‘Edith’s got good news, Ann,’ said Sylvia.
I thought there was a hint of jealousy in her terse remark.
I looked at Edith and she held up her left hand. On her fourth finger was an engagement ring.
‘Edith,’ I said, totally surprised, ‘when did this happen?’
She looked so pleased with herself. ‘At the weekend! My fiancé is a friend of my brother. They are both at university but we plan to get married when he graduates.’
‘That’s wonderful!’ There was nothing more I could add. I was speechless.
Joe turned to the two other girls. ‘And when are you two humdingers getting engaged?’
The girls perked up at these complimentary words. ‘Och, we’ve no’ got any fiancés,’ said Amy, sounding miffed.
Joe looked shocked. ‘What? Two good-looking lassies like you? You’re kidding me.’
‘Well, we’re going to the dancing tonight so maybe we’ll meet the men of our dreams – just like Edith,’ said Sylvia. She put the cigarettes in her pocket and turned to leave the shop. It was yet another snowy morning and the girls pulled their headscarves tighter around their heads.
Edith gave my hand a squeeze. ‘See, you can meet a man by sitting at the fire knitting, Ann,’ she said softly.
I smiled. ‘Of course you can, Edith.’
If that’s the case, I thought, where is my Prince Charming?
Still, that small piece of good news cheered me up as I set off for Mr Pringle’s office. I sat in the hard-backed chair in the outer office and watched one woman typing what looked like a novel while the other one was busy putting paper sheets into the many files that were crammed into the wooden shelves.
Mr Pringle came out and I was ushered to a softer seat in his office. He got right to the point. ‘Maddie and Danny have told you of their proposition, Ann? About buying the flat at Roseangle?’
I nodded. My mouth felt dry. ‘I don’t think I can afford it, Mr Pringle.’
He opened a thin file in front of him and studied it for a moment. ‘Well, according to your finances, you can buy it. The money you inherited from Mrs Barrie has been wisely invested and you haven’t used any of it over the last few years.’ What he didn’t say was I hadn’t touched it since the money I had taken out for Lily when Margot was married to Dad.
‘But I wanted that money to be kept for Lily. That’s why I haven’t been to see you about it for years. I thought, if I just forgot about it, I couldn’t spend it. You know she wants to go to art college when she leaves school which will be later this year. I’ll need that money to cover her fees and her keep.’
He studied the file again. ‘Well, if you put aside one hundred and fifty pounds for that, you still have a balance of two thousand pounds.’
I gasped out loud. ‘Two thousand pounds?’
He nodded. ‘I did say it had been wisely invested. You can easily afford the flat and the balance of your money will be invested again, hopefully to grow in size.’
I didn’t know what to say.
‘Well, you think it over, Ann, and let me know what you decide. Remember, however, that property is capital and you can always sell the house at a later date and you’ll probably get all your investment back – maybe even a bit more.’
Put that way, how could I refuse? ‘I’ll think it over, Mr Pringle, and let you know soon.’
Outside in the street, my head was in a whirl. It was similar to the day Jean Peters, Mr Potter and I were told about our legacies from the darling Mrs Barrie. I remembered how we had all been so surprised but pleased by the news.
What would Lily say if she knew? She would be over the moon, of that I was sure. But having my legacy tucked away was like having money for a rainy day. It cushioned Lily and me and I desperately wanted her to have her art college education.
Suddenly Kathleen’s image floated in front of me. Her voice was saying take what you want and to hang with the consequences. And it would mean Lily would always have a roof over her head instead of starving in some Glasgow garret.
I went back to the office and Mr Pringle was surprised to see me so soon.
‘I’ve made up my mind, Mr Pringle. I’ll buy the flat.’
I decided not to tell Lily until the deal was finalised and I was planning to tell the family at the same time.
The weather didn’t improve by the time April arrived and it was still snowing. Kit was expecting trouble any day and it arrived at almost the same time I got the letter from the Borlands. Greg’s mum and dad. It was a grey Saturday and the leaden sky seemed to sit on top of the buildings. The letter thankfully was short. ‘We would love to see you both during the school holidays. It would be lovely to see Lily before she goes away to the art college. Please write soon and say you’ll come.’ It was signed ‘Babs’.
The next day, the Malloys, realising they hadn’t seen Kathleen or Kitty for a few weeks, finally burst into Kit’s kitchen. They were demanding to know the truth because they had heard a rumour that Kathleen had done a bunk.
Danny and I heard about it later but seemingly the row could be heard at the far end of the street, Maggie’s screeching being so loud. When neither Kit or George would tell them of Kathleen’s whereabouts, Sammy’s dad had threatened to burst into Mr Portland’s studio the next day and sort him out. George told him he could do what he wanted but they wouldn’t find Kathleen or Kitty there. They had gone for good and the Malloy family could do nothing about it.
Later, Danny told me how strange it had been that Sammy hadn’t joined in the melee and, according to the Lochee grapevine, he hadn’t wanted his parents to cause such a fuss.
‘I think that’s strange, Ann, don’t you?’ he said.
I wasn’t so sure. I was still intrigued by Kathleen’s whispered secret. Still, at that time, I was finding life so topsy-turvy that I didn’t give it much thought.
I had told Maddie and Danny that I was buying the flat and they were both pleased.
‘That will let us look for a house before the baby comes,’ Maddie had said.
Yet, with the wintry weather still making everybody miserable, they hadn’t the inclination to go and look for somewhere else to live.
‘We’ll wait until the better weather to look around,’ she said, patting her ever-expanding waistline. ‘We’ll have something sorted out before this bundle arrives.’
I still hadn’t answered Babs Borland’s letter and, as each day passed, I felt guiltier than ever. After all, it wasn’t their fault that Greg had gone off with someone else.
That night, as Lily and I sat at the window with our tea, watching a fierce blizzard blowing from the east, I asked her, ‘Would you like to go and see the Borlands before you and Joy go to the art college?’
To my dismay, her face lit up. ‘That would be great.’
That was that decided then, I thought. I would write to them that evening and say we would visit them sometime during the school holiday.
I then mentioned the flat. ‘Danny and Maddie are going to sell the flat, Lily.’
Her face, which a moment before had been beaming, now became downcast. ‘Oh, that means we’ll have to leave it, Ann?’
I smiled. ‘No, Lily, I’m buying it with Mr Pringle’s help so it’ll always be here for you and me.’
She jumped up from her chair. ‘Oh, Ann, that’s wonderful. I’ve always loved this place and now it’s to be ours.’ She put her arms around me and gave me a hug. ‘Thanks for doing that.’
I posted my letter to Trinafour first thing the following morning before I had a chance to destroy it. Still, I thought, July was a long way off. Maybe we wouldn’t have to go. Maybe the Borlands would write back with news of other unexpected visitors and they could no longer put us up … or something along these lines.
It was after I posted the letter that I remembered the shop. Who would be able to do it if I was to be away from the Friday till the Sunday or even the Monday?
Connie said not to worry. She would hold the fort w
ith some help from Joe.
‘Joe?’ I said, taken aback.
‘Aye, Joe. He used to help out in the old days and I don’t think he ever got over having to give it up when his legs got too bad to stand on them for hours. That was why I advertised for another assistant and you came. But he still misses it – all the gossip and buzz. Why do you think he comes in every morning and evening?’
I had to admit I hadn’t given it a lot of thought. I mean, for all I knew, he could have been carrying a torch for Connie all these years but was hiding his feelings under his gruff exterior. I said so and Connie burst out laughing.
‘Don’t underestimate Joe, young lady. You should have seen him in his younger days. A real good-looker was our Joe but, after his wife died early on in their marriage, he never seemed to bother with anyone else. Which was strange because his wife was a real tartar. She had a tongue that would cut steel.’
I was amazed and began to see him in a different light. Up till then, I had always thought of him as one of Dad’s old friends and a bit of a blether. Now it seemed he had had a difficult married life. It made me wonder how little I knew about anyone else.
The world had been turned upside down and if the papers were to be believed, there were still pockets of war-like aggression in the world – and not only in far-off countries. There was also the war at Lochee.
Babs wrote back by return, saying how glad they both were that we were coming for a visit and how much they were looking forward to seeing us again. As far as I was concerned, I didn’t share the sentiment. I couldn’t bear an entire weekend of hearing how happy Greg was with his wife. In fact, the more I thought of it, the more depressed I became.
18
People were saying it was the worst winter they could remember. The snow, which had started in February, was still falling at the start of April. We had long run out of coal. Hattie was helping Granny out with some from her meagre stock but she was also running short.
The women in the food queues were becoming more and more angry about all the continued shortages and I was beginning to get frazzled myself. Trying to get to the paper shop in the early morning was a nightmare. Mountains of snow were being shovelled up at the side of the kerbs and it was difficult to stay upright on the slippery pavements.
Lily and I had received a postcard from Kathleen. She didn’t say much except that she and Kitty had settled in and were enjoying their new life. She had enrolled Kitty at a school near the flat and she was seemingly enjoying it.
Struggling to work the morning after receiving the postcard had made me grumpy. Kathleen was living a happy life while I was miserable. Still, the thought of owning the flat gave me some pleasurable moments – which was more than George and Kit had as Maggie and Mick Malloy were still coming round, shouting the odds.
I kept thinking about our promised trip to Trinafour. It was still weeks away but I was depressed at the thought of going. I kept hoping something would come up to put the visit off. Wishful thinking, I called it.
Joe was waiting for me when I went to open the shop the next morning and I wondered if he ever slept. He was always the first customer and today he was standing in the shop doorway and he was shivering.
‘For goodness sake, Joe, you should be in your house instead of standing on a freezing cold step.’ I didn’t mean to be sharp but it had been one of those weeks – cold outside and cold inside. Thank goodness for hot-water bottles and cosy blankets, I thought.
Joe echoed my thoughts. ‘Och, it’s just as cold inside my house as it is standing here, Ann. The coal is finished and so is the dross. The bunker is well and truly empty.’
I felt sorry for him but we were all in the same boat.
However, he had some cheerful news. ‘The coal is seemingly being despatched from the yards and the coalman said he might have some supplies tomorrow – I do hope so.’
I had long since stopped putting on the small fire in the back shop and the shop never seemed to warm up. There were always customers opening the door and letting all the freezing cold air in.
That night I went to check up on Granny and to see if her coalman had made a delivery. To my delight, he had. Her fire wasn’t exactly blazing but at least it was on and that was a blessing.
I made a mental note to get my coalman to call when I would be at home but, failing that, I could always leave my key with the elderly man next door who had proved so helpful to us over our long stay in the flat.
Granny and I were hugging the fire when Hattie appeared. Her cheeks were red with the cold and she looked pleased with herself. Considering how miserable she had been over the last few months, we were both surprised to see her looking happy.
‘I’ve just had some wonderful news,’ she said, sounding breathless from her walk.
Granny and I stared at her, surprise written all over our faces.
‘I’ve heard from Graham and what to you think?’
We gave her a blank stare.
‘He’s coming back to Dundee to work. He’s got an office in the town and he’s letting his partner run the Clydebank office.’
Granny spoke first. ‘Och, that’s great news, Hattie. Does that mean you’ll be back seeing him?’
She nodded happily.
I remained silent. Surely this happy, fairy-tale ending hadn’t suddenly appeared out of the far blue yonder. What about his strange behaviour before he left for Clydebank?
Hattie saw my expression. ‘I know what you’re thinking, Ann, but Graham has told me everything that’s happened.’
‘What’s that, Hattie?’ said Granny, her face frowning in puzzlement.
‘About his strangeness last year. Well, he came to see me last week to tell me about his move back here and also to tell me the whole sorry story. He’s not a widower like I thought …’ She corrected this statement. ‘Or as everyone thought. He called himself a widower because, six years ago, his wife left him to go and live with another man.’
My heart lurched. Oh, no, I thought, just like Kathleen.
‘Graham was going to divorce her but he never got around to it. He said he hadn’t met anyone he was interested in till he met me. That’s when he decided to file for a divorce so we could get married. Unfortunately a stray bomb at the end of the war changed all that.’
Granny was still perplexed. ‘Why was that, Hattie?’
Hattie smoothed her hair and I recalled this was always a sign that she was nervous. ‘I really don’t know all the circumstances except that the house where the wife and her man friend were living took a direct hit. The man escaped but Graham’s wife was badly injured. She was taken to hospital and the man gave the hospital staff Graham’s address in Dundee. He was called urgently to the hospital but his wife was unconscious.’
I suddenly remembered the night I met him – the night when he had that evasive and haunted look in his eyes. It must have been that day when he got the news.
‘He’s been visiting her every week since then – hoping her friend would come back. But he’s disappeared. Graham was heartbroken because he didn’t want to deceive me while still visiting his wife. And he couldn’t get a divorce while she was in a coma so he was torn between two rocks. That’s why he decided to move back to Clydebank and open his office up again.’
One thing was puzzling me. ‘Why are you looking so happy, Hattie, if Graham has a wife?’
‘His wife has been in a nursing home for ages as she was too ill to go home but she’s all right now. Graham didn’t want to mention a divorce until now and, although she’s unhappy about it, she’s agreed to it. Oh, we know it’ll take a while but he’ll be living and working here and we’ll be together. That’s all that matters.’
Granny was pleased for Hattie but was also worried about Graham’s wife. She said, ‘I know she was the one to leave him, Hattie, but what will she do now? Where will she live? I mean she must still be feeling ill and alone and won’t she be left homeless?’
Hattie said, ‘She won’t be homeless, Mum.
Graham has given her the flat they used to have before she left and he’ll send her money every month until she gets on her feet and gets a job – or another man. She was very fond of men, I believe.’
‘Did Graham say that?’ I asked, shocked that he would tell Hattie something like that about his wife.
It was Hattie’s turn to look shocked. ‘No, he didn’t. It was Mrs Pringle. Graham told them all about his wife’s illness and she went down to see her. When Mrs Pringle entered the hospital room, she was admiring herself in a mirror and the first words she said were that she hoped she would get her good looks back again or she would never get another man. Mrs Pringle was still shocked when she told me about it.’
Granny said sincerely, ‘Well, we’re all happy for you, Hattie, and you always knew we were all fond of Graham. We hope you’ll both be very happy.’
Hattie looked at me and I nodded. Another happy couple, I thought. I seemed to be surrounded by them. Then I immediately felt guilty. It wasn’t Hattie and Graham’s fault that I was growing into a bitter old spinster.
I went over and gave her a hug. ‘I’m really pleased for you both, Hattie. You deserve happiness after all these years without Pat.’
There were tears in her eyes when she got up to leave. ‘I never thought I would ever meet another man – not after Pat. But Graham is very special to me and I only wish he had told me all his troubles earlier on. We could have both worked them out.’
After she left, Granny stoked up the fire. She sighed. ‘What a strange time this has been, Ann – first the trouble with Margot then Kathleen going off to London and now this happy ending with Hattie and Graham. Things aye come in threes so maybe that’s the end of all the dramas in our lives.’
Graham and Hattie appeared the following Saturday. Lily and I were playing cards with Granny, Alice and Bella when they arrived in the kitchen. Hattie was dressed in a lovely green satin evening dress and Graham was looking as proud as Punch.
Bella looked sourly at them. ‘Well, is that you away out gallivanting again?’
The Sun Will Shine Tomorrow Page 26