by Joan Jonker
Ada McClusky nodded, her chin touching her chest. ‘Good idea! I couldn’t pay it all out in one go, but I wouldn’t miss a few coppers each week.’ There were grunts of approval from the others. They were all feeling very important, never having been on a committee before. ‘We could do so many houses each.’ The small chair that Nellie was sitting on was completely hidden by her huge bulk, and to all appearances she was sitting on air. ‘Mind you, there’s bound to be some miserable buggers who don’t want to give anything.’
‘Yer can say that again!’ Lizzie Furlong huffed. ‘They’ll come to the party but won’t want to pay for it.’
‘We’ll worry about that when we see ’ow it goes,’ Molly said. ‘I don’t begrudge payin’ for them that can’t afford it, like Tessie Saunders. Her feller’s out of work. But I’m blowed if I’m forkin’ out for some of the misery guts I could mention. Tight-fisted so-an’-sos.’
‘I’ve brought a pad with me,’ said Mary Watson, the youngest of the group. ‘What d’yer think about dividing the street into six, an’ we all have our own numbers to collect from?’
‘That’s fine by me.’ Vera Porter saw all the heads nod in unison. ‘You give us a list each an’ we’ll have a go on Saturday mornin’, before anyone’s got a chance to spend all their wages.’
‘While you’re doin’ that, I’ll pour the tea out.’ Molly put her hands on the table and pushed herself up. ‘Yer know, I haven’t half put on weight since our Ruthie started school. I don’t know I’m born with not havin’ to run around after her all day, but I’m piling the pounds on. If I keep this up, I’ll be as big as a flamin’ house!’
‘Yer’ve got a long way to go to catch up with me.’ Nellie’s whole body shook when she started to laugh, and the chair beneath her groaned ominously. ‘Once around me, twice around the gas works!’
‘You suit it,’ Molly called from the kitchen. ‘I couldn’t imagine yer any different.’
Nellie was studying the list Mary had passed to her. ‘What about Ellen Clarke next door?’
‘Leave Ellen to me.’ Molly came through carrying a wooden tray with the cups of tea on. ‘She can’t afford to give anythin’ so it’s no good embarrassing her. I’ll throw an extra copper in every week to make up for ’er.’
‘Who’s goin’ to take charge of the money each week?’ Lizzie Furlong was pulling at the long white hairs that grew from the wart on her chin. She was no oil painting, was Lizzie, but God had made up for her homely looks by giving her a generous, caring nature and a dry sense of humour. ‘Don’t leave it with me, or I’ll be dippin’ into it when I’m skint.’
Molly chuckled. ‘That’s every day, isn’t it, Lizzie?’
‘Not every day,’ she laughed back. ‘The one day I never borrow is on a Sunday. It’s bad luck.’
Mary passed the rest of the lists out before saying, ‘We could start spending some of it. If we’re goin’ to decorate the whole street, we’ll need loads of that crinkly paper in red, white an’ blue. We could get that in, an’ start cutting it into strips.’
‘Yeah!’ Molly rubbed her hands in glee. ‘We’ll ’ave the best street party in Liverpool.’
Nellie put her cup down on the tray. ‘Shall we ’ave a meeting next week and see ’ow we got on with the collectin’? We could start writing down all the things we’ll need in the way of food and drinks.’
‘An’ don’t forget to write down ’ow much yer get from each house as yer get it,’ Molly reminded them. ‘Yer know what bad minds some of them ’ave got, they’ll think we’re on the fiddle.’
‘We can meet in our ’ouse, if yez like,’ Nellie said. ‘Save Molly havin’ to put up with us every week.’
‘It’s no bother,’ Molly told her. ‘In fact I like havin’ visitors. Now I haven’t got Ruthie under me feet all day, me time’s me own.’
‘That’s settled then.’ Lizzie folded her list and put it in her pocket. ‘If anyone needs a handcart to carry all the money they collect, give us a shout an’ I’ll borrow the window cleaner’s.’
‘Huh, that’s a laugh!’ Ada McClusky tittered. ‘We’ll probably get all the doors shut in our faces.’
‘No, you won’t!’ Molly said. ‘I’ve told nearly everyone in the street, so they’ll be expectin’ yez.’
‘If yer believe that, yer’ve got more faith in human nature than I ’ave.’ When Nellie shook her head, her chins swayed in different directions. ‘If they’re expectin’ us, I’ll bet yez any money the kids will be sent to open the door with instructions to say “Me mam’s out”.’
‘Everyone knows their own tricks best, Nellie,’ Molly laughed. ‘But I’ll ’ave yer a bet on it. I’ll bet yer a pound to a pinch of snuff that most of them will pay up.’
‘Nah!’ When Nellie grinned her eyes disappeared in the folds of flesh. ‘I couldn’t win an argument! Unless it’s with my feller, of course. An’ he only lets me win ’cos I’m bigger than ’im.’
Vera Porter pushed her chair back. ‘I’d better be makin’ a move. If I don’t get to the shops before they close at one o’clock, it’ll be too late to make a pan of scouse for dinner.’
‘Yeah, I’ll have to put me skates on, too! I want to go round to me ma’s before I start on our dinner.’ Molly picked the tray up. ‘Will yez see yerselves out? An’ good luck on Saturday! If a man opens the door, use yer charm on ’im. Yer never know, yer just might get a penny extra.’
‘My God, she’ll be tartin’ us all up an’ sendin’ us down Lime Street next!’ Nellie pressed her open palms on the table and heaved herself up. ‘Yer wouldn’t get much for me, Molly, I’d ’ave to pay the men.’
Molly kept her face straight. ‘Now why didn’t I think of that? That’s one way of makin’ money. All yer’d ’ave to do would be lie back an’ think of England! Good idea, Nellie, we’ll bear it in mind.’
‘Wipe your feet, love, I don’t want yer traipsing dirt all through the house.’ Bridie closed the door and sighed as she followed her daughter down the hall. ‘I no sooner finish cleaning than I’ve got to start all over again, otherwise the whole house would be caked in dust.’
‘I’m not surprised.’ Molly gave her mother a quick peck on the cheek. ‘I didn’t realise they’d have to dig all the flagstones up to lay the electric cables. The street’s in a right mess.’
‘I keep tellin’ meself it’ll be worth it in the end, but it’s been weeks now and it’s getting me down.’ Bridie looked worn out. She’d filled old stockings with rags and put them under the doors in an effort to keep the dirt out, but to no avail. Half an hour after she’d polished and mopped there would be a film of dust over everything. Even in her hair and up her nose.
‘It’ll be worth it, Ma!’ Molly leaned forward and smiled into her mother’s face. ‘Remember what yer said when yer first heard yer were bein’ “electrocuted”? Just a flick of a switch, yer said, an’ the room will be filled with light. Well, it won’t be long now.’
‘Just wait till yourself has all this to put up with, my girl, an’ yer’ll soon change yer tune.’
‘Aye, well, a bit of dirt won’t worry me too much,’ Molly laughed. ‘I’m not as fussy as you.’ She followed her mother through to the kitchen and watched her fill the kettle. ‘Will they be finished before the coronation? Yer couldn’t ’ave a street party the way it is.’
‘That’s the last thing on me mind, sure it is.’ Bridie spooned some tea from the caddy into the pot. ‘I’ll just be glad to get me house back to normal.’
‘You an’ Pa can come round to us. Yer can’t let the coronation pass without celebratin’. It’s the only way the people ’ave of showin’ they care, and wishing ’im well. After all, the poor bugger probably doesn’t want to be King, an’ he wouldn’t ’ave been only for that brother of his.’
‘I wish you’d watch yer language, Molly! It’s not respectful to refer to the King as a “poor bugger”.’ Bridie poured the boiling water into the pot. ‘Years ago yer’d have been sent to the Tower of London,
so yer would.’
Molly chuckled as she reached for two cups from the shelf. ‘They don’t behead people any more, Ma! Yer’ll not get rid of me that easy.’
‘Tut-tut.’ Bridie clicked her tongue. ‘Behave yerself and carry the cups through. I don’t know who you take after, and that’s a fact. You never heard bad language from me or yer pa.’
‘I must be a throwback, then.’ There was a twinkle in Molly’s eyes as she poured milk into the cups. ‘Yer weren’t friendly with the milkman by any chance?’
‘Oh, away with yer!’ Bridie pulled a chair out and sat down. ‘’Tis the death of me yer’ll be, one of these days.’
‘Not for a long time, Ma, not for a very long time.’ Molly sat facing her and wagged a finger in her mother’s face. ‘You are not to die until yer a hundred, and that’s an order. Understand?’
‘Understanding an order and being able to obey it are two different things, me darlin’. Only the good Lord will know when my time is up.’
‘Oh, this is a very cheerful conversation, I don’t think! I come round for a cup of tea and a natter, an’ end up with the heebie-jeebies! Can’t we find somethin’ nice to talk about?’
Bridie smiled. ‘I’ve never known you be short of a few hundred words, so I haven’t.’
Glad to see the smile back on her mother’s face, Molly racked her brains for something of interest that had happened in the two days since she’d last been round. ‘I’ll start at the top, shall I? Jack’s fine, he got some overtime in last night and he’s working late again tonight. Our Jill’s still courtin’ strong. She went to the flicks with Steve last night, and he’ll be meetin’ her after night school tonight, as per usual. She’s a smashin’ kid, is our Jill. Lovely nature, quiet, well spoken, and never a cross word out of her.’ Molly tapped her fingers on the table as her eyes rolled upwards. ‘I wish I could say the same about our Doreen. She’s a right little madam, that one! Gives me all the old buck of the day, she does, except when her dad’s there. Then yer’d think butter wouldn’t melt in ’er mouth.’
‘Jill’s a lovely girl, so she is, an’ don’t I love every hair of her head?’ There was a trace of a smile on Bridie’s face as her eyes held Molly’s. ‘But, sure, it wouldn’t do for us all to be alike. Doreen’s more outgoing, got a different nature altogether. She’s quick-tempered, says things before she thinks, and is sure she knows it all.’ Bridie’s smile widened. ‘A long time ago, I knew a girl just like Doreen, an’ sure isn’t she sitting just a few feet away from me right this minute?’
Molly was silent for a few seconds, then her head went back and a hearty laugh rang out. ‘Was I that bad, Mam?’
‘’T’was a merry dance yer led Pa and me, and you needn’t be sittin’ there looking all innocent like, as though you can’t remember. You had so many different boyfriends, Pa and me lost count. Off out yer’d go every night, with yer face made up like a clown and tottering on heels so high it’s a wonder yer didn’t fall off.’ Bridie pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. ‘We blessed the day Jack Bennett came along an’ we knew our worries were over . . . you’d finally grown up.’
Molly held up her hands in mock surrender. ‘Okay, Ma, you win! I was a right little upstart, there’s no gettin’ away from that! But I think yer only rememberin’ the things yer want to! What yer forgettin’ is that when I left school an’ started work I was still wearin’ short socks an’ navy blue, fleecy-lined school knickers! An’ I had to be in by nine o’clock, or Pa would be out lookin’ for me . . . remember? I was sixteen before I was allowed to stay out till ten o’clock, or go to the pictures or dances with me mates.’ Molly smiled at the memory. ‘Ruled me with a rod of iron, you an’ Pa did.’
‘And didn’t yourself need it? Weren’t yer just as determined and stubborn as Doreen is now? Sure, yer don’t have to look far to see who she takes after.’
‘Ma, Doreen wants to do at fourteen what I wasn’t allowed to do until I was sixteen.’
‘I understand all that, an’ I agree with yerself that she needs to be kept in check. But don’t be too hard on the girl . . . this bold front she puts on is only a show. Doreen’s going to surprise you one of these days and yer’ll be proud of her.’
‘I hope yer right, Ma.’ Molly glanced at the Westminster chiming clock on the sideboard, her mother’s pride and joy. ‘I’ll ’ave to be making tracks soon, it’s my turn to pick Ruthie an’ Bella up from school. So I’ll quickly finish off what I started before we got sidetracked with our Doreen. Me son an’ heir, Tommy, is still as mad as a hatter. But I can never stay angry with ’im for long ’cos he won’t let me. I can be in the middle of givin’ him a right roasting, and what does he do? Comes an’ puts his arms around me an’ tells me he loves me when I’m mad! An’ I’m daft enough to let ’im get around me . . . fool that I am.’
‘There’s not much wrong with young Tommy, take it from me,’ Bridie said firmly. ‘He’s as good as gold when he’s round here. Talks for hours with Pa, all about trains. Did yerself know he wants to be a train driver when he’s older?’
‘Yeah, he’s set ’is mind on it. I hope it keeps fine for ’im, ’cos it’s all he ever talks about.’ Once again Molly turned to the clock. ‘Five minutes and then I’ll ’ave to be off. I want to put the dinner in the oven before I go to pick the kids up.’
‘Ruthie still liking school is she?’
‘Loves it! She sits next to her mate Bella and they’re both comin’ on like a house on fire. Next time yer see her, ask her to show yer how she can write ’er name. She’s that proud of ’erself, she’s walkin’ ten feet tall.’ Molly pushed her chair back. ‘If I don’t put a move on I’ll be late at the school.’ She ran a hand over her mother’s hair. ‘Don’t let the mess get yer down, Ma, it’ll soon be over an’ yer’ll ’ave yer house like a little palace again.’
‘If Pa’s not too tired, we might walk round to yours tonight.’ Bridie followed her daughter to the front door. ‘I’ll be glad to get some fresh air in me lungs.’
Molly pulled a face as she glanced up and down the street. ‘To think I’ll ’ave this to go through soon. Still, it’s worth it to have leccy light, I suppose.’ She stepped carefully over the bricks and rubble. ‘See yez tonight, then, Ma. Ta-ra.’
Jill’s face lit up when she saw Steve’s tall figure waiting outside the gates of the school. Saying a quick goodnight to the girls who were in the same class, she ran towards him. ‘We’re taking our exams next week.’ Her face was aglow as she linked her arm through his. ‘The teacher said I should do well.’
‘Don’t I even get a hello?’ Steve grinned down at her. ‘Are the exams more important than me?’
‘Of course not, don’t be daft! But I want to pass, otherwise I’ve wasted the last two years!’ Jill gazed up at him, blue eyes meeting brown. ‘You want me to pass, don’t you?’
Steve squeezed her arm. ‘I want anythin’ that makes you happy.’ But deep down he knew that wasn’t the truth. He was happy with her working at Allerton’s because he knew who she was with every day, and there was no one there to steal her affections. But if she went to work in an office somewhere, who knew who she’d be mixing with? He was terrified of her meeting someone who would take her away from him. ‘When will yer know the results of the exams?’
‘In a couple of weeks. The term finishes at the end of June, and if I pass that’s my lot! No more night school.’
‘I’ll be glad of that.’ Steve’s arm went around her waist. ‘I’ll be able to see yer every night.’
‘Here’s a tram, let’s run for it.’ Jill took his hand and pulled him forward. ‘Let’s sit upstairs.’
On the back seat of the top deck, Steve put his arm around her shoulders. ‘You’ll be sixteen in June, an’ I’ll be seventeen. There’s only a few days between our birthdays, so ’ow about goin’ into town for a meal to celebrate?’
‘We couldn’t afford it!’ But Jill’s eyes were shining. ‘It would be lovely, though, wouldn’t it? I’ve nev
er been out for a meal before.’
‘Me neither!’ There was an ache in Steve’s heart as he gazed at her lovely face. If only they were a bit older, he thought, they could get engaged. Then he’d know she belonged to him. ‘As my birthday present to yer, I’ll take yer out for a meal.’ It would mean walking to work every day to save enough money, but if it would make Jill happy he’d willingly walk to the ends of the earth. ‘How about that?’
‘We’ll go halfy-halfy,’ she giggled. ‘And that will be my birthday present to you.’
‘We’ll see.’ Steve pulled her close. ‘Me mam’s always sayin’ yer shouldn’t wish yer life away, but I can’t help wishing the next few years away. I’d be out of me time then, earning enough money to buy yer an engagement ring an’ save up to get married.’
‘Our time will come, Steve, let’s enjoy what we have now.’ Jill peered out of the window, then tapped his knee. ‘This is where we get off.’
Steve was quiet as they walked, hand in hand, towards their street. As they turned the corner, he pulled her to a halt. ‘You are my girl, aren’t yer? I mean, we are goin’ to get married when we’re old enough?’ Holding his breath, waiting for her answer, he told himself he shouldn’t be pushing her, but he needed to know for his own peace of mind. She was all he thought about, night and day, and he needed to know she felt the same.
‘Of course I’m your girl.’ She pushed him playfully. ‘You don’t see any other boys around, do you?’
‘That’s not what I meant, Jill.’ Steve’s face, in the light from the streetlamp, was serious. ‘I know yer my girlfriend now, but d’yer think yer’ll ever be me wife?’
‘I’m not sixteen yet, Steve.’ Jill looked up into his handsome face. She was too shy and inexperienced to put her feelings into words, but she thought too much of Steve to leave him looking so unhappy. ‘But if I was eighteen, seventeen even, I’d be saying to you, “Let’s go into town in me dinner hour on Saturday, Steve, and choose an engagement ring.”’