Noleen pulled the cover up over her, shuffled herself up on to the pillow and took the lit cigarette from him. ‘Not for a while. The lads are playing footie on the wasteland and Mary is guess where.’ She took a drag and turned towards Paddy with a smile as she made herself comfortable on her side.
He glanced sideways with a grin. ‘The Tanners’, by any chance?’
‘Aye, but not with their Lorraine. She’s helping Maisie with the bunting for the Silvestrian.’
‘Our Mary, helping someone?’ Paddy looked incredulous.
‘Yeah, and that’s not all. She did the ironing last night for me while we were out and did you notice when we got back that she had been making biscuits an’ all?’
Paddy blew a smoke ring up into the air. ‘Well, I’ve got news too, Mrs Know-It-All.’
‘News? You? That’ll be the day.’ Noleen didn’t bite. This was the old Paddy, who teased her, and she was remembering his ways. She laid her head back on the pillow and drew deeply on her cigarette while she waited for him to tell her.
He paused. He could feel her twitching; he knew her. Any second, her hand would come down and playfully tap him and she would demand to know his news. He stubbed out the dog end in the ashtray next to the bed and decided to put her out of her misery. ‘Our Bryan is taking Lorraine Tanner to the do.’
Noleen handed him the last of her own cigarette. ‘Quick, before the ash falls on the sheets,’ she said. ‘Well, fancy that. I’m pleased. Who doesn’t like Lorraine? You were away fighting, but it was touch and go with that kid for days after she was born. It felt like every one of us was holding tight until Nurse Heather said we could all breathe again. That was a terrible night, that, Paddy.’
‘I know, love. We were doing our bit out there, you know.’
‘I know you were, love.’ She rubbed her hand on his stump. ‘I know.’
He turned to her, a serious expression on his face. ‘Noleen, I think it’s best if the money is never mentioned again.’
Noleen gasped and made to protest, but Paddy put his fingers on her lips.
‘Shhh now,’ he said. ‘Short of leaving it on the steps of the police station in the middle of the night, we had no option. We are Irish. The bizzies, they don’t like us, someone would have come a cropper. At the very least, the Bevan gang would have got to know and none of us on these streets would have rested. They are suspicious as it is. Dessie saw Kevin Bevan and two of his brothers hanging around only yesterday. The money is hidden, but from now on, just call it “the fund”, OK? And don’t ever speak a word about this to anyone. Do you understand that, Noleen?’
Noleen nodded, dumbfounded. ‘What will you do with it?’ she asked. Her voice had become a squeak.
‘We have appointed a committee to deal with that. Dessie, Stan, meself, Biddy and Madge. It’s to be used to help those in need. A coffin for a funeral. Flowers for a wedding. A bit of a do every now and then. Nothing so obvious that the Bevan boys will notice. Oh, and a school uniform, shoes and a satchel for any kid around here who passes the eleven-plus.’
Tears sprang to Noleen’s eyes. ‘Paddy, our Finn, he’s in town in the library right now.’ She imagined the look on Finn’s face when she told him he would be able to go to Waterloo Boys’ Grammar. ‘And does Father Brennan know?’
‘Don’t be stupid, you daft bat. He would insist that every penny went to St Chad’s and was doled out by him. But don’t you worry, we have sorted the church out. You will have to go to St Acanthus for confession now that you know. I wasn’t going to tell you for that reason. Don’t ask me any more questions now. Keeping the Bevans away from here and looking after our own, that’s what we’re doing, and we have to do it in secret. Every penny of that money will be spent on helping someone, and that’s all that matters.’
Noleen wrapped her arms around Paddy and hugged him into her. He was a changed man. Her important man. She didn’t want him to see the tears in her eyes. ‘I won’t be going to St Acanthus,’ she said. ‘The Holy Mother will understand.’
She inhaled deeply the smell of smoke and sex and shared secrets and felt the burden of guilt and worry melt away. She had said her prayers to the Holy Mother every single day, over and over. She had begged her to find a way for Finn to take the place he had been offered at the grammar. She had sat by the range and sobbed. No matter how much she schemed, she could never afford even the shoes, never mind the uniform and everything else on the list that had arrived in the post and lived in her apron pocket ever since, for fear that Finn would find it. Now her prayers had been answered and that was all that mattered.
*
‘I’m not coming,’ Lorcan had said. ‘I’m sure ’twill be a grand evening for you all, but count me out.’
Biddy swallowed the urge to thump him and from somewhere deep within found the most patient tone she could deploy. ‘Well, that will be a great shame, Lorcan, because, you see, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed or not, but your mammy could do with a smile on her face. I was hoping that a night out would be good for her. The lumps have gone now, you have no excuse.’
Lorcan turned his face towards the fire and made no response. He was ashamed of what people would think of him, having been half murdered by his own brother, ashamed of the bruises that still stained his face and of his mammy telling everyone she met what a great son J.T. was and how he had the fastest legs in Liverpool. He would never tell her the truth about how J.T. had almost killed them both, but every time she spoke the name of his evil brother her words cut him like a knife.
His chest tightened at the prospect of people thinking that all the Ryans were cast in the same mould and that he might be anything like his brother. He was like his daddy, in looks, thoughts and deeds. He had tried so hard to turn everything around and he had done so well, until their luck had shifted, again. But, as Biddy often told him, it was his blessings he had to count. They were safe now that J.T. was in jail. Mrs Ryan was sleeping upstairs on a proper bed. Lorcan hadn’t lost his job, in fact, Matron had asked after him herself and visited him when he was on the ward, having his injuries tended to. He had to admit it may hurt him to walk, but that was temporary. Everything at home was better than it had ever been before.
‘Go on, Lorcan, come to the party. Besides, I need your help. I’ve so much to carry, I will need to be borrowing a crane from the docks at this rate. All the lads from the hospital will be there. Dessie has had a chat with you, hasn’t he, about the fund?’
Lorcan nodded and whispered, ‘He brought me a copper boiler, so I don’t have to do the washing in the sink in cold water or go to the wash house. It’s in the scullery.’
Biddy grinned and Lorcan knew he was lost. They would be going. He just couldn’t stand up to Biddy.
*
The following afternoon, the noise of preparation and excited chatter could be heard coming from every street. Mary ran down the entry to Lorraine’s house with her hair in curlers to attend the makeshift Maisie Tanner salon. Maisie had high standards and was never seen outdoors without make-up, nail polish and a pair of stockings.
‘Come on in, Mary, love. Who’s next to have their nails done?’
In the kitchen sat Pammy, Victoria and Beth. Lorraine was sitting on Pammy’s knee, in the soft chair, having her nails done.
‘She’s nearly taller than you, you know, Pammy,’ said Beth as she blew on the fingers Maisie had just painted bright red.
‘Beth, where is Dana?’ asked Pammy. ‘She said she would be here by one.’
‘Probably tending to her grouchy boyfriend,’ said Victoria. ‘I swear to God, that girl has been a saint the way she’s put up with Teddy.’
‘Pammy, will you take Mary’s rollers out, love, now that you’ve done our Lorraine’s nails. Vic, will you help me take all this through into the scullery.’
Maisie had been damping and ragging Victoria’s hair. Victoria attended a very smart salon in Manchester when she was at home in Bolton, but it was nowhere near as much fun as having her
hair done in the Tanners’ kitchen. Now that she was there, she’d almost forgotten she was pregnant. But on the walk over from Lovely Lane, she had confided in Beth that she was nervous.
‘Roland arrives at five. He has to work this morning and he said he is staying over. I’m off tomorrow and so it is decision time.’
‘Have you made up your mind yet?’ asked Beth. ‘I have to admit, you know my thoughts, however, I cannot imagine living in Lovely Lane without you.’ She cast a nervous glance towards Victoria. Tears had never been far from the surface since she had confided in Beth.
‘Roland and I will be leaving straight after the party. He is driving me back to Bolton. We either have a wedding to arrange, or if I get my own way, something else altogether. At least because I am a nurse, I know what a sterile environment should look like and I will pick up on the first sign of infection. I have lots to do either way and if I keep the baby, I must get away from here before anyone guesses. Call me a coward, but I don’t want to be here when Mrs Tanner finds out. It makes my heart heavy to think how disappointed she will be with me. I can’t bear it.’
Beth had linked her arm through her friend’s. ‘Vic, don’t worry about any of that now. Leave it to me. I will tell everyone for you, but not until you tell me to, once you’re back in Bolton for your off-duty and you’ve made a decision.’
‘Just put that bowl on the draining board,’ Maisie said to Victoria now, as she sorted through the paraphernalia she’d been using to beautify half the girls in the street. She took a bottle of pink setting solution off the shelf. ‘How are you feeling now, Victoria?’ she asked.
‘Oh, I’m fine, Mrs Tanner. I just had a bit of a sick bug that day.’
‘Really.’
Victoria turned her head sharply. There was something about the tone of Maisie’s voice that alerted her.
‘You’ll need a Silver Cross pram for that sick bug soon.’
Victoria’s mouth dropped open at the same time as Maisie extended her arms and she fell straight into them.
‘Vic, love, you need a mam at a time like this and God love yours, she’s not here. Will you stop calling me Mrs Tanner and call me Auntie Maisie instead, and let me start knitting for this little bug you’re carrying. Oh and by the way, I know that Anthony knows too.’
Victoria pulled back and looked Maisie in the eye. ‘Pammy as well?’ she gasped.
‘No, not our Pammy. He would never betray the confidence of a patient.’
Victoria’s brow furrowed. ‘But he already has, if he’s told you?’
‘Oh no, love, he didn’t. It was me that told him.’
*
Later that evening, over in the Delaney house, Paddy was having second thoughts. Having earned no money of his own for so long, he was now nervous about spending what little he did have. Noleen, on the other hand, having scrimped and saved and sometimes begged her way through their darker days, was ready to enjoy the fruits of his labour.
‘No, I will not stay in, you cheeky sod. You think I’m going to miss Dessie putting on a do? Everything is sorted. Our Mary and Lorraine are coming over to put our Jack and Cahill to bed and then they are coming back to the Silvie. If all the other wives are going, I’ll be there too. I don’t want anyone thinking that just because I only work a few nights now, I can’t manage to enjoy the craic.’
‘But, Noleen, I don’t think I can manage it all the way up that hill on my false leg and these crutches.’
‘Yes, you can manage it, because Dessie sent a wheelchair home with Bryan. It’s parked up by the outhouse. Now, sit in it and do as I say, Paddy. I’m in no mood for arguing tonight.’
Paddy knew that tone and didn’t dare disagree. He slipped into the wheelchair with Bryan’s help. ‘It is a free bar, isn’t it?’ he said with an edge of nervousness in his voice.
‘Of course it is, Da,’ said Bryan. There was no need to add that there was no way they could go if there wasn’t. ‘It’ll be the fund,’ he whispered and Paddy winked.
The money had been hidden in Biddy’s tea chest under a false bottom Paddy had fitted to it. Sacking had been placed on Biddy’s kitchen floor and the tea tipped out while Paddy, with the help of Lorcan, had cut and fitted a piece of timber inside, with a small hinged hatch and handle at the back for access. ‘There you go, Biddy,’ Paddy had said as he screwed in the last hinge. ‘Just make sure the chest is never less than half full so no one scrapes the bottom with a tin caddy and wonders what’s going on. We don’t want no nosey parkers digging around.’ Everyone knew that Biddy kept an endless supply of tea in the chest, for anyone to help themselves should they need to. ‘Black gold, that tea is now.’
‘That must be why everyone is coming,’ said Bryan. ‘No one will be paying for drinks tonight.’
When Paddy was in the wheelchair and parked at the back gate, Noleen joined them. She was carrying a wicker basket.
‘Now, do something useful,’ she said with a smile. ‘Carry this on your knee.’ And she plonked the basket full of freshly baked meat-and-potato pies on his lap.
Paddy dipped his head into the basket and inhaled. ‘They smell good,’ he said.
‘I know that. It will be the best plate of food there and the first to be emptied.’ Noleen straightened her shoulders and puffed out her chest.
Paddy heard the note of pride in her voice before he saw the satisfaction on her face. The Delaneys were back where they should be, hanging on. Noleen could hold her head up once more and not be pitied. They would make their contribution and more than that, it would be the best. They had little to spare, but unlike in the past, there was nothing they needed either. Paddy was managing on his leg and holding a job down and Finn was going to the grammar.
*
The bar was already packed when they arrived and a blue haze of smoke hung over it.
‘Here they come. The Delaneys are here. You made it!’ said Madge as Bryan struggled to push the wheelchair through the door.
Madge was one of the most important members of the St Angelus mafia and not famous for her discretion. Noleen dreaded her making a fuss of Paddy and drawing attention to him. He was self-conscious enough about the wheelchair as it was. ‘Just say hello,’ she silently urged Madge in her head, ‘nothing more.’
‘Jeez, that lipstick looks nuclear,’ muttered Paddy as she approached.
Madge had been widowed during the war and had clearly decided that it was at last time to find another man. She had seemingly dressed in a manner she felt would help achieve this.
‘Evening, Paddy,’ she said. She placed her hand on his arm. ‘It’s so great to see you walking about, but I knew that hill would be a killer. It wears me out.’ She leant across him to speak to Noleen above the noise. ‘Biddy, Branna, Elsie over there and meself are in charge of the buffet and dishing out the food.’ Elsie waved at them from the food table. ‘Can I take this basket, Paddy? Thanks very much, love.’ Madge lifted the plate out of the basket on Paddy’s lap without waiting for a reply. ‘Did you write your name on the bottom of your plate, Noleen, so that one of the kids can bring it back tomorrow?’
‘I did, Madge. It’s my best, national issue, so don’t let Elsie drop that.’
The two women laughed.
‘Dessie said to take your da over to the table by the bar, Bryan.’ And as quickly as she had appeared, super-efficient Madge disappeared in the direction of the long buffet table.
Noleen heard her shout to Branna, ‘Lovely meat-and-potato pies coming over,’ and she felt warm with pride when she saw Branna’s eyebrows rise as she took the plate and then watched her mouth, ‘Ooh, lovely,’ back to Madge.
Bryan shot an anxious glance towards his mam. He couldn’t see the table Madge had indicated for them to go to, or Dessie through the smoke. He handed Paddy his crutches and the two of them began to walk towards Biddy. If there was one sniff of someone giving them charity or pity, his da would want to leave and there would be no arguing with him. They would be out of the door quicker than the
y came in. Beads of perspiration broke out on Bryan’s top lip.
He spotted Lorcan Ryan sitting on the corner of the lads’ table, looking lost. Bryan hadn’t told his da, but Lorcan had barely spoken a word since he had returned to work following the attack and J.T.’s second arrest. He’d asked Bryan just the one question when Dessie had sent him to help load the trailer with empty oxygen bottles from outside the theatre block. ‘How’s your da?’ he’d said.
‘He’s alive,’ Bryan had replied, ‘which is more than you nearly were.’
Lorcan didn’t say another word after that and Bryan had felt bad.
Finally Bryan heard Dessie’s voice boom out from near the bar. ‘Over here, lad.’
Others looked to see where Dessie was shouting from and as they turned, Noleen heard Paddy’s name being called out by some of the men as they parted to allow him, his false leg and his crutches through.
‘Paddy, mate, you’re here! God help us, what a sight for sore eyes you are. Here, Dessie, a drink for Paddy!’ That was Jake.
Noleen felt someone touch her arm and, turning, saw it was Maisie Tanner.
‘Noleen, here, me and Stan have got a table and we’ve kept you seats. We’re with Dessie and the bloody table is loaded with Babycham. We’re gonna have a right laugh tonight, we are.’
Noleen smiled at her. Of all the women in the streets, Maisie Tanner was the most effusive and one of the happiest. She made Noleen laugh just because her own laughter was infectious. Tears almost reached Noleen’s eyes. They were being looked out for, cared for, because her husband was one of the walking wounded. Paddy didn’t have a chance to object. He was too busy ensuring the pint of Guinness that had been thrust into his hand didn’t spill.
‘Bryan, leave your ma and da now, they don’t want you hanging around. The lads, they all have their own table down at the stage,’ Jake said. ‘And there’s a full barrel of Guinness just for the lads’ table, laid on by Dessie. Even you lot won’t manage to drain that dry.’
Bryan grinned from ear to ear, more with relief than pleasure. ‘Oh, I don’t know, if you give Lorcan half a chance…’ He laughed as he tapped Lorcan on the back.
The Mother's Of Lovely Lane Page 37