The Cobbler's Kids

by Rosie Harris

  ‘No.’ Vera reached out and laid a hand on his arm. ‘Let’s give him a chance, Eddy. You are doing what you want with your life so why not let him have the same opportunity?’

  ‘Do you know what you are saying?’ he blustered. ‘Do you realise what a rod you would be making for your own back?’

  ‘That might be so, but I’m sure I am doing what Mam would have done if she was alive. Doing this for Benny will be a tribute to her memory.’

  Eddy’s face softened. ‘It’s a wonderful thought, Vee, but don’t forget you’ll have to do it all on your own. I won’t have any money to spare to be able to help you in any way. In a couple of months’ time I’ll have a kid of my own to support.’

  ‘I know that, Eddy, but there’s no need for you to worry about Benny.’

  ‘I’m afraid I do. I won’t be here to share any of the burden with you.’

  ‘That doesn’t matter. We’ll manage, Eddy! We’ve done so all these years while you’ve been hoarding every penny you earned so that you could marry Rita Farthing and get a place of your own.’

  ‘Yes, but Benny was only a young kid then. He didn’t need all that much, but now …’

  ‘I understand what you’re saying,’ Vera told him quietly, ‘and I do know exactly what I am taking on. But I want to see Benny do well more than anything else in the world.’

  ‘Isn’t sacrificing your own life to take care of Dad enough for you, Vee?’ he said, his gaze sharp and direct. ‘Isn’t it time that you had a life of your own? Time you found yourself a soul mate, married and had kids of your own to look after?’

  ‘Benny is as close to me as any child of my own could ever be,’ she told him firmly. ‘My mind’s made up, Eddy, so it is pointless saying any more. I’ve not said one word against what you are planning to do with your life so don’t criticise me.’

  ‘I can’t help feeling that you aren’t fully aware of what you are taking on,’ he persisted ruefully.

  ‘Look Eddy, I’ve wished you well in your new life, so can’t you do the same for me?’

  He stared at her long and hard as if intent on persuading her to change her mind. When she returned his gaze unwaveringly, he pulled her towards him and hugged her. ‘Our Benny’s a lucky little bugger,’ he told her emphatically. ‘I only hope he appreciates all you are giving up to do this for him.’

  ‘I’m positive he will understand,’ Vera told him confidently.

  Eddy still looked uncertain. ‘You’re quite sure that you’ll be all right?’ he asked. ‘What with this and Dad, you’re taking on an awful lot.’

  ‘I’ll be fine, Eddy. Remember, from now on I’ll have Jack here to help me if I need him.’

  On the day when Eddy finally said goodbye to them all, Jack added his own reassurance.

  ‘I’m as comfortable as a pig in clover. I’ve got a cushy flat and a good cook to feed me three meals a day. There’s nothing at all for you to concern yourself about, Eddy. Rest assured I’ll keep an eye on things here. I’ll be on hand should Vera need any help, night or day, so you have nothing at all to worry about.’

  ‘Thanks, whacker! It means a hell of a lot to me!’ Eddy told him, slapping him heartily on the shoulder.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  For the first couple of weeks after Jack Winter moved into the attic rooms over Quinn’s, he and Vera were walking on eggshells.

  Both of them were scared of saying or doing anything that might embarrass or offend the other. Then, as time passed, the old comfortable familiarity that had been established after Jack came there to work reasserted itself.

  It seemed perfectly natural to take their meals together in Vera’s living room. When he was well enough, Michael Quinn sat down at the table with them. Benny sometimes joined them, but even though his exams were over he still spent a great deal of his time in his bedroom.

  At first Jack had worried that this was because he was there, but Vera assured him it wasn’t.

  ‘Benny has always preferred his own company. He likes to sit and read rather than talk to people.’

  ‘Doesn’t he ever go out with lads of his own age?’

  ‘He has one or two friends, but they don’t live around here.’

  Jack pulled a face. ‘No, not many Scottie Road types go to grammar school, or want to go on to university. Do you think he’ll ever get there, Vee, or is it all pie in the sky?’

  ‘We’ll have to wait and see,’ Vera said quietly. ‘I think he will,’ she added confidently.

  When the School Certificate results came through, they were all amazed at how well Benny had done. He had top marks in all of the seven subjects he’d taken.

  ‘The headmaster asked if I wanted to sit for my Highers,’ Benny told them.

  ‘I hope you told him that you intended to do so,’ Vera said quickly.

  Benny’s face brightened. ‘You really mean that I can stay on?’

  ‘You know you can. We discussed all this with Eddy when he was here.’

  ‘I know, but I thought you might have realised how much was involved and changed your mind.’

  ‘When I say something, I mean it,’ Vera confirmed quietly.

  Michael Quinn received the news with a shrug of his shoulders. ‘Whose going to run the shop, then, if Benny is staying at school?’

  ‘Jack will, of course, the same as he’s been doing for a long time.’

  ‘Jack?’ He looked puzzled.

  ‘Jack Winter. He lives here now, up in the attic rooms.’

  ‘I don’t think I’ve ever met him.’ He gave her a crafty stare. ‘Is he one of ours or is he one of the enemy,’ he hissed.

  ‘He’s the best friend and worker you’ve ever had,’ Vera told him.

  ‘Then why have I never seen him around or had a chance to talk to him?’

  Vera didn’t bother explaining. Sometimes she felt saddened by her father’s oblivion of all that was happening around him. She knew that at one time she would have felt exasperated or quite angry, but not any longer. Jack had managed to persuade her that the best thing to do was either to ignore these lapses of memory on her dad’s part, or simply laugh about them.

  More and more she wondered just how she would cope without Jack’s support. His caring nature and his ability to remain calm no matter what happened, gave her the strength to cope with all the many day-to-day problems with her father.

  There was no doubt in either of their minds that her father was sinking into a world of his own. His attacks were now happening less, but he seemed to be retreating further and further back into his past.

  Sometimes he asked constantly for Annie and looked for her in every room in the house, even in the shop. When he couldn’t find her he railed against both Vera and Jack. He claimed that they were deliberately trying to stop him from seeing her.

  ‘Don’t tell him that she’s dead,’ Jack advised, ‘that might only upset him more.’

  ‘So what can I do to stop him from looking for her?’

  ‘Tell him that she has gone away for a few days and that she will be back soon.’

  Vera did as he said and she found that Jack was right. Not only did this console her dad, but it actually seemed to please him and make him more cheerful.

  ‘I’m marrying Annie as soon as she gets back,’ he kept telling Vera, and there was a happy, contented look on his face.

  Everything seemed to be going so smoothly that Vera could hardly believe her good fortune.

  Benny returned to grammar school in September and again spent all his time closeted in his bedroom, studying. He never discussed what he was working on with either her or Jack. Vera assumed this was because he knew they probably wouldn’t understand what he was talking about.

  The shop was doing well and she and Jack had developed a system that worked smoothly.

  At Jack’s suggestion, the two of them started going out to the pictures once a week.

  ‘You need a break, a bit of a treat,’ he told her, ‘and so do I.’

  At
first she had demurred, saying she couldn’t leave her dad, but Jack had scotched this excuse right away.

  ‘I’ve had a word with Benny and he’ll listen out for him.’

  Vera looked concerned. ‘Are you sure he’ll hear him? Benny gets so engrossed when he’s studying …’

  ‘He will. He’s promised. He knows if he lets us down he won’t get any money.’

  ‘You’re paying him?’ Vera didn’t know whether to feel angry or not.

  ‘If you called in a stranger to sit with your dad you’d expect to pay them, wouldn’t you?’ Jack pointed out. ‘Well, this is the same. It’s a way for Benny to earn some pocket money for himself. He was quite keen to do it, I can assure you.’

  It took Vera a few days to come round to the idea, but the more she thought about a trip to the pictures the more attractive it seemed.

  Finally she gave in and agreed. ‘But we’ll only go if Dad has had a peaceful day,’ she stipulated.

  Jack nodded understandingly and readily agreed to her terms.

  He insisted that Vera should be the one to decide which picture they should go and see.

  ‘I don’t know what sort of thing you like,’ she pointed out. ‘Suppose I pick something that you find isn’t to your taste?’

  ‘Then I’ll sit and look at you all night instead of the screen,’ he told her with a cheeky grin.

  She didn’t answer, but she felt her cheeks burn. The trouble was, she suspected that he was telling the truth. It was becoming more and more obvious that his feelings for her were growing deeper.

  She felt the same way about him, but she was afraid to admit it, even to herself.

  It’s only because we’re living under the same roof and spending so much time together, she kept telling herself. He cares about me in the same way that I am fond of Benny. I’m always going out of my way to do things for him and make his life more comfortable. It’s the same with Jack.

  In her heart of hearts she knew this wasn’t the case, though, it was much more than that. When she went to bed at night she listened for every movement from the room directly above her, knowing that Jack was sleeping there.

  She even began to take more care about her appearance. Sometimes he noticed the changes. If he commented on them, she was thrown into a tizzy and blood rushed to her cheeks.

  When they started going to the pictures together, she tried to look her best. Sometimes it was a different hairstyle, a new blouse, a change of lipstick. Whenever he noticed these things it made her feel pleased, but self-conscious at the same time.

  She tried to hide her disappointment when Jack said he would be going to Wallasey to spend Christmas with his mother.

  ‘I haven’t seen her for ages, not since I moved in here, so I owe it to her. I’d much rather be staying here with you, mind. It will be quiet for you, all on your own. If there is any trouble with your dad, send Benny across for me and I’ll come back right away. OK?’

  When she came downstairs on Christmas morning she was disappointed to find that Jack had already left the house. On the table were several gift-wrapped presents, one of them with her name on it. Inside was a bottle of perfume. She opened it hesitantly, all the time remembering how much she had hated the smell of the California Poppy scent that Di Deverill had used.

  The first whiff took her breath away, it was so strong. She dabbed a spot of it onto the back of her wrist and this time the smell was so delightful that she was captivated.

  She checked the label and vaguely remembered seeing an advertisement for this very perfume. It had been so expensive that she’d laughed to herself, wondering what sort of people could afford to buy such luxuries.

  Benny sniffed the air appreciatively as he came into the room and grinned knowingly. She handed him the small slim package Jack had left for him and watched his face transform as he unwrapped it and found a fountain pen inside it.

  ‘Gosh! I never thought I’d own one of these,’ he gasped. ‘It’s a real beauty! It has a nine-carat gold nib!’

  The package for Michael Quinn contained a large bar of chocolate, something he never ate, but he seized on it with glee. ‘Rations!’ he exclaimed with obvious relief. ‘Thank God, they managed to get this past the enemy.’

  For the rest of the day he wrapped and unwrapped his present, slyly eating chunks of it when he thought no one was looking.

  Vera and Benny exchanged amused smiles. ‘It doesn’t look as though he intends to give us a taste of it,’ Benny commented.

  Jack didn’t return until New Year’s Eve and Vera felt desolate. The house seemed so empty without him. She missed having him to talk to. Although she opened up the shop each day there were very few customers and she felt she’d never known such a long week in her whole life.

  Jack was surprised at the spread she prepared for them on his evening home.

  ‘I put off cooking the turkey until I knew you would be here,’ Vera explained.

  ‘You shouldn’t have done that,’ he remonstrated. ‘That makes me feel guilty. What did you have on Christmas Day?’

  ‘Bread and water,’ Benny told him with a grin. ‘Dad was all right, he had his chocolate!’

  ‘Didn’t he give you a piece?’ Jack laughed.

  As Vera went back into the kitchen to get on with last-minute preparations for dinner she could hear them laughing about what had happened.

  For a moment she felt angry, but then common sense took over. What harm was there in it? They didn’t mean it unkindly, and it was good for Benny to have another man around the place to talk to and share things with.

  As she washed up after their meal, leaving Benny to teach Jack how to play the new game of SORRY that she’d bought him, Vera thought what a wonderful day it had been. Even her father had been dressed in his best suit and had sat at the table with them. She felt that they had been like a real family.

  The only one missing was Eddy. They’d heard from him several times. He’d found a good job and had settled down well in Malta. He and Maria now had a baby boy and they’d named him Jacques.

  It means Jack in English, he’d written, so you can tell Jack Winter that we’ve named the baby after him.

  Even though it was New Year’s Eve, Michael Quinn went to bed early, too tired to see 1935 in.

  ‘I shouldn’t imagine he will be able to sleep through all the noise, not when the bells and the ships klaxons start sounding,’ Vera said when she came back downstairs. ‘Benny said he’ll stay up there with him until he has settled.’

  ‘We’ll hear him if he calls out,’ Jack assured her. ‘Come and sit down, I’ve got a present for you.’

  ‘You’ve already given me a gift,’ she protested.

  ‘Yes, but this is another one. A very special one. Sit down in your dad’s armchair and close your eyes!’

  As she did so, from somewhere came the sound of music. She gave a sigh of pleasure as the strains of Henry Hall’s Orchestra filled the room.

  ‘You can open them now.’

  On the table was a wind-up gramophone and beside it a small stack of records.

  She clapped her hands in delight. ‘Oh, Jack. It’s absolutely marvellous!’

  ‘The records are all your favourite bands and singers,’ Jack told her smiling. ‘As well as Henry Hall, there’s Geraldo, and Glen Miller. Now you can listen to them whenever you want to.’

  ‘How do you know they’re my favourites?’

  ‘They’re all songs from pictures we’ve been to see!’

  ‘Really?’ She looked up at him wide-eyed, her cheeks pink with excitement.

  ‘Truly!’

  ‘I don’t know what to say. Thank you doesn’t seem to be enough!’

  ‘You could give me a kiss,’ he murmured softly.

  They stared at each other for a long moment. She could feel her heart pounding. It was so loud that she wondered if he could hear it too.

  Then, without knowing how it happened, she was in his arms. As their lips touched she felt a thrill of pure happine
ss spread through her, knowing that at last she had found love with a man she could trust. It was as if every nerve in her body was on fire.

  They kissed again, eagerly, hungrily, enjoying the exquisite experience, something they’d both dreamed about for so long.

  ‘I love you, Vera Quinn. I always have, ever since we were little kids,’ he told her softly, stroking her hair.

  He knew from her response, from the way she’d kissed him, that she felt the same way about him. He now wondered why they had waited so long. He had known what his feelings for her were from the first moment he’d walked into the shop.

  Vera gave herself up to the sheer delight of being in his arms. She was sure it had been fate, as well as old Sam Dowty, that had brought them together.

  Then, suddenly, memories she’d tried so hard to forget came flooding back. She struggled to free herself from Jack’s enveloping arms. Tears brimmed in her eyes and her face was twisted with anguish as she shook her head and pushed him away.

  ‘No, this mustn’t happen,’ she whispered. ‘Please, Jack. There are things you don’t know about me, terrible things. I can’t even start to tell you!’

  ‘Hush, hush! He pulled her back into his arms, holding her tight, smoothing her hair back from her brow. ‘Everything is all right.’

  ‘You don’t understand …’

  ‘But I do, Vee. I know all there is to know about you.’

  Vera laughed bitterly. ‘You only think you do, Jack. There are things in my past that even to this day I can’t talk about.’

  ‘You don’t need to. I know all about what happened.’ His lips rested on her sweat-soaked brow. ‘Eddy told me. Everything! I know all about Bill Martin and what he did to you, so you don’t have to say another word. OK?’ he said gently.

  Vera stared at him in amazement. ‘Eddy told you? How on earth did he come to do that?’

  ‘Does it matter? I know all about what happened and it doesn’t matter. All I want to do is make you happy for the rest of your life. If you want to talk about it then I’ll listen, but you don’t have to.’

  She shuddered and buried her face in her hands, as if unable to meet his eyes.