The Forgotten Family of Liverpool: A gritty postwar family saga novel that will break your heart

by Pam Howes

  ‘What you got?’ Dora asked.

  ‘Records,’ he replied. ‘I’m going to try and sell them on. The Yanks brought them over. Big hits that we haven’t got here yet. Don’t wanna chance leaving them in the car with that lot across the way.’

  Dora nodded. ‘They’ll be going soon, well, Gloria will,’ she muttered. ‘So will Sadie and Stan—’ She burst into tears. Frank wrapped his arms around her as she sobbed on his shoulder. He led her to the sofa in the front room.

  ‘Have they been offered a place? Sadie and Stan, I mean.’

  ‘Yes,’ she sniffed. ‘The letter came today.’

  ‘You’ll probably get something yourself very soon,’ he said. ‘It can’t be much longer now. Apart from you and the girl at the end with all the kids and Gloria’s sister, there’ll be no one left.’

  ‘I know. And that’s what scares me. I don’t want to be here on my own when they’ve all gone.’

  Frank sighed. ‘I wish I could help. Buy a place big enough for us all to live in, Mam as well. But I just don’t earn enough.’

  ‘Frank, I’ve got to stand on my own two feet. I’ll be fine. It’s just been a right draining week, that’s all. Anyway, how’s Mam?’

  He shook his head. ‘Not great. Apart from her aches and pains, she’s doing weird stuff. Her glasses went missing last night. I found them in the fridge. And she put salt in our tea this morning. She’s been getting worse memory-wise since that bump on the head. One of us could do with taking her to the doctor’s really. But with us both working all day, it’s a bit difficult. Anyway, see what you think on Sunday. Or do you want me to come and get you on Saturday for Jackie’s dance class? Save you getting the bus, and then you might as well stay for the weekend and I’ll go and get Carol from Joe’s.’

  ‘That sounds great. Better than staying down here now that family weekends with Joe are no more. I’ll shout Jackie in before you go. Are you having your tea with Mam or do you want something with us? It’s only egg and chips I’m afraid.’

  ‘It’s okay, Sis, I’d better get back and make sure Mam’s okay.’

  Dora opened the back door. She beckoned to Frank to come and look, putting her finger to her lips. The kids from the top house, alongside Sadie’s lot, were sitting on the floor in a semi-circle and her daughter had centre stage, strutting up and down, performing Shirley Temple’s ‘Animal Crackers in My Soup’ to her captive audience.

  Dora grinned as Frank whispered, ‘If that one doesn’t end up with a career on stage I’ll eat my hat.’

  ‘She’s a right little diva,’ Dora said. ‘And though I say it myself, she’s pretty good, isn’t she?’

  23

  Joe picked up the post from behind the front door: two envelopes, a large buff one and the other bearing the welfare department’s stamp across the top. He threw them onto the table and went into the bedroom to get changed out of his work clothes. The last two weeks had been nothing short of a nightmare. Dora was still refusing to speak to him and the weekends had been difficult with Frank doing the go-betweens with the girls, collecting them and dropping them off. Carol had been taken to Dora’s mam’s house for the weekend visit with her mother and Jackie had been here with him after her dance classes. It had put Ivy in a bad mood as she’d wanted to talk to him alone about his plans. When he told her he needed to spend some time with his daughter and he didn’t have any plans yet she’d hit the roof. People were pointing fingers at work and she said she was struggling to hide her rounded belly from them. She was constantly going on about how embarrassed she felt. She’d hinted at needing a ring on her finger to show his intentions. He knew he couldn’t avoid it for much longer, and his still clinging onto the hope that Dora would agree to speak to him and they’d sort things out was just plain stupid; it wasn’t going to happen. He knew it was time to acknowledge that and make an honest woman of Ivy as soon as he could.

  The buff envelope contained what he expected it to contain; the papers for his decree nisi. The courts had decided his marriage was no longer viable. In just over six weeks’ time he could apply for his decree absolute and would be a free man – and he really didn’t want to be. There was a very slight hope that Dora wouldn’t accept it, but that was unlikely. He sighed and opened the second envelope. He breathed a sigh of relief. Mr Oliver, as previously stated, said that Carol was to remain in his care until Mrs Rodgers was rehoused, at which point the situation would be looked at again. He was to inform the authorities if his marital position changed before that time. He pushed the letter back into the envelope, wondering if Dora had received similar mail today. No doubt he’d hear something from Frank if that was the case. It was time to collect Carol from Dolly’s and, once she was in bed, to sit and contemplate the future.

  Ivy smiled as she put the phone down. Joe had just called her to let her know his decree nisi was through. She was almost there, although what he’d said afterwards didn’t fill her with joy. Carol was to remain with him for the foreseeable future.

  Ivy sighed and went back upstairs to her flat, Roly on her heels. He spent more time with her than he did her landlord and never missed an opportunity to follow her. She picked up the sewing project she was working on, an underskirt with a bodice that she’d pinned a panel on inside at the front. She’d unpicked an old cushion that was stuffed with cotton flock and planned to stuff the panel with half, saving the rest for later to pad it out a bit more. Joe wouldn’t realise it wasn’t her body filling out as he hadn’t been near her since she’d told him her news. He’d not even given her a hug. He just looked at her with contempt in his eyes most of the time but it didn’t stop her living in hope. Deep down he was a good man and she knew they’d be really happy one day.

  She was still in touch with an old school friend who lived in Manchester. They hadn’t met up for ages but they wrote to each other every few months. Ivy was going to visit her friend in a few weeks, which would have to be before the wedding, if there was to be one. The timing would all need careful planning, and if Joe bought her a ring soon, she knew it wasn’t in him to be so cruel as to dump her right after a miscarriage, which would happen while she was in Manchester. He’d be sure to want to look after her when she got back and not cause her further upset by calling it all off. And Carol would hopefully be back at her mother’s by then, once he’d let the authorities know of his impending wedding. Her plan was falling into place. The next few weeks would be crucial, but Ivy was quite certain it would all come right in the end.

  ‘And have you any idea how much longer it’s going to be?’ Dora asked. ‘There’s only me and one other neighbour left in the street. It’s dangerous. There’s all sorts of unsavoury strangers hanging around and there are rats in the yard. I’ve got a little girl who likes to play outside. I have to keep her indoors all the time now.’ She listened as the man on the other end of the line said he had no idea when she would be rehoused. She hadn’t been on the list very long; her needs were lower than others in that area and she only had the one child. Bigger families than hers were still waiting, he told her. Dora slammed the phone down and shook her head in despair.

  ‘No joy?’ Esther said, handing her a cup of tea. She raised an eyebrow in Sammy’s direction and inclined her head towards the stairs behind them. He nodded and disappeared, leaving them chatting.

  ‘No. It’s ridiculous.’ Dora helped herself to a biscuit from the tin Esther held in front of her. ‘I can’t get Carol back until I move and yet if I had her with me we’d be moving sooner because we’d be a bigger family. It’s one of those stupid situations where you go round in circles all the time.’ Dora felt like her nerves were on a knife edge lately. The thought of going back to Wright Street after work filled her with despair. The only bit of light was Frank popping in whenever he could on his way home from work. But that was becoming less frequent as the days went by. He didn’t like to get back to Knowsley too late. Mam’s neighbours were very good at sitting with her for a few hours each day, but most of them had homes
and families to see to.

  Frank had recently taken a day off work and had brought the doctor out as Mam was refusing to leave the house. The doctor said her confusion and memory loss were down to old age and not just the bump on her head. It was his opinion that she needed to be looked after full-time in a local authority old people’s home, of which he said there were several in Liverpool centre and the surrounding areas. If they were in agreement, someone would be brought in to assess Mam’s needs before she would be accepted.

  Dora wished she could look after her but Mam was struggling with stairs and needed to be living on one level. She and Frank were still considering what they should do for the best. Maisie opposite had thrown up her hands in horror and told them they couldn’t put Mary in the workhouse. She’d gone home in tears and Dora had run after her to tell her the homes were nothing like the workhouse and that if they did choose to get her looked after properly, then maybe she could come with them to look around and to put her mind at rest.

  Dora went back upstairs to the workroom and carried on with the wedding orders. The bridal gown was draped over a mannequin in readiness for a fitting later in the week and she began to pin the pattern pieces onto pink silk fabric for the little bridesmaids’ dresses. The wireless was playing softly in the background and she hummed along to Doris Day’s ‘Secret Love’. Jackie was downstairs with Esther, drawing as usual. Esther had taught her the numbers up to ten and the alphabet. Jackie could not only recite them perfectly, but could also write each number and letter and something that resembled her name. Dora felt proud that her youngest would have a head start for starting school in September.

  Sammy was on the top floor of the building, banging around and moving what sounded like heavy boxes about. They never used the top floor and Dora had only been up there once since she’d worked here. She heard footsteps on the uncarpeted stairs and he appeared, cobwebs in his hair and beard, but with a big smile on his face.

  ‘Just popping down to have a word with Esther and to wash my hands,’ he said.

  Dora nodded and wondered why he couldn’t have washed his hands in the small cloakroom up here where they had a sink and a hot water geyser as well as a lavatory. Doris Day finished and Patti Page’s ‘Tennessee Waltz’ began. Dora drew a deep breath. She and Joe had danced to this song so many times. It had been one of their favourites. She could feel tears welling and blinked them away.

  24

  Joe picked up a bunch of colourful flowers from the passenger seat. He felt in his pocket for the small box, gritted his teeth and got out of the car. He’d phoned Ivy earlier to tell her he would come over later as both girls were with Dora for the night and he wanted to ask her something; Ivy had said she would cook them something nice. He walked up the path of the large detached house, rang the doorbell and rocked on his heels while he waited for her to let him in. He could hear Roly barking somewhere in the house and hoped her landlord wouldn’t come to the door and have a go at him for getting Ivy in a mess.

  The door swung open and Ivy greeted him with a peck on the cheek. He made to take her in his arms but she pulled back and led the way upstairs to her first-floor flat. He shrugged and followed her. She was probably playing hard to get. He didn’t blame her; she’d know his heart wasn’t in what he was about to do. But he also knew she wouldn’t turn him down. His stomach growled at the appetising aroma of whatever it was she’d made for their tea. ‘Smells good,’ he ventured.

  ‘Steak and onions,’ she said with a smile. ‘Have a seat Joe.’ She gestured to the sofa. ‘I won’t be a minute. Just finishing off in the kitchen. Can I get you a glass of something? I’ve got some pale ale in, or sherry.’

  ‘Ale, thanks.’ He sat down and looked around the neat and tidy sitting room. There was nothing out of place, but the one thing Ivy wasn’t good at, unlike Dora, was putting colours together. Nothing matched; the orange and brown carpet square clashed with the pink floral curtains and the blue and gold patterned cushions looked out of place on the green tweed sofa and chair. He shook his head. Living with Ivy would be worse than living in a kaleidoscope. But that was the least of his worries, he thought as she handed him a glass of ale. At least she could cook. She sat down in the chair opposite him with a small glass of sherry.

  ‘Are you not sitting with me?’

  ‘Er, no I’m fine here, Joe.’ She wafted a hand in front of her face. ‘I like the breeze coming in from the open window. I get really hot at the moment, you know…’ She tailed off and looked away from his gaze.

  ‘Fair enough.’ He pointed at the flowers that he’d laid on the small coffee table. ‘I brought those for you.’

  ‘Thank you. It’s a long time since anyone bought me flowers. I’ll put them in a vase.’ She got up, making a grunting noise as she did so, and went back into the kitchen.

  Joe stared after her. The navy dress she had on was one of those smock styles like Dora had worn when she’d been pregnant. It was hard to gauge exactly how big Ivy’s baby bump was as the dress draped like a tent around her, but he could tell she was nowhere near as big as Dora had been at this stage, even when she’d been carrying only Jackie and not the twins. Ivy came back into the room with the flowers and put the vase in the centre of the table that was set for two. She lowered herself back into the chair and picked up her glass of sherry.

  ‘So, how are you keeping?’ he began. She didn’t look pale or tired or anything like he’d expected she would. ‘You said you’d been sickly and what have you.’

  ‘I’m all right. It seems to have passed now,’ she said, looking down at her glass. ‘Tea won’t be long. Just waiting for the carrots to cook.’

  ‘Okay, well while we’re waiting, I think you know why I’m here tonight.’ He winked and rooted in his pocket. Her cheeks flushed pink and she gasped.

  ‘Oh, I don’t think we should, Joe, you know, not until I’ve seen the doctor, I mean. With me already having lost a baby, it might be dangerous. We need to make sure everything is okay, er, down there, before we do anything again.’

  Joe stared at her, the black velvet ring box in his hand. ‘What are you on about?’ Then it dawned. ‘No, no, Ivy, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m not trying to drag you off to bed, gel. And yes, I agree, we’ll wait until the doc says it’s okay. We don’t want to do any harm, do we?’ Joe sighed with relief. He was in no hurry to make love to her again, at least not tonight. There were still a couple of weeks to go before his decree absolute came through and he always lived in hope. He shook his head to clear it. Why on earth was he thinking that? Here he was, about to propose to his pregnant bit-on-the-side, and he was still hoping his ex-wife would come back. ‘Get a grip, Joe,’ he thought as he got to his feet. ‘Ivy,’ he said, dropping down on one knee, just like he’d done with Dora eight years ago when he came back from the war. ‘Will you marry me, please?’ He nearly choked on the words but managed a smile as her hands flew to her mouth.

  She nodded, her eyes bright with tears. ‘Oh yes, Joe, of course I will.’ She stayed seated while he slid the ring onto her finger and then leaned over to plant a gentle kiss on her lips.

  He hurriedly got to his feet as she stared at the little diamond solitaire ring that had taken a chunk of the money he’d been saving towards a house deposit. He’d have to start again now; he was determined to leave the ROF at some point and with that move he’d lose the bungalow. Still, with Ivy to look after Carol soon enough, there was nothing to stop him working further afield.

  ‘It’s beautiful. Thank you.’ She smiled at him, her eyes sparkling.

  ‘You’re welcome,’ he said, sitting back down again and wondering how he could conjure up a bit of something for her so that he could make her feel a bit special.

  ‘I’ll go and serve up our meal,’ she said. ‘Why don’t you sit at the table? I won’t be a minute.’

  As she vanished into the kitchen he breathed a sigh of relief. All being well now she wouldn’t expect him to stay the night.

  Dora tucked Ca
rol and Jackie up in the double bed and told them to stop giggling as Granny was trying to go to sleep in the other bedroom. They’d had a nice afternoon out with Frank and her mam at Sefton Park. Mam had said she’d stay at home but both she and Frank had insisted she join them and she’d enjoyed herself. Frank had taken the girls out on the boating lake and to see the Peter Pan statue that they loved so much, while Dora took Mam into the Palm House café for tea and cake. It was good to see her taking an interest in her surroundings again instead of sitting in her chair by the fire and twiddling her thumbs. When she’d said in a loud voice that a nearby woman’s hat, a mass of colourful feathers, looked ridiculous and she’d probably been poaching pheasants on Lord Derby’s land, Dora knew something of her old mam was still in there somewhere.

  They’d still not made a decision on Mam’s future. Dora kept hoping she’d regain a bit of confidence and be able to live independently for a while longer. But it was the memory loss that seemed to be getting worse and that could prove dangerous if Mam turned the gas stove on and forgot to light it, or something. Maybe the company of other elderly ladies in a home would be good for her, someone to gossip with. She and Frank needed to have a chat soon and get things moving.

  Joe set off to collect his daughters. He was looking forward to spending a nice day with them and was taking them swimming and then back to the bungalow for a bit of dinner. Ivy had told him last night that she wouldn’t be in work for three days from Monday as she was visiting an old school friend in Manchester. She was leaving this afternoon on the train from Lime Street. He’d offered her a lift to the station, but she’d told him it was all in hand as her landlord was taking her. Joe was secretly relieved she was having time off; it meant she wouldn’t be flashing her ring around the canteen for a while, and they could keep the baby news to themselves for a bit longer.