by Joan Jonker
‘How did he take it?’
‘You know me, girl. Hard-hearted Hannah! Well, I wasn’t so bleedin’ hard-hearted when I looked him in the eye an’ told him. I started blubbering like a baby an’ that set him off. But yer’ll be glad to know he’s got everythin’ worked out. He’s goin’ to pick me up in his car an’ bring me here to see yer, an’ whenever you’ve got the time to spare he’ll run yer to my house.’ She chuckled gleefully. ‘Ay, girl, I can’t wait to see the faces on the women in our street when he comes to my house in his big posh car. By God, their eyes will be poppin’ out of their heads like bleedin’ organ stoppers.’
Ada put her arms around her and hugged her close. ‘Your Mr John thinks of everything, he’s a really kind man.’
‘He’s a better man than anyone knows, Ada, an’ he deserves to be treated a damn sight better than he is by someone I can’t even bear to say the name of.’ Her red-rimmed eyes started to blur and she wiped them with the now-sodden handkerchief. ‘Ten years ago he said it was time I retired ’cos I’d earned it. Offered me a weekly allowance for life, he did, an’ promised he’d always be there if I needed him. I could have been sittin’ pretty for the rest of me days without ever havin’ to worry about money. That’s the sort of man he is, girl, one in a million.’
‘But yer didn’t take it, an’ I know why,’ Ada said. ‘Yer wanted to be near him, preferred his company to his money. Right?’
‘Yer’ve hit the nail right on the head, Ada! Let’s say I’ve been his anchor for the last ten years. Someone he could talk to when the sea got rough. An’ that’s what’s grieving me. I feel as though I’m leavin’ him in the lurch. But time marches on an’ I’m nearing the end of the road. I can’t complain. At seventy-eight I’ve had a good innings. But I want yer to promise to look after Mr John for me. Be a friend to him, don’t let him be lonely.’
‘Aggie, I’ve only known him a short time, and I’m only his cleaner! He’s known you all his life – I could never take your place. He’d think I had a ruddy cheek if I started to get too friendly.’
‘No, he wouldn’t, girl, ’cos he’s got a soft spot for yer.’ Aggie heard footsteps on the stairs and lowered her voice. ‘I’ll teach yer all the swearwords before I go, then he won’t miss me.’
John came in brandishing a bottle of whisky. ‘Do you want a glass, Agnes, or will you drink it from the bottle?’
The old woman felt like running and putting her arms around him, she loved him so much, every bone in his body and every hair on his head. Instead, she growled, ‘You took yer bleedin’ time!’
Polly wrote the first four letters of the alphabet on a piece of paper and pushed it along to Joey. ‘Copy them underneath mine, Joey, then I’ll tell yer what they are.’
Joey licked the stub of pencil, and with his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth with concentration, he laboriously wrote the four letters. Then he studied them with a critical eye. ‘I haven’t done them as good as you, but I’ll soon learn.’
‘They’re very good! Now, what word begins with an “a”?’
Joey’s eyes swivelled sideways, a superior grin on his face. ‘I know that one, we learned it at school. “A” is for apple.’
‘Yeah, but a lot more words begin with “a”, yer know. What about “and” and “are”. And our Mam’s name, Ada?’
This was getting too much for Joey. It was bad enough having words rammed down him at school without coming home to it. ‘Ah, ay, Polly, why can’t we just ’ave a game of noughts an’ crosses?’
‘Oh, all right.’ Polly turned the piece of paper over and drew lines across and then down it. ‘You be the—’ A knock at the door brought a look of surprise to her face. It was a bit early for her mam, and anyway she had her own key. ‘I wonder who this is?’
‘Go an’ see!’ Joey was disgusted. Whoever it was could have waited until they’d started the game and then he could have cheated while Polly was opening the door.
‘Hello, Steve! This is a surprise.’
There was an air of suppressed excitement about Steve as he shuffled his feet. ‘Can I come in, Polly? I’ve got somethin’ to tell yer.’
‘Yeah.’ Polly stood back to let him pass before closing the door. ‘I hope it’s somethin’ nice.’
Steve rubbed his hands together and smiled at Joey before facing Polly. ‘I’ve got a job.’
‘Go ’way!’ Her pretty face lit up. ‘How, when an’ where?’
‘I asked for the afternoon off school, ’cos me dad heard this plumbing firm on Derby Road were takin’ on apprentices. I didn’t think old Grundy would let me go, but he did, and am I glad! If I’d left it until after Christmas all the jobs would have gone.’
‘Sit down an’ tell us all about it.’ Polly was happy for Steve but there was also a tinge of sadness in her heart. Things would change when he started work. He’d be a working man and working men don’t play footie in the street. Nor do they have a schoolgirl for a mate. ‘What happened at the interview? Were yer nervous?’
‘I’ll say! Me legs were shakin’ and I couldn’t stop them. But the bloke who interviewed me was smashin’. He’s probably seen hundreds of lads with knockin’ knees.’ Steve was so thrilled he couldn’t sit still. ‘I start the Monday after Christmas. The wages are low – only seven and six a week – but yer get a rise every year. I’ve got to supply me own overalls an’ take carry-out every day ’cos I’ll be goin’ out to houses to mend burst pipes an’ things like that. Not on me own, of course, I’ll be with a skilled plumber who’ll teach me the tricks of the trade.’
Polly grinned. ‘So if we get a leak, all we’ve got to do is knock on the wall an’ we’ll have our very own plumber?’
‘Ah, ay, Polly, give us a chance! The only way I’d know how to stop a leak would be to keep me finger on it, like that lad in Holland did when the dam burst.’
Joey’s head was resting on his hand as he listened. ‘What’s a dam? I thought it was a swearword.’
‘A dam’s a … oh, I’ll explain that to yer some other time.’ Steve turned a beaming face on Polly. ‘I’m lucky gettin’ a job before I even leave school, aren’t I?’
‘Yer dead lucky! I’m made up for yer, Steve, honest I am, except for one thing. I hope yer don’t get too big for yer boots and think yer too grown-up to be me mate.’
‘I’ll always be yer mate, Polly, nothin’ will change that.’
They heard the key turn in the lock and seconds later Ada appeared. ‘Hello, Steve.’ She pursed her lips at Joey. ‘And what are you doin’ out of bed at this time of night, me bold laddo?’
‘I was just goin’ to take him up when Steve came.’ Polly couldn’t get the words out quick enough. ‘Steve’s got a job, Mam!’
‘Oh son, isn’t that marvellous!’ Ada threw her coat over the back of a chair. ‘Is it the one yer dad told yer about, down by the docks?’
Steve was so proud of himself he could barely conceal his delight. ‘Yeah, that’s the one. I start the Monday after Christmas.’
A rap on the window brought a smile to Ada’s face. ‘It’s busy here tonight, isn’t it?’
‘I’ll go, Mam.’ Polly opened the door to Steve’s mother. ‘It’s Auntie Dolly, Mam.’
‘Tell her to go away,’ Ada winked at Steve. ‘It’s too late this time of night for visitors.’
But Dolly was already in the room before Ada had finished speaking. ‘Sod off, girl! I’m not a ruddy visitor, I’m yer mate,’ she jerked her head at Steve, ‘an’ his mother.’
‘Ay, it’s good news about his job, isn’t it? Yer’ll be laughin’ sacks with his wages comin’ in,’ Ada said jokingly. ‘I’ll know where to come for a loan when I’m skint.’
‘Huh! It’ll cost me money for him to go to work! Buying his overalls, payin’ his tram-fare an’ givin’ him carry-out! It’s me what’ll be borrowing off you, girl.’
‘The wages are not that bad, Mam,’ Steve protested. ‘Yer won’t be makin’ much on me, but at least I’ll pa
y me own way.’
‘I know yer will, son, I was only kiddin’.’ Dolly folded her arms and hitched up her bosom. ‘Anyway, I didn’t come because of that, Ada. I came to tell yer I had murder with that cow in number four while yer were at work.’
‘Oh, don’t tell me I missed a good fight! What was it over?’
‘Well, I started gettin’ meself all worked up this afternoon when I saw the nit nurse come out of their house. I mean, there’s no need for it. If she can afford to go to the pub every night with her feller, all done up to the nines, she can afford to buy a block of carbolic soap an’ a fine-tooth comb to keep the kids’ hair clean. Honest to God, their heads are walkin’ alive, poor buggers.’ Dolly stopped to take a deep breath before coming to the exciting part. ‘Anyway, I didn’t have enough tea for in the mornin’ an’ I was on me way to the corner shop about an hour ago, when she passed me, hangin’ on to her husband’s arm an’ gazing up at him like a lovesick calf. And just behind them, playing in the middle of the street were her two youngest, an’ all they had on them were dirty vests. No dresses, no knickers, nothing but these filthy vests which didn’t even come down to their waists. Bare backsides and bare everythin’ else. An’ in this cold weather, too. So I saw red, didn’t I?’
All eyes were on Dolly, all ears pricked. ‘What did yer do, Dolly?’ Ada asked. ‘Didn’t get yerself into trouble, did yer?’
‘I got hold of the queer one’s arm and dragged her back up the street, her feller shoutin’ at the top of his voice as she pulled him along with her. Yer should have heard his language, girl, the air was blue. If yer think I can swear, then yer should hear him – he’d put me in the shade any day.’
‘Dolly, will yer get on with it. Me heart’s in me mouth!’
‘All right, all right! I stopped them by where the kids were playing an’ told them they should be ashamed of themselves. I said if they didn’t get back in the house, with the kids, then I was goin’ for the police. By this time some of the other neighbours had come out an’ they all backed me up. Irish Mary said they weren’t fit to have children, and if the police were called she’d tell them the children should be taken from them and put in a Home where they’d be fed and dressed properly. The queer one screamed that she’d pull me hair out if I didn’t let go of her arm, an’ her brave husband was goin’ to do all sorts to me. He called me every name under the sun, insinuating I ’ad no father and was a loose woman.’
Steve leaned forward. ‘He didn’t touch yer, did he, Mam? ’Cos if he did I’ll belt him one.’
Dolly grinned as she shook her head. ‘I saved yer the trouble, son. I belted him one meself.’
Ada gasped. ‘Yer didn’t!’
‘I did! I fisted me hand an’ let him have it right in the middle of his beer gut. He doubled up, holdin’ his tummy and groaning. That’s when the queer one tried to grab a handful of me hair, so I belted her one, too!’
Ada narrowed her eyes. ‘Dolly Mitchell, if this is one of your jokes, I’ll kill yer.’
‘So help me, girl, every word of it is gospel. Ask Irish Mary if yer don’t believe me. She was blazin’ mad at seein’ the kids with no clothes on. If I hadn’t got me fist in first, she’d have done it for me. An’ a few of the other women were so mad they got their hands on the two of them an’ pushed them in the house, warnin’ them that if they went out an’ left the kids in the house on their own, they’d fetch the police.’
‘Well, I declare,’ Ada said. ‘Fancy me missing it all.’
‘Does me dad know, Mam?’ Steve asked. ‘I didn’t hear yer tellin’ him about all this.’
‘Yer didn’t hear me ’cos I didn’t tell him. He’d lay a duck egg if he knew I’d been fightin’ in the street. He’d say only fishwives shout, swear an’ use their fists. So don’t you breathe a word to him, d’yer hear? If yer do, yer won’t be turnin’ in for work on yer first day ’cos yer’ll be in hospital with both yer legs broken.’
‘Dolly, don’t say that to the lad,’ Ada said. ‘He’s over the moon about gettin’ a job an’ you talk about breakin’ his legs.’
‘He knows I don’t mean it, don’t yer, son? I wouldn’t hurt a hair on his head. An’ I know he won’t snitch on me.’ Dolly’s smile covered them all. ‘I’ll tell yer what, though, I didn’t half enjoy meself. For a couple of years I’ve worried meself sick about those kids bein’ out in all weathers with not enough clothes on to keep them warm. The eldest is only about five an’ they go out an’ leave them on their own. It’s just not right. An’ only God knows whether they ever get anythin’ to eat.’
Hitching her bosom up, she said, ‘Beltin’ them both did me a power of good. Got me own back on them for all those years they’ve made me worry. Yer see, it is true what they say about everythin’ coming to he who waits. Only in this case, it’s a she an’ not a he.’
Chapter Fourteen
John was sitting behind his desk on the Saturday afternoon when he saw Ada scurrying past. He called her name and when she looked through the open door, he beckoned. ‘Just a word, Ada, I won’t keep you long.’
‘What is it, Mr John?’
‘Just to tell you not to worry about food for Christmas because all the staff get a food hamper.’
‘Oh, lovely!’ Ada’s face lit up, then doubt appeared. ‘But I haven’t been here as long as the others an’ I only work part-time.’
‘Ada, are you suggesting I don’t know these things, or that I am not the boss?’ There was a twinkle in his eye which told her the words were in jest. ‘All my staff are treated the same, and you are a very valuable member of staff. The hamper will contain all the food you need and there’ll be a turkey to go with it. Now, as you appear to be in a hurry I won’t detain you.’
‘I’ve nearly finished up here, but I told Aggie to leave the main hall an’ I’d do it for her. Save her gettin’ down on her knees and turning the air blue when she tries to get up.’ She started to walk away, hesitated, then turned. ‘Thanks, Mr John, that’s a load off me mind. Our Joey’s askin’ Father Christmas for a scooter an’ Polly wants a new dress. They forget money doesn’t grow on trees. But if I don’t have to buy any food then with a bit of luck they’ll have somethin’ decent to come down to on Christmas morning.’
‘Is she a big girl, your Polly?’
Ada shrugged. ‘Just an average thirteen-year-old. People say she’s the image of me, same colouring an’ everything.’
‘Then she must be a very pretty girl.’
‘It sounds like blowin’ me own trumpet after saying she looks like me, but yes, I think she’s very pretty. Then again, every woman thinks their children are the most beautiful in the world, don’t they?’ She gave him a smile. ‘I’d better get crackin’.’
John watched her walk out of sight, thinking how lucky her children were. He’d give all his wealth away if he had her to come down to on Christmas morning. He sighed and went back to his paperwork.
Ada was on her hands and knees scrubbing the hall tiles. She had her back to the front door and the sound of the scrubbing brush deadened the click of the door opening.
‘Out of my way!’ a voice barked. ‘Remove yourself immediately.’
Ada sat back on her heels and turned her head. She recoiled at the sight of the woman who was glaring at her with such anger and spite, it took her breath away.
‘Are you deaf as well as stupid? I said REMOVE YOURSELF!’
Ada looked the woman up and down as her own anger grew. She was well-dressed, but that was the only thing in her favour. Her face was so distorted with temper at not being obeyed immediately, that she was positively ugly.
‘Get up, you miserable slut! Don’t you know who I am?’
That did it for Ada. She didn’t care who the woman was, she wasn’t taking insults like that. ‘Madam, I neither know nor care who you are. But I will not be spoken to like that.’
‘Then get your coat, you miserable wretch, you’re sacked!’
Ada’s eyes widened. ‘Oh, an’ are
you in a position to sack me?’ By this time she had an inkling who this dreadful woman was, but her pride wouldn’t allow her to bow down to her, job or no job.
Maureen Roscoe hadn’t had a good day. There was a dress she adored in Cripps but John had closed her account there and they wouldn’t give her credit. To think she had come so low she couldn’t even buy a dress without his consent! She’d felt such an absolute fool in front of the friend she was with. Now she’d come to tell John she would no longer tolerate the situation and he must open her accounts again. If one had standards then one must live up to them. Her temper hadn’t diminished in the walk to Faulkner Square, and the woman scrubbing the floor was an ideal target for her venom.
‘Yes, I am in a position to sack you, and I am also in a position to do this.’ She bent her leg back before kicking out and knocking the bucket of water sideways, so most of the water, as she’d intended, went over Ada.
‘How dare you!’ Ada’s nostrils flared with anger as she felt the water seeping through her clothes. She struggled to her feet and faced the woman. ‘Who the hell d’yer think you are?’
‘I’m the woman who has just given you the sack. Now get your belongings and leave the premises.’
Ada still had the dripping scrubbing brush in her hand and the temptation was too great to resist. She lifted her hand and before Maureen could see what she had in mind, Ada shook the brush several times in her face. Dirty water ran down from her forehead to add to the grey marks already staining her light beige, pure wool tailored coat.
Aggie had heard the commotion and come out from the kitchen just in time to see the high and mighty Mrs Roscoe get her comeuppance. And the old lady derived a lot of pleasure from the sight. Her only regret was that she hadn’t been the one to do it. She would have relished the opportunity of repaying the woman for the years of misery she’d caused Mr John. But oh, what joy it was to behold the stuck-up snob with dirty water running down her face and clothes. That should take her down a peg or two …