by Joan Jonker
‘Molly!’ Jack threw his cigarette end into the fire. ‘Don’t be so nosy!’
‘It’s all right, Dad.’ Jill could see the interest in her mother’s eyes and the desire to share her daughter’s life. And she loved her so much she wanted to make her happy, wanted to share everything with her. ‘We sat in the fourpenny seats and the film was called Tarzan Meets Jane. Steve bought me a slab of Fry’s cream, which he ate most of himself. He didn’t hold me hand and he didn’t give me a goodnight kiss. I’d ’ave slapped his face if he’d tried. Now, are yer satisfied?’
‘My God, this shorthand’s a good thing, isn’t it?’ Molly snorted. ‘Yer can say everythin’ yer want in a few words.’
Jack chortled. ‘Yer could do with learnin’ it yerself.’
‘Watch it, Jack Bennett, or I’ll knock yer into the middle of next week. Anyway, if yer were any sort of a father yer’d be interested in yer daughter’s first date. Want to make sure everythin’ was above board.’
‘I don’t think I need to worry about Jill goin’ out with Steve. If it ’ad been a stranger, I’d ’ave been sittin’ behind them in the picture ’ouse, watchin’ every move.’
‘Pity someone wasn’t watchin’ your every move when we were courtin’.’ Molly grinned. ‘Right Romeo, you were.’ She turned her gaze to her daughter. ‘Your dad’s right, though, sunshine. Steve’s a nice lad an’ yer’ll come to no harm with him.’
‘I’m going out with him again next Saturday.’ May as well get it over with now, she thought. ‘He’s takin’ me to the pictures again.’
‘Good for him! Yer spend far too much time on those blasted books of yours.’ Molly saw Jack’s head jerk up, and quickly added, ‘Oh, I know yer like what yer doin’, love, an’ I know it’ll be worth it in the end. But yer only young once so try an’ get a little ’appiness out of life as well.’
‘I will, Mam, don’t worry.’
‘Well,’ Molly pushed her chair back, ‘now me curiosity’s been satisfied, I’ll put the kettle on. Next Saturday, bring Steve in for a cup of tea. Yer dad would appreciate havin’ a man to talk to, wouldn’t yer, love?’
‘What yer mam means, love, is that she might get more out of Steve than she will from you.’ Jack grinned. ‘Isn’t that the truth, Mrs Woman?’
‘Someone’s goin’ to get their ears boxed if they’re not careful,’ Molly warned. ‘The best of it is, he’s just as nosy as I am! If he’s said once, “I wonder how our Jill’s gettin’ on”, he’s said it a hundred times.’
Jack roared with laughter. ‘Trust you to let the cat out of the bag.’ He winked at Jill. ‘I wasn’t worried about yer, not with Steve, I just hoped yer were havin’ a nice time.’
Molly walked to the kitchen muttering under her breath, ‘He’d talk ’is way out of anythin’, that man.’
Chapter Five
The creaking springs of the bed brought Jack out of a deep sleep. His mind not quite alert, he tried to remember what day it was. He squinted at the illuminated hands of the alarm clock on a small table at the side of the bed. Half-past eight! He sat up quickly in panic, thinking they’d overslept, then remembered it was Sunday. Molly was sitting on the side of the bed, stretching her arms and yawning. ‘What are you getting up so early for, love? Get back into bed and have a lie in while yer can.’
‘I’ve been lying awake for ages, so I might as well get up.’ She turned to smile at him. ‘You get yer ’ead down again.’
Jack stretched over and put his arms around her waist. ‘Come back for half an hour an’ give us a cuddle.’
‘Oh, aye, feelin’ frisky, are yer?’ Molly spoke softly. The walls of the bedroom were thin and she didn’t want to wake the children. ‘I know what your cuddles lead to.’
While she was talking, Jack was running his hand up and down her back and Molly shivered with pleasure. ‘Oh, you certainly know ’ow to get round a woman.’
Jack nuzzled her neck. ‘Come on, half an hour.’
Molly swivelled round and slipped her legs between the sheets. Snuggling up to him, she whispered, ‘Can’t beat a little cuddle, can yer?’
Jack ran his hand over her hips and tummy. Molly was a warm, passionate woman, and his caresses were sending ripples of pleasure through her body. ‘Mmm, that feels good.’
Before he knew what was happening, Jack had been pulled across to lie on top of the warm, soft body. He sighed with pleasure. ‘I love you, Molly Bennett.’
‘An’ I love you, Jack Bennett.’ Molly wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him close. ‘Loads and loads.’
‘Take it easy,’ he warned, ‘or I won’t be able to help meself.’
‘Let’s enjoy ourselves.’ Then Molly’s mind cleared briefly. ‘But for God’s sake, be careful.’
Lost in the warm softness of her, his passion and need at its height, Jack asked himself how he could do both.
When Miss Clegg came out of hospital, the neighbours had agreed to take turns making sure she had a hot dinner every day. And Sunday was Molly’s turn. With a tea towel covering the plate, she let herself in with the spare key she’d insisted Miss Clegg gave her in case of emergency. ‘Cooeee!’ called Molly as she walked down the hall. ‘“It’s only me from over the sea,” said Barnacle Bill the sailor.’
‘Hello, Molly.’ Miss Clegg was looking her age now, the fall had certainly taken it out of her. But she was always cheerful and very grateful for the help she was given. ‘It’s a nuisance you having to come over on a Sunday when you’ve the family to see to. You must be cursing me.’
‘We’ve had our dinner, so don’t be worryin’.’ Molly set the plate on the table. ‘It’s mutton chop today, with carrots and roast potatoes. And I want to see the plate as clean as a whistle when I come back. You eat every bit, d’yer hear?’
Victoria Clegg grinned. ‘Yes, madam.’
‘Come an’ sit yerself down at the table then, and tuck in.’ Molly dropped a kiss on the snow white head. ‘I’ll be back later.’
As she was crossing the road Molly was surprised to see her mother and father walking down the street, arm in arm. ‘Well, where are you two off to all dressed up?’
‘We thought we’d take a little trip, get some fresh air.’ Bob gripped his wife’s hand. ‘Need to blow the cobwebs away, don’t we, sweetheart?’ But they agreed to come in for a few minutes.
‘Look who’s here.’ Molly moved some papers off the couch for her parents to sit down. ‘Walkin’ down the street like two lovebirds, they were.’
Jack lowered the Sunday paper. ‘Well, this is a surprise! But it’s always nice to see you.’
‘Doreen, put the kettle on an’ make a drink for Nanna an’ Granda,’ Molly said. ‘An’ put plenty of tea in the pot. Yer know Granda likes his tea strong.’
Bridie lifted her hand. ‘No thanks, lass, we’ll not be staying long.’
Molly narrowed her eyes. ‘Where yez off to, all dolled up to the nines?’
‘Shall we tell her?’ There was love in the look exchanged between Bridie and her husband. ‘Sure she’ll probably say it’s crazy we are.’
Bob Jackson ran his fingers around the brim of the trilby hat he was holding between his knees. He was looking very smart in his navy suit, white shirt and blue tie. ‘We’re going down to the Pier Head.’
‘The Pier Head!’ Molly’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘On a day like this, yer’ll get blown off yer feet!’
‘We’ve a reason for going today.’ Bob reminded Molly of an eager young boy. ‘It’s exactly thirty-nine years to the day since I met yer mam at the Pier Head, an’ we thought we’d like to go back, for old times’ sake.’
‘Ooh, can I come with yez, Granda?’ Tommy asked excitedly. ‘Let me come, please?’
‘And me!’ Doreen pushed her chair back. ‘I want to come, too!’
‘Oh, my God, there’s never a show without Punch!’ Molly rolled her eyes. ‘Yer nanna and granda don’t want to be draggin’ you two with them.’
Bridie and Bob exc
hanged glances, then Bridie said, ‘Now why wouldn’t we want our grandchildren with us? We’d like it just fine. And afterwards they can come home with us an’ have a bite to eat.’
‘Yippee!’ Tommy was on his way to get his coat when his mother pulled him up short.
‘Ay, buggerlugs! It’s school tomorrow, so it’s early to bed for yez.’
‘Ah, ray, Mam!’ Doreen’s face looked mutinous. ‘We never go anywhere! I’ve only been to the Pier Head twice in me life!’
‘For someone who’s fourteen an’ leavin’ school at Christmas, you should ’ave more sense. If yer put as much energy into yer learnin’ as yer do into playin’ out, yer’d be a damn sight better off.’
‘Ay, Nan, d’yer know our Jill’s got a boyfriend?’ Tommy stood in front of Bridie, a twinkle in his eyes. ‘She’s goin’ out with Steve McDonough.’
‘Well, now, isn’t that just fine!’ Bridie looked across to where Jill was sitting with her eyes down, her fingers making patterns in the plush of the deep maroon chenille tablecloth. ‘He’s a broth of a boy, is Steve.’
Sensing her daughter’s embarrassment, Molly changed the subject. ‘Tommy’s tryin’ to get round yer, Ma, can’t yer see?’
‘Blind I’m not, me darlin’.’ Bridie never, ever raised her voice. ‘An’ I’ll not be twisted round anyone’s finger. But I’ve been thinkin’ you could do with a bit of a break, with all the running around you do. So why don’t me and yer da take the children to the Pier Head and then take them home with us for the night? They can sleep in ours an’ go straight to school in the morning.’
Molly felt two pairs of eyes begging her to say yes and her resolve weakened. Doreen was right, they didn’t get many treats. ‘Okay, yer twisted me arm. Go an’ change into yer clean school clothes an’ yer’ll be ready in the morning.’
Elbowing each other aside, Doreen and Tommy raced for the stairs. ‘Don’t forget that neck of yours, Tommy Bennett,’ Molly shouted after them, ‘an’ make sure yer ears are clean.’
‘Is there somethin’ special about today, Ma?’ Jack asked. ‘I’ve never known you do this before.’
Bob stood up to put his trilby on in front of the mirror. When it was set at the rakish angle he found agreeable, he turned to Jack. ‘It only comes now and again that the date falls on a Sunday, son. Only every so many years.’
When Bridie stood up, Molly exclaimed, ‘My, my, Ma, yer do look posh! Like one of them fashion models yer see in the windows of them fancy shops down Bold Street.’
Bridie was wearing a grey coat which nearly reached her ankles, and a matching grey felt hat with an ostrich feather curling from the side of the brim to cover the crown. With her slim figure and ramrod straight back, she could pass for a woman twenty years younger. ‘Would yer be wantin’ me to walk round like a tramp? Sure I only make the most of what the good Lord gave me.’
‘I’m goin’ to have a word with Him when I go to church,’ Molly said. ‘Ask Him why He gave you all the good parts.’
Bridie stroked Molly’s hair. ‘Is it not thanks yer should be giving Him for all the good things He’s given you? Hasn’t He given you the biggest heart in the whole world, and the strong shoulders to carry everyone’s troubles as well as your own. And given you a good husband and four lovely children. You’ve a lot to be grateful for, Molly Bennett.’
There was a mad scramble down the stairs as Doreen and Tommy fought to be first at the kitchen sink to swill their faces. After passing an inspection from their mother, they were ready for the off. ‘Is it the number twenty-two tram we get to the Pier Head?’ Bob asked, as Molly followed them down the hall.
‘Yeah, that’ll take yez right there.’ As Molly waved them off she heard Tommy asking, ‘Granda, can we look at your train books when we get home?’
Bob was a train enthusiast and he’d got Tommy as bad as himself. The two of them liked nothing better than to spend a few hours at Lime Street or Exchange station, train spotting. Tommy had a notebook full of numbers and heaven help anyone who so much as laid a finger on it.
‘Honest to God, I’ll swear they’re as much in love as they were when they got married.’ Molly stood with her back to the fire, her skirt lifted so the warmth could travel upwards. ‘Fancy anyone remembering the exact place, time and day they first met.’
‘I remember the first girl I fell in love with,’ Jack said softly, a shy smile on his face. ‘It was September the sixteenth, a Wednesday night, an’ I was at the Grafton. There was this girl there with a lovely hourglass figure and long blonde hair down to her waist. She was wearing a blue skirt and a white blouse, an’ all the boys were around her like flies. I had to queue up to dance with her.’
Molly’s mouth gaped. ‘Well, I never!’ She made a grab for him and hugged him in a bear-like grip, raining kisses on his face. ‘Jack Bennett, you’ve remembered that all this time! Oh, no wonder I love the bones of yer, an’ every hair on yer head.’
Jill was looking on with a smile on her face. Fancy her dad remembering all that! And fancy all the men wanting to dance with her mam! She hoped when she got married, her husband would be as nice.
There was a play on the wireless at eight o’clock so Molly had the tea over and the dishes washed in time to sit down and listen in comfort. ‘Ay, isn’t this the gear! No kids, only peace, perfect peace.’
Jill was sitting at the table brushing up on her homework, Jack was in his favourite fireside chair, his long legs stretched out to feel the warmth from the fire, and Molly was sewing a tear in a pair of Tommy’s trousers. Then over the sound of the voice coming from the wireless came a loud, angry roar. Molly looked up from her sewing and gave a deep sigh. ‘Oh, he’s not goin’ to start again tonight, surely to God?’
The shouting coming through the wall from next door grew louder and angrier, until they could no longer hear the wireless clearly. ‘This is bloody ridiculous!’ Molly put her sewing down beside her. ‘What the hell we ever did to deserve a neighbour like Nobby Clarke, I’ll never know.’
‘How would yer like to be married to a man like ’im?’ Jack asked. ‘I don’t know how Ellen puts up with it.’
‘Jack love, I wouldn’t be married to a man like ’im. I’d ’ave throttled ’im years ago.’
‘It’s the kids I feel sorry for,’ Jill said, her pencil tapping on her strong white teeth. ‘They must be terrified listenin’ to that.’
There were loud bangs now accompanying the angry voice, and Molly’s nostrils flared with anger. ‘What the bloody ’ell’s he doin’? It sounds like he’s tearin’ the place to pieces.’ She wriggled to the edge of the couch and levered herself up. ‘I’m not puttin’ up with that, he’s goin’ to get a piece of me mind.’
‘Now, Molly!’ Jack warned. ‘Keep out of it.’
‘If yer think I’m goin’ to let a bad-tempered devil spoil me night for me, yer’ve got another think comin’, Jack Bennett. This is our home an’ I’m not puttin’ up with ’is roarin’ and bawlin’.’
Jack got up and switched off the wireless. ‘No point in havin’ it on, we can’t hear it.’ He pushed Molly back down onto the couch. ‘I’ll go an’ ’ave a word with ’im.’
She was up like a shot. ‘Oh, no yer don’t! He’s an evil man is Nobby Clarke. Evil an’ violent. If you go, it’ll end up in a fight and then we’ll ’ave the whole street out. But he wouldn’t have the nerve to fight with a woman.’
‘Mam,’ Jill said quietly, ‘if you go, won’t it make it worse for Mrs Clarke? He’d probably take it out on her.’
‘He’s takin’ it out on ’er now, from the sound of things, so I can’t make it any worse. She’s terrified of him, the big bully. Haven’t yer noticed, in all the years they’ve lived ’ere, she hasn’t made a friend in the street? Too scared to, if yer ask me. She walks down the street with ’er head down, frightened of ’er own flamin’ shadow.’
Molly untied the knot at the back of her pinny and threw it on the couch. ‘Don’t worry, there won’t be any trouble. I’ll
just tell them to lower the noise so we can ’ear the wireless.’
‘Don’t go, Molly!’
‘Jack, if yer worried about ’im havin’ a go at me, come and stand at the door an’ I’ll give yer a shout if ’e takes off.’
With Jack keeping an anxious eye on her, Molly knocked on the Clarkes’ front door. After a few heavy bangs, the door opened slowly. But Molly couldn’t see anyone. She looked at Jack and shrugged her shoulders. ‘Is anyone there?’
‘Me dad said to go away.’
Molly’s eyes travelled down to where the sound of the voice had come from. All she could see was a little face, filthy dirty, with a runny nose and two round, wide eyes.
‘Is that you, Gordon?’ Molly pushed the door further open to reveal the youngest of the Clarkes’ four children. ‘What are you doin’ up this time of night? Yer should be in bed at your age.’ Gordon was five but very undersized for his age. He was so thin he looked half starved. As he peered up at Molly, he ran the back of his hand across his runny nose then wiped it down the front of his dirty jersey.
When Gordon didn’t answer, Molly said, ‘Tell yer dad I want ’im, there’s a good boy.’
‘Me dad’s fightin’ with me mam, an’ ’e told me to tell whoever was at the door to go away.’
‘What they fightin’ about?’
‘Dunno.’
‘What did yer mam say?’
The big eyes looked surprised. ‘She didn’t say nuthin’.’
Oh dear, what do I do now? Molly wondered. The child looked terrified enough without her making it worse. She could hear the shouting and the banging still going on inside the house, but it was what was going on inside the young boy’s head that worried her. No child should have to live in a house where there was constant fighting. And the bad language she could hear wasn’t fit for a docker’s ears, never mind a child’s. Poor little bugger, he wasn’t the size of sixpennorth of copper and as thin as a rake.