by Rosie Harris
‘And you must have a hat,’ insisted her mother.
‘Yeah, a little straw cloche, shaped so that it frames your face and has a tiny curved brim,’ prompted Lynn.
‘It depends on what sort of dress she picks,’ argued Kathy. ‘Have you anything in mind, Megan?’
‘Not really. Do you want to come shopping with me and help to chose it?’
‘Oh yes!’ Kathy’s eyes lit up. ‘We could make a day of it. What about next Saturday?’
‘I can’t, I’m working,’ Lynn said, ‘but somebody ought to go with you or you’ll end up looking a complete frump.’
‘Thank you very much!’ Angrily, Megan snatched back the invitation and slid it into its envelope.
‘I didn’t mean it quite like that,’ Lynn muttered. ‘I only meant that other people can see what something looks like on you better than you can yourself. You know what it’s like, the assistant wants to make a sale and will tell you it looks good even if it doesn’t fit properly.’
‘Well, there’s no hurry, the wedding is over a month away so I could leave it until you have a Saturday off.’
The shopping trip turned out to be a tremendous success. Megan and Kathy had been window-shopping the previous Saturday afternoon and decided on the sort of outfit that was most suitable. The pretty blue and white floral dress had a straight skirt that was draped round the hips and gathered into a decorative buckle. Lynn helped her to choose a white hat and accessories to go with it.
As she set out for the wedding, although she was confident she looked her best, Megan still felt nervous. She had driven her T-Ford a number of times on her own, but it would be the first time she’d taken it onto a ferry boat and she felt scared about doing so.
‘I could drive it onto the boat for you, if you like,’ her dad offered.
Wallasey sparkled in spring sunshine as she reached the Cheshire side of the Mersey, and she arrived at St Hilary’s Church with plenty of time to spare. As the church filled up she took a seat in a pew near the back.
Her heart raced when Miles and his parents arrived. He looked so handsome in a light grey morning suit with draped lapels, a white fancy-weave shirt, grey and white striped tie and a grey top hat. Mr Walker was also wearing a grey morning suit, but his was in a darker shade.
It was the first time Megan had seen Mrs Walker. She was of average height but very slim. Her elegantly styled navy silk dress had a matching wrap-over coat and looked very expensive. With it she wore a white and navy hat.
As the Walkers were ushered into one of the front pews, Miles looked round the church, nodding and smiling to various people. As he looked in her direction, Megan smiled eagerly as their gaze momentarily locked. When there was no answering smile and his eyes remained blank as he refused to recognise her, she felt her colour rising, flooding her face and neck in embarrassment.
Megan’s joy in the day vanished. She felt numb.
Only two nights ago, she’d lain in his arms in the gathering dusk of the early spring evening, his kisses arousing tremors of physical craving in both of them. He had been so passionate that she had felt her last shreds of resistance melting. Her own desire had been so great that she’d almost given in to his demands.
Was that why Miles was ignoring her? she wondered. How could she agree they should go all the way, though, when she was not really certain of his feelings. If he loved her, as he claimed, why did their meetings have to be so secretive? And why did he cut her dead when he came into the office?
When they were alone, he was a different person. Then he was warm and full of fun. His overpowering, irresistible vitality seemed to make the air around them crackle with excitement and her heart would thunder crazily.
He knew exactly the right moment to become serious. His vivid blue gaze would linger on her face before his firm lips took possession of her mouth. As he cradled the swelling fullness of her breasts, an inner glow seemed to radiate through her, leaving her weak with desire.
A lump rose in her throat at the memory. Why didn’t he admit openly that they were in love? He couldn’t be that scared of his father!
Megan tried to dismiss the jumble of conflicting thoughts from her mind and centre her attention on what was happening. There was a hushed expectancy as the strains from the organ changed, signalling the bride’s arrival.
Valerie Pearce looked radiant as she entered the church and made her way down the aisle on the arm of her elderly father.
At work she was always so restrained in her manner and in the way she dressed. Now, in her cream wedding dress of embroidered tulle and lace, she looked poised and beautiful.
The bridegroom half turned and his face became wreathed in smiles as Valerie approached. Megan thought how wonderful it would be if she was the bride and it was Miles waiting there at the altar for her.
During the reception at the bride’s home, the reason for the unsatisfactory state of affairs between her and Miles came to her with blinding clarity. Miles was ashamed of her background! She couldn’t understand why she hadn’t realised it before. She had only to look round the beautifully appointed house and compare it with her own home to be aware of the gulf that divided them. The Walkers’ magnificent home in Warren Drive was probably even more luxuriously furnished.
She was so engrossed in studying the contents of the room, so intent on remembering every detail, that she was taken by surprise when Mr Walker came over and spoke to her.
‘Hello, Megan, are you enjoying yourself?’
‘Yes, very much … thank you,’ she stammered, slightly flustered.
‘Good! Come with me, I’d like you to meet Mrs Walker,’ he told her.
His wife smiled non-committally as she shook hands with Megan. Her eyes, the same brilliant blue as Miles’, were sharp and critical.
‘I had no idea you were quite so young,’ Mrs Walker pronounced in a disapproving voice. ‘You musn’t let my husband work you too hard. My son tells me he can be quite a slave-driver.’
‘Nonsense!’ Mr Walker laughed heartily. ‘We’re like one big happy family, aren’t we, Megan? The length of time Valerie has worked for us proves that,’ he went on without waiting for a response. ‘Megan has fitted in excellently,’ he added. ‘She’s going to make a first-rate secretary.’
Megan smiled gratefully at Mr Walker. His words of praise helped to restore her self-confidence. As she looked up and saw the warmth in his eyes she wondered if he knew about her friendship with Miles and that he was trying to tell her that he approved.
As Miles sauntered over to join them her heart thudded as she waited for him to greet her. Instead he gave her a warning look, as if willing her to be careful what she said.
For one wild moment, she was tempted to tell them about their relationship. To disclose that they had been going out together for almost a year even though, at this moment, he was acting as though he barely knew her.
The opportunity passed. The best man announced that the newly-weds were about to leave, and the Walkers moved away to join the crowd wishing Valerie and her new husband good luck.
As everyone gathered outside, crowding round the happy couple to wave them off on their honeymoon, Megan made her escape. She felt out of place. She might be as well-dressed as anybody else there, but she was an outsider. Their jokes and repartee were all above her head.
What made her even more uncomfortable was that she didn’t know how to handle Miles’ hostility. Surely, by persistently avoiding her in such an obvious way, he was only drawing attention to the fact that they were more than just working colleagues?
Tears blinded her as she unlocked her car door. For several minutes she simply sat behind the wheel trying to regain her composure. The hurt deep inside her was like a physical pain as she remembered the intimate caresses she and Miles had shared.
She knew that if she had any pride at all she wouldn’t speak to him ever again. She also knew that he had only to smile at her to set her heart racing. And if he suggested they should meet then
she would be waiting for him whenever and wherever he said.
As she drove away along Rolleston Drive in the direction of New Brighton she was fired by a sudden desire to drive by the Walkers’ house. She headed for Warren Drive and parked outside the wrought iron gates. From there she could see the magnificent turreted house at the end of the gravelled driveway.
Knowing the Walkers might return at any moment, she stayed for only a few minutes then she drove off, taking the first road that led down to the sea-front. King’s Parade promenade was almost deserted so she parked, switched off the engine and sat gazing out to sea, thinking over the events of the afternoon.
In her heart she could understand the dilemma that faced Miles. With his background he was bound to find it difficult to explain to his family and friends that the girl he was in love with lived in a poky flat in the Scottie Road area.
Mrs Walker would certainly take it very badly! Especially since her son’s future father-in-law worked for their company as a lorry driver!
Having analysed the problem, Megan began scheming for the future. When she finally headed for home her mind was made up. Regardless of what happened between her and Miles, it was important that her family moved to the Cheshire side of the Mersey.
Persuading her father to do so would be no problem, she reasoned. Several times he had mentioned finding a house over there. It might be difficult convincing Lynn because she spent so much time at the Copper Kettle, or the Stork Club, that she wouldn’t like the idea of moving out of Liverpool. Unless I can persuade her to change her job, Megan reasoned.
She wouldn’t say a word about it to Miles, she decided. From now on she intended to treat him merely as an office colleague. There would be no more secretive meetings. If he couldn’t accept her for what she was then she didn’t want to have anything to do with him.
Back at work on the following Monday, Megan was grimly determined to keep the promises that she’d made to herself. As it happened she found it surprisingly easy. Miles, she learned, had gone to London on a three-month business course.
She heard the news with mixed feelings. She felt angry that he hadn’t mentioned it to her, but relieved that she wouldn’t have to put her strength of will to the test.
Over the next couple of months Megan subtly campaigned in favour of them going to live on the other side of the Mersey. Whenever it was a nice weekend she persuaded her mother, and Lynn as well if she wasn’t working, to pay a visit to New Brighton. Lynn usually turned up her nose at the idea of going to listen to the band playing in Vale Park, but she was always eager to go to the fun fair at New Brighton or to see a show at the Pavilion Theatre.
Megan made the most of the situation by taking them there in her car. When they reached the other side she would take a different route each time, commenting on how nice the houses were until even Lynn began to agree with her and to grumble about how drab their place was in Liverpool.
After that it was plain sailing.
‘Don’t you think it would be quite nice to live over this side?’ Megan commented one Sunday as she and her mother left Vale Park where they had been listening to a band concert and joined the crowds strolling along the promenade.
‘Places over here are too expensive for us,’ Kathy Williams said with a sigh.
‘Oh, I don’t know. Perhaps we should make some enquiries, we might be able to afford it,’ Megan said tentatively. ‘I’ve had a pay rise, remember, and Dad’s earning good money. I know he would like to move. He said so once when we were talking,’ she added diffidently.
‘He did? He’s never said a word to me.’
‘That’s because he thinks you prefer living in Liverpool because it was once your home.’
‘I do like Liverpool, luv, but it’s not the same as I remembered it,’ her mother admitted. ‘None of the people I used to know seem to live here now! I’ve never really thought about moving, though. And then there’s our Lynn. I don’t know how she would feel about leaving Liverpool.’
‘If the rest of us decided to live in Wallasey then she’d have to come with us, wouldn’t she,’ Megan pointed out.
‘I suppose so. It’s the odd hours she works. I’d be so worried about her if she had to come home on the ferry boat late at night.’
‘She might find a job in New Brighton. And that would get her away from the crowd she mixes with at present.’
‘Well, that’s true. It worries your dad her being so involved with these jazz people.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with jazz,’ Megan commented, ‘it’s the crowd that get into the Stork Club. Some of them even take drugs.’
Kathy Williams looked shocked. ‘I suppose that’s why the police are always turning up there.’
‘I expect it is. They’ve made several arrests. Sooner or later our Lynn is bound to be taken in for questioning.’
Kathy looked worried. ‘Perhaps you’re right, Megan. It might be for the best if we moved out of Liverpool,’ she agreed.
Megan wasted no time in letting her father know how things stood.
‘Why don’t we look for a place to rent in Wallasey and then tell Mam?’ she suggested.
‘You mean take her to see it after we’ve decided what we want and save all the arguments.’ He laughed.
‘Something like that.’ Megan smiled.
‘You’re on!’ agreed her father. ‘We’ll ask Robert to help.’
‘Must we?’ Megan said with a frown. She felt apprehensive because she had no wish to encourage his interest in their affairs.
‘Robert has lived in New Brighton all his life, remember, so he’ll know the most suitable areas for us to start looking,’ persisted her father.
‘I suppose you’re right,’ Megan admitted reluctantly. ‘As long as we make sure that we don’t rent a house too close to where he lives,’ she warned.
Chapter Sixteen
THE WILLIAMS FAMILY move to Wallasey was a tremendous success. From the first moment she saw the house to rent in Belgrave Street, Kathy was won over to the idea. They would be living close to Central Park and yet within easy walking distance of Liscard shopping centre. Belgrave Street was on a bus route so she could be walking along the promenade at New Brighton, or shopping in Liverpool’s Church Street, within half an hour.
The semi-detached house had been newly decorated throughout so they were able to move in without any delay. For Watkin, having a garden again was almost like turning the clock back to Beddgelert days.
Lynn seemed to enjoy the adventure of travelling by tram and boat to Liverpool. ‘It’s great being able to walk around on the top deck and get a good blow,’ she enthused. ‘You meet all sorts of interesting fellas,’ she added with a broad grin.
Megan was delighted that the move had gone so smoothly. She knew they had Robert to thank. He had checked out a great many houses on their behalf until he had found something suitable.
She’d felt guilty about turning down so many of them, but she considered them to be much too near to where he lived. She didn’t want to find herself bumping into him every time she went shopping or out for a walk.
Megan knew it amused Lynn the way she avoided Robert whenever he called, but she was determined not to become too friendly with him. It was difficult. He was always suggesting somewhere he wanted to take her and she didn’t want to hurt his feelings.
‘Why don’t you go, Megan,’ Lynn teased. ‘He won’t try anything on, he’s much too respectable. You could have him eating out of your hand if you wanted. I wish he’d ask me out, I’d go like a shot.’
‘Don’t talk rubbish! Do you know how old he is?’
‘He’s thirty. That’s not old! I like older men, they have more style.’ She sighed dramatically. ‘I sometimes wish Flash was older and thinking of settling down.’
‘Stop being silly, Lynn. You’ve only just left school so there’s no question of you getting married for years.’
‘I’d get married tomorrow if the right fella asked me,’ Lynn told her.
>
‘Why do you want to throw away your life like that? If you’d had any sense you would have stayed on at school and passed some exams and got a decent job …’
Lynn wasn’t listening. She was scanning the pages of the Liverpool Echo, and her face was wreathed in smiles when she looked up.
‘Listen to this,’ she exclaimed excitedly. ‘The King Oliver’s Jazz Band are going to be on at the Tower Ballroom.’
‘So what is so marvellous about that?’
‘You know nothing, our Megan, do you?’ retorted Lynn scathingly. ‘They’re the tops and they play all the new dances like the Shimmy and the Charleston. How about us going to the Tower on Friday night?’
‘No thanks! It will probably get very rough. Remember the night when we went to the Stork …’
‘You’re always bringing that up,’ grumbled Lynn. ‘Oh, come on, Meg. This is happening right here on our doorstep. I’m not asking you to go over to Liverpool. Please! Just this once. Mam’s bound to create if I say I’m going on my own because it doesn’t finish until midnight.’
Lynn could be persuasive when she chose and eventually Megan gave in. A night out would be something to look forward to. Although her job was going well there hadn’t been much excitement in her life since Miles went away on his course.
Not seeing him, or even hearing from him, although she understood from the office grapevine that he had been home on a number of weekends, only intensified her feelings. In bed at night, she agonised over her memories, wondering if things would have been different between them if only she had given in to his demands.
Her face flamed as she remembered an evening before Valerie Pearce’s wedding when, instead of taking her to the pictures, Miles had driven to a secluded part of Leasowe foreshore. Snuggled up under a plaid car rug, they’d kissed and caressed, exchanging whispered endearments, lost in a heaven of their own making.
He’d grumbled when she adamantly refused his ultimate caress and pulled away from him, rearranging her clothes, her face burning, her passion quelled as though she had been doused in cold water.