by Joan Jonker
‘Course I do! I’ve known Eileen and her mam for years! How is your mam, Eileen? And the kids?’
‘Don’t ask her about the kids or we’ll never get any work done.’ Harry lifted his arm to fend off Eileen’s blow.
‘Har you hinsinuating that my darling little children har not hangels? I’ll have you know I wash their halos hevery night.’
The ice was broken and work started in earnest. At half nine Mary called a tea break. ‘We’ve only got odd cups, Mrs Sedgemoor, d’you mind?’
‘Yer won’t be usin’ odd cups in Orrell Park!’ Eileen nudged Lizzie. ‘Proper tu’penny ha’penny toffs down there! All fur coats and no knickers!’
Lizzie had been dying to know where her son was going to live but had been too stubborn to ask. ‘D’you like the house, Mary?’
Mary felt as though she was in the middle of a dream. Harry’s mother was sitting in their house drinking tea! ‘It’s beautiful! Why don’t you come and see it this afternoon.’
Lizzie beamed. ‘I’d love to! I’ll slip home and get something ready for George’s dinner, and I’ll make us some butties while I’m at it so you won’t have to worry.’
‘Thank God someone remembers we’ve got to eat!’ Eileen clapped her hands. ‘Me belly thinks me throat’s cut!’
Harry, like Mary, felt light with relief as he laughed at Eileen. ‘Don’t you ever think of anything but your tummy?’
Seeing the cheeky grin start on Eileen’s face, Mary knew she was going to say something embarrassing and made a beeline for the kitchen. She was just out of the door when she heard, ‘Yer know I’ve got something else on me mind all the time! But I’m not getting any, am I, so I’ll have to stick to food till my feller gets ’ome.’
Harry jumped from the taxi and hurried to the space beside the driver where the wheelchair was propped. He dragged it down and was fumbling with the arms when Eileen pushed him aside. ‘Move over, kiddo, and let the expert show yer ’ow.’ With a twist of the wrists she had the chair open. ‘It’s the way yer ’old yer mouth, kid!’ She grinned before popping her head in the taxi to see Martha sitting next to Mary, her eyes shining with excitement. ‘Acting the part already, are yer? Rollin’ up to yer new house in a flippin’ taxi!’
All Harry could see was Eileen’s enormous backside, and he had to knock on the window to ask Mary to tell her to move. ‘Give us a hand with Mrs B will you?’ He slipped Mary a ten shilling note to pay the driver, then with Eileen’s help got Martha from the taxi and into the wheelchair.
Martha only had time to glance quickly at the outside of the house before Harry tipped the chair and wheeled her over the two front steps. She gasped in amazement at the length of the hall, and her ‘Oh, isn’t it huge?’ brought a smile to Mary’s face.
‘This is your room, Mam.’ Mary watched her mother’s face. ‘D’you like it?’
‘Oh, it’s beautiful! So big and bright.’
It was the kitchen Martha fell in love with. ‘Just to think, if I was all right I could do all me baking and washing in here.’
‘Washing, did you say, Missus!?’ Eileen asked in mock horror. ‘Yer don’t do yer washin’ in here! It’s easy to see you’re not used to anything! Yer’ve got a proper wash house now, not like us common people!’
The wheelchair was too wide to go through the back kitchen door, and Harry winked at Eileen. ‘One either side?’
There was so much laughing over their clumsy attempts to get Martha through the door, Eileen had tears in her eyes. ‘If we kill yer between us, at least yer’ll die laughin’!’
When they were all squashed into the wash house, Eileen nudged Martha. ‘You’d better hurry up and get well, so yer can start takin’ washin’ in! But don’t have yer customers comin’ to the front door, ’cos it’ll lower the tone of the neighbourhood. Make ’em use the back entry. And don’t forget it’s entry round here, and not jigger!’
Martha was tired with all the excitement so they settled her in her own chair, in her own room. She looked at the beloved photographs lined up on the sideboard and breathed a sign of contentment. ‘It’s funny, but I feel this house is going to be lucky for us. It’s so warm and friendly, I don’t feel a bit strange in it.’
‘D’you know, that’s just how I felt when I first walked in!’ Mary’s voice held surprise. ‘I know it sounds daft, but it seemed to welcome me.’
‘It was only by a stroke of luck I got it, too!’ Harry was looking smug. ‘Ten minutes after Mr Armstrong gave me the key another couple came along and said they’d take it without even seeing inside.’
‘Go ’ed!’ Eileen wagged a finger. ‘Tell the truth … yer gave him a back hander.’
‘Eileen thinks everything falls off the back of a lorry.’ Harry grinned at Martha. ‘Either that, or it comes from under the counter.’
‘Well, I never ’eard of a house falling off the back of a lorry! And even if they did, I couldn’t afford one like this! I bet the rent’s high!’
‘Twelve and six a week,’ Harry told her. ‘And I think it’s worth it.’
‘All right for them what can afford it, eh, Mrs B?’
Martha was smiling as she nodded at Eileen, then she turned to Mary.
‘Have you got your wedding dress yet, lass?’
‘Ah, ay, Mam! Give us a chance! I haven’t had time to breathe, never mind worry about me dress!’
‘How are yer off for coupons?’ Eileen asked. ‘I can let yer ’ave some.’
‘I should be all right, because I haven’t bought anything for ages.’
‘Don’t forget yer’ll need a lot!’ Eileen didn’t worry that Harry was listening. ‘Yer need some glamorous undies and nighties, as well as a dress. And yer mam needs an outfit.’
Mary blushed. ‘What I can’t afford, I’ll do without!’
Harry stepped in before Eileen went too far. ‘I’ve got some coupons you can have. And I’m coming tomorrow so you could slip into town while I’m here with your mam.’
‘But you start nights tomorrow night,’ Mary protested. ‘You’ll need to get some sleep.’
‘I can’t sleep day and night! Anyway, I was coming tomorrow for a couple of hours to unpack some of the crates. There’s plenty to do to keep me occupied while you go shopping.’
‘I’ll come with yer!’ Eileen said, eagerly. ‘I can look for a dress for meself.’
‘Go on, lass, while you’ve got the chance,’ Martha coaxed. ‘You’ve only got a few days to get everything you need.’
‘If you’re sure you’ll be all right.’
‘That’s settled then.’ Eileen rubbed her hands together. ‘Isn’t it exciting, going for yer wedding dress! Mind you, when Harry sees me all dressed up you won’t be in the meg specks!’
‘You behave yourself when you’re out with me,’ Mary laughed. ‘Don’t go making a fool of me!’
Chapter Twenty
They stepped off the bus in Clayton Square and Mary’s eyes swept the shops on either side of the busy shopping centre. ‘Where to first?’
‘Let’s go to Etam’s for yer undies while we’re on this side of the road, then we can look for yer dress.’ Eileen tucked her arm through Mary’s. ‘Are yer OK for money, kid?’
‘Harry made me take ten pound off him as we were coming out. I didn’t want to take it, but he made me.’
‘Good for ’im! Now yer can buy something special to get married in.’
‘I don’t want anything special! Just something nice and plain that I can get some wear out of afterwards.’
Half an hour later, when they walked out of Etam’s, Mary was in a daze. None of the things in the bags she was carrying would have been bought if Eileen hadn’t been with her. The big woman had had the shop assistants in stitches when she saw the size of the undies Mary chose. The pretty bra, in a size thirty-four bust, had her spluttering. ‘Blimey! the only way I would wear them would be for ear muffs!’
Mary had picked out a floral cotton nightie which was pretty and practical, but to Eileen it was
definitely not a honeymoon nightie. Much to Mary’s embarrassment, and fits of giggles from the assistants, it had been tugged from her hand and thrown back on the counter in disgust. ‘Yer’d look like Old Mother Riley in that!’ A beautiful low cut, satin nightdress in pale blue had caught her eye, and without a ‘by your leave’ to Mary, Eileen had handed it over the counter. ‘She’ll take that!’
Clutching the bags, Mary asked, ‘Where to now?’
‘Let’s go mad and try Henderson’s and the Bon Marche. I’ve never bought meself a decent coat in me life, but I’m goin’ to break eggs with a big stick for me mate’s wedding.’
Eileen whistled when Mary came out of the changing cubicle. ‘Kid, yer look like a million dollars in that!’
The dress was a pale blue crepe that matched perfectly the colour of Mary’s eyes. It had three quarter length sleeves, a high mandarin collar and a dropped waistline with a bow either side. The assistant looked on in admiration as Mary surveyed herself in the long mirror, and as their eyes met, she smiled. ‘It looks lovely on you, Madam.’
‘It’s a beautiful dress, but I wouldn’t get much wear out of it.’
They both turned at Eileen’s snort. ‘To hell with gettin’ much wear out of it! It’s yer weddin’ dress!’ She could see Mary wrestling with her conscience. ‘If yer don’t buy that one, kid, then yer can go home on yer own! Yer only get married once, for Christ’s sake!’
Mary took one more look at herself in the dress she’d fallen for as soon as she’d set eyes on it, then smiled at the assistant. ‘I’ll take it.’ The dress Eileen chose was in a light beige, with covered buttons down to the waist, a round collar and tie belt. ‘It’ll be bloody filthy in five minutes, but what the hell!’
They took special care in choosing Martha’s dress. In the end they agreed on one with a light grey background, covered in small white flowers. It was buttoned right down the front which meant it would be easy for her to take off and on.
Weighed down with parcels, they made for Reece’s and a pot of tea with toasted teacakes. ‘Yer looked lovely in that dress, kid!’ Eileen spoke through a mouthful of teacake. ‘Wait till Harry sees yer on Friday.’
‘It was a lot of money to spend on a dress I won’t get much wear out of.’ Mary stared down at her plate. She never mentioned Bob’s name to anyone these days, but he was never out of her thoughts. If only it was him she was wearing the dress for … but what good did it do to dream? ‘I shouldn’t have let you talk me into spending so much money, ’cos we need things for the house.’
‘Stop yer moaning! I’ll take yer down to Paddy’s market one Saturday an’ yer can get everything yer need from there, without coupons!’ Eileen became exasperated. ‘Don’t yer want yer mam to be proud of yer? She’s only got you, so don’t begrudge her wantin’ to see her daughter looking nice on her wedding day.’ Wiping the grease from her chin with a hankie that had seen better days, she went on, ‘There’s a hat shop round the corner, an’ we’re going to buy you the most glamorous hat in the shop. And don’t bother arguing, kid, ’cos yer goin’, even if I have to drag you there! OK?!’
Harry looked pleased when he opened the door and saw them weighed down with parcels. ‘Did you get what you wanted?’
‘It’s a good job yer paid a month’s rent in advance.’ Eileen nodded at Mary’s back. ‘That one there has just spent a month’s wages on a bloody hat!’
‘I’d better tell me mam to get all togged up then, hadn’t I?’ Harry stuck his tongue out at Eileen before looking at Mary. ‘I forgot to tell you, me mam asked if you needed a hand on Friday morning to get the table ready?’
‘No, I’ll be all right. Eileen’s coming early to give a hand, and there’ll only be six of us, anyway!’
‘Twelve!’ Harry contradicted. ‘I’ve asked Johnny Griffiths to be me best man, so him and his wife are coming. I’ve also asked the Smiths and the Jacksons.’ When Mary closed her eyes, he went on, in a firm voice that advised no opposition, ‘They’ve been our neighbours for years, Mary, and you couldn’t not ask them! We all know Elsie Smith is a nosey so-an-so, but you can’t take it out on Fred. He’s a good bloke, and he was over the moon when I invited them. And I want to make it up with Danny, seeing as he’s going in the Army, so I’ve asked him and Vera. I told them to bring Carol, as well.’
‘Oh, I’m so glad!’ Martha breathed a sigh of relief. ‘I’ve been worrying about the neighbours.’
‘I’ve ordered the cars, the flowers, and something to drink. And thanks to Eileen, here, we’ve got tins of salmon for the Catholics and boiled ham for the Protestants.’
Eileen’s shoulders moved, taking her whole body with them. ‘All we’ve got to do, is get Tilly Mint here, down to the church on time.’
When Mary was alone with her mother, she took the dresses out to show her. ‘They’re lovely, lass! Try yours on for us.’
‘I’ll try it on later,’ Mary promised, before kneeling down at the side of Martha’s chair. ‘I’ve been thinking about Bob’s mam and dad. D’you think I should tell them about the baby?’
‘I’ve been asking meself the same question for weeks, and still don’t know the answer. They’re bound to find out sooner or later, and they’ll be upset if you haven’t told them.’ Martha sighed. ‘I feel so sorry for them! Bob was their only child, and they’ve gone through so much.’ She stroked Mary’s hair. ‘But what about Harry? You can’t expect him to welcome the Wests coming to see their grandchild when he’s your husband! You’ll be married to him, lass, and he’s the one should come first.’
‘The baby comes first, Mam!’
‘Even so, don’t you think it would be best if the baby grew up thinking Harry was its father?’
‘I’m so mixed up I don’t know what to think. I don’t even know if I’m doing the right thing by getting married!’ Mary saw concern in the faded blue eyes. ‘Don’t worry, Mam. I’m just tired with traipsing round Liverpool all day. Everything will work out.’
‘If you want my advice about the Wests, I’d say do nothing until after you’re married. Then have a good talk to Harry about it. He’ll be your husband then, and you shouldn’t have any secrets from him.’
Eileen pulled a face when she got home and found the house empty. She’d been looking forward to showing her dress off. Still, she could try it on for her mother later, when the kids were safely in bed. Remembering the grubby hands that would go with curious minds, Eileen put the bag with her new dress in under the ironing on the sideboard. It was as she was turning to go out to the kitchen that she saw the letter. It was propped up in a prominent spot on the mantelpiece, and she knew right away who it was from. All the pleasure she’d felt during the day drained away from her as she spoke to the empty room. ‘I wish you were ’ere, Bill, to see me in me new dress.’
She was still standing with her coat on, clutching the letter, when Maggie walked in. ‘What does Bill have to say?’
‘Not much! But at last he’s had a couple of my letters, so that’s something to be thankful for, I suppose.’ Eileen stuffed the letter back in the envelope. ‘I’ve had a smashing day out with Mary, and came home feeling full of the joys of spring with me new dress. Now I feel like blabberin’ like a baby ’cos Bill’s not here to see it.’
‘Let’s see it!’
‘Leave it till later, in case the kids come in. If they get their filthy hands on it they’ll ruin it.’
‘Did Mary get her dress?’
‘Yeah, she got a beauty!’ Eileen grinned. ‘Mind you, the dress had a head start when she got into it! She’d look good in a coal sack!’
‘Our Rene’s been! Alan’s being transferred to Liverpool today, and she can visit him tomorrow. She said you’d promised to go with her, but I told her you were on nights, so she’s going to leave it until about two o’clock.’
‘Which hospital’s he coming to?’
‘Mossley Hill.’ Maggie chewed on her bottom lip. ‘She said it’s where a lot of the wounded are being sent.’
‘Where the ’ell is Mossley Hill ’ospital?’ Eileen frowned. ‘I’ve never heard of it.’
‘I hadn’t either! But Rene’s got directions on how to get there.’
‘What am I going to wear? I haven’t got a decent coat to me name.’
‘The weather’s nice, so you don’t need a coat.’ Maggie’s eyes travelled the room for sight of a shopping bag. ‘What’s wrong with your new dress?’
‘It’s Hobson’s choice, ’cos I’ve got nowt else! But can yer imagine me goin’ out in me figure? It’s years since I went out without a coat.’
Maggie tutted impatiently. ‘Everybody else does, so I don’t see why you can’t!’
‘Everybody hasn’t got a figure like mine, Mam!’
‘Oh, go on with you! You’re just a bit on the, er, bonnie side.’
Eileen’s laugh rang out. ‘The word yer lookin’ for, Mam, is fat!’
‘I know the word I’m looking for!’ Maggie retorted hotly. ‘And it’s bonnie! I bet you’ll look every bit as nice as our Rene tomorrow!’
‘Seein’ as I’m twice as fat, I should look twice as nice, shouldn’t I?’
Eileen nudged her mother in the ribs. ‘Thanks for tryin’, Mam, but I’ll never be a Veronica Lake, so why worry?’
Eileen was wearing a pair of high-heeled shoes she hadn’t worn for years and they were crippling her. Her feet were always swollen with the extra weight she was carrying, and as she tottered on the slim, high heels, she groaned in agony. ‘How much further is it, our kid? Me bloody feet are killing me!’
‘It’s just a bit further along, then we turn into North Mossley Hill Road and it’s the first turning on the right.’ Rene glanced down at her sister’s feet. ‘You should have put a pair of flat heels on.’
‘D’yer think I wouldn’t have done, if I’d had a pair?’ Eileen asked through clenched teeth as she thought how ridiculous it was to go through agony just to look nice. Then her sense of humour surfaced as she cast her eyes down to her enormous bust. ‘I haven’t seen me bloody feet in years, but I don’t half know I’ve got them now! They’re practically talkin’ to me!’ They were walking through a lovely area with large detached houses in their own grounds. High walls surrounded the large gardens giving the owners privacy from their neighbours. ‘Must have a few bob to live round here.’ Eileen stopped to peer through the railings of a pair of huge, wrought iron gates. ‘Yer could get the whole of our street in that one garden.’ Rene was too keyed up with nerves to answer. And when they stopped outside the gates of a building that had at one time been a church, but now had a hospital sign outside, she was shaking. ‘I’m terrified, Eileen!’