‘Well, let me think. I’ve asked everyone and anyone, and all with no luck. I’ve also made enquiries about Phil Saunders, also without any luck.’
Kathleen warned him, ‘Sure I don’t know if it’s wise, bandying that divil’s name about. From what little information I’ve managed to gather on the way he is these days, he is not an article you want to mess with.’
Before he could ask the question, she informed him, ‘I already told you, I did not manage to get an address out of Judy at the time.’ She waved her hand in the air. ‘So, what next?’
‘That’s it really. I’ve pounded the streets and asked a thousand questions. I even sat in that little café where you said you met up with her; I was there for over an hour until tea was coming out my ears and the waitress seemed ready to call the police.’ He gave a huge sigh. ‘I know what you already told me, but think hard, Kathleen. Are you absolutely certain that Judy did not even give a hint as to where she and Saunders live?’
Kathleen shook her head. ‘Not in the slightest, no she did not.’
Harry had to pose the next question. ‘You would tell me, wouldn’t you?’
‘Bless you, me boy, why would I not tell you? Sure I’d have to tell ye, if only to keep you out of them boozers, and stop ye from loitering in public places. Bejaysus! It’s a blessing you weren’t already arrested, so it is.’
Kathleen did not mind him quizzing her again, because she fully understood his anxiety where Judy was concerned. Moreover, she so wanted him to find Judy. That way, the couple could talk through their problems past and present, and get things out into the open. The harsh fact that Judy was already married meant yet another barrier between any future for them, but maybe the marriage was already rotten to the core and the time was right for it to end.
There were other considerations too – Phil Saunders, for one; Kathleen suspected he was a nasty piece of work. Then there was the fact that Harry was still reeling from recent events, and was now gently bringing his son through the same trauma. On top of which he was presently settling into new employment, and was also determined to find a home for himself and the boy.
Kathleen had already mentioned how delighted she would be to have him and young Tom stay with her for ever, though she knew that was unlikely to happen. Harry Blake had been a fine, strong-minded boy, and now he had shown himself to be a man of strength and independence.
He had taken some devastating knocks of late, but Kathleen had seen how he was now ready to forge his way in the world, and she could not be more proud than if he was her own son.
‘I know you’ve things to discuss with Judy when you find her,’ Kathleen told him now. ‘I have no doubt whatsoever that ye will find her, but when you do, I want you to promise me that you’ll be careful.’
Harry was intrigued. ‘Why careful?’
‘Think about it,’ she urged. ‘Go back to when you were all young, and Phil Saunders set his cap at Judy, even when he knew she was seeing you. Right from the start, when the three of youse came to this very house one afternoon, I noticed how that young divil could not take his eyes off her.’
Harry understood what she was saying, but tried to calm her fears. ‘He fancied himself that was all.’
‘No. He was totally besotted. When you disappeared, he made a beeline straight for her – would not leave her be, not even for a minute. Then when she went away and her family with her, he was like a lost dog, standing outside where they’d lived and pacing the street as though expecting her to turn up any minute.’
Harry was shocked. ‘I never knew that.’ He had always seen Phil Saunders as a strange one, and they had clashed many times, but what Kathleen was telling him now, made him seem like someone unhinged.
‘Well, o’ course you weren’t to know,’ she went on. ‘You were gone from the area; you and Judy both.’
‘So, are you saying that I might be causing trouble for Judy if I was to seek her out? Do you think Phil would give her a hard time for talking to me – that is, if I ever did meet up with her?’ Harry’s heart sank. ‘Be honest with me, Kathleen. Do you want me to give up looking for her, because I have to tell you now, I cannot! Come what may, I have to find her!’
Kathleen pondered on his words for a moment. She knew well enough that whatever she said, Harry would not be deterred from searching for Judy, and that his sole aim was to speak with her and make peace over the way they had parted. Come what may, she knew he would turn heaven and earth upside down until he had Judy standing right before him.
‘No, o’ course I’m not saying to give it up,’ she answered emphatically. ‘All I’m saying is this … if he should catch the two of youse even talking together, he would be so insanely jealous, there’s no saying what he might do.’
‘You think I can’t handle him?’ Harry’s fists clenched by his side as he declared, ‘The truth is, if I ever find out that he has hurt one single hair on Judy’s head, I swear to God, I would have to swing for him!’
That was exactly what Kathleen was afraid of. ‘No, lad. That’s fighting talk and you don’t want that. You must think of Judy – she is his wife, don’t forget. You also have to think of your son, and even yourself. Phil Saunders is the kind of man who would sneak up on you one dark night and mow you down from behind. When you find Judy, you must say what you came to say, and let that be an end to it. Not by word nor deed should you give that man any cause to take against you.’
She pleaded with him. ‘I need your promise on that.’
When Harry was slow to respond, she asked again. ‘Harry – for the love of God, will ye promise me – for the sake of everyone, including Judy – that you will not goad that villain in any way whatsoever?’
Seeing how distressed she was becoming, Harry said, ‘All right, I promise, no fighting talk. I’ll just find her, make up for what happened back then, and …’
For some inexplicable reason, he could promise no more than that, except to assure Kathleen, ‘You’re not to concern yourself about Saunders. He won’t cause trouble. He has no reason to. I know Judy is wed to him, and I will respect that.’
He took a moment to dwell on Judy’s situation and his own part in it. ‘Yes, I will respect that … as long as he respects her!’
Surprised at his last comment, Kathleen wanted to know, ‘Why would ye say a thing like that? Why would he not respect her? Have ye heard something untoward? Or did ye discover some bad thing concerning the man himself?’ Her hands went to her hips and there she stood, like a little battleship. ‘Well, did you?’
‘I’ve heard nothing with regards to him,’ he replied, ‘except what you yourself told me a little while ago.’
Kathleen wished now that she had kept her mouth shut. There was something else though, and she was thankful she had not relayed it to Harry. It happened on the day she and Judy met.
Kathleen had not forgotten how, even when she and Judy were deep in conversation, Judy kept glancing at the café door. It was painfully obvious that she was highly nervous of something – or someone.
‘Right then.’ Harry pushed his chair back. ‘I’d best be off now. Saturday is always a busy time, and today we have a one-day sale to get shot of old stock. Jacobs is expecting a record turnout, so we’ve all been asked to come in an hour earlier.
‘A sale, eh?’ Kathleen’s old eyes lit up. ‘Sure I’ve a mind to pop along and see what ye have in the way of mantelpiece runners.’ She pointed out the frayed ends of the runner over the fire-range. ‘Would you believe, the one in the sitting room is even worse!’ she exclaimed.
‘You’d best come along and have a rummage,’ Harry suggested. ‘I’m sure there are all kinds of bits and bobs in the bargain tubs.’
‘I will, that I will.’ Kathleen was beside herself at the thought of a new runner for each of her mantelpieces. ‘I’ll fetch Tom with me an’ all,’ she told him. ‘I’ve already promised to buy him a new pair of Wellington boots. The old ones are far too small, and there are lots of puddles to splash in
.’
Going to the stairs she called the boy. ‘Tom!’ Her voice sailed to the rafters. ‘Your daddy’s away just now. If you want to say cheerio, you’d best shake a leg and get yerself down here! Some time now would be good!’
Almost immediately, there was the familiar patter of little feet running, and even before Kathleen got back to the kitchen, Tom was throwing himself into Harry’s arms. ‘Daddy! Daddy! Kathleen says she’s taking me for some new wellies.’
‘New wellies, eh?’ Harry feigned amazement. ‘My word! It seems like only yesterday that I bought you a brand new pair.’
‘But now Kathleen says they’re too small, and my feet will be all crossed and twisted if I have to wear them, so she’s getting me a new pair, so she is!’
Harry and Kathleen grinned at that. ‘Sure, you have a son who thinks he’s Irish, so ye have!’ She gave her infectious laugh, until all three of them were in uproar. ‘So she is,’ Tom kept saying. ‘So she is!’
Harry swept him up and gave him an almighty hug. ‘You’d best behave yourself, my boy – although on second thoughts, you could do worse than take after Kathleen.’
He set the boy down on his feet again. ‘I want you to do just as she tells you, and don’t let go of her hand when you’re out.’
‘Oh, no. I’m not a baby, Daddy. I go to school and everything. Why does everybody make me hold their hand all the time?’ Tom made a face. When would his Daddy realise that he was all grown up?
Harry replied in a serious voice, ‘Look, Tom, nobody’s saying you’re a baby, far from it. The reason I’m asking you to hold Kathleen’s hand is for her sake, not yours.’
The child looked puzzled. ‘Why does Kathleen need me to hold her hand?’
Harry gave an aside wink at Kathleen who was wagging a finger at him. ‘Go on then,’ she urged wickedly. ‘Tell the boy, why don’t ye?’
‘Y’see, son,’ Harry went on, ‘when people get old, they forget things, and sometimes they even forget where they are. Then they get lost altogether.’
Tom frowned. ‘Kathleen won’t get lost though, will she?’ He was almost sure about that, especially when she was standing right behind them, tutting and making a face. Everybody knew that when Kathleen tutted, she was always right, and he had never known her to get lost at all.
‘No, son. Kathleen won’t get lost,’ Harry assured him, ‘especially if you’re holding her hand. That way, you’ll always know where she is, won’t you?’
Tom had a question for Kathleen. ‘Will you get lost?’
She made a woeful face. ‘I nearly got lost once before, so yes, I suppose I might get lost again, especially if no one was holding my hand.’
‘Oh.’ Tom was taken aback by her answer. ‘So if I hold your hand, you won’t get lost then?’
‘Absolutely not!’
‘Okay.’ Tom offered his face to Harry for a kiss, which he got twice over. ‘I don’t want Kathleen to get lost, Daddy, so don’t worry. I won’t mind holding her hand.’
‘Good boy. So now I can go to work without worrying, eh?’
Before he prepared to leave, Harry got another cuddle from Tom, and a swift crafty kick in the shins from Kathleen. ‘Thank you for telling him how it is,’ she declared sweetly, ‘that I’m a poor old thing who can’t go down the street without getting lost. Sure it’s a miracle to have a grand lad like Tom, to show me the way home.’
‘Bye, Daddy.’ Tom and Kathleen walked him to the car, with Harry pretending to limp, until Kathleen gave him a sly shove and nearly sent him headfirst into the gutter. ‘Oh, dearie me!’ she told Tom. ‘Did you see yer poor old daddy? He lost his footing and nearly fell over, so he did. He must be getting old, don’t ye think?’
Tom gave a child-groan. ‘I can’t hold his hand as well,’ he complained, ‘’cause I need to hold yours, don’t I?’
‘You certainly do or I might get lost and we wouldn’t want that …’ she raised her voice to a suitable level, ‘WOULD WE HARRY?’
Harry gave a cheeky wink, ‘We might!’ he chuckled, ‘If you keep shouting at me like that.’
He climbed into the car and started the engine, ‘Bye, you two. See you later, eh?’
‘Now, come on you,’ she told Tom, as they waved goodbye to Harry. ‘Something wants washing, so it does.’
‘What wants washing?’ Tom was curious.
‘Face, hands, neck and ears,’ Kathleen grinned, ‘and who d’ye think they belong to?’
‘TOM!’ He clapped his hands excitedly. ‘They belong to Tom!’
‘That’s absolutely right.’ She took a firm hold of him. ‘So let’s get on with it then. The sooner you’re all clean and shining, the sooner we’re off to the shops for them bright new Wellingtons.’ She looked down as he skipped his way up the path. ‘So, is that all right with you then, Tom?’
‘It is!’ He ran on ahead. ‘SO IT IS!’ he called behind him, and when Kathleen took off after him, puffing and panting, and threatening to report him to the fairies for daring to mock the Irish, the joyous little fellow laughed until he ached.
For the next few minutes it was all screaming and yelling, until a shiny face appeared from the depths of the towel. ‘Good grief!’ Kathleen declared in a shaky voice. ‘Who’s this little fella here? Sure I’ve never seen him before. Get out of my house at once … go on with ye! Sure, if ye don’t get out of me house, I’ll call on Tom. He’ll soon be rid of ye, so he will!’
Giggling, Tom protested. ‘It’s me!’ he cried out loud. ‘It’s Tom!’
‘Tom, y’say?’ Kathleen took a step backwards. ‘That’s not my Tom, no, it’s not. Never in a million years.’ She peered at him, then she closed one eye to peer closer, then the other, until at last she cried with relief, ‘Bejaysus, so it is! Will ye look at that! Sure, I never would have known it was you.’
Tom couldn’t stop laughing, until she tickled him under the arms and he ran away with her giving chase.
When she eventually caught him, she first gave him a stern talking to for running off, then she cuddled him good and proper.
On the way down to the sitting room, he held her hand. ‘Sure I’m not likely to get lost in me own house, am I?’ she declared.
‘So, don’t you want me to hold your hand?’ He felt disappointed, especially after promising his daddy.
‘Well, o’ course I do. It’s grand, so it is.’
So, with her smiling and him in charge, she allowed him to hold her hand all the way into the sitting room. ‘Are you all right now, Kathleen?’ he asked.
‘Right as rain, and thank you.’
‘Listen a minute, Kathleen.’
‘I’m listening, my love.’
‘W-well …’ he stuttered nervously, ‘I can’t hold your hand all the time. I’m too little.’
‘Ah sure, I understand so I do, and I have an idea.’
Tom’s eyes grew like saucers. ‘Is it a secret?’
She took a deep breath. How to phrase her words so as not make him feel worthless, that was the problem. ‘Let me see … ah yes, that’s it. A special secret, just between the two of us.’
Lowering her head, Kathleen spoke softly, in a conspiratorial manner. ‘Look now, Tom, shall we make a deal between the two of us, right here and now?’
Taking on her secretive manner, he leaned towards her, asking in a furtive whisper, ‘How can we do that?’
Kathleen peered from right to left and again over his head, before continuing in a whisper, ‘Well now, Tom. When we’re in the house or the garden, we won’t worry too much about holding hands.’ She paused momentarily, to have another furtive peek about. ‘But when we’re out in the streets or crossing the road, we’d best do as yer daddy says. So then, Tom, do you think that’s a good deal?’
Before answering, Tom also had a peek about; he adored Kathleen and he loved their secret. ‘Yes!’ he whispered. ‘It’s good, yes.’
Groaning, Kathleen stood up to straighten her old bones. ‘You’re a wise old man in the making, Tom
Blake. But we’ve made a wonderful deal so we have, and I’m very pleased.’
‘Yeah!’ Tom felt very proud of himself, and especially proud of Kathleen, who knew how to fix everything.
Kathleen ruffled his hair. ‘That’s you done with,’ she declared, ‘so now I’ll be away and make the beds while you play with your Dinky cars, Okay?’
Tom was so happy, he could not help jumping on the spot.
‘Okay, Kathleen!’ and off he went to find his box of cars, leaving Kathleen to watch the happy little soul skipping away, and her old heart bursting with love for that brave little fella who had found a forever place in her affections.
‘Ah, sure ye’re a lovely little fella, so ye are,’ she whispered. ‘Never you fear, me darlin’, ye’re daddy and me will always take care of you.’
Feeling content with her lot, she went away to make the beds.
Not a million miles away in Jackson Street, Judy was busy clearing away the breakfast things. While Kathleen’s home was cosy and inviting, however, the house where Judy and Phil lived was jaded and worn. Most of the furniture was second-hand, on account of Phil claiming that he did not have money to waste on new stuff.
In the beginning, Judy had stood her ground and managed to secure a new dressing-table and bed, and a smart sideboard for the sitting room. The sofa though was already past its best when they bought it; the brown cloth covering was rubbed bald and in the corner where Phil normally slouched to nap, there was a distinct hole which seemed to grow larger and deeper by the day.
That’s where she found him now, stretched out on the sofa snoring like a pig. ‘Phil.’ She gave him a gentle prod with the end of the hoover. ‘Wake up.’
Arms flailing, he sat bolt upright. ‘Stupid bitch!’ Rubbing his eyes, he demanded, ‘What the hell’s wrong with you?’
Instinctively taking a step back, Judy explained, ‘I need to hoover underneath the sofa, and I have to tip it backwards. I’ve done all the other jobs and left this till last because I knew you were tired. Only I’d like to finish off now.’
‘Oh, would you now?’ Swinging himself up to a sitting position, he stroked her leg, pushing with the palm of his hand all the way up to her thigh. ‘So, what’s the big hurry?’
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