Holidays at Home Omnibus

by Wait Till Summer; Swingboats On the Sand; Waiting for Yesterday; Day Trippers; Unwise Promises; Street Parties (retail) (epub)

  The children helped to liven up the atmosphere, but there was none of the usual camaraderie. Huw knew that for Marged, the absence of Audrey was the worst. Eynon and Johnny couldn’t be there, but Audrey was less than ten minutes’ walk away and it was distressing for her.

  It was a strange Christmas Day for Audrey and her thoughts kept winging towards Sidney Street, where she imagined there would be the usual noise and laughter. In her mind she envisaged previous Christmases, so far removed from today’s subdued echo of those times. Once, she even stood and began to suggest that she and Keith called in, but she changed her mind. If she arrived with Keith, she and Marged would be sure to quarrel and why spoil it for the rest?

  In Sidney Street, Marged was promising herself that if Audrey walked in with Keith she would be as welcoming as she could. There were several knocks on the door but each time she was disappointed when neighbours walked in to exchange seasonal greetings.

  * * *

  Christmas was more cheerful at the home of Morgan Price. His daughter Eirlys and her husband Ken with their little boy made it a Christmas that he would always remember as one of the best. The three boys added to the atmosphere with their excitement. As they had outgrown their earlier ones, he had bought them second hand bicycles and painted them. With Ken’s help he had polished the chrome and added a few refinements like a new bell and a saddle bag — for which he had queued for more than an hour, having been told of their imminent arrival at the local bicycle shop.

  Dependent on pocket money, Harold and Percival hadn’t been able to buy more than a few cards, but Stanley, having found a job in a shoe shop, had bought one or two small gifts. Perfume with an unknown name and strange scent for Eirlys. A toy train for the baby and for Myrtle a handmade handkerchief box which he had found in the hand craft shop. He knew women liked fancy jewellery and toiletries that made them smell nice, but he didn’t want a girl he liked to have any of these. His mother, with her fancy clothes and heavy makeup and strong perfume, had been beautiful, he knew that, but he was mature enough to know that she didn’t dress up for him and his brothers, but for the men she went to meet, while they waited in their sad little room for her to return — often very hungry and hoping she would bring them back some supper.

  Peter Gregory was absent from home and, trying to stop their minds constantly returning to the danger he was undoubtedly facing, Beth and Mr Gregory decided they had a need for company. They knocked on Morgan’s door carrying a couple of flagons and some mince pies, sure of a welcome. Myrtle had brought a new game of Monopoly, which kept them amused for the whole evening and which Percival surprised them — and himself — by winning.

  Stanley loved it when Myrtle came to see him. As she was leaving, Ken having promised to walk her home, he asked. ‘Uncle Morgan, can I leave the shop at Easter and work over the beach again next summer?’

  ‘Why? I thought you liked the shop?’

  ‘Selling shoes to fussy old women? Not as much as I like the sands.’

  ‘It’s only for six months, what will you do when the season’s over again? No, son. It isn’t a good idea at all. Stay in the shop and you’ll do well.’

  ‘Will you think about it?’ Stanley pleaded.

  ‘I’ll think about it but I don’t think I’ll change my mind.’

  Optimistically, Stanley felt cheered by his reply. ‘He didn’t say no, did he? Not for definite.’

  Morgan, rosy-faced from drink, replete with too much dinner and Christmas pudding, and in love with the whole world, winked at Myrtle and said. ‘Mind you, it wouldn’t do any harm to have a word with Bleddyn and Huw.’

  * * *

  Shirley refused to go to Marged and Huw’s with her mother and Bleddyn. Instead she went for a walk. The Dingle was a long way for her and Andy had promised to be at the end of the lane at four and would walk towards town, in case she was able to join him. She set out intending to go part of the way, leaving it to fate whether or not she met him. It was already getting dark and she knew she couldn’t face the eerie gloom of the dreary lane on her own, especially with those unwelcoming cottages that seemed to be inhabited by threatening people. She would go to the edge of town and turn back. Perhaps I’ll go to Marged and Huw’s after all, she thought.

  She wasn’t far from Castle’s fish and chip shop when she saw him. He ran to greet her, and at first she didn’t recognize him. He was wearing a heavy overcoat that was far too large for him and which disguised his slim figure. He had allowed his beard to grow again, giving him a wild piratical look and, from what she remembered of the row of dilapidated cottages, his appearance suited the place perfectly.

  They walked slowly around the empty streets, passing houses where the sounds of laughter, singing and chatter revealed family celebrations behind darkened windows.

  ‘Does it make you sad, not being able to go home at Christmastime?’ she asked. ‘If the circumstances were different I could have invited you to share ours, but I don’t think you’d like to bump into some of your victims, or my step-father.’

  ‘I wish I could have seen Reggie and my parents. It’s not like Christmas at all, living in a house filled with strangers.’ He turned to her with a grin. ‘And The Dingle certainly attracts some very strange people! The bloke who used to have my room was a builder apparently, but although he worked he never had any money. Now that’s a lesson I take to heart. I don’t have any money either, but I don’t graft day after day only to go home to a place like that.’

  ‘Was that Keith Kent?’ Shirley asked. ‘He’s staying with Auntie Audrey at the moment.’

  ‘Then tell her to get rid, and fast. He’s had people looking for him to pay money he owes. He’s been kicked out of several places for not paying rent and even the bike, ladders and trailer he uses belong to someone else. The man’s a loser and people like that pull other people down with them.’ He didn’t tell her all he had heard about Keith, he had other things on his mind. Slipping an arm around her shoulders, he pulled her towards him and pressed his cheek against hers. Gently she moved away.

  ‘Only a hug, surely that’s not much to ask on Christmas Day?’ he complained mildly.

  ‘If this coat smelled a bit sweeter you might be able to persuade me,’ she said, laughing as she walked away. ‘Come on, I’ve got some chocolate in my pocket and a couple of Mam’s mince pies.’

  ‘Smashing, we’ll have a picnic,’ he said as he caught her up.

  ‘Andy, why are you staying around here? It isn’t safe,’ she admonished. ‘Do you want to get caught?’

  He looked thoughtful for a while, then answered, ‘In a way I suppose I do. My running a few steps ahead of the authorities has to end sometime, and there are moments when I wish it was over and I could relax and accept my fate. I ran away scared when I realized I’d have to join up. I mean really scared, unable to sleep until it’s almost morning, then waking up sweating after the same, terrifying dream.’

  ‘I’ve been telling myself that outwitting the police and the army is fun, but it gets wearying after years of it. The Dingle is the very worst place to live. I’ve known barns that are better. I’m broke and I need new socks, my bed smells and, on top of that, it’s Christmas! Don’t call the cops, mind. I’ll give myself up when I’m ready, when I’ve really had enough and that isn’t just yet. I’d miss you too much.’

  ‘Idiot.’

  He walked her home and as they turned into Brook Lane she saw her mother and Bleddyn coming towards them. Andy dissolved into the darkness with a whispered, ‘Goodbye. Shirley, Happy New Year.’

  ‘Who was that?’ Hetty asked.

  ‘Someone asking for a light,’ she lied. ‘He’s been warning me against Keith Kent. What do we tell Auntie Audrey?’

  ‘You can tell her what you’ve been told if you like, Shirley. but Bleddyn and I won’t say a word.’

  ‘If I stay out of it and avoid arguments, she might be able to talk to me if things turn unpleasant,’ Bleddyn said. ‘I have a feeling she’ll need som
eone if she continues to befriend him.’

  A few days later Shirley went into the café, and when Audrey brought her tea she waited as the rest of the tray was unloaded on to the table before asking her if she knew about the awful place called The Dingle. ‘I went there recently to try and find someone and—’

  ‘If you’re going to tell me Keith lived there, I already know,’ Audrey replied. She was smiling but there was a threat, a warning in her eyes for Shirley not to continue.

  ‘Then you know something about his debts? His inability to pay his rent at the other places he’s lived?’

  The only response was for Audrey to return the cups and plates to the tray and walk away with it. After sitting there for a few moments staring at the empty table, Shirley left, her face red with embarrassment.

  * * *

  Delyth Owen and Maldwyn Perkins having found the Clements’s old house to rent, had brought their wedding plans forward. Maldwyn dealt with the few things that needed doing, including tidying the garden and cleaning the shed, and it was Delyth’s delight to leave Bryn Teg and go there on her half day and on Sundays to rearrange the furniture they had acquired, and clean and polish, making sure everything was perfect for when they returned from their brief honeymoon. She was alone in the house that would soon be her home one afternoon, and decided the top cupboards needed just one more wash. They were high, but she tried not to bother Maldwyn with things that needed doing, determined to cope with as much as possible without asking him for help. So, while Maldwyn was busy with other things, she climbed a stepladder to wash out a kitchen cupboard before filling it with dishes given to her by a neighbour, when she suddenly lost her footing on the stepladder and fell.

  Andy Probert happened to be passing and he went into the house having heard her calling for help. He was in a dilemma. If he helped her to the hospital he would be seen and probably caught. He would be sent to certain punishment before joining the army. He didn’t know the situation. She might be all alone and, if he didn’t help her, she could be there all night in an unheated house and who knows what could happen to her.

  There was no choice and he went in. Her knee was painful and she was trying to hold back the panic she was feeling. ‘I was so stupid,’ she repeated several times. He made her comfortable and, after calling a neighbour to help, went with her to the hospital, promising to call at Maldwyn’s lodgings to tell him what had happened.

  Maldwyn ran to the hospital and found Delyth waiting for him, hobbling around with the aid of a stick.

  ‘Nothing broken,’ she assured him. ‘I have to rest and come back in a week’s time.’

  For Andy, the outcome was more serious. The police came as he was knocking on Mrs Denver’s door to notify Maldwyn. He shrugged philosophically and went without complaint.

  * * *

  The night school classes began again and Audrey and Myrtle started their second term. They had both completed homework during the holiday and were anxious to hand it in and learn of their progress. Having run the café for several weeks, Audrey had learned that Mondays, the day on which their classes were held, were usually quiet and she had chosen that day to close for a half day and remain open late instead on Wednesdays when the shop girls liked to call.

  Keith continued to stay. He went out every day to the work he had found, and every week he handed Audrey the money to pay for his food. At first she had been tempted to refuse, but aware that his pride might suffer, she accepted and even wrote the amount down in a notebook each week. However, the amounts tended to dwindle: two pounds on the first Friday, then one pound ten shillings, then nothing at all. She didn’t ask but felt a searing disappointment when he didn’t offer any more.

  ‘I ought to go back to the lodgings.’ he said occasionally. Audrey knew he no longer had a room but she feigned ignorance and persuaded him to stay, just for another week or so, and he finally stopped offering.

  On several evenings a week he went out to meet friends. It was on one of those evenings, a Saturday on which Maude and Myrtle had gone to a dance with Stanley and a few friends, that Audrey felt the loneliness hit her badly. She had tried to ignore what she had been told by family and well meaning friends about him failing to pay rent and being told to leave his lodgings. She had been so sure it would be different if she gave him her unquestioning support. He was a friend and if he didn’t want to pay she didn’t mind. He helped in the café, and he was a companion, someone to talk to and laugh with, and that was payment enough.

  She looked around her at a room empty of memories. She listened to the silence and felt fear. Marged and Hetty never came now, Shirley walked past without a glance, Maude and Myrtle were finding friends and enjoying a lively social life, and Keith, she knew, was using her.

  He kept his friends separate from his life here with her. He never invited her to join him when he went out, and when he came back, often with one of his headaches, he would go straight away to the sofa they had put in Maude’s room (the girls now sharing) without a word of how he had spent his time.

  She was past fifty and soon she would be alone. The years stretched out in front of her, a silent, empty path into old age, her hands with no one to touch, her voice silent in the echoing flat, a cruel contrast to the people she served in the café, who took their chatter and laughter home with them, leaving her with only the emptiness.

  * * *

  Like many wartime weddings, the marriage of Delyth Owen to Maldwyn Perkins was a small affair. They needed every penny they could scrape together to furnish their home and were determined not to spend more than they needed on a large celebration. The small town of Bryn Teg had different ideas and the ceremony was followed by a party which included most of the neighbours amongst its guests. As many as possible crowded into the home of her parents. They had all brought gifts, usually things they had been able to spare from their own stores and the pile of linen and china grew until Delyth thought they would be unable to find transport for it all.

  It was delivered on a cart and stored in their front room until they returned from honeymoon. Mrs Chapel and Mrs Denver saw to its unloading and spent an afternoon finding room for it all.

  ‘It isn’t money that makes a wedding a successful occasion,’ Mrs Denver said as she admired the gifts the young couple had received, ‘it’s goodwill. And thank goodness there’s still plenty of that.’

  * * *

  Reggie Probert came home on leave and went to see Bernard Gregory where he had been invited to stay. They talked enthusiastically about the work planned for the coming year.

  Maude had been told of his leave and Audrey invited him to Sunday dinner at the flat above the Corner Café. She prepared a meal which had been augmented by a rabbit sent by Bernard Gregory which he had delivered the day before. Audrey grasped the excuse to fill the flat, give it some life and perhaps start to build a few memories, by inviting Beth and Bernard Gregory to join them.

  ‘It’s about time this place had a few people to liven it up.’ she said.

  Bernard accepted and he and Beth arrived with Reggie at twelve o’clock, Bernard bringing a few leeks and some sprouts from his fields, Beth bringing a bowl of daffodils bought from Maldwyn at Chapel’s flower shop.

  Keith had gone to visit a friend — name not supplied — but he had prepared the vegetables before he left and promised not to be too long. Audrey set the table for seven but only six ate. Keith failed to arrive. His meal was keeping warm on top of a saucepan full of hot water, but it wasn’t until Bernard and Beth had gone that he appeared.

  Reggie, Maude and Myrtle made their excuses and went out, Audrey stood and waited for Keith to speak.

  ‘Sorry, Audrey. I thought, as they were your friends I’d do better to stay away. I don’t really belong.’ Avoiding her eyes he added softly, ‘It’s best that I go.’

  The silence was back. The visitors had filled the hollow places for a while but now the echoes were fading. The house wrapped her around with the sense of isolation that wouldn’t
go away. The prospect of years of loneliness ahead saddened her. So what if Keith wasn’t the wonderful man every woman dreamed of? She’d had her share of that kind of happiness already with Wilf. Life with Keith would be different, but his companionship would take the edges away, soothe the silences, and who knows how long she might wait for someone else to come into her life? Her mind made up, she touched his arm gently.

  ‘You can be a part of the family if you wish,’ she said softly. ‘There’s a place for you here. A place you never need to leave, if you want it.’ She held her breath, alarmed at her temerity, fearful of rejection.

  ‘You mean you want me to stay? Always?’

  ‘Always, Keith. So long as it’s what you want.’

  ‘What I want? Audrey, it’s the answer to my prayers.’ They stared at each other for a long moment then he gave a kind of a sob and opened his arms. Their kiss charmed away her fears and the path ahead of her was flower-strewn and no longer empty.

  * * *

  Shirley finally had a letter from Andy. It said very little except that it would be a long time before he was given leave, and he hoped to see her when he did. She didn’t keep it like the ones she received from Freddy. She re-read it sadly and threw it away. She didn’t reply, but instead wrote to Freddy and told him the end of the story.

  When she learned that Andy’s brother was staying at the smallholding, she went to see him and told him what she knew about his brother.

  ‘If you write to him, give him my regards,’ she said. She didn’t want to give any false impressions, no wrong ideas about her feelings. To make sure he understood, she added, ‘Over the weeks, I’ve written to Freddy and told him all about Andy’s adventures, ever since he took that stuff from Audrey Thomas, and today I sent off the final instalment.’