by Joan Jonker
‘I’m getting tired now, shall we call it a day?’ Abbie stretched her arms over her head. ‘It must be all the laughing we’ve done.’
‘Nigel said I can drive back to Balfour Road, so I’ll soon wake yer up. Yer’ll be gripping the edge of yer seat as I speed along at thirty miles an hour.’
‘I think I’ll walk,’ Eric said. ‘I’m too young to die.’
‘Take no notice of him, he’s a good driver. And as it’s my car, he certainly won’t be driving at thirty miles an hour.’
As he was collecting the cards in, Bobby appealed to Ada. ‘Isn’t it terrible when yer mates don’t trust yer, Mrs Brady? It’s very hurtful and me heart’s bleeding. I know it is ’cos the blood’s dripping into me socks.’
‘I know yer must be hurt, ’cos ye’re a sensitive lad.’ Ada looked suitably serious. ‘Didn’t I say to you the other night, Joe, that Bobby’s a sensitive lad?’
‘The very words yer used, sweetheart. “Bobby’s a sensitive lad”, that’s what yer said.’ Joe’s chuckle was deep. ‘I can’t see it meself, like, but seeing as you and me agree on most things, I’m prepared to bow to your better judgement.’
As they were putting their coats on, Eric managed a word in Abbie’s ear. ‘What night are we going to the pictures?’
‘Shall we make it tomorrow night?’
‘But that’s dance night!’
‘I know, but I’m really going to have to spend some nights at home, doing homework. But you go to the dance if you want to, and we’ll leave the pictures until another time.’
‘No, tomorrow night will be fine. Shall I pick you up from here at a quarter to eight?’
Abbie noticed Bobby straining his ears. If he had any feelings for her, this should be causing pangs of jealousy. ‘Yes, that’s fine. The dance finishes more or less the same time as the pictures come out, so Nigel can pick me up outside Balfour Hall.’
‘Will you two stop whispering and put a move on,’ Bobby growled. ‘It’s bad manners to whisper in company, and even worse manners to keep yer chauffeur waiting. So get going before I put the fares up to tuppence.’
Charles had seemed very subdued during the meal, and even now, while they were driving along a country lane, he wasn’t very talkative. ‘You don’t seem your usual happy, charming self, Charles. Is anything amiss?’
‘I’m not exactly full of the joys of spring, my sweet, but it need not concern you. Father has decided, in his wisdom, that I do not take enough interest in the firm, and spend far too much time away from the office.’
‘Does he have reason to complain?’
Charles tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, his face downcast. It was all an act for Victoria’s benefit, to prepare her for seeing far less of him. ‘I suppose he does, really, because he works quite hard himself. Each time I come to see you during the day, it means I’m out of the office. And he’s beginning to lecture me on where my interests lie. He spends hours every evening in the study, pondering over accounts and other things, which I really don’t have a clue about. And today he had me on the carpet about the lack of interest I show in a business that keeps me in luxury. He’s right, of course, I should know the business inside out. And he’s right to be concerned that if anything happened to him there would be no one to take control who had a knowledge of every aspect of the business. And there’s quite a lot to learn, with the home market, imports, exports and so on. So in future, I am to take less time away from the office, and spend an hour or two each evening in the study with him, until I know the business inside out.’
Victoria was quiet for a few seconds, her mind divided into two camps. On the one hand she didn’t like the idea of seeing less of Charles, but on the other hand his father had a point. And if she was hoping to become his wife, it would be in her interest to keep on the right side of the family. ‘I think your father is right, of course, Charles. He is known in the city as being a very astute businessman, and I’m sure he’d be proud if you followed in his footsteps. I can’t say I like the idea of seeing a lot less of you, but that is being selfish. After all, the end result would benefit both of us.’
Charles put a hand over hers and squeezed. ‘How understanding you are, my sweet.’ His eyes were gloating, but this she couldn’t see. ‘I am so lucky to have you, and I promise to visit every time I have a spare hour.’ He pulled up at the side of the lane and took her in his arms. ‘It won’t be for ever, I’ll work jolly hard, I promise.’ Looking over her shoulder into the field opposite, he smiled. That had gone a lot easier than he expected. A few months of seeing each other perhaps just once a week, then breaking off shouldn’t prove too difficult.
Victoria too was smiling. ‘You will tell your father I didn’t object when told our meetings were to be curtailed, won’t you? I’m sure he’ll appreciate the sacrifices I’m prepared to make for the good of the firm.’
So two people, each as scheming as the other, carried on with their journey. Charles thought his lies had given him a way out of the relationship, while Victoria firmly believed that the sacrifices she’d agreed to would not only bring Charles closer, but also his family and his wealth.
‘You have told your family about me?’ Maureen asked, surprise in her voice. ‘I thought we agreed to leave it for a few months.’
Robert had his arm across her shoulders and he looked at her with tenderness. ‘I haven’t told them about you, my dear, only that I have a friend I would be inviting to the Christmas party we’ve talked about. A party for all the people who are dear to me, and have been for many years. People who I have never invited to my home because I knew Edwina would not make them welcome. Nigel did ask if he knew the friend I referred to and I said he didn’t but soon would.’ He saw a flicker of fear in her eyes and brought her hand to his lips. ‘Don’t look so frightened, my dear love, everything will be fine. I know Nigel and Abbie, and all my friends, will be delighted I have someone like you in my life. It is my hope that my wife and Victoria will soon find a house they think suitable, and that they will be out of my home in the next month. Then I will tell my two children about you, and take you to meet them. You will also meet Agnes, Kitty, Pete and Jessie. Then I’ll give you a breather before introducing you to my friends.’
‘It’s a daunting prospect, Robert, and one that I would not even think about if I didn’t love you enough to want to spend the rest of my life with you.’
‘You won’t have to go through it alone, my dear, I will be by your side at all times. In the years to come, through laughter and heartache, I will always be there for you.’ When he smiled, Maureen thought how boyish he looked. ‘If I tell you something, do you promise not to laugh or think me a foolish old man?’
‘You are not an old man, Robert. You are a handsome man in the prime of his life and I think myself very fortunate to have met you. Now, what is it that you want to tell me?’
‘After I’d known you for a while, and I began to have loving feelings towards you, I used to lie in bed each night and dream a little dream. It wasn’t like a dream you have in your sleep, but a wideawake dream which I could enjoy then and every night after. All I had to do was close my eyes and conjure up a picture of you. And the times I spent dreaming were the happiest times of my life. I could forget the dreadful circumstances under which I was living, and pretend that you and I were married. You were living in my home, and sleeping in my bed. I just had to reach out to touch you, and you made my life complete.’
Maureen wiped away a tear with the back of her hand. ‘I also went to bed every night and dreamed a little dream, Robert, and the dream was identical to yours. I never expected it to come true, though; it was just a lovely dream that brought you closer.’
Robert was touched. ‘Our dreams will come true, my dearest darling, I promise. If I have to move heaven and earth, you will one day be my wife, and mother to Nigel and Abbie. And the promise I have just made, I intend to keep. Now, could I have a kiss, please, so I know this is not a dream?’
‘I’m going to the pictures with Eric tomorrow night,’ Abbie said, as they were driving home. ‘But I won’t make another date with him.’
‘Why is that?’ Nigel took his eyes off the road for a second. ‘If you don’t want to go out with him, why bother going tomorrow?’
‘Because I played a dirty trick on him tonight, coaxing him to stay in and play cards. You see, I wanted to get to know him a bit, and see if I like him. But it was childish of me and not fair to him. So I’ll go out with him tomorrow and tell him I haven’t time for a regular boyfriend as I have a lot of homework to do.’
‘But you only take half an hour to do your homework, so that’s only an excuse.’
‘It won’t be after today. Dad told me this morning he’d ordered a typewriter to be delivered today, so I will be spending more time on homework. My speed at typing is hopeless, I’m way behind some of the others in the class. So I’ll just go to Seaforth with you on dance nights, so I don’t lose touch with Milly. Once the course is over, and providing I pass all the exams, I’ll be able to see her more often and we can go further afield to dances.’
Nigel gave this some thought. ‘He’s a nice bloke, is Eric.’
‘Yes, I know, but he’s not the one for me, Nigel.’
Her brother gave this more thought. ‘Oh, have you met anyone that just might be the one for you?’
‘I think so, but I’m not going to tell you.’
Nigel grinned. ‘It’s Bobby, isn’t it?’
Abbie twisted in her seat. ‘I’m not telling you, and don’t you dare say anything to Bobby Neary, or I’ll never speak to you again.’
‘My lips are sealed,’ Nigel said, while thinking, The lady doth protest too much.
Chapter Twenty-Three
It was four weeks later, on a Sunday afternoon, when Nigel went in search of his sister. He found her sitting chatting to their father in his favourite spot in the bay window of the dining room. ‘I wondered if you’d like to come for a run to Blackpool, Abbie? I’ll be calling to Grandma’s first and visiting with them for half an hour, then I thought I’d let Bobby drive to get more experience in traffic. It would be his first long journey and he’d learn more in that one run than he’d learn in a month running around the local streets.’
Abbie’s mind was working as he spoke. There’d been no change in Bobby’s attitude towards her, and she treated him as she always had. They laughed and joked with each other, but that was it. She still went to the dances three times a week, but the foursome was now a sixsome. Eric and his sister Doreen had joined their group. It wasn’t a deliberate action, it just sort of happened. Eric still came over to ask her to dance, even though she’d refused to go out with him. Then he started to ask Milly for the odd dance, while Nigel partnered his sister and Bobby would dance with her. That’s how it was every night, with the boys dancing with the girls in turn. And while she was dancing with Bobby, her body would be tingling all over, and she couldn’t understand why he didn’t sense it. But he didn’t, he still treated her like his best friend’s kid sister. ‘Can Milly come?’
Nigel found himself blushing. ‘If you want her to, but I mentioned it to Doreen at the dance last night and promised if we decided to go, I’d give her a knock to see if she wanted to come with us. But there was nothing definite arranged, so if you would prefer Milly to come instead, then there wouldn’t be a problem.’
Robert tilted his head. ‘I hear the name Doreen coming up quite often. Is she perhaps someone special, Nigel?’
‘She’s just a girl I dance with, Dad. You know of course that she’s Eric’s sister, and that’s how I know her?’
‘Mmm. I thought you were rather sweet on Milly so I’m behind with the goings-on of my children. Bring me up to date, please, so I don’t put my foot in it.’
‘I do like Milly, she’s a nice girl and I’m fond of her. But I’ve a sneaking suspicion she and Eric are getting close. That’s the way it looks to me. Wouldn’t you agree, Abbie?’
‘You could be right. But Milly and I tell each other everything and she hasn’t said a dickie-bird about Eric.’ Abbie jumped to her feet before her father delved into her love life – or lack of it. ‘I’ll go and get changed, Nigel. And I do get on well with Doreen, so I’ll be quite happy for her to come.’ With that she planted a kiss on her father’s forehead and left the room.
Robert looked up at his son. ‘Would I be bad-minded in thinking Abbie left in case I asked about her love life? She hasn’t mentioned any boy since Eric.’
Nigel sat in the chair vacated by his sister. ‘She’ll kill me if she thinks I’ve said anything to you, so please don’t repeat it. She’d deny it anyway, as she has to me. But I think she’s got a soft spot for Bobby. When I asked her this, she really blew her top, so I’ve kept away from the subject since.’
‘And how does Bobby feel about her?’
‘I haven’t asked him, Dad, and I don’t think I should. He is a friend of mine, after all, and it would be very embarrassing for him if I asked how he felt about my sister. And Abbie would be mortified.’
‘Yes, I can understand that.’ Robert folded the Sunday paper he’d been reading when Abbie came in to talk to him, and he laid it on the side table. ‘From what I’ve heard about Bobby Neary from you and Abbie, I’d say he was quite a proud lad, would you?’
‘Without a doubt. If he was dying of hunger, he’d be too proud to ask for food. That’s the way he is.’
‘So, I got the right impression.’ Robert smiled. ‘You go and get yourself ready or you’ll have your sister on your back. Tell your Grandma and Granda I’ll see them later this evening, and you enjoy your afternoon out in pleasant company. And tell young Bobby I said if he drives all the way to Blackpool and back, he can drive anywhere.’
Nigel chortled as he got to his feet. ‘Dad, he’s big-headed enough. A compliment like that and he wouldn’t get his head in the car.’
‘Would you have him any different?’
His son shook his head. ‘No, Dad, I wouldn’t change a hair on his big head.’
Robert bade his son goodbye, then opened up his newspaper. But although he looked at the words, he wasn’t reading them. He was remembering himself at twenty-one years of age and thinking how much like young Bobby Neary he was then. Poor as a church mouse, but working like hell to make something of himself. And he’d been a proud lad, too!
‘Are yer sure yer want to trust yer car with me, Nige?’ Bobby asked. ‘It’s a long way to Blackpool and there’s bound to be a lot of traffic on the roads.’
‘Bobby, will you get in, please? If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t sit in the car with you, never mind let you drive it.’
‘If it was my car, I wouldn’t let me drive.’
Abbie, sitting on the back seat with Doreen, knocked on the window. ‘For heaven’s sake, Bobby Neary, will you stop talking and get in? If we’re willing to trust our lives with you, why should it bother you?’
With a grin stretching from ear to ear, Bobby stuck his head through the open door. ‘It’s not your lives that are worrying me, it’s me own life. I don’t know whether to trust meself or not.’
Nigel gave him a push from behind. ‘In you go, Neary! If at any time you feel you’re tired, or not in control, then just shout out and we’ll swap places.’
‘On yer own head be it, Nige.’ Bobby slid behind the steering wheel and turned to look at the girls. ‘If yer get frightened back there, yer can come and sit on me knee.’
Doreen chuckled. She was a nice-looking girl with light mousy hair, deep blue eyes and white teeth that sparkled when she smiled. She also had a very slim figure and shapely legs. ‘We’ll be lucky if we get out of the street, never mind make it to Blackpool.’
As Bobby switched the ignition on, he tilted his head to look at Nigel. ‘I told yer girls were nothing but a pain in the backside. We haven’t even set off yet, and they’re moaning already. It’s the mouths that do it. God didn’t do a bad job of the faces, I mean, credit where
it’s due, but He should never have put that hole under their noses.’
‘By my reckoning, I’ve said twenty-six words since I got in the car, and Doreen’s said sixteen,’ Abbie piped up. ‘What about yourself, Bobby Neary? Would you say you’d used a hundred, or more?’
Nigel turned in his seat. ‘Don’t encourage him, Abbie, please.’
‘Ah, don’t be mean!’ Bobby said. ‘I like it when Abbie encourages me.’ He winked over his shoulder. ‘She does it so nicely, better than anyone else I know.’
Little did he know, when he finally pulled away from the kerb, that his wink had caused Abbie’s heart to lurch. And even if he didn’t see her in the light she wanted him to see her in, she was happy to be in his company.
His hands gripping the steering wheel, and his eyes steady on the road, Bobby still managed to keep them amused with tales of his workmates. Some of them were so far-fetched no one really believed them to be true, but they were so funny, and brought so much laughter, who cared whether they were true or not? And when Nigel offered to take over the driving when they were halfway to their destination, Bobby flatly refused. ‘I’ll make it to Blackpool if it kills me,’ he said. ‘But I’ll do me level best not to kill you as well. Not after yer’ve been good enough to let me drive yer car, Nige.’