Albert looked at him. ‘Whose fame and fortune are you talking about?’
‘Hopalong Cassidy’s, Albert.’
Albert laughed again. ‘I wouldn’t mind some of that myself.’ By now he had finished his beer so he pulled his scarf tightly around his neck.
‘I’ll be off then,’ he said, as he moved slowly towards the door. ‘Lord, I think I’m getting arthritis but I suppose it’s this awful damp and cold weather.’
Thomas looked up from washing some glasses and he nodded sympathetically. ‘I’m just the same, Albert.’
Albert stood outside on the pavement for a brief moment before making his way up the hill towards Burnett’s bakery. Once inside the shop, a blast of warm air and a tantalising aroma of freshly baked bread cheered him, especially as Anna gave him a wide smile as she reached for the small loaf and a sausage roll which was his usual purchase.
‘How are you today, Albert?’ she asked as she handed over the two brown paper bags.
‘I was just saying to your good husband that I think I’m getting arthritis and he was saying it’s the same with his leg.’
Anna suddenly felt contrite about her treatment of her husband before he left the house. She should have known his damaged leg was sore but then she remembered how selfish he was sometimes and she pushed the guilty thought from her mind.
‘Are you going straight home, Albert?’
He nodded.
‘Well make sure you don’t get too wet. Did you light the fire before you came out?’
‘Yes I did and I’ve done my housework. I don’t sleep very well so I get up early and get on with the chores.’ He didn’t add that he had hardly ever done any housework when his late wife, Jean, was alive. Like a bolt from the blue, the sudden remembrance of Jean made him feel depressed but he smiled when Anna said she would pop in to see him after teatime.
After his departure Anna turned to serve another customer but she couldn’t get rid of the thought that old age wasn’t a laughing matter.
3
Maryanne Roberts made her way home from the grocer’s shop with her net bag feeling quite heavy with the couple of pounds of potatoes and the bag of sugar. Going to the shops was more of a pleasure now that the rationing had ended and not before time, she thought sourly. The war had ended in 1945 but it had taken the government until the early fifties to lift the restrictions.
At the end of the lane she had to stop briefly as the pain began again. She thought it was time to go to the doctor but she still delayed the decision due to the fear of what might be wrong with her.
Inside the house she hung up her wet coat and headscarf and warmed her hands in front of the fire. Putting the potatoes and sugar into the cupboard was a delaying tactic as she kept her face turned away from the blue airmail letter that lay unopened on the table.
It was her usual weekly letter from her daughter Sadie who lived in America and no doubt it would tell the same old story of how unhappy she was. Maryanne suddenly felt so weary and she felt as if she couldn’t take much more of these continual tales of woe. She decided to make her midday snack before reading it, and she cracked an egg into the frying pan and put a slice of bread under the toaster. She had read somewhere that bad news was easier to take on a full stomach.
Half an hour later she was sitting with a cup of tea and the open letter in her hand. As predicted, Sadie’s large writing that swirled over the page described how desperately unhappy she was with her life as a former GI bride and the mother of nine-year-old Edwayne.
Suddenly a sharp spasm of pain made her gasp and she dropped the letter as she bent over in agony. When the pain subsided slightly she made her way to the cupboard just as the front door opened and Grace Gow called out, ‘It’s just me, Maryanne.’ When she saw that her neighbour was in pain, she said, ‘What’s the matter?’
‘I think it’s indigestion, Grace, and I’m looking for the Rennies.’
Grace took her by the arm. ‘Sit down, Maryanne. I’ll get the tablets.’ She had to rummage in the cupboard before she found the box. Maryanne put two in her mouth and lay back on the chair. ‘I’ll feel better when they begin to work.’
Grace didn’t look convinced. ‘You are getting these pains a lot and I think you should see the doctor.’
Maryanne shook her head. ‘No. I’ll be fine in a minute.’
Grace saw the letter lying on the fireside rug and she picked it up and handed it over. ‘How is Sadie?’
Maryanne was mortified as tears rolled down her cheeks and her chest felt so choked with emotion that she couldn’t speak. By now Grace was alarmed and she pulled up a stool and took her hand in hers. ‘Maryanne, what is it?’
‘Sadie, Ed and Edwayne are fine.’ She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. ‘It’s just that I’m worried about being off work again. I’m frightened I’ll lose my job,’ she said, putting the letter on the small table beside her chair.
‘If you’re not well then surely they’ll understand at the factory.’
‘No, I don’t think so. There are rumours that there may be layoffs due to a lack of orders. At least that’s the gossip that’s going around.’ She stood up. ‘I’ll make a cup of tea.’
Grace was already on her feet. ‘No, you sit still and I’ll make it. I’ve brought some pancakes I made this morning. Do you want butter and jam on them?’
‘No, just butter.’
Maryanne wasn’t hungry but she ate a small piece of the pancake. She liked Grace popping in regularly and bringing some home baking but at this moment she just wanted to lie down and forget all about Sadie and her problems, and her own work troubles in the packing department of Keiller’s sweetie factory. She had worked there for ten years but if there were layoffs then no one was safe.
Grace’s voice cut over her thoughts. ‘I’ll be off then but I’ll send Evie in later to help you with any jobs you need done.’ She carried the empty cups to the sink and rinsed them out. ‘And please go and see the doctor, Maryanne.’
Maryanne promised she would think about it if the pain came back again. After Grace’s departure she picked up the letter. She hadn’t wanted to let Grace know about Sadie’s unhappiness as everyone thought she was living a film star life in America. If only they knew. Sadie hated the farm she lived on with her husband and son. It is so isolated, she wrote, and she could go days and days without seeing another soul once Ed went to work and Edwayne went off to school.
She went and lay down on the bed. What did Sadie think her mother could do? Living on the other side of the world was hardly the same as living just down the road like her workmate Dorothy whose daughter Donna lived next door to her mother.
She placed the letter under the pillow. ‘I’ll write back tomorrow,’ she muttered. She was dropping off to sleep when another sharp pain made her gasp. For a moment she thought she was going to be sick but the feeling passed.
‘What am I going to do?’ she thought, and she started crying again.
4
Granny Duff had never been a granny. In fact she had never even been a wife. How she acquired the title was a mystery and the reason for it was lost in the mists of time.
Her usual dress was a long black, or sometimes brown, skirt of thick wool, a chunky jumper and during the cold winter months she sometimes wore a soft checked shawl around her thin shoulders.
She knew she had never been pretty but old age hadn’t been kind to her. Her thin, colourless features were emphasised by pale grey eyes and a wrinkled neck that she tried to camouflage with a black sequin scarf which looked exotic and out of place with the rest of her appearance.
She was very houseproud and spent most of her mornings dusting the myriad selections of photographs and ornaments that jostled for space on her sideboard and mantelpiece but on this particular wet, dreary morning she was feeling quite lethargic. It’s this rotten weather, she thought as she settled down in front of the fire with the morning paper. She had checked her cupboard earlier and noticed that she was almos
t out of tea and sugar and she hoped Grace would pop in so she could ask if Evie could run out to the shop after school.
She relied on Evie and Tommy to help with the shopping and she was grateful that they were so reliable and cheerful, especially Tommy. Evie was quieter and more introspective but she liked them both very much.
The rain continued to batter against the window which depressed her even more but at least it wasn’t snow. Christmas and the start of a new year, 1955, were just a few weeks ago and life seemed flat.
Not like the excitement of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation which now was a fading memory. She glanced at the coronation calendar that hung on a hook beside the fireplace and decided it was maybe time to take it down and keep it in a drawer. She certainly wasn’t going to throw it away.
There was a knock at the door and she turned round, fully expecting to see Grace but it was Eliza from next door. Before she could speak, Eliza swept in on a cold draught of air with her hair wet from the rain.
‘I’m sorry to be a nuisance, Bella, but I wondered if you could lend me some sugar. I’ve run out and my mother is a pest, being her usual drama queen and saying she can’t possibly drink her tea without sugar. She had to drink her tea often enough without sugar during the rationing but she now says because everything is back to normal she can’t live without her Tate and Lyle.’
Bella took a cup out of the cupboard and spooned some sugar from the cut-crystal bowl that she was so proud of. ‘I haven’t got much to spare, Eliza, as I’m hoping Evie and Tommy will come in after school and go to the shops.’
Eliza pounced on this statement. ‘Can you tell them to come in and see me as I need messages as well.’ Clutching the cup of sugar, she sat down by the fire. ‘I would go myself but I’m waiting on the district nurse who is coming to see Mum.’
‘How is Martha keeping?’ Bella asked.
Eliza groaned. ‘She’s playing up today. Everything is wrong with her. If it’s not her arthritis it’s her eyesight. She has her new specs she got from the National Health but they’re seemingly no good. She says she can’t read the paper but she was able to tell me all the folk who have died. Their death notices are in the paper and she reads it with a great deal of enjoyment.’
On that cheery note, she stood up just as there was another knock at the door and Grace appeared, carrying a plate covered with a tea towel.
‘I’ve made some cakes, Bella, and I thought you might like some.’
Bella said, ‘I’ll put the kettle on.’ She turned to Eliza. ‘Do you want to stay and have a cup of tea?’
Eliza shook her head reluctantly. ‘I’d love to but I better get back as Mum will be wondering where I’ve got to. I’ll bring the sugar back when the girls go to the shop for me.’
Bella explained that she hoped the girls could do shopping for them both. Grace sat by the fire as Bella took the best china cups from the dresser. She loved this old-fashioned house with its long forgotten custom of having tea from the best china cups and all served on the well-polished table with its lace tablecloth.
‘I’ve been to see Maryanne and I feel so worried about her,’ said Grace.
Bella sat down. ‘What’s wrong with her?’
Grace hesitated. ‘I’m not sure but she should go and see the doctor. She’s got terrible stomach pains and she keeps swallowing indigestion tablets.’
Bella looked thoughtful as she popped one of the small cakes on a dainty plate. ‘Try and persuade her to see the doctor, Grace.’
Grace promised she would as she looked around. ‘You’ve got some lovely things in this room.’
‘I inherited most of it from my mother. It was to be our home when Davie and I were married but when he was killed at the Battle of Loos, well…’ She stopped and gave a big sigh. ‘Well it never happened and I’ve never met another man who mattered as much to me as he did.’
Grace was sorry she had mentioned the subject and she said so.
‘It was all so long ago so don’t apologise. Anyway I’m just grateful that the girls help me so much.’
Later, Evie and Tommy arrived back from school. Tommy was pleased to see that Evie’s mum had been baking but even though she enjoyed the cakes, they were a bit on the small side and nothing like the cakes that her mum often brought back from Burnett’s bakery.
‘Before you have your tea, can you run along and do Granny Duff and Eliza’s shopping for them?’
They put their wet coats back on and ran along the lane. When they reached Granny Duff’s house they found her sitting in her chair with a photo frame on her lap. It showed a tall, handsome man in the kilted uniform of the Black Watch. She had been polishing it with a duster and her eyes were red as if she had been crying. She quickly wiped them with a lace-edged handkerchief. ‘I’ve got a bit of the cold,’ she said. Evie and Tommy said nothing and she suddenly realised that no explanation or excuse was needed. The girls were too young to understand how something so small as a photo had brought back painful memories from forty years ago. Far from viewing Davie’s death in the way she had explained to Grace, this photo was from another lifetime and the hurt and anguish had barely subsided over the years. The life she had visualised when Davie was alive now lay in tatters as it had done for decades.
5
Martha Potter was sitting in her favourite chair which was pulled up right beside the fire. It was blocking her daughter’s chair but Martha was unapologetic about this. This was her house and she thought it was her right to rule the roost.
She was annoyed when Eliza hurried in. ‘Where have you been? I’m dying of thirst and waiting for my tea.’
Eliza sighed. When her mother was in this mood there was no arguing with her. ‘Grace came in and brought some home baking for Bella.’
‘Home baking,’ said Martha in a loud petulant voice. ‘Did she give some to you?’
‘No she didn’t, but she asked me to stay for tea.’
Martha was indignant. ‘I hope you told her that I needed you here, especially as she didn’t give you any cakes for me. I could be dying of starvation for all my neighbours think of me.’
Eliza sighed again. ‘Grace brought you some pancakes yesterday.’ Then under her breath she muttered, ‘And you ate all of them.’ Eliza looked at her mother slumped back in her chair. She was putting on more weight and she now looked like a small barrel. She made a mental note to cut down on the purchase of sugar and all the fattening foods her mother enjoyed. It was as if she was making up for all the years of rationing but even then she had been plump.
‘Grace was saying that Maryanne isn’t well and she is trying to get her to go to the doctor.’
Martha groaned. ‘She isn’t as ill as I am. That girl of hers, that Sadie, hasn’t made things easier for her. Running off and getting married to an American if you please. She was quite a flirt was Sadie and she thought she could have any man she wanted and when she broke up with that young man she was going out with, well, he was quite devastated when she went away to America.’
Eliza listened in silence as this was old news. If the truth be told, Eliza liked Sadie and wished she had had the chance to meet a handsome American and go off to the other side of the world with him. She pictured her mother’s face if that had happened, and this gave her a bit of pleasure.
Martha noticed the smile. ‘What are you grinning for?’
Eliza wanted to say that she wished she had run off with a GI but she remained silent. However, she added just one spoon of sugar to her mother’s cup instead of the usual three.
Martha suddenly spotted Albert Scott passing the window. ‘Eliza, run outside and ask Albert to come in.’
Eliza gave a loud dramatic sigh. Honestly, she thought, Albert was probably wanting to get home instead of visiting Martha, but she did as she was told.
‘Mum wants to know if you can come in and see her.’
Albert hesitated but he turned and retraced his steps. Eliza saw that he was carrying a couple of paper bags from Burnett’s bakery
and she suddenly realised her mother had spotted them. However Martha was all smiles when her neighbour came in, his overcoat and woollen hat wet with raindrops.
‘Eliza’s just put the kettle on, Albert. Sit down and take off your wet coat and hat and sit down by the fire.’
Albert was slightly bemused by his bossy neighbour. She put him in mind of his late wife who liked to rule the roost, just like Martha.
Eliza carried the old wooden tray to the small table by the side of her mother’s chair. Martha frowned when she saw the plate of Rich Tea biscuits.
‘Have we nothing else to eat?’ she said, eyeing the bags in Albert’s hand. ‘I see you’ve been to Burnett’s.’
Albert nodded. ‘Aye I have. It’s something for my tea. I like to be served by Anna as she always picks out the biggest cakes and sausage rolls for me.’
Martha picked up a biscuit with a sour look on her face. ‘Oh I see,’ she said, biting a bit of the biscuit like some martyr eating week-old bread.
Albert said, ‘Did you hear we’re getting new neighbours in the empty house next door to me?’
The two women looked surprised. ‘No, we haven’t heard. Who is it?’
Albert said he didn’t know too much but it was a young couple and she was expecting a baby. ‘I met them briefly yesterday. They come from Skye and he’s a joiner going to be working with his brother who has his own business. I think they are moving in next week. I hope the weather is better for them.’ He glanced out of the window at the rain which was still falling heavily. ‘Well, I’d better be on my way.’ He put his wet coat and hat back on and said he would keep them informed with the news of the new people coming into their little community.
After he left, Martha put the half-eaten biscuit back on the plate. ‘I thought he might have offered me one of his cakes.’ She was most disgruntled.
Meadow Lane Page 2