by Joan Jonker
‘John, she hasn’t even told them she’s expecting. She went up to see them last week and I was sure she’d told them, but no, she never said a dickie-word. She can get away with it now because, although she’s four months, she’s not showing. But she won’t be able to hide it much longer and her mother’s not blind. But yer can talk to Mary until ye’re blue in the face and it won’t do no good. I’ve even thought of going to see her mam meself, but I don’t want to go against Mary and lose her as a friend. She’s determined to keep her troubles to herself and not burden her family with them.’
John lifted the end of the strip of border and began to hang it into eighteen-inch folds ready to carry through. ‘It’s a sorry business, but you have to respect Mary’s wishes. All we can do is help when she asks for it.’
Dot watched him walk back into the living room. He was a nice bloke and a very good worker; he seemed to be able to turn his hand to anything. He’d made decorating that room look like child’s play. Quick and efficient, he was, and everything done with a smile on his face and a joke on his lips. It was someone like him Mary should have married; he’d make a really good husband.
‘Colin, for heaven’s sake watch that door, the paint’s wet.’ Dot’s heart was in her mouth as her son dashed out to the kitchen with his dirty plate. ‘If you smudge it I’ll break yer ruddy neck for yer.’
‘I never touched it, Mam, I was careful.’ The boy grinned at her before getting down on his knees next to John, who was painting the skirting board. Since he’d got out of bed at eleven that morning, he’d followed the big man around like his shadow. ‘Me mam thinks I’m daft, yer know, Mr Kershaw. She forgets I’m twelve now.’
‘Yes, but your mam is right to tell you to watch the doors, lad. It’ll be at least twenty-four hours before the paint’s dry enough to touch, and if you brush against it you won’t only be spoiling my work, you’ll get paint all over your clothes.’
‘I just wish yer’d leave the poor man alone and let him breathe.’ Dot was getting more flustered as the day wore on. If he’d had the room to himself, John could have pulled all the furniture away from the skirting board and given himself a clear run. But Billy had turned up at six o’clock to see if he could give a hand, at least that was the excuse he used which didn’t fool anyone, and he was sitting on the couch with Katy. And to top it all, Doreen had called round to see if her friend would go for a walk with her and she was now sitting at the table and looked as though she was set for the night. The room was crowded and it was ridiculous to expect anyone to work in these conditions. ‘Katy, why don’t you and yer friends go for a walk? Mr Kershaw would be finished in half the time if he had the place to himself.’
‘Yeah, OK, Mam. Come on, Billy, get yer coat on and we’ll walk down as far as the North Park.’
‘The park will be locked up by now,’ Doreen said, her lips pouting. She hadn’t really called to go for a walk, she’d come to see if Billy was there. ‘They lock the gates early in the winter, as soon as it gets dark.’
‘We’ll go for a walk along Stanley Road, then, and look in the shop windows.’ Katy pulled her coat on. ‘We’ll be back about half-nine, Mam, is that time enough?’
‘That’s fine, sunshine.’ Dot followed the three young ones to the door. She stood on the step and watched with interest and amusement as Doreen linked arms with Katy, putting herself between her friend and Billy. Oh, he’s not going to like that, Dot thought to herself. And she was proved right before they’d taken a dozen steps.
‘Move over and let me in the middle, Doreen.’ Billy’s voice was gruff. ‘You can walk on the outside.’
‘I want to walk next to Katy, she’s my friend.’
‘What yer want and what yer get are two different things, Doreen Mason.’ Without further ado, Billy stretched an arm between the two girls, pushed Doreen aside and took her place. ‘There, that’s more like it.’
Dot was chuckling as she went back into the living room. ‘There’s high-ding-dong out there because Doreen wanted to walk between Billy and Katy. But she didn’t get away with it; Billy soon put her in her place.’
John sat back on his heels after resting the paint-brush on the top of the tin. ‘Billy’s sweet on Katy, it sticks out a mile. I see a budding romance there.’
‘Go on, he’s daft, Billy is,’ Colin said, a look of disgust on his face. ‘He sits there looking at her with cow eyes. Sloppy thing.’
‘You’ll change your tune when you’re older, Colin. When you meet the girl that’s the one for you, you’ll be looking just the same as Billy.’
‘Nah,’ said Colin. ‘I’m going to be like you, I’m not going to get married.’
Dot tutted. ‘Colin, ye’re getting personal again and that’s very naughty. How many times do I have to tell yer?’
‘Leave him, Dot, this is man-to-man talk,’ John said, keeping his face straight. ‘The only reason I didn’t get married, son, was because I had a mother who needed looking after. Because she’d been a very good mother, and I loved her dearly, I decided that caring for her was more important than me taking a wife.’
‘I’ve got a very good mother,’ the boy nodded his head knowingly, ‘and I love her dearly as well.’
‘You have indeed, Colin. You have a very good mother and a very pretty one. You should be really proud of her.’
‘Oh, I am! And I’m going to look after her when she gets old.’
Dot’s tummy was shaking with laughter. ‘I’m hoping it’ll be another thirty or forty years before I need looking after, sunshine, and by that time you’ll be well married with a grownup family of yer own.’
‘Nah, I don’t want no children, they’re nothing but a blinkin’ nuisance.’
‘If your mother and father had thought like that, you wouldn’t be here, would you?’ John was smiling as he picked up the paint-brush again. ‘You’ll change your mind.’
‘He can change it in bed,’ Dot said. ‘It’s a quarter to nine and time to climb the stairs to dreamland.’
‘Ah, ay, Mam, I didn’t get up until eleven! I don’t feel a bit tired.’
‘You will at half-seven in the morning when I’m trying to get yer out of bed. So don’t give me any lip, just say good night to Mr Kershaw and poppy off.’
Out of the corner of his eye the boy could see John watching and waiting, with a look on his face that said he wouldn’t get any help from that quarter. Best thing he could do was give in gracefully. ‘I will see yer again, won’t I, Mr Kershaw? Even though the room’s finished.’
‘Yes, I’ll be slipping in one night to drop something off to Mrs Campbell – I’ll see you then, Colin. And I think Liverpool are playing at home the Saturday after next, so with your mother’s permission we’ll go to the match.’
‘Ooh, the gear!’ After kissing his mother good night, Colin took the stairs two at a time, whistling a happy tune. He had something to look forward to now and everything in his little world was rosy.
‘Have yer got much more to do, John?’
Dot was standing with her hands on her hips and John smiled. ‘Don’t stand like that, Dot. I always feel as though I’m in for a telling-off.’
She was quick to drop her arms. ‘To hear you talk, anyone would think I was a complaining, bad-tempered so-and-so. And I’m not, really.’
‘No, you’re just very outspoken.’
‘If yer mean I say what I think, then yes, I am outspoken. I think it’s the best way to be ’cos then folk know where they stand with yer. Anyway, yer didn’t answer my question. Have yer got much to do?’
‘Only this stretch. Fifteen minutes should see me finished.’
‘Right. I’ll wash the few dishes, then peel the spuds for tomorrow. Yer should be finished by then and I’ll make yer a cup of tea before yer go home.’
It was half an hour later when John sat down. He stretched out his long legs and gave a sigh of contentment. ‘That’s a good job done.’
‘It certainly is – yer’ve done wonders.’
Dot sat with her feet tucked under her, a cup of steaming tea in her hand. ‘I don’t know how to thank you, yer’ve been so kind. I know I’ve got a big mouth that says I could manage on me own, and I’d definitely give it a bash, but I could never have done such a good job as you. Yer’ve turned a grotty little room into a palace.’ She grinned and her hazel eyes twinkled. ‘The kids will have all their friends traipsing through over the next few days, they’ll be showing off like mad. Mind you, it won’t bother me, the poor blighters have never had anything to show off before.’
‘There is one way you can thank me.’ John watched a tealeaf floating around on the top of his tea. Was that a sign of good luck, or was it supposed to mean you were coming into money?
‘What way is that, John?’
‘Let me decorate your hall and stairs.’
‘Oh, come on, John, I can’t let yer do that! Yer’ve spent enough time and energy on us as it is! Over the past couple of weeks yer’ve hardly seen yer own home.’
‘Time and energy I’ve got plenty of, Dot, and it’s very lonely at home now that my mother isn’t there. I get very tired of talking to the flowers on the wallpaper because they can’t answer back. So in offering to do a bit of work for you, I’m being selfish really. I enjoy being with you and the children and I’d hoped we could be friends.’
‘Of course we’re friends, and the kids think the world of yer. But we can be friends without you working yourself to death for us.’
‘I want to do it, Dot, please?’
‘Right, here’s me being outspoken again.’ Dot reached down and put her cup on the floor. ‘I haven’t got the money to buy all the material in one go, it’ll take a few weeks. So the job would have to be done in stages. Besides, I promised our Katy I’d buy a teaset next week, she’s set her heart on it. And I’m sure yer’ll agree that we could do with a few cups and saucers that matched.’
John thought of the dinner and teasets that filled the cupboards at home. More than he’d ever use in his lifetime. But he knew better than to offer them. So he grinned at Dot, and said, ‘Oh, I don’t know, I rather enjoy being asked if I want a handle on my cup or would I prefer a saucer. It’s more homely and friendly. But I agree you can’t let Katy down. And in any case it will take quite a while to strip the landing, hall and stairs, so you’d have plenty of time to buy the necessary.’
He’s got an answer to everything, Dot thought. But you couldn’t fall out with him, he was kindness itself. ‘I think ye’re a sucker for punishment, John, but if you want to do it, then be my guest.’
‘I’ll be calling one night with the thing for Mary, so I can measure up for the paper and paint while I’m here, then start scraping next Saturday.’
‘What is it yer’ve got in mind for Mary? I’m curious.’
‘Something the same shape as a policeman’s truncheon, only much smaller. You’ll see it when I bring it.’
They heard Katy letting herself in and Dot whispered, ‘Not a word.’
‘Ooh, I see yer’ve finished, Mr Kershaw. It looks lovely, doesn’t it, Mam?’
‘It does that, sunshine, he’s made a damn good job of it.’ Dot narrowed her eyes. ‘You look down in the dumps, sunshine, what’s wrong?’
‘Those two have done nothing but argue since we left the house. They got on me flippin’ nerves. It was Doreen’s fault really, she never stopped moaning. We’d only been out five minutes when she said she was freezing, then her feet were aching, then the cold wind was giving her a headache. Honest, she can be a real misery-guts at times. I didn’t blame Billy for telling her to shut up. If he hadn’t I’d have done it meself.’
Dot was dying to laugh but didn’t think it would be appreciated. ‘So a good time was had by all, from the sound of things, eh?’
‘Yer should have heard Billy when we got outside her house.’ A smile came to Katy’s pretty face. ‘He told her to go in and get warm by the fire, put her feet to soak in a bucket of warm water and take a headache tablet. I don’t think Doreen saw the joke but I thought it was funny.’
‘Sadly for her, Doreen hasn’t been blessed with her mother’s sense of humour, sunshine. She’s a moody girl, yer can see it in her face.’
‘Anyway,’ Katy said, throwing her coat on the couch, ‘Billy said, “Don’t ever ask me to go out with her again, Katy Baker, or I won’t be responsible for me actions”.’
Dot grinned across at John. ‘Yer know where yer are with Billy. He’s outspoken, says what he thinks. Does he remind yer of anyone?’
‘Yes, he does, actually, but he’s not as pretty.’
Dot aimed a cushion at his head and was bang on target.
Chapter Eleven
‘My God, girl, there’s no flies on you, now, is there?’ Betty Mason gripped the bannister as she lowered herself down the stairs. ‘Only ruddy bluebottles, eh?’
‘I’m over the moon, Betty. I have to keep pinching meself to make sure I’m not dreaming.’ Walking slowly behind her neighbour, Dot let her eyes linger on the newly decorated walls and the white paintwork. Everywhere looked lovely and bright and she’d been so proud to show her best friend around. ‘I can’t believe the difference it’s made.’
Betty carefully negotiated the last stair then made a beeline for the living room and one of the straight wooden chairs. ‘He’s made a bloody good job of it, my girl, I’ll say that for him. And he’s been quick – the whole house decorated in just two months! He must have gone like the bleedin’ clappers ’cos it takes my feller that long just to think about papering one room.’
‘He’s quick, all right,’ Dot said, pulling out a chair and sitting to face her friend. ‘And he’s a clean worker, too, always tidies up after himself.’
Betty folded her arms and hitched up her bosom. ‘Yer dropped in dead lucky, there, girl.’ She nodded her head knowingly. ‘Your Colin did yer a great big favour the day he let John knock him down.’
Dot grinned. ‘I wouldn’t go as far as to say he let John knock him down. It was his own fault, but he didn’t do it on purpose. And he did himself a favour ’cos he thinks the world of the man. John can do no wrong in my son’s eyes.’
‘And what about you, girl?’ Betty asked gently. ‘How are you getting on with him?’
‘I suppose yer mean John, not Colin? Oh, I get on well with him, he’s a good friend.’
‘Friend be buggered!’ Betty snorted. ‘Yer can’t tell me he comes around here so often just ’cos he wants to be a friend to yer. He’s never away from the place.’
Dot could feel herself colour. ‘He’s a friend, Betty, nothing more. So don’t you be trying to read anything into it.’
‘Come off it, girl, I wasn’t born yesterday! The man’s got a soft spot for yer – anyone with half an eye can see that. And as for you, you couldn’t do better. That John is a good bloke.’
‘Betty, we like each other and respect each other, nothing more. I am certainly not in the market for a husband, so let’s leave it at that, eh?’
‘Then ye’re a bloody fool, girl, that’s all I can say. If I was in your shoes I’d be giving him the glad eye, I can tell yer.’
‘But ye’re not in my shoes, are yer? So can we drop the subject, please?’ Dot placed her palms flat on the table and pushed herself up. ‘I’ll put the kettle on and yer can have a drink out of me new cups. And I think I’ll give Mary a knock, get her to join us. I saw her feller going out half an hour ago so the coast should be clear.’
‘I’ll go for her, girl, while you put the water on.’ Betty paused on her way to the door and called through to the kitchen: ‘Oh, and I hope yer’ve got a couple of biscuits to put on the new plate ye’re going to set before me.’
‘Sod off, Betty Mason. If yer want biscuits yer’ll have to go home for them.’
‘Oh, charming, that is,’ Betty grumbled as she opened the front door. ‘A posh house and her as common as muck.’
Dot grinned as she reached up to take three of her new cups, saucers and plates from the kitchen
shelf. She was lying about the biscuits, she did have some. But she also had a cake, a rare treat. It was only a small sponge sandwich, but it was the first time in years she’d been able to offer visitors a slice of cake.
‘Ooh, I’m dead envious every time I come in here.’ Mary smiled a welcome. ‘It always seems like night-time in our place, it’s so dark and dismal.’
‘Sit yerself down, sunshine, I’ll bring the tea in.’
‘I was telling Mary she gets bonnier every time I see her,’ Betty bawled. ‘Six months she is, and the size of a ruddy house already.’
‘It’s the dinners you lot are feeding me.’ Mary smiled valiantly with her face but not her heart. Her friends made sure she had a hot meal every day and John brought her fresh fruit. They did this because they wanted her to have a healthy baby. But the man she was married to told her repeatedly he wasn’t having a brat in the house. So whenever he was there she feared for her unborn child.
‘Ooh er, I’ll have to lay off the dinners.’ Betty’s cheeks moved upwards when she grinned. ‘It must be them making me look like a pregnant pup, ’cos it certainly isn’t me feller. The poor bugger can’t rise to the occasion these days, he says he’s past it. Would yer believe it? He’s only forty-one and past it already. I’ve told him if he doesn’t buck his ideas up I’m going to look for a bit on the side.’
‘What did he have to say to that?’ Dot asked, coming through with a wooden tray bearing her new crockery and which she placed on the table with pride. She was hoping that Betty was about to begin one of her far-fetched tales which were always hilarious. ‘That’s if he wasn’t speechless.’
‘He said one of his mates in work has got a wife what’s gone past it, so he’d introduce me to him.’ When Betty started to laugh her tummy raised the table a couple of inches off the floor, causing tea to spill from the cups into the saucers. Dot huffed and glared, but nothing would stop her friend once she started. ‘His name’s Joe, and my feller said he likes his women big.’