by Carol Rivers
'Nothing.' Dolly brought out her hanky and blew her nose. 'Nothing that won't mend.'
'What do you mean?'
'Percy's lost his job.'
Bella gasped. 'At Burlingtons?'
'Yes, they've gone to the wall.'
'A reputable firm like that?'
'It's awful isn't it? But you see, there are bigger and better companies outside of London that are cheaper and deliver nationally.'
'But Burlingtons are solid, like the Bank of England.'
'Yes, but some of the old island firms who wouldn't change their methods are not prepared to keep up with the times.' Dolly's voice wavered. 'Their situation is worse than we thought and Percy doesn't even get severance pay as there's nothing left in the pot.'
Bella felt very sad for her friends. 'Could he get a job at Billingsgate? He'd have to travel up of course, but you've got the car.'
'Yes, it's worth a try, even though the petrol would be expensive.'
'If it wasn't what he wanted, would he try another trade?'
Dolly nodded. 'Yes, but Percy's not used to labouring and that's all he'll get on the island. There's jobs going at West India Docks, loading ships. But he would only take an unskilled job if nothing else turned up as it's half his usual pay. You see, we bought our house thinking he was safe at Burlingtons and there would be chance of promotion.'
'How are you managing?' Bella said quietly.
Dolly went red. 'Mum and Dad have loaned us twenty five pounds.'
'What about food?'
'I've pawned my engagement ring. The one we bought in Oxford Street.' Tears sprang to Dolly's eyes again. 'I didn't want to, but it was the only way.'
'Oh, Dolly, I wish you'd told me. I would have loaned you the money.'
'That's very kind of you Bella, but we'll manage. As you know I'm very thrifty. I make everything we wear. Grow our own vegetables. I'm very careful with the pennies.'
Bella grasped her friend's hand. 'But Dolly, if you're ever in a tight spot please come to me.'
'I hope it never comes to that.' Dolly changed the subject quickly. 'Look at this lovely spread! And the cake – did you bake it?'
'Teresa and Michael helped.'
'She can get up and do things now?'
'Yes, Dr Cox said it's good for her to move and shift the congestion, but she does get tired.'
'When will she go home?'
'Not until she's completely better. With TB being rife on the island a few years ago, I won't take any chances. I've written to the council and so has Dr Cox, saying the prefab needs fumigating and decorating. Until that's done, she staying here.'
'You'll miss her when she goes.'
'Yes, it's like she's always been in our lives. But, I told myself from the start not to get too attached.' Bella sighed inwardly. She wasn't the only one who would miss the child when she returned home. Michael and Teresa had become inseparable. They liked the same things, read the same books and shared the same sense of humour. They got on so well that it seemed as though they were brother and sister.
'Do they know they're related yet?' Dolly asked.
'I told them that Mary is Michael's granny, but I didn't go into detail. I thought I'd wait until they started to ask questions.'
'And to think we were discussing what to do as regards telling Michael he had a granny. It was as if someone above was listening and helped sort it all out.'
Bella nodded firmly. 'One day I'll take Michael back and show him Bow Street, where his mother and uncle were born and his granny lived.'
'Dad said he walked round that way last week,' Dolly told her then. 'The ground is as flat as a pancake where your cottage was. There's a sign up saying it's been sold for development. To think that it was once people's homes, where families lived. I expect some awful flats will be built there instead.'
Bella didn't know how she felt about that. Bow Street was her home even if it had been a derelict cottage she'd lived in. But the memories she had of it weren't happy. Even Dolly, her best and oldest friend, didn't really know what it was like to live there. Perhaps if she and Terry had had some memories of a father, or even some information about him, it would have forged some kind of link. But Mary said she didn't know who their father was and more to the point, didn't care. They had been used to different men appearing on the scene and when Jack Router moved in, he had been the worst of them all. So all in all, she wouldn't be sad to see a change. If a block of flats was built there, they would create new memories for the families that lived in them and hopefully happier ones.
Dolly tapped her on the arm and she jumped. 'Bella, our Ray was asking after you the other day when he came round. He's on a week's holiday and visiting with his family.'
'How are they?'
'Got another one on the way.'
Bella grinned. 'He's a fast worker.'
'He was always keen on you, though.'
Bella giggled. 'It would have been funny being your sister-in-law.'
Dolly's eyes widened. 'I'm glad you're no t. They live all the way out at Ramsgate!'
'I couldn't imagine being anywhere else except here in Piper Street,' Bella confessed. 'I've known this house all my life. Just like you and me, knowing each other from school.'
Dolly's eyes moistened again. 'I hope we don't have to move away.'
Bella's jaw dropped. 'Is that likely?'
'Only if we can't afford the house.'
Bella was trying to absorb what Dolly was telling her as the children came running in. Dolly and Percy must be in serious trouble for her to say that. Was it a sign of the times that things were getting worse in the country?
Bella watched as Dolly drew Teresa on her lap. What would she do if they had to say goodbye? It was then that Bella realized how much Dolly's friendship meant to her.
'Sean and Ashley want to buy the flat above the shop,' Ronnie said as he and Joyce strolled arm in arm in Island Gardens.
'They've saved up enough?' Joyce asked in surprise as they sat on the bench near the entrance to the foot tunnel. It was a soft May day and Ronnie was eager to gain a wholehearted yes from Joyce or, if she really wanted to end their affair, a definite no. He would be devastated if it was in the negative, but he couldn't go on like this. He wanted kids, he wanted a family. He was thirty-one and he didn't want to be too old to play football with his son. Being with young Michael so frequently had made him think seriously about the future. His property business was expanding and he had saved a fair wedge since selling the Blue Moon. Now that Sean was settled and on his way to his first fortune, Ronnie felt as though he actually knew what he wanted out of life. He didn't like living in rooms and he didn't like the fact they were living in what Joyce called happy sin. He wanted permanence, security, the old-fashioned values his mum and dad had taught him.
Ronnie nodded. 'I'm signing over the deeds next week.'
'That quick?'
'Well you see, I've got an ulterior motive.'
Joyce looked at him and smiled her lovely smile. She was beautiful, everything he could want in a woman. They knew each other well, he could trust her one hundred percent and she him. The physical attraction was there. If not red-hot it was still warm. All that could be added was making it legal and she could bear him a son, continue the Bryant name.
'Come on then, spit it out.' She looked at him with those dark, knowing eyes and for the first time ever, he saw her as an older, wiser Joyce. Neither of them were getting any younger, he was the first to admit it. But he had this sensation that time was marching on and leaving them behind.
'Joyce,' he said, taking a deep breath, 'this is going to come as a shock to you, but I don't want to buy a gaff in the sticks. What I really want is to move back to Piper Street.'
Joyce looked at him in surprise. Her eyes went over his face, as she unconsciously stroked her black hair, cut to the nape of neck and laying softly on her cheeks. She was wearing her dark purple suit, her colour, and Ronnie thought once more how good it was to have her beside hi
m. 'But what about all those plans you had?' she asked. 'Bromley, you thought, or even across the water. Blackheath, perhaps.'
'I know and it's what I thought at the time.'
'And you don't now?'
Ronnie could never quite guess Joyce's reaction, which was one reason why he loved her. 'That's about the size of it.' He slid his finger inside his collar and loosened it. 'Poplar's no t my home, Joyce, nor is Bromley or Blackheath. The only place I'm truly happy is on the island. And when Sean and Ashley move out, the old gaff will be empty except for Micky and Bella downstairs. Seems a waste to, well, not live in it.'
'But isn't that a backward step, Ron? We could live anywhere we want,' Joyce said in a puzzled tone. 'You are a man of means and I've got enough put by to see me through to a ripe old age. Putting our cash together we could afford somewhere a bit stylish.'
Ronnie sighed heavily stretching his arm along the back of the bench. 'I'm not so sure about all the frills and flounces now. There was a time when living in a posh house and driving a big motor meant a lot, because it would say I was a success to the world. But since I've been doing up places and putting families back in them, it's scratched the itch inside me. Sounds daft I know, but when I look into their faces and they shake my hand, that is what counts. I give them back their roots and I've discovered I want mine back too.'
Joyce smiled easily. 'You're going soft in your old age, Ron.'
'Maybe I am.'
'You've changed, you know. Take the Fortune for instance. I thought you'd blow your top when Micky bought it. Instead you shook his hand and wished him luck.'
'Not much else I could do,' Ronnie replied with a shrug. 'And anyway, I'm not my brother's keeper anymore.'
'You were once.' Joyce touched his hand. 'What's happened to the man who wouldn't let go?'
'Was I that stubborn, Joyce?' Ronnie asked, a little shocked.
'A bit,' she told him gently. 'But your grip of iron is what I've admired about you. Your brothers always came first and everything else after.'
'Including you?'
She nodded. 'Yes, especially me.'
'Joyce, you know I love you.'
'And I love you, Ron. But is it enough? For the first time in a lot of years, I'm not sure I can compromise.'
Ronnie felt his stomach lurch. He knew he didn't see himself as others saw him. He also knew – belatedly – that he had tried too hard with Micky and Sean. But Sean moving out had suddenly made him realize what a home meant. Perhaps Sean and Micky had to leave him before he could find himself? But to be alone and without Joyce? Now that was a different kettle of fish.
'Would Piper Street be a come-down for you?' he enquired sincerely. 'The old gaff's no t up to much I'll admit.'
'I'm not a snob, Ron.'
'But you fancied more?'
'To be honest, I don't know.'
'That's good then. I'm in with a sporting chance.' He took hold of her hand, felt the tiny bones of her fingers inside her soft skin and forced himself to go on. 'I want a family of our own, Joyce. A son would be wonderful, but a daughter just as good, specially if she looked like you.'
She gazed into his eyes, her face sad although she was laughing and her head was shaking. 'Ronnie, you're mad. I'm too old for a baby. And even if I did conceive and give birth, I'd have to look after it. Can you honestly see me as a mother?'
Ronnie nodded. 'Yes, I can.'
She frowned. 'And when it got old enough I'd have to tell it what I once did for a living. That its mother was a Madam, a brothel owner, amongst other things.'
'A good business woman - the best in her day. And I'll make sure he or she's proud of that fact.'
Joyce laughed, her voice shaking as she stammered, 'Ronnie, what's happening to you?'
'I've fallen in love.'
A tear escaped from her eye as she lifted her hands and lay them on his shoulders. 'You are a good man, Ronnie Bryant, the best. But the odds aren't in my favour. I can't see myself as the little woman indoors and I can't – '
'I can.' Ronnie pulled her close and kissed her, keenly aware of her softness and her warmth and loving her all the more because she was vulnerable. 'Marry me, Joyce. This time I really mean it.'
She was half crying, half laughing when she asked, 'You didn't mean it before then?'
'I would have married you years ago given half the chance. But I'll admit I didn't want it then as much as I do now.'
She took out her hanky and wiped her cheeks. Looking under her wet lashes, she smiled. After what seemed like an eternity she asked quietly, 'Oh, Ron, I'm speechless for once.'
Ronnie pulled her against him, his heart pounding like a train. In spite of the glances from the afternoon strollers, he kissed her as though he'd never kissed her before. 'So that's a yes?' he whispered urgently.
Joyce pulled away, staring at him with her dark, serious eyes. 'I must be mad, but …' she nodded, 'it's a yes.'
Ronnie pulled her to her feet. Kissing her passionately, he gave a loud shout of joy. The little kids in the sandpit were giggling at them and he laughed back. He wanted to tell everyone he was going to marry the most wonderful woman in the world.
Teresa and Michael had gone next door for the morning. Daisy Brown was a piano teacher and had a lovely upright piano. She was teaching all the children their scales.
Bella had asked Terry to go with her to Collier Street.
'Can't,' he kept repeating stubbornly even though it was his day off from the garage.
'Mum would like to see you.'
'Going to Sean's,' he just said over and over again.
Bella knew he liked to sweep up the hair and do all the odd jobs for Sean. 'You can go after,' she assured him. 'Be a good boy now and come with me. I'll buy you some nougat on the way.'
In the grocers, everyone was talking about the election. Sir Anthony Eden, the new Tory Prime Minister was glibly promising people they would soon be able to buy their own homes. East Enders were wondering when and if that could ever happen. Why was the working class represented by a toff who knew nothing about them? If the Prime Minister lived on the island for a week, it would be a lesson in life. But wealthy people shied away from the poor. It was better to arrive at decisions in the comfort of parliament and the discreet interiors of gentlemen's clubs.
Bella thought about the prefab. Had the council called and done as she had asked in her many letters? The fumigation was essential to Teresa's return, not to mention the damp.
As they entered Collier Street, Bella saw a man dressed in overalls. He was working outside her mother's, pouring what looked like milk into a bucket. When he saw Bella and Terry, he stopped work. 'Afternoon,' he nodded, tilting back his cap.
Bella smiled. 'Are you from the council?'
'Indeed I am.'
'Oh, that's good. We've been waiting for you to come.'
'Mind yer nice clothes now, 'cos this stuff is diabolical. Can rot your skin if you're not careful. I'm giving a second dousing, just to make sure I've got all the little buggers.'
Mary appeared on the doorstep and folding her arms, frowned at Terry. 'So this is me long lost son, is it?'
Bella urged Terry forward. 'Say hello, Terry.'
'What's the matter with him?' Mary demanded when Terry refused to speak. 'Ain't he got a voice?'
'Yes he has. Can we come in?'
Mary shrugged and glanced at the man from the council. 'You stopping for tea, Gus?'
'Don't mind if I do.'
They all went inside. Bella was shocked at the transformation. All the doors had been painted a nice cream colour. There was even some new wallpaper on the walls. She was pleased to see that her letters to the council accompanied by the doctor's entreaty had resulted in action.
Bella also noted the new furniture had arrived; beds and wardrobes, a couch for the living area and a small square table and four wooden chairs for the kitchen.
Mary led the way to the kitchen. 'Sit down, I'll put the kettle on.'
Brushing down
his overalls, Gus took a sheet of newspaper from his pocket and placed it on the chair. 'I'd offer to take off me boots, but more would come out of them than's in the bucket outside.'
Terry sat beside Bella. He was still very quiet and Bella could tell nothing from his expression. It was so warm inside the prefab that her summer frock clung to her. Were the mugs clean that Mary was lining up on the drainer? Or home to old dregs as they used to be at Bow Street?
'So when will you be finished the fumigation?' Bella asked Gus politely as a mug landed heavily on the table in front of her and the tea splashed over the sides.
'End of this week.' Gus gulped his drink, blinking his small, friendly eyes.
'How's my poor, sick girl?' Mary asked.
'Doctor Cox said she's doing well. How long will it take for these fumes to wear off?'
'Give it a week,' Gus replied, realising it was only him that could answer the question. 'Meanwhile keep the windows open, let in the fresh air and you'll never know I've been here.'
'Haven't got much food,' Mary grumbled. 'Ain't been well enough to go out and I've got no money.'
'You know I'll see to all that.' Bella felt embarrassed in front of Gus.
'I'm a vegetable man meself,' he said suddenly. 'Got an allotment, a few flowers and greens. I'll bring some bits with me tomorrow if you like, Mary. In fact, if you want, I'll plant a few spuds out the back. Nice to just go out and pick 'em for yourself and the kid.'
Mary was smiling again and quickly Bella finished her tea. She felt they were in the way here. 'We'd better be going.'
Terry stood up quickly. Bella knew he was anxious to leave. It was as if Mary was a complete stranger to him.
'Does that boy ever say anything?' Mary demanded loudly.
'Sometimes. He's just shy.' She smiled at Gus. 'It was nice to meet you, Gus.'
He nodded, standing up politely. 'You too, missus.'
On the corner of Collier Street, Bella looked up at her brother. 'Are you all right, Terry?'
'Yeah.'
'You didn't say very much.'
'Don't like it there.' Terry looked frightened, his big eyes going back along the street.