Facing the World (21 page)

‘What’s sad is you nosing into other people’s business!’

‘No tea then? Never mind.’ Still smiling, Milly went back to the gate. She stopped and poked her head into the shed, ‘Letter from your Rhys, Gwilym. Still writing care of that café, are you? No proper address yet?’

‘He’s fine, and we’re well aware of where he is and what he’s doing.’

‘I bet poor Sally wishes she felt the same.’

Gwilym moved even closer to the bench, making sure his legs were hidden, and turned back to the wood he was planing.

Milly went to call on one of her friends and asked, ‘Fancy a trip to Bristol? Do a bit of Christmas shopping? There’s a nice little café I’ve heard of where we can have a spot of lunch.’

Sally’s job kept her busy although she felt guilty about the time she spent away from Sadie, and the reduced hours Valmai worked to help them. Sadie was content and chattered happily whenever they were alone, about all she had been doing at Granny’s. For the time being Sally had to accept the arrangements and get on with securing her place in the business she enjoyed.

She was building up a reputation for making clever choices, wise distribution of stock and for buying at the best prices. In December she was given a rise in pay. Time, she decided, to start 1962 right by making proper arrangements for Sadie and give Valmai the chance to return to the full number of hours she needed to work. Getting her life on a firm base would please them all.

She would make enquiries about a qualified childminder to stay in the house. She began with an advertisement in the local paper and also approached an agency. This time, no matter how long it took, she had to make sure she found the right person.

Jimmy spent a lot of time with Gwilym. Sometimes Eric was there but he only stayed when either Valmai or Netta came too. Walter’s outburst the night he had found Jimmy still worried him, even though the police had been there all the time and Walter was aware of this. He had spent a lot of time at the mill with the boy and he was afraid that a few words at the wrong time and in the hearing of the wrong people would mean he’d be in serious – albeit undeserved – trouble.

The headboard Gwilym had made for Sally had been much admired during the time it had been in the workshop and he had since made three more, with Eric’s help. Now, in between making two rocking cradles, ordered by one of the shops in Barry, they spent odd moments making tree ornaments, which Jimmy helped them to paint.

Jimmy came in one afternoon proudly showing them the box he had made at school. The sides had been recessed inside, near the top, to support a lid. ‘It needs a little knob to open it, but I broke the one I was making and we didn’t have time for another try,’ he explained.

‘It’s beautifully made, young Jimmy. Well done!’

‘Better than I could have done at your age,’ Eric added.

‘Come back when you’ve shown your father and we’ll sort out a finial for the lid. Well done indeed!’ And as Jimmy went off to show his father, hoping for at least a little praise, Gwilym began marking out an acorn to act as a handle to go in the centre of the lid.

Walter hardly glanced at the box being proudly held up by his son. ‘Wasting time fiddling about with stuff like that,’ he said. ‘You should stay away from Gwilym and that Eric. Fiddling about with wood won’t get you far. Fiddling with stuff no one wants, painting weird pictures, I don’t know what that school is thinking of.’

‘But you do like it, Dad?’

‘Yes, it’s fine. Now shush, boy, I’m listening to the TV.’

Jimmy didn’t bother to show him his end-of-term report.

The acorn was carved by Jimmy with Gwilym encouraging and Valmai holding her breath as the boy managed with the sharp tools. It was fixed in place and Jimmy said, ‘Dad won’t want it, he doesn’t like me fiddling with stuff like this. I thought I’d give it to Miss Laker as a Christmas present.’

‘Better check with Mam and Dad first. I think they’ll love it, it’s really well made,’ Valmai said.

She was waiting when Netta arrived back from work and at once she said. ‘Your Jimmy has made a beautiful box and he should be praised for doing it. Your Walter won’t bother, but really, Netta, you must.’

Netta went in and said all the right things; it was wonderful, he was so clever, but all the time she was glancing at Walter and hardly looked at it. Jimmy went out that night and threw it in the leat, where it floated for a while then sank and disappeared into the silt.

He spent hours at the mill despite the cold weather, clearing the leat and struggling to ease the penstock so it could be raised and lowered. What it needed, Eric had explained when they discussed it, was some thick cart grease. ‘Even then,’ Eric went on, ‘I doubt if it will work, not after all the years of neglect.’

Surprisingly it was David Gorse who helped, by providing grease to use on the neglected gates. Jimmy found a tin that was still half full which David had thrown away and he took it to the mill and spent a happy afternoon working to free the rusted metal.

Milly Sewell and her friend Mavis were in Bristol. They stopped at the café Milly had learned was the postal address for Rhys and talked about him loudly, hoping to attract some comments. The man behind the counter stared at them occasionally but said nothing. An hour later they left, Milly disappointed. They hadn’t gone far on their way to the shopping centre that her luck changed. Coming out of a wallpaper and paint shop was Rhys. With him, sharing his laughter about something, were a woman and a young girl. The woman she didn’t recognize at first, but then Rhys called, ‘Come on, Julia Thomas, we’ll be late for the pictures at this rate. A real slow coach she is, your mother,’ he said to the little girl.

Milly stared, frowning until she was convinced that she knew who the young woman was. ‘Well I never!’ she muttered to Mavis. ‘Fancy that! Rhys Martin and Eric’s daughter. Who’d have believed it?’

Milly spent the journey home wondering about the best way of using her exciting new knowledge. Should she tell Eric? Or would it be more fun to tell Valmai and that workshy husband of hers, idling his time in that shed instead of facing the world and getting a proper job? What she really needed was an audience and the following morning she found one.

She was making her way to Valmai and Gwilym’s house, intending to just hint that she had news of their son, and when she reached the front gate laughter led her to the shed in the back garden. Eric was there, and Jimmy was showing them a small tree Eric had made for a nativity scene which was minus its top. ‘The chisel slipped, Uncle Gwilym. I saw it slip and snap the top off. And he’s done it before.’ Jimmy was laughing as he held the two pieces together.

‘It just shows that even the best of us can make a mistake,’ Gwilym said, winking at Eric.

‘Now, Jimmy,’ Eric said, ‘will you have another go at sanding this figure’s arms so they look like a pair?’

Milly stood for a moment watching the two men and the boy working together, then, as Valmai came to join them, she said, ‘I saw your daughter yesterday, Eric. Looking well, isn’t she?’

‘Julia? You saw Julia? Where is she? How is she?’ Eric was shaken. He dropped what he was doing and stared at Milly’s smiling face.

‘Oh, she’s fine and very happy from what I saw. With Rhys she was, her and the little girl. Was she another poor woman your Rhys abandoned then went back to, Gwilym?’

‘Julia? Are you sure? And a child? I don’t understand,’ Eric said.

‘What’s to understand? Loves and leaves them, doesn’t he, your Rhys?’ she said, looking at Valmai.

Questions came thick and fast, voices increasing in volume as Milly teased them with half-complete replies. Jimmy went to stand beside Valmai and reached for her hand, afraid that the questions would turn into rows. Not here, he pleaded with an unrecognized God. If they row here I’ll have nowhere to go.

Milly smiled at a white-faced Valmai and held up her hands in protest. ‘Stop. Please. I’ll tell you all I know if you’ll give me a chance.’

Valmai moved closer to Gwilym and stared at her. ‘Stop enjoying this and tell us what you know, if it’s the truth you’re telling and not a pack of vicious lies, Milly Sewell.’

She released Jimmy’s hand and, unnoticed, he moved away, out of the door and back to his empty house. Walter was asleep in the armchair, the television was on, the fire was out, and he went up to his room. He opened his bedroom window and listened to the voices raised in anger. Now there was nowhere to go.

In the workshop, Milly was still holding court, pleased with the way the news was greeted.

‘I went for a day out and saw your Rhys and he was with a woman.’ She paused for effect. ‘And when I recognized Eric’s daughter Julia I was too surprised to say anything. I just watched as they walked off with a dear little girl. I thought I must be dreaming, but it was Rhys all right and the woman he was with was your daughter, Eric.’

‘How can you know? She was a schoolgirl when you last saw her.’

‘You know what it’s like to see photographs of babies and know straight away who they are. There’s always something that doesn’t change. That thick hair and those big blue eyes. Even after all this time there was no doubt. Your Julia is with Rhys Martin living in Bristol, there was no mistake. All this time he’s been missing and poor Sally’s been coping with his daughter on her own.’ She turned to Valmai. ‘Protecting him you’ve been, and Eric not told where his
daughter is. Shame on you, Valmai. All this time he’s been with Julia Thomas, or whatever her name is now. If they’re married it would be Martin, wouldn’t it, Gwilym?’

‘Of course he isn’t married! Eric, she’s mistaken. Rhys and Sally have an understanding. He’ll be back soon and then we’ll hear the truth.’

‘Shall I tell Sally or would you like to give her the sad news?’ Milly said with false sympathy.

‘Keep away from her, d’you hear? This is a distortion of the facts, something you do very well, Milly Sewell. Now go away and leave us to deal with any problems we have in our own way.’

Milly waved and left, smiling at the shouted remarks from Gwilym’s workshop that followed her. She didn’t care if she had been mistaken; she’d had her fun.

Next door, Jimmy covered his ears.

‘Eric,’ Gwilym pleaded. ‘Believe us, we know nothing about this and I for one don’t think it’s true.’ He reached out and patted Eric’s shoulder. Eric moved away, his face white as he stared at Gwilym and Valmai in disbelief. ‘You knew. All this time you knew Rhys was with Julia and didn’t tell me.’

‘No, Eric, we’d have told you. It isn’t true. It can’t be.’ Valmai was adamant, desperate for him to believe her.

‘Milly might have seen Rhys; she’s clever enough to find out where he lives. Sally no longer tries to keep it a secret,’ Gwilym said. ‘She might have seen someone resembling your daughter, Eric, but after all this time, how can she be certain it was her? She was a child when she left. Pigtails and missing some teeth. No, I’m sure Rhys isn’t with Julia. He’d have told us if he’d found her. He wouldn’t keep that to himself, whatever his reason for staying away.’

‘In fact, if he learned of her whereabouts the very first thing he’d do would be to tell you, knowing how much you want to see her. You know Rhys well enough to believe that.’

Eric put down the chisel he’d been gripping as though for support and walked out of the shed. Valmai called after him but he didn’t look back.

Gwilym called after him. ‘Come back, man. This is what Milly wanted, for us to fall out.’ He stared at Valmai, speechless; the sound of departing footsteps and the closing gate punctuated the silence.

‘I’ll have to find Sally as soon as she gets home,’ Valmai said
tearfully
. ‘She mustn’t hear this from Milly, true or false.’ She went to collect a jacket and set off on her bicycle, firstly to work at the hotel, then to wait at the house in School Lane for Sally’s return.

Gwilym reached under the bench in the cupboard used for assorted offcuts of wood and pulled out the almost completed leg. Could he? If he could master it, with the aid of two crutches he had to get out, and stop leaving all this to Valmai. The harness was almost completed and he stood to try it on with trembling limbs. After half an hour of trying to walk around in the workshop – which was all he had imagined doing when he decided to make it – he threw it back into its hiding place. It was no use, he couldn’t do it. It isn’t agoraphobia, he told himself, it’s a fear of falling flat on my stupid face!

He stared at the cupboard, which was hiding his puny attempt at mobility and promised himself he’d try again. Tomorrow.

More important now was where was Jimmy? He’d probably been frightened by the raised voices here, at the place he always came to avoid the rows at home. He kicked at the cupboard door with his good leg and cursed his rotten luck at being hit by a car that didn’t stop. He and Eric on the same day, but Eric got off lightly. Although, he admitted, he had been more fortunate, having Valmai and, until two years ago, a son too. Eric’s wife had left him years before, leaving him with a mountain of debts and had taken his daughter with her. Even losing a leg, he was the lucky one.

He was still staring into space when Valmai was due home. Slowly he went down the path to the kitchen to peel potatoes and set the table for their meal. He called from the back garden gate but Jimmy either didn’t hear or chose not to answer.

Valmai found Sally at home about to bath Sadie. ‘Sally, love, come and sit down a minute, will you? There’s something I need to tell you.’

‘Rhys? Has something happened? Is he all right?’

‘It’s some story from Milly. Loves a bit of gossip and what she can’t find she makes up.’ Sally was staring at her, waiting, and she went on. ‘She went to Bristol, to the café where you sent letters and somewhere near there she says she saw Rhys with a woman and a little girl and the woman was Eric’s daughter, Julia.’

Sally’s shoulders drooped. ‘I saw her too but of course I didn’t
recognize her. I’ve never met her. I couldn’t describe her; all I remember was the shock and disbelief. I did see the little girl though – about seven I’d guess.’ She paused, staring into space then asked, ‘Does Eric know?’