A Mother's Duty

by June Francis

  She burst into the kitchen to find John and the boys there. Annie had gone to her mother’s to see what she had to say about Mo quitting, and the Irish great-uncles who might have spent this time with them had gone to the Irish centre up the road to celebrate with their winnings. ‘Whose is it?’ she demanded.

  ‘Mine,’ said Mick, before anyone else could ask what it was. On the defensive he stood next to the ovens. ‘I know what you’re going to say, Ma, but I couldn’t say no.’ He spoke rapidly. ‘Celia brought him, you see, and he’d have been drowned if she hadn’t.’

  ‘Celia’s been here?’ said John.

  Mick nodded. ‘Her gran died and her ma’s getting rid of the animals because there’s no money. She said something about her ma getting into debt again.’

  John groaned. ‘She’d manage without the drink.’

  ‘Celia said they’d both have to find jobs,’ said Teddy, his eyes gleaming. ‘We said they could work here.’

  Seeing the expression on Kitty’s face, Mick said swiftly, ‘And Celia said she wasn’t going to mention it to her ma.’ He glanced at his brother. ‘You haven’t met her. She’d turn milk sour. She’s not like Celia.’

  Kitty glanced at John. ‘You didn’t know anything about this?’

  ‘I know as much as you do. I haven’t had time to go round there yet.’

  ‘So what do we do?’

  ‘About what exactly?’ he said cautiously.

  ‘About the dog down the yard! That has to come first because it’s here now! I’ve told Mick in the past – no dogs!’

  ‘But, Ma, he’d make a good guard dog,’ said Mick. ‘Think, if Charley ever came back Nelson could rip the pants off him.’

  ‘Nelson!’ Kitty shook her head as if in disbelief. ‘He was one of England’s greatest heros. That little thing out there couldn’t scare anyone! And you know how I feel about dogs indoors. I’ve heard they leave hairs everywhere and I can’t be doing with that, Mick. And don’t say it can stay in the outhouse. It can’t. It’ll yowl the place down.’

  ‘I’ll make sure he doesn’t leave hairs. As for him being little. He’s only a pup. He’ll grow! And I’ll look after him. Feed him and take him walks and that,’ said Mick earnestly. ‘An-and I’ll make him a kennel.’

  ‘You make him a kennel!’ Again Kitty shook her head in disbelief. ‘I thought you told me you weren’t good at woodwork.’

  ‘I could help him,’ said John. ‘I think Mick’s got a point. A dog in the yard keeping a watch on our rear makes me feel happier. Even if he couldn’t rip the pants off anyone, his barking would warn us if there was an intruder.’

  Kitty stared at him and thought of his being knifed in the back. Ben said sleepily, ‘I like dogs.’

  ‘I’m on Ma’s side,’ said Teddy. ‘It’ll want to come into the house – and what about the cat?’

  ‘Thanks, brother!’ Mick scowled at him. ‘But haven’t you forgotten the cat lives indoors – and that leaves hairs sometimes.’

  ‘It kills mice, too,’ said Kitty, dismissing his remarks. ‘It’s useful.’

  ‘I think we should give Nelson a chance,’ said John.

  ‘Isn’t that up to Ma?’ said Teddy.

  ‘She asked me for my opinion so I’m giving it. I think that’s only right if we’re going to get married.’

  Kitty drew in her breath sharply. ‘John, not now!’

  ‘Why not now?’ He reached out and took her hand. ‘I think they realise that it’s on the cards.’

  ‘But I haven’t said yes!’

  ‘But you will,’ he said.

  Mick stared at them wanting to say, you don’t have to marry him, but John supporting him over Nelson had put him in an awkward position, so all he said was, ‘What about money? You hasn’t got any.’

  ‘Show sense, Ma!’ urged Teddy. ‘Give him the old heave-o!’

  Kitty looked at her two sons, trying to understand exactly how they were feeling. ‘You mean – throw him out on the streets penniless?’ There was a quiver in her voice.

  ‘It’s where he came from,’ said Teddy promptly. ‘But I suppose you could give him some wages before he goes.’

  ‘I’m not saying throw him out,’ said Mick. ‘He’s a good worker for a busker.’

  ‘Thanks a lot,’ said John sardonically.

  They ignored him.

  ‘I can’t have him working and living here without marrying him for much longer,’ said Kitty, trying to sound as if this marriage was a purely sensible arrangement. ‘People’ll talk. If Mr McLeod is to stay I’ll marry him. Money isn’t everything.’

  Ben lifted his head from the table. ‘Little John’s got money,’ he said with a yawn.

  They all stared at him. ‘Sarah listens at doors. She told me,’ he said.

  ‘Is it true?’ demanded Teddy of John.

  John’s gaze washed over his face. ‘I’m tempted to say it’s none of your business but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt that your interest is because of your concern for your mother not yourself.’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ said Kitty, wondering if Sarah could have made a mistake.

  ‘Ach! I planned to! Anyhow it isn’t a lot of money,’ he said, a faint smile softening the lines of his face.

  ‘How much is it?’ said Mick, experiencing a peculiar relief. He’d seen a film only a short while ago about a man who’d been a prince in disguise. Not that the big fella could be a prince. ‘I mean approximately?’ he added hastily. ‘I’m Ma’s eldest son and – and I think it is my business.’

  ‘You mean you stand in place of her father?’ said John woodenly.

  Mick thought about that and nodded.

  ‘You’re her son, though, and under age,’ said John promptly. ‘And I think you’ve got a cheek asking but I’ll tell you this much, I plan to invest some of it in this hotel. I think my uncle Donald would have approved of that. Fortunately he never married and had sons.’ He paused. ‘Can we eat now? I’m starved.’ He moved away from the table and opened the oven. ‘And hadn’t you better see to that pup? It’s probably hungry.’

  Kitty felt as if she was in a dream as she followed him over. ‘Do you really mean it about putting money into the hotel?’

  ‘I wouldn’t have asked you to marry me if I couldn’t bring something to the marriage. I would hate being dependant on you. The giving should never be one-sided.’

  ‘I suppose not.’ She took the casserole from him. ‘You sit down. You shouldn’t be doing this.’

  ‘Why not? I’ve been waiting on tables all week.’

  ‘It’s different now.’

  ‘You mean because I’ve got money I can now sit down and be waited on?’ A twinkle lurked in the depths of his eyes.

  ‘No! Your money makes a difference, of course, because it means I won’t worry about making ends meet so much. I meant you can sit down and be waited on because you’re off duty now. Besides this is my domain.’ She stretched up and kissed his cheek. ‘Now sit.’

  John did as he was told. He smiled at Ben. ‘I’ll know never to tell you any secrets, laddie. Are you going to come to the wedding, then?’

  ‘Can I bring my mouse?’

  ‘Why not?’ John rested his elbows on the table. ‘The more the merrier. Just keep it under control.’

  Teddy said, ‘I suppose me and Mick’ll have to be at the wedding?’

  ‘Your mother’ll want you there,’ said John, obviously full of pep. ‘Pity you weren’t girls, though. You could have worn flowers in your hair and come as bridesmaids.’

  ‘That’s not funny,’ said Teddy, glowering at him. ‘I’ve a good mind not to go.’

  John’s smile faded and he leaned across the table to the boy and said quietly, ‘What you said earlier about me being chucked out wasn’t funny either. I’m telling you now, Teddy, that your staying away would make no difference to me but it would to your mother. Make the best of the situation and with a bit of luck we can both keep her happy.’

  Teddy’s ears
went red. If he had not been so hungry, he would have got up and walked out, but he decided a dignified silence was what the situation called for. Hopefully his mother would think he was sickening for something and be sorry.

  But Kitty did not seem to notice anything different at all. She was full of wedding plans, talking across the table to John and ignoring the boys until it was time for the guests’ bed drinks and then it was, ‘Put the kettles on, Mick. And you, Teddy, take our Ben up to bed.’ Teddy could have spit.

  The next week was no different, although come Sunday his mother insisted they went to the Anglican Presbyterian church up the Mount to hear the banns being read. Normally Teddy avoided church like the plague, but there was no escape this time with the big fella watching him in a way that seemed to freeze the marrow in his bones. Mick was no help. He had accepted the wedding would take place even though he was not completely happy about it, because he could not see what they could do to stop it. Besides, Mick’s time was taken up with Nelson and plans to build a kennel. Teddy considered going in search of Jimmy but he had decided the sooner he started saving up for a motorbike the better. One day he thought darkly, his ma and that Scottie would be sorry. Off he’d whizz into the blue yonder without telling them where he was going.

  John and Kitty went to visit Celia and her mother but the girl was out and they were not made welcome by Mrs McDonald who told them domestic service was something she could never do. She had found herself a job and she would thank them to keep their noses out of her business. Kitty was relieved. The last thing she wanted to do was to take on a maid with a drink problem but she had felt she had to make the offer to please John.

  A new maid, Hetty, was taken on. She was a distant cousin of Annie’s but not half as good a worker. Although she was better than Mo, who had taken up sewing as a way of making a living just like her mother.

  The hotel was given a swift spring clean. A new double bed was delivered from Page’s furniture store, and John, and a man they hired for the job, painted the outside of the hotel primrose and cream. The wedding was to take place on the Saturday after Easter, the last one in April. The day Everton were to play Manchester City at Wembley for the FA Cup.

  ‘It’s a daft day for a wedding,’ muttered Teddy, striving to catch sight of his reflection in the mirror that stood on the chest of drawers as he and Mick fastened their ties. ‘I just might have wanted to spend me money on a ticket for the blue train to London.’

  ‘Ma wouldn’t have let you go,’ said Mick, narrowing his eyes and thinking he looked quite handsome. He combed his dark hair again but there was a tuft which would not stay down. He smiled at his reflection, considering that it was a pity Celia wasn’t coming to the wedding. Mrs O’Neill was to be matron of honour and the thought of her brought a flush to his cheeks. She was very pretty and teased him and somehow did not appear to be as old as his mother. Annie had been asked to be a bridesmaid but had said she’d rather not thanks very much. Weddings made her cry. She would stay behind making sure everything was OK for the breakfast afterwards. Then the first Saturday in May she would be off to London.

  Mick put away his comb. ‘Where’s our Ben?’

  ‘Probably with Sarah. Ma made sure he was ready an hour ago.’

  ‘I’ve warned him not to bring that blinkin’ mouse,’ said Mick.

  A smile darted across Teddy’s face. ‘So’s Ma but he says the big fella said—’

  ‘It was a joke! Shall we go in and see if Ma’s ready?’

  ‘I suppose so.’ Teddy dragged on his suit jacket and followed his brother out.

  Ben was sitting on Kitty’s bed alongside Sarah who wore a dress full of frills and lace. Becky was fluffing out Kitty’s newly cut hair beneath a small-brimmed and beribboned hat tilted over one eye, which she wore with a peach georgette two-piece and beige and black court shoes. She looked so unlike their mother that Mick and Teddy sat on the bed, dumbstruck.

  ‘Well?’ said Becky, smiling at them. ‘Aren’t you proud of your mum? Doesn’t she look lovely.’

  ‘Lovely,’ echoed Mick, blushing. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach. His mam was all dressed up like a dog’s dinner for the big fella and never again would he feel the same coming into this bedroom. It would be his and hers, and he would be an intruder. He glanced at his brother who had said nothing so far.

  ‘She’s all right for her age,’ mumbled Teddy and lowered his head staring at his new black shoes.

  ‘All right!’ exclaimed Becky, her green eyes widening. ‘She does you credit does your hard-working mama. The cream I had to rub into those hands of hers to soften them.’

  ‘Don’t rub it in.’ A wry smile curved Kitty’s mouth but it faded as she stared at her boys. She caught her lower lip between her teeth and for a moment her love for them threatened to overwhelm her and she had to struggle against tears. Eventually, in a voice not the least bit like her own, she managed to say, ‘He’s a good man. There’s no need for you to be scared of him.’

  Teddy’s head shot up and he looked defiant. ‘I’m not scared of him!’

  ‘Good,’ said Kitty, bending to kiss the top of his head.

  He pulled away. ‘You’ll mess up me hair.’

  She turned to Mick and there was a pleading expression in her blue eyes. He held out a hand and she grasped it. ‘It’ll be OK, Ma.’ They both knew they were not talking about the wedding.

  ‘I’m sure it will,’ she whispered.

  Tears shone in her eyes as she looked at Ben who grinned and said, ‘What are you crying for?’

  ‘Because she’s happy,’ said Becky, planting a kiss on his cheek before turning to Teddy. ‘At last you get to have a ride in my car. So let’s be having you, boys. I’ve got to get you to church then come back for Kitty and your Uncle Fred.’

  They all trooped out. ‘Bye,’ said Kitty in a forlorn voice, feeling as if she was saying a real goodbye to them. Her relationship with them was bound to be different from now on. She squared her shoulders and told herself not to get maudlin. This was supposed to be a happy day.

  Kitty went downstairs and into the dining room where she, Annie and Hetty had reorganised the tables after the guests’ breakfasts that morning. John had stayed with the O’Neills. Annie was fussing about the one-tier wedding cake, which had been made by a friend of her mother’s who had trained as a confectioner. It was Annie’s family’s present to the happy couple and Kitty appreciated it all the more because she knew the struggle they had to make ends meet.

  ‘Everything OK, Annie?’ she said.

  Her cousin glanced her way. ‘Everything’ll be fine as long as that Hetty doesn’t go touching things. Yer look nice, Kit.’

  ‘Thanks.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I hope he thinks so.’

  ‘Well, he’s seen yer at your worst in the kitchen first thing in the morning, so he’s got no shocks coming.’

  ‘I’ve brushed my hair by then and don’t look like a wild woman.’ Kitty went over to the huge oak sideboard which had come from the house in Crown Street and gazed in the mirror hanging on the wall above it. She was nervous. Was she doing the right thing? Would John and Teddy learn to get on or would they be daggers drawn for ever after? ‘I hope he likes my hair like this,’ she murmured.

  ‘It’s pretty … all wispy-like. It makes you look younger. I wish mine was that colour instead of this ginger. I suppose he’ll have had his hair cut too.’

  ‘Mr O’Neill was taking him to his barber.’ She sighed. ‘Where’s your dad?’

  ‘In the Smoking Room having a last cigarette. He’s nervous as a cat on a hot brick. He doesn’t like being in the limelight.’

  ‘I know. But who else could I ask? Besides he did it once for me before.’

  ‘He was younger then. I think having all us girls and the Depression has done for him.’

  Kitty idly ran a finger over the sideboard. ‘We were all younger then. You were only a tot and ma was still alive and Michael …’ Her voice trailed away, remembering that othe
r wedding day and so much hoped for.

  ‘Don’t let’s forget Jimmy,’ said Annie with a fixed smile. ‘He was around then and the whole world seemed a nicer place.’

  ‘The war changed everything.’ Kitty felt melancholy. Poor Annie!

  Her cousin shook her arm. ‘Come out of it! If it weren’t for the war yer wouldn’t be standing here dressed up to the nines getting married again! There’s the door – go and find me dad – and be happy!’

  Kitty nodded and smiled and left her. Be happy! The words ran in her head as she met her uncle in the lobby. Be happy! she thought as she climbed into Becky’s car. Be happy! The phrase re-echoed in her mind as she walked down the aisle and glimpsed her boys sitting alongside Annie’s sisters – and wasn’t that Celia she had glimpsed back there. Who’d told her to come?

  Kitty came to a halt besides John and she was happy as he slid his ring onto her finger, despite knowing that nobody can live happily ever after. There would be highs and lows, disagreements, strained atmospheres, but where there was love, not that he had ever mentioned the word, there would be making up and, hopefully, a daughter.

  Chapter Ten

  John closed and locked the hotel bedroom door – a room which had a washbasin and hot and cold running water. Kitty switched on the light and divested herself of her hat and jacket before going over to the basin and turning the hot tap on and off and on again. She washed her face and hands, dreaming of the day when she could install such luxury in the Arcadia. She wondered idly whether Myrtle’s hotel in Rhyl was fitted out in such a way, but she did not think about her old enemy for long, because her husband said, ‘Come here, woman,’ and pulled her into his arms.

  ‘Let me dry my face first!’ There was amused pleasure in her voice.

  ‘I’ve waited long enough,’ he said, and his mouth came down over hers in such a way that it proved to her that this was the moment he had been waiting for all day.