by Jonker, Joan
Bessie looked to Rita. ‘Do you give in, sweetheart?’
Rita nodded. ‘I give in, but there’s something fishy here, I can tell by the smirk on Aggie’s face. She’s having us on, I know.’
‘No, I’m not! It’s you what’s stupid and can’t see something what’s right in front of yer.’
‘Okay, Aggie,’ Bessie said, ‘we all give in, so what’s the word?’
Aggie was gloating. ‘S-o-d, sod.’
Rita and Bessie spoke as one. ‘Sod! Yer can’t use that, it’s got to be something in this room!’
Her head wagging nonchalantly from side to side, Aggie asked her next-door neighbour, ‘What did yer call me yesterday afternoon, queen, when I spilled a cup of tea on yer?’
Rita looked perplexed for a second, a frown creasing her forehead. Then she slapped a hand on her cheek and said, ‘You silly sod!’
Aggie looked as though she’d been cleared of committing a crime. ‘That’s it, queen, that’s what yer called me. A three-letter word, beginning with S, and right in front of yer eyes.’
The first one to laugh was Amelia, and it was as much at the expressions on the faces of Bessie and Rita as the craftiness of Aggie. ‘Does that count as a word, Auntie Bessie?’
‘No, it flaming well doesn’t!’ Bessie was red in the face. ‘A sod is a piece of earth, it can’t be a person or a piece of furniture.’
‘Now don’t be getting yerself all worked up, queen,’ Aggie said, her chins nodding to show they agreed with her, ‘or yer’ll be having a heart attack. And it would be real thoughtless of yer to have a heart attack and spoil Milly’s birthday party.’
While Aggie’s two mates roared with laughter, Amelia didn’t think it was a bit funny. Her chin jutted out as she said, ‘Auntie Bessie isn’t going to have a heart attack, so there!’
‘No, I’m not, sweetheart, Aggie was only joking. And I think we’ll change the game and have another one, so we don’t have some silly beggar wasting our time.’
‘Oh, no, don’t do that, please!’ Amelia begged. ‘I wanted it to be my turn and I’ve got a word all ready for you to guess.’
‘Of course yer can have a turn, sunshine,’ Rita told her, ‘after all it is your birthday. Without you we wouldn’t be having no party, so go on, what’s the first letter? Oh, and before we start, it is something we can see, isn’t it?’
Amelia pursed her lips and nodded. ‘Yes, and it begins with the letter A.’
Bessie got in first. ‘I’ve got it, it’s me aspidistra plant.’
The girl shook her head, looking very serious. ‘No, it’s not, Auntie Bessie, and you are not even warm.’
Rita’s face lit up when she thought she’d guessed the word. ‘Armchair! It’s the ruddy armchair!’
Again the girl shook her head. ‘Wrong, Auntie Rita! And there’s not just one of it, either, in case yer say I’m cheating.’
‘Got it, got it, got it!’ Aggie was over the moon. ‘Don’t any of yer ever say again that I’m as thick as two short planks. It’s the ashes in the grate! I got it as soon as she said there was more than one.’
‘Uh-uh,’ Amelia said, her face aglow as she swayed back and forth on the couch, her hands clasped between her knees. ‘That’s not right, either.’
A quarter of an hour later the three women had gone over every item in the room with a fine tooth comb. ‘There’s nothing else here beginning with A,’ Rita said. ‘Are yer sure yer’ve got the spelling right, sunshine?’
‘Oh, yes, Auntie Rita, I’m top of the class for English and spelling.’
‘What d’yer say then, girls?’ Bessie looked from one of her mates to the other. ‘Shall we throw in the towel?’
They both nodded. ‘May as well,’ Aggie said, ‘or we’ll be here all night.’
‘Okay, sweetheart, yer’ve got us beat, we’ll give in.’ Bessie raised her brows. ‘What’s the word that beat us?’
Amelia sat up straight, her hands on her knees. ‘It’s Aunties! There’s more than one of you and you can all be seen. So I haven’t cheated, have I?’
Even if she had cheated, there wasn’t one woman in the room who was going to tell her and take that radiant smile off her face. ‘I think yer’ve been very clever, sweetheart, I would never have thought of that.’
‘Me neither,’ Rita told her. ‘It took one young girl like yerself to beat three grown-up women. It just goes to show how clever yer are.’
‘Aye, and how thick we are.’ Aggie was being gracious in defeat. ‘D’yer know why I think we didn’t get it? Well, it’s new to us, isn’t it? We’re not used to being Aunties. And if anyone in this room contradicts me, I’ll clock them one.’
Amelia glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece and saw it was half-past eight. It was past her usual bedtime. But she didn’t want the best day of her life to end, not yet. ‘Auntie Bessie, I don’t have to go to bed yet, do I? I’m not a bit tired, and you said we had another game to play.’ Then a picture of her mother flashed through her mind. ‘I’ll go if you think I should, though, I promised to do as I was told.’
‘Of course ye’re not going to bed yet, it’s yer birthday and that makes it a very special day. A day when ye’re allowed a few treats.’ Bessie wouldn’t have let her go to bed now even if the girl had begged to for there was still a treat in store for her. ‘When yer eyes begin to close, then yer can go to bed. But right now we’re going to have a game of Pass the Parcel. Which means we’ll all have to sit around the table.’
Amelia’s hands came together and she held them to her chest. What an exciting day it had been for her. ‘How do you play the game, Auntie Bessie?’
‘It’s easy, sweetheart, yer just pass the parcel on to the one next to yer as quick as yer can, so ye’re not caught with it. Anyone caught with it has to pay a forfeit. They either sing or say a piece of poetry.’ Bessie pulled a face. ‘The only trouble is, there’s usually someone who stands with their back to the players and gives a shout when to stop. If one of us does it, there’ll only be three playing and it’s not worth it.’
‘I’ll go and get one of the lads if yer like, Bessie?’ Rita volunteered. ‘They won’t be in bed yet, and it’ll only be for fifteen minutes at the most.’
So ten-year-old Billy, much to his disgust at having to be at a girl’s birthday party, was roped in to stand in front of the window and shout out every few seconds to catch whoever was holding the parcel. There was so much laughing and screaming, he began to enjoy himself, and was surprised to find that the girl who lived opposite with her stuck-up mother wasn’t as quiet as he thought, she was really very funny. He for one wouldn’t be shouting names after her when she was coming home from school. He couldn’t stop himself from cheating by taking sly glances at her when he thought no one was looking, ’cos he wanted each one to have to pay a forfeit.
The first time Billy shouted ‘Stop!’ Aggie was caught with the parcel. She tried to shove it towards Rita, but calls of ‘Cheat’ by the others caused her grudgingly to agree to pay a forfeit. Her choice was the song sung in most of the corner pubs at throwing-out time. It was ‘Sweet Nellie Dean’, and God help the man who wrote that song for Aggie had a voice like a foghorn and murdered it. But the contortions of her chubby face caused much hilarity and even Billy clapped her at the end. His second victim was Rita, who strongly objected to singing on the grounds that she had a worse voice than Aggie, if that were possible. She opted for the nursery rhyme ‘Three Little Pigs’. It didn’t go down as well as Aggie’s but was worth a round of applause because Rita had at least tried.
Billy timed the third intervention nicely, shouting ‘Stop’ just as Bessie was handing the parcel to Amelia. The girl was screaming with laughter as she looked down at the parcel in her hand. She had no way of knowing that this was the moment the three women had been waiting for. ‘What shall I do, Auntie Bessie? Shall I sing a nursery rhyme?’
‘You do what yer want, sweetheart, but remember, the one who is judged to have given the best forfei
t gets to keep what’s in the bag.’
‘Ooh, er, I’m not very good, but I will try.’ Amelia took a deep breath and began to sing in a sweet, clear voice.
‘Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie, kissed the girls and made
them cry,
When the boys came out to play, Georgie Porgie ran away.’
The three women made a lot of noise by banging on the table and shouting ‘Hurray’. Even Billy clapped and whistled. ‘That’s the best so far,’ he surprised himself by saying. Usually he gave all girls a wide berth.
Amelia gave him a stern look. ‘Auntie Bessie hasn’t had her turn yet, and I bet she’s the best of the lot.’
‘No, I think we’ll leave it at that, sweetheart, or me mates will be dying of thirst. I can see by their faces they’re ready for their bottle of milk stout. Besides, seeing as it’s my house, I can’t be the winner or they’ll say it was rigged.’ Bessie ran her hand over the girl’s hair. ‘We’ll vote now, sweetheart, and if there’s a tie Billy can be the judge.’
And of course it was rigged, that was the intention. All hands, even Billy’s, shot into the air when Amelia’s name came up. ‘Go on, queen, open it up,’ Aggie said. ‘Put us out of our misery. But don’t forget, I came a close second.’
‘Don’t expect too much, sweetheart,’ Bessie told her. ‘It’s only a small token.’
Amelia’s hands were shaking with excitement. Never had she dreamed of having a day like today, with so many people being nice to her. Normally her birthday passed without even a mention. ‘Can I tear the paper, Auntie Bessie?’
‘Of course yer can, sweetheart, but don’t be too rough with it in case I want to use it again some time.’
Billy came closer to the table, not wanting to miss anything. And when the paper had been carefully torn and spread open to reveal a doll, instead of jerking his head in disgust as he usually did over girls’ sloppy toys, he joined the women in their loud exclamations of surprise. Amelia herself didn’t make a sound. She sat wide-eyed, looking down at the first doll she’d ever had in her hands. It was a rag doll, with a pretty china face, long blonde hair tied at the back with a pink ribbon, and dressed in a long dress of pink and white cotton, trimmed at the cuffs and hem with white lace.
Bessie exchanged glances with her two mates before asking, ‘Don’t yer like it, sweetheart?’
Amelia lifted her head, her eyes wet with tears. ‘Is it for me, Auntie Bessie?’
‘Of course it is, sweetheart, it’s yer birthday present.’
The girl lifted the doll from the paper, stroked its hair, and held it to her chest with one hand while wiping away the tears with the other. Then she pushed her chair back and ran to throw an arm around Bessie’s neck. ‘She’s lovely, Auntie Bessie. She’s the first doll I’ve ever had. You are very kind to me, and I do love you.’
Rita was beginning to understand why Bessie loved this girl so much, no one could help it. Except her mother, of course, who must be heartless. ‘You can go now, Billy, we won’t be playing any more.’
‘Ah, ay, Mam! Can’t I stay for a bit, just a few minutes?’
‘No, yer can’t, sunshine, me and me mates are going to have a drink now.’
‘Thanks for helping us out, Billy,’ Bessie said over Amelia’s head. ‘I appreciate it.’
Amelia was feeling happy and sad at the same time, but she didn’t forget the manners she’d had drummed into her. ‘Yes, thank you, Billy.’ Then she had a thought, and giggled. ‘It was a good job you stopped at me, otherwise your mother or Auntie Aggie might have ended up winning the doll.’
‘Yeah! That would have been funny.’ He was chuckling as he stepped into the street. His mother had opened the front door for him, and he grinned up at her. ‘She’s all right, that girl, not like her stuck-up mother.’
‘I don’t want to hear yer saying that to anyone else, Billy, d’yer hear? None of us can help the mothers we get, but you just thank yer lucky stars that yer ended up with me.’ She watched as he crossed the cobbled street. ‘Yer’ll be in bed when I get home, so goodnight and God bless, sunshine.’
‘Goodnight, Mam.’
Rita closed the door and went back into the living room. Amelia was sitting on the couch next to Bessie, inspecting the doll’s clothes. Bessie had bought the doll for sixpence and made the clothes herself on the old Singer hand-machine she kept in her bedroom. She didn’t use it much, for she spent her working life behind a sewing machine and never felt like starting again when she got home. ‘Ay, sunshine, yer made a good job of that dress, it looks smashing,’ Rita said. ‘Yer could make a few bob taking sewing in, ’cos that looks really professional.’
Amelia lifted the dress on the doll. ‘Look, Auntie Rita, it’s got knickers on as well, and they’ve got lace round the legs.’ She held the doll to her chest. ‘I do love it, and I’ll always love it and always look after it and keep it safe.’ She glanced at Bessie. ‘Can I keep it in my bedroom here, please, Auntie Bessie? ’Cos my mother thinks dolls are childish and she might not let me play with it.’
‘Oh, go ’way,’ Aggie said. ‘Yer mam won’t stop yer playing with the doll, that’s what little girls do. Even if it’s only for half an hour a night before yer go to bed.’
‘Please let me keep it here, Auntie Bessie, please! It can sleep on my bed when I’m not here, and it won’t be in your way.’
Bessie could see the girl was agitated and wasn’t going to spoil the day for her. ‘Of course she can stay here, sweetheart, she’ll be company for me as well as keeping the bed warm for you.’
‘Aren’t yer going to give her a name?’ Rita asked softly. ‘She’ll have to have a name so yer can talk to her.’
Aggie added her twopennyworth. ‘And as she’s a pretty doll, queen, with a pretty dress and lace on her knickers, yer’ll need to give her a nice name.’
The girl looked very undecided, as though she didn’t really believe what she’d been told. ‘You won’t make me take her home, will you, Auntie Bessie, promise?’
‘I’ve said she can stay here, sweetheart, and I never tell fibs or break a promise. So, now can you think of a nice name you would like for her? Or shall we all make suggestions until yer come to one yer fancy the best?’
‘I know what name I want to give her, Auntie Bessie. As soon as I opened the paper and saw her lying on my knee, I thought she looked as pretty as a flower and the name Daisy came to me. I’ve seen daisies growing in a garden near our school, and they’re yellow and bright and look cheerful. So I’d like that to be her name.’
‘Then so be it, sweetheart, because she’s your doll and it’s only right you should call her what you want to. Besides, I think Daisy is a lovely name.’ Bessie appealed to her mates, ‘Don’t yer think so, ladies?’
Rita nodded. ‘Whenever I see a daisy, it always reminds me of sunshine. There are usually some growing wild in the park by the swings, and they always cheer me up.’
Aggie was nodding her agreement. ‘And what about the song, “Daisy, Daisy, Give Me Your Answer Do”? That’s not half a cheerful song, I always have to sing along to it.’
Amelia’s face was a picture of happiness as she held the doll to her cheek. It was the first toy she’d ever had to call her own, and her pleasure knew no bounds. ‘I’m going to sing her to sleep tonight. And I’ll wrap my nightie around her, so she won’t be cold.’
‘There’ll be no need for that, sweetheart,’ Bessie said, pushing her chair back and making for a cupboard in the sideboard. ‘Daisy’s a very posh doll, she’s got her own blanket.’ She held a square piece of pink blanket aloft. ‘I knew yer wouldn’t want her to get cold.’
As the three neighbours were to say later, when the girl was in bed and they had their glasses of milk stout in front of them, they couldn’t remember seeing anyone so happy. Amelia had wrapped the doll in the blanket, cuddled her to her chest, then rocked her for a while before saying, ‘I think me and Daisy would like to go to bed now, Auntie Bessie, because we are both very
tired. But we want to thank you for bringing us together, and we both love you very much. And you too, Auntie Rita and Auntie Aggie.’
She’d kissed everyone, told Daisy to be a good girl and kiss her aunties, then she’d made her way up the stairs, cuddling the doll as though it was the most precious thing on earth. And, needless to say, left behind three women whose tears kept their glasses topped up.
Chapter Twelve
Philip had his hand on the small of Evelyn’s back as they stepped through the doors of the hotel and into the cool night air. He felt her shiver. ‘Oh, you are cold, my dear, let me put my overcoat across your shoulders, I can’t have you catching a chill.’
‘I’m not really cold, Philip, it was coming out of the warm atmosphere that caused me to shiver. And there is a feel of autumn in the air.’
Philip was being very gentlemanly and draped his fine wool overcoat across her shoulders. Cupping her elbow, he said, ‘We’ll be at my apartment in a few minutes and you’ll soon be warm, I left a fire burning.’ Then he asked, ‘Did you come to the hotel by taxi?’
‘Yes, I could hardly come by tram in this attire, I would look so out of place. And I’m relying on you to arrange a taxi to take me home later, if you will be so kind?’
‘Don’t let’s talk of you going home, my love, I hope you will stay for a while. After all, there is no one at home expecting you, is there?’
Evelyn felt no guilt about continuing the lie, nor did she give any thought to her daughter. That was something she would sort out later, when she knew Philip better and he was well and truly under her spell. She shook her head. ‘No, I live alone, as I told you.’
‘Then the night is ours, my love. There is so much I want to know about you.’ He pulled her to a halt outside a building.’ This is where my apartment is.’
Evelyn’s surprise could be heard in her voice. ‘But I thought all these buildings were business premises!’
Taking a key from his pocket, Philip placed it in the lock of a door set slightly back from the building’s frontage. ‘The ground floor consists of three offices. My apartment covers the whole of the second floor, and as you can see has a private entrance.’ He pushed open the door, waited for her to enter, then followed her, closing the door behind him and switching on an electric light. ‘It’s just the one flight of stairs, my lovely, and don’t look so frightened, there are no bogeymen.’