‘Oh dear, I didn’t mean to upset her,’ Trixie apologised.
‘You haven’t! Don’t worry about it; she often has a little weep. I think it does her good. She’ll be back in a minute and she’ll be smiling and as bright as ever.’
When Ella returned a couple of minutes later she was carrying a box containing a wooden jigsaw which she tipped out on to the floor alongside Cilla.
Cilla picked up first one and then another of the brightly painted pieces and looked at them intently.
‘Shall I show you how the pieces fit together, me darlin’, and make a lovely little picture?’ Ella said, getting down on her knees alongside Cilla.
Cilla looked at her wide eyed, then nodded and handed the pieces she was holding over to Ella.
Trixie watched in silence as Ella took them and, after fitting two or three of them together, put another piece into Cilla’s little hand and gently guided it so that she fitted it to one of the pieces that was already in place. Almost immediately it became clear that it was going to be the picture of a horse and Cilla clapped her hands in delight and grabbed hold of another piece to add it to the puzzle.
‘No, my little luv, it doesn’t go there,’ Ella told her and once again she took hold of the child’s hand and guided it to show her where the piece fitted in.
When the picture was complete, Cilla stood up and danced around excitedly, grabbing hold of Trixie’s hand and pulling her towards the floor.
‘That was very clever, shall we do it all over again?’ Trixie suggested, leaning over and breaking up the picture and shuffling the pieces.
For a moment Cilla looked bewildered, her eyes filled with tears as she clenched her fist and her lower lip stuck out as if she was going to throw a tantrum. Then, as Trixie began putting one piece after another together, she pushed her sister to one side and took over, trying to complete the puzzle herself.
‘It’s the only way she’ll learn,’ Trixie said half apologetically to Ella.
Ella smiled non-commitally. ‘She’s bright enough, I can see that. She takes a lot of understanding, though, and that must be quite a problem for you,’ she added as she struggled to her feet and sat down on a chair.
‘It’s not Trixie’s only problem,’ Ivy butted in quickly. ‘I told you about the Christmas savings scheme and that Trixie has to look after all the money each week. That’s an even bigger problem for her at the moment.’
Ella nodded understandingly. ‘Sure, and it would bother me to be lumbered with someone else’s money. Apart from being tempted to spend it, I’d be scared witless in case I lost any of it, so I would. Can’t you ask your mum or dad to look after it for you?’
‘No, I’m afraid to let my dad have it in case he spends it on booze,’ Trixie confessed, red-faced with embarrassment.
‘Aah! A drinking man, is he? Well, then, he’s not to be trusted with it, that’s for sure.’
‘He’d be bound to find it if I kept it at home, or if I gave it to my mum to look after.’
‘So you’re looking for a safe place for it, are you?’ She pursed her lips thoughtfully as she took the cup of tea Ivy handed to her. ‘I know what I would do.’
‘Go on, Mrs O’Malley, please tell me,’ Trixie pressed, looking at her hopefully.
‘I’d put it in a bank, of course, then no one but you could touch it,’ Ella said as she sipped her tea.
‘I haven’t got a bank account, though, and I can’t see any bank being interested in a few shillings each week.’
‘Don’t you believe it. They like to encourage people to put their money with them. They use it, of course, but it’s quite safe,’ she went on quickly as she saw Trixie frown. ‘You can draw it out again any time you wish to do so.’
‘Do you put your money in a bank?’ Trixie asked, her voice a mixture of awe and surprise.
‘No, no, me darlin’, of course I don’t, but that’s because I haven’t any spare to put in there. If I did have a few shillings left at the end of the week then I most certainly would, though. Safest place in the world to keep it,’ she added.
‘I’ve never even been inside a bank, so which one do you think I ought to go to?’ Trixie asked.
‘Well, now, I don’t know much about them either, but you’ve met that school friend of Jake’s who works in a bank, so he could tell you what to do. He’s been there three years now and he’s working himself up the ladder.’ She drained her cup and handed it back to Ivy. ‘He’s what they call a teller, that means he works on the counter and when you pay money in he takes it off you, counts it and gives you a receipt. Other fellas much higher up than him look after it after that and they invest it or lend it out again and charge people for the privilege of borrowing it and all that sort of thing.’
‘It all sounds very complicated,’ Trixie sighed, ‘but it seems like a good idea if you think it would be safe with him. Which bank does he work at?’
‘Martin’s Bank. They’ve got several branches not only in Liverpool and all around Merseyside but also in the rest of the country as well.’
‘The trouble is I can’t get along there, not while I’m working. They close before I finish work each day.’
‘They don’t close till one o’clock on a Saturday and you finish at twelve, Trixie. If you went straight there you’d manage to catch them open,’ Ivy pointed out.
‘Would they be willing to open an account so near to shutting?’ Trixie frowned.
‘I’m sure they would if you had everything they needed to know all written down and ready for them. I tell you what, chook, I’ll ask Jake to ask Andrew. Jake can also tell him that you’ll be dropping by next Saturday and so he’ll know all about it and be expecting you.’
‘That sounds like a good idea, Trixie. I’ll come with you, if you like,’ Ivy volunteered. ‘I can make sure you see Andrew and not someone else so then there won’t be any problem at all.’
‘It all sounds wonderful,’ Trixie said gratefully. ‘Thank you very much, Mrs O’Malley.’
She felt elated by Mrs O’Malleys’ suggestion, not only beause it would set her mind at rest about the money but also since it would mean she would be meeting Andrew Bacon again and she’d thought about him a lot since the dance.
‘Right, then; now we’ve got all that settled and out of the way, what about another cuppa? You two girls can make it while I play with little Cilla. I’ve brought one of Nelly’s dolls down and she hasn’t even seen it yet, but I’m sure she’ll enjoy playing with it, won’t she, the little darling?’
Chapter Eight
The idea of opening a bank account filled Trixie’s thoughts for the rest of the week. She looked forward to Saturday not only because it would mean the money would be in a safe place somewhere where her father couldn’t get his hands on it, as he seemed determined to do, but also because it meant she would see Andrew again without Jake or Ivy being there at the same time.
She’d only seen Andrew twice since the dance and each time he’d been with Jake and they were going off out together so they’d not had time to talk, but she’d not been able to put him out of her mind. On both occasions she’d been impressed by how handsome he was and how charmingly courteous his manner was in contrast to Jake’s, with his big grin and brotherly hugs.
She’d hoped that perhaps she and Ivy might be invited to another dance with Jake and Andrew but it had never happened. She frequently relived that wonderful night and the memory of being in Andrew’s arms as they moved around the floor in time to the music.
She’d never realised how magical dancing could be till the moment Jake had taken her on to the dance floor and shown her what to do. She wished that she and Ivy could afford to go dancing sometimes, although she didn’t think it would be the same unless Andrew was there as well.
When they’d told Jake about her wanting to open a bank account and he’d said he’d tell Andrew, she’d looked forward to meeting him again. She hoped, though, that it would be at Jake’s house because she knew she’d feel uncomf
ortable if Andrew saw how shabby her home was. Instead, it seemed Jake had been able to tell him all he needed to know.
She knew she should feel grateful because at least it meant the money would be safe, but she couldn’t help feeling disappointed and once again wished that she’d never heard about the Christmas savings idea.
When she told her mother about what she was intending to do Maggie looked doubtful. ‘I don’t think your father will let you do that,’ she remonstrated.
‘He can’t stop me,’ Trixie protested.
‘Don’t be too sure about that. You probably have to be twenty-one before you can open your own bank account; well, eighteen, anyway, and then only with your parents’ consent.’
‘That’s wrong, I’m sure,’ Trixie protested. ‘What about heiresses and people like that; where do they keep their money?’
‘Well, their parents look after it for them till they come of age, I suppose.’
‘What if their parents are dead?’ Trixie added as she picked Cilla up and cuddled her.
‘Well, then their guardian would do it. Anyway,’ she muttered rather crossly, ‘why bother talking about what people like that do? You’re never likely to be an heiress.’
‘No, I know that,’ Trixie said bitterly, looking round their shabby room. ‘I do have some money to look after, though, and since it’s not mine, then putting it into a bank where it will be safe seems to be the most sensible thing to do.’
‘Sensible, maybe, but I’m not sure what your father is going to say when he hears what you’re planning to do. I’m pretty certain he won’t be very pleased.’
Sam Jackson wasn’t. He took it as a slur on his character, although he didn’t openly admit such a thing. He’d tried all week to find out where Trixie had hidden the money because he was sure it was somewhere in the house. After all, he asked himself, where else could she stash it? Not unless she’d asked Fred Linacre to look after it, and from the smug looks Fred was giving him he did wonder if she’d left it in his safe keeping.
He’d even thought of belting the truth out of her, even though Maggie would stick her oar in and try to defend Trixie and say the girl had done nothing to deserve a hiding. He supposed that was true up to a point, although a chit of a girl defying her father was a crime in his eyes.
He was determined to get to the bottom of it, though, for his own peace of mind. After all, it was his duty as a father to do so.
When Trixie came home the following Saturday and with a beaming smile announced that she’d opened a bank account, Sam could hardly believe his ears.
‘You’ve done what?’ he bellowed.
‘I’ve opened a bank account so that I have somewhere safe to keep the money I have to look after,’ she told him defiantly, throwing back her head and looking him square in the face.
‘Oh, you have, have you? You do know it won’t be legal because you’re too young?’
Trixie shook her head. ‘No, I checked it all out with the bank clerk and made quite sure about that. It’s all safe and above board. What’s most important of all,’ she added with a cheeky grin, ‘no one but me can get at it.’
His hand went out and caught Trixie across the mouth before he could stop himself. Then, with her scream of pain ringing in his ears, he rammed his cap on his head and slammed out of the house without another word. His own head was thumping as he went straight down to the pub to look for Fred Linacre.
‘You should know better than to cheek your dad like that, luv,’ Maggie sighed as she bathed the gash at the side of Trixie’s mouth. ‘You know how quick he is with his backhanders. You should have told him about what you were going to do with the money before you went ahead and did it.’
‘If I’d told him he would have tried to stop me, or even forbidden me to do it,’ Trixie said sulkily, wincing with pain and pushing her mother’s hand away from her lip.
‘Well, luv, banks aren’t really for the likes of us. I don’t know how you managed to open an account anyway. I don’t think that any of us have ever been inside a bank in our lives. Which bank did you go to?’
‘Martin’s Bank. Andrew, a friend of Ivy’s brother, works there. I met him when I went to that dance with Ivy ages ago. Jake told Andrew about the Christmas savings and I went into the bank when I finished work last Saturday. He had everything set up and ready. All I had to do was check that he’d filled in my name and all that correctly, but it was quite easy.’ Her eyes misted dreamily. ‘He’s a really nice chap, Mum. He’s got thick fair hair and a really lovely smile. He’s tall and he looks ever so smart in his dark pin-stripe suit, white shirt and blue-and-white tie.’
‘Was your trip to the bank simply to make sure the money was in safe keeping or was it so that you could meet this young man again?’ Maggie asked dryly.
‘Mum! What a question to ask! Of course it was so that I would know the money was safe. It was nice meeting him again, though,’ she added with a little smile.
‘Don’t let your dad hear you rhapsodising over him or it will be more than a backhander he’ll be dishing out. He won’t stand for you messing about with boys, not at your age. No good can come of it, you know that. Anyway, he doesn’t seem to be the sort of boy you should be interested in.’
‘Trixie looked puzzled. ‘Why ever not, Mum?’
‘If he works in a bank, then he probably comes from a posh home over Wallasey way, or somewhere like that; not from around Scotland Road.’
‘Mum, he’s a friend of Ivy’s brother, they went to school together. He probably lives in the next road to them, or perhaps even in Virgil Street,’ she added with a grin.
‘That will do. Forget about him and whatever you do don’t mention his name to your dad or he’ll be down at Martin’s Bank and demanding to know what he’s up to. In fact,’ she added thoughtfully, ‘it might be a good idea if you don’t tell your dad which bank you’ve put the money in.’
Although she’d agreed with everything her mum said, Trixie couldn’t stop herself thinking about Andrew Bacon. He was so different from any of the boys she’d known at school. He looked so clean and handsome and he was so polite and well spoken.
When she’d mentioned this to her mum, Maggie had laughed. ‘You’d probably find he was quite different when he wasn’t all dolled up for work,’ she’d warned.
‘I don’t know about that. He looked very smart when we went to the dance. So did Jake, Ivy’s brother,’ she added with a smile, ‘and usually he’s in greasy overalls when he comes in from work.’
‘Forget about him as well,’ her mother warned. ‘As I’ve just told you, if your dad finds out that you are larking about with boys then he’ll tan the hide off you.’
Nevertheless, Trixie found herself constantly thinking of Andrew Bacon. Every time her dad asked probing questions about the money, Andrew’s handsome face came into her mind and with it a lovely warm feeling knowing that the money was completely safe because he was looking after it for her.
Fred Linacre had raised his eyebrows in a supercilious manner when he’d questioned her about the safe keeping of the money and she’d told him that she was banking it each week. The other women on the assembly line had also seemed rather surprised at such audaciousness.
‘Not just a pretty face, then; got yer ’ead screwed on as well, have yer!’ one of them remarked.
‘I suppose you keep all yer money in a bank then, do you?’ another jibed.
‘Fancy you’re better than us now just because you’ve got a bank account, do you?’
‘No,’ Trixie told them quietly, ‘but since the Christmas money isn’t my money, I was determined to make sure that it was in a safe place so that none of you would have to worry about it.’
After that they began to treat her with grudging respect and a lot more consideration. They often took her side when Fred started ridiculing something she’d done wrong.
‘Give the girl a chance, Fred, she can’t be a genius at everything and she certainly knows her onions when it comes to mi
nding our Christmas money.’
‘Making a better job of it than you’d have done,’ another woman told him. ‘At least we know where it is.’
Trixie and Ivy laughed about it all as they sauntered down Cazneau Street on their way home, chatting about what had gone on that day before they parted.
Their friendship was as strong as ever despite her father’s vehement dislike of the Irish. Now that the weather was often wet and cold at the weekends Trixie usually took Cilla round to the O’Malleys’ where Ella was always pleased to see them and to have the chance of playing with Cilla.
Trixie would have liked to have invited Ella and Ivy to her home but when she had suggested it Maggie had demurred. ‘I don’t think your dad would stand for it. You know he warned you never to bring Ivy over the doorstep again. If he walked in and found the O’Malleys sitting here drinking tea and chatting he’d be bound to turn nasty and perhaps order them out. You know what he’s like, especially when he’s had a skinful.’
‘Well, perhaps you could come round to their place one day. Mrs O’Malley has said she’d like to meet you and I’m sure you’d like her. Cilla loves her and she’s ever so good with her. She even lets her play with all the toys that used to belong to her own little girl who died when she was about Cilla’s age.’
Maggie smiled and nodded, but refused to commit herself to any arrangement. Trixie wasn’t sure whether it was because she didn’t want to meet Ella or whether she was waiting for a proper invitation.
As Christmas 1922 approached the talk on the assembly line was all about how the women were going to spend their savings. Over and over again they asked Trixie if they could take a look at ‘the book’ just to make sure they’d saved up as much as they hoped they had.
‘Discuss it in your break time and stop talking about it when you should be working or I’ll confiscate the whole damn lot,’ Fred warned them.
‘You’d have a job seeing as how you can’t get your bleeding mitts on it,’ one woman told him.
‘You’d probably have boozed it all away by now if you’d been the one looking after it,’ another laughed.
Love Changes Everything Page 7