She did not have to see the reflection of her brothers gaze in the mirror, to know he was staring at her, she felt it.
“Is there anything I can do?” He asked.
“No, there’s nothing Robert, I’ll be fine honestly,” she replied, turning to face him, with a forced smile.
Rising, he made his way across to her.
“If he hasn’t called you, something is wrong or he’s just stupid,” he said, staring into her eyes, before turning and walking away.
He reached the door and began opening it, when she called to him.
“The loft.”
“What?” He asked, a quizzical expression upon his face.
“The sheets we used for the black out,” she said, walking to him, before making her way to her coat, hung upon one of the hallway walls, “they are in the loft.”
“Thanks Iris,” he replied, “and I’m always here for you, you know that.”
“I know Rob,” she replied, blowing him a kiss and walking to the front door, “I know.”
Robert returned into the kitchen, finding his brothers placing their empty bowls into the sink.
“Is our Iris alright, Rob?” Frank asked.
Robert stared along the long, narrow hallway to their front door.
“Yeah, Frank. She’s alright,” he said, his voice sounding of certainty, but inside he felt the complete opposite.
“She said, the sheets are in the loft.”
“Did she?” Frank asked, surprised.
Robert, nodded his head in affirmation.
Robert, Frank and Jack walked upstairs, to where the loft door sat above them over the landing.
Using the dangling cord hanging from it, Robert pulled it, causing the door to open.
“I’ll give you two a bunk up,” he said, holding his hands out in front of him, fingers entwined.
It took them only a short while, before they retrieved the reams of heavy, dark cloth from the loft and laid it out on the floor of the hallway.
“Let’s get the others and get to the allotments”, Robert announced.
A few hours later, they stood at the gate to the allotment.
Comet walked across to them and they each patted and stroked him as he took the offered apples from their hands.
The next few hours were spent constructing a temporary stable, Archie would have been proud of.
The children, took it in turns to stand back and inspect the proceedings, calling words of encouragement as they toiled away, until eventually they stood back to admire the fruits of their labour.
“I love it,” Daniel exclaimed.
“So, do I,” Maisie added.
Comet, noticing the pile of apples Robert left on the floor of the stable, walked inside and began eating them whilst the children watched, smiling between themselves.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The bells resounded throughout the factory, indicating to the staff their shift was finished.
Closely followed by Maureen and the other women on their shift, Iris walked to the ladies changing rooms.
Entering the room, she was hit by several different odours. Wisps of lavender held lightly upon the air, where some of the women already there, sprayed themselves with their scents and perfumes.
“You still moping, Iris Love?” Maureen asked.
“I’m fine Mo, just feeling a bit off colour is all,” she replied, without totally being deceitful.
She waited outside the gates for David on a couple of occasions, but there was no sign of him. She did not receive one word from him, since their evening together.
He knows where I live. He could’ve at least popped a note through the door, to say he’s not interested.
“If you say so,” Maureen said, surmising she knew the cause of her friend’s quietness over the last few days, but deeming it best not to broach the subject.
“Iris, do you mind if I don’t grab the bus with you do yer? It’s just I’m popping to Lydiate to go see me Aunty Lil.”
“No of course not Mo, it’s alright. My Mother will be waiting in the corridor for us anyway so I’ll be fine,” Iris replied, “just you be careful though getting home Mo.”
“Oh, I will be,” Mo replied, with a smile suggesting to Iris there may be an ulterior motive to her friends visit.
The answer to her thought, came immediately.
“Do you remember Micky Tyrer?” Maureen blurted out.
Mother was right, she can’t hold her own water at times.
Iris giggled, the first one she could manage, over the last few days.
“Wasn’t he the scrawny little urchin, who used to hang around the gates of the grammar school begging you to let him walk you home?” Iris asked, remembering the scruffy lad, who followed her friend virtually the whole way home, each evening after school.
“That’s him,” Maureen replied, hastily stepping from her overalls and smiling broadly.
“I called at Lil’s yesterday to see if she was alright,” she continued, “and she tells me, a ‘young gentleman’ has moved in next door with his Aunty since he’d been demobbed. Can you guess who it is?”
“Hmmm, let me see,” Iris said, “Does his name rhyme with Ticky Myrer, by any chance?”
Laughing, Maureen took her hair net out and shook her head, allowing her long blonde hair to cascade downwards.
“It certainly does love and guess what? He isn’t a scrawny, little urchin anymore.”
Iris turned, smiling at her friend.
“He’s like a movie star now,” Maureen said, her face adorned with a broad smile.
“That little guy, who always looked like he needed a pan of scouse?” Iris asked.
“Oh Iris,” Maureen said, placing her hands upon her friend’s shoulders and gazing into her eyes.
Iris and her Mother walked outside of the factory with the rest of the staff, the women chatting away with one and other.
“Ah, well Love, that’s another shift over with for the day eh?”
“Yes, Mother,” Iris replied.
By the tone of her voice, her Mother knew something troubled her.
“Love, what’s up with you? You’ve hardly said a word all day.”
“It’s nothing Mother.”
“I’m your Mother, I know you better than that our Iris.”
“Really Mother, it’s nothing,” Iris repeated.
“Is it that Welsh boy? If he was stupid enough to not bother turning up to meet you, then he is stupid enough to get lost.”
“Mother can we just change the subject please I…”
She was interrupted, by hearing her name being called.
“Excuse me! Iris!”
Looking around to see if it was her, the voice was addressing, she found it difficult to see through the crowd.
“Is that somebody calling you Love? Probably not, probably Iris Metcalfe.”
“I say! Iris! Over here!” The voice called again.
She saw the figure of Tobias, patiently stood to the side of the large crowd of workers, surging forth from the factory.
“’Ere Love, he is calling you. Isn’t he the bloke who dropped you off the other night?”
“Yes Mother, it is,” she replied, casting her gaze around the crowd to make it appear she did not notice him.
If she was by herself, it may have worked, but before she could protest, her Mother, taking a hold of her arm, led her to him.
“Mother, what are you doing?” She protested.
“It’s only being polite Iris. Excuse me please Edna, excuse me please son,” her Mother replied, battling through the throng, Iris in tow.
Eventually they reached the other side of the crowd, where Tobias stood waiting, his car parked a few yards behind him.
“Please forgive my impertinence,” he said, “but I was wondering if I may be so bold, as to offer you a lift home, rather than you have to wait for public transportation?”
“It’s alright, Mr Anderson,” Iris replied, “we won’t have to wai
t long for one.”
“Oh,” he uttered.
“Of course, we’ll accept a lift Mr Anderson, ignore Iris, she’s been in a right strop all day.”
“Mother!”
“Heavens above, we cannot allow that can we?” Tobias stated, opening the rear passenger door of the Austin.
“Mrs Bennett, your carriage awaits you,” he said with an exaggerated gesture of his arm and a smile reminding Iris’s Mother, of Cary Grant.
Sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, David listened intently to the questions the Police Constable asked him, answering each one honestly.
No, he did not see them, nor recognise their voices.
No, he was not involved in any arguments, with anybody.
No, he did not have anything, taken from him.
No, he was not courting somebody else’s girl.
Or did I?
Standing patiently at the side of the bed, the Police Constable scribbled notes in a pad.
“Well,” he said, “I’ll be honest with yer son, with such scant information, we can’t promise much of a result.”
“That’s alright Constable,” David said, his voice drawling slightly, due to the amount of medication the doctor prescribed him, taking the discomfort away from the pain caused by his injuries.
The doctors informed him, given the circumstances, he was quite fortunate, not to have sustained more serious injuries. His ribs were fortunately not broken, but received some heavy bruising, as well as his shoulder and chest.
“Constable Robertson son, if I wasn’t in uniform you could call me James,” the Constable said, warming to the polite, unassuming young man, sat in front of him.
“Is there anything else you remember, apart from the bike chain? I admit there are nasty buggers about these days, but only a few I know use chains. It must be what the world is coming to.”
“The only other thing I can remember,” David said, “is, he said something about ‘teaching me a lesson, good and proper’ or words like that. I’d recognise his voice, if I heard it again.”
Constable Robertson wrote in his pad again, noting the details.
“Oh, one more thing, I heard somebody call ‘Come on’, but I don’t think it could’ve been the man in the cab of the van.”
“Why’s that?” the Constable asked, continuing to write.
“Well, the man in the van looked massive, like really overweight you know? But the voice of the person who shouted, ‘Come on’, was high-pitched, like a girl.”
Constable Robertson, looked up from his pad.
“A squeaky voice you say? A fat bloke?”
“Yes,” David replied, gingerly touching the bandage on the side of his head, where he received stitches.
“That could be something. Was there any lettering on the side of the van, like livery if you know what I mean?”
David thought back to the previous evening, but nothing came to mind.
“No, sorry constable,” David said, “I only glanced at the cab, then I sort of had my head down, you know?”
The Constable brought the pen to his mouth, nibbling the end of it.
“It’s a shame you didn’t see anything but there may be one or two enquiries we can make,” the constable replied, “if we need to contact you, where is best to call, your lodgings or place of work?”
“Best be my place of work, it’s the address I gave you earlier.”
Glancing through his notes, the constable nodded his head.
“Got yer, not a problem. Alright then son, I’d best be off now and if anything turns up we’ll let you know.”
“Thank you, Constable Robertson.”
Nodding his head and smiling, the Constable turned and walked to the door.
Reaching to open it, the door opened inwards and he found himself confronted with Flo.
“Have you just been in, to see our David?” She demanded him.
“Are you a relative Mam?” He asked, turning his head to David, sat on the bed and touching the bandage on his head.
“As good as,” Flo replied, “he’s my husband’s apprentice and a good lad. I hope you find the swine that did this. David’s a lovely lad, never did anything to hurt anybody.”
“Well Mam, I have some information from David which may help us with our enquiries,” he said, “as I mentioned to him, we’ll be sure to inform him if anything turns up.”
“I can’t understand it, Woolton’s a lovely area and David’s such a lovely bloke. Make sure you throw away the key, when you catch them.”
He smiled and nodded his head, before walking along one of the many corridors contained within the hospital.
Flo rushed straight across the room to where David sat.
“Stop playing with that bandage David Love, you’ll only make it worse.”
“I bet, it can’t feel any worse than it already does Flo,” he replied, looking up at her with a smile.
“Oh, for goodness sake David,” she said, sitting on the bed next to him, “would you look at you?”
“I’d rather not Flo to be honest. I must look a terrible sight.”
“You look like somebody who’s been hit by a train Pet,” she said, fetching a handkerchief from her purse.
Catching sight of the jug on the table next to the bed, she arose and took the couple of steps to it, dipping the end of the handkerchief into the water.
Returning to stand in front of David, she dabbed at a couple of spots of dried blood on his forehead.
“You’d think they’d have done a proper job on it,” she said.
“To be honest Flo, they’ve been wonderful,” he replied.
“Still, they should at least keep an eye on your dressing.”
She continued dabbing away at the dried blood, until the last of the visible stains disappeared.
“Bob sends his apologies Love, as he’s stuck at the yard,” she said, as he leant to pour himself a glass of water.
“I’ll get that for you Love,” she offered, seeing the obvious discomfort he was in.
The poor lamb.
“Thanks Flo,” he said, sitting back on the edge of the bed.
Fetching him the glass, she sat alongside him.
“I understand about Bob not being able to be here Flo honestly, I know how swamped we are with orders now,” David said, “and I really appreciate the pair of you getting me here yesterday and for you being here today. It really means a lot to me.”
“About the work and things David,” she said, hesitating a moment, before continuing, “Bob and I’ve had a long chat, about things today.”
This was the moment he dreaded.
Being so far away from home was not easy, but working with Bob at the yard and being a part of their lives made it a lot more bearable.
He wondered how long it was going to last.
I’ve lost the girl, may as well lose the job.
“I haven’t done anything wrong have I Flo? I’m so sorry about being beaten up, I don’t know how I managed to bring that upon myself and…”
She leant across to him, taking hold of his hands and placing them on his lap, holding them tightly.
“Heavens David, don’t talk like that! How on earth could it have been your fault? And you’ve never did anything wrong Pet!”
“But, so, what do you…?” he began to say.
“As I said Love, Bob and I’ve been having a long chat today and if I’m being honest with you, it’s not the first time we’ve spoken about it, but we never knew how to approach you over it before. But after what happened to you last night Love, we feel now’s the time to ask.”
The look David gave her, indicated he possessed no idea whatsoever, what she was talking about.
She took a deep breath and let out a sigh.
“Before I say my piece, don’t you go interrupting me alright David?” She requested.
David slowly nodded his head.
“Well, the thing is,” she continued, “Bob and I’ve been living in the big house
, ever since his dear old Father passed away, God rest his cantankerous old soul. There are four bedrooms, not including the cottage in the back.”
David recalled the cottage, in the vast garden at the back of Bob and Flo’s house. Bob called it a ‘Granny Cottage’ but David was not able to fathom out why.
He did not wish to ask, lest he fell under another barrage of his friend’s attempts at humour, about him being from the valleys and not having an inkling about city life.
“Well, apart from Bob and I and the dogs, we’ve just too much room in the place and nobody to share it all with,” Flo continued, “we did speak about asking you to move in with us, but we realise a young man needs his space and hate the thought of you walking back to that lodging house in Town each evening.”
She paused.
“And, last night proves us right.”
David’s mouth fell open.
“And to be honest with you Love,” Flo said, “there are some days, when it’d be nice for Bob to have a bit of a lie in, instead of opening up and stoking up whatever it is, you two use in there…”
“If you need me to come in earlier, then that’s not a problem…” David interrupted, before Flo cast him a glance.
“You promised me you’d not interrupt David,” she said admonishingly, before grinning, “and that’s not what we’re on about whatsoever.”
“It’s bad enough you take it upon yourself to lock up some evenings, before traipsing all the way back to that place, let alone having to traipse in earlier to open up.
“As I said, we’ve spoken long and hard about it. We were never blessed with children and although Bob doesn’t show it, well, you know what he’s like at the best of times eh Love?”
“As I say, the good lord didn’t see fit to bless us with children and to be honest, you are like the son we never had.”
“I, I don’t know what to say Flo.”
“Just say yes, but don’t think it’s all lovely and pretty in there,” she said, “Bob and I’d like you to move into the cottage, there’s a gate at the back which you can use as a entrance if you like, but it’s quite overgrown now and the cottage itself? Well, Bob’s been using most of the rooms for storage and it’ll need the water and things connected again and a lot of painting and work, but I’m sure you and Bob will be able to sort it out.
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