by Joan Jonker
‘Not if it’s goin’ to cost as much,’ Steve laughed. ‘I’m only a poor apprentice, yer know, I get paid in buttons.’
‘Today was worth it, though, I really enjoyed meself,’ Jill said. ‘But Steve’s right, we couldn’t afford it often if we want to save up for our bottom drawer.’
‘When are yer getting married?’ Phil asked. ‘When ye’re twenty-one?’
‘That’s when I’ll have served me time, but with things the way they are I’ll probably be in the army by then.’ Steve exchanged a loving glance with the girl he’d adored since she was small. ‘We’d get married tomorrow if we could, wouldn’t we, sweetheart?’
‘Yes,’ Jill nodded, ‘but I’d like to have enough money for a nice wedding and a little house ready to move into, like me mam and dad did.’
They were nearing their street when the pub on the corner started to empty out. From the singing and the laughter it was obvious they’d had a good night and would still be in the pub if the landlord hadn’t put the towels over the pumps.
‘Just listen to them,’ Phil laughed. ‘They’ve certainly enjoyed themselves.’
One voice, completely out of tune, rose above the others.
‘Somebody stole my gal, somebody stole my pal,
Somebody came and took her away.
She didn’t even
Say she was leaving … voh-doh-de-oh-doh.’
Steve doubled up. ‘That’s me mam! She sounds as though she’s had a skinful.’
‘Let’s catch up with them.’ Jill pulled on his arm. ‘Finish off a perfect day with a good laugh.’
Molly was the first to spot them. ‘Hiya, kids! Have yez had a good time?’
‘Ooh, Mam, we’ve had a wonderful day.’ Doreen didn’t know where to start. A few weeks ago she was a sixteen-year-old kid; now suddenly she had a boyfriend and was grown-up. ‘We went to Jerome’s in London Road to have our photographs taken, then we walked around the shops before having something to eat in Reece’s, and we ended up in the Odeon on Lime Street.’
‘By golly, that sounds like a day an’ a half!’ Molly had laughed and sung until her voice was hoarse, and seeing her two pretty daughters with their nice, dependable, handsome boyfriends was an extra bonus. ‘Yez can tell me all about it tomorrow when me head’s a bit clearer.’
Nellie had spotted them and was pushing her way through the crowd that would linger until they ran out of conversation. ‘Where’s me lovely son an’ me beautiful daughter-in-law to be? Come on, give us a kiss.’
‘Mam, to put it mildly, you are drunk.’ Steve was chuckling as he felt two arms go round his neck and his face was pulled down to receive a sloppy, noisy kiss. He thought the world of his mother. He loved her warmth, her generosity and her everlasting sense of humour. And he roared with laughter when she released him and whispered in his ear, ‘The day you see yer mam really drunk, son, I want yer to promise me yer’ll sign me up for the Salvation Army.’
Jill was next in line. ‘Come on, girl, give yer ma-in-law a big kiss.’
Then came Doreen. ‘I don’t know what I’ll be to you when me son marries yer sister, but I know yer’ll find somethin’ to call me that’s fit for respectable ears.’
‘Auntie Nellie!’ Doreen felt as though she was being smothered by a large feather cushion. ‘Yer’ll still be me auntie Nellie and I’ll still love yer.’
‘God bless yer, girl!’ Nellie moved on to Phil, who had been watching with a huge grin on his face. It rounded off the day for him when he was counted in with the family and received a smacker on his cheek.
‘Now,’ said Nellie, her greetings over, ‘where’s all our gang? Ay, Corker, come on lad, let’s sing our way home.’
She grabbed Molly’s arm and linked it through hers, then she spotted Ellen standing quietly minding her own business. ‘Oh, ye’re not gettin’ out of it, Ellen Clarke, so don’t be tryin’ to hide behind Jack.’
With Molly one side of her and Ellen the other, Nellie turned to make sure the men and the youngsters were following. ‘Are yez all ready, behind?’
‘We’re ready when you are, Nellie, me little ray of sunshine.’ Corker had to raise his voice to be heard above the laughter. ‘You start off an’ we’ll all join in.’
Molly twisted her neck to see a smiling Jack standing between Corker and George. ‘It’s a good job me ma and da didn’t come. This one will wake the whole ruddy street an’ we’ll get called all the names in creation. I’ll be ashamed to show me face.’
Nellie jerked her round. ‘Anyone that’s in bed this time on a Saturday night must be dead miserable, girl, so sod ’em! Now, everyone keep in tune, d’yer hear? Those what can’t sing, just hum or whistle.’ And with that, she started.
‘Oh, we ain’t got a barrel of money,
Maybe we’re ragged and funny
But we’ll travel along
Singing a song
Side by side.’
The friends and families ended a perfect day walking up the street with their arms around each other. Content and happy, they sang their heads off. They sounded quite harmonious really – the only one out of tune was Nellie.
Chapter Eleven
‘Why don’t you an’ Steve go to Barlow’s Lane with Doreen and Phil?’ Molly asked Jill on the Tuesday night as the family were having their evening meal. ‘Be a change for yer.’
The corners of Jill’s mouth curved upwards and a smile spread across her pretty face. ‘Mam, you know I can’t dance! I’m like a baby elephant and Steve is just as bad, we’d be bumping into everyone.’
‘Half the people that go there can’t put one foot in front of the other!’ Doreen laid down her fork. ‘Yer wouldn’t even be noticed, Sis, honest! An’ yer’d enjoy yerselves ’cos Maureen an’ Sammy are meeting us there.’
‘I don’t know.’ Jill wasn’t keen on the idea. She’d seen her sister and Maureen in action on the dance floor and knew how well they could move. In comparison, she was as stiff as a board. ‘I’ll ask Steve, see what he says.’
‘Don’t ask him, tell him!’ Doreen picked up her fork and speared a carrot. ‘Yer’ve got some say in where yez go, haven’t yer?’
‘Ay, clever clogs, that’s enough!’ Molly said, her eyes flashing. ‘Sweet sixteen an’ yer think yer know it all.’
‘That’s our Doreen all over.’ Tommy rushed to Jill’s defence. ‘She’s too big for her boots, thinks she knows better than everyone else.’
Jack was about to intervene, but Jill beat him to it. ‘I don’t need you to stick up for me, I’m quite capable of doing it for meself.’ She turned to Doreen who was sitting beside her. ‘I never make arrangements without asking Steve first, and the same applies to him. That’s how it is and that’s how it should be when you’re courting someone. It’s share and share alike. But I will ask Steve when he comes round.’
Ruthie had been listening with interest, weighing up who was in the right. As she mashed a potato, she reached her decision. ‘I like Steve, he’s nice.’
‘Of course he is, sunshine!’ Molly ruffled her hair. ‘Yer’ll go a long way to meet another as nice as him.’ She rested her chin on her laced fingers and gazed at Doreen’s bowed head. ‘Just out of interest, did yer tell Phil he was goin’ to the dance, or did yer ask him?’
Although Doreen’s face was straight when she looked up, there was a twinkle in her eye. ‘I told him he was going!’ She tossed her head, sending her long blonde tresses swirling around her shoulders. ‘Then, after he’d picked me up off the floor, I changed me order to a request.’
Molly felt a grudging admiration for her headstrong daughter. Her quick tongue would land her in trouble one of these days, but at least she was honest enough to admit when she was in the wrong. ‘I should think so, too! Start throwin’ yer weight around with Phil, an’ he’ll be waving yer bye-bye.’
‘He will too!’ Tommy growled. ‘He could get any girl he liked. I saw him in his uniform an’ he’s a dead ringer for Randolph Scott.’
&n
bsp; ‘Ay, you!’ Doreen pointed her fork. ‘He’s better lookin’ than Randolph Scott, an’ a lot younger.’
‘Mam?’ Ruthie piped up. ‘Who’s Randolph Scott?’
‘He’s a film star, sunshine.’
‘Ooh, er!’ Ruthie pushed her plate away, having lost interest in her dinner. ‘It’s not fair, I haven’t seen Phil in his uniform. When can I see him, Mam?’
‘I’ll tell yer what, sunshine.’ Molly leaned towards her daughter and whispered loud enough for the others to hear. ‘Why don’t yer ask Doreen if yer can go to the dance with them?’
‘There’s never a dull moment,’ Jack chuckled, wondering whether conversations taking place around tables in other houses in the street were as lively as theirs.
‘This is the time of day I look forward to,’ Molly said, sitting on one of the chairs by the table. ‘Ruthie tucked up in bed and the others off gallivantin’ for the night.’ She stretched her arms high. ‘Peace, perfect peace.’
‘I’m glad Jill and Steve have gone to the dance,’ Jack said from the depths of his favourite chair. ‘It’s nice to see the four of them gettin’ on so well.’
‘Yeah, it did me heart good to see them goin’ out of here all laughin’ and joking.’ Molly’s finger traced a pattern in the plush of the chenille cloth. ‘Ay, Jack, d’yer think our Ruthie’s old enough to go to school on her own, now? She’s eight in a few weeks an’ I was only six when I started goin’ on me own.’
‘I don’t know, love, I haven’t given it any thought.’
‘Well yer wouldn’t, would yer? You’re not the one who has to traipse there an’ back every other day. Apart from me and Mary, yer only see about two other mothers outside the gate, the rest of the kids go home on their own.’ Molly curled a finger and took aim at a crumb that had been hiding in the deep pile. ‘An’ it’s not only the walk that gets me down, it’s being tied to time. No matter where I am or what I’m doing, I’ve got me eye on the clock ready to down tools and scarper. Me life’s not me own.’
Jack’s brow was furrowed in concentration. ‘D’yer know, thinkin’ back, I can only remember me mam takin’ me to school on me first day! I don’t think she ever took me after that.’
‘Perhaps she didn’t want anyone to know yer belonged to her,’ Molly grinned. ‘A little raggedy urchin, were yer?’
‘I’ll have you know my mother, God rest her soul, always sent me to school neat and tidy.’ Jack returned her grin. ‘Mind you, after playin’ ollies in the gutter, or climbing walls, I wasn’t neat and tidy by the time I got home.’
‘I’ve always been sorry I never knew yer parents.’ Molly’s voice was wistful. ‘It’s sad they both died so young.’
Jack laid the Echo down and reached for his cigarettes. ‘It’s been a long time now, but I’ve often thought of them over the years.’ He held a match to his cigarette and drew deeply before continuing. ‘Particularly on the extra special days in me life when I’ve wished they’d been here to join in. Like the day we got married, when each of the children were born, and on the day our Jill got engaged.’ He flicked the spent match into the fire. ‘They’d have been so proud of their grandchildren.’
Tears glistened in Molly’s eyes and she bit her lip. Thank God her ma and pa were still alive and enjoying the things Jack’s parents had missed. ‘I believe in heaven, Jack, an’ I bet yer parents know everything that’s happened in your life. They’ll be sitting next to God feelin’ very proud of you an’ the kids.’
Jack wasn’t as sure in his faith as Molly, but he didn’t voice his doubts. ‘I hope so, love, I hope so.’
‘Ay, we haven’t half covered some ground in the last few minutes, that’s for sure.’ Molly made an effort to shake off the gloom that seemed to have descended. Keeping her tone light, she said, ‘From the outside of the school gates to the pearly gates of Heaven … not bad in the space of five minutes.’
‘To get back to what we were talking about, love, why don’t yer try Ruthie on her own for one day, just to see how she gets on?’
Molly pulled a face. ‘Mary’s the fly in the ointment. I broached the subject a few weeks ago but she wouldn’t hear of it. Said Bella was far too young to cross the main road on her own … Oh, I don’t need to tell you what she’s like, ’cos yer’ve seen it for yerself.’
‘Then let Mary take Bella to school if that’s what she wants. It doesn’t mean you’ve got to follow suit.’
‘I keep tellin’ meself that, an’ I’m full of good intentions until I come to face Mary.’ Molly cast her eyes down. ‘Then I lose me nerve.’
‘Well now I’ve heard everything! I’ve seen you an’ Nellie floor hulking big men like Nobby Clarke, but ye’re frightened of Mary Watson who wouldn’t say boo to a goose!’
‘I’m not frightened of her, yer daft article, I just don’t like upsetting her! I mean, we are friends, after all.’ Molly started to titter and when Jack raised his brows, she chortled, ‘I’m not soft, I only take people on when I know I’ve got Nellie to protect me. I start the fight, then I hold her coat while she finishes the job.’
Jack’s laugh filled the room. ‘Why don’t yer send her over to sort Mary out then?’
‘Ooh ay, Jack, don’t you breathe a word to Nellie, whatever yer do! She’d think nothin’ of blurting it out, and then the fat would be in the fire. An’ I don’t want to upset Mary right now, ’cos she’s been so good sortin’ Bella’s old clothes out for me to take to that poor family on Saturday. In fact, I said I’d nip over tonight an’ see what she’s got.’
Molly stood up and pushed the chair back under the table. ‘I’ll go now while ye’re reading yer paper, and be back before yer’ve had time to miss me.’
Molly went into the hall for her coat. When she came back, Jack was shaking his head. ‘D’yer know, Mrs Woman, yer started off with our Ruthie goin’ to school on her own, went all around the world, and ye’re back now to where yer first started?’
‘Well, talkin’ doesn’t cost nothin’, does it? An’ it passes the time away.’ Molly bent to kiss him. ‘I love you, Jack Bennett.’
‘In that case, hurry home while we’ve got the house to ourselves for a change. We could even have an early night in bed.’
Molly leaned on the table. ‘You’ve got a flamin’ cheek, Jack Bennett! Yer accuse me of goin’ all around the world to say somethin’, but you don’t, do yer? Right to the point yer are, with yer one-track mind. It’s all yer think about. But yer can sod off ’cos I’m not in the mood. I’ve got a headache with talkin’ too much, so there!’
She was halfway down the hall when she called back, ‘I think nine o’clock would be a perfectly respectable time to go to bed, don’t you?’
She was still chuckling when Mary opened the door. ‘You’re looking happy with yerself,’ her neighbour said. ‘Jack hasn’t won the pools again, has he?’
‘No such luck.’ Molly waited until Mary closed the door then followed her down the hall. ‘No, I was just laughing at something Jack said … it tickled me fancy.’
‘Hello, Molly.’ Harry Watson drew his long legs in to make room for their visitor to get near the fire. ‘Jack been tellin’ yer a joke, has he?’
‘Nah, my husband doesn’t tell jokes, he leaves that to me. It wasn’t what he said that made me laugh, it was the way he said it.’
Mary dug her husband in the shoulder. ‘Put the kettle on an’ make us a cup of tea, Harry, while I show Molly the clothes I’ve got for her.’
‘I dunno,’ Harry said, struggling to his feet, ‘work all day, then she expects me to work when I come home. I think the men in this street should form a union to protect ourselves from the women.’
‘Ah, God love yer.’ Molly sniffed while wiping away an imaginary tear. ‘Yer’ll have me cryin’ for yer in a minute.’
Harry gave her a broad wink. ‘One sugar is it, Molly?’
‘Yeah, I don’t need any more, Harry, I’m sweet enough.’
Mary drew Molly to the couch. ‘These are
the things, Molly.’
Mary had had a good clear-out of Bella’s clothes. There were knickers, vests, socks, shoes, a couple of dresses and a warm winter coat. ‘Yer can throw out the ones yer think are no good.’
‘Throw them out! Not on your sweet life!’ Molly was over the moon. ‘In the old days, me an’ Nellie bought clothes a damn sight more worn than these at Paddy’s Market!’ She squeezed Mary’s arm. ‘Ye’re a pal, an’ I’m very grateful to yer.’
Molly stayed to have a cup of tea but she kept her eye on the clock. And at a quarter to nine she was crossing the cobbled street with a smile on her face and a song on her lips.
‘Will yer be home for Christmas, d’yer think?’ Steve asked as he stood with Phil in the foyer of the dance hall waiting for Jill and Doreen to come back from the cloakroom. When the two lads had first met, they’d sized each other up, liked what they saw, and an easygoing but firm friendship had been cemented. ‘Be nice if yer were, because me mam an’ Mrs B. always have a big party at Christmas.’
‘I couldn’t tell yer what’s happening, Steve, ’cos nobody tells us anything,’ Phil said. ‘They’re moving troops out of our camp nearly every day, and rumour has it they’re being shipped over to France. But everythin’ is very hush-hush, so really it’s only guesswork. Our unit still has a couple of weeks’ training, but after that we’ll probably be shipped abroad somewhere.’
‘And how d’yer like army life?’
‘I wouldn’t want to make a career of it, but it’s not bad. I signed up with the King’s Regiment and all the lads are from Liverpool. They’re a great crowd an’ we have a good laugh. We’ve got a couple of right scallywags an’ the tricks they get up to yer just wouldn’t believe.’ A smile lit up Phil’s face when he saw Doreen and Jill walking towards them. They were pretty enough to turn any man’s head, he thought with pride. ‘Aren’t they both lovely?’
Steve turned his head just as the sisters reached them. He held out his hand to Jill while answering Phil out of the side of his mouth. ‘That’s the understatement of the year.’