by June Tate
Marj only hesitated for a second, then handed the keys to her.
‘Right, now you sit tight, and don’t you dare move.’
Phoebe eventually managed to get her friend home. Marj was so breathless that it took a while. When they arrived, Phoebe helped her get undressed and put her to bed, then went to make a hot drink with some lemons Tony had brought over and some honey she found in the cupboard. Once she’d settled her friend and made sure she was comfortable, she went quickly to the doctor’s surgery and asked for the doctor to visit, then returned and waited, having warned Marj in advance. While she waited, she bathed her forehead with a damp cloth, to try to keep her fever down.
The doctor duly arrived and examined his patient thoroughly after taking her temperature, which made him frown when he looked at the thermometer.
‘You should have been in bed days ago, Mrs Jackson. You have pneumonia!’
Phoebe’s heart sank. This was what her mother had died from.
‘I ain’t going in no ’ospital!’ Marj looked rebellious as she glared at the doctor.
‘But you need looking after,’ he said. ‘Without someone to do so, I can’t be held responsible for the outcome.’
‘I’ll take care of her!’ Phoebe said. ‘Tell me what to do and I’ll look after her.’
The doctor looked at Phoebe and decided she was capable. ‘I’ll give you a prescription for the patient’s cough.’ Then he gave her instructions. ‘I’ll pop in tomorrow and see how she is.’
At that moment, Tony arrived. ‘I’ve shut up and come home. Is there anything I can do?’
Phoebe handed him the prescription and quickly wrote a note to Tim and Ben. ‘If you could collect this prescription and leave this note on my kitchen table so Tim and Ben will know where I am and why, that would be a great help. And buy some more lemons!’
Tony rushed off to do as he was asked, thanking Phoebe for staying. When she was alone, she found some more pillows and propped Marj up higher in the bed to help her breathing and to stop her coughing so much. Then she made another drink after being told that the patient needed plenty of liquids. When Marj seemed settled, Phoebe searched the larder and made a pan of vegetable soup as Marj had told her she’d lost her appetite. She planned to get Tony to buy some meat tomorrow to make a broth and some eggs to scramble.
Making a pot of tea for herself, Phoebe sat in a chair beside the bed and, keeping a cool cloth on Marj’s forehead, watched while her friend dozed fitfully.
Early that evening Ben brought Tim to the house to see what was going on. She saw the look on Tim’s face when she said that Marj had pneumonia. She knelt beside him.
‘Marj isn’t going to die, Tim, because the doctor and I won’t allow it. I promise!’ But the lad didn’t look convinced.
Ben went over to him. ‘Not everyone who has pneumonia dies, Tim. My mother had it one winter, and look at her now. Marj is going to be looked after by all of us, she wouldn’t dare let us down now, would she?’
‘I suppose not,’ he said quietly. ‘Can I go and see her, Phoebe?’
‘Yes, come with me. She was asleep a while ago, so we’ll creep in. All right?’
He nodded and followed her upstairs. As it happened, Marj had only just woken, and seeing Tim, she smiled at him. ‘How’s my favourite man, then?’
Tim’s look of relief was so touching that Phoebe welled up inside. The poor boy had lost too many whom he’d loved, she could understand his fear.
He rushed over to the bed and gave Marj a hug.
‘Best not let Tony see you ’ugging me,’ she teased, ‘’e may get jealous!’
This made Tim chuckle and his fear subsided. Phoebe hustled him out of the room.
‘How are you feeling now?’ asked Phoebe.
‘It was good to sleep, but I’m chilled. I can’t seem to get warm.’
‘I’ll make you a hot-water bottle and find another couple of blankets. I’ve made some soup − if you could eat a little, that would help − and I’ll light a fire in here.’ It was only a small grate but would give out quite a heat in the room, which wasn’t very big.
‘Oh, Phoebe, love, you’re such a good girl. I’m sorry to put you to so much trouble.’ She started coughing.
Phoebe gave her another dose of cough medicine and a sip of hot lemon, and the cough subsided.
‘I’ll just go and do the bottle. I’ll send Tony up to keep you company.’
While she had a break, she and Ben made arrangements that allowed her to stay at Marj’s house. He would do the cooking at home, see to Tim and bring some food over so she could cook for Tony and herself. He and Tim would pop in every evening to see if they could help and then just wait to see how Marj was. He had been thoughtful enough to pack a bag with her nightclothes, a change of day clothes and an extra blanket to keep her warm when she sat with her friend.
‘I remember Dad had to sit up many a night with Mum when she had pneumonia. Get your sleep when you can, is my advice, or you will be out on your feet and we don’t want you to be ill too. I’ll fill the coal scuttle before I go, so you can keep a low fire on during the night, then Tony can fill it again before he goes to work.’ He gathered her in his arms and kissed her longingly. ‘I do hate sleeping alone, so I’m praying for Marj’s quick recovery.’
‘I do know what you mean,’ she told him. ‘Oh Ben, do you think she’s going to be all right?’
He tipped up her chin. ‘We can only do what we can, but with so much care, she stands a good chance. However, it will probably get worse before it gets better. Be prepared for that.’
While they were making plans, Tony lay beside Marj on the bed, his arm around her.
‘Is there anything I can do for you, love? You only have to say.’
She gave a wan smile. ‘Just hold me, love, it makes me feel safe, somehow. I’m sorry to be such a nuisance.’
‘What are you talking about, you daft woman? You’re sick, that’s not your fault. I miss you, darling, bossing me about, being with me every day and night. I feel so useless.’
‘There’s nothing you can do, Tony, except help Phoebe. Get any shopping and stuff like that. She’s such a good girl, I don’t know what I’d do without her … or you, but I’m so tired, darling, I want to sleep.’
He climbed off the bed, tucked her bedclothes in, kissed her softly and said, ‘I’ll be downstairs if you want me.’
When he walked into the living room, Ben saw the worry etched on his face. ‘She’s going to be all right, Tony, but it will take time.’
The man could hardly speak. ‘If anything happened to her …’
Ben put a hand on Tony’s shoulder. ‘Nothing bad is going to happen to Marj, she’s a strong woman, she’ll get over this in time, you’ll see.’
Tony just nodded. Ben poured him a cup of tea and placed the cup before him. ‘Here, drink this.’
The following morning the doctor called again. Marj still had a very high temperature, which was a worry, but he was pleased with the way Phoebe was looking after his patient.
‘The next two days will be crucial,’ he told her. ‘We have to get her temperature down, but if she’s chilled, we have to keep her warm. Keep giving her liquids and try and get her to eat something to build her strength. I’ll call back in a couple of days unless you’re worried, then let me know and I’ll come.’
It was a long day. Phoebe sponged Marj down, trying to lower her temperature. She managed to get her to eat a little porridge in the morning and some gruel at lunchtime, but she didn’t want much, saying she wasn’t hungry. However, in the evening she did eat a little scrambled egg and a little bread and milk. But she still had a high fever.
That night was a nightmare. Marj was restless and chilled, even a hot-water bottle didn’t seem to help. Phoebe insisted Tony went and slept on the sofa to get a night’s sleep, while she slept on a chair beside the bed. In time, Marj stopped shivering and eventually fell asleep.
In the morning, Phoebe woke and looked at t
he sleeping figure in the bed. She took a blanket and covered her, then put other blankets on top. She made another hot-water bottle and placed that under the covers. Tony had built up the fire when she went downstairs to make a pot of tea. She was weary, having only slept fitfully, checking on her friend during the night, until through sheer exhaustion she had slept for a few hours. She heard Marj call, poured a cup of weak tea and took it upstairs.
‘Good morning!’ she said as she walked into the bedroom. ‘How are you feeling today?’
‘I would love to ’ave a bath.’
‘You’re not strong enough for that. I’ll bring up a bowl of water and give you a blanket bath, but I don’t want you getting cold, so it’ll be a lick and a promise for now. All right?’
‘Whatever you says, nurse.’
After Phoebe had finished, she could see that the effort had tired her friend. She plumped up her pillows and went downstairs and soft-boiled two eggs, took them out of their shells and mashed them up with a little butter. This she fed to Marj with a little bread.
‘Can’t have you wasting away,’ Phoebe teased.
Marj looked at her and spoke quietly. ‘Am I going to get better, love, or is this it?’
Phoebe was shocked. ‘Don’t you dare say such a thing to me! Of course you’re going to get better and I’ll tell you why. Because you’re a feisty, bossy, stubborn woman who never gives up … and because I’m a bloody good nurse!’
Marj smiled. ‘That you are. God, girl, we’ve been through the mill between us, ain’t we?’
‘Oh, Marj, we have, but look at us. Apart from you being poorly at this moment, we’ve survived. We are like the phoenix who rises from the ashes, you and me. Indomitable, that’s us!’ She rinsed a cold cloth and placed it on Marj’s forehead. ‘Now, try and get some rest.’ She kissed her on her cheek. ‘Call me if you need me.’
Sitting in an easy chair before the fire, Phoebe thought back to when the woman upstairs had been there beside her so many times in her life when she’d needed help and a friend. Their friendship was a bond so strong that it bound them together for life and Phoebe wasn’t going to let anything happen to her if she had anything to do with it. But as she sat alone, she said a silent prayer, asking for the deliverance of the woman who meant so much to her.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
When Ben arrived at Marj’s house that evening, he saw just how tired his wife was. Tony was upstairs with his wife and Ben insisted that Phoebe lay on the settee. He covered her with a blanket, put cushions at her head and told her to sleep.
‘But, Marj—’ she began.
‘I’m here, so is Tony. We’re not useless, we can take care of the patient. Tim’s at his friend’s house and sleeping there tonight, so relax. I’ll make something light for her to eat. Tony and I will take turns sitting with her through the night. You need to rest, I’m giving you the night off.’
She was so weary, she didn’t argue, just shut her eyes and slept.
Ben knew how to look after Marj, having seen his mother suffer with pneumonia. He kept a damp cloth on the patient’s forehead, managed to feed her with some gruel that Phoebe had made, gave her something to drink and left Tony to sit with her and see to her other needs.
Phoebe woke just as the dawn was breaking the next morning. She stretched, and in the glow from the fire, saw Ben, covered in a blanket, asleep in an armchair. She quietly rose from her bed on the settee and crept upstairs. Tony was sleeping beside the bed in a chair and Marj was just waking up. Phoebe put a finger to her lips and pointed to Tony.
‘Are you all right?’ she quietly asked her friend, but she noticed how Marj’s breathing was laboured and was pleased the doctor was calling later that day.
She plumped up the pillows and lifted Marj higher in the bed. She gave her a drink of water and some cough medicine, washed her face and hands and helped her onto the commode.
‘I’ll go and make a nice cup of tea for us,’ she whispered.
She discovered that Ben, already making the tea, was holding some bread against the fire to toast. She leant over and kissed him. ‘I can’t tell you how good it is to wake up and see you here. How was the night?’
‘Not that good. Marj’s breathing was so bad, I boiled pans of water and put it near her to moisten the air. That seemed to help. It’s good that the doctor will be here today. I’m going home now to take a bath and change for work. I’m not due in until lunchtime. I’ll leave some food for Tim for when he gets home and I’ll cook us a meal later, so I’ll not be back tonight.’
She hugged him. ‘Thanks for letting me sleep. I feel so much better this morning. Now, off you go.’
Later that morning the doctor called. He examined his patient. Afterwards he spoke to Phoebe downstairs.
‘Mrs Jackson isn’t going to improve until her fever breaks. Just keep a close eye on her during the next twenty-four hours.’ He patted her arm. ‘You’re doing a fine job, Phoebe, you’re as good as any of my nurses. You know where I am if you need me, but I’ll be back tomorrow.’
During the night, Marj was sweating so much with the fever that Tony and Phoebe had to change her nightclothes and the bedding several times. Phoebe boiled pans of water, as had Ben the night before, to aid the patient’s breathing, continuously wiping Marj’s face with a cool cloth, sponging her arms and legs trying to stem the all-encompassing fever. She gave her sips of water and fanned her with a folded newspaper to give her a modicum of comfort. By six o’clock the next morning, their hard work was rewarded. The fever seemed to have broken and the patient lay calm and fell into a deep sleep.
‘She’s all right, isn’t she?’ asked Tony, now fearful at the stillness of his poor wife.
Phoebe felt Marj’s forehead and smiled. ‘She’s not burning up any more, I think the fever’s broken at last.’ The poor man burst into tears and fled the room. Phoebe sat in the chair beside the bed and she too shed a tear. She’d been so scared during the night as she bathed Marj, wondering if her friend was going to die. The sense of relief was overwhelming, and she started to sob, burying her face into the bedclothes to muffle the sound, because she couldn’t stop.
It took several weeks for Marj to recover and rebuild her strength. Eventually, she became restless and talked about going back to work. Tony had been concerned about her returning to the market, working outside again and facing the cold weather when winter came around. He shared his worries with Phoebe one day. She too had reservations about her friend’s continuing health, but she had a plan and had been looking into it. Then she went to visit Marj.
Marj put the kettle on to make some tea, brought out some home-made biscuits and a cake and sat down.
‘You’ve been baking, I see,’ Phoebe said as she took a slice of cake.
‘Well, I ’ad to do something. I’m going mad ’ere, love. Tony don’t want me to go back in the market, so what the bloody ’ell am I going to do with meself all day?’
‘That’s what I came to see you about. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a housewife, looking after my two men, but you can only clean a house so often. I miss the market, meeting people.’
‘Don’t tell me you want your stall back?’ Marj asked in surprise.
‘Not exactly.’ She leant forward, eyes bright with excitement. ‘There’s an empty shop for rent on the edge of the market. It has a nice big showroom and a storage room and toilet at the back. It’s in good nick, just needs a coat of paint. How about you and me opening up a shop together? We could sell anything we think would make a bob or two. Clothes, bric-a-brac, small furniture. Anything! I’ve even got a name.’
Marj looked at her in astonishment. ‘Well, what is the name?’
‘Trash and Treasure! You know, Marj, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. What do you think?’
Marj burst out laughing. ‘I think it’s a bloody marvellous idea! ’Ave you told Ben about this?’
‘I did run it past him last night. He was a bit taken aback, thinking I was
content. What do men know? Anyway, when I explained I needed to do this, he was all for it. If you’re really interested, I could get the keys tomorrow and we could go take a look.’
Marj walked round the table and hugged Phoebe. ‘Oh, love, of course I’m interested. You and me in business together, what could be better … and under cover! Blimey! That’s coming up in the world, girl, ain’t it?’
The following morning, the two of them inspected the empty premises together. As they walked around and began to plan the interior, thinking where to place a counter and display their goods, the two women felt the mounting excitement as, mentally, the shop began to take shape.
‘We could go to auction sales and pick up a few pieces on offer. If we could buy at a good price with a little profit, we’d be fine,’ Marj suggested. ‘I could have a word with my friend in London where we bought your wedding dress. She’d help us out, I’m sure.’
‘Oh, Marj, what a brilliant idea!’ Phoebe looked round the empty space. ‘We could have a counter and till here, over there we could have dress rails, a display unit for smaller bits and pieces. If we bought furniture items, we could place them around the shop, perhaps show them off as if they were in a room, you know – dress the scene. Let’s face it, display is important.’
That evening at Phoebe’s home, the four of them gathered, with Tim listening avidly.
‘Can I still come and work for you on a Saturday?’ The boy too had missed the market and his ability to make some pocket money.
‘Of course you can,’ Marj said. ‘You’re part of the team, my boy.’
This delighted him and he beamed at them.
It was decided that both couples would form a partnership and invest a certain amount of money each to cover the rent and enough items to open up a month later, which would give them time to paint the interior. Marj would go to London and see her friend and Phoebe would search for local auction sales. She would go and look at the goods on display the day before the sale and make a list of the things she thought would be suitable. Then she and Marj would attend the sale in the hope of buying items at a good price, while Tony, Tim and Ben would paint the interior of the shop. Ben insisted on drawing up a contract, making the venture a proper partnership. As he said, ‘If we’re going into business together, let’s do it properly.’