by Joan Jonker
‘Never mind that,’ Molly said. ‘I’ll not have my home turned into a house of ill repute.’ But she’d enjoyed the performance as much as anyone, and as she often had before, she wondered what a party would be like without her little fat friend. Because not many people would be prepared to make a fool of themselves just for the amusement of others.
It was one o’clock in the morning when Molly and Jack stood on the top step and saw their visitors off. As Corker said, ‘Molly, what would we do without you and Nellie? It’s been a belting night and we’ve more than enjoyed ourselves.’
There were murmurs of approval and thanks as the party split up and went their separate ways, Doreen and Phil across the street, Corker and Ellen next door and Nellie and George three doors away. Bob and Bridie were escorted by Tommy and Rosie, and Jill and Steve walked behind them, arms around each other as usual.
Lily and Archie, with Paul and Phoebe, were the only ones left standing outside the Bennetts’, and this was because they wanted some time on their own and didn’t know where to find it.
‘I can’t take yer in ours, Archie,’ Lily said, ‘’cos the room is choc-a-bloc with Auntie Molly’s table.’
‘I’m in the same boat,’ Paul said, holding Phoebe close. ‘There’s no space to move.’
Molly gave Jack a dig in the ribs. ‘What did we do when we wanted a goodnight kiss without being watched?’
He grinned as memories surfaced. ‘We used an entry, where it was quiet, dark and very private. And funnily enough, there’s one only three yards away.’ He chuckled. ‘Yer know, I’m sure they built entries just for courting couples. It would be a shame not to use them.’
Molly began to pull her husband inside. ‘Just as long as yer don’t start serenading at this time of night. Us old ones need our beauty sleep.’
Chapter 14
Corker was deaf to Ellen’s plea on Boxing Day morning not to call on the Mowbrays. He thought it only fair that the parents should know how their daughter behaved in a neighbour’s house. Perhaps they were well aware of her bad behaviour and lack of respect, and were the type of parents who couldn’t care less what their children did so long as it didn’t interfere with their enjoyment. In which case they deserved to be taught a lesson themselves.
It was Beryl Mowbray who opened the door and her face showed surprise and a little apprehension to see him. ‘Good morning.’
‘Good morning to you, and the compliments of the season.’ Corker was bare-headed, thinking it wasn’t worth putting his seaman’s cap on to walk to a house three doors away. But he forgot he wasn’t wearing the cap and his hand was halfway to his head to raise it to the lady when he remembered it was still on the hook behind the door at home. ‘I know Boxing Day isn’t the time for fighting or arguments, and I certainly haven’t come with that in mind, but I would like a word with you and yer husband about yer daughter Joanne.’
Beryl sighed. ‘Our Jeff said she’d been a right pain in the neck in your house and he’d never go anywhere with her again, but that’s as much as we could get out of him. Anyway, yer’d better come in. Don’t mind the place, it’s in a bleedin’ mess and I’m certainly not doing any housework today. I’ll put food on the table and fill their bellies, but that’s me lot.’
David Mowbray blinked a few times when Corker walked through the door. My God, he thought, he’s some size, I wouldn’t like to tangle with him.
‘This is me husband, David,’ Beryl said. ‘And yer know our Jeff, of course. Joanne is still in bed, she hasn’t surfaced yet.’
‘I’m James Corkhill, but everyone calls me Corker.’ He grasped the hand held out to him and his handshake was warm. He didn’t want the parents to think he’d come looking for trouble, they were neighbours after all. Better to make friends than enemies. ‘I came to tell yer that Joanne really misbehaved herself last night. Me and the wife were next door at the Bennetts’, which is a regular thing on Christmas night, and all the young ones were having their own little party in ours. Unfortunately, your daughter helped herself to a few glasses of sherry that she found in the kitchen, and the effect it had on her spoilt the night for the other kids. She was so drunk she was kissing all the young lads, and I don’t mean a peck on the cheek either. In the end I had to leave the Bennetts’ to go and see what she was up to. She showed no respect at all and wouldn’t listen to what I had to say. In fact she was very insolent, which is something I can’t abide in youngsters.’
‘I told yer, didn’t I, Mam?’ Jeff said. ‘She was dead hard-faced.’
David looked at his wife and sighed. ‘It was years ago she should have got the good hidings for being cheeky and giving us both old buck. But Beryl here, she said hitting the children only made them worse. Talk about “spare the rod and spoil the child”. It’s certainly true in this case. I shouldn’t have taken any notice of yer then things might have been different.’ He sighed again and shook his head. ‘It’s too late now, we’ll never get her to change.’
‘Sit down, Corker.’ Beryl pulled one of the wooden dining chairs from the table. ‘David’s right, it’s my fault. I’ve been too bleedin’ soft with her. Now she treats me like a piece of dirt. And David, too! She’s a right hard-faced cow, and one of these days she’ll bring trouble to this door, I know she will.’
David leaned forward and asked, ‘Would yer like a drink, Corker?’
‘A cup of tea would be very welcome, thanks. It’s a bit too early for the hard stuff and I haven’t really got over last night yet.’
‘I’ll put the kettle on, Mam, you stay where yer are.’ Jeff was beginning to see that while he wasn’t as hard-faced as his sister, and he didn’t give his parents cheek, he could be a better son than he’d been. He could help his mam more, show he did care. ‘D’yer take milk and sugar, Mr Corkhill?’
‘Yes, please, son, I take both.’ Then Corker remembered sugar was still rationed. He was inclined to forget because they never went short of anything in his house with him bringing plenty home with him every trip. ‘Just half a spoonful of sugar, thanks.’
When the lad had gone into the kitchen, Corker said, ‘It’s never too late to correct a child. Joanne’s only seventeen, but the way she’s going on she’ll never make friends. It would be a shame for that to happen. A little perseverance on your part might make all the difference. If you accept the way she behaves because yer think yer can’t alter it, then all is lost and yer’ll have a daughter who’s disliked by everyone.’
‘D’yer want me to get her up and yer can have a word with her?’ Beryl asked. ‘She’d probably take more notice of you.’
Corker shook his head. ‘I had plenty of words with her last night, which she may or may not remember. I think any more from me would rub her up the wrong way. I know yer haven’t lived here long and she probably hasn’t made any friends, but there’s plenty of young girls she could pal up with if she changed her attitude. I’ll have a word with the wife and children, see if they can act friendly towards her. She can’t go through life being rude to everyone, especially those who are trying to be friendly.’
Jeff came through carrying a cup and saucer. He’d filled the cup to the brim and his tongue was sticking out of the side of his mouth as he concentrated on not spilling the tea into the saucer. ‘Here ye’re, Mr Corker.’ He didn’t move away after passing the tea over because something on his mind was worrying him. ‘Yer won’t stop me being mates with your Gordon, will yer? It’s not my fault our Joanne’s the way she is.’
‘Ye’re welcome in the house any time, son, so don’t worry. And, come to think of it, it might just change yer sister’s attitude if she sees yer making friends and enjoying yerself.’
A smile lit up the boy’s face. ‘That’s the gear, ’cos I get on smashing with Gordon.’
Corker stayed for a while talking about how long he’d been going to sea and where David worked. He could see Beryl and her husband relaxing when they realised he hadn’t come to cause trouble. Then he had an idea, and asked casuall
y, ‘D’yer drink in the corner pub, David?’
‘I’ve been in twice since we moved here, but I miss the local where we used to live and all me old mates.’
‘I go in most nights when I’m home, with two mates I’ve had for over twenty years,’ Corker told him. ‘That’s Jack Bennett and George McDonough, both neighbours that yer’ve no doubt seen in passing. We’ll be going for a pint tomorrow night, so I’ll give yer a knock and see if yer want to join us.’
David’s face beamed. ‘Yeah, I’d like that, Corker, thanks! And I’m sorry about our Joanne, I’ll have words with her when she finally decides to get out of bed.’
‘I don’t think I’d do that if I were you. If she were my daughter, I’d ignore her, no matter what she does. My opinion, for what it’s worth, is that she loves being the centre of attention. But she’d soon get it into her head that it’s not worth being cheeky and acting tough if no one takes the slightest interest in her.’ He handed the cup and saucer over to Beryl and stood up, his massive frame almost filling the room and his head only about a foot from the ceiling. ‘I’d better get home or the wife will wonder where I’ve got to.’
‘Ye’re married to Ellen, aren’t yer?’ Beryl asked. ‘The one who works in the butcher’s?’
‘Yes, I’m happy to say. I’ve got the best wife and family a man could ask for.’ He grinned and added, ‘My ma lives at the top end of the street, and she’s the best mother any man could ask for. So, all in all, I’m a lucky beggar.’ He waved a hand. ‘I’ll see meself out so don’t bother getting up. Enjoy the rest of the festive season.’
When the door closed on Corker, David shook his head as though bewildered. ‘He’s some man, he is. They don’t come much bigger than him, his hands are like shovels. But he’s a nice bloke and I hope we can get to know him better. And all the other neighbours. We’ve been here weeks now and I haven’t met one of them, only to nod to.’
‘If our Joanne carries on like she is, no one will want to know us. Fancy her helping herself to drink in a strange house, and her only seventeen.’ Beryl tutted. ‘People must wonder what’s the matter with us, and I don’t blame them. We should have put a stop to her shenanigans years ago instead of giving her all her own bleedin’ way to keep the peace.’
David reached for his packet of Woodbines and lit one before saying what was on his mind. ‘I think Corker was right and we should just ignore her. So when she comes down and asks for a cup of tea, don’t get up to make her one. Tell her to make her own. And if she takes off, pretend yer can’t hear her. If she wants a drink bad enough, she’ll soon make her own.’
‘I won’t be doing anything for her,’ Jeff said. ‘She didn’t half make a show of me last night, I was ashamed of her. The way she was carrying on I thought they’d have thrown both of us out. She won’t be coming anywhere with me in future, I can tell yer that. She can just take a long running jump.’
A few doors down, Ellen was asking, ‘Did yer see the young madam?’
‘No, she was still in bed. But I had a good talk to her parents and they don’t seem bad people at all. They just don’t know how to handle her.’
‘Don’t know how to handle her? If she was my daughter I’d know how to handle her all right,’ Ellen said. ‘That’s a pathetic excuse for letting their daughter run wild.’
Corker looked towards the kitchen. ‘It’s very quiet, where is everyone?’
‘Gone out for a bit of fresh air. They’re calling to see yer ma, then carrying on round to the Jacksons’ to wish them the compliments of the season. Apart from Phoebe, none of them saw Bridie and Bob yesterday, or Rosie and Tommy. And yer know they think the world of all of them. I’ve told them to be back for one o’clock for their dinner.’
As she was speaking, Ellen realised that her and Corker had the house to themselves for a change so she left her chair to sit on his knee. ‘It’s not often we get a chance for a cuddle, let’s make the most of it.’ She felt his arms go around her waist and smiled into his face. ‘You’re my safe haven, love, I always feel I can come to no harm when I’m in yer arms.’ She kissed his cheek and giggled as the whiskers tickled her lips. ‘I’ve got a lot to be thankful for, God knows. A husband in a million and four children to be proud of. They’re all well behaved and wouldn’t dream of answering an older person back.’
‘It’s not always the parents’ fault if their children grow up to be adults who are miserable, inconsiderate, lacking in social graces and sometimes downright bad.’
‘I don’t agree with yer, love, ’cos I think the parents set an example to their children.’
‘I would have gone along with that twelve months ago, sweetheart,’ Corker said. ‘But that rotter Lily McDonough went out with, he taught me a lesson: that things aren’t always as they seem. He was bad through and through. Always surly, a bully who wanted all his own way and would use violence to get it. And what an out and out liar he was! He led Lily a merry dance with his lies and deceit, and nearly broke her heart. And yet his parents were nice ordinary people who lived a good life and never did anyone a bad turn. He started to break their hearts from the time he started school and nothing they did made any difference. For years they walked with their heads down, ashamed of the boy they’d brought into the world. And yet they had another son who was just the opposite. So, as I said, things are not always what they appear to be.’
Ellen was silent for a while, thinking over what Corker had said while she watched the flames lick the coals in the fire. ‘Yer know, sometimes that Beryl Mowbray looks as though she’s got the cares of the world on her shoulders. My first impression of her was that she was loud-mouthed, swore like a trooper, was as hard as nails and could hold her own with anyone. D’yer think I’ve been too quick to judge her?’
‘I would certainly give her the benefit of the doubt, she deserves that much. And I’m going to have a word with the children and ask them not to rake up what happened last night. The Mowbrays are our neighbours and I’d hate to be at loggerheads with them. If Joanne doesn’t improve her attitude then the best they can do is give her a wide berth.’ Corker sat back in the couch and pulled Ellen with him. ‘Now that’s off me chest, can I have a kiss, please?’
And that was a request Ellen would never refuse.
In the Mowbray household, Joanne came down the stairs wearing a dressing gown that had been a present from her parents. It was a lovely warm red colour, but the effect was spoilt by her matted hair, smudged make-up and a surly frown that said she wasn’t in the best of moods. ‘Where’s me breakfast?’
After glancing at her husband, Beryl said, ‘We had our breakfast an hour ago. If yer want anything to eat yer’ll have to make it yerself.’
‘I’m not making me own breakfast, that’s your job.’
‘In that case, yer mam did her job an hour ago,’ David said. ‘She shouted up the stairs to tell yer but yer didn’t see fit to answer. Yer missed yer chance when it was there, so see to yerself if yer want anything.’
‘I told yer, I’m not making me own breakfast!’ The girl sounded determined. ‘I go to work all week and I pay me mam to look after me. So let her make me breakfast.’
David took a deep breath and told himself to keep calm. ‘Yer pay yer mam seven and six a week, that doesn’t make her your slave. I work a damn’ sight harder than you do, and hand over a damn’ sight more every week. But I don’t expect to get waited on hand and foot, ’cos I know looking after a house and feeding a family is a lot harder than going out to work. And that’s the last word on the subject.’
‘I’m still not making me own breakfast.’
Beryl was used to the girl’s sullen face and the bad temper, she got it every morning, and usually gave in to keep the peace. But Corker’s words had struck a chord with her and she vowed she would never again give in to her bad-tempered, ill-mannered daughter. ‘Suit yerself. Yer either do it yerself or do without. It’s no skin off my nose.’
Joanne looked confused for a while, shocked a
t being spoken to like that by her mother. She glanced over to the table where her brother was reading a book which had been one of his presents, and saw a way of saving face. ‘Make us a cup of tea and a round of toast, Jeff, there’s a good lad.’
He hadn’t lifted his eyes from the book, but Jeff hadn’t missed a word. He knew his sister would turn to him, expecting him to take her side, but she’d blotted her copybook good and proper last night and he was through being her lackey. ‘Ye’re a lazy beggar, you are. What makes yer think yer only have to open yer mouth and everyone will jump? Make yer own blinking tea, it won’t kill yer.’
Joanne jumped to her feet and flounced out of the room, saying, ‘Sod the lot of yer, I’m going back to bed.’
Beryl rushed to the bottom of the stairs. ‘Dinner will be ready at one o’clock. If ye’re not down here then, that’s yer own fault. And yer’ve got a clock up there so yer’ve no excuse.’ She went back to her chair, her nerves shattered. ‘D’yer think I should take a drink and a round of toast up to her? She must be starving.’
‘Over my dead body,’ David said. ‘We should have done this years ago, but better late than never. We’ve got to keep it up now, Beryl, no feeling sorry for her and giving in. It’s for her own good, as well as ours. She hasn’t got a friend, boy or girl, because of her sarcastic, cocky manner, and never will have if she doesn’t change. So don’t let me down, d’yer hear?’
‘Me dad’s right, Mam,’ Jeff agreed. ‘Yer’ll be doing her a favour in the end. I certainly won’t be running messages for her any more, she’s had it. And if yer give in to her once, Mam, she’ll soon have yer dancing to her tune again. She’s always been able to get round yer, and she knows if she keeps it up long enough she’ll get her own way. So put yer foot down firmly this time and mean it.’
‘Okay, okay, I promise! Otherwise I’ll have you two coming down on me like a ton of bricks. I promise I won’t give in to her even if she gets down on her bleedin’ knees to me.’