by Joan Jonker
‘Hang on a minute, girl,’ Monica took hold of her arm. ‘How often is she having contractions?’
‘Every eight to ten minutes now. If she keeps this up, the baby should be born by dinner time. God, I hope so, for Margaret’s sake. I’d hate her to have a long labour, she’s only young and hasn’t a clue what she’s got to go through.’
‘You go up, Betty, and we’ll see to the tea.’ Kate gave her a gentle push. ‘We’ll bring a tray up and have a cuppa with yer. As yer say, it will take yer daughter’s mind off what’s in store for her.’
As Monica was setting the cups and saucers on the tray, she asked, ‘Hey, girl, have yer ever been present when a baby’s been born?’
‘Only when me own two were born, sunshine, and I was only there because I had to be.’
‘Well, what would yer do if the midwife doesn’t turn up? Would yer stay in the bedroom and help deliver the baby, or would yer turn tail and run?’
‘I would like to turn tail and run, sunshine, but it would depend upon the circumstances. Although I’d be scared stiff, I wouldn’t leave Betty and Winnie, I’d stay and give what help I could. Even if it was only fetching and carrying, hot water and towels and things.’
‘Then I’ll stay with yer, girl, I wouldn’t let yer down. But if yer see me lips moving, it’s because I’ll be praying for the midwife to turn up, ’cos I’m not cut out to deliver babies.’
‘There’s a first time for everything, sunshine, yer’ll live through it. But while we’re waiting, you carry the tray up and I’ll walk behind yer with the teapot.’
They were on the small landing, outside the main bedroom, and Monica was just going to shout to ask one of them to open the door. Before she had time, there came a piercing scream which nearly caused her to drop the tray. ‘Oh, my God! I don’t think I can go in there, girl, I’d only make Margaret feel worse. I certainly wouldn’t be any help. I’ll put the tray down here and Betty can get it when things calm down.’
‘Don’t you dare, Monica Parry, or I’ll tell everyone what a coward yer are. Now let me get near the door so I can knock. And don’t be thinking of an excuse to get away because I’ll tell them ye’re a liar as well as a coward.’
Betty opened the door. ‘Come on in and put the tray down on the tallboy. The pains are coming more frequently now, about every five minutes. Will you two stay with Winnie while I run to the midwife’s again and see if there’s any word of her?’
Winnie was sitting on the side of the bed, holding Margaret’s hand. She turned to smile at her friends. ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t let yer know. I was a bit worried about yer sitting waiting for me, but then I told meself yer’d find out somehow where I was.’
Kate sat on the opposite side of the bed, and wagged her head from side to side as she smiled at Margaret. ‘Well, yer certainly picked a fine time, sunshine! Yer should have begun an hour earlier and then Greg would have been here to see what we women have to go through. Not that it lasts long, though, and to be quite truthful I forgot all about the pain as soon as the baby arrived. I never told John that, of course, and he waited on me hand and foot for a month.’ She turned to Monica. ‘Would yer pour half a cup for Margaret, sunshine, and fill it up with milk? She’ll be able to drink it before she has another contraction.’
‘Shall I pour one for you, Betty?’
‘No, girl, I’ll wait until later. The midwife might be home by now, and I can bring her back with me.’ Betty gazed lovingly at her daughter. ‘I won’t be long, pet, I’ll hurry all the way. You try and drink some tea, yer must be thirsty.’
Margaret’s heart was beating like a drum, and she’d never been so afraid in her life. But she managed a tearful, quivering smile. ‘If Greg was here, he’d be lying flat out on the floor in a dead faint. He wouldn’t be much help, I’m afraid.’
Kate chucked her playfully under the chin. ‘Well, if you are a very brave and clever girl, yer might be nursing your new baby by the time he gets home. And wouldn’t that be a big surprise for him to come back to?’
Monica leaned across the bed. ‘Here yer are, girl, drink this tea. I’ve put a lot of milk in it so yer can drink it quick.’
Margaret’s hand reached out to take the cup, but was quickly pulled back to clutch her stomach as a scream of pain left her lips. Betty, who was just letting herself out of the front door, turned on her heel and ran back up the stairs.
The only calm person in the room was Winnie. ‘I think yer’d better lay flat, queen, and let me have a look what’s going on. I’ve got a feeling ye’re one of the lucky ones whose baby can’t wait to see its mam. So be a good girl and slide yerself down in the bed.’ She noticed Margaret’s eyes flicker to where the other three were standing, concern on their faces. When she looked back to the girl, she saw that mingled with the pain was embarrassment. ‘Would you ladies wait outside for a few minutes, to let the girl have some privacy?’
Kate took a deep breath. ‘Winnie, d’yer know what ye’re doing? Why not wait until the midwife gets here?’
‘There won’t be time for that, queen.’ Winnie sensed their apprehension and asked, ‘D’yer know Sheila Harrison and Ben Simmons?’
‘Yeah, of course we do, sunshine, but what’s that got to do with the present situation?’
‘I brought both of them into the world, queen, and I managed fine.’ Winnie would laugh later when it was all over and she could bring to mind the look of surprise on their three faces. ‘So out yer go while I see to Margaret. Then I’ll tell yer what needs doing. If the midwife comes in the meantime, all well and good. If not, we’ll have to get on with it. Yer’ll be surprised how easy it is.’
‘Shall I stay, Winnie?’ Betty asked, thinking that as the mother it was her place to be there, and not leave it all to a kind neighbour. ‘Not that I’ll be any help, I’d be useless.’
‘What you can do, Betty, is find a small, clean towel, to twist into a roll for Margaret to bite on when she gets a pain. But now, out with the lot of yer so I can go about me business.’
The next hour was hectic. Margaret was having contractions every two minutes, and Winnie gave orders for plenty of hot water and sheets. The baby’s head was engaged now, and she allowed no one in the room because she thought they would pass their fear on to the girl giving birth. She was gripping the sheets, her cries of pain dulled by the towel she was biting on. And all the time the women outside could hear Winnie’s calm voice giving encouragement and praise. ‘Come on now, queen, take a nice deep breath and then push as hard as yer can. Yer’ve being very brave, and I’m proud of yer.’
Then came an agonizing scream that turned Betty’s blood cold. She wanted to be there to hold her daughter. But a second later they heard the sweetest sound in the world: the first cry of a newborn baby. The three women wrapped their arms around each other and shed tears of joy and relief.
The midwife was full of apologies when Betty opened the door. ‘I’m sorry, Mrs Blackmore, but I was called out early and it was a difficult birth. The baby was breech, and the poor woman was in agony for twelve hours. I couldn’t leave her.’
‘It’s all right, I understand. If it hadn’t been for a certain woman yer probably know, I’d have been out of me mind, but Winnie Cartwright delivered the baby and we’ll be forever in her debt. Margaret now has a beautiful little baby girl, and mother and daughter are doing well. But I think Winnie would like yer to have a look to make sure. She’s upstairs with Margaret who’s absolutely thrilled. No one has ever had a baby as beautiful as hers.’
Nurse Griffith smiled at Kate and Monica as she passed the table to go upstairs. ‘Busy morning, ladies?’
Monica rolled her eyes. ‘Worse than a horror movie, Nurse. My feller won’t be allowed in me bedroom tonight, never mind me bed.’
‘If Mrs Cartwright was here, there was no need for panic, she’s as good as any midwife.’ Rose Griffith was middle-aged with a grown-up family of her own. As she stood at the bottom of the stairs she laughed, saying, ‘If I ever
get pregnant again, I’ll send for Winnie.’
‘If I ever get pregnant again, I’ll throw meself in the Mersey,’ Monica said. ‘Either that or I’ll throw my feller in.’
‘Many a true word spoken in jest, sunshine.’ Kate lifted the tablecloth. ‘Touch wood, just in case.’
Before following the nurse up the stairs, Betty said, ‘I’ll have to go in case the nurse wants me to get anything for Margaret, and I want to ask her about breast feeding the baby. Would yer put the kettle on so we can enjoy a decent cup of tea? I’ll send Winnie down, she deserves a break if anyone does. She is a brick, that woman, takes everything in her stride and never turns a hair. God alone knows what I would have done without her.’
‘You’d better get upstairs, sunshine, and listen to what the nurse has to say.’ Kate smiled. ‘It’s a good job over, a big worry off yer mind. And as yer say, Winnie’s been a real hero. Margaret, too! She’s been very good considering she’s so young.’
Betty’s breast swelled with pride. ‘Yes, she’s been a real trooper. Greg is going to get the surprise of his life when he gets home, and my Jack. There’ll be no stopping the pair of them. Anyway, I’ll send Winnie down, and as soon as the nurse goes, yer can go up and see the baby before Margaret goes to sleep. The poor kid looks worn out.’ She got halfway up the stairs and shouted down, ‘Don’t forget the tea, I’m spitting feathers.’
Left to themselves, the two friends went out to the kitchen. ‘You see to the cups, sunshine, and I’ll put the kettle on.’ After putting a light under the kettle, Kate leaned back against the sink and folded her arms. ‘My ma used to say that yer learn something new every day, and I can see what she meant by it. The last few months have been one surprise after another. There was the day I went to see the headmaster about those bully boys, then Miss Parkinson being robbed and moving soon after. That was a big surprise, and not a nice one for us. Then came the Hunt family to disrupt our lives with their rowdy shenanigans. The next one I can think of was a really good surprise, thanks to you, that was my John getting a new job. But I think today tops the lot, don’t you?’
‘It puts them in the shade, girl, puts them in the bleeding shade. No doubt about that.’ Monica nodded to confirm her statement. ‘I got the shock of me life when Winnie said she’d delivered Sheila and Ben. She’s never mentioned it! And from the way the nurse spoke, they won’t be the only two, either.’
‘I feel really stupid now for asking her if she knew what she was doing.’ Kate moved away from the sink to turn the gas off under the kettle. ‘She’s done more in her life than I’ll ever do in mine.’
‘If you feel stupid, girl, how d’yer think I feel? At least yer’ve always been a friend of hers, and shut me up every time I said she was a jangler. For years that’s how I saw her. Which shows that ye’re a better judge of character than I am.’
Kate was pouring the boiling water into the teapot when she caught sight of Winnie stepping off the bottom stair. ‘Here she is, the star of the show.’ The lid was put on the teapot and Kate rushed to hug the little woman. ‘Well, yer certainly surprised us, sunshine, and made fools of us into the bargain. Here’s me asking yer if yer knew what yer were doing, and ye’re an expert at delivering babies! I feel a right nit now. But I wasn’t to know, sunshine, was I?’
‘Of course yer weren’t, queen, so don’t be worrying. Just pour us a cup of tea out, ’cos I’m parched.’ Winnie made her way to a chair and sat down heavily. ‘I’ve got to admit I feel a bit tired. There’s always worry attached to any baby being born, and yer have to keep yer eye out for complications. Still, everything went fine, the nurse has checked and is satisfied that mother and baby are well.’ She took the cup Kate handed to her and sipped on the hot liquid. ‘The baby is beautiful – Margaret is near to tears with happiness. We can go up and have a peep when the nurse goes. But only for a minute because she’s shown Margaret how to breast feed, and when the baby’s satisfied, both mother and child will want a rest.’
‘Yer leave us standing, yer know that, don’t yer, sunshine? Why have yer never told us about the babies yer’ve delivered?’
‘What is there to tell, queen? I’ve helped out, as anyone would do, and that’s nothing to brag about. It’s not my business to broadcast something another person might want kept secret.’
Monica chuckled. ‘I can see there’s going to be a toss-up between you two on who gets a seat on the front row, and whether yer both get halos and harps.’
‘Yer’ve got me stumped there, queen, what are yer on about?’
Kate opened her mouth but Monica got in before her. ‘Well, I think my mate is so bleeding good, Saint Peter will give her a front-row seat plus a halo and harp. But you’re turning out to be more saintly than she is, so, as I say, it’ll be a toss-up.’
Winnie grinned. ‘And where have yer got yerself down for, queen? A seat in the circle?’
‘Oh, I’ll take any hand-out, girl, as long as it’s not too far from me mate. And I won’t complain if the halo looks a bit tattered, or the harp has a string missing, as long as Kate is not too far away. She’s me best mate, yer see.’
Chapter Thirty
Charles knew there was something in the air when Winnie opened the door. She seemed to be brimming over with excitement. He also knew she was a person who could control their feelings until they believed the time to be right. So he removed his hat and coat, which she took from him and hung on the row of hooks in the hall, and sat in the chair he now looked on as his own. ‘And how are you, Winnie? You look very well, I must say.’
‘I’ve got lots to tell yer, but have patience until I’ve made the tea. I don’t want to be shouting to yer from the kitchen.’
‘I could come out there and then you wouldn’t have to shout.’
‘Stay where yer are, five minutes is neither here nor there. Yer can wait that long, surely? Or have yer got an appointment?’
‘I never make any appointments on the days I see you. The whole day is crossed off in my diary and nothing will make me alter my plans.’
Winnie came bustling in with the tray, all nicely set as it always was for his coming with Miss Parkinson’s china arranged attractively on a hand-stitched cloth, and a serviette for Charles to put over his knees to save any crumbs falling on to his suit. He wouldn’t care if they did, but as it pleased Winnie, he did as he was told. He really looked forward to the days he was seeing her because they spoke the same sort of language, being near enough the same age. He was a member of two gentlemen’s clubs in Liverpool, and once or twice a year ladies were invited. There was ample opportunity then for him to befriend a female relative of one of the other members but they were a little too sophisticated for him with their airs and graces. He also thought some of them didn’t have a thought in their head apart from nattering on about their social life. They’d drive him potty in no time.
‘Now we’re sitting with our tea and slice of pie, are you going to tell me what is bringing that mysterious smile to your face and the brightness to your eyes?’
‘Am I that obvious, Charlie?’
‘Yes, my dear, to me you are because I know you so well. Not as well as I would like to, but that is another story.’
Winnie put her cup and saucer on the tray so she could wave her hands about as she spoke. ‘Yer’ll never believe what happened yesterday, Charlie?’
‘I will if you tell me, Winnie, I wouldn’t disbelieve you for the world.’
‘Well, yer know Margaret Blackmore from the next street, the one that I told yer was expecting a baby? She went into labour yesterday morning, and when her mother went for the midwife it was to find she’d been called out on an urgent case. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I ended up delivering the baby.’
Charles, his mouth gaping, put his saucer down carefully at the side of his chair. ‘Did my ears deceive me then? I could have sworn you said you’d delivered a baby. But surely that can’t be true?’
‘Of course it is, yer daft ha’porth, I woul
dn’t joke about a thing like that. There was no one else, and it was a short labour so there wasn’t time to get her to the hospital. Anyway, the girl didn’t want to go so there was nothing else for it. It’s not the first time, Charlie, I’ve had quite a bit of experience. By the time the midwife put in an appearance, young Margaret was nursing her newborn baby daughter. I know it wasn’t pleasant for a young girl but she had an easy labour compared to some and there were no complications. The nurse was very satisfied, said I’d done everything right.’
‘Is there anything you aren’t capable of, Winnie? You seem to be able to turn your hand to anything.’
‘Ah, but there’s nothing so wonderful as helping a child into the world, Charlie, it’s a very satisfying experience. I’m calling round there later to see how mother and baby are, and I just wondered if yer’d like to come with me?’
‘I’d love to, of course I would! But surely the family won’t welcome a stranger at a time like this?’
‘Well, as ye’re their landlord, they’ll feel a bit embarrassed, I suppose. But only if yer let them, Charlie. If yer treat them as a friend, and not as the man who owns the house they live in, then yer’ll be very welcome. In fact, I could nip out the back way and ask Betty, see whether they’re ready for visitors yet.’ Winnie jumped to her feet. ‘I’ll be back in two shakes of a lamb’s tail, it’s only across the entry.’ In less than five minutes, she returned with a grin on her face. ‘Yer’ll be more than welcome, Charlie. We’ll just have another cup of tea and slice of pie to give Betty a bit of time to sort Margaret and the baby out.’
‘It would be nice to take something for them, don’t you think, Winnie? I’d feel awful going empty-handed. How about getting some flowers for the mother, and a toy perhaps for the baby?’