by Joan Jonker
‘Need you ask, Dad?’ Nigel said. ‘As soon as you said they were still alive I made up my mind to see them as soon as possible.’
‘Me too!’ There was determination on Abbie’s face. ‘I can’t wait!’
‘I called on Mrs Jamieson today, and we arranged for me to take you to see Milly on Wednesday night about eight. I could ask Agnes to have dinner ready an hour earlier and we’d have time then to call at Arthur Street first, to meet your grandparents.’
As Abbie hugged him and rained kisses on his face, Nigel said, ‘I’m coming with you, Dad.’
‘Of course you are, son, I never thought otherwise. And you have a treat to come before then. Have you forgotten you can pick up your new car tomorrow?’
‘I certainly haven’t. I think Jeff must have been sick of hearing about it. I’ll go for a spin in it tomorrow night, then I’ll drive behind you on Wednesday night because I’m not quite sure if I’d find the way on my own.’
‘That’s a good idea because I’ll probably spend an hour or two at the Jamiesons’ and it would save you hanging around.’
‘Oh, I’m coming to see Milly as well. I’d love to see her and her parents again.’ Nigel suddenly smiled. ‘Do you remember the mate I had in Balfour Road – Bobby Neary? I might give him a knock and see how he’s getting on.’
‘You could take him for a spin in your car.’
‘Good grief, no! I’ll park the car well out of sight. I wouldn’t even mention it because he’d think I was bragging. Don’t you remember how outspoken Bobby was, Dad? He was forever in trouble at school for saying exactly what he thought. I don’t think a day went by that he didn’t get told off for it. Unless he’s changed a lot, he wouldn’t hesitate to look me straight in the eye and tell me I was a big-headed swank.’
‘Ooh, I remember Bobby Neary!’ Abbie giggled at the memory. ‘He used to pull my hair and I used to kick his legs to make him let go.’
Robert sat back in his chair feeling contented. He didn’t have to worry about these two children, they both had their feet on the ground. And, hopefully, after Wednesday a new life would open for them. A life in the real world. There would be storms ahead when Edwina found out what he’d done, but it would be too late for her to stop it. And usually after a storm came the sunshine.
‘Why must we have dinner so early, and why wasn’t I consulted?’ Edwina, who lived in a fantasy world of her own, hadn’t even noticed the difference in Nigel’s attitude towards her. It wasn’t open hostility, but he seldom spoke to her whilst looking into her face. Abbie she wouldn’t notice anyway, never did. She thought of her as the black sheep of the family; the one who took after her father. ‘I shall be forced to have strong words with Agnes.’
‘I gave Agnes instructions this morning whilst you were still asleep, so it would be pointless you having words with her,’ Robert said. ‘It so happened that in the course of conversation over breakfast, I discovered that Nigel, Abbie and myself had all made arrangements to go out early this evening. So as we are in the majority, the obvious thing was to have an early meal. Heaven knows why it should interefere with your plans, seeing as you have little of importance to do. However, if it doesn’t suit you and Victoria, you can retire to the drawing room and Agnes will serve you at whatever time you say.’
‘It’s very unusual for the three of you to be going out on the same night, at the same time.’ Edwina eyed her husband with suspicion. Since the night he’d told her he still visited their old friends, and her parents, there’d been no conversation between them. He had slept in his dressing-room that night, and continued to do so. Those arrangements suited her, for she felt nothing but revulsion when he was near her. In her warped mind, she saw him as an enemy. One who wanted to spoil what they now had by bringing back into their lives people whom she wanted to forget. People who didn’t measure up to the standard of living she was now used to. People who wouldn’t know how to dress or behave at a dinner party or soirée. And if her husband thought he could put her to shame by reminding her of the past, then he was sadly mistaken. But a part of her mind warned her that he could make life unpleasant, even alienate her son if he decided to spread tales. And she wouldn’t want that because she needed Nigel and Victoria on her side. ‘Nigel, where are you off to without saying a word?’
Nigel had spent the last two nights tossing and turning, and when sleep finally came, it was fitful. He could not come to terms with his mother having told him a deliberate lie. And not just a white lie, as most people do sometime in their lives, but one that had robbed him of the love of his grandparents. For they did love him. He could remember being bounced on his Granda’s knee, and his Grandma singing him a lullaby. Many happy memories of his boyhood had come back to him in the last two nights and he found it hard sitting at the table with his mother and trying to act as though nothing had changed. ‘Really, Mother, I’m twenty-one years of age next week, a little too old to have to account for my movements,’ he said stiffly.
‘There’s no need to bite Mother’s head off,’ Victoria said, wondering what on earth had got into her brother. He was usually so placid and falling over himself to please. ‘It was a perfectly harmless question.’
‘Then I’ll give a perfectly harmless reply. I am going for a spin in my new car, as Charles did when he first got his. Except mine is an Austin, not an MG.’
‘Yours is a car to get you around in your work, Nigel,’ Robert said. ‘The luxury of an MG will come later.’
Agnes came in then to serve dinner. She hadn’t a clue what was going on and was filled with curiosity. But it would all come out in the wash, eventually. All she did know was that when she had told Miss Edwina that the dinner was to be earlier than usual, the mistress of the house had looked as though she was going to burst a blood vessel. She demanded that the housekeeper ignore her husband’s order and serve the meal at the usual time. But Agnes had refused, saying it was more than she dare do. There was definitely something in the wind, but what?
Robert had suggested that Nigel park his car on the main road and join him and Abbie in the Bentley. Two cars driving down Arthur Street and stopping outside his in-laws’ house would bring every neighbour to their doors. One car was rare, but two would definitely cause a sensation. They were used to seeing his so wouldn’t give it a second thought.
As he switched off the engine, Robert had a moment of doubt. He hadn’t called to warn Ada and Joe that they would be seeing their grandchildren, he had thought it would be a nice surprise. Now he questioned his decision, wondering if it would be too big a surprise. But he didn’t pass his thoughts on to his children, they were apprehensive enough. ‘Stand away from the window so they can’t see you,’ Robert said, smiling at them as he lifted the knocker.
It was Joe who opened the door. ‘Hello, Bob, we weren’t expecting you tonight.’ He was small and thin, was Joe, and a little stooped. But his thatch of pure white hair sat on top of a face which was kind and welcoming. He saw Robert wasn’t alone and smiled at the two people with him. ‘Good evening to yer.’
Robert had taken his bowler hat off and was holding it in his hand. ‘Can we come in, Joe?’
‘Of course yer can, son! Yer know ye’re always welcome in this house. And yer two friends are welcome, too. But yer’ll have to take me and Ada as yer find us, we weren’t expecting visitors.’
A woman’s voice called out, ‘Who is it, Joe?’
‘It’s only me, Ada,’ Robert called back. ‘I’ve got two people with me, but don’t go rushing around and putting your false teeth in, they’ll take you as they find you.’
‘Oh, fancy catching us on the hop!’ The old lady was standing on tip-toe in front of the mirror, patting her wispy white hair into place. Like her husband she was small and frail-looking, with deep wrinkles on her cheeks and forehead. But her eyes were alert. She turned when Robert pushed Nigel and Abbie into the tiny living room.
‘Someone to see you, Ada.’
There was a smile on her face a
nd words on her lips to tell him off for bringing visitors without warning them. But the words stayed silent and the smile left her face. She stared at the two youngsters, her hand covering her mouth. Then she called, ‘Joe, Joe, come here!’
Thinking there was something wrong, Joe pushed Robert aside to get to his wife’s side. ‘What is it, sweetheart?’
Her voice a mere whisper, she asked, ‘Don’t yer know who they are?’
Joe looked puzzled. Then, his watery eyes narrowed, he studied them. It was Nigel he recognised first, by his colouring and his facial likeness to someone he had thought the world of but hadn’t seen in seventeen years. And when he looked hard at Abbie who, with her dark colouring was so like Robert, he cried, ‘Oh, my God, sweetheart, it’s our grandchildren.’
When Nigel saw tears begin to roll down the two lined faces, he moved quickly. Taking Ada in his arms, he held her tight. ‘Hello, Grandma.’
Abbie was trying to swallow the lump in her throat and willing herself not to cry, when Joe came towards her with his arms outstretched. ‘Yer were a babe in arms last time we saw yer, sweetheart, but ye’re so alike yer dad I couldn’t mistake yer.’
She flung her arms around his neck, wanting to hug him to death, but he was so frail she was afraid of hurting him. ‘I’m sorry, Granda, but we didn’t know.’ She sobbed into his shoulder. ‘We’ll make it up to you, I promise.’
‘Don’t fret, sweetheart, we know the ins-and-outs. Bob has always told us the truth. And he’s kept us up to date on all yer doings and Victoria’s, ’cos he never stops talking about yer.’
Robert was standing by the door, his hat still in his hand. He had never felt so emotional in his entire life. He was watching four people whom he had robbed of seventeen years of knowing and loving each other. And what a feeble excuse he had for his actions. A grown man who didn’t want to upset his wife! What a pathetic creature he was. Through eyes blurred with tears, he watched the scene before him.
‘Grandma, let me introduce you to Abbie, your granddaughter.’ Nigel smiled as he watched his sister walk into arms that couldn’t wait to hold her. Then he turned to hug Joe. ‘It’s been a long time, Granda, since you used to bounce me on your knee. As soon as you opened the door it all came flooding back. You used to take me to the swings in the North Park, and you’d buy me an ice cream from the dairy on the way.’
Joe was so happy he thought his heart would burst. He and his dear wife had given up hope of seeing their grandchildren again before they died. Yet here were the younger two, and as loving as could be. For Ada’s sake he wished their mother, Edie, and her first grandchild Victoria, were with them. But when somebody gives you the stars, you don’t ask for the moon as well.
‘Sit down, Bob,’ Ada said. ‘Yer’ve given us such a surprise we’re forgetting our manners. Take yer coat off and make yerself at home.’ She gave an impish grin. ‘Yer can put yer feet on the mantelpiece if yer like.’
Abbie looked at the high black range and giggled. ‘I don’t think he’d be very comfortable, Grandma.’ The word came easily and it felt good. ‘There, I’ve said it. Grandma, Grandma, Grandma! And, Granda, Granda, Granda! Oh, I’m so happy, and I’m going to love you and spoil you both.’
‘Yer father has always spoiled us, sweetheart. We’d have been in Queer Street often only for him. Food, coal, baccy and sweets, he’s kept the wolf from the door often.’ There was affection in Ada’s eyes as she looked at the man who had married her daughter but was more like a son to them. ‘But tonight, Bob, yer’ve given me and my Joe the best present in the whole world.’
‘It won’t be a one-off present, either, Ada,’ Robert told her. ‘I’m sure you’ll see a lot more of the youngsters from now on.’
‘There’s nothing we’d like better, Bob, but we’ll understand if they can’t make it ’cos it’s a long way for them to come.’
‘It’s not, you know.’ Nigel’s chest swelled with pride. ‘Dad bought me a car yesterday for my birthday, so it won’t be a problem getting here. I was going to suggest that if you would like to, I could take you out for a run on Sunday. Perhaps you’d like to go to Southport?’
‘We’ve never been to Southport,’ Ada said wistfully. ‘The furthest my Joe and me have been is into Liverpool on the tram. But I’m not complaining, mind, ’cos we’re lucky compared to some. At least we still have each other.’
Nigel was sitting on the edge of his chair, his face eager. ‘So you would enjoy a trip to Southport, Grandma?’
‘Southport is a place the toffs go to, son, and me and Joe don’t have the right clothes to mingle with the hoity-toity.’
Joe wasn’t going to sit by and see his beloved wife pull herself down. ‘Sweetheart, we are as good as anyone else. Even better than some.’
‘We’re as good as anyone who hasn’t got a bleedin’ suit to their name, Joe!’ Ada’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I’ll have to watch me language.’
‘Oh, that’s all right,’ Nigel said with a chuckle. ‘We’ve got someone in our house who swears like a trooper. We love her and think she’s hilarious.’
Robert knew what the problem was. ‘Ada, you don’t even need to get out of the car if you don’t want to. It’s just a run to Southport and back, to make a change from being in the house. In fact, we could all go. I wouldn’t mind a run out. We can use my car because it holds five people comfortably. You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Joe?’
‘It would make a change from these four walls, lad, but it’s up to the wife.’
‘That’s settled then, Ada, no argument. We’ll pick you up about three and have you home again for six. And now we’ll love you and leave you, until Sunday.’
‘I would offer to make yer a cup of tea,’ Ada said, ‘but I haven’t got enough milk. We weren’t expecting company, yer see.’
‘That’s all right, my dear, you see Abbie’s got another pleasant meeting in front of her. I’ve promised to have her at Balfour Road about now, where she’s meeting her old schoolfriend for the first time in ten years.’
‘Oh, that’s nice for yer, sweetheart.’ Ada held her arms wide and Abbie walked into them as though it was the most natural thing in the world. ‘Give yer Granda a kiss ’cos he’ll be counting how many I get. He’ll get jealous and sulk all night if I get one more than him. Men can be proper babies, yer know, sweetheart, especially when they’re getting older. So give him two to be on the safe side. And then get off to meet yer friend. I bet she’s on pins waiting to see yer, like I’ll be on pins from now until Sunday.’
After emotional farewells, the trio made their way to the front door. There, Robert handed the car keys to Nigel. ‘You and Abbie get in the car, I’ve just remembered something.’ He stepped back into the hall, turned a surprised Ada and Joe around and steered them gently back into the living room. There he took a white five-pound note from his wallet. ‘Before you start, Ada, just listen to me. You and Joe are like a mam and dad to me, and it gives me great pleasure in treating you as such. And now you are going to enrich the lives of my children. So take this and buy whatever bits and pieces you need for the house, remembering you’ll be having visitors regularly from now on and won’t want to be caught on the hop, as you call it. And I know you and Joe like nothing better than rummaging around the stalls at Paddy’s Market, looking for bargains, so with a few bob in your pocket you might just pick up something there to wear on Sunday. I wouldn’t care if you and Joe looked like tramps, and neither would the children. But I know you would.’ He placed the note on the sideboard. ‘Do it to please me, because I love you very much.’
Chapter Nine
‘There’s a knock.’ Beryl gave the room a once-over to make sure everything was where it should be. ‘You open the door, Milly, it’ll be Bob and Abbie.’
‘Ah, aye, Mam!’ Milly was shaking inside in case her old schoolfriend had changed and gone all posh. ‘I wouldn’t know what to say, I’d feel daft! You go, please?’
‘Oh dear,’ Beryl said, ri
sing from her chair. ‘Yer’ve talked about nothing else since you knew Abbie was coming, and now she’s here you won’t even let her in!’
‘Go on, love,’ Bill, her husband said. ‘Yer can’t leave them standing on the step.’
Beryl ran her hands over the front of her dress as she walked down the hall. It was a double-fronted house, with the two front rooms as sitting rooms. But they were seldom used as the family preferred to sit round the table in the kitchen. She’d given one of the rooms a good going over today, though, just in case they decided to take their visitors in there.
Robert laughed when he saw the surprise on her face. ‘You’ve got more than you bargained for, Beryl. Nigel insisted he wasn’t going to be left out.’
‘I’m glad, ’cos it’s lovely to see him. He’s grown into a big lad, hasn’t he? The last time I saw you, Nigel, you were still in short trousers.’
‘I’m twenty-one soon.’ Pleasant memories were flooding Nigel’s mind. ‘Can I still call you Auntie Beryl?’
‘Of course yer can, love.’ Beryl stepped down on to the pavement and gave him a peck on the cheek before turning with a wide smile on her face to Abbie. With her hands on the girl’s shoulder, she said, ‘It does my heart good to see you, Abbie. And what a bonnie lass yer’ve grown into. Mind you, the odds were on your side ’cos yer’ve got yer dad’s looks and he’s a handsome blighter.’ She heard her husband calling and hustled them inside. ‘They’re all dying to see yer.’
Abbie stood inside the kitchen door and looked across the room to where Milly was standing with her hands clasped in front of her. They eyed one another up shyly, then as though by silent consent, they ran to meet up in the middle of the room. With their arms around each other and giggling like they used to do, it was a happy sight for the onlookers. ‘Hey, look at you, kid,’ Milly laughed. ‘Yer went and grew up! I’d have known yer anywhere, though, because yer haven’t changed that much.’