by Joan Jonker
By this time, Nellie was really enjoying herself. Down to her own coat now, she started undoing the buttons while swaying from side to side and smiling at her audience of three. Tony thought he was going to be sick he’d laughed so much, and the tears were rolling down Ellen’s face. Only Molly was watching closely. Her laughter was loud, but knowing what her friend was capable of, she was ready to pounce if necessary.
With a smile on her face, Nellie was keeping her laughter to herself. She knew her mate inside out, and realised she’d be having kittens right now. So I’d better hurry up, she told herself, before Molly spoils me finale.
Still humming and swaying from side to side, Nellie let her coat fall to the floor. The dress she was wearing was buttoned to the waist and, taking her time, she undid the top button. Her fingers slid to the second button. It was then she started to get worried. What was Molly waiting for? A joke was a joke, but standing in a butcher’s shop with her bosom exposed wasn’t funny. Her George would have a duck egg if he knew!
‘All right, sunshine, that’s enough.’ Molly picked up the coat from the floor and handed it over. ‘I couldn’t stand the sight of you, in yer nuddy, this time of the morning.’
‘Ah, just as it was getting interesting,’ Tony laughed. ‘Ye’re a spoilsport, Molly.’
‘I’m mad, yer mean!’ She turned her head to wink at him and Ellen. ‘I must be to have a mate what takes all her clothes off in a shop. Just wait until I tell her feller.’
Nellie, dressed in her coat by this time, looked at her friend with disdain. ‘Ye’re only jealous ’cos yer haven’t got a figure like mine. I bet Tony wouldn’t give a ham shank to see what you’ve got under yer clothes.’
‘I wouldn’t be too sure about that, Nellie,’ he said, his throat feeling hoarse from laughter. ‘But I have to say you surpassed yerself today. It’s the funniest bit of acting I’ve seen in me life. It’s a pity yer didn’t have a bigger audience.’
‘She nearly did,’ Ellen said. ‘Here’s two customers now.’
‘Put those two shanks in a bag, will yer, before anyone sees them.’ The butcher smiled at the two women who were regular customers. ‘I won’t keep yer long, I’m just finishing serving Molly and Nellie.’
Ellen came through from the back with a parcel wrapped in newspaper which she handed over to Molly. ‘How much, Tony?’
‘Two bob.’
‘Is that a shilling each, Tony?’ Nellie asked, looking hopeful. And when the butcher nodded her grin stretched from ear to ear.
‘Ay, what are they getting for a shilling each?’ one of the women asked. ‘A flippin’ big parcel like that, and only two bob? That’s favouritism, that is.’
Nellie sidled up to the woman who was about eight inches taller than her. ‘D’yer want to make something of it, Aggie Arkwright?’
‘Any time ye’re ready, Nellie McDonough.’
‘For heaven’s sake, grow up, the pair of yer,’ Molly said. ‘All this over a bag of bones!’
‘Bones!’ Aggie snorted. ‘Pull the other one – it’s got bells on.’
Nellie pushed her. At least, Nellie’s bosom pushed her. ‘It’s you what should have a bell around yer neck to let people know ye’re coming so they can get out of the way.’
‘Ooh, I’ll have yer for that,’ said Aggie Arkwright. She handed her basket to her friend, saying, ‘Hang on to that while I go outside with this one.’
Tony looked at Ellen, his eyes asking if he should interfere. She shook her head, knowing that Molly wouldn’t let the argument come to blows. And she was right.
‘Ye’re acting like kids, yer stupid nits.’ Molly pushed the two women apart. ‘All this because we wanted some bones to make a pan of soup! Yer want to get yer facts right, Aggie, before yer start throwing yer weight around.’ She was asking God to forgive her for telling lies when she turned to Nellie. ‘And you, you’re just as bad. What I should do is let yer go outside and knock hell out of each other. But as I haven’t got time to waste playing referee, will yer pay Tony and let’s be on our way.’
‘You pay him, girl, and I’ll see yer right when we get home.’
‘Don’t push yer luck, sunshine, pay the man yerself. And don’t forget Billy’s coat and apron, ’cos I’m not carrying them.’
While Tony and Ellen had to wait for another quiet period before they could enjoy going over Nellie’s version of the dance of the seven veils, it was not so with Molly and Nellie. They were no sooner out of the shop than they were doubled up laughing so loud that people passing wished they could share in the joke.
‘Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear!’ Molly was holding her side. ‘You were brilliant, sunshine, yer really were. And then Aggie Arkwright butting in was the icing on the cake. I can’t wait for tonight to tell the family.’
‘Can I come down?’ Nellie asked. ‘I could show them how I did it.’
‘I’m sorry, sunshine, but I’m going round to me ma’s. Tommy and Rosie are setting the date for their wedding, and they want to talk to me about it. If they don’t book the church before Christmas, all the Saturdays in the summer will be spoken for.’
‘When are they hoping to get married, girl?’
‘I won’t know until tonight. I would imagine July, but I’m not sure.’ Molly linked her friend’s arm and squeezed. ‘I’ll let yer know in the morning when yer can get yer posh hat out to dust.’
‘And comb the feather, girl, don’t forget the feather.’
‘How could I ever forget the feather, sunshine?’
‘’Cos I won’t let yer, that’s why.’ Nellie’s chubby face creased. ‘I’ve enjoyed meself this morning, girl, have you?’
‘I have that, sunshine! It beats Monday morning blues any time.’
Chapter 7
‘What date in July are yer hoping for, son?’ Molly was seated at the end of the table in her parents’ home with Jack facing her. At one side sat Bridie and Bob, and opposite them Tommy and Rosie. ‘Yer’ll have to get in quick because more couples want to get married in July than any other month of the year.’
‘The last week would be the best. The firm closes down for two weeks’ summer holiday and it would mean I wouldn’t have to take time off.’ Tommy gave his mother a wide smile of affection. ‘I know I’m being optimistic, but it’s better than being a merchant of doom. Anyway, there’s another reason for wanting that date. It would mean I could spend more time with Rosie’s mam and dad.’
‘Ooh, isn’t it exciting, Auntie Molly?’ Rosie’s beautiful face was aglow. ‘It’s meself that won’t be getting any sleep from now until we’ve been to see Father Kelly.’
‘Then it’s yerself that’ll have to get down to the church as soon as yer can, sweetheart,’ Bridie said. ‘If yer lose too much sleep yer’ll be selling the customers odd shoes, and we can’t be having that now.’
Tommy chuckled. ‘Anyone walking with two left shoes on, we’ll know they bought them from Rosie’s shop.’
‘Never mind shoes, let’s get on with this wedding,’ Molly said. ‘Tell us what yer have planned so far.’
‘Nothing definite, Auntie Molly, they’re just wishes and hopes at the moment.’
‘Then tell us about yer wishes and hopes, sunshine.’
‘Hopes first, Auntie Molly, and top of the list is the priest saying we can get married on the last Saturday in July. I’m sure he will, ’cos isn’t Father Kelly an understanding man? Then we pray and hope nothing comes along to stop me mammy and daddy from being here to see their daughter marrying such a foine upstanding man as Tommy. They’ll be so proud of me, so they will.’
‘It’ll be a proud day for all of us, Rosie.’ Jack smiled at the girl who had brought so much happiness into their lives. ‘You’ll officially become one of the family then.’
‘Sure, hasn’t she been one of the family since the day she set foot in Liverpool?’ Bridie was inclined to get emotional when she thought of their beloved grandson marrying the girl they’d come to love so much. And that they w
ould be starting their married life in this little house was like a dream come true for the elderly couple. ‘We wouldn’t know what to do without her, would we, sweetheart?’
‘We certainly wouldn’t,’ Bob said. ‘We’d have nothing to talk about if it wasn’t for Rosie keeping us up-to-date with what’s going on in the world. And especially what goes on in a certain shoe shop in Walton Vale. According to what she tells us, there’s some queer folk in Liverpool and plenty of comedians.’
‘We’re getting off the subject,’ Molly reminded them. ‘I thought yer wanted to get as much sorted out as yer could?’
‘Come on, Tommy Bennett, this is your wedding as well as mine, so don’t be leaving it all to me.’ Rosie’s thick black hair bounced on her shoulders when she turned to face the boy she’d set her sights on the first day she saw him. They were both fifteen then and Tommy was at that awkward stage in a boy’s life where he’d rather be with his mate, Ginger, than bothering with stupid girls who never stopped talking about stupid things. ‘I’ve said my piece, now it’s your turn.’
‘D’yer think we could have the reception at Hanley’s, Mam?’ Tommy asked. ‘They put a very good spread on for Jill and Doreen, and we’d be made up if they’d do the same for us.’
‘You get me a definite date as soon as yer can, sunshine, and I’ll have a word with the Hanleys. They’d be only too happy to do the reception for yer, I’m sure. Food isn’t as hard to come by now that rationing is easing off so that won’t be a problem. In fact, if yer’ve got the money there’s nothing yer can’t get on the black market.’
‘Well, cash is going to be tight, Mam. The spivs won’t be getting rich on our money. And, anyway, even if we were loaded I wouldn’t buy off blokes who were making a good living while others were out there fighting a war. I know a lot of lads weren’t called up because of ill health, and that wasn’t their fault, but spivs really get up my nose.’ Tommy’s face creased into a smile. ‘Right, now I’ve got that off me chest we can carry on where we left off. The next thing on our list is bridesmaids. D’yer think Jill, Doreen and Ruthie would be bridesmaids for us?’
‘Yer sisters are married women now, sunshine, so they’d have to be matrons of honour. But I’m sure they’d jump at the chance. Ye’re their only brother and they love the bones of yer, so they’ll be delighted. Their bridesmaids’ dresses will be as good as new, and I’m sure Lily and Maureen won’t mind giving them back for yer sisters to wear. We could titivate them up so they look a bit different and it would save yer forking out for new ones which would be a complete waste of money. That’s if yer wouldn’t mind, Rosie? It’s your wedding, the only one yer’ll ever have, please God, so it’s up to you entirely.’
‘I wouldn’t mind in the least, Auntie Molly. Sure there’s no disgrace in being practical, as me mammy would say.’
‘Well, I suggest yer go and see Father Kelly tomorrow night after work, and get the date fixed. Then come straight to ours and I’ll have Jill and Doreen there, with their husbands of course, and leave it to you to ask them.’ Molly looked across at her parents. ‘Ma, you and Da come as well. Then we’ll all know what’s going on.’
‘There’s one other thing, Mam,’ Tommy said, ‘and that’s me best man. I don’t know who to ask because I can’t choose between Ginger, who’s been me mate since the day I started school, or Archie, who is, as yer all know, my hero.’
‘That’s a difficult one, sunshine, and only you can solve it. But yer don’t have to do anything now. Leave it and give it some thought. I’m glad it’s you who has to make the decision, not me, because I like both of them.’
Jack was glancing anxiously at the clock. ‘Don’t forget we’ve left Ruthie on her own, love, and we told her we wouldn’t be long.’
‘Bella’s with her, she’s not on her own. And they’re not stupid kids, they’re not likely to set the house on fire. Anyway, I want to give Ma and Da a damn good laugh. They like to be kept up-to-date with the exploits of my very best mate, Mrs Helen Theresa McDonough.’
Bob leaned his elbows on the table, laughter already showing in his eyes. ‘Oh, aye, what’s she been up to now?’
‘It’s not what she got up to, Bob,’ Jack told him. ‘It’s what she got down to, and that was the top two buttons. Anyway, Molly’s better at telling tales than I am.’
‘I should hope so, sunshine, ’cos I was there, wasn’t I? Which is just as well, ’cos God knows what she’d get up to if I wasn’t at hand to keep an eye on her. She’d probably end up in the police station.’ Molly’s chuckle was deep in her throat. ‘With my luck, I’d probably be put in the cell next to her!’
‘I don’t know where ye’re all going to sit, there’s not enough chairs to go round.’ Molly was fussing, trying to seat everyone while thinking how big her family had grown. Her two eldest daughters were there with their husbands, her ma and da, Tommy and Rosie, and herself and Jack. There was only Ruthie missing; she’d been sent over to her friend’s out of the way. ‘The young ones can sit on each other’s knees.’
When they were all seated, Molly leaned her arms on the table and raised her brows at Tommy. ‘Well, sunshine, how did yer get on?’
The smile that he’d been keeping back now spread across the lad’s handsome face as he tightened his arm around Rosie’s waist. ‘All fixed up, Mam! We are getting married on July the twenty-seventh at two o’clock.’
There were loud murmurs of approval as Molly left her chair to give her son and his future wife a big hug. There were tears at the back of her eyes, of joy mixed with sadness. She was so happy that he was marrying Rosie, the girl he adored and who would make him a very good wife. But she couldn’t help thinking she’d soon be losing her only son, the third of her children to leave the nest in one year. ‘I’m so happy for yer, sunshine, and for you, Rosie. Now yer can start planning yer wedding.’
‘Have yer mentioned anything to Jill and Doreen, Mam?’
Molly shook her head. ‘I thought yer’d rather ask them yerself.’
‘What d’yer want to ask us, Tommy?’ Jill asked, her pretty face aglow with happiness for her brother.
‘As long as it’s not a loan ye’re after,’ Doreen laughed, ‘then the answer’s “yes”.’
‘Will yer both be Rosie’s matrons of honour?’
Jill didn’t hesitate. ‘Oh, I’d love to be, Rosie, thank you!’
When Doreen didn’t answer, and Molly noticed the smile had left her face, she asked, ‘What about you, Doreen, has the cat got yer tongue?’
Her face red with embarrassment, and gripping Phil’s hand so tight her knuckles were white, the girl faced her mother. ‘I won’t be able to, Mam.’
‘Why not?’ Jack leaned forward. ‘Yer can’t let yer brother down.’
It was Phil who answered. ‘Doreen wouldn’t let Tommy down if she could help it, Mr Bennett. But, yer see, she’s expecting a baby.’
You could have heard a pin drop. It was as though everyone had stopped breathing. Molly couldn’t take it in, she stared at her daughter with her mouth gaping. Then she said, ‘Is this yer idea of a joke, Doreen?’
Once again Phil stepped in to save his wife any more embarrassment. ‘It’s not a joke, Mrs Bennett, Doreen is expecting a baby. We weren’t certain ourselves until she went to the doctor’s this afternoon. The baby’s due in May.’
Doreen kissed his cheek before taking up the cudgels on her own behalf. ‘We went in for the baby, Mam, for a special reason. Aunt Vicky is just on ninety and we both agreed that we’d like to have a child before anything happens to her.’
This time, when Molly left her chair, she didn’t try to keep the tears back. Holding out her arms, she said, ‘Come here, sunshine.’
Wrapped safely in her mother’s embrace, Doreen felt at home. ‘I’m glad that’s over, Mam, I didn’t know how I was going to tell yer.’ When she felt her father’s arms come around her, she sniffed up and managed a grin. ‘Hello, Granddad.’
Jack cupped her face. ‘Ye’re makin
g an old man of me already. But I’m very happy for you and Phil, and me and yer mam are over the moon.’
In the midst of congratulations, kisses, back slapping and hand shaking, a thought crossed Molly’s mind. ‘Steve, go and get yer mam.’
‘Ah, no, Mam!’ Doreen said, knowing what her Auntie Nellie was like for jokes. ‘You tell her tomorrow.’
‘I’m sorry, sunshine, but every time I was expecting, Nellie was the first to know and I was the first to know about hers. I’m not letting that tradition die. So go and get yer mam, Steve, but don’t tell her what I want her for.’
Within minutes, Nellie waddled in. She took one look at the crowd and said, ‘My God, what is this? A mothers’ meeting for fathers only?’ She jerked her thumb at Steve, whose dimples showed he was feeling very happy. ‘This feller walked in, looking as though he’d lost a tanner and found half a crown! So I know whatever yer want me for, it isn’t bad news.’
‘No, it isn’t, sunshine.’ Molly was feeling so proud as she said, ‘There’s yer chair, so make yerself comfortable and we’ll tell yer the wonderful news.’
Nellie’s eyes narrowed with suspicion as she sat down. She wiggled her bottom backwards until she was resting against the chair back, and then put her hands on the arms. This left her feet dangling four inches from the floor, but a little disadvantage like that was the last thing on her mind. ‘Well, don’t all sit there staring at me as though I’m a dummy in a shop window! What the hell is going on?’
‘There’s a new baby on the way,’ Molly said, beaming.
Nellie’s legs stopped swinging and her mouth gaped. ‘Ye’re not in the family way again, are yer, girl?’ She glared at Jack. ‘What the hell d’yer think ye’re playing at? Yer should be past that sort of thing now.’
‘Nellie, I’m going to be a grandmother, sunshine, not a mother! Isn’t that marvellous?’
It took a few seconds for it to sink in, then Nellie cast her eyes on her son. ‘Why didn’t yer tell me, yer silly nit! I’m yer mother, I should have been the first to be told.’