by Joan Jonker
‘Mam, can I go over to our Doreen’s for half-an-hour? I promised Aunt Vicky I’d call and comb her hair for her.’
‘Doreen does her hair, she does it a treat!’
‘I know that, but I like doing it, too. And I’m ever so gentle with her, I don’t pull on it or comb it too near the scalp.’
‘Oh, go on then, but don’t make a nuisance of yerself. And keep an eye open for yer dad and Tommy coming home from work, I want you back here at the same time as them.’ Molly followed her daughter to the front door. ‘Will yer tell Doreen I’ll be slipping over tonight before I go round to yer nan’s?’
Ruthie gave her a cheeky grin before saying in a very good imitation of Nellie’s voice, ‘I’ll do that for yer, girl, but what’s in it for me?’
‘Very good, sunshine, but not perfect yet. Yer’ll have to practise a bit more to get the nod right, and the way she stands. But I’ll give yer eight out of ten.’
Molly was smiling as she went back to the kitchen. Her whole family loved Nellie and thought she was the funniest thing on two legs. And she was, too! She never told a proper joke, but she didn’t need to ’cos she had plenty of her own tricks up her sleeve.
It was half-past five and Molly was setting the table when there was a tap on the window. She knew it wasn’t Nellie because her friend didn’t tap, she rapped hard enough to shake the window frame. A peek through the curtains showed Ellen standing outside. ‘Hello, sunshine, come on in!’
‘No, I’ll get home and see to the dinner. Tony let me leave when the shop closed, he said he’d clean up tonight to give me a break. I’m only calling to tell yer Corker’s ship is due in at the weekend, he’s hoping to be home on Saturday.’
‘Oh, that’s good news! Did yer know when me and Nellie were in this morning?’
Ellen shook her head. ‘No, there was a letter on the mat when Peter got home from school and he brought it down to me. I’m made up, I can’t wait to see him.’
‘I bet yer can’t. We’ll all be glad to see him, too. He’s one of my favourite people is Corker, a man yer could trust with yer life.’ Molly smiled at the woman who had changed over the years from the downtrodden wife of a bully to a woman who could hold her head high now she was married to a man who loved and cared for her and the children. ‘I’ll tell Jack to be ready to go for a pint on Saturday night and I’ll let George know as well. They’ll be over the moon.’
‘I just thought I’d let yer know.’ Ellen handed over a small parcel. ‘I got some dripping for yer to share with Nellie. It’s not much, but it’ll help.’
‘Ye’re a pal, sunshine, and I won’t forget yer in me will.’ Molly watched her neighbour put the key in the lock of the house next door. ‘I’ll see yer, Ellen, ta-ra.’ There was a spring in her step as she put the dripping in the kitchen. There’d be enough there to make a pan of chips, so that was tomorrow’s dinner taken care of. She had a packet of dried peas in, so she’d put them in steep tonight, then tomorrow morning she’d get out early enough to make sure she was first in the queue for pies from Hanley’s. She’d better let Nellie know, though, ’cos if she went off on her own there’d be blue murder. Whatever the Bennetts had for their dinner, the McDonough family had to have the same.
Molly was stirring the pan of stew to make sure it didn’t stick to the bottom of the pan when she heard the key in the lock. Her face lit up. This would be Jill who never failed to call in every night for a few minutes on her way home from work. Her daughter had kept her job on after she got married so she and Steve could save more money each week.
‘Hello, sunshine.’ Molly held her arms wide and Jill walked into them. ‘I look forward to these few minutes every night when I’ve got yer all to meself.’ She stepped back and looked with pride at the pretty girl smiling back at her. ‘How did work go?’
‘Same as usual, Mam, nothing exciting,’ Jill said, her eyes going to the table set for four. ‘The thing I miss most is us all sitting down together every night for our dinner. I miss you other times, but that was somehow special. We used to have some good laughs, didn’t we, Mam?’
‘We did that, sunshine, but don’t forget that the person who gave us something to laugh about is now yer mother-in-law. And I think yer’ll agree that yer hopped in lucky there ’cos mother-in-laws like Nellie don’t come along very often.’
‘I know that, Mam, and I really love her. And Steve takes after her for being funny, he has Mrs Corkhill and me in stitches every night. I think he makes up half the stories just to make us laugh. But I still miss me family.’
‘Yer wouldn’t be natural if yer didn’t, sunshine, I was the same meself when I got married. But yer’ll get over it – I did. Mind you, for the first few months, every time yer dad looked sideways at me I burst out crying and said I was going back to me ma.’
‘I haven’t gone that far yet, Mam.’ Jill turned when she heard the door opening and before she knew what was happening her brother’s hands had circled her waist and she was lifted high in the air. She grinned down into the handsome face which was so like their dad’s, and in a voice as prim and proper as she could muster, told him, ‘Put me down, Tommy, or I’ll tell me husband on yer.’
He lowered her to the ground and kissed her cheek before releasing her. ‘Marriage must agree with yer, Jill, ’cos yer look prettier every day.’
‘Move out of the way, son, and give yer dad a look in.’ Jack locked his arms around his first-born and gave her a hug. ‘He’s right, sweetheart, yer look like a million dollars.’
‘And you’re still the most handsome man in Liverpool.’ Jill’s vivid blue eyes rolled. ‘But don’t tell Steve I said that, or Uncle Corker.’
‘Ay, Corker’s coming home on Saturday, yer’ll all be glad to hear. Ellen called before to tell me. So yer’ll have yer drinking buddy to go for a pint with, Jack.’ Molly gazed from father to son. She could clearly remember the first night she’d met Jack, and he’d looked exactly as Tommy looked now: dark hair, deep brown eyes, strong jaw and well built, except her son could give his dad a few inches in height. ‘Or should I say buddies, ’cos we mustn’t leave George out.’
‘Auntie Nellie would have yer life if yer did.’ Jill put the straps of her bag over her shoulder. ‘Anyway, I’d better be going, I like to be in when Steve gets home.’
‘Oh, hang on a second, sunshine, I’ve got something to tell yer. I’m calling in to see Victoria later, and I’m going to suggest that me and Nellie sit with her tomorrow night while Doreen and Phil go to the pictures. Wouldn’t you and Steve like to go with them? It would do yer good to get out and enjoy yerself. All work and no play makes for a very dull life, especially when ye’re young. Make the best of it while yer can.’
‘Yeah, I’d like that! But I don’t want to make arrangements without asking Steve first, so I’ll see how he feels about it and nip down later and tell Doreen. It would be nice, though, ’cos we haven’t been out as a foursome for ages.’
‘Has there ever been a time in yer life, sunshine, when Steve refused yer anything? He’d take the stars out of the sky for yer if he could.’
‘I know that, Mam, but I’d still rather ask. I know he’ll say yes, but I’ll wait until he says it before making definite arrangements with Doreen. I’d hate to disappoint her.’
‘You do what yer think best, sweetheart,’ Jack said. ‘It’s right that yer should talk it over with yer husband first.’
Molly chuckled inside. In all the years they’d been married Jack had never once stopped her from doing something. He might have put up an argument to begin with, but after some gentle persuasion he always came round to her way of thinking. ‘You make tracks, sunshine, or Steve will be in before yer. And if our Ruthie isn’t in here by the time I get the dinner on the table I’ll have her guts for garters.’
‘I heard that, Mam!’ The young girl came in like a gust of wind. ‘I didn’t see me dad coming ’cos I was combing Aunt Vicky’s hair and I had me back to the window.’
‘Oh
, eye, buggerlugs, yer must have had yer back turned for quite a while ’cos yer missed Jill and Tommy as well. And the Lord knows Tommy’s too big for anyone to miss.’
‘Well, I’m here now, and I’ll thank yer to leave my guts alone ’cos I’m attached to them.’
Jill ruffled her hair. ‘You’re here, and I’m about to make meself scarce. Enjoy yer dinner and I’ll see yer all tomorrow.’
All eyes were on the window as she passed, and they returned her wave. ‘Now,’ Molly said, ‘you lot get yer hands washed while I put the dinner out. And don’t take all day about it or the meal will be ruined.’
A little while later, when they were all seated, Jack said, ‘I still can’t get used to those two empty chairs. I feel as though there’s something missing.’
‘I’ll ask Nellie and George to come in if ye’re feeling lonely,’ Molly said. ‘Would that make yer feel better?’
‘I’ll have Nellie as a dessert, but not as the main course. She’d be fine for just after the meal when we can relax with a cigarette, a cup of tea and Nellie as the entertainment.’
‘Now that’s what I call having yer cake and eating it! Ye’re not soft, are yer? If yer want to be entertained by Nellie yer’ll have to throw a party or take a day off and come shopping with us.’ Molly chuckled as in her mind’s eye she pictured the comical expressions on her friend’s face in the butcher’s that morning. ‘Oh, and a bit of advice. Learn a big word and throw it casually into the conversation. Something like inconsequential.’
Three mouths gaped before asking in unison, ‘Yer what?’
‘Well, yer can’t expect Nellie to be funny all the time, can yer? Not without some help, anyway. Like today, me, Tony and Ellen all got a jolly good laugh out of her, just because of that one word.’
‘That’s some word, though, that is,’ Tommy said, thinking he must have been to a different type of school from his mother. ‘I can’t even say it, never mind spell it or understand what it means.’
‘Ah, well, yer see, son, a few years ago I indulged meself by buying a dictionary, and I’ve certainly had me money’s worth out of it. All I’ve got to do is look for a big word and see what it means. I don’t have to learn how to spell it ’cos neither Nellie nor you lot would know whether I’d got it right or not.’
‘It’s a wonder she hasn’t twigged by now and bought herself a dictionary to get her own back. She must be slipping.’
‘Is she heckerslike! Nellie’s got more nous than the lot of us put together. Her one aim in life is to make people happy, to see them with smiles on their faces. And if she has to act daft to do that, then she couldn’t care less what people think about her. And that’s why she’s me best mate and I love the bones of her.’
‘I’ve been practising, Mam, with our Doreen.’ Ruthie’s chair was pushed back with such force it nearly toppled over. She righted it before standing in front of the grate and taking up her position. With her arms folded and hoisting an imaginary bosom, her eyes narrowed, she mimicked, ‘Ah, that’s real nice of yer, girl, I’m glad somebody loves me. That’s apart from my feller, of course. I know he loves me ’cos he tells me every night how pretty I am, and what a lovely figure I’ve got. I’ve got a feeling he’s having me on, though, ’cos I’ve noticed he only tells me when he’s taken his glasses off, and the silly sod’s as blind as a bat without them.’ Once again the imaginary bosom was hitched. ‘But it was real nice of yer to say I was yer best mate, girl, and that yer love the bones of me. Who knows? If yer play yer ruddy cards right, one day I might be able to say the same about you.’
Jack and Tommy thought it was hilarious, but Molly didn’t know whether to laugh or reprimand her daughter for swearing. ‘That was an improvement, sunshine, but I don’t want a girl of your age to be coming out with swear words. It’s not on, so remember that in future.’
‘How can I impersonate yer best mate, and the woman yer love the bones of, when I’m not allowed to use her words?’ Ruthie wagged her shoulders like Nellie and hitched up the bosom. ‘Well, it’s like this, yer see, girl, I’m not really swearing – I’m just expressing me feelings, like, if yer see what I mean.’
A smile was playing around Molly’s mouth when she said, ‘Ye’re a little tinker, you are. Yer sisters were never as cheeky as you.’
Ruthie was determined to have the last word. ‘Our Jill wasn’t, but Doreen was. Yer were always saying what a cheeky article she was.’
‘All right, that’s enough now. Sit down and finish yer dinner so I can clear away and get the dishes done. I want to get out handy ’cos I’m going round to me ma’s after I’ve seen Victoria.’
‘I’ll do the dishes, love,’ Jack said. ‘You get yerself ready.’
‘I’ll give a hand,’ Tommy offered. ‘And when yer’ve been over the road we can walk round to me nan’s together.’
‘No, don’t wait for me, you go when ye’re ready. I don’t want to rush in and out of Victoria’s and I’d be on pins if I thought I was holding yer back. I’ll see yer at me ma’s.’
Ruthie had gone across to her friend Bella’s, and the washing-up had been done by the time Molly was ready to go out. Jack was sitting in his fireside chair enjoying a Woodbine, the unopened Echo on his knees. ‘I won’t be late, love.’ She bent to kiss his cheek but he quickly turned his head so her lips landed on his. He grinned up at her and when she looked into those deep brown eyes her heart turned over. All these years and she was still madly in love with him. She glanced into the kitchen to make sure Tommy was still getting washed before pursing her lips and saying softly, ‘I’ll have another one of those, please.’
Jack was more than happy to oblige. ‘Try and not be late back, love, ’cos I miss yer when ye’re not here. And we haven’t had an early night for a long time.’
‘Yer never know, sunshine, tonight could just be your lucky night.’
Tommy couldn’t help but overhear, and he kept wiping his face with the towel to give them a bit of time and privacy. He hoped when he married Rosie that they’d always love each other like his mam and dad did.
Phil opened the front door. ‘Aunt Vicky has been watching that window like a hawk. She’s looking forward to seeing you.’
Molly treated him like she would if he were her own son. He had no family of his own but she and Nellie, and Corker, had welcomed him into their families and Phil was happier now than he’d ever been. ‘Give us a quick kiss then, son-in-law.’
‘Ay, I heard that,’ Doreen called. ‘Get in here where I can see yer. It’s coming to something when yer can’t trust yer husband with yer own mother.’
Phil beamed. ‘Well, ye’re so alike, I thought it was you for a minute.’
‘Yer thought it was me? Well, yer cheeky beggar! Me mam’s twenty-five years older than me, if yer haven’t noticed.’
‘All right, so I was getting in practice for when you’re her age. In twenty-five years yer’ll look just like she does now. And that’s a compliment to yer mam.’
‘Oh, give over, the two of yer.’ Molly made her way across the room to where Miss Victoria Clegg sat in her favourite chair with cushions at her side and back. She looked so frail Molly felt a catch in her throat. ‘Are these two always like this, Victoria? Yer want to put yer foot down with them. Show them who’s the boss.’
Victoria lifted her face for a kiss. ‘There’s never a cross word between them, Molly, they’re as good as gold. I don’t know what I’d do without them.’
Doreen and Phil were standing with their arms around each other’s waist. ‘I think it’s the other way round, Aunt Vicky,’ he said. ‘Heaven alone knows where I’d be if yer hadn’t taken pity on me on that day seven years ago. Yer gave me a home and treated me like a son, and now yer’ve allowed me to bring my lovely wife into that home. I must be the luckiest bloke alive to have two such beautiful women in my life.’
‘Ay, don’t you be leaving my mam out,’ Doreen said. ‘The very idea!’
‘All right, love, I’ve got three bea
utiful women in me life.’
‘For heaven’s sake, will yer both knock it off! And sit down, yer make the place look untidy.’ Molly sat facing the old lady. ‘Have yer heard we’re losing one of our old neighbours, Victoria? Nellie tells me that Mrs Harwick is leaving to go and live with her daughter in Maghull.’
‘No, I hadn’t heard. But then I never go out these days to see anyone. I used to be quite friendly with Vera Harwick, she came to live in the street about the same time as me.’ There was a note of sadness in the soft voice. ‘We were both in our prime then, and it doesn’t seem like fifty years ago. It just shows how quickly time passes, and how fleeting life is.’
‘That’s why I say yer should make the best of it while yer can,’ Molly said. ‘Which is why I’m going to suggest that me and Nellie keep yer company tomorrow night, sunshine, while Phil and Doreen have a night out. At their age they should get out more. And me and Nellie will be made up to sit with you and have a good jangle.’
The pale, watery eyes smiled. ‘I’d like that, Molly. And I’m glad ye’re giving the young ones the chance to spend some time on their own, enjoying themselves.’
‘What about you two lovebirds, does it meet with your approval?’
‘Oh, yes, Mam, that would be great!’ Doreen turned to smile into her husband’s face. ‘It will be like courting again.’
‘I mentioned it to Jill, so her and Steve might make up a foursome. It’s not definite, but I think Jill will be coming to see yer tonight to make arrangements. It’ll be nice for the four of yer to get together again, won’t it?’
‘Yeah, I don’t see much of our Jill so we’ve loads to catch up on.’ Doreen gave Phil’s hand a squeeze before leaving his side to kiss her mother. ‘Thanks for thinking about us, Mam, ye’re a cracker.’
‘Ay, what’s this about you teaching Ruthie to impersonate Nellie?’ Molly decided she wanted to sit nearer to Victoria because the old lady’s sight and hearing weren’t too good. She pulled out one of the dining chairs and placed it as close as she could. ‘She’s really good at it. If yer closed yer eyes yer would think it was Nellie yer were listening to. She had Jack and Tommy in stitches.’