I shrugged. Kit wasn’t alone in wanting to see this new man. I was also keen to see him, as was Bella – I could tell by her comical looks in my direction.
Fortunately Bella was behaving herself but I knew Granny had given her a warning prior to arriving at the house. ‘Now remember, Bella, no asking Hattie about her private life.’
Bella had snorted with derision but Grandad had also given her a parting shot at Hattie’s door so she seemed to be on her best behaviour. She was standing beside Rita and Nellie, our old neighbours who had been so good to us after Lily’s birth. Thankfully they had money coming into their houses now that their men were in full employment and it showed on their faces. What a difference a war makes I thought cynically. Mass unemployment for two decades and then, when we were on the verge of extinction, everyone had a job.
I was a bit worried about Grandad as he looked tired and thin. Not that he was ever fat but he now seemed so spare looking. He was busy chatting with Mr Pringle and I hoped he would put on a bit of weight when summer arrived.
Granny and Alice were dressed up in their Sunday best frocks as was Hattie and Mrs Pringle but Rosie stole the show. Although quietly dressed in a plain blue frock and a tiny hat, she seemed to have a radiance about her these days. And I wasn’t the only one to notice this as Dad couldn’t take his eyes off her. Good for you, Rosie, I thought.
When I said Rosie stole the show, that wasn’t quite correct because the star of the show was the baby. He smiled serenely at everybody, the earlier tears forgotten and we were all enchanted with him. Rosie and Dad were bursting with pride when we all commented on their lovely son in his gorgeous christening gown.
I managed to escape to where Maddie and Daniel were sitting. She was chatting to Minnie but there was no sign of Peter. He was busy playing with the children from next door, she said, so she had left him with her mother.
Maddie laughed. ‘Your dad looks so happy, Ann, and I think Rosie will burst with pride very soon.’
Then we all became serious as we talked about Danny and Peter who were both still away – Danny in a hospital somewhere and Peter fighting somewhere in Europe.
‘When will it all end?’ asked Maddie.
I shook my head as I looked at them both.
‘Now that the Japs have captured Singapore,’ said Minnie, ‘it’ll go on forever or until the Japs and Jerries capture every country and maybe then it’ll stop.’
I stayed silent because what could I say? What did I know about warfare?
Then Connie came over and that stopped the topic of war.
Kit, George and her sisters were all saying their goodbyes and they were followed soon after by the Pringle family, Connie and Minnie. They were no sooner out the door when Hattie’s friend appeared – Mr Graham Todd.
Bella was so astonished that she forgot to close her mouth while the rest of us tried to appear nonchalant. Lily was the only one who stared without shame.
Over the past few weeks I had tried hard to visualise this new man in Hattie’s life but I hadn’t come within a hundred miles with my thoughts. I had visualised him as tall, debonair and aesthetic-looking – a cross between a monk and a professor.
Mr Graham Todd, however, looked like a refugee from the variety theatre and the only words I could use to describe him were glossy and brown – like a russet brown chestnut.
From the top of his shiny bald head to his brown suit and glossy brown shoes, he resembled a taller version of Arthur Askey. His face was full of laughter lines and his brown eyes twinkled with mirth. He was an inch or two taller than Hattie – about five feet nine inches.
I half expected him to start entertaining us with a string of jokes but, when he spoke, his voice was very cultured and soft. He shook hands with us all and I saw very clearly what Hattie had seen in this man that had been lacking in every other man she had known.
I could see Granny and Bella were smitten with him as was Lily. As for me, well, I thought he was wonderful and just what Hattie needed.
Hattie explained his late arrival. ‘I was a bit wary of Graham meeting Kit and her family. I was frightened what they would think – you know, Mum, because they’re Pat’s family.’
Granny said she understood although she did say the Ryan family were all glad for her happiness and she shouldn’t leave any future meeting too long. ‘Let Graham meet them as soon as possible, Hattie, because they’ll be as pleased with him as we all are.’
Hattie looked radiant and gazed over to where her new man was chatting to Bella. Bella saw her and called her over. ‘I like your new man, Hattie. I just wish I was twenty years younger and you wouldn’t get a look in against me.’
Graham laughed.
Meanwhile Lily was playing with the baby as a bemused Rosie and Dad could hardly take their eyes off Mr Todd.
Lily was holding the certificate of baptism and was reading it aloud. She said, ‘John Alexander Young. That makes his initials J A Y – I think I’ll call him Jay Neill.’
Rosie looked at me. ‘What a braw name, Lily. If your Dad doesn’t mind, then that’s what we’ll call him – Jay Neill.’
Dad laughed. ‘Jay’s fine with me.’
As if liking his new nickname, the baby smiled at us and it was time to go home.
Afterwards, in the house, Rosie gently removed Jay’s lovely gown and lovingly wrapped it in its tissue paper. ‘Ann, will you give this back to Mrs Chambers and say thank you very, very much for the loan of it. It’s the bonniest christening gown I’ve ever seen. Tell her we’ll pay for the cleaning of it.’ Her eyes were moist as she handed it over.
Lily piped up. ‘Maybe you should keep it for a wee while longer, Rosie. It can always do the next christening.’
Dad, who was drinking a cup of tea, almost choked.
Rosie smiled. ‘We can aye borrow it again, Lily, if we need it.’
She glanced over at me and her look said it all – at my age, I don’t think so.
6
Kit’s letter arrived out of the blue. This was something she had never done before and, although it was more of a note than a full-scale letter, it urged me to pay her a visit as soon as possible.
Lily wanted to come with me and, as I didn’t want to alarm her, I agreed. There was a touch of late summer in the air as we set off to catch the tramcar the following Sunday. Lily’s head was full of the qualifying exams which would take place in the early part of next year.
‘I’m hoping to get good marks, Ann, so I’m studying really hard.’
That was true – she spent hours with her homework every night while I listened to the wireless. We were both still savouring the peace of the flat and I felt as if the war could quite easily pass us by. I was also aware how grown up she was becoming – her lovely childish ways were now a passing memory and I mourned them. She was a child no longer.
I asked her, ‘Are you looking forward to going to the secondary school, Lily?’
Her face lit up. ‘Aye, Ann, I am and I hope to be an artist when I grow up – just like Joy.’
Joy, Maddie’s sister, being born on the same day as Lily was also looking forward to leaving the primary school behind but in her case she was going to the secondary section of the High School and not changing schools like Lily. Lily would soon leave Rosebank School behind and move on to Rockwell School.
As usual, Atholl Street was full of people and they were all enjoying the warm sunshine. I couldn’t but help notice the change in the atmosphere in the street. Although all the young men were away fighting in the war, the remaining families were now all in jobs and there was a more prosperous feel to the area. Kit and her family were certainly better off. George was still working at the foundry while Patty was doing an apprenticeship at the Caledon Shipyard. Kit still looked after Kitty while Kathleen went to work. When we arrived, Kit seemed so pleased to see us.
‘Lily, would you like to take Kitty for a walk?’ she asked.
I got the impression Lily would rather have stayed and listen
ed to the gossip but she took the little girl’s hand.
‘Don’t go too far, Lily – just up the street and back,’ said Kit.
I was now beginning to be really worried – first the unusual letter and now the request to get Lily and Kitty out of the house. I looked at her. ‘What’s the matter? Is there anything wrong, Kit?’
Kit looked harassed as she put the kettle on. ‘Och, it’s Kathleen.’
‘What’s wrong with her?’
She ran her hand through her hair, making it stand up on end. I had noticed on my last trip that she had cut her hair short and it suited her.
‘Kathleen’s left her job at Hunter’s Store, Ann.’
I was bewildered. Surely leaving a job wasn’t the end of the world. Maybe it had been during the long years of the depression but not now. I said so.
‘No, it’s not that. It’s just the new job she’s got that’s the worry.’
By now, I was totally perplexed. Why did Kathleen’s new job warrant an urgent letter?
Kit placed my cup of tea on the table and gave me a worried look. ‘She’s got a new job with that photographer chappie who took Maddie and Danny’s wedding photos. You must remember him? He’s got a posh studio on the Perth Road.’
‘But surely that’s a good move, Kit – a step up in her life? Is she learning the photography side or is she a receptionist?’
Kit’s eyes slid away from me and her cheeks reddened. ‘Well, she is a receptionist. She takes bookings that come in but that’s not all.’ Kit stopped and gazed painfully at me, deciding whether to continue while I stayed silent. ‘No. She also does modelling work for him. It’s all high-class stuff but it’s still modelling.’ She made it sound like a dirty word.
I said, ‘Surely it’ll just be facial photographs he’s taking.’
‘She says it is but you know what a bad name some of these pictures get – you know … if she’s hardly got any clothes on.’
I could see Kit was on the verge of tears and I tried to reassure her. ‘He’s a very high-class photographer, Kit, and, if Kathleen tells you it’s all above board, then you have to believe her. She is a beautiful girl after all and he’s probably struck with her lovely face.’
Kit looked relieved. ‘That’s what he said when he came here to offer her the job and I don’t think Kathleen would tell lies.’
I was puzzled. ‘So you’ve met him, Kit.’
She nodded. ‘He’s very professional and he seems like a nice man but Maggie is going on and on about it.’
Maggie, I might have known – Sammy Malloy’s mother.
‘She’s going on and on about how Sammy will react when he comes home from the prisoner of war camp. She says he’ll go mad if he finds out his wife is a nude model.’
I almost burst out laughing but stopped when I saw how distressed Kit was. I was also annoyed at Maggie. Did she think her precious Sammy was ever going to get back with Kathleen after the beating he gave her before leaving for the army?
I told Kit this and her face darkened at the mention of the beating. She remembered the incident well.
Then, to speak of the devil, Maggie appeared. She looked as if she had been dragged from the kitchen as there was flour all down the front of her apron. She saw my eyes on it and she wiped some of it away with an impatient hand.
‘I’m just making doughboys to put in my mince.’ She looked at Kit. ‘Now have you managed to talk your lassie out of this job, Kit? It’s not the kind of thing we would want in our family.’
I was incensed. Her family consisted of men who regularly drank themselves into oblivion and daughters-in-law who were run down with pregnancies, money worries and men who treated them like drudges. Then I thought of Kathleen and despaired that she had ever married into this family – even although Kitty was on the way when she did. I thought how brave she was to get out of this never-ending struggle to make ends meet and, if her beauty helped her along the way, then so be it. But I stayed silent – after all, this wasn’t my affair.
Kit glared at Maggie. ‘Kathleen does have a mind of her own and, if she likes the job, then that’s fine by George and me.’
‘But modelling in the nude, Kit? Have you gone out of your mind?’
‘She’s not modelling in the nude, Maggie. It’s all professional facial shots and all very high-class work.’
Maggie snorted. It sounded like a steam train. ‘My man Mick was telling me that photos like that were seen during the last war and they were all taken by high-class photographers.’ Her thin face was pinched with annoyance at the thought of any photos of her daughter-in-law being touted around the army barracks. She stood up quickly. ‘Well, I cannae wait here any longer, Kit, because my doughboys will be like gold balls but I’ve said my piece about Kathleen and you know how we all feel.’
I thought Kit would explode but Maggie swept out of the house like a whirlwind to rescue her dinner.
‘Don’t let her bother you, Kit. I think Kathleen is right in making a step upwards for herself and for getting out of the clutches of the Malloys. Sammy is such a wee creep and I could never understand what Kathleen saw in him.’
For the first time since I arrived, Kit smiled. ‘Well, you have to admit he’s a handsome wee creep.’
I nodded. It would seem that good looks won every fair maiden – Kathleen included. But now she had the sense to make something of her life and not be bogged down with a husband who treated her like dirt, plus maybe a handful of children. There would be no escape then.
Lily and Kitty arrived back home. Both were laughing and Kit and I were glad of this lighter mood. Maggie’s appearance had put Kit under a cloud but now the cheerful chatter from the children made her smile. She looked more like the Kit I remembered – even with the grey strands that were now showing through her red hair.
I suddenly thought of Danny. How did he look now? I wondered. Still as handsome with his bright auburn hair? Or was he now a broken man? I sincerely hoped not.
Kit said, ‘I almost forgot, Ann. Ma wants to see you. She says to go round to her house. You know where it is? It’s in the same close as Lizzie and Belle.’
‘What does she want, Kit?’ I knew I sounded anxious but I couldn’t help it.
Kit shrugged her shoulders. ‘I don’t know, Ann. She knew you were coming here today so she asked me to tell you to pop round and see her.’
I left Lily with Kitty and set off down the street towards Ma Ryan’s close. Her single-roomed flat was on the ground floor which must have been a great help to her. Lizzie lived on the first landing while Belle had her head in the clouds on the third floor.
I was taken aback by the spruce appearance of the house. In spite of the lovely weather, a small fire was burning in the brightly black-leaded grate. All her brass ornaments were polished to a high sheen as was the furniture and the brown linoleum on the floor.
Ma was sitting in a high backed chair with a lovely crochet shawl over her knees. A small tray with cups and saucers and a plate of biscuits lay on a tiny table at her elbow. The kettle was boiling on the gas cooker while the teapot had spoonfuls of tea in its base.
Ma looked pleased to see me. ‘Just put some boiling water in the teapot, Ann, and come and sit beside me.’
I did as I was told and sat opposite her with another cup of tea. I would be waterlogged before the end of the day, I thought.
‘How are Maddie and Daniel?’ she asked.
My heart sank. Did she know something bad about them? Having the sixth sense as she so often said could be a curse instead of a blessing.
In spite of the tea, my mouth was dry. ‘They’re fine, Ma. I saw them last week and Daniel is getting quite big. Maddie is missing Danny so much and just wishing this war was over.’
Ma nodded. ‘And what’s the news of your young man, Ann. How is he?’
Where was all this leading? I wondered. I gave her all the latest news of Greg as received in my last letter from him.
‘You’ll be wondering why I asked yo
u over here?’
I nodded.
She gave me a curious look. ‘I did debate about telling you this but the feeling is so strong that I feel you should know.’
My eyes were like saucers and my heart was thumping in worried anticipation. It was another of Ma’s warnings. She had warned me once before while I was working at the Ferry with Mrs Barrie and that had come true. This new warning could only mean some sort of danger. Otherwise why ask me over to her house like this?
She leaned forward. ‘The feeling is a bit patchy, Ann, but very, very strong. Watch your step, that’s all I can say. Watch your step very, very carefully.’
I was perplexed. ‘In what way, Ma, do I have to watch my step? Is it in everyday life? Something I do every day?’
‘I’m sorry, Ann, but I can’t tell you because I don’t know. I just keep thinking you’ve to watch your step because there’s danger of some sort.’
Oh, no, I thought. Was my life always going to have this dangerous element? Surely I wouldn’t meet another Miss Hood – the housekeeper at the Ferry who had tried to kill me.
I made a mental note to look extra carefully when crossing the road and to make sure I never went up a ladder. I told Ma I would take care and went to pick up Lily. Kit seemed a bit more cheerful and I told her not to worry about Kathleen or Maggie.
Lily chatted all the way back in the tramcar, stopping only to gaze down on the streets now and then. She loved the top deck of the tramcar. We soon reached our stop and my mind was full of Ma’s warning. What did it mean?
Lily went downstairs ahead of me but, halfway down the metal spiral stairs, my heel caught and I was suddenly thrown forwards. I think I screamed but there was no sound as far as I could recall and I saw Lily’s wide-eyed stare as I hurtled past her.
Suddenly, a strong arm grabbed me. It was the tramcar conductor. ‘Watch your step, love. You almost fell out on to the road.’
The Sun Will Shine Tomorrow Page 8