Dream a Little Dream

by Joan Jonker

  She chuckled. ‘The most satisfying thing has been seeing Jessie’s face every morning. She said she went to a grotto once, but it didn’t have three big Christmas trees like we have. It’s like a wonderland to her.’

  ‘I hope she likes the dress we’ve bought for her. And Agnes and Kitty, of course. You were very clever finding out their sizes without them twigging.’

  ‘Devious, you mean, my love. I told Agnes I thought she and I were the same size. Of course she told me what size she was, and then Kitty said we’d make two of her as she could get into a fourteen-year-old’s dress. Jessie was easy. She told us she was only fourteen but had to get a size bigger because she was filling out.’

  ‘She’s going to be one happy girl on Christmas Eve when we give her all the presents to take home to her family. I’m glad you were with me to help choose them because I wouldn’t have known where to start.’

  ‘I would like a day in town on my own, Robert, so I can buy little gifts for you and the children, and the staff. I don’t want you with me or your present won’t come as a surprise.’

  ‘You don’t need to, darling, they’ll all have enough without you spending your money buying them more.’

  ‘It’s what I want to do, Robert, so please indulge me. I have the money you gave me from the sale of my furniture, and although I know it’s not a lot, I would like to give small gifts as a token of my appreciation. And I won’t be talked out of it, dear, so will you tell me who’ll be here on Christmas morning when the presents are given out?’

  ‘The two children, Ada and Joe, ourselves and Agnes. Then at twelve o’clock I’m going to pick up Kitty and Alf who I invited to dinner because I don’t like to think of anyone being on their own on Christmas Day. I invited Bobby and his mother for the same reason. Nigel will pick them up when he goes for Milly.’

  ‘Agnes will be having dinner with us, won’t she?’

  ‘Of course! And everyone will get stuck in and help with the serving and the washing up. That is one day of the year Agnes will be a guest, not a servant.’

  ‘You are a very caring man, Robert Dennison, and it’s very easy to see why so many people, myself included, love you.’ Maureen planted a kiss on his forehead. ‘I’m going shopping on my own tomorrow morning, dear, and I’d like you to remember two things. That it’s not the gift, but the thought that counts, and also, it is more gracious to receive than it is to give.’

  Maureen heard a movement on the landing outside and knew Agnes was making her way downstairs to start lighting fires in the dining room and drawing room. She said last night it wouldn’t be like Christmas Day without fires roaring up the chimney. It was dark in the room and Maureen had no idea of the time, but if Agnes was up and about, she should be too. So she slid her legs over the side of the bed, shivered when her feet came into contact with the cold lino, and felt her way over to the light switch by the door. It was a novelty to her to have electric, she’d only ever been used to gas. But the dim light did little to warm her up and she slipped a cardi over her shoulders before making her way to the wash-stand. She’d filled the jug with water the night before, and as she poured the cold water into the bowl she could feel her teeth chattering at the thought of having to wash in it. Agnes must be made of sterner stuff than me, she told herself, picking the soap from the dish and bravely plunging her hands into ice-cold water and swilling it over her face. A quick rub with the towel helped, but she wasted no time in dressing herself and combing her hair. Then she tip-toed down the stairs, cheering herself up with the thought of a hot cup of tea.

  ‘What on earth are you doing up, Miss Maureen?’ Agnes looked up with surprise. ‘Yer should have waited until I had the fires going. The one in the drawing room seems to have caught, but the dining room always takes a bit longer. You go and sit in the drawing room and I’ll fetch yer a cup of tea, the kettle’s just on the boil.’

  ‘No, I’ll get the cups ready, then we’ll both go in the drawing room to drink our tea.’ Maureen walked towards the housekeeper and put her arms around her. ‘Merry Christmas, Agnes.’

  ‘And to you, too, Miss Maureen.’ The housekeeper hugged her back. ‘Ye’re the best thing to come into this house since I’ve been here. I almost called yer sunshine then, ’cos that’s what I call people who bring sunshine into my life. And you’ve brought sunshine into a great many lives.’

  ‘Come on, let’s take our tea through to the drawing room and get a warm before I go back to my room to get changed. I want to look my best with it being Christmas Day.’

  ‘Ah, well, I’ve beat yer to it, ’cos I’ve got me best dress on under me overall. There’s not much to do, I prepared the potatoes and veg yesterday, and made the apple sauce. So it’s just a case of stuffing the turkey and putting it in the oven.’ The housekeeper chortled. ‘That’s if it’ll go in the oven, like, ’cos it’s the size of a ruddy house! I can see me having to use me foot to push it in.’

  ‘It needs to be big, there’s twelve of us for dinner.’ Maureen had squatted on the floor in front of the fire, which was now burning merrily, and she had her hands around the cup. ‘I wonder how Mr and Mrs Brady slept? It was a treat to see their faces yesterday when they saw the trees and all the decorations. I think they’re a lovely couple, the way they still hold hands and the love they have for each other in their eyes.’

  ‘Little darlings, the pair of them,’ Agnes agreed. ‘Every time I look at them I want to hug them to pieces. They think the world of Mr Robert, and he has been very good to them.’ She ran a finger round the rim of her cup and sighed. ‘He’s always talked about them, calls them his Mam and Dad, but they’ve never been invited here before.’ There came another deep sigh. ‘The least said about that the better. At least they’ve never gone hungry, and never will while Mr Robert’s here to look after them.’

  Maureen drained her cup before scrambling to her feet. ‘I feel warm enough to brave the cold upstairs now, so I’ll go and pretty myself up.’

  The housekeeper held out her hand for the empty cup. ‘And I’d better get that ruddy turkey in the oven ’cos it’ll take at least five to six hours.’ Her face split into a grin. ‘If yer hear any shouting and swearing, yer’ll know it’s me having a fight with the ruddy thing.’

  They parted in the hall, Maureen to climb the two flights of stairs, and Agnes to clash swords with the turkey. Two women who were destined to be friends for life.

  ‘You look very lovely, my dear,’ Robert said, his eyes admiring the dress Maureen had bought when she went on her own into the city to do her shopping. It was a deep cherry colour, in soft wool. With a round neck and long sleeves, it fitted her to perfection. She had never paid so much for a dress in her life, but she wanted to look nice on this special day.

  ‘Yes, it really suits yer, sweetheart,’ Ada said. ‘The colour’s put a nice rosy glow on yer cheeks.’

  Joe nodded. ‘The wife’s right, yer look a treat, lass.’

  ‘You both look very smart, too,’ Maureen told them. ‘Real toffs.’

  ‘What about me?’ Abbie did a little twirl to show off the fullness of the skirt on her sage-green dress. ‘And Nigel, in his nice grey suit? I think we all look a treat, especially my Dad, who looks very handsome and debonair.’

  ‘I’ve brought my camera down to take some photographs,’ Nigel said. ‘So will you and Auntie Maureen stand by the tree, Dad, and I’ll take one of you first.’

  There was much laughter as Nigel took a photograph of each of them, then in pairs, then asked his father to take one of him with Abbie. ‘It would be nice to have one of all of us in a group, Dad, so we could have it enlarged and framed. Shall I ask Agnes to oblige?’

  When the housekeeper came in she was rubbing her hands down the front of her pinny.

  ‘That ruddy turkey’s got a mind of its own, Mr Robert. It just plain refuses to be turned over. But it’s not going to get the better of me, I’ll beat the bleedin’ thing if it kills me.’

  ‘If you take a photograph, A
gnes, I’ll give you a hand turning the turkey.’ Nigel handed her the camera. ‘And I won’t stand any messing from it, either!’

  The housekeeper eyed his suit. ‘Then yer’ll have to take that jacket off and put one of me pinnies on. It’s a bad bugger, is that bird. He’ll take one look at you and spit fat at yer.’

  Robert guffawed. ‘I’ve never known anything or anyone get the better of you before, Agnes. But before you go back to take issue with it, please remove your pinny and Nigel will take a photograph of you with the family.’

  The matter of the turkey had tickled Nigel’s fancy. ‘I’ll take one of the bird, too, so you can put it in your room, Agnes, and pull tongues every time you pass it.’

  The room was full of laughter and screams of delight as the presents were opened. The only quiet ones were Ada and Joe. They were stunned as they opened their presents. Joe received a thick warm cardigan, a shirt and a pair of slippers. And Ada, she too had a warm cardigan, slippers and a flannelette nightdress. They looked at each other and there were tears in their eyes. She reached for his hand. ‘Joe, we are so lucky. Our love is as strong today as it was fifty years ago, and it’s helped us through a lot of heartache. Now we have the love of this family, and I thank God for what He’s given us.’

  Robert, wearing the rich velvet maroon smoking jacket Maureen had bought him, was fastening the clasp on the string of pearls which had been his present to her, but his eyes strayed to the old couple. There were times over the years when he’d asked himself why he had worked so hard to make money, when it had been the cause of making his life so unhappy. But without the money, he couldn’t have helped Ada and Joe so much, or his mam’s old neighbours. And now his life was so full, he was glad he had made enough to help a lot of the people he cared about.

  ‘Turn around, and let me see.’ He never looked into her face without his heartbeat quickening. ‘They look lovely with that dress, my dear. But even they pale in comparison to your beauty.’

  ‘Go along with you, Robert, I’m middle-aged and plump.’

  Abbie heard what was said and rushed over, nearly tripping on the new dressing-gown she was trying on. ‘You are not plump, Auntie Maureen, you are just right. Nigel and I wouldn’t want you any different – we think you and Dad make a fine-looking couple.’

  ‘Hear, hear,’ Joe said. ‘They say handsome is as handsome does, and you’ve got it both ways, Bob.’

  ‘You’ll have Maureen and myself blushing if you’re not careful. Now, as it’s turned half past eleven, I suggest we clear all this paper, strings and bows away, so Nigel and I can go and pick up our friends.’

  ‘Good idea,’ Abbie said. ‘And Nigel, don’t you dare come back and say you’ve forgotten Bobby, because if you do I’ll clock you one.’

  Joe sat back in the dining chair and rubbed his tummy. ‘By, I’ve never had a meal as good as that in me life, it was delicious.’

  Ada nodded in agreement. ‘Yer did us proud, Agnes, even though you and the bird didn’t see eye to eye.’

  Rose Neary gave a big sigh. ‘I am absolutely stored. I knew I was eating too much, being greedy, like, but it tasted so good I couldn’t bring meself to stop. And I’ll tell yer what, Agnes, I wouldn’t have argued with that turkey, either. The flaming size of it, it was as big as a heavyweight boxer.’

  ‘That’s a slight exaggeration, Mam,’ Bobby said. ‘A featherweight, perhaps, but not a heavyweight.’

  ‘I don’t know so much.’ Kitty nodded knowingly. ‘Aggie asked me to pass it over to her when it was delivered, and I couldn’t lift the bleedin’ thing.’

  Agnes began to laugh, and as the memory became clearer, the laughter became louder. ‘Funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time, that was. The bird came in a box, and when I asked Kitty to pass it over, she slid it off the table with her two arms around it. She buckled under the sheer weight of it, and went tottering backwards. And if yer’d seen the look on her face yer’d have done no more good. She looked as though she was watching a horror film.’

  ‘And yer really thought that was funny, didn’t yer, queen?’ Kitty asked, in a deceptively calm voice. ‘Laughed yer little socks off, didn’t yer?’

  ‘I did that, sunshine, I thought it was hilarious. What I couldn’t understand, yer daft nit, was why yer didn’t just drop the bleedin’ thing? Yer couldn’t have done it no harm, seeing as it was as dead as a ruddy door-nail, anyway!’

  Robert was sitting at the head of the table in the smoking jacket he refused to take off because he said he was going to be smoking most of the day, and if he had to keep taking it off and then putting it on again, he’d wear it out. He happened to glance at Kitty at that moment, and he caught a gleam in her eyes that told him her mind was working overtime trying to think of a way of getting her own back on the housekeeper. Agnes might be her best mate, but she wasn’t going to let her get away with that! So telling himself they were in for a bit of fun, Robert sat back in his chair and waited for it.

  ‘What!’ The cleaner put on a look of shocked surprise. ‘I could no more have dropped that box than fly. Yer see, queen, as soon as I set eyes on that bird me heart went out to it. Legs sticking up in the air with a ruddy big hole between them, I didn’t half feel sorry for it. I felt cut to the quick, I really did. Because, queen, it had a look of you about it. Around the chin mostly, and the beady eyes. For all I knew, it could have been a relative of yours, and I wasn’t going to drop one of yer family on the kitchen floor, was I?’

  The loudest laugh came from Agnes. She put her head down and banged a clenched fist on the table. ‘Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. That was quick thinking, sunshine, I’ll give yer that. And yer’ve got me wondering now whether the bleedin’ turkey thought I was its mother! That would account for it having tantrums on me.’

  ‘Well, I looked at that turkey before Mr Robert starting carving it,’ Alf said, ‘and I didn’t see no resemblance at all. I keep telling yer to wear yer glasses, Kitty!’

  ‘I haven’t got no glasses. Same as I haven’t got no false teeth. And if yer keep saying I have, Alf Higgins, you’ll be needing both.’

  Maureen gazed down the table at Robert, and she tilted her head and smiled. She had never thought it was possible to be as happy as she was at this moment. It was heaven.

  ‘Right,’ Agnes said, giving one last thump on the table. ‘It’s all hands on deck now to clear up and get all the dishes washed and put away. They say many hands make light work, so come on and get stuck in. I want to go next door for half an hour to see me mate, Tilly. I can’t let Christmas Day pass without wishing her all the best.’

  When there was a mad scramble, she lifted a hand. ‘No men allowed in the kitchen, they only get under yer feet. We women will have the job done in no time.’

  The men retired to the drawing room, where Robert lit a cigar, Nigel and Bobby a cigarette and Joe puffed on the briar pipe which had been hanging on the tree as a special present from Father Christmas. Alf was happy to sip on the glass of whisky which Nigel had added water to because Kitty’s husband wasn’t a drinker and they didn’t want him to get an upset tummy.

  They could hear shrieks of laughter coming from the kitchen, and Bobby jerked his head at Nigel. ‘Let’s go and see what they’re up to.’

  The boys were back minutes later, with grins on their faces. ‘Yer should see them out there,’ Bobby said. ‘They’ve formed a line, and as Agnes washes a plate she hands it to Kitty to dry, then it’s passed to Abbie, then Milly, me mam, and finally Auntie Maureen. And they’re singing and dancing while they’re doing it! And sat on the table, supervising, is your wife, Mr Brady, and she’s loving every minute of it.’

  ‘It’s really funny, Dad,’ Nigel said. ‘Plates are being waved about, Kitty’s got a pan on her head which keeps falling down to cover her eyes, Mrs Neary’s wearing a pudding basin, Abbie and Milly have got empty biscuit tins swinging on their heads, and Auntie Maureen has got a tea-towel tied under her chin. They’re enjoying themselves so much they didn’
t even see us peeping round the door.’

  ‘I don’t think we should intrude on them, do you?’ Robert smiled. ‘Let them enjoy themselves. It’s a long time since this house has heard laughter like that, and it does my heart good.’

  The women had no intention of keeping the fun to themselves, though. When the kitchen was cleared of all dishes and pots and pans, they went into a huddle to decide how to catch the men by surprise. And catch them they did. They crept through the hall to the drawing room, then, on a sign from Ada, who was waving a rolling pin as though it was a baton, they burst the door open making the most unearthly racket possible. Banging spoons on the bottom of pans, and singing ‘Down By the Old Bull and Bush’ with gusto. After Ada came Kitty, who looked really comical with the large pan on her head swivelling around as she bobbed up and down to the music. She had two large spoons between her fingers and she was playing them in time with the tempo. And when Rose appeared wearing the pudding basin, her son went into fits of laughter and told her she should make a habit of it ’cos it really suited her. But he and Nigel agreed Abbie and Milly were better-looking without the biscuit tins. They thought Agnes was good, though, with a large teapot standing on her head and tied down with tinsel, and banging away on an enamel tray and singing at the top of her voice. The only one not making any noise was Maureen, who was bringing up the rear. She was obviously enjoying herself, but years of shyness held her back from singing. She still had the tea-towel tied under her chin, tinsel wrapped around her shouders, and two baubles off the Christmas tree in the hall were hanging from her ears. She looked like a gypsy, but a very shy one.

  When they were worn out, and their voices hoarse, Agnes called a halt. ‘That’s yer lot, folks, ’cos I’m off next door while I’ve still got a bit of breath in me.’

  ‘Oh, don’t go yet, Agnes, please,’ Robert said. ‘There are still presents to give out. The family have had theirs, but it was too late to give the guests theirs because it was near to dinner-time. So please stay for a few more minutes.’