A Family's Heartbreak

by Kitty Neale

  She heard the door close, slumped onto the sofa and looked at her mother’s chair. The imprint of her head could be seen in the back cushion, and the upholstery on the right arm was worn where her mum used to rub it when she was angry. Lizzie regretted she hadn’t been nicer to her mother and that she hadn’t been to see her more frequently, but they’d always had a strained relationship. As a child, her mother had often called her a daddy’s girl, and it was true, she was close to her father. Now she had lost both parents, and though her mother had been hard on her, she’d always been there when Lizzie had needed her.

  She dabbed a tear from her cheek and turned her thoughts to what her mother might own of any value. Lizzie would be the sole inheritor, and though her mum had lived frugally, she did have a few nice pieces of jewellery which would rightfully belong to her now.

  Jenny braced herself before knocking on Gloria’s door. She knew there was a good chance that Jack would be there but given the circumstances any animosity needed to be put aside.

  The door opened, and Jenny was relieved to see her sister.

  ‘Jenny, what a surprise!’

  ‘I’m really sorry, but I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.’

  ‘You’d best come in,’ Gloria said and pulled the door open wider as she stepped to one side.

  As Jenny walked over the threshold, she noticed Gloria had put on weight. She looked different and the extra pounds were all on her stomach. She stared at her sister’s bulging belly. ‘Gloria, are you pregnant?’

  ‘Yes, about four months gone, but I’m already as big as a barrage balloon. Jack’s not happy about it, but as I told him, it takes two to make a baby.’

  Jenny had previously considered the idea of Gloria having Jack’s child, and had expected it to hurt, but now she felt nothing, her feelings frozen. ‘Is he home?’

  ‘No, he rarely is these days. Come through and then you’d better tell me what this bad news is.’

  Jenny followed her sister into the lounge. She was surprised at how old-fashioned and tatty the furniture was. She’d expected Gloria’s place to be more modern.

  ‘Sit down. Do you want a drink of anything?’

  ‘No, I can’t stay. It’s Gran … she died earlier today.’

  ‘What? Blimey, that’s a bit sudden. It’s a bit of a shock.’

  ‘Yes, I realise that, especially in your condition.’

  ‘It must be harder for you. You were always closer to her than me. How … how …’

  Jenny knew what Gloria was going to ask and said, ‘Her heart failed, but it was worse for Pam and the boys because they found her. Pam is still in a state. Mum’s with her, but I must get back.’

  ‘Do you want me to come with you? I may as well – Jack won’t be home for hours, that’s if he even bothers to come home at all. I doubt Mum will hang around for long, and I can help with Pam and the boys.’

  Jenny thought about it and wasn’t convinced that it was what she wanted. It would mean she’d be forced to look at Gloria’s stomach and at this moment it was something she’d rather not deal with. ‘No, there’s nothing you can do, and the boys are at Linda’s.’

  ‘We can pick them up on the way. We should be together at a time like this.’

  Gloria had a point, and Jenny reluctantly agreed. As they walked along the High Road, Jenny desperately tried to push thoughts of her gran away by probing Gloria about her relationship with Jack. From her sister’s few remarks, it didn’t sound like things were going well. ‘Why doesn’t Jack come home until late?’ she asked.

  ‘I don’t think he can stand to look at this,’ Gloria answered, and rubbed her stomach.

  ‘Oh, I see, so he really isn’t happy about the baby?’

  ‘Nope. He said it’s the last thing he wants to be lumbered with and reckons I’ve trapped him.’

  ‘But he had already asked you to marry him, so how have you trapped him?’

  ‘I don’t know, Jenny, I can’t work him out. I don’t think he really wants to marry me, but he doesn’t have a lot of choice now that I’m up the duff.’

  ‘I hope he comes to his senses soon and it works out for you,’ Jenny said, and meant it. Despite everything, Gloria was still her sister and Jenny didn’t like to think that she was unhappy, though she wasn’t surprised by Jack’s behaviour. The night they’d split up, he’d made it quite clear he didn’t want a family and wasn’t ready for a child.

  Gloria’s smile looked forced as she said, ‘As Gran used to say, it’ll all come out in the wash.’

  Jenny didn’t think the saying covered her sister’s situation, but now Gloria had mentioned their gran, she was concerned that she still couldn’t feel anything. What was wrong with her? Her beloved gran was dead. She’d cried at first but now felt nothing, and it wasn’t until she thought about never seeing her again, never talking to her, that Jenny felt the surge of pain. When they arrived home, she finally broke, and for once she was glad to have her mother and Gloria around to take care of things while she lay alone in the bedroom to cry out her agony.

  Chapter 53

  Two weeks had passed since Lizzie had buried her mother next to her father, yet still Jenny had refused to sort through her gran’s belongings. ‘You can’t make this place a shrine to your gran,’ Lizzie said, trying to reason with her daughter.

  ‘I’m not, Mum, I just don’t feel ready to do it.’

  ‘I’ve told you, I’ll do it.’

  ‘No,’ Jenny snapped, ‘Gran would have wanted me to.’

  ‘All right, keep your hair on, but it’s not fair on Pam and the boys to have to live like she’s still here,’ Lizzie said and lit a cigarette. She didn’t really think any of her children minded that their gran’s things had remained untouched, but she wanted to get her hands on her mother’s jewellery.

  ‘I wish you wouldn’t smoke in here, you know Gran didn’t like it.’

  ‘Well, she ain’t here now to voice her opinion,’ Lizzie answered sarcastically and instantly regretted it when she saw the angry expression on Jenny’s face.

  ‘All right, Mum,’ Jenny said, ‘let’s clear her things away before Pam comes back from swimming with the boys, but I’m only doing this to get rid of you!’

  Lizzie brushed off her daughter’s scathing remark. ‘Fine, and I’ll be glad to go, but trust me, you’ll feel much better once it’s done.’

  Jenny bit on her lower lip, ‘I know, you’re right. Sorry, Mum.’

  ‘It’s OK, come on, let’s get this over and done with.’

  They walked through to Edith’s bedroom where her bed had remained untouched. Lizzie placed her arm across her daughter’s shoulders and gave her a little squeeze. ‘You know, your gran would want you to sleep in her bed. There’s no need for you and Pam to be squashed up together now.’

  ‘It wouldn’t feel right.’

  ‘Think about it. If she knew that her bed was lying empty, your gran would call you a silly mare.’

  ‘Yes, either a silly mare or a dozy cow,’ Jenny said, her voice breaking with emotion.

  ‘Right then, let’s get these sheets and covers washed.’

  Once the bed was stripped, Lizzie was keen to get to the dressing table, but as she didn’t want her motives to be obvious, she went to the wardrobe instead, acting as though she was finding it difficult as she said, ‘This will probably be the hardest part, darling. I think we should bag up her clothes and give them to the rag-and-bone man. She always got on well with old Cyril, I’m sure she’d want him to have them.’

  Jenny agreed, and, steely-faced, she began to pull her gran’s dresses from the hangers. ‘I never saw her wear half of this stuff,’ she said, holding a dark brown dress in the air.

  ‘No, and a good job too, that dress is blinkin’ awful,’ Lizzie said, trying to make light of what they were doing.

  Thankfully Jenny saw the funny side and cracked a small smile, but as if she felt guilty, her face immediately straightened again.

  ‘Jenny, your gran wouldn’
t want you to be sad. You were the apple of her eye, so for the sake of her memory, try to cheer up.’

  ‘It’s too soon, Mum.’

  ‘Yeah, maybe,’ Lizzie said.

  They carried on until the wardrobe was almost empty but stuffed at the back Lizzie found three old handbags that she’d never seen before. She looked inside. One contained a tatty handkerchief, another a blunt pencil, and the last one was empty. Then, as she was about to close the door, she spotted something else, a small box in the far corner. She reached in and picked it up, and when she looked inside, she gasped.

  ‘What is it?’ Jenny asked.

  ‘I don’t believe it,’ Lizzie said, and emptied the contents onto her palm. About a dozen cut diamonds sparkled in the sunlight. ‘Where on earth did my mother get these from?’

  ‘I’ve never seen them before,’ Jenny said as she stared at the stones. ‘I wonder why they were hidden in the back of her wardrobe.’

  ‘I know my dad was a bit of a thief,’ Lizzie said. ‘Maybe he stole them, but they were too hot to handle so he hid them. They must have been in there for donkeys’ years.’

  ‘But Gran didn’t move into this flat until after Grandad died.’

  ‘I know, but a few of his mates helped her to move,’ Lizzie said, searching her memory. ‘I remember she wanted to pack her clothes, but they were in a hurry, so they just tied the doors of the wardrobe up and put it on the back of the cart with all her stuff inside.’

  ‘That could explain it, but as they’re stolen we should hand them in at the police station.’

  ‘I said maybe my dad stole them, I don’t know for sure. Even if they were, they must have been missing since before the war. After all this time, I doubt the police would be able to trace the rightful owners. They’d just end up in an evidence room somewhere, and anyway, with no idea if they were stolen or not, I can’t see the point of handing them in.’

  ‘Yes, I see that, but what are we going to do with them?’

  ‘Sell them. I reckon they’ll be worth a small fortune, and I know just the bloke who’d buy them if he’s got the money, or point me in the direction of another fence,’ Lizzie said, thinking of Ten-Bob-Terry.

  ‘Fence! So that means you do think they’re stolen.’

  ‘Probably, but I still don’t think we should hand them in,’ Lizzie said, thinking quickly. ‘If we do, the police will have lots of questions, and I doubt they’d believe your gran didn’t know they were there. If the local rag gets hold of the story, it would taint her name and memory. Surely you don’t want that?’

  ‘No, of course not.’

  ‘Right, back to selling them then, and I should get enough from the sale to find my own place and then I can get rid of Brian.’

  ‘But they’re not yours,’ Jenny said.

  ‘Yes, they are. As far as I’m concerned, this is my mother’s wardrobe, and seeing as I was her only child, it makes it mine now.’

  ‘I think Gran would have handed them in.’

  ‘Leave it out! Your gran used to make out she was whiter than white, but she lived a good life on the back of my dad’s thieving. The man never worked an honest day in his life, and my mum knew all about it.’

  ‘She obviously didn’t know about those.’

  ‘Maybe not, but she didn’t make a will leaving anything to you and the kids, so like it or not, these diamonds are mine now. I’ll leave you to sort out the rest of her stuff, and you’re welcome to it, but I’m off.’

  ‘I don’t care about me, but I do care about Pam, Gloria and the boys. If Gran knew about those stones, she would have wanted to look after all of us, not just you. You, on the other hand, have never cared about anyone but yourself.’

  Lizzie was almost through the bedroom door but stopped and turned back to look at her daughter. Jenny rarely spoke out to anyone and Lizzie thought the girl was beginning to sound like her gran. She felt a tiny twinge of guilt and opened her bag to take out one of the diamonds. ‘Here, have this, it’ll help you all out,’ she said, then left in a hurry with a clear conscience as she went to find Ten-Bob-Terry.

  The following day, Jenny sat on the edge of her gran’s bed and peered at the diamond. ‘Oh, Gran,’ she said quietly, ‘if only you’d known.’ Her mind turned over imagined scenarios of how her grandad had come by the precious stones. She wondered if he’d robbed a jeweller’s or maybe removed the stones from pieces of jewellery he’d stolen. However he’d acquired them, she knew it hadn’t been legitimate.

  As she thought about what to do with it, she wrapped the diamond in a tissue and slipped it into her bag. Her mum had mentioned someone she knew who would buy the diamonds, but Jenny didn’t know anyone like that and she was too nervous to take it to the pawnshop.

  Feeling anxious, she set off for work, tightly clutching her bag and eager to speak to Tina. The woman was worldly-wise, and Jenny hoped she’d give her some advice.

  It wasn’t until lunchtime that she managed to get Tina by herself. ‘Can you nip to the loos with me? I’ve something I want to show you,’ Jenny whispered.

  Tina nodded and followed her. Once the toilet door had closed, Jenny quickly checked the cubicles were empty, then pulled the tissue from her bag, unwrapped it and revealed the sparkling stone.

  ‘Christ alive, Jen, where did you get that?’

  ‘It was found in my gran’s wardrobe. Do you think it’s worth a lot of money?’

  ‘If it’s real, yeah, I’d say so! What was your gran doing with something like that in her wardrobe?’

  ‘I don’t know, but I’m worried that many years ago my grandad stole it.’

  ‘Bloody hell. What ya gonna to do with it?’

  ‘I’d like to sell it, but I don’t know how. If it’s stolen I can’t take it to a jeweller or the pawnshop, so I’m hoping you can steer me in the right direction.’

  ‘I know a bloke who buys knocked-off gear, but not something like that! I think it’d be a bit out of his price league.’

  Jenny remembered that her mother had said something similar and slumped. ‘What do I do with it then?’

  ‘I dunno. I can have a word with my old man tonight, see what he thinks.’

  ‘Would you? That would be great. Thanks, Tina. I feel a bit guilty about it, like I should hand it in, but I don’t know for sure if the diamonds were stolen or not. Not only that, the council will want to take my gran’s flat back, which will leave me and the kids homeless. I desperately need the money to find us somewhere to live.’

  ‘Yeah, well, this should give you enough, but did you say diamonds, plural? Does that mean there’s more than one of those?’

  ‘Yes, about a dozen, in all different shapes and sizes. Mum’s got the rest of them, but she gave me this.’

  ‘Quick, Jenny, put it away before someone comes in, and keep shtum. Your gran was a right dark horse, bless her.’

  ‘I will. You’re the only person who knows about this.’

  ‘Good, keep it that way.’

  The women went back to work but Jenny was nervous. She kept thinking about the diamond hidden in her bag. She still suspected it was nicked, and guilt about selling it on niggled at her.

  Tina gently nudged her. ‘I know you, so I can guess what you’re thinking, but don’t worry, with no proof they were stolen, you ain’t doing anything wrong.’

  Jenny’s mouth felt dry, and though she nodded, she wasn’t convinced. She couldn’t hand in the diamond as it would tarnish her grandparents’ name. Also, if the diamonds were from a theft, it could still be on record, and handing just one in could land her mother in trouble. She licked her dry lips then clenched her jaw. She didn’t like the thought of breaking the law, but at last her mind was made up. Whether it was wrong or not, the proceeds of selling the diamond could secure a home for her brothers and sister. Now she had to hope that Tina’s husband would know what to do.

  Chapter 54

  Gloria turned off the alarm clock and heaved herself out of bed. Jack hadn’t come home again, a
nd when he showed his face, once again he’d probably tell her that he’d stayed at his mum’s. With the baby on the way, she reluctantly accepted his excuses, but they were wearing a bit thin.

  Once ready, Gloria went out, and as she trudged along the High Road, she pulled her cardigan around her, trying to hide her expanding stomach. It would be impossible to keep her pregnancy a secret for much longer, and she knew she’d have to convince Jack to put a ring on her finger sooner than they’d planned. She’d mentioned it the last time he’d been home, but he’d shouted that he wasn’t ready to be a father and had walked out. She wasn’t ready to be a mother either, but they’d got into this together and she was going to make sure he faced up to his responsibilities.

  She walked through the shop but once again there was no sign of Jack on the butcher’s counter. This wasn’t the first time he’d skived off work and it was clear that he was defiantly avoiding her. Anger coursed through her. He’d been happy to make love to her without using any protection, even though she’d warned him that pulling out wasn’t safe. He’d insisted that it would be, but the baby in her belly proved it wasn’t.

  ‘Good morning, Gloria,’ the store manager greeted her stiffly. ‘Will Jack be joining us today?’

  ‘I don’t know, sir,’ Gloria answered.

  ‘Is he ill?’

  ‘I haven’t seen him.’

  ‘I see. Well, when I do, I’ll be telling him that he’s fired.’

  Gloria stood on the spot as the store manager spun on his heel and walked away. Great, she thought, with another mouth to feed, that was all they needed. Unable to contain her annoyance any longer she turned in the opposite direction, marched from the shop and headed for Jack’s mother’s house. Enough was enough. She wouldn’t allow him to dodge his responsibilities any longer.

  Jenny waited apprehensively outside the factory gates for Tina to arrive and was pleased when she spotted her friend’s bright pink coat.

  ‘Bloody hell, Jen, have you been stood out here all night?’

  ‘No, but I couldn’t sleep and was up at the crack of dawn.’

  ‘I told you not to worry, didn’t I? I had a word with my old man, and he says he can sell it for you. Mind, he’ll expect a drink out of it.’