by Joan Jonker
‘One of the farm hands comes home with my dad for something to eat, he can take the photographs so we can all be on them.’ Grace gave her brother a dig. ‘You’ll have to turn away from the camera, ’cos if it gets a look at your phisog it’ll fall to pieces.’
Alan returned her dig. ‘Hey, what about your ugly mug?’
‘She didn’t mean it, Alan,’ said Tess the peacemaker. ‘She was only pulling your leg.’
‘Shall we make a move,’ Ann suggested, ‘and see all the things you want to see? We don’t want to miss Mr Thomas.’
Grace and Alan looked at each other and burst out laughing. ‘Oh, you won’t miss Dad, you’ll hear him a mile off. He comes home on a tractor and it makes such a noise the whole village knows when he’s on his way. If you ask Mrs Owen, she’ll tell you they set their clocks by him.’
‘Your dad drives a tractor?’ Tess was wide-eyed. She was to see another thing she’d only seen in books. Oh, the joy of it all.
‘He’d give you a ride in it, if you wanted.’ Alan was still standing close to her, drawn by her smile and gentleness. He’d never known anyone like her; most of the local girls were tomboys and could give back as good as they got. ‘Mind you, it doesn’t half shake and rattles every bone in your body.’
‘Don’t even think about it, Theresa,’ Ann said with a very determined expression. ‘You’ll have had enough excitement for one day without riding on a tractor. Now, if we don’t make a move you won’t see all the things you want to see, and then you’ll be sorry.’
‘When I come back next year I’ll ask your dad for a ride on his tractor,’ Tess whispered to Alan as they followed her parents. ‘I’ll be a year older then so Mam won’t worry about me so much. I’m eleven in a few weeks, so I’ll be nearly twelve next summer.’
‘Are you coming back next year, then?’
‘Oh yes, my dad has promised. We’ll have to, anyway, or we’ll never see the photographs.’
‘Yes you will! If you leave your address, I’ll get Mam to send them to you.’
‘That would be lovely. You are kind, Alan, and when we get the photographs I’ll write back and thank you.’
The boy smiled and walked with a swagger. ‘That would be great. And I’ll be nearly thirteen when you come next year.’
They were in the field with Goldie when they heard the tractor. ‘We’ll stay another ten minutes,’ Ann said. ‘We don’t want to descend on Mr Thomas before he’s had time to turn around.’
‘Dad’s only home for half an hour ’cos it’s harvest time, the busiest time of the year for him,’ Grace informed them, sounding very knowledgeable. ‘Him and Alfie only have a few sandwiches and a couple of cups of tea, then they’re off back to the fields again.’
‘He’d like to have his photograph taken though,’ Alan said, with more hope than certainty. ‘Even if he is in all his muck.’
‘Let’s make our way back then,’ George said. ‘We might not get another chance to see him before we leave.’
Tom was sitting at the kitchen table facing a man he introduced as Alfie. They each had a plate in front of them piled high with sandwiches, and in the centre of the table was a huge golden-brown apple pie. ‘I’ve heard about the girls falling for the two little pigs.’ The farmer grinned, his white teeth standing out against a tanned face. ‘The thing is, pigs don’t teach their children to use the lavatory.’
Tess digested this piece of information before saying, ‘Perhaps the mother pigs weren’t taught by their mothers, so you can’t really blame them.’
As Tom stared into the big hazel eyes, he told himself that here was a girl who would never think ill of anyone. ‘Now why didn’t I think of that, Tess?’
‘Because you’re very busy in the fields and can’t be expected to think of everything.’
Ann put her hands on her daughter’s shoulders. ‘Mr Thomas hasn’t got long, so shall we ask if he’d be kind enough to have his photograph taken with us, and then we’ll leave him in peace?’
‘I’d be delighted, as long as you don’t mind me looking like a tramp.’
‘You don’t look like a tramp,’ Maddy told him. ‘You look like a farmer should look.’
So with Alfie doing the honours, the two families had their photograph taken outside the farmhouse door, and another standing by the tractor. The last one was a special request from Tess.
‘You can stay and have some lunch, surely?’ Brenda asked. ‘I’ve plenty of food in.’
‘Thank you, you’re very kind, but Mrs Owen has prepared a picnic for us.’ Ann pointed to the bag standing at the side of her husband’s chair. ‘She said there’s a stream not far from the village, and a waterfall, so we’ll go there for our picnic.’
Grace and Alan looked disappointed. ‘There’s a wood just up the road from here, and there’s rabbits and squirrels galore,’ Grace said. ‘You’d like it, Maddy.’
‘I have an idea,’ Brenda said, ‘if it meets with the approval of Mr and Mrs Richardson. I could prepare a picnic tomorrow and we could all go to the woods. It would make a nice change for me to get out.’
Maddy and Tess spoke in unison. ‘Oh, yes, Mam, we’d love that!’
‘It would be very nice indeed and I’d like nothing better,’ Ann said. ‘But we can’t keep taking from people and giving nothing back. So perhaps I can contribute towards the food for the picnic tomorrow, Brenda?’
It was Tom who answered. ‘The wife would be insulted if you insisted on that. She’s got enough food in her larder right now to feed an army. If you don’t eat it, the pigs will, and they really don’t appreciate her cooking. Not once have they passed her a compliment, even on her delicious apple pies.’
‘That’s settled then,’ Brenda said. ‘But tell Gwen tonight, just in case she decides to make you up a picnic in the morning. Don’t worry about her taking offence, because we’re very good friends. She’s one of the nicest people you’re ever likely to meet, but don’t tell her I said so in case she gets big-headed.’
‘Why can’t Mrs Gwen come with us tomorrow?’ Tess asked. ‘That would be nice, wouldn’t it? I like Mrs Gwen, she doesn’t half make me laugh, and we’d all be friends together having a nice time.’
‘I should have thought of that,’ Brenda said, fighting back a desire to hug the girl, who had pulled on her heartstrings since the minute she’d set eyes on her. ‘I’ll walk down later and ask her. I know she’ll be pleased because like myself she doesn’t have much social life.’
‘There you are,’ Tess beamed, ‘everybody’s happy now, except poor Mr Tom.’ She put a hand on his arm and sounded as though she really felt for him. ‘We’re all sorry for you, and if we could help we would. But Mam and Dad don’t know anything about being a farmer, and me and Maddy, we’d be in the way. But you have got your tractor to drive, that should make up for some of the fun you’ll miss. I know I’d love to drive a tractor when I’m older.’
‘And I’d love to teach you, bach, and your sister.’ Tom could see there was no envy in Maddy’s eyes for the attention her sister was getting, and there weren’t many children who wouldn’t be jealous and feel left out. She was a very special sister, was Maddy. ‘We can’t leave the brown-eyed beauty out.’
Maddy’s giggle echoed on the stone walls. ‘If I was to say the sun must have gone to your head, Mr Tom, my mam would tell me off for being forward, so I won’t say it.’
Tess pulled on his arm. ‘What did you call me, Mr Tom? It sounded like “bark” and I don’t know why you’d call me that.’
‘Not bark, Tess, but bach.’ Tom repeated the word several times until the girl had got it right. ‘It means “dear”, or “love”, in Welsh.’
‘I thought you’d all be speaking in Welsh,’ Maddy said. ‘I was afraid we wouldn’t know what you were saying.’
‘We speak it sometimes when we’re on our own, but never in company because it’s bad manners. Anyway, with living so near the English border we hear more English than Welsh, and we’ve got l
azy about our own language. Go into the heart of Wales, though, in the small villages, and you’ll hear nothing but Welsh spoken.’
Tess could see by her mother’s darting eyes she was anxious they were being a nuisance and stopping the farmer from eating his lunch, and any minute she’d be saying it was time for them to leave. And the mischief in Tess wanted to leave them with a smile on their faces. So she struck up a posh pose and said, ‘Alan, bach, will you carry that bag to the gate for us, please? Thank you, bach, you are very kind.’
She didn’t only leave them with a smile on their faces; she left them believing the world wasn’t such a bad place after all.
Chapter Six
It was after six o’clock before Brenda found the time to go to Rose Cottage, and knowing the Richardsons would be having their meal, she went down the side of the house to the kitchen. Through the window she could see Gwen standing at the sink up to her elbows in water, and she rapped on the window. ‘I know it’s a bad time, so I won’t hold you up.’
‘Five minutes isn’t going to make any difference, so sit yourself down.’ Gwen reached for a towel to dry her hands. ‘I’ll pour you a drink, the tea’s fresh, it’s just been made.’
Brenda sat on the wooden kitchen chair and crossed her legs. ‘I won’t have a drink, you’ve enough to do. I only came down to ask about the picnic tomorrow. I suppose they’ve told you about it?’
‘The girls are full of it and I got a big hug when I said I’d love to go with you. But it’s quite a walk from here to the woods, Brenda, and I think young Tess would find it a bit too much. She looked worn out and as white as a sheet when they got in before, and I could see Ann was really worried. But, God love the lass, she insisted she was all right and not a bit tired. You could tell she was frightened of the picnic being cancelled.’
‘My two would go mad if it was cancelled, they’re really looking forward to it.’ Brenda changed her mind about a cup of tea and left the chair to reach for one of the cups on the dresser. ‘I’ll have a drink after all. D’you mind if I pour?’
‘It wouldn’t make any difference if I did, you’d still go ahead.’ Gwen plonked another cup down. ‘You may as well do the honours for me while you’re at it.’
‘Where’s Mered?’
‘He’s having his dinner in the dining room with the family. I made roast beef and Yorkshire pudding today and they’re really tucking into it. I had mine earlier so I could wash the dishes as they finished with them, save them piling high out here. I’ve made trifle for afters, so I’ll sit and have some of that with them.’ Gwen tried to perch on the end of the table but her bottom slipped off. Not one to give up, she had another go. But when her bottom slipped off again and tea splashed down her pinny, she gave up. ‘I’m sure this table has got it in for me. But I’ll beat it one of these days, when it’s least expecting it.’
Brenda grinned. ‘D’you think it’s trying to tell you something? Like a table isn’t the right place for a backside?’
‘Ay, watch it, you! I’ll have you know my backside is scrubbed every morning, same as the table. And I put a clean pair of knickers on every day without fail. But leaving my posterior aside for now, what about tomorrow?’
‘I’ve come up with the solution, but don’t tell the family, I want it to be a surprise. Grace and Alan can walk to the woods because it’s only half the distance from our house it is from here. And I’ll bring Goldie with the trap to pick the five of you up from here. How does that sound to you?’
‘Brilliant, bloody brilliant! Oh, Maddy and Tess will be thrilled to bits. I won’t say a word, I promise, ’cos I want to see their faces when you turn up. Me and Mered have really taken to this family, we get on so well. All the time I’ve been taking in visitors, we’ve never laughed as much as we did last night. The two girls are so funny, they had us in stitches.’
‘They’re lovely girls, both of them.’ Brenda crossed to the sink and let her cup fall into the soapy water. ‘Tess catches the eye, and the heart, with her pretty face which is so trusting and innocent. But Maddy deserves a lot of praise for the way she looks after her sister. She doesn’t resent taking a back seat, and I find that very touching. I bet she’s got a good head on her shoulders as well.’
Gwen nodded. ‘I believe she does very well at school, always near the top of her class. She must take after her mother, ’cos Ann was a teacher before she got married. She was teaching in an infants’ school when she met George and they started courting. He got called up for the army in nineteen fifteen, and apart from one leave she didn’t see him again until the war was over in nineteen eighteen. They got married, she gave up teaching and Maddy was born the year after.’
Brenda’s mouth gaped. ‘In the name of God, do they talk a lot or are you just plain nosy?’
‘Neither, my dear, it all came out in the course of conversation. Just being friendly, that’s all. You wouldn’t expect me to sit with my mouth closed, would you? I find it very interesting discovering how other people live. Particularly if I like the people.’
‘Did you find out where George works, and how much a week he gets?’
‘Sarcasm doesn’t become you, Mrs Thomas.’ Gwen’s whole body began to shake with laughter. ‘I’ll find that out tonight when the children are in bed and we’re having our night-time cup of cocoa.’ She put a hand to her chest and waited for a few seconds to compose herself. ‘Joking aside, they’re a lovely family but I think they’re struggling for money. Listening to the girls, this short holiday is the first they’ve ever had. So I intend to make it one they’ll remember for a long time.’
‘You’re an old softie at heart, aren’t you? But I’ll help your cause where I can. They’ve only got two days left, so together we’ll make them a memorable two days. And we can do it without it costing them, or us, a penny.’ Brenda gave her a hug. ‘You see to your guests and I’ll get back home to my lot. Say eleven in the morning, that should give them time to have a leisurely breakfast. And I’ll bring the picnic so you don’t have to bother.’
Gwen walked behind her. ‘Isn’t it funny, I’ve got a feeling you’ll be bringing apple and rhubarb pies which are almost as good as mine.’
‘Go in before I clock you one, you cheeky devil.’ Brenda waved as she walked down the path. ‘Ta-ra, bach.’
‘Ta-ra, love. Sleep well.’
‘What time did Mrs Thomas say she’d be here?’ Tess asked for the umpteenth time. ‘Was it eleven?’
Before Gwen had time to answer, Maddy said, ‘I wonder why she’s coming down here? It means she’s got to walk all the way back.’
‘Perhaps she needs something from a shop in the village. But she’ll be here any minute, she won’t let you down.’ Because she was listening for it, Gwen’s quick ear heard the clip-clop of a horse. ‘Shall we go outside and wait for her?’
The mad scramble for the door had George laughing and his wife tutting. ‘Really, they’d make a holy show of us.’
Gwen stood behind them and put a hand on each of their backs. ‘Out you go,’ she said, pushing them forward, ‘then I can lock the door behind me.’
They were halfway down the hall when they heard the shrieks. ‘You’ll have to have a word with them, George, they’re getting . . .’ Ann’s words petered out when she saw the rear end of a horse outside the gate. ‘That looks like Goldie!’
Gwen herded her and George on to the path before banging the front door and giving it a little push to make sure it was closed properly. And with a proud shake of her head she said, ‘It is Goldie, we’re going to the picnic in style.’
‘Oh, isn’t that wonderful!’ Ann rushed to see her daughters already sitting on one of the side seats of the trap, and the expression on their faces was a joy to behold. ‘Good morning, Brenda. This is very kind of you, it’s the last thing we expected.’
‘I knew about it last night.’ Gwen pulled a face at Brenda as much as to say she could keep a secret as good as the next man. ‘But we wanted to surprise the girls.’<
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‘You’ve certainly done that, just look at them.’ Ann was feeling very emotional. ‘I can’t tell you how much me and George appreciate what the Owen and Thomas families are doing to make sure our daughters, and ourselves of course, have a holiday they’ll always remember.’
‘We’re doing ourselves a favour too, don’t forget. Gwen and I don’t often get the opportunity for a picnic, not with our men working seven days a week through the summer months. So hop on board and let’s have a wonderful day out.’ Brenda walked to the back door of the trap. ‘One of the girls can sit in the front with me, that will give you more room.’
The girls thought their hearts would burst. To ride in the front, behind Goldie, was more than they’d ever dreamed of. But they cared for each other too much to be selfish and try to be first. It was Brenda who solved the problem. ‘Maddy’s the oldest so she can sit in the front until we get to our farm, which is about halfway. Then she can swap with Tess. And once we get in the country lane, I’ll let you hold Goldie’s reins.’
‘Is Grace at the farm?’ Maddy asked.
‘No, she’s walked on with Alan. They think nothing of walking that distance, they do it every day going to school. And we couldn’t fit everyone in the trap anyway, it would be too much for the horse.’
From the moment Brenda told Goldie to ‘gee-up’, the day became one of excitement, magic and laughter. When they reached a grassy slope on the edge of the woods, Grace and Alan were waiting for them. And no sooner had Maddy climbed down from the trap than her hand was taken by Grace and she was led into the woods. Their voices and laughter could be heard, but it didn’t tempt Tess to follow them because it looked dark and eerie and she was afraid of creepy-crawlies. Alan stayed with her, pointing out the rabbits and squirrels that darted between the trees. The grown-ups had found themselves a spot on the grassy slope and were sitting on blankets Brenda had thoughtfully brought along. They found plenty to talk about, and were quite content to laze with the sun shining down on them and listen to the sound of birds singing and the voices of the children.