MB03 - Sweet Rosie O’Grady

by Joan Jonker

  Phoebe bit on her bottom lip while Dorothy sat wide-eyed. ‘I know I shouldn’t say it, Mam, but we didn’t like me dad. He wasn’t nice to us, always hittin’ us and shoutin’ at us even though we hadn’t done nothing wrong.’

  ‘Yes, I know that, love. I didn’t like him myself at times because he was mean and cruel. But when he was sick, he changed.’ Ellen chose her words carefully, knowing that what she said could affect her children’s lives for a long time. She didn’t want them to go through life hating their father. ‘He knew he hadn’t been a good husband or father, and was sorry. He wanted us all to be happy, and he knew we would be with Uncle Corker. That’s why he said what he did.’

  ‘If he’d stayed bad, he wouldn’t have said that, would he, Mam?’ Dorothy said. ‘He must have turned good before he died.’

  ‘Yes, love, he did.’

  ‘An’ he must have found out he really loved us, mustn’t he?’

  ‘Yes, he did.’ Ellen felt tears pricking her eyes, but they were tears of relief. The children would remember their father, not with love, no – he had never given them any reason to love him – but at least when they thought of him now it wouldn’t be with hatred.

  ‘I’m glad he turned out good, Mam,’ Phoebe said, ‘but we love Uncle Corker, and we’re lookin’ forward to him being our dad.’

  ‘Yes, I know, love.’ Ellen’s smile was tearful. It was funny the way children could cope with things better than adults. But this little talk had cleared the air, and her mind. ‘An’ I love Uncle Corker, too, very much.’

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Molly pulled the key out of the lock and stepped into Miss Clegg’s hall. She stood still for a while, her head cocked, until she heard a sound that had her scurrying to the living room. There she saw the old lady rocking in her chair, her hands covering her face as sobs shook her frail body.

  ‘Ah, come on, sunshine, don’t take on so.’ Molly knelt down at the side of the chair and put her arm across the thin shoulders. ‘Yer’ll make yerself ill if yer carry on like this.’

  ‘I can’t help it, Molly,’ Victoria sobbed. ‘I keep thinking that something terrible has happened to Phil.’

  ‘There now.’ Molly held her close, wishing she could reassure the old lady that everything would be all right. But how could she when the whole country was in a state of shock at the news coming through from Europe? The German army was advancing on all fronts and the Allied forces were being pushed backwards, towards the sea. According to the latest news bulletin, there were thousands of them stranded on the beaches at Dunkirk with no protection from the waves of German aircraft dropping their deadly bombs. Molly felt like crying herself when she thought of those lads being killed and maimed without any chance of fighting back, and it was only her anger that kept her tears in check. Like everyone she spoke to, she was asking herself how it could have happened. Someone, somewhere, had a lot to answer for.

  ‘Come on, sunshine, dry yer eyes, there’s a good girl.’ Molly struggled to her feet. ‘We don’t want Phil comin’ home to find you unwell, do we?’

  ‘Molly, d’yer think he will come home?’ Victoria dabbed at her red-rimmed eyes. ‘If I could, I’d give my life for his.’

  ‘Ay, yer can cut that talk out for a start! I know things are bad an’ I’m as worried as you are, but we’ve got to keep going! There’s thousands of women with husbands and boyfriends over there, but they’ve got to carry on, otherwise we might as well hold up our hands, surrender an’ let Hitler win!’ Molly’s anger was rising as she spoke. ‘An’ I’ll tell yer this, Victoria, I for one am not about to let that happen. I’ll take a bloody gun meself before I let that swine win.’ She managed to smile as she added, ‘I’ll take Nellie with me, of course.’

  The tears had ceased now, and Victoria nodded in agreement. ‘You’re right, Molly, we can’t let him beat us.’

  Molly stroked the sparse white hair. ‘That’s the spirit, sunshine! You, me an’ Nellie, we’d take the Germans on an’ lick the pants off them.’

  ‘A fat lot of good I’d be, I’m useless, good for nothing.’

  ‘Oh dear, we are feeling sorry for ourselves today, aren’t we?’ Molly bent to wag a finger in her face. ‘Snap out of it, sunshine, an’ don’t be burying Phil when he’s not dead. D’yer hear? He’s not dead!’ Molly knew she had to be cruel to be kind. ‘If everyone gave up hope, who would make the guns an’ ammunition for our boys to fight with, eh? And they’ll fight back, oh yes, they’ll fight back all right. And next time it’ll be the Germans on the run, take it from me.’

  Victoria gave a weak smile. Molly’s fighting talk had done the trick. She would worry again when she was on her own; she couldn’t help it. But, like her neighbour said, she had to believe that Phil wasn’t dead. ‘Would you stick the kettle on for a cuppa, Molly, please?’

  Molly was talking to herself as she hurried across the cobbled street.

  ‘I didn’t intend stayin’ that long, but I couldn’t just leave her, not the state she was in.’ She glanced at the house three doors away as she slipped the key in the lock. ‘Nellie will be here any minute for her elevenses an’ I’ll have to drink another ruddy cup of tea, even if it kills me.’

  She walked through the living room to the kitchen, filled the kettle and set it on a high light on the gas stove. ‘No wonder the old lady’s feelin’ the way she does, she’s got nothing to occupy her mind. Sittin’ there all on her lonesome the whole day long, it’s understandable she gets down in the dumps.’

  Molly was setting the tray when there was a bang on the front window that had the glass rattling in the frame. ‘Why the hell she can’t use the knocker like everyone else is beyond me.’ She threw open the front door. ‘One of these days, Nellie McDonough, yer’ll put that ruddy window in! An’ if yer do, yer’ll flamin’ well pay for it!’

  ‘I only rapped with me knuckle, girl, gentle like.’ Nellie smiled into Molly’s face as she passed. ‘I can’t help it if I’ve got knuckles like a navvy.’

  ‘Why can’t yer use the knocker?’

  Nellie pulled out her usual chair and plonked herself down. ‘I knock on the window so yer’ll know it’s me.’

  ‘Nellie, yer come every morning at the same time, so who else would I think it was?’

  ‘Someone yer owed money to, like the club woman. Now if she knocked on the door, an’ yer wanted to give her a miss, yer wouldn’t know it was her at the door, would yer? An’ yer’d be caught out.’

  ‘If I wanted to miss the club woman, sunshine, I’d have the good manners to tell her to her face.’ Molly tapped a finger on the side of her nose. ‘Not like someone I know who hides in the kitchen until she thinks the coast is clear.’

  ‘Hey, you just watch it, girl, that’s defur … er … defin …’ Nellie scratched her head, thought for a minute, then said, ‘That’s a lie, that is.’

  Molly spluttered at the look on her friend’s face. ‘Nellie, were yer trying to say defamation of character?’

  Nellie rested her elbow on the table and cupped her chin in one of her chubby hands. ‘I could have yer up in court for that, yer know.’

  ‘Have me for what?’

  ‘What you’ve just said.’

  ‘No you couldn’t ’cos it’s the truth.’

  Nellie’s body began to shake. ‘I know it’s the truth, you know it’s the truth, but the club woman doesn’t, so she could take yer to court.’

  ‘On what grounds?’

  ‘Calling her a liar!’

  ‘I didn’t—’ Molly broke off. Rubbing a fist across her forehead she counted to ten, telling herself not to encourage her friend because she’d keep it up until the cows came home. ‘I’ll brew the tea.’

  ‘I’ve got some scandal for yer,’ Nellie called out to the kitchen. ‘It’ll make yer hair curl.’

  ‘That would be handy,’ Molly said, placing the tray on the table. ‘It would save me gettin’ a perm for the wedding.’

  ‘I’ll wait until yer’ve pour
ed the tea, then we can do to her what you’ve just done to me.’

  ‘What have I just done to you?’ Molly asked.

  Nellie screwed her face up. ‘If I get it wrong, girl, an’ yer laugh at me, I’ll flatten yer. I think it was defamation of character. The only difference is, we were actin’ daft. What I’m goin’ to tell yer isn’t funny.’

  Molly poured out the tea quicker than she’d ever done. She didn’t know where Nellie got her news from, but she was never wrong. ‘Right, I’m all ears.’

  ‘I’ve got a bit of good news, so I’ll give yer that first.’ When she folded her arms, Nellie’s bosom was pushed out to form a shelf. ‘Our Lily’s got a feller.’

  ‘Oh, go ’way! Since when?’

  ‘Well I don’t rightly know how long she’s known him, ’cos she can be very deep sometimes, can our Lily. But she brought him in last night after they’d been to the flicks.’

  ‘And?’ Molly arched her brows. ‘What’s the verdict?’

  ‘He seems a nice enough bloke, but yer can’t really tell until yer’ve known someone a while, can yer? He was very nervous at first, I felt sorry for him. Then George mentioned football, found out the lad was a Liverpool supporter an’ they got on like a house on fire.’

  ‘Your Lily is very sensible for a seventeen-year-old, she wouldn’t take up with anyone that wasn’t decent.’ A slow smile spread across Molly’s face. ‘Those big hats we’re goin’ to buy, we’ll get our money’s worth out of them all right. There’s quite a few weddings on the horizon.’

  ‘Ye’re not gettin’ dolled up for Corker’s wedding, are yer?’ Nellie looked concerned. ‘I’m goin’ to be strapped for cash, what with a new dress an’ shoes, an’ a present into the bargain.’

  ‘No, they’re getting married in a register office so there’s no need to get dolled up.’ Molly felt sentimental as her mind went back over the years. ‘D’yer remember, Nellie, the day we sat here an’ said when your Steve married our Jill we’d buy the biggest hats we could find? Well I’m sticking to what I said then. The day our Jill walks down the aisle with your Steve, I’ll be wearin’ the biggest, poshest hat that Bladder’s have got.’

  ‘Ay, I can remember that day, girl! You said yer were goin’ to buy one as big as a cartwheel, an’ because I couldn’t think of anythin’ bigger than a cartwheel, I asked if I could stand under yours.’ Nellie sniffed and wiped a stray tear from her eye. ‘They’d fallen out at the time, remember? But you were certain they’d get back together, that’s why yer mentioned the big ’at.’

  ‘And I was right, as per usual. If ever a couple were made for each other, it’s Jill and Steve.’ Molly reached for Nellie’s empty cup. ‘Anyway, we’ve got off the subject of defamation of character. Who are yer goin’ to defame?’

  Nellie’s mouth gaped for a second. ‘Ay, girl, yer don’t half know some big words, don’t yer? Proper bloody encic … encec … oh, God, here I go again, what’s the word?’

  ‘Encyclopaedia, Nellie, but yer could have said dictionary.’ Molly hissed through her clenched teeth. ‘For heaven’s sake, will yer get on with whatever yer’ve got to tell me?’

  ‘Oh, all right, keep yer ruddy hair on! It’s about that fly turn in number sixteen.’

  ‘Oh, not her again, Nellie! Yer’ve really got it in for that woman an’ I’m blowed if I know why. She’s never done you no harm.’

  ‘Chance would be a fine thing, girl, ’cos I steer well clear of her.’ Nellie laid her elbows flat on the table and fixed her gaze on Molly. ‘Have I, or have I not, always said she was a brazen hussy?’

  ‘Ever since she moved into the street,’ Molly said. ‘But I don’t know why ’cos she’s never done nothing wrong.’

  ‘Until now.’ When Nellie nodded slowly, her chins moved up and down in slow motion. ‘Until now.’

  ‘Oh dear, what’s she done to upset yer now?’

  ‘I’m not upset, girl, I’m blazin’ mad … spitting feathers if yer must know.’ Nellie’s nostrils flared. ‘She’s got herself a fancy man.’

  ‘Come off it, sunshine! Yer’ve been listening to too much gossip, that’s your trouble.’

  ‘I’ve been listening to gossip for weeks, girl, but I never said a dickie bird to yer ’cos I knew yer’d blow yer top. But this time it isn’t gossip ’cos I saw it with me own eyes.’ When Molly remained silent, Nellie went on. ‘I saw her take him into their house last night. My feller fancied a bag of chips so I went down to the chippy. And who was I walkin’ behind on me way back? The bold one, that’s who, an’ her fancy man.’

  Molly looked shocked. ‘She wouldn’t have the nerve to take a man into that house with the kids there. Perhaps it was her brother, or a cousin or something.’

  ‘If it was her brother, then all I can say is he’s a very loving brother ’cos he had his arm round her an’ was kissing her.’ Nellie huffed. ‘I don’t know, you must go round with yer eyes an’ ears closed. She’s been the talk of the street for weeks, an’ last night isn’t the first time she’s been seen takin’ a man in the house.’

  Molly cast her eyes down. ‘I can’t believe it! Her husband’s out in the Middle East somewhere, surely she wouldn’t cheat on him?’

  ‘You can believe it, girl, ’cos there’s worse to come,’ Nellie said. ‘I was talkin’ to Mrs Pearson who lives next door to her, an’ she told me that when her husband was goin’ out at half-five yesterday morning, who should come out of the next door but the bold laddo himself. Mrs Pearson was seeing her husband out, he’s on the six to two shift, and she said the bloke never said hello, kiss me arse or anythin’, just legged it hell for leather down the street.’

  Molly was convinced now that what Nellie was saying was true. ‘It’s not only her husband she’s cheatin’ on, she’s lettin’ the children down as well. They shouldn’t have to see that sort of carry-on, it’s not fair on them.’

  ‘She’s takin’ a chance, girl, that’s all I can say. I mean, the war won’t last for ever, an’ when her husband comes home there’ll be plenty of wagging tongues to tell him what she’s been up to.’ Nellie banged an open palm on the table. ‘I told yer all along she was hot stuff, but yer wouldn’t have it. You might be good with big words, girl, but I’m good at reading people. And I’ve had her tabbed since the word go. Her husband might have kept her satisfied in bed when he was home, but now he’s thousands of miles away she’ll make do with anybody. As long as they’ve got a pair of trousers on, she’ll go to bed with them.’

  Molly’s face was a picture of dejection. ‘I dunno, it’s not twelve o’clock yet an’ I’ve heard enough sadness to last me a lifetime. First the news on the wireless … all bad. Tryin’ to cheer our Doreen up before she went to work … without success. Comforting Miss Clegg when I felt like bawlin’ me own eyes out. An’ now you tell me that the wife of one of our soldiers is cheatin’ on him.’

  ‘Be fair, girl, I did give yer some good news.’ When Molly looked puzzled, Nellie reminded her. ‘Our Lily’s got herself a feller.’

  ‘With the best will in the world, Nellie, you can hardly say that compensates for all the bad news.’

  ‘I dunno about that.’ Nellie knew it was time to go home and get some work done, but she didn’t want to leave her friend feeling down in the dumps. ‘Yer see, I thought our Lily was goin’ to be left on the shelf.’

  Molly gasped in surprise. ‘What! Left on the shelf! Nellie, your Lily is only seventeen years of age!’

  ‘I was married at eighteen, girl! Mind you, I proposed to George. And the fact that I had his arm up his back at the time might have had somethin’ to do with him accepting … he was too bloody frightened to do anything else.’

  Molly was smiling widely now and Nellie was satisfied. ‘I’ll see yer later, girl … ta-ra.’

  Tommy was chewing so hard on the inside of his cheek he could taste blood in his mouth. But he had to do something to stop himself from crying. He was a man now, and grown men don’t cry.

  He glanced sideways to
where Doreen and her friend Maureen had their arms around each other, sobbing, and his mam and Jill were holding hands as tears rolled down their faces. They were listening to the voice coming from the wireless, telling of the armada of small ships that had braved the German bombers to cross the Channel to rescue the British soldiers, who were stranded on the beaches at Dunkirk. Even the announcer’s voice broke with emotion as he told of the bravery of the men who had risked their lives in any vessel that would sail on water … from the smallest fishing boats to yachts. And they’d brought hundreds of soldiers back, landing them on the coast and returning to Dunkirk to help the others. The risk was great, and some of the heroes had paid with their lives, but they were prepared to take that risk. Only the sea separated them from the stranded soldiers, and they just couldn’t stand by and do nothing.

  ‘Thank God for them,’ Jack said, lighting yet another cigarette. ‘At least our soldiers will know somebody cares about them. Every one of those men is a hero, ’cos what they did took some guts.’

  Molly wiped the back of a hand across her eyes. ‘Some of them lost their lives.’

  ‘Ay, I know, love, there’ll be plenty of families grieving tonight. But they saved a lot of our boys, and the families can take comfort from that and be proud of them.’ He shook his head in disbelief. ‘It must have been some sight, all those hundreds of little boats setting off across the Channel not knowing what they would find, or if they’d ever come back.’

  Doreen was sobbing into Maureen’s shoulder. ‘They brought some wounded soldiers home – I wonder if Phil is one of them?’

  ‘Please God he’s safe and sound,’ Molly said. ‘We should know in a couple of days. He’s put Miss Clegg down as next of kin, so she’ll be the one to be informed.’ In her mind Molly was praying to God that Phil was alive and not one of the hundreds of bodies lying on the beaches. ‘Why don’t you an’ Mo go over and sit with her for a while? But wash yer face first so she won’t know yer’ve been crying.’

  After the two girls had left and Jill had gone upstairs to change, Tommy said, ‘They weren’t half brave, those men, were they, Dad?’