Taking a Chance on Love

by Joan Jonker

  Knowing she didn’t have much time to worry about the rights and wrongs of what she had in mind, Beth began to read. She had just finished the last line on the third page when she heard movement above. She quickly folded the letter and put it behind the clock on the mantelpiece before walking to the foot of the stairs.

  ‘Are yer ready to come down now, sunshine?’ she called. ‘Or would yer like yer breakfast in bed?’

  ‘I’ll just put me dress on, sweetheart, then I’ll be down.’

  ‘Okay, I’ll put the kettle on and make us some toast. But don’t stay up there too long, sunshine, or yer’ll freeze to death. Yer’d be better bringing yer dress down and putting it on in front of a nice roaring fire. There’s no one here but me, and yer’ve got nothing that I haven’t got so don’t be modest.’

  ‘I think I’ll do that. I’ve got me cardi on over me underskirt, so I’m decent enough, as long as you don’t mind.’

  ‘Yer can’t look any worse than I look first thing in the morning, sunshine! And I’ll let yer into a secret as long as yer don’t tell – I’ve seen Flo in a state of undress and, believe me, that is a sight to behold. But does she care? Does she heckerslike!’ Beth was looking up the stairs when Hannah appeared on the tiny landing. ‘D’yer know what she told me when I said she should cover herself up? Apart from telling me to sod off, I mean. She said God didn’t give her that magnificent body to hide it away, and if I didn’t like it, I could bleedin’ well lump it!’ When Hannah reached the bottom stair, Beth smiled and asked, ‘Did yer sleep all right, sunshine?’

  ‘Like a top, sweetheart. I don’t even remember me head hitting the pillow, I must have dropped right off. It will have been the brandy.’

  ‘That’s good, yer’ll feel more up to the day ahead if ye’re not tired.’ Beth led her to the couch and took the dress from over her arm. ‘I’ll draw the curtains over while yer get dressed, so yer’ve no need to worry about being seen. While ye’re doing that, I’ll see to some breakfast.’

  ‘If it’s not too much bother, Beth, I’d like to have a bit of a swill, to wake meself up proper.’

  ‘Hang on a minute then, and I’ll pour some water out of the kettle into a bowl for yer. And while ye’re getting washed I’ll put some toast under the grill for us. I haven’t had any breakfast yet, I was waiting for you. I thought we could have a chat while we’re eating, before the gang decide to put in an appearance.’

  Hannah looked more like her old self after she’d had a wash, donned her dress and borrowed a comb off Beth to tidy her hair. ‘Thanks very much, sweetheart, I feel more like a human being now.’

  Beth waited until they’d eaten their toast and were on their second cup of tea before bringing up the subject that was weighing heavy on her mind. ‘Hannah, I’ve got a confession to make, and I hope yer won’t be mad at me. I thought long and hard before doing it, but in the end I decided, as a friend, I’d be doing more good than harm.’

  ‘I know yer’d never do anything to harm me, sweetheart, so take that frown off yer pretty face and tell me what it is yer’ve done?’

  ‘Well, I brought the letter up that yer got from Claire, sunshine, and after the kids had gone to school, and I was sitting on me own waiting for yer to wake up, I read it. Not out of curiosity, but I thought if I explained to yer what was in it, it wouldn’t be so hard as yer reading it yerself. I hope I did the right thing?’

  Hannah placed her cup carefully in the saucer before answering. ‘I’m glad yer did, because I was dreading the thought of even touching those pages. I’d much rather hear it from you.’

  ‘I hope ye’re ready for it, sunshine, but it really has to be done now. Yer see, Claire will be waiting for an answer, and I think yer should get a letter in the post today. I’ll write it for yer, if yer like, as long as yer tell me what to say.’

  ‘I wouldn’t know what to say, I only read the first page. But I’d be grateful if yer can help me find the right words to say how heartbroken I am for her and the children.’

  Beth lowered her head so she wouldn’t see the hurt that must surely come to the eyes now focused on her. ‘Well, Claire said the funeral is on Monday, but she’s not expecting yer to attend, what with the long, tiring journey and the train fare to Birmingham.’

  That was the worst part over, and when Beth lifted her head she went on talking quickly so the older woman wouldn’t have time to dwell on what she’d said. ‘I thought perhaps we could send a postal order in the letter, to pay for a wreath from you and the neighbours. I know the others would want to show their respect, and a wreath would make up for yer not being there in person.’ When Hannah didn’t answer, Beth carried on. ‘I know yer’d like to be there, sunshine, but it’s too long a journey for yer. And it’s not as though yer’ll never see Claire or yer grandchildren again, ’cos they’ve asked if they can come up.’

  There was emotion now on Hannah’s face. ‘Did Claire say that? Oh, that would be marvellous! I haven’t seen her or me grandchildren for five years.’

  ‘Actually, sunshine, Claire said they would like to come back to live in Liverpool. They never really settled down there because they lived in a street where the neighbours kept themselves to themselves and they haven’t made any real friends. The children really want to come back to Liverpool.’

  Beth took a sip of her tea before asking, ‘Ye’re not upset with me telling yer these things, are yer, sunshine?’

  ‘To tell yer the truth, sweetheart, when I knew our John was dead, I was praying that God would take me too, ’cos I felt I had nothing to live for. And it’ll take me a long time to get over it. But knowing that his wife and my grandchildren are coming back into me life, well, that has certainly heartened me, ’cos they are part of my son.’

  ‘There’s more to come, sunshine, and I think it’s best if yer hear the lot in one go. Claire asks in the letter if they could stay with you until they find a place of their own? They won’t have a lot of money by the time they’ve settled everything down there, but the children will be able to find jobs and Claire said she’d go to work so they’d soon be on their feet.’

  Hannah was nodding her head slowly as pictures flashed through her mind of the two children. ‘John used to tell me all about them in his letters. He was so proud of them. Bobby, me grandson, he’s sixteen and been working as an apprentice gas fitter. And the girl, Amelia, she’s fifteen and works in a factory.’

  ‘It would be nice for yer to have them stay with yer for a while, wouldn’t it? They’d be good company for yer, and yer could get to know yer grandchildren.’

  ‘It would be lovely, sweetheart, but where would they all sleep? There’s only the back bedroom and I couldn’t expect the lad and girl to sleep in the same room. They’re at the age where they’d be embarrassed.’

  ‘Don’t forget that I’ve got a boy and a girl, Hannah,’ Beth said, ‘and we manage all right. And what about Lizzie and her tribe? She’s got four children and they don’t seem to have any problem. They’re packed in pretty tight, like, but it hasn’t done them any harm and they all get on like a house on fire.’

  ‘Yes, I know, but like you, most of the people in the street have made the back bedroom into two rooms, while mine’s the same as it was when the house was built.’

  ‘It would be no problem dividing the room, sunshine, yer only need some sheets of hardboard and . . .’ The loud rap on the knocker had Beth pushing her chair back. ‘I bet yer any money that’s Flo! I’ll break her neck for her.’

  On her way to the door, Beth happened to glance at the window and, sure enough, there was her neighbour, both hands on her eyebrows, peering in. ‘She’s a nosy so-and-so. She wouldn’t be the least bit embarrassed if the pair of us were naked. We would be, but not the queer one.’

  There was a frown on Beth’s face when she opened the door, but behind the frown there was a smile lurking. ‘I told yer I’d give yer a knock when we were ready for yer! Ye’re an impatient article, Flo Henderson, couldn’t yer have waited a bit
longer?’

  ‘I haven’t got all bleedin’ day to sit on me backside, queen, just waiting until yer decide to give me a knock.’ Flo folded her arms under her mountainous bosom and stood firm. With mutiny written on her face, she said, ‘And don’t tell me I can’t come in again, ’cos if yer do I’ll just walk through yer.’ With a sharp nod of the head, she added, ‘So there!’

  ‘D’yer know what, Flo Henderson? When yer were a little girl and one of yer mates wouldn’t let yer play with her ball, I bet yer used to cry, stamp yer feet and say yer were going to fetch yer dad out to her.’

  Never one to be beaten, Flo managed to put a surprised expression on her chubby face. ‘How did yer know that, queen?’

  Beth threw up her arms. ‘I can’t win, so I don’t know why I bother. Yer can come in, but only after yer’ve given Lizzie and Dot a knock. I don’t want anyone complaining that they’ve been left out.’

  When Flo crossed the cobbled street, her body seemed to bounce like a rubber ball. For all the weight she carried, she was very light on her feet. Of course that was only when she was asked to do something she wanted to do. If she didn’t want to, then she played the wounded soldier and nothing would budge her.

  ‘We’ve got visitors coming, sunshine,’ Beth said when she went back into the living room. ‘Yer don’t mind, do yer? It’s just that me mates are concerned for yer and I couldn’t leave them out.’

  ‘I’ll be glad to see them, to thank them for what they did last night. Yer find out who yer real friends are when ye’re in trouble, don’t yer, sweetheart?’

  ‘Yer can say that again, sunshine! I soon found out who me friends were when times were hard. And I wouldn’t swap them for all the tea in China.’ Beth giggled. ‘I wouldn’t tell them that, though, or they’d get big-headed.’

  Flo was first in, and she struck a pose. With one hand cupping her chin, she gazed around the room. ‘I didn’t know yer’d decorated, queen, yer didn’t say.’

  Beth looked puzzled. ‘What are yer on about? We haven’t decorated.’

  Flo gave Hannah a sly wink before saying, ‘Oh, yer do surprise me. Mind you, it’s so long since yer let me into this room, I’d forgotten what yer wallpaper was like.’

  ‘Ye’re a cheeky article, you are.’ Beth’s face was stern as she wagged a finger, but in her heart she felt like kissing her neighbour’s chubby face because Hannah was laughing aloud. ‘I’m going to tell your husband he should put his foot down with yer.’

  Flo’s tummy shook. Her husband, Dennis, was the most quiet, passive man imaginable. He’d never been known to raise his voice to his wife or their two daughters. ‘He tried to put his foot down with me once, not long after we got married. Didn’t do him no good, though.’ Her eyes twinkled with mischief. ‘Haven’t yer ever noticed he limps a bit? It’s his left foot he has trouble with, especially in the winter. I was aiming for his right but lost me balance a bit and went way off target.’

  ‘May God forgive you, Flo Henderson, for some of the things yer say about Dennis. Yer don’t know ye’re born, having him for a husband.’

  ‘I’ll do a swap with yer, if yer like, queen, my feller for yours. And I wouldn’t diddle yer either. I know I’d be getting the best of the bargain so I’ll give yer ten bob cash in yer hand to make up for my feller not being as good-looking as yours.’

  ‘I heard that!’ Dot came bursting in. ‘And I’ll up the stakes. I’ll give Beth a pound in the hand if she’ll swap Andy for my Bill.’

  ‘Shame on both of yer,’ Lizzie said, shutting the door behind her. ‘Sure, I wouldn’t swap my Paddy for all the money in the world, and that’s a fact, so it is.’ She pulled out one of the dining chairs and sat next to Hannah. ‘And how are you this morning, me darlin’?’

  ‘I’m feeling a lot better, thank you. I had a good night’s sleep, thanks to your bottle of brandy. And while ye’re all here, I want to thank yer for what yer did last night. I’ll never be able to pay yer back, but I want yer to know how grateful I am.’

  ‘It was nothing, girl,’ Dot said, sitting down. ‘You’d have done the same for any of us.’ She glanced at Beth, her eyes asking if she’d had time to talk to Hannah.

  ‘I know ye’re all wanting to know what’s been arranged,’ Beth said. ‘So let’s all sit down and talk it through.’

  Flo pointed to the only vacant chair. ‘Are you and me going to have a game of musical chairs, queen? If we are, I’d better warn yer that my backside is twice the size of yours. Yer wouldn’t stand a chance ’cos I’d knock yer into the middle of next week.’

  ‘There’s a chair in front of the window, that’ll do. But first I’ll clear the dishes away.’

  ‘You see to the dishes, queen, and I’ll get the chair.’

  ‘No! You sit here and I’ll get the other chair. It’s a bit wonky, yer see, and yer have to be careful yer don’t move around on it too much.’

  ‘Yer wouldn’t be hinsinuating that it wouldn’t stand my weight, would yer? I’ll have yer know there’s not much difference between you and me, so don’t be so bleedin’ sarcastic.’

  Dot let out a loud guffaw. ‘Only about five stone, girl! And I’ve had the misfortune of sitting on that chair, and it creaks like nobody’s business. If it saw your backside coming down on it, it would give up the ghost and cave in.’

  That sounded like a dare to Flo, and she wasn’t one for refusing a dare. She would sit on that chair if it killed her, and if it gave one little creak she’d break it up with her bare hands and Beth could use it for firewood. So, with her mouth clamped tight in determination, she made a move towards the window, and the chair.

  But her neighbour saw the look and hurried to stand in front of her. ‘Flo Henderson, yer’d cause trouble in an empty house, you would. Now stop acting daft and be yer age. Go and sit at the table and I’ll have this chair when I’ve taken the dishes out.’

  Flo would have stood her ground, but Hannah intervened. ‘Come and sit next to me, Flo, it’s right by the fire and yer’ll be nice and warm.’

  The little woman weighed up her options. She had two choices. A wonky chair that might collapse and make such a fool of her, her pride would be dented, or a seat by a warm fire. ‘I’ll do that, queen, and I’ll be away from these sarky buggers. Anyone would think they had figures like Venus.’

  Dot waited until her friend was seated before asking, ‘What makes yer think Venus had a good figure, girl? I saw a statue of her once and she had no arms.’

  Beth put the dirty dishes on the draining board before hurrying back into the living room. ‘Yeah, I was told Venus had no arms. I wonder how that came about? People talk about her as though she was the most beautiful woman that’s ever been, with a figure no other woman has ever matched! It doesn’t make sense.’

  When Flo grinned, her chubby cheeks moved upwards to make her eyes look like slits. ‘One thing about her, queen, she’s ’armless enough.’

  While there were hoots of laughter around her, Hannah was asking herself where she would be if these four women weren’t her friends? Even if she’d eventually found her way home last night, which she doubted, she’d have been all alone in her house, not knowing where to turn. They were her saviours. And right now she was glad of their warmth and humour, because it kept her mind from dwelling on the death of her beloved son.

  ‘All right now, let’s have a bit of order so Hannah can tell you what’s happening.’ Beth smiled across the table. ‘The floor’s yours, sunshine.’

  ‘You tell them, sweetheart, ’cos ye’re much better with words than I am.’

  Dot sat back in her chair after Beth had told them the story, leaving nothing out. ‘Well, girl, some good has come out of it, hasn’t it? With yer daughter-in-law and grandchildren living with yer, yer’ll be a real family.’

  ‘There’s one snag, though,’ Beth said, ‘and I’m hoping we can help Hannah out. Yer see, her grandson is sixteen and the girl fifteen. They can’t be expected to sleep in the same room, not at their age, an
d the back bedroom hasn’t been partitioned off. So I was wondering if our four husbands would help? I remember when we did ours, everyone got stuck in and helped each other. Between the four of them, it wouldn’t be such a big job.’

  ‘Paddy will help, me darlin’,’ Lizzie said. ‘Sure, I know the man well enough to say he’ll be only too happy to do all he can. And isn’t the man clever with his hands, so he is.’

  ‘And yer can count on Bill.’ Dot nodded. ‘Like Paddy, he’s pretty nifty with his hands.’

  ‘That makes three, with my Andy.’ Beth stared at Flo. ‘Ye’re very quiet, sunshine, have yer nothing to say?’

  ‘My Dennis is not only good with his hands, queen, he’s also good at getting things cheap. One of his mates works in a wood yard, and he’s well in with the manager. So yer’ll get all the wood yer want for about half-price.’

  Beth rounded the table and hugged her. ‘What are yer, sunshine? Ye’re a little cracker, that’s what yer are.’

  Flo beamed at the compliment. ‘It’s not what yer know, queen, it’s who yer know. So I do come in handy sometimes, eh?’

  ‘You sure do, girl!’ Dot stretched across the table to pat her hand. ‘Yer always manage to come up trumps.’

  The mischievous devil in Flo was hard at work. ‘While I’m at it, I’ll ask my feller to get a few short lengths of hardwood for Andy.’

  ‘And what, pray, would my husband need short lengths of hardwood for?’

  ‘To strengthen the legs on that bleedin’ chair! What’s the use of a chair that no one can sit on? Flamin’ ridiciless, if yer ask me. A waste of space.’

  ‘What did yer say it was, sunshine? Ediciless?’

  ‘No, I didn’t, smart arse. I said ridiciless, so there!’

  When her four friends burst out laughing, Flo decided to join them. She hadn’t a clue what they found so funny, but what the hell? If yer can’t lick ’em, join ’em.

  Beth glanced at the clock and was surprised to find it was half-eleven. ‘I’d better get that letter to Claire done, so it will catch the one o’clock post.’ She rooted in the sideboard drawer and found some paper and an envelope, but no pen. ‘Yer wouldn’t believe it, would yer! I can’t find a ruddy pen! The ink bottle is here, but no pen.’