by Joan Jonker
‘Well I didn’t! You probably think I’m as thick as two short planks, but I honestly thought the rent I paid you was for the week you came. Oh, I do hope you’re right.’
He chuckled. ‘I wouldn’t last long in this job if I was giving money to people who weren’t entitled to it. No, you can rest assured that next Friday I’ll only be holding my hand out for four shillings.’ He closed his book, keeping a finger in the place he was up to. ‘I’ll be very sorry to see you go, very sorry indeed. You were always in, so I didn’t have to come twice like I do with some people. And you always had the correct money ready, which is a help.’
‘I should have moved weeks ago, instead of getting myself into debt, but I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving this house. The girls were born and brought up here, and it holds a lot of memories. But memories don’t put bread on the table, Bob, nor do they pay the rent or the coal man. So I’ve got to learn to live within my means. And the house I’ve managed to get in Willard Street has been cared for and doesn’t need a thing doing to it. So I’m learning to live with the idea. And I’ve got a good friend living in the street and my in-laws live nearby.’
‘Well I wish you luck in your new home. But I’ll see you next Friday, same time.’
As he moved away, Ann couldn’t resist asking, ‘You are sure about the rent, aren’t you? I’d hate to spend it and then find myself in trouble.’
‘I’m positive.’ Bob nodded to the rent book in her hand. ‘Read the first page and you’ll see the terms of your tenancy. But you must be out of the house on the Saturday. If you’re still here on the Monday Mr Cosgrove will be down on you like a ton of bricks.’
‘We’ll be out, the removal van is already booked. And thanks, Bob, you’re an angel. I’d kiss you if it weren’t for giving the neighbours something to talk about.’ Ann closed the door on his chuckle and hummed as she walked through to the living room. She sat at the table and opened her rent book. On the back of the front cover the terms of tenancy were printed. And yes, her rent was paid weekly in advance. She would never have thought of it because it was over fifteen years since they’d moved in. But casting her mind back now, she could remember going down to the office for the keys and having to pay a week’s money over the counter.
Ann held the rent book to her chest. What a blessing it was, the answer to all her problems. Wait until she told George, he’d be over the moon.
‘What’s to eat, Mam?’ Maddy asked, throwing her coat over the arm of the couch. ‘I’m starving.’
‘Poached egg on toast,’ Ann called from the kitchen. ‘How does that sound?’
‘Sounds good to me!’ Tess threw her coat on top of her sister’s. ‘My tummy’s rumbling.’
‘It’s almost ready, so sit yourselves down.’ Ann was smiling when she carried the plates through and she was humming softly. ‘Golden toast and runny egg, just the way you like it.’
‘You look happy, Mam,’ Maddy said. ‘Has something nice happened?’
The girls knew nothing about the rent arrears and Ann thought they were too young to be told such things. ‘I’ve made up my mind that I’m not going to worry about the packing or anything else, it only gives me a headache. I’ll just go at my own pace, doing so much each day. And with your help I know we’ll be well organised when next Saturday comes.’ She went out to get her own plate. ‘I’m going down to Willard Street, as you know, and to see Auntie Milly. So I’ll walk part way with you.’
Maddy gave her sister a nudge. ‘Haven’t you got something to tell our mam?’
‘Ooh, er, I nearly forgot.’ Tess, her eyes wide, leaned across the table. ‘Miss Bond asked if you would call in to sign a paper?’
‘It’s a contract, Mam, from the magazine,’ Maddy explained. ‘You have to sign it for Tess, with her being too young.’
‘In that case I’ll come to the school with you, it’s not far out of the way. But just in case I’m not back when you get home from school, I’ll give you a spare key, Madelaine. I’ll try to be back, but you never know what crops up and I don’t want you hanging around in the cold.’
Tess saw moving to Willard Street as a big adventure. It was all she thought about and she’d told everyone in her class, and Miss Harrison. Right now she was swinging her legs back to kick the bottom of her chair, and egg yolk was running down her chin. ‘Saturday tomorrow, Mrs Lizzie will be coming. I hope she’s had an argument with the rose and makes us all laugh.’
‘Theresa, you’ve got egg yolk on your chin, go and wipe your face.’
‘I’ve only got one more mouthful, Mam, I may as well eat it before I wash my face, otherwise it will be a waste of time.’
Ann shook her head. You really couldn’t argue with that. ‘Hurry up then, I don’t want us to be late and me having to run to keep up with you. My legs aren’t as young as yours.’
Tess giggled. ‘Me and Maddy will give you a piggy-back.’
‘Ay, you speak for yourself!’ Maddy feigned indignation. ‘If Mam jumped on my back I’d collapse. Anyway, we’d never get to school at that rate.’
‘And we’ll never get there if you two don’t stop talking.’ Ann lifted her dirty plate and used a hand to push herself up. ‘Now get a move on so I can wash the plates before we go out. I can’t abide coming home to dirty dishes.’
‘I don’t know why you worry, Mam,’ Maddy said, ‘when no one can see them.’
‘No, but I know they’re there and that’s enough for me. So come on, get moving.’
‘I just need you to sign this contract, Mrs Richardson, on behalf of Theresa.’ Miss Bond opened a drawer in her desk and took out a large envelope. The contract she drew from the envelope consisted of three pages. Ann read it through before signing, but all it said was that the magazines were buying the rights to print the article by Theresa Richardson and for that they were paying her the sum of five shillings. It would be printed in fifty thousand copies on the twenty-second of December.
‘Fifty thousand copies!’ Ann gasped. ‘So fifty thousand people will read Theresa’s work, isn’t that wonderful!’
‘More than that,’ Miss Bond said. ‘Magazines are usually read by more than one member of the family before being passed on to friends. I think you could easily double that number.’ She pointed to a line on the bottom of the third page. ‘Will you sign your name there, and underneath write “on behalf of Theresa Richardson”.’
Ann didn’t hesitate, thinking of the calls she had to make. ‘I must remember to tell our friends in Wales so they can buy a copy.’
She was getting to her feet when the headmistress took another, smaller envelope from the desk drawer. ‘This is the postal order for five shillings. It’s made out to you so you’ll have no problem drawing it at any post office.’
Ann sat down heavily. Surely she was still in bed and all this was a dream? But Miss Bond looked real enough as she leaned across the desk inviting Ann to take the envelope from her outstretched hand. ‘This is a surprise, I wasn’t expecting it so soon.’
‘My friend brought the envelopes this morning. And apparently the editor of the magazine said they would consider reading anything that Theresa writes in the future. That must make you feel very proud of her.’
‘Yes, I am proud of her. But I’m also very proud of Madelaine, because it was she who taught Theresa how to read and write. When Theresa was off school so often through sickness, I tried to teach her, giving her lessons every day. But since I’m her mother she tried too hard to please, and was afraid of getting her sums wrong or spelling a word incorrectly. And it was Madelaine who realised you couldn’t be a mother and a teacher at the same time, and she had the courage to speak out. Thank God she did, because Theresa’s health was suffering, as was her education. So my younger daughter’s progress in every aspect of life is through Madelaine’s love for her sister, and her patience and sense of fun.’
‘And the love and devotion of her parents. It’s plain to see she adores both you and your husband.’ Miss Bond
could see tears weren’t far off and sought to terminate the visit. ‘Theresa told me you were moving house and I wish you good fortune in your new home.’ She walked with Ann to the door. ‘Thank you for coming in.’
With the envelope still in her hand, Ann felt as though she was walking in a trance. She never thought they’d make it money-wise, but now, in just a few hours, it seemed her worries were at an end. It was unbelievable, and if it wasn’t for the envelope clutched in her hand, she would probably think her imagination was playing tricks on her. It was only as she neared Willard Street that she pulled herself together, and the envelope was pushed into her pocket before she lifted the knocker on Peggy Caldwell’s front door.
‘Hello, girl, I wasn’t expecting you!’
‘I promise I won’t intrude after today, Peggy, but I wondered if you could give me the measurements for the curtains. Mine will be too long so I’ll have to turn them up. The nets should be all right, though, ’cos it doesn’t matter if they hang over the window ledge, no one will see them.’
‘I’ve just made meself a pot of tea, so come and sit down, have a cuppa to warm yer up and we can have a natter.’
Peggy left her visitor to close the door while she bustled through to the kitchen to see to the tea, and as soon as Ann walked into the room she felt at home. She sat down and the warmth enveloped her. It was much lighter and brighter than the living room in Hanford Avenue, having a window at both ends of the room, but there was more to it than that. This room seemed to glow with cheerfulness.
‘Here, that should warm you up.’ Peggy put a cup down on the table and a plate with a buttered scone on. ‘Ye’re in luck, I made a batch of these this morning. There’s nothing my feller likes better than a scone with thick butter on.’ She went back to the kitchen and returned with her own cup of tea. ‘I pinched a scone before, so I won’t have one now. But you tuck in and pretend ye’re at yer granny’s.’
‘I’ve been looking at the curtains and I don’t think there’s much difference in the length to the ones I’ve got up now. Maybe a couple of inches, that’s all, so I won’t bother altering them.’
‘A couple of inches is neither here nor there,’ Peggy said. ‘Mine are about twelve inches from the floor, so yours should be a nice length. The lino in every room is in good nick so you won’t have to worry about floor covering. I’ll give it a good scrub so it’ll be nice and clean for yer to move into.’
Ann looked surprised. ‘You’re not taking the lino with you?’
Peggy pulled a face and shook her head. ‘It’s not worth it, girl, ’cos if we tried to lift it it would tear and crack. My feller agrees, it wouldn’t be fit to put down in the house we’re going to. The landlord has agreed to let us have the keys on Thursday, so I’m going to get new lino fitted before we move in.’ She could see Ann was pleased and grinned. ‘They say once yer’ve got yer floor covered and yer curtains up, that’s the biggest worry over. So I won’t mind if yer want to bring yer curtains down one day and put them up.’
‘You really are very kind, Peggy, and I’ll take you up on your offer. What day would be best for you?’
‘Whenever suits you. But yer can’t take them down too soon and leave yerself without covering on yer windows. Yer don’t want everyone looking in at yer.’
‘Our parlour is at the front of the house, and we never use it. There’s four curtains on the windows which are never drawn, so anyone passing wouldn’t notice the difference. Even if they did, what would it matter? I’ve told my friends we’re leaving and they’re the only ones I worry about. The four curtains would do both of these windows, so I’ll put them in the dolly tub tonight and I’ll have them washed, dried and ironed in a couple of days.’ She put a hand to her mouth as a thought flashed through her mind. ‘What am I talking about! How can I hang curtains with no ladder to stand on!’
‘Have no fear, Peggy’s here!’ A wide grin covered the bonny face. ‘We’ve got a ladder in the yard. It’s as old as the hills, but safe enough if I hang on to it while you’re putting the curtains up. Where there’s a will there’s a way, girl!’
Ann sighed with contentment. ‘What say I come on Wednesday, and I’ll bring the curtains, the nets and all the wires?’ When Peggy nodded, Ann said, ‘D’you know, Peggy, this has been a lovely day.’
Milly Richardson opened the door and gaped. ‘Blimey, look what the cat dragged in! What brings you to this neck of the woods?’ She stepped aside to let her sister-in-law pass. ‘Yer’ve caught me with me feet up listening to the wireless, while me sink’s full of dirty dishes. If my feller saw me he’d call me for all the lazy sluts under the sun.’
‘I’ve got a surprise for you.’
‘I hope it’s more interesting than the play I’ve been listening to.’ Milly switched the wireless off. ‘It’s supposed to be a murder mystery, but anyone with half an ounce of sense will have guessed it’s the butler what done it.’
Ann pulled a chair out and sat down. ‘My news isn’t as exciting, I’m afraid, there’s no skulduggery involved.’
‘Couldn’t yer make something up to break the monotony? Life doesn’t half get dull.’
‘How about me telling you that we’re moving house?’
Milly snorted, ‘Blimey, can’t yer do better than that?’
‘Only if I tell you a lie. You see, we are moving house, Milly, I’m not pulling your leg.’
Her sister-in-law scratched her cheek as she studied Ann with eyes narrowed to slits. ‘If ye’re telling me the truth, what brought this about?’
Ann had no intention of telling her about the struggle they’d had over the last few months, not the full story anyway. ‘George and I discussed it a month ago because the money situation was a bit tight, and we talked of looking for a smaller place. He’s had a pay rise recently which will ease things, but when a friend told us of a house coming empty in Willard Street we decided to apply for it so we’d have money to spare every week. I went to see the landlord yesterday and he agreed to let us have the house. So we’re moving in a week tomorrow.’
Never one to mince her words, Milly said, ‘It’s about time yer came to yer ruddy senses. Yer want to start getting out and enjoying yourselves. Yer only live once, yer know, so yer’d best make the most of it.’ Again she scratched her cheek. ‘Doesn’t Lizzie Ferguson live in Willard Street? Was it her what told yer about the house?’
‘I didn’t know you knew Lizzie,’ Ann said. ‘You’ve never mentioned her before.’
‘I’ve never set eyes on the woman, it was Ken who told me. He met her at yours when he went to help bring the bed down. He knows her husband well, they’re boozing buddies. He said Lizzie’s a smashing woman, full of beans and very funny.’
‘She’s all that and more. From the day George had his accident she’s been a very good friend to me, and the girls absolutely love the bones of her. If I was ever in a fight, it would be Lizzie I’d like in my corner.’
‘Wait until I tell Ken, he’ll get a surprise. Mind you, I bet the first thing he says is that he’ll be able to go for a pint with his brother now.’ Milly was beginning to take to the idea of having relations so near. It would be somewhere to go for a cuppa and a chat, and that had to be better than listening to a lousy play on the wireless. ‘What time are yer moving in on Saturday, ’cos we’ll give yer a hand. Ken works till twelve, but I could help out.’
‘It’ll be in the afternoon after Mrs Caldwell has moved out. George has to work in the morning anyway, so we couldn’t go any earlier.’
Milly’s facial expression changed several times before settling into one of shock. ‘Ye’re not moving into Peggy Caldwell’s house, are yer?’
‘Yes, number forty-seven.’
‘Next door to Nellie Bingham’s lot?’ Milly’s voice reached a high pitch. ‘Yer want yer bumps feeling, Ann, ’cos she’ll shred yer into little pieces and spit yer out. Everyone around here knows Nellie, and everyone keeps well clear of her. They cross the road when they see her coming becaus
e if yer as much as look sideways at her, she’ll ask yer what ye’re looking at before belting yer one.’
‘I know all about the Binghams, Milly.’ Ann sighed. She might have known the day had been going too well. Something had to come along to spoil it. ‘Both Lizzie and Peggy have warned me what to expect. Even the landlord tried to put me off. But I like Peggy’s house, it’s been well cared for and is spotlessly clean. I might look as though I couldn’t stick up for myself against a bullying neighbour, but believe me, I’ll give as good as I get. I certainly won’t be put off a house I want because of her. Anyway, if it gets too rough we can always look for another house. I don’t think we’ll have to, but if push comes to shove there’s always that to fall back on. We don’t have to be tied there for life.’
‘Well, you know yer own mind best, girl, so go ahead and do what yer want. And we’ll give yer a hand next Saturday, so count us in. If ye’re too busy to slip down and let me know what time yer want us, tell Lizzie and she can give us a knock. It’s one way of getting to meet this paragon of virtue.’
Ann laughed. ‘If Lizzie heard that, she’d laugh her socks off. That’s after she’d asked you what it meant. But you’ll find out for yourself when you meet her. She’ll be coming to give a hand and I guarantee she’ll have you in stitches the whole time. Plus doing twice as much work as any of us.’
‘It’ll give me something to look forward to,’ Milly said. ‘I enjoy a good laugh. I’ve often thought how nice it would be to have me own court jester. Yer know, like the kings used to have in days gone by. I wouldn’t be cruel to them, not like the kings were. They used to chop their heads off if they didn’t make them laugh! I wouldn’t go that far, a kick up the backside would be my limit.’
‘I’ve got another surprise for you. It won’t make you laugh, but I think you’ll be pleased.’ Ann went on to tell of Tess’s good fortune in having one of her compositions printed in a magazine, and felt amply rewarded by Milly’s facial contortions. ‘And she was paid five shillings for it.’ The envelope was brought out of her pocket and waved aloft. ‘I’ve got a postal order here, made out to me ’cos I had to sign the contract, with Theresa being too young.’