The Heart of the Home

by The Heart of the Home (retail) (epub)

  He stood beside the firm’s van and shook his head. It wasn’t the vehicle to be seen in, not if he wanted to be taken seriously. On the pavement he hesitated, considering bus or train, and inventing reasons to explain why he hadn’t arrived in the sports car he had told the interviewer he owned. George Dexter drove past and stopped.

  ‘Any luck with a new career, Gerald?’ he called, exaggerating the accent on the name.

  Gerald walked across. ‘I’m going into Cardiff. There’s a vacancy for a salesman at one of the new car showrooms. Selling high-class vehicles will suit me better than working with Dad, repairing bikes. But how can I arrive in that thing?’ He gestured towards the van.

  ‘Get in, I’ll take you,’ George said, pushing open the passenger door of his MG. He drove out of town and once they were on the road to Cardiff he stopped and said, ‘Better still, you can drive.’

  Cautiously, determined not to damage the car, Gerald took the wheel. It was a dream to drive and unable to resist, he picked up speed on the quiet stretches and it was with regret that he slowed when they approached the town. He parked at the side of the road where there was a bus stop.

  ‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘I enjoyed that.’

  ‘Go on, drive the rest of the way, impress them. I’ll be a friend who begged a ride in your smart two-seater.’

  Glowing with pride, Gerald drove into the forecourt and leaped out. He straightened his tie in a nervous gesture then walked across to the office. This was the moment to impress and he determined to make them aware of how much they needed him, not how much he wanted the job. Casual and confident, those were his key words.

  He was offered the job and accepted with ill-concealed amazement. The first time in his life he had applied for a vacancy and he got it. His first thought was how much he would enjoy telling his father, the second was telling Lucy.

  Driving home beside George they talked about his success, laughing and joking like conspirators. ‘Thanks, Mr Dexter,’ Gerald said seriously. ‘Driving up in this fabulous car definitely helped.’

  ‘It probably gave you a good start. Look successful and you’re halfway there,’ George said.

  The confidentiality of their unplanned afternoon made Gerald relax and talk of many things. He had never had anyone to confide in before and George was like a newly discovered friend. He told him about his dread of loneliness. ‘To reach middle and old age alone must be the worst thing. I’d rather marry someone in haste than end up on my own. I’m past thirty and time is running out.’

  ‘And there’s no one you care for? What about Lucy Calloway?’

  The success of the interview had made his earlier dreams of loving Lucy fade a little. Now he was going to be a salesman and earn lots of money, her attractions no longer fed his picture of a golden future. ‘I don’t think I’ve found the right woman yet,’ he said. ‘I’m fond of Lucy, very fond. But she won’t fit the image I have of how my future will evolve. I need a wife who will help me build my reputation. Someone who can stand by my side and mix confidently with the best.’

  George was silent for a moment then said harshly, ‘Whether you realize it or not, what you need is someone you love and who loves you. There is no substitute for that.’

  ‘Really, Mr Dexter. I wouldn’t have put you down as a romantic.’

  ‘Call it what you will, I can tell you my life has never been happy despite my success. I was young and foolish and I discarded the one love of my life. I married my first wife because her father offered me the money to start my business. My love was thrown away on the altar of greed. The man who married her is showered by my hatred every time we meet. Yet it was I who threw that love away.’

  ‘Aren’t you looking back through rose-tinted spectacles. Mr Dexter?’

  ‘Maybe.’

  ‘You think I should marry Lucy even though I don’t think she suits my needs?’

  George chuckled. ‘You have to ask her first. She might say no! You aren’t the only man who finds her desirable, my young friend. I suspect my son is seriously smitten.’

  Gerald stepped out of the car to see his father sweeping up some iron filings in the garage yard. ‘I went for an interview this afternoon. Mr Dexter gave me a lift, in fact I drove his MG most of the way. Wasn’t that generous of him?’

  ‘Did you get the job?’ His father’s voice was low, he didn’t look at his son.

  ‘Oh yes,’ Gerald replied airily. ‘I start a week on Monday.’

  ‘Good,’ was the abrupt reply.

  ‘Don’t you want to know what and where?’

  ‘A salesman in a car showroom?’

  ‘How did you know?’

  His father pointed to a small Fiat parked outside the yard. ‘It isn’t grand or even very impressive but it’s yours if you want it. You’ll need transport and you can always hope they’ll think you an eccentric.’

  ‘I don’t understand—’

  ‘It’s a parting gift.’

  ‘Thanks, I’ll be glad of—’ But his father walked off without another word.

  The excitement of the day fell from Gerald like an icy garment, spreading a chill as it went. He’d been so pleased with the interview and the friendliness of George Dexter, it was as though the day had opened a door onto a brand new start, but with hardly a word, his father’s attitude spoilt it all. A parting gift? Where was he supposed to go?

  His father went into the house and said to his wife, ‘That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. We’ve spoilt him and I just hope it isn’t too late for him to stand on his own feet.’

  In need of comfort and praise, Gerald went to Badgers Brook to see Lucy to tell her about the new job, but even that fell flat as there were several people there, including Teifion Dexter, who seemed completely uninterested in his news. Even Teifion seemed bored when told of his father’s kindness when he went for the interview. Lucy asked polite questions but showed no real interest in his replies. He was aware of sitting outside a close circle of friends, being in a place of which he had no part. He didn’t stay long. Better to talk to Lucy when they were on their own. After he gave her that bottle of perfume. She would listen to him then.

  *

  Leo was surprised to receive Teifion’s letter and he opened it with Walter looking over his shoulder and they read it together.

  ‘Please forgive me for involving you in my problem, but I believe my father is ill. He denies it but tells me he is to retire and move to the south coast of England. He wants me to take over the business and threatens to close down Evans and Calloway. He promises to employ Lucy as my assistant and I have to admit here that the thought of working with Lucy is something that strongly appeals, but not at the expense of harming either her or Meriel. If I go back to help my father, Lucy will believe I have betrayed them and this is something I don't want to happen.

  My instinct is to ignore all this, I dread the thought of going back to work for him, but I am worried in case my father really is unwell and this is his way of asking for my help. What sort of a son would I be if I did nothing? Frieda is not the type to care for a sick person.

  I don’t know what to do and would appreciate the opportunity to talk to you about it.

  Will you phone me at the Ship and let me know if you agree to help?’

  Walter read the letter a second time and said, ‘I believe the boy’s genuine, what do you think?’

  ‘What also jumps out of the page is his feelings for Lucy. I think that if I go, you should come with me.’ And so it was agreed. Leo rang Teifion and arranged to meet him at the weekend, when he, Walter and Lynne could include a visit to Badgers Brook.

  *

  Without mentioning it to Walter, Leo went to the Religious Books shop and invited the young girl assistant to have lunch with him. ‘I’m visiting a client and I need to eat and prefer not to eat alone,’ he explained. She accepted with obvious pleasure and led him to a café where a long list of choices turned out to be chips with anything you fancied. As they ate he
was thinking that they would have done better to buy from Gwennie Flint‘s and eat chips straight from the paper, sitting on a park bench. But he hadn’t come expecting haute cuisine, he wanted to find out where the Roberts-Price family had gone.

  Apart from listing her opinions about the dull boring family to which her friend had the misfortune to belong, he learned little. The town to which the family had moved was Bridgend and the street she thought might be something to do with a castle or something medieval but she remembered nothing more.

  ‘She promised to write, but I don’t think she will,’ she said. ‘And I won’t be devastated if I never see her again. Can you believe she’s not allowed to go to dances, or the pictures, she can’t listen to the wireless or buy records – at least when the old man is around. I sold her a record player,’ she confided, ‘and she keeps it hidden, only playing her records when he’s safely out of the way.’

  Leo remembered with sadness the view of the young girl dancing alone, her reedy voice singing along with the lyrics, trying to put some gaiety into that sombre house.

  ‘What a life, eh?’ the girl went on. ‘That job in Woolworth’s was her best chance of having fun but her miserable father made her leave and move away. And,’ she added, her eyes wild with disbelief, ‘she has to go to church three times every Sunday. I ask you, what sort of a nineteen-year-old girl accepts that these days? A drip, that’s what sort of girl. I was glad when she left.’

  ‘But I thought, as you work in a shop selling religious books, you’d understand?’

  ‘Understand? Do I heck! I took the job to fill in until I’m old enough to join the ATS. It sounds good when they ask what I’ve been doing, see.’

  Leo thanked her for her time, wished her luck in her future career and went back to the car. It had all been an utter waste of time. Or had it?

  On a whim he went to Bridgend and asked if there were any religious book shops in the area and was told of two. At the first he struck lucky. He stood in the doorway pretending to look at the books displayed on a stand, and as his eyes became accustomed to the dark interior, there behind the counter he saw the unmistakable stooped form of Mr Roberts-Price. Hoping he hadn’t been seen, he walked swiftly away.

  After a phone call giving Walter untrue reasons for his delay, he sat near the shop in his car and waited. At five o’clock the shop door closed and a few moments later, during which time Leo wondered whether the staff had left by a back door and he’d missed his quarry, three people came out. The door was locked by Mr Roberts-Price then rattled to make sure it was properly secure. Heart racing, Leo started the engine.

  The man didn’t go far. In the street behind the book shop he went into a door beside a bakery. The daughter went in a few minutes after him, dressed in a long ill-fitting dress and flat sandals, her hair straight, unevenly cut and reaching her shoulders. Leo found it hard to believe she was approaching twenty.

  Hunger was tormenting him but he waited for an hour but no one came out again. He drove back to Barry, satisfied he had found their new home. He still didn’t know how he would use the information, but felt reassured by having it.

  *

  Lucy woke the next morning and felt her head jar painfully as she lifted it from the pillow. A tightness around her throat and a tickle that quickly developed into a cough and she knew she had caught another unseasonal cold. She had always been susceptible to these and wondered what to do about it. Kitty recommended oranges, lots of oranges. Stella in the post office advocated lemon juice and blackcurrant jam. When she went downstairs, where Meriel was already up and setting the table for breakfast, she was sent straight back to bed.

  When she protested, Meriel said, ‘The best way of getting rid of a cold is to rest, and besides, our clients wouldn’t be pleased if you passed it on.’

  Teifion heard at lunchtime from someone who had called at the office and as soon as the pub closed he went to see Meriel. ‘Can I do anything, go and see her and take Lucozade or Tizer?’ he offered.

  ‘Best to let her rest,’ she said after thanking him.

  ‘Then can I do something here? There was a brief silence and he added, ‘That’s if you trust me.’

  She smiled, and gestured towards Lucy’s chair.

  When they closed the office at five, he went with her to Badgers Brook and to their surprise, when they reached the door they heard voices and laughter. ‘Gerald!’ Teifion said pulling a face. ‘Perhaps I won’t stay after all.’

  ‘Don’t be so defeatist,’ Meriel said, pushing him through the kitchen.

  ‘Gerald’s got himself a job,’ Lucy’s muffled voice reported.

  ‘Two jobs, isn’t that going to be difficult?’ Teifion asked.

  ‘My father and I have parted company. I phoned about a position and went to Cardiff for an interview. They were very impressed, especially as your father let me drive myself there in his MG,’ he added, watching for Teifion’s reaction. ‘I start work on Monday as a car salesman.’

  ‘Does this mean you’ll be moving?’ Meriel asked. ‘If you’ve been kicked out by your father you won’t want to go on living there, will you?’

  ‘What d’you mean? My father didn’t kick me out, I found a better way of earning my living.’

  ‘We had an enquiry today, from a neighbour and he said your father told you to go. What’s that if it isn’t being kicked out?’ Meriel asked sweetly.

  Teifion laughed at the man’s discomfort and looked at Lucy, relieved to see she was sharing it.

  Gerald realized with alarm that Meriel was right, he would have to find somewhere else to live. Leaving home! How would he manage, unless Lucy agreed to marry him? Sharing Badgers Brook with her and Meriel wouldn’t be too bad, until he got on his feet and could afford something better. He touched the house key in his pocket. He’d better get home fast before his father presumed he wouldn’t be back. He had visions of seeing his clothes piled up on the doorstep. All appeared normal when he returned, his parents were listening to the wireless and he muttered goodnight and went to bed with a sigh of relief. He wasn’t ready to move out, he wondered vaguely if he ever would. Despite George’s wise words, Lucy’s charms didn’t give the situation that much urgency, he admitted sadly.

  *

  When Leo eventually reached the office, Walter and Lynne were there although it was after closing time.

  ‘Where have you been all day?’ Walter asked.

  ‘I’m sorry but something happened and I had to deal with it. I’ll make up my time. Sorry I couldn’t let you know how long I’d be.’

  ‘I asked where have you been.’

  Leo looked at his employer and lowered his head. ‘It’s private,’ he said.

  ‘Nothing to do with our daughter?’

  From Walter and Lynne’s expression Leo knew it was pointless to lie. ‘Meriel was devastated when George Dexter told her you were her adoptive parents. Since then she has tried to accept it, but feels she won’t be able to until she finds her other family and is told why they gave her away. She wants to see the family she was born into and find out who she is. I can understand that.’

  ‘You’ve been investigating, even though you know we didn’t want this?’

  ‘Not investigating, I didn’t know where to begin. More like excluding someone from her possibilities.’

  ‘And did you? Exclude these people from her possibilities?’

  ‘Not really. I just don’t know. The family in question doesn’t seem the right sort, but – I’m sorry but I really think she needs to know. All I have decided is to investigate this one lead and if it’s wrong, as I think it is, that will be an end to it. I really don’t know any other place to search.’

  ‘Finding a connection with a Bible-thumping bore, how will that help her?’ Walter growled and in alarm Lynne spoke over Walter’s words hoping Leo had failed to hear them and realize their import. ‘We don’t know who she was, Leo, we aren’t allowed to know,’ she shouted to block out the words. ‘Our guesses won’t help anyo
ne, and guessing is all we can do.’

  ‘We were never told,’ Walter insisted. ‘Secrecy protects the mother as well as the child. We don’t even know the town in which she was born. Believe me, there are no clues to help us even if we wanted to find out where she belonged before we took her into our lives. Please, Leo, let this rest.’

  He felt shame for upsetting them but Walter’s outburst, his angry mention of the ‘Bible-thumping’ family gave him a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach which he hoped he’d managed to hide. Lynne said they had no idea, so perhaps Walter was hinting that he knew where his enquires had led him, nothing more than that.

  ‘Please, Leo,’ Walter said, ‘if we mean anything to you, Lynne, Meriel and me, please drop it.’

  ‘I’m sorry I’ve upset you,’ he said. ‘I apologize to you both.’

  Lynne stood up and went to the door, Walter following. She turned and said, ‘This is not the way to make her notice you, Leo. There are better, kinder means to attract her attention than this.’

  Startled, he stared at her.

  Walter attempted a smile and quirked an eyebrow. ‘Don’t think we haven’t noticed how much you care for her. You’ve seen her grow from a gawky schoolgirl into a lovely woman – your feelings for her changing too.’

  ‘Nothing would delight us more than you and our daughter getting close. It’s our dearest wish.’ Lynne said as she opened the office door and stepped out. ‘Good night. Come on, Walter, darling, let’s leave him to think about things. We’ll talk about it again tomorrow.’

  ‘Just remember what happened to Pandora when she opened that box,’ Walter remarked grimly as they left.

  Were they warning him he would lose Meriel if he didn’t agree? He had never been a man to evade trouble, had always thought it best to face it head on. He knew he wouldn’t rest before talking to Meriel. He had to ask her one more time if she really wanted to take the risk of knowing the truth. His loyalty was to her. Walter’s displeasure was a risk he had to take. He called briefly to tell his mother he wouldn’t be home until very late then drove once more to Badgers Brook. He was unaware of Walter making the same decision.