Hot Pies on the Tram Car

by Sheila Newberry

  NINETEEN

  ‘NICE day,’ Annie observed, sounding quite friendly for once. Lilli, toying with her breakfast at the table, looked up in surprise. Annie had just arrived.

  ‘How would I know? I haven’t been outside for so long,’ she returned.

  Annie replenished Lilli’s coffee, poured a cup for herself, and to Lilli’s surprise, sat down.

  ‘Didn’t you realize Mr Brown’s not here? He’s gone on one of his assignments, as he calls ’em.’ Annie actually smiled at Lilli.

  ‘No, he’s often not here when I get up.’ Lilli was wary of this friendly approach.

  ‘Don’t you ever wonder why you sleep so sound? About that nightcap he makes you?’

  What a fool I’ve been, Lilli thought; of course. She said faintly, ‘No, surely not?’

  ‘You’re not a woman of the world, that’s obvious. Been playing you along, has he?’

  ‘What d’you mean?’

  ‘I mean, letting you think he will, when he won’t. Teasing you, like.’

  ‘Pardon?’ Lilli pronounced with a gallic intonation.

  ‘Look, he’s like a cat with a mouse. He keeps you between his paws and when you let him know you’re ready to give in, he get’s bored with the game, and goes off. That’s what he’s done today. Left me a note with the doorman. “Carry on as normal,” it said.’

  Lilli set down her cup in the saucer, making it rattle. ‘You’ve got the key – let me out!’

  ‘I’m sorry, I really am, ’cause I know you must miss your little girl – he told me that much – but I daren’t. Well, must get on. Finished? I’ll clear the table.’

  Lilli retreated to the bathroom. She was shaking. A quick wash. I must get dressed, she thought. I have to find a way of getting Annie on my side. This is my chance . . .

  She riffled through the expensive garments in the wardrobe. How could he think they would compensate for what she’d lost: her child; yes, her husband, too; her freedom; her friends in Paradise Buildings; even her job at the Golden Domes – sheer hard graft maybe, but she’d earned every penny, and her efforts had been appreciated. Philippe had led her on all right, trapped her and finally humiliated her, as he had the other night.

  She’d actually been prepared to allow him to make love to her, but he’d walked away from her with a mocking, ‘Goodnight, Lilli.’ She’d felt so ashamed, yet relieved.

  Thank goodness he did reject me, she thought now, as she found what she’d been looking for, her plain office dress. It smelled faintly of dry-cleaning fluid, but it was her own.

  When she emerged from the bedroom, she was aware that Annie approved.

  ‘That’s the first step,’ she said. ‘But you mustn’t think I’ll unlock the door. I’m a prisoner, you see, in my own way. He’s got a hold on me, too.’

  *

  There was a lull in the pie shop. Manny decided to pop upstairs to the flat to see how his wife and son were doing. He left Buck in charge. The usual diners had been and gone, but there was the likelihood of customers when the next tram car stopped outside.

  Buck put a fresh tray of mutton pies in the oven just in case and checked the mushy peas. The doorbell clanged, and a woman stepped inside. A new face, Buck thought, as she chose a seat. She called over, ‘Menu, please!’

  He came out from behind the counter and pointed out the blackboard on the wall.

  ‘Pie, peas and mash 6d; mug of tea 2d. Bread and butter ld. All right?’

  ‘All right,’ she agreed with a smile. ‘Though I prefer my tea in a cup.’

  ‘Right you are,’ he said. ‘Won’t be long.’

  She moved the condiments aside when he returned with a loaded tray. He noted the bright golden hair, the saucy little hat tilted to one side. When she looked up to thank him, he saw that her eyes were wide and china blue; her mouth a startling scarlet. He thought, she’ll leave her mark on the cup. She ain’t so young close up, neither.

  ‘Won’t you join me?’ she asked.

  He was taken completely by surprise. ‘Oh, I don’t think—’

  ‘Why not? Trade’s slack, ain’t it? My treat. Or have you had your meal already?’

  Bold as brass, like her hair, he thought, impressed. ‘Er, no,’ he admitted.

  He fetched a mug of tea, a plate of bread and butter. He still had to watch his diet. Mash would have done, but he’d served her with the last of that.

  ‘Turn the sign to closed for ten minutes,’ she encouraged him, scooping up the peas on the back of her fork. He sat down, watching the door nervously.

  After they’d eaten, the woman lit a cigarette. He declined when she offered him one.

  ‘Better not. My boss wouldn’t approve.’

  ‘Expect you guessed there’s more to it, than an invitation to lunch?’

  ‘We-ell . . .’

  ‘I have news of your friend Lilli. Interested?’

  ‘You ought to be talking to my employers. But it ain’t a good time. Missus has just had a baby. They know her more’n I do.’

  ‘You can pass it on, eh?’

  ‘I’ve seen you before,’ he remembered suddenly. ‘You came here with a note from her.’

  ‘That’s so. She’s in a spot of trouble . . . I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.’

  ‘Buck. That’ll do. And you are?’

  ‘Annie. That’ll do, too. Here’s her boss’s address. That’s where she is. She ain’t allowed letters or visitors, so don’t send the Law. She’ll swear she’s there voluntary, ’cause otherwise, it’ll lead to trouble for her family, understand?’ She handed him a piece of folded paper.

  Buck nodded. ‘Then what use is this bit of paper to anyone?’

  A rapping on the door. He saw Manny’s frowning face looking at him through the window.

  ‘Must open up!’ he told her. Customers were alighting from the tram outside.

  ‘Well, I’m off. I can’t leave Lilli on her own too long. You do what you think is best.’ She placed a shilling on the table. ‘Keep the change!’ she grinned, there being none.

  Then she ran past Manny, to catch the tram.

  Manny didn’t get a chance to remonstrate with Buck until after the shop had emptied.

  ‘What was that all about, Buck? I trust you to look after the shop, and—’

  ‘Here!’ Buck said shortly. ‘The woman had something to impart, like, in private.’

  Manny looked at the scribbled address on the scrap of paper. ‘What’s this?’

  ‘It’s where Lilli is being kept against her will. Didn’t you recognize the woman?’

  Manny shook his head, obviously disbelieving.

  ‘She’s the one what brought the letters and the rent for Lilli’s flat.’

  ‘I never saw her; Florence dealt with that. Against Lilli’s will, you say?’

  ‘Yes. You’d better get back to your wife with that. Do nothing until I can tell you what I know, later. Don’t worry, I’ll keep the shop open!’ Buck experienced a sudden pain in his gut. Even bread, he thought, is no good to me when something happens to tax me.

  *

  Florence was resting on her bed, nursing the baby. Nan had finished her work for the day but Nurse would be back to carry out her evening duties.

  ‘What’s up?’ she greeted him. She was glad that Manny was no longer bashful, when he came upon her like this. He was proving a caring father as well as a good husband. A little smile curled her lips. He just needed that bit of encouragement, she thought.

  He sat down beside her, gently stroked the baby’s downy head against her breast.

  ‘He looks as if he’s asleep, Florence,’ he observed fondly.

  ‘Concentrating on the job in hand, my dear. Well, tell me, eh?’

  He placed the paper Buck had given him on the bedside table.

  ‘You can look at this, when the baby’s finished. It’s where Lilli is staying. A woman came in the shop and spoke of her, gave Buck that. He says he’ll explain later. She’s been kept against her
wishes, I do know that.’

  Florence jerked and young Flynn gave a protesting yell. She positioned him against her shoulder and began rubbing his back. ‘Get that old wind up, my boy . . . that’s better! I knew something was wrong, despite the letters. They were too formal; it was her writing, but it didn’t sound like her. I said that to you, didn’t I? What are we going to do about it?’

  ‘You’re going to do nothing personally, but you can tell me what to do. Hear Buck out first, Florence. Shall I lay the baby down? Then I must get back to the shop.’

  After he had tucked the baby in the crib, he bent over Florence to kiss her.

  ‘What’s that for, in the middle of the day?’ she joked.

  ‘To say I’m real happy, having you – and him . . .’

  ‘Manny, I feel exactly the same. But—’

  ‘What?’ he prompted.

  ‘You shouldn’t have kept Rose Marie’s letter from me, you know. Nan found it yesterday.’

  ‘I didn’t want you to be upset. I was waiting for you to get your strength back.’

  ‘She’s my daughter – yes, I can say it now! – and she needs me, that’s obvious. Poor girl’s all mixed up. I hope Stella can deal with it. I’ll write to Rose Marie, that’s all I can manage at the moment. D’you think that will help?’ she appealed to Manny.

  He kissed her again. ‘Yes, I’m sure it would. Have your nap first,’ he advised.

  *

  It was the first time Buck had seen the baby. He stood there awkwardly in the kitchen, all scrubbed up after work, while Florence rested in her chair by the stove and rocked the baby’s cradle from time to time. Nurse was folding the damp clean nappies and hanging them on the airer. She was obviously not going anywhere.

  ‘What d’you think of him?’ Florence asked.

  Buck couldn’t see much of Flynn, being a few feet away. ‘Nice,’ he said dutifully.

  Florence glanced at Nurse. ‘Could you keep an eye on the baby for a few minutes, please? A business matter, best if we discuss it in the other room I think.’

  Nurse looked meaningfully at Florence’s attire: flowing nightdress, gown and slippers.

  Florence took the hint. ‘When Mr Manning comes in, you can tell him to join us.’ Buck followed her into the sitting-room.

  ‘She’s kind, but likes a gossip, I’m afraid. Now, Buck, I gather you had a visitor, who gave you Lilli’s address. Manny believes she’s being held there without her consent. That Mr Solon, I presume.’ She swayed almost imperceptibly, sank down on the sofa. ‘Take a seat, Buck.’

  ‘Annie, that’s her name, said he was Lilli’s boss. You all right, Florence? You’ve gone very white,’ he said.

  ‘Don’t worry about me, early days yet, as Nurse keeps saying. Tell me the rest.’

  When he’d finished, she assured him, ‘We won’t do anything in a hurry.’

  Manny heard her say this as he entered the room. ‘Best if we send the information on to Lilli’s husband,’ he suggested. ‘He’s still responsible for her, after all.’

  Another difficult letter to write, Florence thought. ‘You leave it with us, Buck,’ she said.

  *

  When Annie arrived back, to her consternation, she found that Philippe had returned.

  ‘Where have you been?’ he demanded.

  She thought quickly. ‘Ain’t I allowed time off to visit me poor old Gran? She’s nearly ninety and she can’t get out, so I do her shopping for her, when I can.’

  Lilli must be in the bedroom, she surmised. Had anything been said? Lucky she hadn’t let on where she was going. He had a subtle way of extracting information. Never violent, that was something.

  ‘I had a job for you to do. Too late now, you can carry it out tomorrow morning. Go and find out why Lilli won’t speak to me. She’s crying her eyes out in there.’

  ‘I shouldn’t have gone out like I did. She don’t like being on her own, and you’d told me you were going away.’

  ‘So you thought, because I allow you to come and go, you’d neglect your duties?’

  She bit back a retort. It wouldn’t be wise to alienate him now, she thought.

  Annie closed the bedroom door behind her. Lilli was lying on the bed, coverlet askew, red-eyed but no longer weeping.

  Annie said softly, ‘What’s up?’

  ‘He hadn’t gone away at all. It was a trick, to see what I might try, I think. I said I didn’t know where you’d gone,’ Lilli whispered.

  ‘I went to me Gran’s,’ Annie said, just in case he was eavesdropping. ‘That’s all.’

  ‘Philippe made me write another letter to my friend, to say I want my things. To pack them up for you to collect. Not clothes, my personal possessions. I’ve very few of those.’

  ‘That’s good, you’ll be glad to have your bits and pieces,’ Annie said in her normal voice. ‘I’ll expect I’ll fetch ’em for you tomorrow. Come on out now, and I’ll make us all a nice cup of tea, and there’s some of that coffee cake from yesterday. You like that, eh?’

  *

  ‘I want a word with you, Mr Manning,’ Nurse said firmly. She’d persuaded a weary Florence back to bed, pointed out the commode in the corner, and told her she was not even to walk to the bathroom. ‘Your wife’s exhausted. She wanted to write some letters, but I said no. Sleep and plenty of it is what she needs, or her milk will go. You’ve got a hungry baby there. Will you make sure she stays where she is for a couple of days?’

  ‘Of course I will.’ Manny was worried. ‘You ought to get home now, Nurse, to your family. I’ll take Florence her supper on a tray.’

  He made up his mind there and then: he’d tell Florence that he would deal with it all. He’d phone Stella later and insist that Rose Marie speak to him. Then he’d write to Lilli’s Sam.

  Florence has been so independent all these years, he said to himself, but she’s got to learn to share all these responsibilities now.

  *

  Stella had a great deal to say. Manny had a job to take it all in. Despite his bewilderment, he realized she was trying to tell him that Rose Marie had left. She hadn’t given any indication that she was going, until after Josefina had gone to school. Then she came downstairs with her case packed and asked if she could ring for a taxi.

  ‘I said,’ Stella gabbled, “Where are you going? What about your job?And have you enough money?” She told me she was giving notice at Belling’s, that money was no problem because she had been saving the money Florence shared with us for her wedding, only now there wasn’t going to be one . . . She was going to stay with Sadie, Russ’s sister. She’d spoken to her on the phone last night but Rose Marie didn’t tell me then what they talked about. Apparently, she’s going to take charge of Sadie’s wardrobe, help with changes of costume, and will look after her backstage while she’s on tour. “I’ll still be sewing, I expect,” she said. I asked her if Russ knew and she said yes, Sadie had told him.’

  ‘Have you an address for her?’ Manny enquired anxiously. He wasn’t sure what Stella meant, about no wedding. He’d have to tackle Rose Marie herself about that.

  ‘Yes, I’ll bring it with me when we come to see you all on Saturday. I must go, Josefina’s really upset, poor child, because Rose Marie went without a word to her . . .’

  ‘Just one more thing,’ Manny said quickly. ‘Leave it to me to tell Florence. She could do without all this trouble right now.’

  TWENTY

  MANNY was behind the counter in the shop when Annie called back on Friday morning.

  ‘Spoke to Buck yesterday. He said your wife has just been confined, so I thought I’d give this letter to you, then wait in the shop until you come back with what’s requested, like.’ She handed him the envelope with Florence’s name on the front.

  ‘Oh, you’re Annie, I presume,’ he said.

  Buck came through from the back room carrying a bowl of peeled potatoes.

  ‘Just delivering this to Florence,’ Manny told him, brandishing the envelop
e. ‘Annie can do with a mug of tea, perhaps. Will you take care of it?’

  Buck nodded. ‘Got some brewing. A cup, not a mug, eh? Sit down then, Annie.’

  While Annie sipped the hot tea, Buck transferred the potatoes to a saucepan.

  ‘Why have you come back again so soon?’ he enquired presently.

  ‘Nosey, ain’t you? If you want to know, I’m collecting Lilli’s possessions.’

  ‘Does that mean she’s decided not to come back, I wonder?’

  ‘Look, Buck, I told you a few things yesterday I shouldn’t have. Can’t think why.’

  ‘You took a shine to me,’ he said boldly.

  She smiled. ‘Perhaps . . . I guess we’re two of a kind. Both taken some knocks in life. Both done things we shouldn’t have. You’d like to put things right, like me.’

  ‘You got it,’ he told her. ‘Another cup of tea?’

  Upstairs, Manny waited while Florence read the note.

  ‘You’re not getting out of bed,’ he said firmly. ‘Where’s the key to Lilli’s flat? I’ll do it.’

  ‘Not clothes, or toys, she says, just her treasures. Funny way to put it . . . Key’s in the table drawer. Come and show me what you’ve got, before you hand it over, eh?’

  The task was soon accomplished. Manny spotted Josefina’s Spanish doll on the dressing table. He tucked that under his arm. He recollected the little girls exchanging their favourite dolls. She’ll be over on Saturday, he thought, I’ll return it to her then.

  ‘Poor Lilli,’ Florence sighed. ‘Nothing of much value here. Unless the empty scent bottles are crystal glass. Yet she obviously came from a posh family in France. She must have left it all behind her. Something more to report to her husband, though.’

  ‘I said I’d do that, tonight.’

  ‘All right. I’m holding on before I write to Rose Marie, though. I’m hoping she’ll decide to come with Stella and Josefina when they visit.’

  ‘You never know,’ Manny said, as he clicked the attaché case shut. But he did know, he thought. Rose Marie was probably on her way to the Midlands right now . . .

  *

  Birmingham. Rose Marie arrived late Friday afternoon. Sadie was there to meet the train and hurried her away from the station. They jumped into a waiting cab and were driven at speed through the roar of the traffic to a modest hotel on the outskirts of the great industrial city.