Homecoming (16 page)

‘I'd forgotten this age.' Joy mopped up the stew Billy had spread over the wooden tray of the highchair. ‘Too old to feed and too young to feed themselves without making one almighty mess.'

‘I made this much mess?'

‘More, you wanted to be independent from the day you were born and knew exactly how to throw a tantrum when you didn't want to be helped. Billy's an angel in comparison. Aren't you, my darling, clever boy.' Joy beamed as he managed to ferry most of a spoonful of stew to his mouth. ‘I hope you told Sam that we can run to a decent reception. After all, it's not every day my only daughter gets married, but if you can find a tactful way to suggest he limit the invitations to close family I'd be grateful.'

‘I've already tried, perhaps it's something we should discuss with his mother on Sunday?'

‘I'd say definitely, not perhaps. Roy has tomorrow off, would you like me to visit a few bridal-wear shops with you?'

‘I suppose I'd better start thinking about a frock.'

‘Such enthusiasm.' Joy wiped the surplus stew from around Billy's mouth with a tea towel. ‘But at least after you've seen what's on offer, you'll have a better idea of what might suit you. Ten o'clock all right? I will have Billy sorted by then.'

‘I have to check on the salons.'

‘Ring round in the morning and tell the girls to do their own banking for once.'

‘And if there are problems?'

‘The girls will have to sort them. That's what we pay them for. Besides, Tuesdays are never that busy. We could go to the printer's as well to look at invitations and orders of service, and call in at Eynon's to see about a wedding cake. I'm not sure how long in advance that has to be ordered. And there are the cars, the flowers – we'd better check what will be available at the beginning of July. Have you thought what you're doing for your honeymoon?'

‘Sam's calling round tomorrow night after his shift. We have a few things to discuss.' Judy decided against telling her mother that one of those things was Sam's objection to a working wife.

‘The last thing I want to do is muscle in on your and Sam's big day, but if there's anything that I can do to help organise things, I'd be delighted.' Joy grabbed Billy's spoon before it hit the floor. ‘And it will be nice to spend a whole day with you.' She turned to Billy. ‘No, you are not getting down until you've eaten all your dinner,' she warned. ‘We'll lunch in the Mackworth, my treat.'

‘You can leave Billy that long?'

‘Roy will enjoy having Billy to himself and he's as good, if not better, with him than I am.'

‘Even at changing nappies?' Judy asked doubtfully.

‘Even changing nappies,' Joy said. ‘And before you say anything, he asked me to show him how to do it. Sometimes I think he's more domesticated than me. He seems to enjoy cooking and cleaning. He even complained that Norah and Lily would never let him near the kitchen when he lived with them.'

‘Any chance of him trying to impart some of his enthusiasm in that direction to Sam?'

‘From the way Sam's always turned out, he must know how to cook and do his own laundry.' As Billy refused to hold the spoon, Joy spooned cawl into his mouth only for him to spray it into her face seconds later.

‘From what I've seen, his and Mike's cooking is limited to using a tin opener, and Lily, his mother or the laundry do his washing and ironing, not him.'

‘You think you'll have problems in that direction?' Joy mopped her face.

‘I know I'll have problems in that direction.' Judy had trouble keeping a straight face as the second spoonful Joy fed Billy joined the first. ‘I think Billy's trying to tell you that he's had enough.'

‘I think you're right.' Joy picked up the tea towel and attacked the tray. ‘You know, Norah used to complain Roy didn't know one end of a dishcloth from another and look at him now. Sam will change after you're married.'

‘I'm not too sure.'

‘It will be different once you're living together. There's more give and take when you're both under the same roof, if only because it's too exhausting to argue with someone when you see them last thing at night and first thing in the morning. There's nothing more tiring than a quarrel that lasts from one day to the next.'

‘I can't imagine you and Ray quarrelling.' Judy poured herself a glass of water. ‘He's far too easygoing.'

‘We had a row that lasted five days when I told him I was expecting Billy. He expected me to give up work –'

‘You wanted to,' Judy cut in.

‘But I didn't know I wanted to until after Billy was born,' Joy dismissed. ‘But yesterday, when I suggested that Mrs Lannon come in and take care of Billy a couple of mornings a week so I could help you with the accounts and check that the salons are being run properly, he thought it was a good idea.'

‘But you said –'

‘I said I didn't miss the salon and I don't. But thanks to your expansion of the business I don't have to go back to the drudgery of day-to-day hairdressing. Doing the books, supervising the banking and checking the salons a few hours a week is nothing like standing on your feet up to your armpits in perming solutions all day. And I'd like to take some of the load off you, especially now you're getting married. You've been run off your feet since I stopped working.'

‘I didn't expect you to come back, and Mrs Lannon is –'

‘A kind, capable old lady who can't wait to get her hands on Billy and start playing grandmother. She's been round here twice a week for coffee ever since he was born, so it's hardly as if I'll be leaving him with a stranger. Is it, poppet?' Wiping the last of the stew from Billy's hands and face, Joy lifted him down from his high chair.

‘So it's all settled.'

‘You don't want my help?' Joy asked keenly.

‘Of course I do.'

‘Perhaps I should have discussed it with you first.'

‘I am absolutely sure,' Judy repeated earnestly.

‘And you don't mind me interfering with your wedding?'

‘You never interfere.'

‘That's not what you used to say before you left home.'

‘I've grown up since then.'

Joy studied her for a moment. ‘I know you, Judy. I changed your nappies the same as Billy's. There's something wrong.'

‘No, there isn't.'

‘What is it?' Joy questioned flatly.

Judy looked at her mother. Joy had always been open with her about sex. And in all the years they had worked together in the salon she had never seen her shocked by anything any of her customers had told her, which was why she'd suggested Emily go to her mother for advice. And, as always, Joy had given sound practical guidance without making any moral judgements. ‘How long does it take to get used to … ?' She hesitated, searching for the right words.

‘Making love?' Joy supplied quietly.

‘Yes.' Judy took Billy's bowl and stacked it in her own.

‘That rather depends on how often you and Sam have tried.'

‘Twice.'

‘After being engaged for eighteen months?'

Judy was taken aback by the stunned expression on her mother's face. ‘I thought we should wait until after we were married, but once we set the date Sam thought –'

‘Sam thought,' her mother repeated. ‘What did you think, Judy?'

‘I was curious and it wasn't as if we hadn't done anything.' She skirted over the details.

‘He did use a French letter?'

‘Yes, and that's another thing, he wants me to see the doctor about getting fitted with a Dutch cap.'

‘That makes sense if you don't want any little accidents like Billy.'

‘You didn't want Billy?'

‘Of course we wanted him, but he wasn't planned. He is the result of me thinking that I was too old to get pregnant, not that I'm in the least sorry. We simply thought it was impossible. But you and Sam are young. You've all the time in the world to have a family.'

‘That's what Sam says, and,' Judy caught her mother's eye, ‘I made it clear to him that I'm not ready to be a mother yet.'

‘I'm glad.' Billy toddled back from the corner where Joy kept his toys with a picture book. Tugging at Joy's skirt, he waited for her to lift him on to her knee. ‘I often wonder if things would have been different between your father and me if I hadn't become pregnant practically on my wedding night. When he wasn't working, he was out, drinking with his friends, who were all unmarried, and most of their nights out ended with a visit to a dance hall. If I'd been with him instead of stuck at home with a baby, I might have stopped him from developing a wandering eye.'

‘I'm sorry.'

Joy laughed and Billy snuggled close to her. ‘I didn't say that to make you feel guilty. As it happened we would have been separated by the war no matter what, and no doubt he would have become enamoured by the same WAAF who eventually snared him. You kept me sane. The best daughter a mother could wish for and fantastic company. And just look at me now. I have you, Roy and Billy.' She frowned. ‘Not that I want to hear the details, but how serious is this problem between you and Sam?'

‘He knows I don't like him making love to me and he's upset by it.'

‘Making love should be something you both do, not one doing it to the other, but if you've only done it twice after such a long engagement, I can see that it's going to take some getting used to.'

‘Then it will get better?' Judy questioned hopefully.

‘I can't answer that. All I know is that it was wonderful for me from the start with your father. Probably,' Joy made a wry face, ‘because he practised with every willing girl every chance that came his way, before and after we married and, from what I heard, he wasn't short of chances. As well as being very good-looking, he could have charmed the knickers off a nun.'

‘And Roy?'

‘It just worked out between us from the start, which doesn't help you at all. Do you think part of the problem could be that you've waited too long and subconsciously you think it's wrong to make love before you're married? Not that I've ever subscribed to that view,' she added swiftly, lest Judy think she was judging her.

‘That's what I told Sam.'

‘Try inviting him over one evening when Emily's not around, cook him a meal, have a few drinks, relax and take things slowly from there. But don't relax enough for him to forget to use a French letter and another thing; don't get caught up in wedding preparations to the point where you forget the serious purpose behind all the razzmatazz. A wedding is just a day, marriage is for life.'

‘I'm all too aware of that. I only hope Sam will remember it before he books any more extravagances for the church or the Mackworth.' Judy picked up the dishes.

‘Leave them,' Joy ordered. ‘I can do them after I put Billy to bed.'

‘It's the least I can do.' Judy looked back at her mother from the doorway. ‘Most mothers would have shouted and created the most awful scene if their daughters had asked them what I just asked you.'

‘I doubt it.' Joy closed the picture book and set Billy on the floor. ‘Most mothers want their daughters to have a good and successful marriage, and in my experience, that's impossible without a first-rate sex life. It's worth working at it to get it right.'

Judy nodded, but didn't return her mother's smile. As Joy watched her walk into the kitchen, she couldn't help wondering if there was another reason behind Judy's reluctance to make love to Sam. Could it be that he was simply the wrong man for her?

‘I am not prepared to discuss it, Lily. Brian made me an offer. I can't afford to accept it, end of story.' Martin set aside the plate of pork sausage, fried onion, carrot and mash he'd barely touched.

‘I wish –'

‘I'm going to the garage. The points need adjusting on the car.' Pushing his chair back from the table, he rose to his feet and walked into the scullery.

Lily waited for the outer door to open and close. When she heard the sound of Martin's step ringing on the metal staircase that led down to the garden, she took a pen and notepad from the drawer, and started scribbling. Whichever way she calculated, she came to the same conclusion. With careful management, she, Martin and the baby would be able to survive for as long as five years without her wages and on half of Martin's plus the rent money from the basement and the attic if they cashed in all of her aunt's investments. And if there were any unexpected bills they could always mortgage the house. Tearing off the paper, she screwed it into a ball and tossed it into the bin before picking up their plates and carrying them to the sink.

She was scraping the uneaten food into the pigswill bin when the bell rang. Wiping her hands on her apron, she went into the hall and opened the door. Judy was on the step.

Sensitive to the fraught expression on Lily's face, Judy backed down the path. ‘I came to ask a favour but if it's a bad time …'

‘No, it's a very good time. I could do with a cup of tea and a shoulder to cry on. Come on in.' Lily led the way into the kitchen and set the kettle on to boil.

‘Martin out?' Judy enquired warily, taking off her coat.

‘Playing with the car in the garage. He won't be back until bedtime.'

‘You seem very sure.'

‘I am.' Lily filled the kettle and set it on the stove to boil.

‘Is this a private quarrel or am I allowed to know what happened?'

‘I'd rather not say any more than it's about money.' Lily cleared the table and picked up the tablecloth.

‘Then leave me out of it. It's bad enough trying to deal with my own and the salons' finances without anyone else's. I'm dreading the day when I come home loaded with shopping and Sam shouts at me for spending too much. It's bound to happen. You know what I'm like once I go into a dress shop.'