by Carol Rivers
'Listen to yourself, girl! You know what all the kids are like in the coffee bar. They come to you with all their troubles and you are the first to tell them they are young and have their lives before them. Don't forget how much your Michael loves his music. He's got a lovely singing voice and Daisy has done a good job teaching him the old Joanna. You never know, he could be one of these pop stars one day.'
'That's what he's always wanted.' Bella didn't say that she too was worried that Michael was taking Francesca too seriously. For six months now she had missed the noise of his record player always at full volume. They never sat together in the evenings any more watching The Avengers or Ready Steady Go, his favourite programme.
Suddenly the front door latch went. Two exuberant fifteen-year-olds burst in. Anne and Irene wore their Carnaby Street short skirts and piles of marmalade coloured hair. They were followed by ten-year-old April, eight-year-old June also of similar colouring, and lastly four-year-old Neville. The room erupted into bedlam as Dolly and Percy appeared, bearing gifts, bottles and tinsel tied packages. Len and Ronnie joined them and half an hour later Mary and Gus arrived with Teresa. Bella always marvelled at Teresa's beauty. Her hair was a rich brown like Michael's and at sixteen, she was tall and slim as a reed. Anne, Irene and Teresa were her best friends and often came to the coffee bar on Saturday mornings. Dolly approved of this only because Bella kept an eye on them.
Mary was now walking with the aid of a stick. They lived in a council house in Poplar on a new housing estate. Like Michael, Teresa had left school this September. Whereas Michael was only doing a part-time job of delivering meat, while looking for something more permanent, Teresa had begun work as a typist. Bella knew that with her stunning looks it wouldn't be long before she had a boyfriend.
The family was growing up fast. What dramas would unfold in the next few years she wondered?
When dinner was over and everyone was opening their presents, Bella went to the kitchen. Many hands had made light work of the clearing up and there was only the hot drinks to be made. As she was putting on the kettle, Ron joined her. He looked very handsome, his grey eyes older and wiser, but the little lines that creased out from his eyes gave him a charm that only came with maturity. She could see very little of Micky in him. In fact it was Sean who resembled Micky more these days.
'Let me help,' Ronnie said as he watched her fill the kettle.
'Set the tray if you like, as many cups and saucers as it will hold.'
Ronnie carefully did as she asked, but his expression was distracted.
'Bella, there's something I'd like to ask you about Michael.'
She turned, lifting her eyes. 'Have you been talking to Gina?'
'No, why?'
She smiled. 'She thinks he needs a push in the right direction. Away from the Sullivans.'
Ronnie frowned. 'I wouldn't say that exactly. But do you know what he wants to do? Has he found anything that interests him yet?'
Bella leaned against the cupboard and folded her arms thoughtfully. She was wearing a new figure hugging sweater and a skirt that was the shorter length with high heels that boasted the new, pointed toes. She liked to be fashionable and kept up with the new trends. She and Gina were always talking about clothes and make-up, the latest cosmetics as well as more contemporary blends of coffees. She saw Ronnie studying her and she blushed.
'No, Ron, he's not made his mind up to do anything special. He's besotted with Francesca at the moment.'
He grinned. 'I had noticed.'
'Have you got any ideas, then?'
He nodded, leaning his hip against the draining board, his white shirt exposed and his conservative tie making him look very masculine. She knew that under that shirt was a reminder of the past. A large scar which had never really faded from the days of the still. Last summer, she had seen him working in the back garden dismantling the old shed. It had been quite a shock to see the scar on his otherwise healthy and strong body. 'I'd like him to come in with me but I don't want to put him under pressure,' he began to explain. 'He could learn the business from the bottom up. It's hard work, but the rewards are there as you know.'
Bella tilted her head. 'The building trade …?'
'It's not a white-collar job, but I think he'd take to it. He's been out a few times with me on the sites. He hasn't said anything to you, has he?'
'No, only about his music and even that's taken a back seat lately.'
Ronnie nodded. 'If he joined the firm he could do his music at the weekends. I wouldn't ask him to give those up.'
Bella nodded slowly, a twinkle in her eye. 'Now I've got a question for you. The Sullivans have asked us over for New Year.'
Ronnie gritted his teeth and groaned. 'You're joking.'
'No. Michael's going to ask you about it.'
'It's not my cup of tea, Bella.'
She raised her eyebrows teasingly. 'Or mine. But I'll do it for Michael.'
He was smiling as he looked down at his shoes, then back to her. 'It might not be such a bad idea after all.'
'What do you mean?'
'It's the New Year – new beginnings and all that. I was hoping for you and me too.'
She felt the colour rush into her face again. A chorus of laughter went up from the next room at the comedian on the television. The kettle began to boil. Ronnie reached across, his arm brushing against her as he turned it off.
'I think a lot of you, Bella. A great deal in fact. We're good friends and have a lot in common – '
'So what are you trying to say, Ron?'
He stared at her, a slow smile on his lips.
'Try again,' she murmured, taking the kettle from him and lowering it to the stove.
'All right, what about this?' He held her arms gently. 'Bella, are you still in love with Micky? I mean, do you still think about him like that?'
Bella looked into his eyes. 'I'll ask you the same question about Joyce.'
He looked a little puzzled then shook his head slowly. 'I adored Joyce. She was my all. And unlike Micky she was a good and faithful person. But time has moved on. You and me have moved on, haven't we?'
Bella nodded, grateful for the question. 'Yes, we have, Ron. And I'm glad we're both looking towards a future.'
He gave a little cough. 'Share that future with me? You and Michael? We could make a go if it - ' He stopped, closing his eyes in frustration. When he opened them, he drew in a deep breath. 'To hell with it, Bella, I'm in love with you. In fact I'm crazy about you. And I am about to burst if I don't say it.'
'That's a little better.' She kept a straight face.
'I'm so in love with you that I want to hold you to me and kiss you right now.'
She laid her hands on his broad shoulders. 'What if someone comes in?'
'It don't matter to me, if it doesn't to you.'
'We won't find out till we try,' she whispered as she lifted her mouth to his.
Bella looked into his eyes, into all her past, into their lives that had touched and burned and cooled and were now glimmering like the stars on a Christmas night. She knew her love was different too. It wouldn't be like the one she had for Micky, all the passion and excitement of youth. No, this was sweeter, a love that had been growing slowly as the years had passed by. It hadn't really taken Gina to make her see that.
She had known it in her heart for some while now. As he kissed her, the wings of a butterfly seemed to touch her heart, fluttering it into motion. As though the butterfly was dancing there, in the place that had ached so bitterly and yet had still survived from the love she'd had for Micky.
It was love that had brought them to this moment. A special kind of love that didn't deny Micky or Joyce but set life and memories in just the right places. She believed that if she wanted to take it, there really was a new beginning.
A little giggle came from behind them. Neville was standing there, his face awash with chocolate.
'Uncle Ronnie's kissing Auntie Bella,' he yelled.
Bella and Ron
nie laughed softly as they heard Dolly's calm response. 'That's what people do at Christmas, ducks. Now come here and let me wipe your chops.'
Piper Street had come back to life again. There would be many more Christmases like this one, Bella decided as she ruffled Neville's hair. The house would be full of fun and laughter. She would see to that. And she knew she would have Ronnie by her side no matter what.
They had weathered the worst of times. And now the years ahead were going to be their very best.
Afterword
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About the Author
Carol’s family comes from the historic Isle of Dogs, East London, UK. She's drawn from this fascinating background to create her gritty dockland novels and is a Sunday Times bestselling author writing with Simon & Schuster. As a contrast to her gritty historical sagas she has launched a contemporary series of romances.
Carol loves to hear from readers and can always be found on FB, Twitter and Google+.
She would especially like to thank all her subscribers who have supported her over the years. If you would like to join them, why not visit her webpages, carolrivers.com and sign up to the Firm and receive her Newsletter.
She is also very grateful to her Amazon reviewers who have purchased and reviewed her novels. She takes great heart and inspiration from all their comments.
‘Molly’s Christmas Orphans’ and ‘Christmas to Come’ are her two wartime sagas, published with AMAZON in 2017 to be followed next year by her third in the series of Lizzie Flowers books, ‘Lizzie Flowers and the Family Firm’
Carol Rivers
www.carolrivers.com
[email protected]
Also by Carol Rivers
LIZZIE FLOWERS AND THE FAMILY FIRM book 3 in the Lizzie Flowers series. Publication date July 18 2018. Click on image below to purchase.
Also by Carol Rivers
East End Romance Sagas
Gritty historical family dramas set in the East End of London
Seasonal Christmas themed books
CHRISTMAS CHILD
TOGETHER FOR CHRISTMAS
A WARTIME CHRISTMAS
IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER
Best selling Lizzie Flowers series
LIZZIE OF LANGLEY STREET
THE FIGHT FOR LIZZIE FLOWERS
LIZZIE FLOWERS AND THE FAMILY FIRM
Page-turning wartime books
EAST END ANGEL
TOGETHER FOR CHRISTMAS
A WARTIME CHRISTMAS
Gritty East End family dramas
A PROMISE BETWEEN FRIENDS
A SISTER’S SHAME
EAST END JUBILEE
COCKNEY ORPHAN
LILY OF LOVE LANE
EVE OF THE ISLE
2017
MOLLY’S CHRISTMAS ORPHANS
CHRISTMAS TO COME
CAROL’S FREE STARTER LIBRARY
Copyright © Carol Rivers 2017
All Rights Reserved
No part of this novel may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, organisations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.