her own scalp.

  ‘Stop scratching; you’ll make your head sore,’ she said.

  ‘I ain’t itchin’. I was thinkin’. Ah, you saw me in town,’ Tommy said and grinned back a toothless smile.

  ‘Have you lost another tooth, Tommy Jenkins?’ Ruby teased. Seeing Tommy’s smile lifted the dull mood she’d carried home with her.

  Tommy poked his tongue through the gap in his teeth.

  ‘Fred’s round the back if you wanted to speak with him,’ Ruby said.

  ‘Nah, already seen ’im, gave ’im a clock t’fix for me uncle. Fred’s good at fixin’ stuff. And I came to see you. I went to the park, but they said you ain’t working there no more. What you doin’ now?’

  Ruby shrugged but said nothing.

  ‘I’ve found you a shop,’ Tommy said and jumped down from his concrete seat and offered her another toothless grin.

  ‘You’ve what?’ Ruby said and laughed.

  ‘Oi, I ain’t kiddin’. Me uncle … well, ’e knows a bloke hoo knows anover bloke and ’e’s lookin’ to rent it out. Me uncle knocked ’im right down wiv the price, and when I told the bloke ’bout your place ’e dropped it more. I got the keys for you to have a butcher’s.’

  Tommy pulled out a set of keys and jangled them in front of Ruby. She stared at him in disbelief. Like her, Tommy appeared older than his years. How could a little ragamuffin think of such a thing?

  ‘What do I need a shop for? I had one, but there’s no call for that sort of thing now. It’s not helping the war effort either.’

  She watched, amused, as Tommy stood with his feet apart and hands on his hips. His stick legs hung from beneath his shorts. Her heart went out to him; he tried so hard to make her happy.

  ‘Why would you go to such an effort for me, Tommy?’ Ruby asked and crouched down to his level.

  He took his hands from his hips and shoved them into his shorts pockets. ‘Why not? You’re me friend an’ I wanna ’elp.’

  Ruby was touched by his thoughtfulness.

  ‘I’m applying for a job in a factory, Tommy, but it was very kind of you to think of me.’ She looked at his crestfallen face and quickly added, ‘Clever too. Getting the price reduced. You’ll make a great businessman when you’re older.’

  Tommy jangled the keys. ‘Just take a look. Me uncle will be ever so disappointed if you ain’t even looked inside,’ he pleaded.

  There was something about his voice, strained with a hint of desperation, that caused Ruby to refrain from saying no again. She flicked the keys with her finger and watched them swing in the air. Tommy slipped them from his hand and hooked them on the end of her finger.

  ‘Go on, you know you want a nosey.’

  He was right. Curiosity had got the better of her and Ruby clutched the keys in her hand.

  ‘You’re wrong, you know. ’Bout not bein’ war thingy, your old shop. It ’elped loads of people – ’elped me.’

  Ruby said nothing as they stepped into Hill Street, on the corner of Bond Street, and faced the shop front she’d seen Tommy outside that morning.

  ‘Good spot,’ Tommy said and held out his hand for the key. Ruby stood back and looked at the double windows either side of the door. A pang of nostalgia for Shadwell’s Buy and Sell washed over her and, for a second, she gave in to imagining the items she’d once collected, on show in the window. When the door swung open she saw ready-built shelving of different levels and her imagination soared. Tommy moved to the back of the shop and opened one of the two doors. Ruby followed and they walked into another room of equal size to the first, with wooden rails propped against one wall. The third room was only slightly smaller and a tatty desk and filing cabinet shared its space: an office. Beside that and in a small hallway was a door marked WC. Upstairs was one bedroom, a bathroom and kitchenette, with a shabby sofa pushed under a window – a large, bright and airy living space.

  ‘It’s grand, ain’t it?’ Tommy said, more a statement than a question.

  Ruby didn’t argue. She couldn’t. Tommy was right; it was grand. Not in the sense of luxurious, but she knew Tommy meant grand as in suitable.

  ‘It’s ideal,’ she said. They went back into the main shop area and Ruby fought excitement – trying to suppress it over her need to carry out war work.

  ‘When this war is over, if it is still empty, I might consider this for –’

  ‘When will that be, Rubes? When will the war be over?’

  Tommy stood in front of her with his arms crossed and one leg draped over the other as he tried to look stern.

  ‘Stop trying to make me do something I can’t do any more, you monkey. There’s more important things –’

  Tommy gave an exaggerated yawn, and waved his hand over his mouth. ‘Me uncle said it’s important. Me auntie told him about you.’

  ‘It’s difficult, Tommy.’

  ‘It’s difficult, Tommy,’ Tommy repeated, his voice sneering and childish.

  ‘Stop it. Lock up and return the key,’ Ruby said. Unsettled by the feeling the property had instilled in her, she snapped at Tommy. She laid the blame on his shoulders, then felt foolish for allowing a child to invoke such emotions over an empty shop.

  She went to the door and opened it, ushering Tommy outside. ‘Keys,’ she demanded and held out her hand.

  ‘I’ll do it,’ Tommy said, and turned the key inside the lock.

  ‘I know you’re disappointed, Tommy, and I appreciate the thought.’

  ‘Just go away,’ Tommy said and began walking away.

  ‘Tommy! Don’t sulk. Tell your uncle I appreciate the thought.’

  ‘Ain’t bovvered. See you around.’

  The hostility in Tommy’s voice, despite his age, startled Ruby and she tugged at his arm. He tried to shake her off, but she held firm – not tight, but enough to prevent him from running from her.

  ‘I’m going home, Tommy. Come with me. Don’t be angry with me. You’re a little boy – don’t worry about me; worry about something else. Not a silly grown-up.’

  Tommy shrugged off her arm. ‘I ’ate you! You don’t wanna ’elp people. Only yourself. You’ve made Fred sad, didya know?’

  Stunned by his outburst, Ruby stood stock still and stared at him. His grubby face was scarlet and a white line appeared across the top of his lip where he pinched them together so tight.

  S
he knelt down beside him. ‘What do you mean, I’ve made Fred sad? Why are you so angry with me, Tommy? It’s only a shop.’

  Winding the keys around in his hands, Tommy stared at the ground, his rage subsiding. For a small child, he had many adult traits and Ruby wondered again what his home life must be like. Not pleasant if he was constantly wanting to be with her or Fred. He was a lonely child caught up in a violent war, afraid and confused.

  ‘Listen. Let’s go to mine and speak with Fred. Let him tell me why he’s upset, and we will talk about this place. Maybe someone else might be interested.’

  ‘It’s only for you, me uncle said.’ Tommy’s voice although calmer, faltered. Ruby could see he struggled not to cry.

  ‘We’ll talk about it at mine,’ Ruby repeated and held out her hand.

  ‘Ain’t a baby. ’old your own ’and,’ Tommy said and headed back in the direction they’d come.

  A bemused Ruby followed.

  Back at Garden Cottage, she called Fred in from the garden.

  ‘Ruddy weather. No rain for weeks. Hard as nails. Hello again, young Tommy,’ Fred said as he washed his hands.

  ‘We need a chat, Fred. Tommy here,’ she said and ruffled Tommy’s hair, but was rewarded with a grunt, ‘got a bit upset earlier and said I’ve made you sad.’ Ruby pulled out a chair from under the table. ‘Sit down and tell me why. He also said I only think about myself. And at the start of our time together that was most definitely not true. However, on the way home I was given the silent treatment and had time to think, and I feel Tommy might be right. I’ve been selfish.’ Ruby gave Tommy a smile. He looked to the floor, his mouth downturned.

  ‘Made me sad?’ Fred said and looked at Tommy.

  ‘Apparently so,’ Ruby replied.

  ‘’e ain’t gonna tell you, but I will,’ blurted out Tommy.

  Ruby pulled out a chair for him to sit on. She called Beatty from upstairs, where she was changing bed linen, and Ruby sat down herself.

  ‘We will get this cleared up, once and for all. Beatty, please join us. There is a bit of a to do going on, and I’m in trouble with Tommy,’ she said.