Far From Home

by Anne Bennett

  ‘Ah, Sally, I can do nothing about that situation,’ Kate said. ‘But I will give you a birthday to remember. You see if I don’t.’

  ‘Oh, Kate, you have been great,’ Sally said. ‘But with Mammy not really caring whether I live or die, it won’t make a jot of difference whether Phil turns or not, so I said he can do as he pleases. And,’ she said, ‘I’ll tell you something else: I would want to marry Phil if he was a Hindu, Sikh or Jew, because it’s the person who counts.’

  ‘I know that,’ Kate said. ‘But how shall I answer Mammy?’

  ‘I would ignore the comment and just write your normal letter,’ Sally said. ‘In the end, she will probably get the message. Mammy isn’t stupid.’

  Kate did as her sister advised, stressing how kind David was and how generous and gentle. She sketched over the visit to his home for Sunday tea and mentioned his brother only briefly. She concentrated instead on the things they had done together and how they often made up a foursome with Susie and her boyfriend, Nick Kassel, because she thought that would reassure her mother that she was not getting up to things she shouldn’t be getting up to.

  But she didn’t forget what her sister had said, and on her birthday Sally had cards from all the Masons as well as Susie and Kate, and Kate had also bought her a rose-coloured blouse in shiny satin, which Sally was ecstatic about. She needn’t have worried, though: she wasn’t the only one determined to make sure Sally had a good day, for flowers were delivered before Kate left for work, and if there had been any doubt who had sent them there was a card attached:

  To Sally with all my love – Phil.

  ‘They are gorgeous,’ Kate declared. ‘And they will make the room smell lovely.’

  Kate was drinking a cup of tea prior to going to bed as Sally burst through the door that night; she had a bag full of cards and presents. ‘Look at all these, Kate. Everyone made such a fuss of me because I am the youngest there.’

  Kate looked at the boxes of chocolates and toiletries on the chair and all the lovely cards and remarked, ‘You have been thoroughly spoiled.’

  ‘I know,’ Sally said with a grin. ‘Isn’t it lovely? And this is what Phil gave me.’ She withdrew a beautiful heart-shaped card and a small jewellery box where a silver locket encircled a velvet pad.

  ‘Oh, goodness,’ Kate said, lifting it out and playing it between her fingers. ‘Isn’t it absolutely splendid? I thought the flowers were Phil’s present.’

  ‘Just part of it, he said,’ Sally told her sister.

  ‘Well, you are a very lucky girl,’ Kate said, and Sally grinned mischievously as she said, ‘I know.’

  With Christmas, the New Year and Sally’s birthday out of the way, Kate and Sally began to look for a bigger flat. Sally had had a rise as she had been at the cinema for three months, which was their trial period, so they could afford more rent. Everyone was on the lookout for them. It wasn’t easy, and anything suitable had usually been snapped up before they could get to see it; both felt frustrated as the time slipped by.

  But in other ways, Kate was happier than she had ever been, for she was so much at ease with David, as if she had known him all her life. They could and did talk about anything and everything. As they grew closer and closer, Kate wondered why she had ever been hesitant with the man she now loved totally.

  Her mother, in her letters, still occasionally harped on the one thing that mattered to her, and that was David’s religion, or lack of it. In her replies, as Sally had advised, Kate ignored any questions like that, but continued to write in the same vein as she had the first time. She told her mother again of the cinema visits and occasional trips to the music hall and the walks she enjoyed with David on fine Sunday afternoons.

  As the winter finally relinquished its icy grip on the city, and blustery winds of early spring began to billow through those dusty streets, Kate found Sally waiting for her one evening as she alighted from the tram on her way home from work. Sally was hopping agitatedly from one foot to the other. That had never happened before, and Kate was startled. ‘What is it?’ she asked.

  ‘I’ve seen a flat and it’s much bigger than ours,’ Sally burst out. ‘One of the other usherettes heard about it and came to tell me and I went round to see it before work. It’s really nice, but I said I had to ask you and she said she’d hold it till six and it’s nearly that now. I was given leave to come and meet you off the tram.’

  ‘Better get a move on, Kate,’ said Susie. ‘Best of luck.’

  ‘Yeah, see you tomorrow, Susie,’ Kate said with a wave of her hand, and to Sally she said, ‘Where is this place?’

  ‘That’s the beauty of it,’ Sally said. ‘It’s only a bit further down the Slade.’

  And so it was. A converted house like the one they were in and in very good condition too. The landlady lived on the ground floor and she answered the door with a smile on her face when she recognized Sally. ‘You’ve just made it,’ she said. ‘I’ve had a number after it but I said I would hold it until six.’

  ‘I couldn’t get here any earlier,’ Kate said. ‘I’ve come straight from work.’

  ‘Your sister said as much,’ the landlady said as she crossed the tiled hall to the stairs. ‘Now,’ she went on as she climbed the stairs with some difficulty because she was a very large lady. ‘My name is Dolly Donovan and the available flat, as your sister knows, is the one at the top of the house. And climbing all these stairs does me no good at all.’

  It certainly didn’t appear to, Kate thought, as she listened to the landlady’s laboured breathing every step of the way. She was wheezing heavily when the flat was finally reached. ‘It’s one hefty climb,’ she panted, and Kate agreed, particularly after a day at work, but it was well worth it. The front door opened into a small hall with a rug covering most of the lino; a door opened either side of it. The door to the right was a large room that stretched from one end of the house to the other, with a window either end. Like the hall, the whole place had lino on the floor, but a rug lay in front of the gas fireplace. A small brown moquette three-piece suite stood in front of the fire and by the far window was a table and four chairs. ‘Oh, it’s lovely,’ Kate exclaimed, stepping into the room.

  ‘The other room was originally the same size as this,’ Dolly said. ‘But when the house was converted to flats, a proportion of it was taken off to make a kitchen. Access to that is from the living room.’ She led the way down the room as she spoke and opened another door at the far end by the table and chairs. It was a far cry from the curtained area they had now. There was nothing rickety about these shelves and there were two wall cupboards besides – one housed crockery and glasses and the other was empty and could house foodstuffs. The sink was set by the window and below it was another cupboard. ‘Pots and pans and the like are in there,’ Dolly said, and Kate had a look in and was impressed by the amount and quality of the cooking utensils. But best of all was the fairly new gas stove with four burners and an oven – Kate knew she would just love cooking on that. The bedroom was sizeable and housed two single beds. ‘Oh, single beds!’ Kate exclaimed. She said to Dolly, ‘That’s much better. Sally and I share a bed at the moment.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Sally said. ‘And every time I turn over in the night I fall out.’

  ‘Oh, you and me both,’ Kate said, and Dolly laughed at the pair of them. ‘No danger of that here,’ she said. ‘I’m sure you will be able to sleep the night through.’

  ‘And we have a wardrobe.’

  ‘Yes,’ Dolly said. ‘When George was fitting this out, I insisted on a wardrobe, and you have a chest of drawers and a dressing table to share too.’

  ‘That’s grand,’ Kate said.

  ‘Bathroom is on the next floor down, next to the broom cupboard with brushes and mops and all,’ Dolly said. ‘I expect these places to be kept clean. We don’t want to be overrun with mice or rats.’

  ‘And are baths by arrangement, like they are in our place at the moment?’ Kate asked.

  ‘Yeah,’ said D
olly. ‘But you will be well used to that.’

  ‘Oh, yes, we are, that’s fine.’

  Dolly nodded. ‘That’s about all then. Oh, there is a basement area to do any washing you may have, with a gas boiler and two big sinks. And there are lines indoors and out.’

  ‘Oh,’ Kate said. ‘You seem to have thought of everything. What’s the rent?’

  ‘Seven and sixpence,’ Dolly said. ‘And wouldn’t be so cheap if it wasn’t right at the top of the house.’

  It was still half as much again as they were paying for the one room, but with two wages they could manage it. So, when Dolly asked, ‘Would you like a few minutes to talk it over?’ Kate’s eyes met the shining ones of her sister and she said, ‘That won’t be necessary, Mrs Donovan, er Dolly. My sister and I will take it and welcome.’

  Just over a week after they had first seen it, they were ready to move in. David, Nick and Susie came to help and Sally was given the afternoon off too, and their bits and pieces were moved in no time. ‘You really have fallen on your feet this time,’ Nick said in approval.

  ‘I’ll say,’ Kate said. ‘I knew straight away it would suit us both down to the ground. Clever girl, Sally, for finding it.’

  ‘Didn’t do much,’ Sally said. ‘That’s the good of telling everyone. Someone is bound to come up with something sooner or later. As it is, the mother of Dulcie – who I work with – is quite good friends with Dolly Donovan and she put in a word when she knew she had a flat vacant. Dulcie said that she is real particular who she has in her place. I suppose ’cos she lives there herself.’

  ‘Particular you say,’ David mused with a twinkle in his eye. ‘And yet she took you two on.’

  ‘Oh, you,’ Kate said, giving him a push as the others laughed. ‘Don’t do that,’ he cautioned. ‘I have something hidden beneath my jacket and I’d hate you to break it.’

  ‘Why, what is it?’

  ‘This,’ said David, producing a bottle of champagne.

  ‘Ooh,’ said Susie and Kate together.

  ‘I’ve never tasted champagne,’ Sally said. ‘I haven’t tasted much alcohol really.’

  ‘That’s because of your tender age,’ David said. ‘But today we’ll make an exception. Get some glasses, Kate, and we’ll drink to the future.’

  Despite the rumblings in Europe, which the girls thought too far away for them to worry about, the future looked rosy. They all had jobs, and so they had money in their pockets, plenty of entertainment to encourage them to part with it – and added to that, they were in love.

  Kate had never been happier than she was in the spring of 1939. They had been to see David’s parents again one cloudy day in late February, though David said he would rather have gone to the pictures if it wasn’t a fit day to go out. But Kate, though she had no real desire to go to the Burton’s either, didn’t want David’s parents to think that she was keeping him away. ‘Why should they?’ David asked. ‘I never spent much time at home before I met you anyway.’

  ‘Even so—’

  ‘They don’t want to see me either,’ David said. ‘Since that first time, they have never asked us up, have they?’

  ‘No,’ Kate had to agree. ‘Maybe it’s me they don’t like.’

  ‘Shouldn’t think so,’ David said. ‘And anyway, I’m not going without you.’

  ‘Look,’ cajoled Kate. ‘All we have to do is call in, have a cup of tea and leave again. That’s not so hard.’

  ‘Oh, all right, if you’re so determined.’

  ‘And don’t argue with your brother, will you?’

  David looked at her and smiled. ‘Any more demands?’ he said, and then, as Kate was about to speak, he lifted his hand and said, ‘I will do my level best not to fight with Lawrence. Mainly because of what you said last time, about him winning if I react.’

  ‘And so he will,’ Kate said. ‘So keep your temper.’

  ‘I’ll try.’

  Kate sighed. That would have to do, and so they walked to the Burtons’ that blustery cold Sunday afternoon. But even Kate acknowledged later that none of them seemed to care whether they were there or not. Dora was in the middle of baking scones for tea and Alf and Lawrence, newly returned from the pub, were half asleep in the chairs either side of the fire. However, Lawrence perked up considerably when he caught sight of Kate, much to her dismay. ‘Well hello,’ he said, jumping to his feet and catching hold of her hand before she had the chance to snatch it away. To David he said, ‘What brings you here then, our kid?’

  David stared at him before saying, ‘It might have escaped your notice, but I live here.’

  ‘Do you?’ Lawrence said with mock incredulity. ‘D’you hear that, Ma? David lives here? No one would realize that, with the little time you spend here.’

  ‘And can you wonder at it when this is the sort of welcome I get?’

  ‘Well, what sort of welcome do you want from your own family?’ Alf asked.

  ‘That’s right,’ Lawrence said. ‘But you, my dear,’ he went on, turning to face Kate and giving the hand he was still holding a squeeze, ‘you can have as warm a welcome as you please.’

  Beside her, Kate heard David’s sharp intake of breath. She decided she would show him how she dealt with men like Lawrence Burton, so she smiled sweetly and said, ‘That’s very nice of you. I might feel more comfortable if you loosed my hand.’

  He gave a hard laugh and she saw the glitter of malice in his eyes, but he did let her go. David put his arm around her and, turning to his mother, he said, ‘Are we going to be asked to sit down, and is there a cup of tea in the offing?’

  ‘And we had the tea and scones straight from the oven, and Dora is a good cook and they should have been delicious,’ Kate told Susie the next morning as they changed in the cloakroom. ‘But, you know, they tasted like sawdust and I found them hard to swallow because the atmosphere was poisonous.’

  ‘What d’you mean?’ one of the other girls asked, hearing what Kate said.

  ‘It’s mainly down to his brother, Lawrence,’ Kate said. She then added, ‘No, actually, that’s not true. His parents are just as bad not saying a word about it. He’s constantly making snide remarks and mocking almost anything David says,’ she said in explanation.

  ‘And flirting with you, don’t forget.’

  ‘Yeah, openly flirting,’ Kate said.

  ‘With his own brother’s girl?’

  Kate nodded. ‘That’s the point,’ she said, ‘it’s all done to make David mad. And this isn’t banter between brothers, this is real malicious stuff.’

  ‘He’s a nasty piece of work,’ Susie said. ‘One of my brothers had a taste of his bullying tactics when he was younger. Seems he hasn’t improved with age.’

  ‘No,’ Kate said. ‘And you know I talked David into going to see them in the first place.’

  ‘More fool you then,’ another of her workmates said. ‘Be a while before you’d do that again, I’d say.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Kate agreed, ‘and you’d say right.’

  Neither Kate nor David discussed that awful visit, for there was nothing really to say; instead, they took joy in one another’s company on Sundays as they continued their jaunts out. They wandered down to Salford Bridge the following Sunday, where David explained why the locks on the canals were necessary and how they worked, and Kate saw some of the brightly painted, spick-and-span little barges, and noticed with some surprise the lace curtains at the windows. Another day they went on to Aston Park and David took Kate out in a rowing boat. She had never been on a boat and she found getting into one and bobbing about on the swirling grey-blue water a very scary business; she wouldn’t have been a bit surprised if she had landed up getting very wet indeed.

  However, all was well, and when they both climbed out, David took her to see Aston Hall. It’s well worth a look,’ he said. ‘And what you have to remember is at one time this park would be owned by one family.’

  Aston Hall was enormous. To either side of the main structure were ext
ra wings and, at the back, amongst the many chimneys, were three blue domes, and on the front of the middle one was set a large clock. Kate thought it quite wrong that this large, lavish house and all the land surrounding it should belong to one family.

  ‘It’s the way it was then,’ David said with a shrug when she said this. ‘Lots of this city’s parks are the same. At least now they are open for everyone to enjoy.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Kate. ‘Until I met you I’d never bothered going to any of the parks around. You have opened my eyes.’

  In mid-April, Kate was just about to get into bed when she heard Sally’s key in the lock. This was normal – usually Sally would make a drink and come to bed herself without disturbing Kate, who often wouldn’t see her till the next morning. However, that night she opened the bedroom door and said plaintively, ‘Oh, Kate, I’m glad you’re not asleep.’

  Kate glanced up. The sight of Sally’s woebegone face and red-rimmed eyes drove the sleepiness from her and she shot out of bed and put her arms around her sister. ‘What is it? What’s up?’ she asked.

  Tears trickled down Sally’s cheeks as she said brokenly, ‘It’s Phil. Oh, Kate, he’s been called up.’

  ‘Called up?’ Kate repeated. ‘Do you mean called up for the Army?’

  Sally nodded and Kate said, ‘But why?’

  ‘Case there’s a war, I suppose,’ Sally said. ‘He isn’t the only one. He met a man he was at school with on the way to work and he had his papers too, and the son of a woman at work as well.’ She looked at Kate and said, ‘Makes it horribly real somehow, doesn’t it?’

  ‘It does,’ Kate conceded, wrapping herself in her dressing gown as she spoke.