by Joan Jonker
‘Don’t you think of moving, Ada,’ Jean said, pulling a face. ‘We don’t want a lot of strangers in the street. I hope whoever takes this house over will be as good a neighbour as Eliza’s been. I’ll go mad if Mr Stone lets it to a noisy, rowdy family.’
‘Oh, Mr Stone won’t hand the keys over to a family like that, he’s very fussy who he takes on as tenants.’ Ada nodded knowingly. ‘He’s got his head screwed on the right way, and he’s a shrewd judge of character.’ Then she began to chuckle. ‘Mind you, he slipped up when he took Ivy Thompson on as a tenant. She’s noisy and rowdy if ever anyone was.’
‘Ooh, ay, ye’re right there, Ada,’ Jean said. ‘She’s a real big-mouthed bully. I was behind her in the Maypole the other day, and her language was so bad I didn’t know where to put meself. I was ashamed of me own sex. And I felt sorry for the young girl who was serving her, she was shaking like a leaf. Ivy had asked her for two ounces of tea . . . no, she didn’t ask, she demanded. All the customers in the shop were watching the poor girl as she weighed the tea on the scale, and the woman standing next to me said the manager should have come, not left the girl to it. Anyway, the tea was weighed and put in a bag which was handed to Ivy, and then the girl held her hand out for tuppence. And that was when Ivy took off and started banging on the counter, yelling that she’d been watching the girl weighing the tea and there wasn’t a full two ounces.’
Ada sighed. ‘She’d cause trouble in an empty house, that one. She doesn’t worry me, I give her back as good as she gives, but that young girl in the Maypole must have been terrified. I know when they get the job they are told to be pleasant, and that the customer is always right. But they shouldn’t have to put up with the likes of Ivy Thompson.’
‘Well, it ended up with the manager having to show his face. He didn’t stand up to Ivy, though, much to the disgust of all the women. Instead, he weighed the tea, then, the coward that he was, he added a little more to satisfy Ivy. And she walked out of that shop with her head in the air and a sneer on her face.’
Eliza had been listening intently. Then she voiced her feelings. ‘The Ivys of this world may seem to come off best because people are afraid of them. But, really, they don’t have a happy life because no one likes them and they don’t have any real friends. They are to be pitied, for they’ll never know how precious true friendship is.’
‘That’s right, sunshine,’ Ada agreed. ‘Ivy hasn’t got any friends. There’s a couple of women who hang around and pretend to be her friend, but only because they’re frightened of her.’
There were footsteps on the stairs, then Hetty appeared. ‘Edith sent me down to tell you we’re just about finished, and what time is tea break? She also told me to say that even prisoners in Walton jail get a tea break, but I won’t say that because it sounds cheeky.’
‘We wouldn’t like yer to be cheeky, sunshine,’ Ada winked at her friend, ‘so we’ll pretend yer didn’t say it. Just go and tell Edith I’m putting the kettle on now, so tea won’t be long. And while the kettle’s boiling, I’m slipping home to see if I can rustle up some biscuits so we can have a little tea party while we have the chance. We might not all be here at the same time again, so let’s go mad and enjoy ourselves.’
Eliza sat back in her chair, and, before anyone noticed, she wiped away a tear which was rolling down her cheek. It was the end of an era. But as Ada had told her, her memories were the most precious thing she had left, and she’d be taking those with her.
Chapter Seven
The news spread like wildfire in the street on the Friday morning. The taxi was coming to pick Eliza up at one o’clock, and women were leaving their houses from half twelve so they wouldn’t miss saying goodbye to the woman who was held in such great esteem by everyone. They hadn’t seen much of her in the last year or so, but when she was more agile she had been out every morning scrubbing her step, cleaning the window ledge and brushing the pavement in front of her house. She always had a smile and a good word for everyone who passed. And now they stood in groups, waiting to say goodbye and wish her well.
Inside the house, Ada and Hetty, with Jean and Edith, kept the conversation going to take Eliza’s mind off what was happening. She was nervous, and couldn’t keep her hands still as the fingers on the clock moved towards the hour. Her four neighbours were also nervous, and sad, but Ada did her best by telling of funny incidents which brought quiet laughter from her friends and a shaky smile from the old lady. Most of the tales were made up as she went along, but they were welcome for they helped to pass the time.
It was exactly one o’clock when the taxi turned into the street, and when Vera saw the groups of women standing on the pavement outside and opposite her mother-in-law’s house, her tummy turned over with fear, for she thought something dreadful must have happened. When she stepped from the taxi to be greeted by friendly smiles, she gave a sigh of relief. But what were all these women standing around for?
Jean opened the door with a smile. ‘Right on time, Vera,’ she said. ‘Punctual as ever.’
Vera kept her voice low as she stood in the tiny hall. ‘What are all the neighbours outside for? I got a fright when I saw them, thinking something had happened to Eliza.’
‘They’ve come to wave her off,’ Jean told her. ‘She’s very well thought of in this street, Vera, and everyone wanted to let her know she’ll be missed by her neighbours.’
‘But there must be about fifty women out there, probably more, and surely they can’t all know her.’
‘Of course they do!’ Jean nodded. ‘Don’t forget she’s lived in this street longer than anyone. And I bet she’s the one person who has never had a cross word with anyone.’
Ada came to join them in the cramped space. ‘What are you two whispering about? We don’t allow secrets here, so out with it.’
Vera smiled at her before making her way over to Eliza and kissing her. ‘I was just asking why all the neighbours are out in the street, even those who live at the top end. And Jean tells me they’ve come to wave you off in style.’
The old lady looked puzzled. ‘Are some of the neighbours outside? If I’d known that I’d have asked them in.’
‘Ye’re in for a big surprise, Mam,’ Vera told her. ‘There’s at least fifty women. I didn’t have time to count them.’
Eliza gasped. ‘Oh, no!’
‘Oh, yes, sunshine.’ Ada smiled at the look of astonishment on the lined face. ‘Ye’re a celebrity today, like a famous film star what yer see on the pictures. Ye’re getting a real send-off with all the trimmings. They’re women who’ve been yer neighbours for many years, and they want to see yer before yer go.’
‘Can’t I slip out of the back door?’ Eliza was near to tears now, so what would she be like saying goodbye to women she’d lived amongst for so long? ‘Yer could always explain to them that it would be hard for me, too emotional.’
‘Will I heckerslike make excuses for yer!’ Ada was very definite. ‘They’re standing outside in the cold, women who have a very high regard for yer, and the least yer can do is say goodbye to them.’ Then Ada sought to soften what would be a very emotional time for Eliza. ‘Anyway, yer won’t be saying goodbye for good, will yer? Vera has promised to bring yer back to see us, so yer can tell them it won’t be the last they’ll see of yer. It’s not goodbye for ever.’
‘Of course I’ll be bringing yer back,’ Vera told her. ‘Ada, Hetty, Jean and Edith, they’re friends of mine, too, don’t forget. I won’t be losing touch with them.’ She tutted and shook her head. ‘It’s not the end of the world, Mam, ye’re not moving hundreds of miles away.’
Eliza squared her shoulders. ‘Oh, all right, but if I do burst out crying, don’t say I didn’t warn yer. I’m going to miss this street, and everyone in it. And I’m going to miss every inch of this house. That’s the truth, and I can’t change the way I’m made.’
‘Mam, we wouldn’t want yer to be any different. Anyone who walked out of a house they’d lived in for sixty years, a
nd didn’t feel sad about it, wouldn’t be normal.’
‘They wouldn’t have a heart,’ Edith said, ‘or if they did it would be made of stone.’
‘A swinging brick, that’s what they’d have in place of a heart.’ Jean voiced her thoughts. ‘And they wouldn’t know the meaning of love or friendship.’
Eliza sighed. ‘I’m daft, I know, but I do hope whoever the next tenants are, they’ll be as happy here as I’ve been.’ She put a hand on each of the chair arms and pushed herself up. ‘I only need to put me coat on and pick up me purse and basket. Then we’d better go, ’cos we can’t keep those women standing in the cold. Not after they’ve been kind enough to come and see me off.’
With her coat on, and the basket over her arm, Eliza waved the others to go ahead. ‘Just give me a minute on me own to have a last look round. And don’t worry, I won’t upset meself. I just want to say a last goodbye.’
‘There were over fifty women there to see her off,’ Ada told her family as they sat down to dinner. ‘And I don’t think there was a dry eye amongst them. I shed a few tears, and I had a lump in me throat big enough to choke me.’
‘Fancy the women from the top of the street coming down,’ Jimmy said. ‘That was good of them, considering they can’t have known her very well.’
Ada tutted in disgust. ‘Jimmy, Eliza Porter hasn’t always been in her eighties, yer soft nit. When we first came to live here she was a real live wire, always on the go. She’d meet neighbours in the street, or at the shops, and she always had five minutes to spare to talk, and listen. And her house was the neatest in the street. And I’m happy to say we haven’t seen the last of her, for me and Hetty have promised to visit her, and Vera said she’d bring her down to see us when the weather permits.’
‘She is a nice woman,’ Danny said. ‘What I would call a real lady.’
‘I’ll miss her,’ Ada admitted. ‘Every time I look out of the window and see number twenty-two, it will be a constant reminder of her.’
‘It’ll be interesting to find out what the new people are like.’ Jimmy had a smile on his face when he lifted his arm in self-defence before saying, ‘That should keep you and Hetty busy for the next few weeks, love, getting the lowdown on the new neighbours.’
Ada pretended to aim a blow. ‘You cheeky beggar! Anyone would think me and Hetty had nothing better to do than stick our noses in. I’m going to tell me mate what yer said about us being the street’s nosy parkers.’
‘I wonder who will get the house,’ Danny mused. ‘What sort of people they’ll be?’
‘A nice clean, friendly family, I hope,’ Ada told him. ‘And not some troublemaker like Ivy Thompson. If they put someone like her in, I’d be asking for a transfer.’
‘I hope there’s a girl in the family about my age,’ Monica said. ‘Someone I can make friends with.’ Her legs began to swing under the chair as visions of a new friend filled her head. ‘And if she goes to St James school it would be smashing, we could go together.’
Paul groaned. ‘Well, I don’t hope there’s a girl, not if she was as soppy as you. They’d be better off with a boy about my age, ’cos boys are not as much trouble as girls.’
‘Yer won’t be thinking that in seven or eight years’ time,’ Danny told him. ‘Girls will be more to yer liking than blokes.’
‘Can we forget about who’s going to get Mrs Porter’s house, and whether boys are better than girls?’ Jimmy’s eyes sent a message to his two youngest children that they would be well advised to heed what he said. ‘There’s more important issues to be discussed, like what’s happening tomorrow, love, with the removal van? What time is it supposed to get here?’
‘I couldn’t tell yer the exact time, sunshine, ’cos John doesn’t know himself. He’s got to rely on a mate who’s doing it as a favour, so he can hardly give orders.’
‘No one is saying he should give orders, love, so don’t be flying off the handle. I’m only asking because I was hoping to get cracking with the wallpapering. If I can get a couple of hours in, with Danny’s help, we could get two walls done and finish off on Sunday.’
‘Once the van comes yer won’t be long over the road, ’cos everything is ready to be loaded on. There’ll be six of yer, counting the driver, so I’d say two hours should see it all wrapped up.’
‘I’ll cut the paper tonight.’ Jimmy nodded to show his mind agreed with his words. ‘That will save time tomorrow.’
‘I’ve already trimmed the edges of the four rolls, so that’s one job done.’ Ada was feeling proud of herself. ‘Once yer’ve measured and cut them to size, I’ll give a hand to paste them and pass them to yer when ye’re ready.’
Danny pulled a face. ‘Haven’t yer forgotten something, Dad?’
‘What’s that, son?’
‘The ceiling and the frieze. If they’re not whitewashed, it’ll spoil the whole room. It’ll be one thing laughing at another.’
Jimmy closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. ‘Blast, I’d forgotten the ruddy ceiling!’
Ada touched his arm. ‘Look, sunshine, it’s no good trying to break eggs with a big stick. If yer can’t finish the room off over the weekend, then yer can’t, and that’s all there is to it. Another few days, even a week, won’t hurt us. Just wait and see how yer get on, and for heaven’s sake, stop worrying.’
‘Here’s me thinking it was all going to be done over the weekend,’ Jimmy said, looking and sounding disappointed. ‘That’s what I get for counting me chickens before they’re hatched. Me ma was always telling me off for that. “Have a little patience,” she used to say. “Things get done much quicker if yer take yer time and don’t rush it.” ’
Paul screwed his eyes up to figure that out. Then he said, ‘How can things get done quicker if yer take yer time? That doesn’t make sense.’
‘Everything me ma said made sense, son, she wasn’t soft. She might have had a queer way with words, but whatever she said always turned out to be right in the end.’
‘Then pretend yer take after yer ma, sunshine,’ Ada said, reaching for the empty dinner plates. ‘And tomorrow will pass smoothly, without a hitch. The ceiling will be done, and most of the papering, you’ll see.’
‘Right now I’ll take your word for it, love, but don’t blame me if it all goes haywire. It’s you I’m thinking of, ’cos you’ll have to put up with the mess for a week.’
‘My shoulders are broad. I can take it.’ Ada tossed her head. ‘I’ve been waiting for two years to have this room decorated, so another week is neither here nor there. At least I’ll have something to look forward to, and that will keep me going.’
‘I don’t think yer’ll have to wait a week, Mam,’ Danny told her. ‘I’ve got a feeling the ceiling and the papering will be finished over the weekend. And with a bit of luck, me and me dad will have made a start on the paintwork.’
Jimmy raised his brows. ‘Brave words, son, brave words.’
Ada watched through the window as Eliza’s furniture was carried out to the van. The men had paired off, with John working with Jeff, his mate from work, Jimmy with Danny, and Gordon Bowers with Joe Benson. Hetty’s husband, Arthur, was there too, and his job was to stand in the van and help arrange the furniture in a position that took up the least room. There were a few groups of children watching, but they were only there out of curiosity and were well behaved. After all, if children weren’t curious they’d never learn anything.
‘I wonder if they’d like a cup of tea?’ Ada asked herself. ‘It must be thirsty work lugging heavy pieces of furniture.’ With no more ado, she opened the front door. ‘Would yer like me to bring a pot of tea over, John?’ she shouted. ‘It won’t take me a minute.’
John didn’t answer until the iron bedstead was safely on the van. Then he lifted a hand in acknowledgement. ‘No thanks, Ada, this is a bit of a rush job. Jeff has to have the van back by four, so we’ve no time to stop. But thanks for the offer. I wish we could take yer up on it.’
Ada waved back.
‘See yer again, then, John!’
He nodded. ‘Yer certainly will, Ada, me ma will see to that.’
His mate pulled on his arm. ‘No time to waste, John, let’s get it over and done with.’
Ada went back into the house and made her way through to the kitchen where she had a conversation with herself. ‘I may as well peel the spuds ready for tomorrow’s dinner, that’ll be a job off me head.’ Taking down a pan from the shelf that ran along the back wall, she agreed with herself. ‘Good thinking, girl, it’s better than standing gawping out of the window. And I might as well do the carrots while I’m at it.’
When there were no more jobs for her in the kitchen, Ada picked up her aspidistra plant from its spot in the living room. ‘I don’t want yer getting whitewash all over yer, sunshine, and yer’ll be out of harm’s way out here. Yer won’t be lonely ’cos I’m bringing out all the things from the top of me sideboard, and yer know them.’ She had her back to the door and didn’t see Danny come in. So when he put an arm round her waist, she gave a start. ‘In the name of God, son, I nearly jumped out of me skin, yer gave me such a fright.’
‘I did call out to yer, Mam, but yer didn’t hear me ’cos yer were deep in conversation with the aspidistra.’ Affection and laughter danced in Danny’s eyes. ‘If ye’re not careful, Mam, yer’ll have the neighbours talking.’
‘If I end up in the loony bin, sunshine, it’ll be because of people like you frightening the living daylights out of me. Anyway, what are yer doing here?’
‘The job’s finished, Mam. Mrs Porter’s house is empty and the van will be away in about five minutes.’
Over her son’s shoulder, Ada saw her husband come in from the hall, and she called, ‘That didn’t take long, sunshine. Sixty years wiped out in less than an hour.’
Jimmy came through to the kitchen and turned on the tap. ‘I’m surprised meself that we got it over so quick.’ He swilled his hands in the cold water. ‘Mind you, the men worked well together, they were a smashing crew.’