by Joan Jonker
‘She did yer proud, Hannah, but that’s Flo all over. She’s got a heart as big as a week and is a good one to have as a friend.’ Andy was pleased for their elderly neighbour. She’d been a widow for years so she must be scrimping and scraping every week to make ends meet. Six shillings was a lot of money to her. ‘And the furniture’s being delivered tonight, is it?’
It was Beth who answered. ‘It’s coming about half-six, so as soon as we’ve finished our dinner I’m going down with Hannah to keep her company until it comes. And between yer, yer can tidy up and wash the dishes while I’m gone.’
‘Yer won’t let them take the bed upstairs, will yer?’ Andy asked. ‘We don’t want it in our way tomorrow while we’re putting the partition up. It’ll have to go in yer living room for now, and we’ll take it upstairs when we’ve finished.’
Hannah’s eyes found and held his. ‘What would have happened to me if you hadn’t seen me wandering that night? And if you and yer family and friends hadn’t cared for me? I’d have been in Queer Street, with no one to turn to for help. In fact, they’d have probably locked me up in one of the lunatic asylums.’
Ginny was horrified at the thought. ‘No, they wouldn’t, Mrs Bailey, we wouldn’t have let them! And we’ve loved having yer here, haven’t we, Mam?’
‘Of course we have, sunshine, it’s been a pleasure. Hannah is welcome to come any time she likes.’ Beth smiled at the woman who had been, only a week ago, just a neighbour who lived at the top end of the street. They’d always been friendly with her, passed the time of day and perhaps chatted for a few minutes. But now their closeness was more than mere friendship, she was like one of the family. ‘And she’s still got a few more days with us, before her family come.’
‘That’ll be a happy day for you, won’t it, Hannah?’ Andy’s deep brown eyes were understanding. ‘And I bet they can’t wait to see you. It’ll be nice for them to have a granny back in their lives.’
‘Talking about grannies,’ Beth said, ‘I’ll have to get up to see my mam and dad in the next few days. The trouble is, Speke is a hell of a long way to go so I can’t afford to visit them as often as I’d like. But I can’t let Christmas go by without seeing them, they’d never forgive me and I’d never forgive meself.’
‘It is a long way to Speke, sweetheart, it’s right out in the country.’ Hannah had met Beth’s parents when they lived in the next street, but they were passing acquaintances, they’d never really been friends. ‘What possessed them to move so far away?’
‘My sister Elsie persuaded them. Yer won’t remember Elsie, she’s very religious and spends a lot of time in church. She never had any intention of marrying, never even had a boyfriend even though she was a good-looking girl. Me mam always said she was married to the church. Anyway, she talked them into moving to a parlour house so she could have a downstairs sitting-room of her own. I know me mam regrets the move, although she’d never admit to it because Elsie has a grand job and is very good to them. But it’s not half lonely, out in the country and miles away from shops.’ Beth saw the plates were empty now and started to stack them together. ‘Both me mam and dad miss the neighbours they’d had for years. There was nothing the old girl enjoyed more than a good gossip, and me dad liked his pint of bitter in the corner pub. I think moving was the worst thing they ever did but it’s too late now, we can’t turn back the clock.’
‘Leave the dishes, love, we’ll do them,’ Andy said. ‘Yer’d better be going ’cos if ye’re not in when the delivery comes they’re not likely to come back again.’
Beth glanced at the clock and quickly pushed her chair back. ‘Come on, Hannah, we’re cutting it fine.’
‘I’ll light a fire when we get in,’ Hannah said, cuddling up to Beth for warmth as they walked down the street. ‘I can bank it up and it’ll take the chill off the house for the men coming tomorrow. If I put the fireguard around, it should be safe.’
‘I’ll give yer a hand.’ Beth shivered at the thought of going into a house where there had been no fire for several days. ‘We’ll soon have the place warm.’
They stopped outside Hannah’s house and she took a key from her pocket. ‘We’ll have to leave the front door open so I can see what I’m doing. The street lamp sheds quite a bit of light into the hall.’
‘Give me the key and you stand by the door until I light the gas.’ Beth wasn’t taking a chance on the old lady standing on a chair. ‘I’ve brought a box of matches.’
Hannah heard Beth mutter and knew she’d walked into the table. Then the light streamed out of the living room into the tiny hall. It was then Hannah saw the letter lying on the floor. As she bent down to pick it up, she called, ‘I’ve got a letter, and it’s from Claire.’
‘Oh, that’s lovely! Bring it in and let’s see what she’s got to say.’
‘I’ll put a light to the paper and wood in the grate first, shall I? Otherwise you and me are going to freeze to death. It won’t take long, there’s coal in the scuttle.’
‘You read the letter and I’ll light the fire. I know it’s none of my business, but I want to hear what Claire has to say as much as you do.’
Hannah ran her thumb under the flap of the envelope and tore it open. ‘Oh, she’s put a pound note in it! She didn’t have to do that.’
‘Read the letter, sunshine, and yer might find out why.’ Beth was on her hands and knees in front of the grate. She’d put a light to the balls of newspaper, and was encouraged when the wood caught fire. A few decent-sized cobs of coal and with a bit of luck they’d have a roaring fire in no time.
‘They’re still coming on Wednesday. They get into Exchange Station about two o’clock, but I haven’t got to worry about meeting them ’cos she hasn’t been away from Liverpool so long she’s forgotten where the tram runs from. And the pound is to help buy a few extra groceries in.’ Hannah was giving the news as she read it. ‘Oh, Claire says she’s sending a tea chest by a removal firm that delivers all over the country. She’s sending bedding, linen, crockery and ornaments, and it should arrive here on Tuesday, in time for the bedding to be of use. She says that should put me mind at rest ’cos I’m probably worried in case I don’t have enough.’
Beth sat back on her heels and took the newspaper away from the fire as the flames were now licking merrily around the coals. ‘I’d been thinking about whether yer’d have enough bedding, sunshine, but I didn’t like to mention it. Anyway, I don’t need to now ’cos yer’ve been sorted out.’
‘Oh, it’s been on me mind, sweetheart, ’cos I haven’t got loads of spare bedding. We’d have got by, but only just.’
When a knock came on the door, Hannah shoved the letter back in the envelope. ‘Young Billy, whoever he is, is nice and early. I’ll open the door.’
Billy was a young man of about eighteen. Tall and well-made, with blonde hair and laughing blue eyes, he was a handsome lad. And he was a worker. With the help of his twelve-year-old brother, he had the bed and chest of drawers in Hannah’s living room within minutes. Beth was very impressed. ‘Ye’re a quick worker, sunshine!’
‘Yer can’t afford to stand still if yer want to earn a few bob, Missus. Time is money, and it’s hard to come by. I want to give me ma a few bob extra, with it being Christmas. There’s eight of us at home, and trying to feed that many is no joke.’ He pocketed the shilling Hannah handed to him and showed a set of strong white teeth when he smiled. ‘Have a nice Christmas, ladies, and the best of good luck in the coming year.’
‘What a nice lad,’ Hannah said, after closing the front door. ‘I bet his mother’s proud of him. Good worker and very pleasant.’
‘Yeah, I was quite taken with him.’ Beth pushed herself to her feet. ‘Now if yer can get a shovelful of slack, I’ll bank the fire up and it’ll last through the night.’
Hannah turned at the back door. ‘This has been a very lucky day all round for me and Ginny. She’s got the job she wanted, and I’m over the moon for her. And me, well, I’ve got the bed and the
chest of drawers which I needed but couldn’t see my way clear to getting. And now this letter from Claire has just rounded things off. I’m a very lucky lady.’
Beth smiled at her, thinking that now wasn’t the time to mention a certain lady who went by the name of Ma Maloney, and who would haunt them all until she got her money back.
Chapter Eleven
After breakfast on the Saturday morning, Beth managed to get Hannah alone in the kitchen as she was putting the plates away. It was the only chance she’d had, with Ginny sleeping on the couch. She was there when they went to bed at night, and still there when they got up, so a private conversation had been impossible. With a finger to her lips first, Beth whispered, ‘I’d like to get down to the market this morning if I can, to look for a coat for Joey. I don’t want the children to know, ’cos they’d be bound to mention it to Andy and he’d wonder where I’d got the money from. He doesn’t get paid until Saturday morning so it’ll be after one when I get his wages.’ She raised her eyes to the ceiling. ‘I hate telling him lies, but he’d be really upset if he knew I’d borrowed from a moneylender.’
With an ear to the door, to make sure Ginny and Joey were still at the table talking, Hannah said, ‘But how are yer going to manage that? Yer can’t hide a coat from the children, they’d be bound to see it.’
‘By being crafty and telling more lies, I’m afraid, sunshine. I’ll ask Flo if she’ll nip to Great Homer Street with me, and if I’m lucky enough to find a decent coat for Joey, she can take it in her house until this afternoon. Then I can bring it in with me when I’ve done me weekend shopping and Andy will think I bought it out of his wages.’ Beth put her hands together as though in prayer. ‘May God forgive me for my sins.’
‘But where are yer going to tell the children ye’re going this morning? And what’ll yer do if they want to go with yer?’
‘I’ve got it all figured out, sunshine, and I’m getting more devious and sly by the minute. But I want yer to know that every word out of me mouth isn’t a lie, and I don’t spend me days being dodgy and crafty.’
‘I know that, sweetheart, yer don’t have to explain anything to me. Whatever yer do, it’ll never be anything to hurt anyone. And all ye’re doing now is for the good of yer son.’
‘Well, I want yer to help me out, if yer will? I was going to come down with yer to get the fire going so the house is warm for the men coming this afternoon, but would yer mind taking Ginny and Joey with yer? They’re both good workers, and they wouldn’t get in yer way. Our Joey will go shopping for yer if yer want to stock up. And for his age, he’s got a good little head on his shoulders. He wouldn’t let anyone overcharge him.’
Hannah chuckled. ‘He’s another Flo in the making, is he?’
‘He’s got a long way to go before he’s that good. But talking of my next-door neighbour, I’m going to slip out the back way and give her a knock to see if she feels like coming to the market with me. I won’t be two minutes.’
Flo saw Beth walking up her yard and hurried to open the back door. ‘What’s up with yer, why didn’t yer bang on the wall like yer usually do?’
‘What I’ve got to say is a secret, that’s why.’ Beth stepped into the kitchen and peeped through into the living room to see if Flo’s children were there. There was no point in telling a secret while children were listening, ’cos it wouldn’t remain a secret for very long. ‘Where’s Amy and Wendy?’
‘I’ve let them go to our Helen’s with a Christmas card. They were pestering the life out of me to let them go, ’cos the crafty buggers know they’ll get a penny off her. Any minute now, my dearly beloved sister will be calling me fit to burn on several counts. One, that I’m too tight to pay for a stamp to post her card, and second that I’ve got the girls from under my feet and put them under hers.’ Flo’s chubby face creased. ‘I bet any money that some time today or tomorrow I’ll be getting a visit from my nephew and niece. They’ll hand me a Christmas card and then sit on the couch until I give them a penny each. Mind you, I can’t blame our kid for playing silly beggars, ’cos I started it.’
Beth was getting impatient. ‘Yer can tell me all about it on the tram.’
‘On what tram? I’m not going on no tram.’ Flo looked into Beth’s eyes. ‘Or, if I am, where the bleedin’ hell am I going to?’
‘Great Homer Street. I want to go to the market to look for a coat for our Joey, and I’d like a bit of company. Also, when we get back, I’d like yer to hide the coat in your house until we come back from the shops this afternoon.’
‘Oh, aye! Pulling a fast one on your Andy, are yer?’ Flo ran her fingers through her dishevelled hair. ‘I don’t think I should get involved in anything underhanded.’
‘Yer what! Well, the cheek of you! If I’m underhanded, who was it taught me? Florence Henderson, that’s who! The most underhanded person I know.’
‘Ah, ay, queen, fair’s fair. Yer must know someone who’s more underhanded than me. I’m sure if yer racked yer brains yer’d come up with someone.’
‘I’ll do that on the tram, too, sunshine.’
‘Yer’ll do what on the tram, queen?’
‘Rack me brains, soft girl, that’s what. And if I come up with anyone, I’ll let yer know.’
‘I haven’t said I’m going on the tram with yer yet! I’ve still got loads of housework to do, and see about something for our dinner.’
Beth knew her friend so well, she knew exactly how to go about bringing things to a conclusion that would suit both of them. ‘Okay, sunshine, I understand. I’ll get Dot to come with me, if she’s not too busy, like.’
Flo bristled. ‘Of course she’ll be busy! She’ll tell yer to get lost ’cos Saturday is a very busy day for everyone.’
Beth opened the kitchen door. ‘I’ll ask her first, but if she is too busy then I’ll nip down to the market on me own.’ She stepped down into the yard. ‘I’ll give yer a knock after dinner, sunshine, to go to the shops.’
‘Hang on a bit, queen! What’s the bleedin’ rush? I haven’t said I wouldn’t go with yer so don’t be taking the huff.’
‘I’m not taking the huff! It’s just that I haven’t much time if I’m to be back to have Andy’s dinner ready. It’s a case of putting me skates on.’
‘Bloody hell! Give us a chance, will yer?’ Flo slipped the straps of her pinny over her head. ‘It won’t take me two minutes, I’ve only got to comb me hair.’ She didn’t bother folding the pinny, just threw it on the draining board. ‘I’ll be at yours before yer’ve got yer coat on.’ And as a parting shot, she called, ‘And before yer say owt, I have washed me face and me neck so I haven’t got no tidemark.’
Beth smiled as she walked down the yard. ‘Don’t be in too much of a hurry, sunshine, ’cos first I’ve got to talk the children into going with Hannah. So shall we say fifteen minutes, to be on the safe side? But just in case Ginny and Joey are still in when yer come, don’t mention where we’re going, for heaven’s sake, or yer’ll be letting the cat out of the bag.’
‘Listen, queen, why don’t yer just tell me to keep me bleedin’ mouth closed?’
‘’Cos I’m too much of a lady, that’s why.’
‘Well, I’ll be buggered!’ Flo stood on the top kitchen step with her arms folded. At least they must have been folded under her mountainous bosom because they were nowhere to be seen. ‘Lady indeed! The state of you, and the price of bleedin’ fish!’
‘Flo, can we leave our falling out until we’re on the tram, sunshine? It’ll save us time and give us something to talk about. I’ll see yer in a bit, ta-ra.’
‘Ye’re wasting yer time looking on those stalls, queen, ’cos most of the stuff is rubbish. It’s like what the rag and bone man who comes around our street collects. And yer know he only gives the kids a balloon for it ’cos it’s not worth no more.’
‘I can’t afford to buy Joey a new coat, sunshine, it’s as easy as that. It’s got to be a second-hand one, like it or lump it.’
‘But I
keep telling yer about the stall at the far end of the market! The woman what has the stall, her name’s Mary Ann, she sells some smashing stuff. Her feller collects from the posh areas, and gives money for quality stuff.’
The market was heaving with people looking for bargains for Christmas presents and bits and bobs to put in the stockings their children would be hanging over the mantelpiece on Christmas Eve. The two friends were being pushed from all sides. Now Flo didn’t take too kindly to this, and if it hadn’t been for Beth some people would have gone home with bruises which were not acquired accidentally.
‘Okay, let’s try this Mary Ann’s stall, if it’ll keep yer quiet.’ Beth hung on tightly to her mate’s arm so they wouldn’t get separated in the crowd. ‘Then I want to look for long stockings for our Ginny, and some nice knickers and an underskirt, if they’re not too dear. I can’t send her to work in the navy blue fleecy lined ones she wears for school. Apart from the fact that they’re worn out and only fit for the midden, she needs clothes that are more grown-up now, so she can hold her own with the people she’ll be working with.’
Flo pulled her to a halt. ‘Here yer are, this is the stall.’
Beth gasped. She hadn’t been expecting anything like this. All the other stalls had one or two trestle tables, but this one had four, and they were arranged to form a square, with a woman and a young girl in the centre, moving quickly to serve the many people who were holding items up that they wished to purchase. The woman, Mary Ann, had bright red hair which was piled up on top of her head and kept in place by a tortoiseshell comb. She wore the traditional black woollen shawl, long black skirt and a black apron with a wide, deep money pocket in the front. And all the time she was serving, she was talking and cracking jokes with the many people pushing against the trestle tables. It seemed everyone knew her, and she knew her regulars by name. Beth enjoyed the jovial atmosphere, it was really Christmassy, and there wasn’t a face in the heaving throng that didn’t have a smile on it. It wasn’t hard to understand why because the stallholder was hilarious. Beth forgot she was pushed for time, and stood still to listen.