Love Changes Everything (23 page)

‘Will you be all right on your own, Trixie, if I go and help search?' Andrew asked.

‘Of course I will. You'll probably only be gone a few minutes. She's not much of a walker. I think she might well have gone to the O'Malleys' place.'

‘Come on, Mrs Jackson, we'll go that way and Mr Jackson, you go in another direction,' Andrew stated.

Sam looked furious. ‘Who do you think you are, giving out orders?' he grumbled, but nevertheless he pulled on his coat, rammed his cap on his head, and followed them out of the door.

Chapter Twenty

As Andrew and Maggie reached Scotland Road they spotted Cilla on the other side of the road. She was sitting on the edge of the kerb looking grubby and dishevelled. One minute she was poking around with something in the gutter and the next looking up and down the road as if not knowing what to do.

As Andrew called out her name and waved, Cilla looked up as if wondering where the voice was coming from. Then she saw them and excitedly struggled to her feet and tried to run across the road towards them.

The scream died in Maggie's voice as she watched in horror and disbelief as she saw a tram heading towards the small figure. Fear gave her speed as she ran across the road towards the child, in a desperate bid to get her out of the way of the tram. As she gathered Cilla up in her arms and turned to make for safety, the heel of Maggie's shoe caught in the metal lines.

She stumbled wildly, then lost her balance and fell heavily to the ground with Cilla still clasped in her arms. The last thing she remembered later was the wild clanging of the tram's warning bell then the terrible impact as it hit her.

Pandemonium reigned as people dashed into the road to help, then stood there, staring down at the two inert bodies that lay entwined across the gleaming metal rails, not sure what to do next.

Andrew elbowed his way to the front but even as he bent down he knew they were both injured and that it was better not to try and move them. Instead, he shouted over his shoulder for someone to send for an ambulance.

Two policemen appeared on the scene and they immediately took charge. They made the crowd move back in order to clear a way for the ambulance before taking a statement from the tram driver and several of the bystanders.

‘You coming with us, mister?' the ambulance driver called out as Andrew remained standing there listening to the babble of voices all around him as people told each other what they had seen.

‘No,' he shook his head, ‘I'm only a friend and it might be best if I go with the police and let their family know what has happened.'

When they arrived at Virgil Street he left the two policemen to explain to Sam Jackson, who had arrived back before him, what had happened while he did his best to comfort Trixie.

‘Can you stay here, whacker, while I go along to the hospital and see how they both are?' Sam asked in a subdued voice.

‘Please, Andrew, I don't want to be on my own,' Trixie begged when she saw him hesitate.

‘Trixie, wouldn't it be better if I went round and asked Ivy to come and sit with you?' he suggested as soon as the door closed behind her father.

Trixie shook her head, brushing away her tears with the back of her hand. ‘I don't want to be on my own, I feel so scared. Perhaps we should go along to the hospital as well.'

‘Nonsense! You're not well enough to do that. I'll go and fetch Ivy. I'll only be gone a few minutes.'

Trixie smiled wanly. ‘Promise that you'll come back as well; please, Andrew,' she begged.

‘I'll only be five minutes,' he promised.

The five minutes seemed like an eternity to Trixie as she sat there watching the clock and worrying about what had happened. She felt it was all her fault; if she hadn't been taken to hospital then her mother wouldn't have had to come and bring her home and so she would never have had to leave Cilla.

Her dad had never had any time for Cilla, she thought sadly. He didn't even seem to like her being near him which was probably why he hadn't bothered to check and see if she was all right.

She had to admit that he'd looked upset, though, when he'd gone off to the hospital with the two policemen. She wasn't sure whether that was because he was feeling guilty or whether he was worried about how badly hurt Cilla and her mother were.

When she heard the tap of the door and Ivy calling out to her she struggled across the room to open it, holding on to pieces of furniture because she felt so weak and unsteady on her feet.

She was relieved to see Ivy but disappointed that Andrew hadn't come back as she'd hoped he would.

‘He was really shaken up by what happened,' Ivy explained, ‘so Jake took him for a bevvy because he said he needed a drink to steady his nerves.'

‘Did he tell you exactly what happened?' Trixie questioned. ‘All I know is that they were knocked down.'

‘Well, he said that he and your mum were out looking for Cilla and spotted her on the other side of Scotland Road. When he called out to her she started to try and cross the road regardless of the fact that there was a tram coming. Your mum ran to grab hold of her and her heel caught in the tramlines.'

‘And the tram mowed them down?' Trixie gasped, holding her hand to her mouth.

‘The tram driver tried to stop and the warning bell was clanging like mad. I'm sure the driver thought your mum and Cilla would be able to get out of the way in time.'

Trixie nodded. ‘Andrew said it was all over in seconds,' she said in a toneless voice.

‘Look, would you like a cup of tea?' Ivy said briskly, avoiding her eyes. ‘I think we should stop talking about it till your dad comes home from the hospital. You know what it's like when there's an accident, it can look worse than it actually is. There may not be very much wrong with either of them,' she said in a shaky, unconvincing voice and Trixie guessed she must be remembering what had happened to her own mother and little Nelly.

Time dragged; Ella came round and stayed for half an hour and had a cup of tea with them. Then she said she'd go along to the hospital and see if there was any news.

Andrew and Jake accompanied her but they became restless after a few minutes. Jake was prepared to stay longer and even suggested that if Ivy and Andrew wanted a break then he'd stay there with Trixie but Andrew said he must get home.

‘You can stay here with us if you want to,' Ivy told her brother, ‘or else cut along to the hospital and see if you can get any information about what's going on.'

It was almost an hour before Jake returned and Ella was with him when he did.

‘We left your dad at the hospital,' Ella told Trixie. ‘Your mum has been pretty badly hurt, luv, and he thought it best if he stayed with her. Now what do you want to do, come back to our place till he comes home or wait here?' she asked patting Trixie's arm.

Trixie stiffened and her face grew tight. ‘Where's Cilla?' she asked in a strained voice.

The question floated on the air as Ella and Jake exchanged hesitant glances; neither of them seemed to be willing to tell her what they knew about her little sister.

She repeated the question; her voice rising hysterically as she looked from one to the other as she did so.

‘Cilla wasn't very badly hurt,' Ella told her gently, ‘but they're keeping her in hospital overnight just to make sure.'

Trixie looked so distressed that Jake put his arm round her shoulder. ‘The doctor said that your mum holding Cilla like she did protected her,' he said consolingly.

Trixie shook her head as if unable to understand clearly. ‘Does Mum know that Cilla's still in hospital?' she asked in a bewildered voice.

‘No, I don't think so; not yet, because your mum hasn't regained consciousness,' Ella told her gently.

‘I must go to Cilla.' Trixie pulled herself out of the chair. ‘Ivy, can you help me into my coat, please.'

‘I don't think that's a good idea, luv,' Ella protested. ‘You're still very weak, you know. If you go out in this weather then you may get a chill and then what good will you be to help look after them both when they come home?'

Trixie stared at her as if she didn't understand what she was talking about.

‘My mum's right, Trixie. I'll stay here with you till your dad gets home, unless you want to come back to our place.'

‘I must stay here; they might bring Cilla back and I'll be the one who'll have to look after her till Mum is better.'

‘No, luv, they won't be bringing her back tonight,' Ella said shaking her head, ‘so why don't you come with us?'

‘No, they won't, will they?' Trixie admitted in a tiny voice. Suddenly her face crumpled and her whole body shook as she gave way to great gulping sobs.

Jake gathered her into his arms, holding her close and stroking her hair and murmuring words of comfort, his own eyes bright with tears as he tried to console her.

Ella, Ivy and Jake were all still there when Sam Jackson returned. One look at his ashen face conveyed all they needed to know even before he told them that Maggie was so seriously injured that it might be weeks before she was well enough to come home. He made no mention at all of Cilla till they questioned him about her.

‘Cuts and bruises that's all,' he said dismissively. ‘They said she can come home tomorrow.'

Ivy wanted to stay on but Trixie sensed that her father wanted to be on his own and she could understand this so she assured them that she could manage well enough.

‘I'll look in and see how you both are in the morning,' Ella promised after she'd made a fresh pot of tea for Trixie and Sam. ‘Make out a list if there is anything you need and I'll get it for you while I'm doing my own shopping.'

When they'd gone, Trixie poured out the tea and tried to persuade her father to have something to eat but he shook his head and said he had no appetite.

‘Your mother's in a pretty bad way,' he said in a low voice as he sat staring into the fire. ‘Never seen her like that before. She opened her eyes but she didn't know me; she kept asking for you and Cilla.'

Trixie leaned forward and stretched out a hand towards him. ‘What did you tell her?'

‘Nothing to tell her. I left it for the nurses to talk to her and tell her whatever they felt she should know.'

‘Poor little Cilla, she's probably bewildered and unhappy being with so many strangers,' Trixie said dejectedly. ‘I hope they will let her come home tomorrow.'

‘She's been trouble since the day she was born,' her father said bitterly, running his hand through his hair. ‘Why the hell did your mum have to be the one so badly hurt? It wouldn't have mattered so much if it had been Cilla,' he added callously.

‘It's not been her fault,' Trixie defended. ‘And she is improving. She's started to learn her letters and she can count.'

‘She'll never be normal,' he said disparagingly. ‘She'll be a burden to someone for the rest of her days.'

‘That's a terrible thing to say.' Trixie bristled.

‘It's the bloody truth! Time you faced up to things as well. You're going to have to from now on, because the doctors say your mother's not going to be much good for months to come so you'll have to care for both of them. Your mother's going to need a lot of looking after, make no mistake about that.'

‘She is going to get better in time, though?'

‘You'll find that out when she comes home,' he muttered. ‘I'm going for a pint,' he added getting up and reaching for his cap.

‘You can't do that, Dad!' Trixie gasped. ‘What on earth will people think? Your child and your wife both lying in hospital and you're out boozing.'

‘Don't you try and tell me what I can and can't do, my girl,' he told her, his eyes blazing. ‘I said I was going for a pint, not a bloody bevvy, but if I decide to have a skinful when I get there then that's what I'll do. You get yourself off to bed and I'll see you in the morning.'

Trixie did go to bed but she couldn't sleep. She felt weak and despondent and she would have given anything to have her mother there fussing over her. Or even to have Cilla there in bed beside her with her little arms hugging her tight; to have Cilla kissing her and telling her how much she loved her.

Her pillow was wet with tears by the time she finally fell asleep and then she was wakened abruptly by the sound of her father coming home. He'd obviously had far more than a pint. He was stumbling around, and cursing under his breath as he bumped into the furniture.

She lay perfectly still, wondering if she ought to get up and make sure that he was all right, but common sense warned her that if he'd had a skinful then he would probably be in an aggressive mood. If that was the case, then if she said a word out of place he would as likely as not hit out at her and she didn't feel strong enough to stand up to one of his backhanders.

She now felt really tired and as he stopped lumbering about and she heard the bedsprings in the next room groan under his weight, she knew he had managed to make it on to the bed. With a sigh of relief she relaxed and drifted off to sleep, lulled by his rhythmic snores.

When she woke next morning she lay for a while thinking back over the events of the previous few days and wondering what was going to happen next.

Cilla and her mother being in hospital made her own accident seem less important, even though she knew it was bound to bring about big changes in her life.

The only good thing she could see coming out of all this was that since her mother was going to need nursing there would be no question of her having to return to Fred Linacre's place.