Many a Tear has to Fall

by Joan Jonker

  ‘Well I declare!’ To say Milly was surprised would be an understatement. She loved Tess dearly, but if she was honest she’d have to say she’d never expected the girl to get anywhere because of her always being sickly and acting childish. Yet here she was, miles ahead of everybody else in the family, who had never achieved anything like this. ‘Well, she’s knocked spots off every one of us, and I’m so pleased because it couldn’t have happened to a nicer girl. I bet she’s over the moon. I know Ken will be, and the kids, because they think the world of Tess. And Madelaine of course, they don’t make fish of one and flesh of the other. It’s just that Tess has always been so frail and that made her sort of special.’

  ‘She’s thrilled about this move. Anyone would think we were moving to a palace,’ Ann said, remembering Theresa’s face with egg yolk running down her chin. ‘I hope the gilt doesn’t wear off the gingerbread too quickly.’

  ‘Keep her away from the cow next door, I believe her language is enough to turn the air blue. Yer don’t want the girls listening to that sort of thing.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ll make sure of that! If she as much as lays a hand on either of my girls I’ll get the broom to her. I believe she’s only small, so I should be able to hold my own.’

  Milly huffed. ‘Don’t forget, girl, poison comes in small bottles.’

  ‘So does perfume. Perhaps we’ll be able to change her from a wicked devil to a sweet-smelling angel.’ Ann reached for her coat, which she’d slipped off when she came in so she’d feel the benefit of it when she went out into the cold. ‘I’d better make an effort, I’d like to be home for the girls because it gets dark early now and I worry about Madelaine standing on a chair to light the gas.’ She slipped her arms into her coat and buttoned it up to the neck. ‘If I can’t get down before, I’ll do what you suggested and ask Lizzie to give you a knock and tell you what time the van is likely to arrive at Willard Street. We would be grateful for your help, Milly.’

  ‘We’ll be there, kid, don’t worry. If we all muck in, yer should be settled in no time.’

  Lizzie stepped off the tram on Friday night after work, and made her way to the corner shop. She pushed the shop door open and rubbed her hands when she felt the warmth fan her face. ‘Good evening, Bertram, I hope ye’re in good form.’

  ‘Oh God, here she comes.’ Bert Green winked across to his wife, who was serving a customer at the side counter. ‘Lizzie’s being polite, Lily, which means she’s after something. Would you like to serve her and I’ll see to Mrs Bentley?’

  ‘Oh, ay, soft lad, what d’yer think I am? I’ve got a nice quiet customer here that won’t give me no trouble, and you want me to swap her for Lizzie Ferguson! I’d need me flippin’ head testing.’

  ‘That’s charming that is,’ Lizzie said, looking suitably put out. ‘If that’s the way yer feel about it I’d better take me bleedin’ custom elsewhere, where I’ll be appreciated.’

  ‘Oh no, there’s no need for that, Lizzie, that’s very thoughtless of yer. Yer know me and Lily are saving up to be rich and are counting every penny. And your pennies are as good as anyone else’s, so just tell me what yer want and I’ll give yer me full attention.’

  Lizzie was dying to laugh. Either she or Bert were going to get their eye wiped and she was hoping it wouldn’t be her. ‘Have yer got any tea chests?’

  The shopkeeper thought she was having him on and he burst out laughing. ‘A laugh a minute you are, Lizzie. Now tell us what yer really want.’

  ‘I’ve asked yer once, and I’ll ask yer again. Have yer got any tea chests?’

  By this time Lily had stopped serving so she could listen, and her customer was so interested she forgot what she’d come in for.

  Bert tried to keep his patience. ‘Come on, Lizzie, stop messing about, I’ve got shelves to stack. Just tell us what yer want.’

  ‘I’ll say it once more, Bert Green, and if yer don’t give me an answer I’ll come behind that counter and clock yer one. Now I’ll say it slowly so yer’ve no excuse for pretending yer don’t know what I’m talking about. Have . . . you . . . got . . . any . . . tea . . . chests?’

  ‘Lizzie, we sell everything under the sun, except tea chests.’

  ‘I don’t want yer to sell me one, yer daft nit, I want yer to lend me one!’

  By this time Lily and her customer were in stitches. Well, there was nothing better to warm you up on a cold night than a good belly laugh.

  ‘D’yer mean yer’ve no intention of buying anything, ye’re on the cadge?’

  ‘Now, Bert, keep yer hair on. When yer tell me I can borrow one of them tea chests I’ve seen in yer stock room with me very own eyes, then I’ll tell yer whether I’m going to buy anything or not.’

  ‘That’s blackmail! All you’ve got to do is say yer’ll buy something if I lend yer a tea chest. But if I’m soft enough to say of course yer can borrow one of me tea chests, you could turn round and buy a flippin’ ha’penny box of matches! How soft you are!’

  Lizzie knew this was all just talk, that in the end she’d get what she wanted. And she was fully aware that Bert knew. And his wife and the customer she’d been halfway through serving when all this started, they knew. But a little bit of haggling did no harm and gave everyone a laugh. ‘Ye’re wrong on all counts, Bert. Yer see, I was going to ask you for the loan of two tea chests, not one. And I wasn’t going to buy a ha’penny box of matches, I was about to purchase five Woodbines for my feller. So there, smart-arse!’

  ‘I’d give in gracefully if I were you, Bert,’ Lily called. ‘Because yer don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of winning.’

  ‘Don’t yer think I know that? But I can’t get over the cheek of it! I mean, I’d have loaned her one of the chests as a friendly gesture, but the greedy woman’s not satisfied with one, she wants two!’

  Lizzie’s voice was as sweet as honey when she said, ‘But I’m not asking for the impossible, Bert, am I? I mean, yer’ve got two chests in the storeroom standing there doing nothing! I’d be doing yer a favour, really, by getting them out of yer way for a week.’

  ‘A week! Yer want them for a whole week? I use them chests, Lizzie Ferguson, I keep stock in them.’

  ‘Eight days really, Bert, I won’t lie to yer. But before yer tear out what little hair yer’ve got on yer head, let me explain. Yer see, they’re not for me, they’re for a mate who’s moving into Peggy Caldwell’s house next Saturday. And she could turn out to be a good customer for yer, Bert, ’cos she’s got two kids who like sweets.’

  ‘They won’t be customers for long, though, will they? They’ll be out of there after a week when Nellie Bingham starts her shenanigans. There’s not much point in me doing a favour to someone I won’t have time to get to know.’

  Lizzie, who had been leaning on the counter, now stood to attention. ‘My feller will be wondering where his dinner is. So make it snappy, can I borrow those two chests or not?’

  ‘Oh, I suppose so, or I’ll never hear the last of it. But how are yer going to get them to yer friend’s house? They’re bloody big things, yer know, and they’re heavy.’

  ‘That’s for me to worry about, but by hook or by crook I’ll get them there.’ Lizzie gave him a beaming smile. ‘You’re a cracker, Bert, one of me very favourite men. I knew yer wouldn’t let me down. Now yer can give me ten Woodbines for my feller and quarter of mint imperials for meself. While he’s puffing, I’ll be sucking.’

  It was Saturday afternoon, and when the knocker sounded Tess was off her chair like a shot from a gun. ‘This will be Mrs Lizzie, I’ll go.’ There was a smile of pleasant anticipation on her face when she opened the door. But at the sight that met her eyes the smile faded as her mouth gaped. Mrs Lizzie was standing on the path, but on the pavement outside there stood a battered old pram with a huge tea chest on top. And holding on to the chest on either side were two young boys about the same age as herself.

  ‘Don’t stand there with yer mouth open, queen, or yer’ll be catching flies
. Go and ask yer mam and dad to give us a hand, will yer?’

  George heard the familiar voice and came to the door with Ann and Maddy on his heels. He looked from Lizzie to where the pram stood. It was worn and battered and one of the back wheels was buckled. Laughter in his voice, he asked, ‘You haven’t wheeled that thing, have you, Lizzie? It’s falling to pieces!’

  Lizzie bristled. Her shoulders were in motion and her jaw set. ‘Well I didn’t carry the bleedin’ thing on me back, George. Now, do yer want the tea chest, or don’t yer want the ruddy tea chest?’

  Ann pushed her husband aside. ‘Oh, yes, Lizzie, I’d be made up with it! But you shouldn’t have pushed it all this way. If you’d told me I would have come down and helped you.’

  ‘The two lads have done all the hard work, all I did was try to keep the ruddy thing in a straight line. Now if yer’ll give a hand to get it in, the lads are going back to pick another one up.’

  Ann gasped. ‘You mean you’ve managed to get two of them?’

  ‘I don’t do things by halves, queen, it’s all or nothing. I’ve got them on loan from one of the local shops, and I promised he’d get them back in good nick. Now come on, all hands to the pumps so the lads can get away.’

  One of the lads said, ‘Me and Billy can carry it in between us, Mrs Ferguson.’ And showing off in front of Tess and Maddy, he pulled himself to his full height and added, ‘They’re not that heavy, we can do it easy.’

  ‘Oh well, let’s clear the way for the workers then.’ Lizzie grinned when she saw young Billy eyeing Tess up. ‘Outside everyone, so they can get in.’

  The family trooped out to give the boys room, and as they heaved the chest off the pram, the older boy, fourteen-year-old James Cobden, winked at Lizzie. ‘Don’t let anyone pinch the pram, Mrs Ferguson.’

  ‘Blimey, son, yer’d have to pay someone to take it away!’

  George and the girls followed the lads down the hall to tell them where to put the chest, while the two women stayed on the path. ‘Lizzie, you’re an angel, they’ll solve all my problems. But what made you think about getting them?’

  ‘I asked George if yer had any packing cases and he said yer were going round the shops this afternoon to cadge some cardboard boxes. So I thought, to hell with that, yer needed something stronger than cardboard boxes. Yer’ll get everything in the two tea chests so they’ll be easier to unpack.’

  Ann put her arms around her and kissed her. ‘Lizzie, what would I do without you? You really are an angel.’

  ‘Listen, queen, when yer say that, would yer mind looking up to heaven so He can hear yer? I might need references to get a place up there when me time comes. As they say, self-praise is no recommendation, so I’ll need a little help from me friends.’

  Chapter Seventeen

  At last the day had arrived and Ann had been very busy since the crack of dawn. All the packing had been done except for the few dishes they’d need for their lunch. The house looked lonely and sad with all the pictures, mirrors and ornaments packed away, and Ann couldn’t help feeling sad herself. She’d known a lot of happiness and love with her husband in this house, and with the children when they came along. It was going to be a wrench walking out of the front door for the last time.

  She was taken away from her thoughts when the girls burst into the room. ‘We’ve gone through every room, Mam,’ Maddy said. ‘Looked in every nook and cranny and there’s nothing been left behind.’

  ‘You’ve both been very good, I couldn’t have managed without you. Now all I’ve got to do is clean myself up a bit and comb my hair.’

  ‘I’ll get the mirror for you, Mam.’ Tess was white-faced with excitement. ‘It’s only standing in the hall, I can put it back again when you’ve finished with it. You can’t titivate yourself up if you’ve no mirror to look in.’ She ran into the hall, and when she reappeared she was bent double under the weight of the heavy old mirror which had once belonged to Ann’s parents. ‘Give us a hand, Maddy, to stand it on the mantelpiece so our mam can see herself in it. She wants to look her best when she meets her new neighbours.’

  God love her, Ann thought, she’s in for a shock. But there’s no point in telling her now and spoiling the day for her. The time to face trouble is when it comes, not before. She took a comb from her handbag and went to stand in front of the fireplace. Her hair was hanging down past her shoulders because she hadn’t bothered with it this morning, there were more important things needed doing. She ran the comb through it several times to untangle any knots, then made a middle parting from her forehead to the nape of her neck. Then she took the hair from one side and began to plait it, ready for twisting into a bun. She could see the reflection of the girls in the mirror, sitting quietly watching her. Maddy because she’d nothing else to do. She’d said goodbye to her friends last night, even though she’d see most of them in school on Monday. Tess was leaning forward, interest in her eyes. And Ann felt a bit guilty when she remembered she’d once told Theresa she would teach her how to plait her hair, and never had. Her daughter mustn’t have been so keen anyway, otherwise she would have asked.

  Ann was laying the plait on her shoulder when she happened to glance in the mirror again. This time the expression on her younger daughter’s face caught her attention. It reminded her of the times they’d looked in a shop window and Theresa had seen something she liked but which they couldn’t afford. It wasn’t an expression of greed, more like a longing. Then remembered words suddenly came back to run through Ann’s mind. ‘You’d look much prettier if you wore your hair loose, Mam.’ And another time, ‘None of the women in the street have hair this long. You could get it cut, though, and then you’d look nice.’

  Ann stared at herself in the mirror as she fingered the loose hair waiting to be plaited. Then a further look at her daughter’s reflection in the mirror brought her to a quick decision. They were moving into a new house; perhaps it was time for her to move on to something different. Off with the old, on with the new. ‘Madelaine, I don’t suppose you can remember where we packed the scissors? Would they be easy to get to?’

  Tess stared at her mother and the hair she was fingering. And she sprang to her feet. ‘I know where they are, Mam, they’re in the canvas bag on top of one of the chests. I’ll soon find them for you.’

  Maddy looked puzzled. ‘What d’you want them for, Mam?’

  ‘You’ll see.’ Ann grinned when Tess came flying in with the scissors in her hand. And she could tell her daughter knew what she had in mind. ‘I would like my hair cutting, but I can’t do it myself, it would be all skew-whiff. So, any offers?’

  Maddy gasped. ‘You’re not cutting your hair off, are you, Mam? What are you doing that for, our Dad will go mad!’

  ‘No he won’t, because I mentioned it to him once before and he seemed quite pleased. So who’ll volunteer to give the first snip?’

  ‘I’ll do it, Mam.’ Tess sounded eager. ‘I’ve never cut hair before but I’ll do my best.’

  Maddy’s eyes rolled. ‘You should get it done properly, at the hairdresser’s. I’d be frightened of making a mess of it.’

  ‘I don’t have time to go to the hairdresser’s, nor do I have the money to spare. And now I have made up my mind, I would like it doing before we move. So who is best at cutting in a very straight line?’

  Tess had to admit defeat. ‘Maddy can cut straight, my lines go all wonky.’

  But her sister didn’t like the idea. ‘Mam, I don’t want to get the blame if it looks a mess.’

  ‘If it looks a mess it will be my own fault, Madelaine, you won’t get the blame. If we just decide what length would suit me best, all you need to do is cut it even all round. I’m willing to take a chance, so won’t you?’

  Maddy took a deep breath then let it out slowly. ‘If it’s what you want, then on your own head be it. I’ll get a newspaper to put the hair on, save it going on the floor.’

  George stood back in amazement. ‘Who is this pretty young lady? I’ve never
seen her before, girls, is she a friend of yours?’

  Tess giggled. ‘Doesn’t she look nice, Dad?’

  George stared at his wife, who looked years younger. Her hair was cut in a bob, just below her ears, and it had fallen into soft waves. ‘Your mother looks more than nice, she looks very lovely. The style suits her.’

  Ann felt both relieved and satisfied. ‘Madelaine’s made a very good job of it, don’t you think? I’ve told her she should consider hairdressing when she leaves school.’

  ‘I didn’t want to do it, Dad, in case I made a mess of it.’ Maddy was chuffed with herself now her work had been given the seal of approval. ‘I was frightened of her not liking it and asking me to stick it back on again.’

  Tess’s infectious giggle rang out. ‘If you’d had to stick all the hairs back on, Maddy, it would have taken you a hundred years.’

  ‘I think your sister has done an excellent job, very professional. I think I’ll let her cut my hair in future.’ George looked around the room. ‘I see you’ve got everything organised, love, you must have worked very hard.’

  ‘Oh, I didn’t do it alone, I had two willing workers. But doesn’t the place look lonely and bare? It doesn’t look like our home any more.’

  ‘Not having regrets, are you, love?’

  ‘I’ll feel sad when I’m walking out of the door, but that’s only natural after all these years. I wouldn’t be normal if I didn’t feel sad. But I don’t have any regrets because I think life is going to be better for us. We’ll be able to get out and enjoy ourselves. Like going to the pictures or a ferry ride across to New Brighton. It’s a long time since we did things like that.’ She nodded her head. ‘Yes, George, life will be a lot easier for all of us.’

  ‘Well, what’s the agenda for this afternoon?’

  ‘As we planned. When I’ve put your dinner out, me and the girls are going to make our way down to Willard Street. We’ve had something to eat and our dishes have been washed and packed away. You’re staying behind until the van comes and I hope you’ll keep an eye on the men, see they’re careful with the furniture and those chests with all the breakables in. Then when the house is empty, make sure the doors are closed back and front. You won’t be able to go out and come back in again, as you know, ’cos I gave the keys to the rent collector yesterday. The men did say they’d bring you down in the van, didn’t they?’