The Sunday Girls

by Maureen Reynolds

  As usual he was sympathetic. ‘Maddie says that her uncle John is hoping that the old man will retire soon but he’s staying on till the last moment. But who can blame him? He’ll miss his wage packet every week but, on the other hand, it would be great if your dad got the job.’

  ‘Well, one bit of good news is that it doesn’t look like there’s to be a wedding with Marlene.’ Her pale face loomed large in my mind. ‘But I still feel sorry for her.’

  Danny laughed. ‘Well, Mum doesn’t – a painted hussy is the latest description being bandied about.’

  ‘Maybe she is,’ I replied truthfully, ‘but she’s also a very lonely woman. At least that’s the impression I got last Monday.’

  We then spoke about his promotion. ‘They’ll all be pleased at Lochee, Danny. What’s the position on the job front for them?’

  He shook his head. ‘No one’s got a job yet and, although I try and help out a bit, they’re all having a hard time. Do you remember the family that were all ill last New Year’s Day? Well they’re all dead and what’s this country doing about it? Nothing.’ He sounded bitter.

  I realised we were lucky to have good health which was a blessing, even if we had little or no money.

  When we alighted from the tramcar, the street was as busy with children as usual. Their swooping and screaming bodies swirled around us as we made our way to Kit’s house. Their thin legs and arms poked out of ragged skirts and trousers and their jumpers were full of holes.

  We spotted Kathleen amongst this throng, her red hair shining like a beacon on a dark night. She saw us and came running over, followed by a score of children. ‘Danny, Mum says to go to her house as Granny is visiting a sick pal in Louis Square.’ She waved a grimy hand before departing with her mob.

  We climbed the outside stair and entered the cave-like lobby. Kit had obviously heard our voices because she opened the door before we reached it. She looked more careworn and thinner than I remembered her but her spirit was as strong as ever. There was no sign of George or her sisters.

  She looked pleased to see us and immediately put the kettle on. ‘Sit down,’ she said, pulling the chairs towards the meagre fire that burned fitfully in the grate. There was hardly any heat in the room and a chill swept under the gap in the front door. The sunny weather had disappeared a few days ago to be replaced by grey cloud and drizzle. The dampness seemed to seep into the house and into our bodies but I suppose we were all in the same boat. The walls at the Overgate were also damp on occasions as were those of the Hilltown house.

  I sat facing the plaster crucifix on the far wall and I noticed three patches of bright wallpaper that contrasted with the pattern on the rest of the walls and I realised that pictures which had recently hung on the wall were now missing.

  Kit saw my gaze and she flushed, her face turning almost as red as her hair. ‘I had to pawn the pictures to tide us over this week although what we’ll pawn next week is anybody’s guess.’

  Danny was upset. ‘Let me help you out, Kit,’ he said, putting his hand in his pocket.

  She stopped him. ‘No, no, Danny, you’re good to your granny and we appreciate that but you can’t be expected to subsidise the whole family. George is getting depressed by the small amount he gets from the dole and this means test is biting into everyone’s lives.’

  She poured out three cups of strong black tea. ‘George was saying that it’ll take another war to get us all back to work. Then the swines in the government will need men to fight for their country again. Oh, aye, they’ll recognise working men again after bloody ignoring them for years. In fact, George was saying that the working classes are an embarrassment to the government and, if we all starve, then that’ll suit them fine. They’ll have less benefits to pay out for one thing.’

  She took Lily on her lap. ‘You’re getting to be a big, strong lass. Your uncle tells me that you’re walking and speaking now.’

  On cue, Lily opened her mouth, ‘Da-da-da-da-da,’ she said. She began squirming on Kit’s lap, wanting to be down on the floor and running around.

  I mentioned Danny’s new job.

  Kit looked at her nephew. ‘A new job, Danny?’

  ‘That’s what I came to tell you and Ma. I’ve been promoted to the back shop at Lipton’s.’ He beamed at her and she looked pleased.

  ‘Ma will be so pleased for you and so am I. What a pity the rest of the family are not here to wish you well. George is over at Dad’s house, playing cards. It helps to pass the time for them,’ she said with a rueful smile. ‘Mind you, they gamble with matches because they don’t have a penny between them – not a toss. Ma is visiting an old neighbour who is ill and she’s making her something to eat.’

  But the words were hardly out of her mouth when the door opened and Ma Ryan appeared. She sat down, obviously out of breath. ‘I swear the steps get steeper every time I climb them, Kit.’ She smiled at us. ‘It’s good to see you again, Ann – and Lily. Now, Danny – I see him every week and he’s really good to his auld granny. Coming to see this auld wife and him so young as well.’

  Danny grinned. ‘Oh, you’re just fishing for compliments, Ma. You’re not old.’

  She pretended to swipe him with a thin, wrinkled hand. ‘You wee besom, you’re just kidding me on.’ She waited till Kit handed her a cup of tea. ‘You’ve got some good news for me, Danny?’

  I glanced at her sharply. ‘How could you know that, Ma?’

  She just nodded wisely.

  Danny told her all his good news and she nodded again. ‘I had a feeling this was coming. You’ll do well, Danny, but it’ll all be in God’s own good time.’

  I was determined to speak to her alone before we left and I got my chance when Kit and Danny went ahead of me down the stairs with Lily toddling between them.

  ‘Mrs Ryan, do you remember you warned me about a blackbird the last time I saw you? Can you tell me more because you said I was in some kind of danger from it?’

  She looked intently into my eyes, placing a wrinkled hand on my arm. ‘You’re in the vicinity of the bird and the danger is coming. Watch out for it.’

  ‘But, Mrs Ryan, they’re are loads of blackbirds in the garden at the Ferry. Will one of them attack me?’

  Ma Ryan said, ‘I can’t tell you the whole scene, lass. It’s sometimes just fragments I pick up and other times the scene is so clear but, in your case, all I can say is that you’re in some kind of danger from a blackbird. I’m sorry.’

  Kit appeared as I was on my way downstairs. I decided to say nothing to her about the prediction. And to be honest I wasn’t entirely sure about Ma’s so-called second sight.

  Perhaps her predictions were true on some occasions but were there others that never came true? Like in my case? Even though I was a bit wary of the blackbirds in the garden, they never bothered me. In fact they usually flew away at the sound of my step and surely viewing them through the window wouldn’t place me in any danger. No, I thought, Ma Ryan was just an old woman who had fancies and prided herself on having the gift of prophecy.

  As for Danny – if he was pleased at his success then it paled into insignificance against Maddie’s pleasure. She would drag me into the shop as soon as I returned to the Overgate on my days off. We laughed so much the first time we saw him. His white apron was so long that it skimmed his ankles and it was so voluminous that it wrapped around his slender body like an enormous sheet.

  Maddie voted him the most handsome assistant in the shop, an opinion that could have been contested by most of the male staff but Maddie was adamant. As she was in the habit of visiting the shop every other day, she was fast becoming an expert in the grocery trade.

  She bought four slices of black pudding on her first visit, which her mother refused to eat. After this rejection, she would pop into Granny’s house and almost beg for a grocery line. Failing that, she would canvass the entire close and offer to do their shopping but, as nearly everyone in the vicinity was perpetually short of money, this wasn’t often successf
ul. As Granny said to her, ‘It’s not as if you see Danny – he’s in the back shop, is he not?’

  Maddie agreed. ‘Yes but sometimes he comes through into the front to collect the orders and I give him a big smile.’

  She confessed as much to me as we sat in her mother’s sewing room that winter. With the light fading fast and the small lamps glowing, I loved this little room under the eaves. As she snipped and cut the material, working out the intricacies of the paper pattern, the selvedges and numerous nuances of home-dressmaking, she said, ‘I just go and browse around and sometimes I see him and sometimes not. There’s this thin girl with a pretty face but screwed up like this …’ She made a face like someone sucking lemons. ‘And she says, “If you’re looking for Danny, well, he’s in the back shop and he’s busy.”’ Maddie stopped and scowled. ‘I once saw a picture of Miss Muffet eating her curds and whey and she had the same screwed up face when she saw the spider.’

  I was suddenly afraid. ‘Maddie, I hope he doesn’t get into trouble over you always popping in and out.’ What if the manager took offence at her odd behaviour, I thought. Would he then be annoyed at Danny?

  ‘Well, just remember that I’m a customer,’ she stressed the words in case I missed the message. ‘After all, I’m bringing loads of trade to the shop.’

  I laughed. ‘Four slices of black pudding is hardly a huge order, Maddie.’

  She became defensive. ‘Don’t forget the groceries I get for your granny. Then there’s Alice and Bella and that wizened old woman who lives on the top stair. You know the one – she buys all those fish heads to feed her cats.’ She stopped and looked puzzled. ‘I’ve even asked Hattie if I can do her shopping but she thinks I’m crazy.’

  I burst out laughing at her expression.

  She looked hurt for a moment then started to laugh as well. ‘Well, maybe I am crazy but I’ll tell you something, Ann, I’ll be glad to leave school and get a job like you and Danny.’

  I sighed and thought of the Ryan family. They would give anything to be in jobs but in the meantime they lived in desperate circumstances while Maddie was cushioned with wealth and privilege. I told her so.

  She looked at me sadly and I knew it wasn’t her fault that her parents were well off. Just as my poverty stricken ones – an evicted one as well – weren’t my fault.

  ‘I know,’ she said, ‘that’s why I’m going to be a nurse so I can help poor people who are ill. Shall I tell you something, Ann? I think people are more important than money, don’t you?’

  When I agreed, she cheered up. ‘I think I’ll put a small notice in the window in that small shop at the foot of your close, offering to do people’s shopping for them. What do you think?’

  ‘Well, I think you’re daft but, if it pleases you, then where’s the harm?’

  I left her writing out a postcard for the window, pursing her lips in such concentration that it could well have been the start of some epic novel.

  Meanwhile, back at the Overgate, Hattie was still smarting over her in-laws being invited to Lily and Joy’s birthday party, even although it was over and done with months ago.

  ‘I was never so embarrassed when that lot arrived from Lochee and started to slander me. And, as for Bella – well, she had almost to be carried home,’ she said through gritted teeth, rolling her eyes heavenwards as though seeking divine help.

  Granny, who was fast becoming fed up with this regular rehash of the long-past party, was annoyed by this latest tirade. ‘Hattie, will you get it through your thick head that the Pringle family know all about you and your relations and they still employ you. If they had wanted only toffs at the party, they wouldn’t have invited the entire clan to the bunfight.’

  Hattie winced at this turn of phrase used by her mother. Although she was ignorant of the fact, we all knew she was fast becoming more uppity than her employers.

  Granny continued, ‘We all know Maddie has a lovely home and advantages that thousands will never have but she is also a good friend to Ann and Danny. Have you ever stopped to think that she gets something back from them? And, as for Bella, well, she was tired with the heat and her legs were playing her up. She didn’t have too much to drink.’

  Hattie nodded glumly but she was desperate to have the final word on the subject. ‘I wouldn’t have been surprised to see Kit and Lizzie put their tea in their saucer to drink it,’ she muttered.

  ‘Heavens, Hattie, this is your dead man’s sisters you’re miscalling,’ said Granny. ‘You thought Pat was a lovely chap so his sisters can’t be that bad.’

  Hattie muttered something under her breath as she left – something we didn’t catch. Granny sighed while I got ready for the trip back to work the following morning.

  When I went through the door of Whitegate Lodge, I was aware of the strong, acrid smell of wintergreen ointment. Its pungency seemed to seep into every cranny and even the back kitchen wasn’t immune from its aroma.

  As usual, Miss Hood ignored me completely, merely thrusting a pencilled list at me as she swished past in the narrow lobby. It was my chores for the day. After quickly depositing my small suitcase in my room, I put on my pinny and set about tackling the first job on the list. I had long since learned that this was how the housekeeper wanted the jobs done and, although I was curious about the ever-pervading smell, I knew not to ask.

  It wasn’t until Jean entered the kitchen that the reason became clear. ‘Poor Mrs Barrie is awfully ill with the flu. The doctor is coming in again this morning and she has had a very bad weekend.’ She shook her chubby cheeks. ‘Poor soul and her at the tender mercies of Miss Hood.’

  The words were hardly out of her mouth when the house-keeper appeared. At first we thought she had maybe overheard this remark but she gave no sign of it. She made a beeline for the noisily boiling kettle. Clutched in her hand was a china cup with a spoonful of blackcurrant jam in its base.

  She seemed distracted for, when a few spots of hot water splashed on to her hand, she merely winced slightly before carrying on with making the drink.

  Jean piped up, ‘Can I do anything to help, Miss Hood? Make a light meal for Mrs Barrie and something to eat for yourself?’

  Miss Hood stiffened slightly at these words but, when she answered she was quite pleasant, ‘Thank you, Mrs Peters, at the moment, all she wants is this blackcurrant drink but, when she does start to eat, food will have to be light and in small portions.’

  She walked away and Jean looked surprised. ‘Heavens, the woman’s almost human. Mind you, though I say it myself, there has never been any doubt about her devotion to the mistress. Aye, give her her due about that.’

  I was beginning to think the same thing and I relaxed. Maybe Miss Hood was over her dislike of me and this thought made me feel happy.

  The doctor arrived at ten o’clock. He stood on the doorstep, dressed entirely in black and the bulging bag he carried was made of black leather. His face must have been fuller in his youth because large sections of his skin now hung loosely from his face, giving him the appearance of a sad-looking bloodhound.

  I showed him upstairs to Mrs Barrie’s bedroom and, as I set off downstairs, I heard a soft footfall in the hall below. It was Miss Hood. I was suddenly wary. Since my near accident when she pushed me, I never liked meeting her on the stairs but she very quietly walked across the hall and slipped into the lounge.

  I hesitated at the door. According to my list, this was my next chore. Should I go in, I wondered, or should I go and clean the next room on the list. After a few minutes and because she was such a stickler for keeping the same routine, I tapped on the door. There was no answer so I thought I had been mistaken about which door she had opened. From my high vantage point on the stairs it had looked like the lounge but perhaps she had gone into the dining room instead. I had been so tense at the sight of her that it would have been easy to make a mistake.

  I pushed open the door and saw, to my dismay, that she was in the room although she hadn’t heard me entering. She was s
itting with her back to me on a chair by the window. She had her head in her hands and she was crying – not harshly or loudly but with a soft whimpering sound similar to an injured animal.

  Horrified, I hesitated again, unsure of how I should react to this new development. I then realised she would be furious with me for witnessing this uncharacteristic side of her nature so I quickly backed out into the hall, eternally grateful for the thick pile on the carpet. Still unsure how to behave, I decided to gave her another few moments. On the one hand, I didn’t want her to think I was shirking my duties but, on the other hand, I didn’t know how long she would be in the lounge.

  The doctor then appeared at the top of the stairs. ‘Is Miss Hood there, Miss?’

  With relief flooding over me, I knocked hard on the door, grateful for having a genuine reason to enter.

  She answered at once although her voice still trembled with emotion, ‘What is it?’

  ‘It’s the doctor, Miss Hood. He’s asking for you.’ I noticed that she had now composed herself and sat as if looking out of the window at the grey seascape. She stood up and smoothed a few wrinkles from her frock before heading up the stairs. She looked dreadful and had visibly aged since the weekend. I heard the soft murmurs as she spoke to the doctor just as I closed the door. The list stated quite clearly, ‘Polish furniture in lounge.’

  I couldn’t understand this new side to the housekeeper but if, as Jean said, she was truly devoted to Mrs Barrie, then this would account for her distress.

  I was on my hands and knees, polishing the lower shelves of a small corner cupboard when I spotted a small scrap of cardboard. Turning it over I discovered it was a sepia-toned photograph of a small child about Lily’s age. Because the child was dressed in a romper suit, I surmised it was a boy. He had large dark eyes, a mop of dark curls and lovely coffee-coloured skin. At least that was my first impression but I could be wrong, I thought. I could tell the photograph was quite old but there was no clue to the boy’s age or where the photo had been taken. Also, how it came to be lying on Mrs Barrie’s lounge carpet was another mystery. It was certainly lying near the spot where Miss Hood had been sitting weeping but, apart from that, there was nothing to associate it with her.