Memories Are Made of This (27 page)

‘I haven't mentioned it to him. He still thinks of me as his little girl and would like me to stay at home a while longer.'

‘Doesn't see you getting married soon then?' asked David, his eyes intent on her face as he bit into the cream cookie and jam and cream squished out.

She did not get to answer his question but giggled. ‘Oh, lor – you want to see your face!' She reached into a pocket and withdrew a hanky which she handed to him. ‘You've cream and jam on your chin and nose!'

David took the hanky and to her surprise leaned forward and wiped her mouth. ‘I'm not the only one making a mess.'

His touch caused her skin to tingle and she thought,
I must be in love with him, the effect he's having on me.
She murmured a word of thanks.

They both sat back and finished their cakes before resuming their conversation.

‘So your sister and brother, are they courting?' asked David.

‘A short while ago I would have said no, but things have changed since they went to Hester's best friend's wedding where she met a soldier called Ally. Sam's going out with a girl he knew years back. She's an actress.'

‘What will your father do if they get married?' asked David.

‘I think he'll be happy for them.' She hesitated. ‘He knows about you – what with him being a policeman. I didn't tell him that I'd be seeing you today.'

‘Why, doesn't he approve of me?'

‘It . . . it's not that. I wanted to keep it to myself. Sort of our secret. I will tell him, though, if . . .' She paused.

‘If we were to go steady,' he said quietly.

She blushed and nodded.

He smiled. ‘How about the flicks next time?' he suggested. ‘Unless you'd prefer to do something else.'

Immediately she imagined him whirling her around the dance floor of the Grafton or dancing cheek-to-cheek. ‘Perhaps we could go dancing another time, although there is a film I want to see,' she said.

‘The flicks it is then,' murmured David.

They left the Kardomah and walked in the direction of Dale Street. ‘So what bus do we catch to your house?' he asked.

‘Haven't you got to return to your ship?'

‘Not today. Anyway, I'd see you home first,' he said in a voice that brooked no argument. ‘I want to make certain you get there safely.'

‘Thanks!' She appreciated the thought and wondered if he was always so assertive. Just as long as he didn't insist on seeing her to the front door. She needed to let the family know first that they had met up again.

‘So what are you doing over the Christmas break?' he asked once they were seated on the bus.

‘I generally spend it at home with the family, but that's not set in stone.' She gazed at the scar on his cheek and experienced a pang of regret. ‘I might be seeing my friend Peggy on Boxing Day. She's feeling a bit down.'

‘Peggy,' he said thoughtfully, wrapping the bus tickets round his finger. ‘She's not the same friend from the chippy, is she?'

She stared at him. ‘You've a good memory.'

‘So what happened to her and the boyfriend?'

‘They split up but she's over him. There's someone else she likes but he's not Catholic. I told her there's no reason why they can't just have fun together, but she's not having it. Her family wouldn't like it.'

His mouth twisted in a smile and he searched for her hand and held it tightly. ‘I'm glad we don't have that problem. So when would you like to go to the flicks?'

They arranged a date and then Jeanette mentioned her birthday and Christmas, thinking it would be lovely to spend time with him. ‘I suppose you'll be tied up over the festive season because you have to consider your mother though? After all, it'll be her first without your father.'

He nodded. ‘I was thinking I need to do something to cheer her up.'

‘I should imagine she would want a quiet Christmastide with her sister and you. The quicker it's over with the better. Too many memories of happy times with your father would prove painful.'

David rubbed the space above his nose with two fingers and sighed. ‘I'm not so sure. Mam and Dad always spent the evening of Christmas Eve doing what they each wanted. He was a manager of a departmental store in Birkenhead and by the time he arrived home, he only wanted to collapse in an armchair by the fire and fall asleep. Mam would take one look at him, fill her shopping bag with goodies and go and visit my aunt and her family. When Uncle Jack was alive, he would bring her home in his little black Ford just after midnight. She'd be slightly tipsy and full of the Christmas spirit. Dad would be in bed by then but I would wait up for her. She would tell me all about the party and I'd wish I'd gone with her, but she never suggested it. Christmas Day was always a bit of an anticlimax. And when Uncle Jack died the whole Christmas thing was worse for her because the parties stopped. I'm just hoping she and my aunt living together will work.'

‘You make me want to do something for her,' said Jeanette, squeezing his hand.

He shrugged. ‘At least she knows about you.'

‘Does she?'

‘Of course she does. I told her and she knows I was meeting you today.'

Jeanette wondered how his mother had responded to the news. She could not imagine that she would welcome her with open arms, especially when David was her only child. But it was stupid for her to start worrying about that now. For the moment she and David had found each other again and she could not have been more happy.

She had explained to him why she didn't want him seeing her to her front door and he seemed to understand her reasons. Even so, she was aware of him standing beneath the lamp post a few doors away, watching her to her gate.

She saw the lobby light go on and glanced to where David had been, but he was no longer there. The door opened to reveal Sam. ‘The old witch said that you'd gone to church,' he said.

She took a deep breath. ‘I confess I told a lie.'

Sam frowned and moved out of the way so she could wipe her feet on the mat. ‘Where have you been?'

She did not answer immediately, but took off her scarf and coat and hung them up before facing her half-brother. ‘I've found him. We've just had a date, me and David Bryn Jones. He used to be on the banana boats but now works for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.' The words came out in a rush. ‘We spotted each other down at the landing stage. His widowed mother recently moved to Liverpool and is living with her sister.'

Sam stared at her for a long moment. ‘I take it you're hoping to see him again.'

She detected disapproval in his voice. ‘Ye-e-es. You have something against that?'

‘Did he see you home?'

‘Almost.'

‘Then bring him in next time,' said Sam sternly. ‘You've got to look at this from Dad's point of view. David Jones was involved in a fight and didn't hang around to talk to the police.'

She was taken aback. ‘But you know why. His father was dying and he had to get to the hospital to see him.'

‘I accept he had a good reason, but bring him home so Dad or I can judge whether he's a reliable person for you to go out with.'

She felt a spurt of anger. ‘You're saying that my judgement can't be trusted? I thought you were on my side.'

Sam scowled. ‘I am on your bloody side, idiot!' he snapped. ‘From what he's told you, he sounds on the level, but he could be lying to you. You're obviously starry eyed about him, so you could be seeing him through rose-tinted specs.'

She did not want to accept what her half-brother was saying and blurted out, ‘You should give me more credit for having some common sense.' A thought suddenly occurred to her. ‘Anyway, he's visited Father Callaghan and he seems to think he's OK.'

‘A priest is supposed to see the best in people.'

‘He's also aware that people are sinners,' retorted Jeanette.

‘OK, I won't argue with you,' said Sam. ‘When will you be seeing him again?'

‘Wednesday. We're going to the pictures.'

‘OK. You just bring him in when he sees you home. I won't say anything to Dad right now.'

‘OK!' She had a strong urge to walk out of the house there and then but instead said, ‘Where's our Hester?'

‘Working extra hours. There's some conference on the “Psychology of the Murderer” she wants to attend. It's up near Whalley.'

Jeanette blinked at him. ‘Sounds interesting.'

‘A famous crime writer is going to talk and she really likes his stuff.'

‘I see. No doubt there'll be other members of the police force there.'

‘I have thought of that. I hope she has too. Policemen are only human, you know!'

She bit back a laugh. ‘I live with three coppers, so I certainly know they're no saints.'

Sam flinched. ‘You're as bad as Dorothy.'

‘Why, what's she said?'

‘Mind your own business,' he snapped.

Jeanette swore beneath her breath and ran upstairs. She told herself that she was not going to let what Sam had said about David ruin her new-found happiness. She liked it that her brother cared about her, especially in the light of what had happened with Billy. But maybe sometimes he was too protective. She flopped down on her bed and imagined David's reaction on Wednesday when she said that her father wanted to meet him. She groaned. It was positively Victorian! She would have liked to put off their meeting a little longer. She should have said nothing to Sam. What was up with him that he was so bad tempered? Could it be that he and Dorothy had broken up, having decided that their lives were incompatible?

‘Listen to that wind,' said Jeanette, walking into Hester's bedroom and perching on the edge of her bed.

‘I'm glad I'm not on duty tonight,' said Hester.

‘Or at sea.' Jeanette took several pipe cleaners from the pocket of her housecoat and placed them on the eiderdown. The weather reminded her of the evening she had met David in the chippy. ‘Do you want to put these in for me? I'm going out straight from work tomorrow night and I want a bit of curl in my hair.'

‘With David Jones, I know. Sit down here,' said Hester, indicating the stool in front of the dressing table.

Jeanette did as she was told and once settled said, ‘I suppose our Sam told you. Have you heard from Ally?'

Hester smoothed her left eyebrow with a damp finger and didn't quite meet her sister's eyes in the dressing table mirror. ‘No, I think Ally must be too busy to bother getting pen and paper out and dropping me a line.' There was a tremor in her voice. ‘I've decided to put him out of my mind. I'm attending a conference this coming weekend and I'm making time to visit Myra Jones in Whalley. I might even see Emma up there. Her husband's in the building industry and he's planning on doing some renovations to the cottage. Anyway, why didn't you tell me straight off that you'd met up with David Jones again?'

‘I didn't know how it would turn out. Anyway, I haven't seen much of you.'

Hester nodded. ‘So, tell me all about it.'

‘Our Sam will have told you some of it. David seemed as made up to see me as I was to see him and we had a good chat and decided we wanted to see each other again.' Jeanette smiled. ‘If possible I'd like to see him some time over Christmas but he has to consider his widowed mother. What'll you be doing? If Ally were to turn up, would you be seeing him?'

‘Let's wait and see, shall we?' Hester picked up a pipe cleaner and a length of Jeanette's light brown hair. ‘I believe we might be seeing David Jones tomorrow night?'

Jeanette nodded. ‘Our Sam insisted on it. I'm going to mention it to Dad in the morning. I suppose as soon as the old witch learns of it, she'll have something to say.'

‘What did you expect?' Hester wrapped a length of hair around the pipe cleaner and then bent both ends towards each other.

‘Exactly that. So what's up with our Sam and Dorothy?'

‘Oh, he's in a twist because she wants to interview me for that film she's planning next year. She's going to have to finance it herself and he thinks she's making a mistake.'

‘I did wonder if they'd broken up,' said Jeanette. ‘Why is she having to finance it herself?'

‘Because she's a woman, of course! The bosses in the film industry are all men and think women should be in front of the camera, not behind it. The men like to be in charge, as we all know.'

Jeanette did not argue with her. Hester was right. Despite all that the suffragettes had achieved, it was still a man's world. ‘So is it going to be a documentary or what?'

‘Yes, it's about women of Liverpool.'

‘Such as who?'

‘Kitty Wilkinson, Eleanor Rathbone, Bessie Braddock, me!' Hester struck a pose.

Jeanette chuckled. ‘Because you're a policewoman, I suppose.'

‘Yes. Not that I can compare with those famous women. But I'm young, female and set on promotion in a male-dominated workplace, and although I work as hard as any man, I don't get paid the same.'

‘Dorothy should include the suffragettes being force-fed in Walton gaol,' said Jeanette. ‘I suppose Aunt Ethel could help, with her having been a prison wardress.'

‘I'll mention it to Dorothy but can you see the old witch agreeing?'

‘You never know. She might be bowled over at the idea of seeing herself up on the big screen.'

‘I think it's for television,' said Hester. ‘Anyway, let's forget it for now. It's not as if it's going to happen tomorrow. As soon as I've finished your hair, I'm going downstairs. There's a new series on called
Journey into Space
. I thought I'd give it a go.'

Jeanette showed interest and shortly after the pair of them went downstairs to discover the programme was already on and Ethel was asleep in a chair by the fire. Hester put a finger to her lips and sat down, but Jeanette wandered over to the window, lifted the curtain and peered out. ‘You're not going to believe this,' she whispered. ‘It's snowing!'