by Millie Gray
Rachel nodded. She and Bella had always shared confidences and it was a relief tonight for her to tell someone all her worries – and who better to trust than Bella, a bosom friend who’d never let her down?
Without hesitation Rachel poured out the story about Bud asking her to go to America with him and how she felt about Anna and the enormous burden of indebtedness she felt. Bella had the sense to remain silent. After Rachel had finished speaking, Bella lifted the poker and lazily stirred the embers of the dying fire.
Eventually Bella leaned forward and took Rachel’s hand in hers. “Look,” she said, “you’re not the only one here that owes Auntie. I do too. So you go to America and promise to be as happy as Gus and me. And I’ll take Auntie up to bide with me and look after her there.”
The stiffness from the stress she was under visibly melted from Rachel’s shoulders. “Oh, Bella, would you really do that?”
Bella nodded. “Now let’s make some tea. And seeing as Auntie’s sleeping, I’ll have two sugars in mine.”
The young women were drinking their tea when the door opened and Johnny crept in. “Here, Rachel,” asked Johnny, with a wink. “Is there a cup in the pot for me?”
Bella was disappointed that Anna didn’t awaken before she left. She had wanted to stay but the bairns would all need to be bedded. “Johnny,” she tentatively asked, “you’re no in a hurry?”
“Naw. You get going. If it’s needed I’ll bide aw night.”
Rachel, after throwing a large shovel of coal on the fire, had decided it would be better for Anna if she didn’t light the gaslight and she and Johnny sat comfortably together just looking at the pictures that were thrown up by the firelight.
“What do you think we should do?” Johnny asked in hushed tones.
Rachel was about to answer when a soft tap on the outside door caused her to rise. On opening the door, she was surprised to see Bud and, like Bella, she could be instinctively intuitive and something was telling her to go into the passageway to speak to him.
“My aunt’s not well,” was the excuse she offered for keeping him in the lobby.
“Oh, well,” he spluttered. “It’s just that I want to arrange to take you out on Saturday afternoon to buy you an engagement ring.”
The relief that he wasn’t here to tell her he’d changed his mind, or had had his mind changed for him, caused her to relax and fall against the cold damp wall. “Bud, are you sure? Should we not be keeping as much money as we can? After all, we don’t know how things are going to be in America. I mean, will I get a job right away and things like that?” she babbled on.
Searching for her hands, he kissed them before saying, “Now listen. Nothing’s changed. I will marry you,” he emphasised, “but … not until I get back from America.”
The euphoria visibly drained from her. His mother had won again and Rachel, at this present time, had no desire or reserve left to fight her.
“Well, Bud,” she said, rising from the wall, “isn’t it a funny thing. Here was me trying to pick up courage to tell you I don’t really want to go to America.”
Taken aback, Bud stammered, “But I am coming back for you. Please tell me you’ll wait?”
“Rachel.” Anna’s feeble cry caused Rachel to open the door and say, “Just coming, Auntie. I’m just saying goodbye to Bud.”
Turning to go inside Rachel was surprised when Bud grabbed her. In a tear-laden voice he murmured, “Darling, you haven’t said you’ll wait. I need to know you’ll wait.”
She chuckled. “Oh. Is that all you want? Then off you go, Bud, with the memory of me saying, no matter how long it takes, I’ll wait until Mister Right sweeps me off my feet.”
Three days later, to Bella’s surprise, Anna was up and about. “What are you doing out of bed?” Bella asked, dumping her shopping bag on the table.
Anna looked about the room and then out of the window. “Saw the clouds chasing each other so I thought it must be a good drying day.”
Bella nodded. “Aye, for them that can get stuck into a washing.” Bella was now fishing in a paper bag. “But let’s face it,” she pointed out in a kindly tone, “the only thing you can get stuck into the day is this well-fired store roll.”
Anna gripped the tabletop and was starting to rise to her feet when Bella placed a hand on her shoulder and lowered her back down. “No. I’ll make the tea. You’re just going to take it easy.”
“Bella,” Anna began tentatively, “do you know what’s going on with Rachel and Bud?”
Bella shook her head. “No. I can only guess.”
“Look, I’m not an idiot,” protested Anna. “And I should be told what’s going on in my own home.”
“All I know is that Bud’s going to America for two years. And …”
“He’s never going to leave Rachel behind?”
“Not exactly,” drawled Bella. “He wants them to get engaged right now and they’ll get married …”
“Bella,” Anna interrupted in a croaked voice, “are you saying they’ll marry before he leaves?”
Roughly massaging her cheeks, Bella tried to think of how she could tell Anna the truth. There was no easy way so she blurted, “No. All Rachel said was, and I swore I wouldn’t tell another living soul so I’m only telling you …”
“Because I’m half dead?” suggested Anna.
Ignoring Anna’s comment, Bella finished by hurriedly saying, “She doesn’t want to leave … right now.”
“Are you saying,” queried Anna, running her fingers through her hair, “that she’s not going with him because of that wee spat I had and she now feels she’s to stay to look after me?”
Bella looked down at the floor but when the door opened she managed to say, “As she’s just come in – why don’t you ask her yourself?”
“Ask me what?” Rachel enquired, looking from Anna to Bella.
Rising Anna went over to Rachel and took her hand in hers. “Look, lassie,” she began, “you mustn’t pass up the chance to go to America with Bud because of me.” Rachel didn’t respond so Anna felt she had to go on. “It’s the chance of a lifetime. And you owe me nothing. Neither does Bella, Freddie or Robert,” she gulped back the tears, “and my two laddies who’ve gone before me, Rab and Jimmy.”
Rachel and Bella sat down as they waited for Anna to get everything out of her system. “You see,” she told them between frowns and mutterings, “I was lucky to be on hand when you were just bits of bairns and needing a mother – a roof over your heads.” Anna paused to deliberate on other memories that rushed to the surface. “Never told anyone … nobody’s business but mine. But you see … I couldn’t have my own bairns and I wanted bairns … so wasn’t I lucky I was able to rear, or help rear, my four God-sent laddies and you two? And you’ve all done so well. Believe me I couldn’t be prouder of you, not even if you’d been my own flesh and blood.” Anna stopped. There was no need to elaborate further.
Bella, emotionally drained, couldn’t speak. Rachel, on the other hand, knew she had to say something. Here she was facing Anna, the only mother she’d ever known, and Bella, her chosen sister, so she accepted she had to tell them the truth and she also knew they would keep her confidence.
Inhaling deeply she bowed her head and before raising it again she prayed she would have the courage to tell them what they had a right to know. “Auntie,” she began, “there are things you should know. Firstly, I do owe you.” Anna began to protest but Rachel silenced her by raising her hand. “And if I had stayed because you needed nursing it would have been because I wanted to out of love – not obligation. Bella, who also loves you dearly, was willing to make it easy for me to go by taking on your care. But …” Rachel stopped. She seemed reluctant to go on, however, she swallowed hard and picked up from where she’d left off, “And it’s a big but – you see Bud’s again doing what his mother tells him to do. So as a sop, I’ve to get an engagement ring and in two years his dearest mother may – and it’s a big may – be willing to have a Couper S
treet lassie as a daughter-in-law. Huh. Doesn’t she realise I know she’s hoping he’ll meet someone in the next two years that’ll measure up to her standards?”
“Her standards?” queried Anna, brushing her lips with her hand. “And whatever are they?”
Shrugging, Rachel finished by saying, “I don’t know what they are – but what I do know is they’re in no way good enough for any mother-in-law that I would be prepared to accept.”
22
THE WISE WOMEN
The preliminaries to the 1926 General Strike in support of the miners whose war cry was: ‘Not a penny off the pay – not a minute on the day’, had been grumbling on for months.
For over a year now Andy, who felt he was too old for long sea trips, had been labouring in the shipyards. Naturally working ashore hadn’t changed his political views – only entrenched them. So it came as no surprise that he was at the forefront of the support being offered to the miners by the shipyard workers.
Rosie, who again would have to work to keep the household stocked in food and a roof over their heads, this time scrubbing stairs in Easter Road, took delight in pointing out to Andy that the support he was enjoying from his workmates was not so much because they identified with the strike but because there was not much work in the yards anyway.
People were on the streets vehemently voicing their objections to shortages of food and also demanding an upgrade to the allocation of one bag of coal a week for each household. Rosie and Anna had chuckled when they heard this because if another bag of coal was to be put on offer in the dock area of Leith nobody would have been able to find another two shillings and nine pence to buy it!
Fortunately May was the chosen month for the strike and as Andy thumped the table he proudly pointed out that God was on the side of the strikers as He’d sent down pleasant clement weather. Andy’s euphoria however was nipped in the bud when he, having been identified as a ringleader, was arrested, along with another ninety-one people, by the baton-charging constabulary.
Immediately after Rosie became aware of the arrests she ran to tell Anna.
“Calm yourself, Rosie,” commanded Anna.
“How can I calm myself when that idiot brother of yours has not only got himself banged up in prison but …”
“But surely he’ll get off with a fine,” Anna interrupted. “He usually does.”
“A fine? Oh aye, he got that right enough but unfortunately you have to be able to pay it before you’re allowed out to make a nuisance of yourself again.”
“Right enough. He’s not had much work of late. Oh, Rosie, I’d like to help but I’ve just no been able to pull my weight of late. It’s Rachel who keeps this place going.” Anna looked around her humble home. “Sure if it wasn’t for her I’d end up in the Poorhouse.”
Rosie tutted. “And do you think I would allow that? Nae chance.”
Anna smiled, “But here, Rosie, there’s a bonus in everything.”
“And what’s that?”
“Just that our Andy’ll no be on his soapbox at the Foot of the Walk tomorrow spouting, ‘Down with the aristocracy and bring on the guillotine!’”
Rosie cackled. “Look, Anna, you’ve sidetracked me. What I came to tell you is that Johnny’s been brainwashed by Andy and he’s also been arrested,” she sighed wearily, “and it looks like he’ll need to do time.”
“Oh no. That means he’ll no be able to take Rachel to the dancing. Real disappointed she’ll be.” Anna huffed. Rosie shook her head. “Aye, going dancing thegither is the highlight of the week for them.”
“Here, talking about them always being thegither, do you think anything’s going to come of it?”
Glancing up at the clock Anna glibly said, “If Bud doesnae hurry and come back from America … it just might.”
Rosie too was looking at the clock as if it was somehow going to tell them how long they would have to wait for an answer when she drawled, “Don’t want my Johnny to get hurt. And I certainly don’t want him hitching up to Rachel and her thinking he’s second-best.”
“Johnny second-best!” exclaimed Anna with a chuckle. “Might be to some but never to a mammy’s boy like Bud Watson. Besides, he’s yesterday’s news.” The words had just left her mouth when she knew she’d said too much.
“Yesterday’s news?” Rosie was quick to query. “Since when?”
All Anna could do was give a half-hearted shrug. Had she not been so poorly of late she might not have forgotten that only she and Bella had been taken by Rachel into her confidence.
The three of them, Bella, Rachel and herself, had been sitting round the table having a good blether. Those were precious times Anna treasured, especially now when she was so frail. During the conversation Anna noticed Rachel was not joining in the banter as much as she usually did. Then without warning, Rachel decided to break the news that her best friend Rosa Liston, who had gained a reputation for herself as being ‘easy’, had been dispatched by her mother to relatives in America – Texas, to be exact.
“Oh,” interrupted Bella, “but is that not where Bud is?” Rachel nodded. “Bet she met up with him.”
“Anyway,” Rachel had continued, “Mother Liston hoped that in Texas, where Rosa’s infamy wasn’t public knowledge, she’d find herself a ‘good’ husband and settle down.” Rachel had allowed a long pause before announcing, “Within three months she’d done just that.”
“Oh so, all’s well that ends well,” exclaimed Anna.
“Not really,” Rachel had said with a shake of her head. “You see, the gullible candidate found out that he’d require, for the sake of the expected baby, to do the honourable thing and marry Rosa.” Rachel breathed in deeply before adding, “And she’s now the respectable – Mrs Bud Watson!”
Anna also remembered, with more than a hint of satisfaction, how four months later Rosa had achieved the miraculous and given birth to a nine-pound baby girl who was a whole five months premature!
Rosie, unaware of Anna’s dilemma, did as she always did when faced with a problem: she took out her snuffbox and inhaled a large pinch from it. “And,” she briefly hesitated to give herself time to sniff and meditate, “I suppose when she finds out my Johnny’s been bunged up and will do time, as I havnae got the price of his fine, he’ll be Mister Yesterday too.”
“Right enough,” still pondering, Anna said more to herself. “But why did Johnny allow himself to be influenced by his father?”
Shrugging, Rosie replied, “Like father like son. And you know fine, Anna, how Andy keeps going on about a better deal for working folk. So along with Andy’s views and that of his mates’ in the union, Johnny’s now convinced that the only way a working man will ever get his voice listened to will be through a forceful trade union.”
“So Johnny went on the march to support the miners?”
“Anna, don’t you realise he’s a bigger hothead than Andy now? He speaks better. The men listen to him. Everybody but me thinks he makes sense and is the way forward.” Rosie stopped to take another pinch of her instant composure before adding, “And not only did he lead the march, he was the one carrying the banner!”
Anna could only look at Rosie and shake her head.
The long silence between both women continued until Rachel’s entrance broke it.
“What are you doing here at this time of day?” Anna managed to splutter.
“I got time off …” Rachel abruptly stopped as she spied a letter propped up on the mantelshelf. “Look, it’s for me. It’s from my brother Freddie in Canada.”
“Hope he’s no needing another handout because he’s had it. Oh aye, none of us hae a brass bean,” Rosie grumbled under her breath.
Tearing the envelope open Rachel sank down to read her letter, which she held in her right hand while grasping the other contents in her left. “It says here, Auntie, Violet and Freddie are very well. And at last they’ve a wee place of their own.” Rachel started to laugh and cry at the same time, “And I’ve also got twin nieces and, A
untie, you won’t believe it but he’s called them Norma and Anna.”
Not only was Rachel crying, but so were Rosie and Anna.
Through smiles and tears Anna managed to ask, “What else is he saying?”
“Oh, just that he’s doing so well that,” Rachel started to wave the other piece of paper high above her head as she danced around the room, “here is a postal order for half of the money that he borrowed from me to get to Canada!” She stopped dancing to throw her arms around Rosie and looking directly at Anna she chuckled. “And now do you doubt the power of prayer?”
“What are you taking about, lassie?”
“Just this, Auntie. I asked for time off because I heard my Johnny had been arrested and I came home here to beg you to let me sell or pawn that punch bowl set and your pendulum clock …”
“You’ve got to be joking,” a horrified Anna challenged.
“No. You see I need four pounds ten shillings so I can pay Johnny’s fine or he’ll be locked up for a month.” Rachel’s shoulders dropped with relief. “And here at home waiting for me was the answer to my prayers.” Rachel now kissed the warrant before brandishing it in the air again. “So I’ll high-tail it along to the post office and get them to cash this for me.”
“No matter how fast you run, Rachel,” Anna warned, “you won’t be able to get the order cashed and then get to the court in time to pay the fine.” She sighed before adding, “So it looks like our poor Johnny will need to spend the night behind bars.”
“Aye, well,” chipped in Rosie, “maybe a night in the cells will cool his heels.” She paused and scratched her head, adding sulkily, “And I suppose my Andy will be left to rot there on his own.”
“Auntie Rosie, you’re a right wet blanket the day. Do you think seeing there’s seventeen pounds ten shillings here, I’d let Uncle Andy rot in jail and not pay his three-pound fine?”