MB05 - After the Dance is Over

by Joan Jonker

  ‘Hello, Paul. I think yer met me friend, Elsie, at Millington’s once? We were going to the pictures but at the last minute we fancied a change. So here we are.’

  ‘Would yer like to dance? I remember yer used to like a slow foxtrot.’ He held out his hand and a shiver ran down his spine when Phoebe touched him. ‘Yer don’t mind, do yer, Elsie?’ He would never know whether Elsie minded or not because his eyes never left Phoebe’s face. And when she was in his arms, his whole body tingled. They glided over the floor, their beating hearts matching their perfect footwork. His lips close to her ear, he whispered, ‘How have yer been, Phoebe?’

  When she looked up, it was her intention to say she’d been fine. But those deep brown eyes gazing into hers brought the truth to her lips. ‘I’ve been very lonely. And although me and Elsie had arranged to go to the pictures, I talked her into coming here instead because I’d seen yer pass our window with a girl. I came here to get yer back, Paul, and I’d have put up a fight with the girl ye’re with.’

  He pulled her closer. ‘I’ve been lonely, too! I’ve missed yer that much I’ve been as miserable as sin. And the girl is a friend of Lily’s from work, I’ve never seen her in me life before. There’s no one else for me but you, Phoebe, and after the dance is over can I take yer home, please?’

  ‘We’ll have to walk part way with Elsie, I can’t leave her swinging. But, yeah, I’d love yer to walk me home. I’ve spent the most awful few weeks of me life, Paul, but one kiss from you will make me sleep with a smile on me face tonight.’

  He squeezed her hand. ‘Are yer still me girlfriend?’

  ‘If yer’ll have me.’

  When Phoebe’s shy smile spread across her face, Paul had to fight the urge to kiss her. With his dimples on display, he said, ‘Oh, I’ll have yer, Phoebe Corkhill.’ The music died down and he squeezed her hand. ‘I’ll come and stand with you and yer friend, but I’d better show me manners and tell the gang first.’

  Elsie was grinning as Phoebe walked towards her. ‘Yer don’t have to tell me, it’s written all over the pair of yer. Just look at him, anyone would think he’d won the pools.’

  Paul’s pleasure and excitement were plain for all to see. ‘Me and Phoebe have made it up.’ He shook Archie’s hand, kissed his sister and thanked her for bringing her friend along tonight. Then he kissed Ginny. ‘Yer’ll never know why, Ginny, but if it weren’t for you, this stupid quarrel of ours might never have been resolved.’ With that he turned on his heels and hurried to the back of the hall where a pair of hazel eyes, full of eagerness and love, searched for his return.

  Chapter 25

  ‘Mam, when yer go to the shops, will yer get me a baby’s bottle from the chemists?’ Doreen could tell by her mother’s expression that the request was not being well received. But she carried on, ‘And a teat, if yer would.’

  ‘What d’yer want to start him on the bottle for, sunshine? Yer know they told yer in the hospital that babies are far better being breast-fed.’

  ‘I’m still going to feed him meself, Mam, but I thought if I could bottle feed him once a day it would make things easier for me. He’s going longer between feeds now. Yesterday he went a full three hours.’

  Victoria could see Molly wasn’t convinced so she spoke up in favour of the young mother. ‘I think it’s a good idea, Molly, particularly with the christening on Sunday. If Doreen fed Bobby herself before she left for the church, she could give him a bottle later. After all, it will be difficult for her to feed him with the house full of people.’

  ‘And there’s Tommy’s wedding as well, Mam,’ Doreen pressed home her point. ‘Phil’s grandma has offered to come for the day to mind the baby for us, and I’d be able to enjoy meself if I didn’t have me eye on the clock all the time.’

  Molly was feeling more reasonable now she’d had time to think it through. ‘Yeah, yer’ve got a point, sunshine, it would be better all round for yer. But would Maggie Mitchell be able to manage?’

  ‘I’ll be here with her most of the time,’ Victoria said. ‘I’ll go to the church because I wouldn’t miss seeing Tommy and Rosie getting married, but I won’t go to the reception if yer don’t mind, Molly, because it would be too much for me. After all, I’m no spring chicken and I tire very quickly. So I’ll come here straight from the church and keep Maggie company.’

  ‘I understand, sunshine, and I know Tommy and Rosie will. We won’t leave yer out, though, we’ll make sure two plates of food are brought up to yer.’ Molly breathed in deeply. ‘I feel a bit guilty not inviting any of Phil’s family to the wedding, but yer have to draw the line somewhere. Money is tight as it is.’

  ‘The Mitchells wouldn’t expect to be invited, Mam! They know there’s a lot of us, and the McDonoughs and Corkhills. After all, yer can’t invite everyone. And anyway, they’ll all be here on Sunday for the christening.’

  ‘I don’t know how ye’re going to fit everyone in here, it’s going to be a tight squeeze.’

  ‘We’ll manage, Mam, don’t worry. I mean, look at the number of people yer’ve had at your parties and yer’ve always managed. And they’re not all coming here from the church, some are going straight home.’

  ‘At least yer don’t have to worry about the food, sunshine, that’s all in hand. Me and Jill will make the sandwiches and cakes in our house and carry them over. And there’ll be jellies, trifles and biscuits, of course, all the usual party things. The drinks are Phil’s department, and he said he’s got it all in hand.’

  Doreen grinned. ‘Tell Auntie Nellie she can be yer deputy hostess, she’ll like that.’

  ‘Like it? She’ll love it! Honest, she’s breathing fire because she said I’m getting all the excitement! She practically said I’m greedy, as though I’d made it me business to have all these things happen so close together.’

  Victoria smiled. ‘Her day will come, Molly, and then she’ll find out for herself that’s it’s more worrying than exciting.’

  ‘Yeah, I can’t wait. Next year their Lily will probably be getting married and I’ll be able to sit back and watch Nellie do all the running around. I won’t half get a kick out of watching her, she won’t know whether she’s coming or going.’

  ‘Don’t be daft, Mam,’ Doreen laughed, ‘Auntie Nellie will know exactly where she’s going. Right down to your house, that’s where she’ll be going. And don’t say she needn’t bother, ’cos yer won’t see yer mate stuck. And stuck she would be, because I think we’ll all agree that she is never organised over anything.’

  ‘Don’t be fooled by Nellie, not like I was twenty years ago. Believing she wasn’t very good at coping was my downfall. I started helping her out, doing favours for her, like, and I’ve been doing it ever since. She’s as crafty as a box-load of monkeys.’

  ‘She’s paid yer back in laughs, Mam, yer can’t deny that. Where you’ve been the organiser, she’s been the entertainer, the comedienne.’

  ‘Yeah, yer’ve got a point. But when Lily gets married, Nellie can do all the organising. She can be hostess and I’ll be her deputy. That’ll make a change.’

  There was a movement from the cradle and Doreen was up like a shot. ‘I’m sure this feller can tell the time, he always wakes when he’s due to be fed.’ She lifted the baby out and swayed as she held him in her arms. ‘I could eat him, I really could. He never cries, yer know, Mam, he’s as good as gold.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘He doesn’t smell very sweet at the moment, he needs his nappy changing. I’ll do that before I feed him.’

  ‘I’ll get the nappy out for yer, we don’t want yer banging his head.’ Molly opened the door of the cupboard in the wall recess. ‘And then I’ll be on me way to the shops.’

  ‘Don’t forget the bottle and the teat, will yer, Mam? And will yer ask in the chemist’s which baby food he should be on at his age? If yer get me a tin I’ll pay yer for the lot when yer come back.’

  Molly nodded. ‘Let’s have a look at me beautiful grandson before I go.’ She made cooing noises as she s
troked the smooth, pink cheek. ‘He’s not half filling out, I bet he’s put some weight on since he was born.’

  ‘I’m taking him to the clinic tomorrow so we’ll find out then.’ As Doreen took the nappy, she smiled into her mother’s face. ‘D’yer know what yer said before about sitting back and letting Auntie Nellie do all the running around for Lily’s wedding? Well, yer were talking through yer hat, ’cos there’s no way yer’d do that. She’d be running around like a headless chicken if you weren’t there to help her.’

  Molly chuckled. ‘I know, sunshine, I’m all talk. But I wouldn’t offer, wouldn’t push meself forward unless she either asks me to help or I see her making a right mess of things. The latter being the most likely.’ She dropped a kiss on the baby’s head and picked up her bag. ‘I’ll be back in an hour or so – Nellie permitting.’

  ‘Tommy, I’ll come round to me ma’s with yer tonight, I want to check that I’ve got the list of guests right. I keep thinking I’ve left someone off, and I can’t be adding to the numbers once I’ve told the Hanleys or they’ll think I’m a ruddy nuisance.’

  ‘Okay, Mam, I’ll wait for yer. Rosie’s got a list so yer can compare them.’ Even just saying the name of his dearly beloved intended brought a smile to Tommy’s handsome face. ‘In fact, she’s got dozens of lists. Red carnations for the men’s buttonholes, white for the women. Special pink carnations for the mothers of the bride and groom, and double red carnations for her father, who is giving her away, and the same for Ginger, as best man. Then she has another list for who is to go in the first car and who in the second. Also who has to wait for one of the cars to come back for them, and who is to make it to the church on foot.’

  Jack pushed his plate away and reached for his packet of Woodbines. ‘Yer’ve got a good one in Rosie, son, like I got a good one in yer mam. Yer’ll never have to be worried about rent arrears or being up to yer neck in debt. There’s a few men I know who are old before their time with worry, ’cos their wives have no idea how to manage a home.’

  ‘Rosie’s had two good teachers, Dad, and they’ve taught her how to be economical with money. There’s her mam and me nan. Her family were poor, and being thrifty is second nature to her. But she’s not tight, far from it. She’d give yer her last ha’penny if yer needed it.’

  When Jack saw Molly gathering the plates together, he said, ‘Leave them, love, me and Ruthie will tidy up and wash the dishes, won’t we?’

  Ruthie pretended to pull a face. ‘Ye’re making an old woman of me, doing housework at my tender age.’

  ‘All good practice, sunshine!’ Molly took Tommy’s coat down and put it over the back of a chair before reaching for her own. ‘It’ll stand yer in good stead for when yer get married.’

  ‘Who’s top of the list this week, Ruthie? Is Gordon still hot favourite or is Jeffrey Mowbray in with a chance?’ Tommy put his coat back on the hook. ‘I don’t need to put that on, Mam, it’s warm out.’

  Ruthie, who couldn’t make her mind up which of the boys she liked best, gave him a cheeky grin. ‘Neither of them, clever clogs. I’m going to write to Mickey Rooney in America and ask if he fancies a beautiful young English girlfriend.’

  ‘I think he’s on his third wife, sunshine, so don’t waste yer stamp money. Stick to the devil yer know, it’s better than the devil yer don’t.’ Molly tugged on Tommy’s arm. ‘Come on, let’s get going, I don’t want to be out too long ’cos yer dad misses me when I’m not here.’

  Jack followed them to the door. ‘I would have thought yer’d be happy to know I miss yer. It’s better than me being glad to see the back of yer.’

  ‘Well, I’m getting a bit worried about yer coming to the door to see us off. Makes me think that as soon as I go out the front, yer’ll be bringing yer fancy woman in the back.’

  ‘After a hard day’s work, love, yer must be joking! Anyway, tell Bridie and Bob I was asking after them.’

  Molly linked her arm through her son’s. ‘If you and Rosie are as happy as yer dad and I have always been, then yer won’t go far wrong. It’s grand if yer have a nice house, coal in the shed and food in the larder, but none of that counts for anything if there’s no love.’

  ‘Don’t be going all soppy on me, Mam, please. I’m beginning to be a sentimental fool as it is, and I’m only twenty-one! I mean, it’s all right for Granda to cry when he sees anything that gets to him, like Doreen’s baby, ’cos of his age. But folk would talk if I kept getting me hankie out to wipe me eyes.’

  ‘It doesn’t hurt to be soppy now and again. Even men are entitled to have feelings.’

  ‘I’ve found that out, Mam, but I just hope I don’t start blubbering at me wedding. If yer think I’m showing signs, pinch me hard.’

  Rosie opened the door to them, and after giving Molly a hug, she put her arms around Tommy and smiled into his eyes. ‘How is me dearly beloved intended today?’

  ‘Happy now I’m with you.’

  ‘Oh, my God, it’s enough to make yer sick!’ Molly winked at her mother and father who were sitting in their favourite chairs to either side of the fireplace. ‘Me and Jack were never that sloppy.’ She winked again. ‘At least not in front of you, Ma. Yer never saw us throwing ourselves at each other, not like these two.’

  ‘We might not have seen it, me darlin’, but we heard yer right enough,’ Bridie said. ‘Sure the springs in the couch were very noisy, so they were. And with our bedroom being right above yer, couldn’t we hear every movement, word and kiss?’

  Bob chuckled. ‘My dear wife is exaggerating, Molly, so don’t look so shocked. We didn’t hear a thing, only the springs of the couch.’

  Molly’s hands covered her cheeks. ‘Yer’ve got me blushing! At my age, I’m blushing like a teenager after her first kiss.’

  ‘That’s because yer feel guilty, Mam,’ Tommy said, setting Rosie down on her two feet. ‘But fancy being caught out by the springs on a couch.’

  Out of the corner of Molly’s eye, she saw her parents smiling across at each other as though conspirators in a secret. And then the reason for their smiles dawned on her. She stood in the middle of the living room, a hand to her chin and a puzzled expression on her face. ‘Ay, Ma, this is the same couch, isn’t it?’

  ‘It is, me darlin’, and the springs have got louder over the years, so they have.’

  Rosie couldn’t understand why Tommy went into fits of laughter. ‘What’s so funny about that, Tommy Bennett? Sure, doesn’t it mean that me Auntie Bridget must take good care of her furniture for it to have lasted so long?’

  Running the back of a hand over his eyes, Tommy chuckled. ‘Sure, it does mean that, me darlin’. But it also means that every time we’re on the couch, kissing and cuddling, they can hear the springs playing a tune.’

  The light dawned and Rosie’s beautiful face beamed. ‘Oh, that’s it, is it? Well, don’t I have the very thing for that now? Sure I’ll be putting cotton wool in yer ears every night before yer go to bed, Auntie Bridget, and you too, Uncle Bob. Sure, it’s a foine thing when a courting couple can’t do their courting without someone listening in. But I’ll be generous with yer, so I will. Every night I’ll keep count of how many kisses me dearly beloved intended gives me, and I’ll let yer know the next morning.’

  ‘That’ll be fine, sweetheart, ’cos me and my dear wife like to be kept up-to-date. Yer see, our hearing isn’t as good as it was when Molly and Jack were courting.’ Bob began laughing at his own joke before he got the words out. ‘It’s either that, or you and Tommy don’t make as much noise as they did.’

  Molly feigned disgust. ‘Just wait until I tell Jack that me ma and da used to stand with their ears to the door listening in. I’d never have believed it of yer.’

  ‘Well, Auntie Molly, as me mammy would say, yer should never do anything yer’d be ashamed of anyone seeing.’

  ‘And yer mammy is quite right.’ Molly pulled a chair out and plonked herself down. ‘Now, can we go through the list of guests for the wedding so I’m
sure I’ve got everyone down? I get a different total every time I do it.’

  Rosie opened a drawer in the sideboard and took out a notepad. ‘I’ve got them all written down, Auntie Molly, d’yer want me to read them out to yer?’

  ‘Just add them up and tell me how many yer’ve got. See if the number tallies with what I’ve got written down.’

  Rosie’s mouth worked silently as she moved the pencil down the list. Then, tapping it on the pad, she said, ‘I get it to twenty-eight.’

  Molly breathed a sigh of relief. ‘That’s exactly what I get it to. Until I get to bed and go over it in me head, then I’m miles out.’

  ‘Have yer got Uncle Bill and his wife from Wales down?’ Tommy asked. ‘And Ginger and his girlfriend?’

  Molly nodded while Rosie said, ‘Now I’d hardly be forgetting yer best man, would I?’

  ‘I’ll give that number in to Edna Hanley tomorrow,’ Molly said. ‘It won’t matter if an odd one or two extra turn up, she’ll fit them in.’

  ‘It’s a lot for yer to pay for, Mam, can yer manage it? We’ve offered to help yer, and we’d rather do that than have yer worrying.’

  ‘Who said I’m worrying about money? Me and yer dad want to pay for it, like we did for the girls. Anyway, I’ll be paying the last few pound in on Saturday, and then I’ll be straight.’

  ‘I’m looking forward to the christening on Sunday, Auntie Molly,’ Rosie said. ‘And to meeting all Phil’s family.’

  ‘Our first great-grandchild.’ There was a catch in Bridie’s voice. ‘Me and Bob are going to feel really proud.’

  ‘Not as proud as me and Jack, Ma! I’m taking six hankies with me, just in case.’ Molly grinned. ‘No matter how proud we are, it won’t be a patch on how Phil and Doreen feel. Just think, a year ago Phil didn’t have a soul in the world, and now he’s not only got his dad’s family but a baby of his own. And it’s no more than he deserves, he’s one smashing lad and I love the bones of him.’ She touched Tommy’s arm. ‘Almost as much as I love you and the girls.’