The Wummin: The Glasgow Chronicles 5

by Todd, Ian

  “Whit dae ye mean...ye’re gieing up the campaign?” he’d asked her, surprise in his voice.

  “Ye heard me. Ah’m finished wae aw this political shite. Ah knew Ah wis kidding masel oan. Ah shouldnae hiv listened tae that minister’s wife. Ah wis too busy basking in listening tae how wonderful everywan said Ah wis, insteid ae listening tae masel.”

  “So, ye’re jacking it in then?”

  “Aye.”

  “Walking away wae yer tail between yer legs? Christ, that’s a first. That pride ae yers must’ve taken a right kicking, so it must’ve.”

  “Jimmy, shut the fuck up. You wur the wan that telt me no tae get involved in the first place, so ye wur. Whit’s changed awe ae a sudden?”

  “Changed? Nothing’s changed fae where Ah’m coming fae. Ah still think ye wur bonkers fur jumping in, in the first place, bit it’s no you or me that Ah’m concerned aboot. How ur ye gonnae explain aw this tae yer pals...aw the waifs and strays that hiv been trooping up tae this door, oan the hour, every hour, looking fur help, eh?”

  “Jimmy, if they’re honest wae themsels, they’ll understaun, so they will.”

  “Whit? Jist as ye understood whit the implications wur when ye lifted yer heid above the parapet and shouted tae aw and sundry that ye wur up fur taking oan JP? Christ, Helen, whit wur ye expecting? Everywan and their dug tae rush up and say carry oan, ye’ll walk it? Fuck, JP is oot tae crush ye like a fly and the first sign ae trouble, ye want tae jack it in?”

  “Ah hate you!” Helen hid screamed at him.

  “Well, if ye jack this in, don’t ever fucking put me through the mill when Ah come hame fae ma work, starving, tae an empty hoose, while ye’re oot gallivanting, trying tae save the world. Ye either make a staun wae this or ye finally accept, wance and fur aw, that life is too short and ye’ve goat a family and grandweans who’d like a wee bit ae ye insteid ae everywan else. Noo, ye kin sit here, doon in the dumps, feeling sorry fur yersel or ye kin pick yersel up and get oot there and get tore intae the basturts. It’s your choice. Ah’m aff fur a pint, so Ah am. When Ah come back, Ah’ll expect ye tae hiv made up yer mind. Either way, Ah’ll support yer decision, bit aw this moseying aboot, feeling sorry fur yersel, stoaps noo, this very night.”

  And wae that, he’d picked up his jaicket and walked oot the door. It never ceased tae amaze Helen how commanding Jimmy could be when he hid a fly buzzing aboot in that arse ae his. Maist ae the time he jist went alang wae whitever crusade Helen wis chomping oan the bit wae. He’d moan like buggery, bit then he’d jist accept that he wis married tae a mad hysterical she-devil and go aboot daeing his ain thing...like providing the money tae feed, clothe and put a roof o’er their heids. He wisnae a wee quiet docile man, like some ae her pals thought and he wis never shy at chipping in his opinions aboot stuff, even though he goat it wrang maist ae the time. It wis when ye backed him intae a corner or pushed him o’er the tap that he wid let fly. Helen knew that it wis time tae either capitulate or go aheid and dae whitever she wis planning tae dae, bit tae keep him well oot ae whit she wis up tae aw thegither. She knew she hid tae make a decision and stick wae it. He’d thrown doon the gauntlet and he’d raise it the second he came through the door. She reached fur her fags. She wished some ae the lassies wur here so she could bounce her thinking aff ae them. Jimmy hid been wrang. She’d never made promises tae aw the poor souls who’d started turning up at the door. She’d promised that she wid try and help them if she goat elected. How she’d dae that, she wisnae too sure. Even though she wanted tae be elected, she didnae know how it worked. She knew there wur committees who made decisions aboot hoosing matters, warrant sales and allocating hooses tae people. She’d thought that if she could get elected, she’d try and get oan tae these committees. Surely tae God, she widnae be the only wan in The Corporation that wis against warrant sales or making people homeless? The Corporation hid been aroond long enough tae be able tae come up wae an alternative tae banging people o’er the heid and slinging them oot oan tae the street. Helen wisnae daft enough tae think she could go and change the world, bit she did feel that she could fight fur Springburn. She’d been through the clearances in the Toonheid and hid heard the stories ae people being scattered intae hooses wae inside toilets, bit who wur noo stuck up the tap ae a multi-storey flats, wae nowan tae speak tae fur days oan end. She always believed her maw’s death hid been hastened by being plapped oan tae the twentieth flair, or whitever landing it wis, across in Sighthill. She remembered a few months earlier, watching guys fae The Corporation, swanning aboot, taking measurements doon at the junction ae Keppochhill Road and Springburn Road in front ae the fire station. When she’d collared wan ae them and asked whit they wur up tae, he’d said that they wur developing the plans fur the new expressway.

  “Expressway? Whit expressway?” she’d asked him.

  “Ach, don’t worry, hen, it won’t be in your lifetime,” he’d replied, before walking aff wae his three-legged tripod thingy-mi-jig, slung o’er his shoulder.

  She’d confronted Dick Mulholland, the newly elected cooncillor oan whit the score wis, bit he’d jist palmed her aff by saying that The Corporation hid tae look aheid tae the future, no jist tae the next year, or the wan efter that, bit tae twenty or thirty years beyond the horizon. He denied that there wis any plans tae build an expressway through Springburn.

  “Aye, they said that in the Toonheid when they started oan the Inner Ring Road, Dick. Before ye knew it, they’d flattened the place and cleared everywan oot,” she’d retorted.

  “Ach, Helen, ye’re jist too dramatic, so ye ur. They widnae dae a thing like that in a place like Springburn. Look aboot ye…the place is thriving, so it is. Kin ye imagine aw the shoapkeepers oan Springburn Road agreeing tae that? Look, Ah wid prefer if ye didnae go upsetting everywan noo by talking a load ae shite aboot something that isnae gonnae happen...think ae the auld wans,” he’d warned her.

  Helen wis noo kicking hersel that she’d let it drap and hidnae tried tae follow it up. That hid been another reason fur trying tae get elected. If she became a cooncillor, they’d need tae provide her wae aw the plans ae whit they wur up tae, insteid ae keeping aw the people in Springburn, and elsewhere, in the dark, before hitting everywan wae a done deal. Helen hid wanted tae get aw the maws in the area tae come tae a meeting aboot trying tae get some sort ae youth club gaun at nights. She’d spoken tae the heid teacher in Gourlay Street Primary School, who’d thought it wis a great idea, and hid offered tae let Helen use the school hall tae hiv a meeting. Helen remembered that that hid been during the election in 1970. Dick Mulholland hid asked her tae leave it until efter the election and wance he goat elected, he’d come alang tae the meeting. Helen hid ignored him and decided tae go aheid wae the meeting anyway. She’d put in a bit ae time gaun roond the local schools when she knew the maws wid be doon tae pick up their weans at three o’clock. Everywan hid been up fur it. Then she’d goat word that the hall widnae be available. When she’d spoken wae the heid teacher, the heid teacher hid jist looked uncomfortable and hid shrugged her shoulders as if tae say that it wis nothing tae dae wae her. Wance Dick goat in, Helen hid gone and spoken tae him.

  “Ur ye sure there’s a need?” he’d asked her as if he wis talking tae an eejit.

  “Of course there is. The streets ur full ae weans, wrecking the place.”

  “There’s plenty ae fitba tae be had across in Cowlairs Park plus there’s a fitba club in the Springburn Halls. Whit mair dae ye want?” he’d stated as if that wis the solution.

  “That’s okay fur the boys, bit whit aboot the lassies?”

  “Ach, Helen, stoap making a meal oot ae everything. There’s nothing that says lassies cannae go and kick a baw aboot the place. Every time Ah go up ma closemooth there’s a wee bunch ae lassies sitting oan the stairheid landing playing at hooses, so they ur. They seem tae be happy, as far as Ah kin see. Whit else wid ye want them tae dae?”

  “Look, take ma word fur it, there’s absolutely nothing fur the lassies, a
nd very little fur the boys, other than kicking a baw aboot the place, so there isnae. We could put oan semi-educational stuff that wid be fun, bit wid help them at school. The heid teacher said she’d be up fur it, so she did.”

  Helen knew it wis a lost cause, and anyway, she’d ended up getting caught up in a rash ae warrant sales at the time, and that hid been that. She wis still sure there wis a need, especially fur the lassies...even fur them tae get a wee session ae fitba in the halls withoot aw the boys jumping in and taking o’er wid be a start. Aye, the lassies wur happy playing at hooses up the closes. Christ, she’d done the same hersel when she wis a wee snapper, bit if that’s aw they ever knew, how could they ever be expected tae know that there could be a lot mair oan offer fur them tae dae. Helen nipped through tae the kitchen and retrieved her basin. She gently eased her tartan feet back in tae the water, groaning wae pleasure. Whit wis she tae dae? She wis dreading hivving tae go oot oan tae the street, intae the shoaps, knowing everywan hid heard that wee maggoty bunch ae so-called men ae God destroy her in public. Wid anywan talk tae her? She widnae be able tae cope if people crossed the road when they saw her coming. It wis bad enough that The Corporation suits did that when they wur oot and aboot hassling people, bit her friends and neighbours? It wis awright fur Jimmy. He left the hoose early in the morning and came back at night when it wis dark, expecting tae find his tea oan the table. If she pulled oot noo, wid she be able tae saunter intae the shoaps, knowing that people wur nudging each other, whispering aboot whit a loser she wis? The alternative wis total humiliation, seeing that smiling, smarmy grinning face ae JP at the coont efter he’d wiped the flair wae her. She looked at the clock. Twenty tae ten. She hid twenty minutes before the pub shut and Jimmy arrived back. Christ…whit should she dae?

  Chapter Fifty Six

  “Oops, sorry,” Senga said tae the wincing patient, as she gently pressed the sticking plaster tae make sure the dressing wis held in place.

  She quickly topped up the dressing station, making sure aw the bandages, sealed swabs and the sterilised equipment wis stocked up fur the night shift. She stood wae her hauns oan her hips and looked aboot the room. The place wis spotless and tidy. She glanced across at the patient who held up her pad.

  ‘What time do you finish?’ it read.

  “Twenty minutes,” she replied, glancing at her wee watch, pinned tae her blue uniform, which said twenty tae ten.

  ‘Have a seat,’ the pad said tae her.

  Senga hesitated...no because she didnae want tae sit and hiv a wan-way chat wae a writing pad, bit because she didnae want tae get drawn in and end up asking Mrs Crawford...Alison...if she wanted tae gie her side ae the story tae a newspaper that hid no only gleefully crucified her, bit hid clearly made things up as they went alang tae keep the feeding frenzy topped up. She looked aboot the room. Sister hid awready been in and inspected it tae make sure it wis picture perfect, efter instructing Senga in the art ae changing a dressing. The patient’s wound seemed tae look worse...mair angry than it hid been earlier.

  “All part of the healing process, Senga,” Sister hid said...whitever that meant.

  “Okay, bit Ah’ll need tae watch ma time. It’s Sunday and the last thirty seven, tae take me up the road tae Springburn, arrives at the bus stoap doon oan Castle Street at aboot twenty past.”

  ‘I’ve been thinking what you said earlier about this boy that you and your friend fancy,’ the pad said.

  “Oh, aye?”

  ‘The way you’re handling it is excellent.’

  “Oh, Ah’m no sure aboot that. Sometimes Ah jist want tae blurt oot tae Pearl whit the score is and tae hiv a good laugh aboot how stupid the pair ae us ur, bit somehow, Ah don’t think that wid be the likely ootcome. And anyway, Ah widnae want tae risk it. Her friendship means mair tae me than me leaving her feeling that she his competition fae her best pal. Even if we did laugh aboot it, it wid end up destroying oor friendship in the long run. She widnae want tae confide in me whit her wee strategy oan how tae hook lover boy wis, if she knew Ah wis hinging aboot, waiting tae shoot in there if it aw fell apart. She’d end up thinking ma advice tae her wis twisted if she wisnae successful. Christ, listen tae me speaking like Florence Nightingale here...where’s ma lamp?”

  ‘You would make a brilliant social worker.’

  “Aye, well, Ah think Ah’d make a better nurse, even if Ah turned oot tae be a crappy wan, so Ah wid.”

  ‘Why do you say that?’

  “Oor conversation earlier?”

  Silence.

  ‘It’s not like you think,’ the pad said.

  “It wid feel like Ah wis being a traitor tae aw the wummin who brought me up...no jist tae that wee maw ae mine, and no matter how hard Ah tried, Ah’d never be able tae convince them otherwise. There’s been too much dirty water under the bridge fur that tae ever happen.”

  Silence.

  ‘Is that how people will view me?’

  “How dae ye mean?”

  ‘Like dirty water under the bridge, contaminated, never having the chance to redeem myself?’

  “Whit Ah’ve jist said applies tae ma situation. Ah kin state whit Ah jist said oan good authority. Ah know ma people and Ah know fine well the hurt and humiliation they’ve been through wae social workers...professionally well intentioned or no. Your situation is totally different...Ah think.”

  ‘Why?’

  “Because ye still hiv tae test the water...even if it is jist a wee toe tae start wae, tae see whit the reaction is...and if it’s no as bad as ye think, ye then dip two toes in and so forth. It’ll probably take time, bit if ye’re hauf the conniving sneaky ghoul that the papers make ye oot tae be, well, it wid be a doddle, so it wid,” Senga said, smiling, looking at the patient whose shoulders wur shaking wae laughter.

  ‘I wish I could laugh through these welded jaws,’ the pad declared.

  “Ach, Ah don’t know aboot that. There’s bound tae be some benefits ae hivving a permanent grimace. It means people won’t know whether ye’re scowling at them or no. Imagine whit ye could get away wae?” Senga said, laughing.

  ‘So, what would you do if you were me?’ the pad asked.

  “Ah don’t know.”

  ‘Student Nurse Jackson, are you tying to tell me you haven’t thought out what you would do in my situation? I’m surprised.’

  “Ah know whit Ah’d dae if it wis me, bit then again, ma way ae dealing wae situations is usually a bit extreme and kin get people roond aboot me intae hot water, so it kin. Ye’d need tae look at yer ain situation and dae whit ye feel is best fur you...whit wid be acceptable...how ye’d cope if things didnae work oot the way ye intended...whit yer fall-back position wid be...no furgetting yer get-oot clause,” Senga rattled aff, seeing the eyes above the bandage widen.

  ‘Where did you learn to speak like that? Surely, not nursing school?’

  “Naw, naw, Ah wis brought up wae some ae the cheekiest, bad, mad-arsed wummin ye could ever meet in yer life, whose sexual turn-on is getting wan o’er oan the men fae The Corporation, so it is. Aw they seemed tae dae morning, noon and night, when Ah wis growing up, wis work oot their tactics. Sometimes me and ma pals wonder how we ever came tae be conceived, so we dae. It’s a bloody miracle if ye ask me, so it is,” Senga said drily, tae mair laughter fae the shaking bed.

  ‘You’re killing me,’ the pad said.

  “Maist ae the men at hame think the wummin put their dugs before their men-folk, although it’s a well-known fact amongst the wummin that they’ve goat the order wrang, so they hiv. It’s the weans, the dugs, the cat, no furgetting the budgie and the goldfish, if they hiv wan, and then the men hiv their shout. Ye’re laughing, bit Ah’m no jesting. Ma granny always fed her mangy auld dug before slapping the plate doon oan the table in front ae ma poor auld granda, so she did. If he ever complained higher than a decibel, the dug, who’d be sitting there oan her lap, getting it’s ear scratched, wid gie him the glad-eye as if tae say, ‘Up yours, Bob,’ before letting oot a wee growl,”
Senga said wae a deidpan expression, as the patient doubled up, waving at her tae stoap it.

  ‘So, where do I find my first pond then?’ the pad eventually asked.

  “Fur whit?”

  ‘To dip my big toe in the water?’

  “Ah don’t think ye’d like tae hear whit ma thinking is.”

  ‘Try me, but I think my family is out. As far as they’re concerned, I’m a non-person.’

  “Aye, well, ye see, Ah’m no that convinced aboot that. As Ah’ve jist said, that might take a bit ae time, and Ah’m no so sure that they wid be ma first port ae call, so they widnae. They’d be who Ah wis aiming fur...tae try and get them tae understaun...or at least, tae try and understaun where ye’ve been at fur the last month...six months...a year...whitever.”

  ‘Explain, please,’ the pad asked.

  “Well, don’t get upset or start shouting at me...oh, er, sorry...anyway, ye know whit Ah mean. If Ah wis you, which Ah’m no, Ah’d get ma story oot there, oan ma terms...use the buggers that’ve been destroying ye fur yer ain ends. Ye need tae think alang the lines ae aw the wummin Ah’ve telt ye aboot, including that maw ae mine, oan how they’d approach something like this.”

  ‘But, how?’

  “Well, ye’ve said mair than a few times tae me that ye’d love tae put yer side ae the story across, oan yer ain terms. Why don’t ye dae that?”

  ‘I hate the press. It would be like a circus. I couldn’t cope being interrogated, getting my picture taken, swathed in all these bandages like a mummy, splashed across the papers.’

  “Ye mean like jist noo?”

  ‘You know what I mean. I just couldn’t cope.’

  “That pal ae mine, Pearl? She could help. In fact, we’ve spoken aboot it and kind ae, er, worked oot a wee plan, so we hiv,” Senga said, gulping.