Stay as Sweet as You Are (23 page)

‘Toughen up? Yer mean like you, Ruby? God forbid that she ends up as hard-boiled as you are. She’s kind and caring, and I hope she stays that way. I don’t want her to change in any way, I love her just as she is. And I feel sorry for you that yer can’t find it in yer heart to love yer own daughter.’ Bob’s eyes locked with his wife’s. ‘You don’t love her, do yer?’

Ruby turned her head. ‘She’s all right, but I’ve never had much time for kids. Not like her next door, she devotes her whole life to her two boys. She doesn’t have a life of her own. Well, that wouldn’t suit me one little bit. I have a life to live, too, and I intend getting the best I can out of it while the going’s good. Lucy can do what she likes with hers when she’s grown up.’

‘A real mother helps her child to grow up. Is there when she’s needed, to give advice or comfort.’ Bob stared at his wife long and hard. Then he turned slowly and sat down in his chair. Crossing his legs, he said, ‘I have no appetite for a drink tonight. It would be hypocritical of me to sit with you
in a pub and pretend there’s nothing wrong with our marriage. Not when yer’ve told me yer have no love for our daughter and don’t have one motherly instinct in yer whole body. At the moment I can’t even bear to look at yer.’

‘You can please yerself what yer do, but I’m not staying in on a Saturday night for you nor no one else.’

‘Then go on yer own.’

‘I’m not sitting on me own in that dive on the corner. It’s as miserable as sin there. And yer can’t expect me to sit in and look at your miserable gob all night. The least yer can do is give us a couple of bob so I can go for a drink with me mate.’

Bob leaned sideways and took some money out of his trouser pocket. He picked out a two-bob piece and flipped it towards her with his thumb.

Ruby slipped the coin in her pocket and left the room without a word. But when she’d banged the door behind her, a smile came to her face. She had two bob of her own, money she’d saved by scrimping on food. With four bob she could have a really good night out with people who knew how to enjoy themselves. For once in his life her husband had done her a favour.

Bob was in a sombre mood as he lit a cigarette and inhaled the smoke like a dying man would gasp for breath. His brown eyes were troubled as he contemplated what life held in store for him. He was only thirty-six but felt like an old man. If he lived the three score years and ten which were reckoned to be the average lifespan, it meant he had another thirty-four years to go. Could he endure those years without a woman’s loving arms to find comfort in? Without a warm, happy home waiting for him after a day’s work? Once Lucy grew up and married, this place would hold nothing for him – only misery. He could hear the squeals of young laughter coming through the wall from the Pollards’, and occasionally George’s deep throaty roar could be heard above the others.
He was a lucky man, was George, with a loving wife like Irene. It might be the men who brought the money in each week to run the house, but it was the woman who made the house into a home.

The sound of the Pollards’ door banging told Bob his neighbour was on his way to the pub. And without even knowing he was going to do it, Bob leapt from his chair and rapped on the window as George came abreast. ‘Hang on a minute, wait for me.’

There was surprise on George’s face when Bob came out of the house alone. ‘On yer own tonight, mate?’

As the men fell into step, Bob said, ‘Yeah, but it’s a long story. I need a pint first, then I’ll bend yer ear back.’

The pub was crowded and noisy. It was pay day, the one night of the week the families could afford a few bob for a night out. ‘Grab those two seats, Bob,’ George said, nodding his head in the direction of two spare chairs at one of the circular tables. ‘I’ll get this round in.’

Bob waved and shouted greetings to the regulars he knew, but the din made it impossible for more. And it wasn’t the men creating the noise, it was the women. Saturday was the only time they met socially, and there was a week’s gossip to be told and savoured. As he watched the faces, Bob thought how much more expressive a woman’s face was, compared to a man’s. If a bloke was told that So-and-so did this or that, he would probably just raise a brow and promptly forget it. But not so the fairer sex. Their faces went through the whole range of expressions. While their heads were either nodding or shaking, their eyes would be popping out of their head, their lips would purse, their nostrils twitch and arms would be folded to hitch up their bosoms.

‘Get that down yer and yer’ll soon feel better.’ George put Bob’s pint down in front of him. ‘Alec could do with help, it’s murder trying to get served. I’m surprised Betty isn’t down to give him a hand.’

‘It’s filled up early tonight, she probably doesn’t know he’s got a rush on.’

George picked up his glass, gazed at it with anticipation in his eyes, then took a long swig. ‘I needed that,’ he said, wiping the froth from his mouth. ‘Me throat was parched.’

‘That’s with all the laughing yer’ve been doing, I could hear yer through the wall.’

George chuckled. ‘Those kids could leave us standing, yer know, Bob. They’re so quick off the mark, an answer for everything.’ He studied his neighbour’s face for a while, then asked, ‘You and Ruby fallen out, have yer?’

‘We never do anything else, George. Ruby’s not easy to live with, I can tell yer. I try to keep the peace, but as I told her tonight, I’m fighting a losing battle. She went too far today though, and I just didn’t want to be in her company.’ He explained briefly what his wife had said about Steve. ‘They were terrible things to say about the lad, and it didn’t half upset Lucy. In fact, Ruby goes out of her way to upset her. The girl just has to mention one of her friends and that friend is pulled to pieces. It really worries me.’

‘If she’d said that about Steve in front of me, I wouldn’t half have given her a piece of my mind. They were wicked things to say and totally without foundation. The lad is no more a thief than you or me.’ George would have said more, but Bob was feeling bad enough without him adding to it. ‘Anyway, yer’ve no need to worry about Lucy. She’s a sensible girl, got her head screwed on the right way. Of course she gets upset when a friend is called bad names, because she cares for them. And I’m sure yer wouldn’t have her any different. She’s loyal, too, and no one on God’s earth will turn her against someone she’s fond of. So stop worrying about her and just be proud that she’s yer daughter. I know I would be.’ This time, George emptied his glass in one go and set it down. ‘As for Ruby, well that’s between the two of yer, Bob. I know yer’ve had problems for a while, even a blind man could see that. And I know it’s through no fault of yours.
But no one can help yer there, it’s something yer’ve got to sort out for yerself. In the meantime, have yer noticed me glass is empty?’

This brought a smile to Bob’s face. ‘I don’t need a house to fall on me to take a hint.’ He picked up the glasses and looked towards the bar. ‘I see Betty’s down, everyone at the bar’s got a full glass in front of him. I’ll be back in sixty seconds flat, with two of the same.’

‘Tell Betty I said if she’s feeling generous, she can put a tot of whisky in mine and I’ll love her for ever more.’

Bob laughed. ‘Some hope you’ve got.’

‘Hope is what life’s all about, mate. If yer lose that, what’s left?’

As he watched Betty pulling a pint, Bob told himself George was right. Hope was all he had left and he’d better cling to it.

It was eleven o’clock on the Sunday morning when Aggie carefully negotiated the step down into her yard. Over her arm was her shopping basket, the contents of which were covered over with an old cushion cover. She stopped by Steve, who had arrived an hour before and was busy applying a second coat of whitewash to the walls.

‘That’s a big basket for you to be carrying, Mrs Aggie.’ There was a look of concern on the boy’s face. ‘It looks heavy, too. Shall I come and give yer a hand with it?’

‘No, I’ll manage fine. Look, I can carry it in front of me using both hands. I’ll go down this entry, cross over at the main road, then go up your entry. There’s never many people around on a Sunday morning, so I can’t see meself bumping into anyone I know.’ She glanced up at the back bedroom window where the curtains were still drawn over. ‘Yer’ll get a cup of tea when Titch decides to get out of bed. It was all hours when he came in and he’s probably got a hangover.’

Steve grinned. ‘Had a drop to drink, did he?’

‘A drop, did yer say? I bet every pub in Liverpool has been drunk dry. Once he gets out with his mates he forgets to stop. His excuse, and he always has an excuse, will be that each one has to buy a round and his turn didn’t come up till last, as per usual. And there was no way he could leave without paying his way, ’cos he’d never hear the end of it.’

‘How many mates was he out with?’

‘From the state he was in, I’d say about fifteen.’ Aggie’s
face softened into a smile. ‘He couldn’t get the key in the door and I could hear him fumbling and cursing. Then when he finally got in, he walked into the bottom stair and fell face forwards. I did think of lighting the candle at the side of me bed and going out on the landing with it, so he could see where he was going. Then I thought, To hell with it, he’s a big boy now. He got himself in that state, let him get himself out of it.’

‘How did he get up the stairs in the end?’

Aggie gave another quick glance at the bedroom window. ‘A secret?’

‘Yeah, a secret. I promise.’

‘On his bleedin’ hands and knees, the silly bugger. And when I looked in on him this morning, he was lying on top of the bed in the clothes he’d gone out in. But don’t yer say I told yer or he’ll be embarrassed. And I don’t mind, really, ’cos he spends more of his life on the sea than he does on dry land. So the way I look at it, he’s entitled to go off the rails once in a while.’

‘I agree with yer, Mrs Aggie. I know he’s a good son, and I know he thinks the world of yer because he told me.’

‘The feeling is mutual, lad. I love the bones of him.’ Aggie patted Steve’s cheek. ‘I’d better get moving ’cos even with a hangover, me dear son will expect his Sunday roast dinner on the table. So I’ll see yer later.’

Aggie hurried down the entry, her eyes looking straight ahead. If she did meet someone she’d have to make some sort of excuse. She couldn’t say she was going to the corner shop, not when her basket was already full. She was lucky, though. She made it to the Fletchers’ yard door without bumping into a soul. But she didn’t open the door straight away, she stood for a while to compose herself. It wasn’t often she got the collywobbles, but she had them now. What sort of reception was she going to get? ‘There’s only one way to find out, yer silly cow,’ she muttered under her breath, ‘and that’s get in there.’

Olive had been watching through the back window, and when Aggie walked up the yard it was to find the kitchen door open and Olive waiting for her. ‘Hello, Aggie.’

‘Hello, girl.’ Aggie put the basket down and held out her arms. ‘Come and give an old woman a kiss.’

Safe in the warmth and comfort of Aggie’s arms, Olive said, ‘Titch told me about this old woman yer keep talking about. Is it anyone I know?’

Aggie chuckled. ‘I only bring her into play when I’m looking for sympathy. Otherwise, I’m like a spring chicken.’

Olive bent and picked up the basket. ‘Come on through, but be warned, it’s no palace.’

‘Oh, I thought it was, that’s why I put me false teeth in.’ Aggie gazed around the bare room and nodded. ‘Ye’re right, girl, it’s no palace. But then, who the bleedin’ hell wants to live in a palace? With all those servants around, yer’d never be able to soak yer feet in a bucket of nice warm water or have the tin bath out in front of the fire.’

Olive’s smile turned into a full laugh. ‘Oh Aggie, yer haven’t changed a bit.’

‘Only got older, girl, and perhaps a little wiser. But you’ve changed. Look at yer, there’s not a pick on yer.’

‘Life hasn’t been kind to me, Aggie. It made me older, but not wiser.’

‘Aye, well, ye’re back in the fold now, one of us again. And I’m not having anyone in my gang who’s as thin as a lath.’ Aggie told herself she’d gone far enough for now. One step at a time was the right way in this situation. ‘Anyway, I’ve brought the clothes for Steve. There’s another pair of trousers to come, I didn’t have time to turn them up last night.’

‘That’s all I could get out of him last night, he was full of it. He described everything in detail, the trousers, shirts, pullovers, socks, and even a pair of shoes.’

‘Have a look at them for yerself, girl. They’re not new, mind, but they’re in good nick. Steve should get plenty of wear out of them.’

Olive put the basket on the couch and sat down beside it. When she took the cover off and saw everything all neatly ironed and folded, she shook her head as though she didn’t believe what she was seeing. ‘No wonder he was excited. These clothes look as though they’ve just been bought.’

‘Some of them are years old,’ Aggie said. ‘Titch isn’t home very often, as yer know, so he didn’t get to wear them all that much and it seemed a shame to leave them lying there when they could be put to good use. And I don’t know anybody better to get them to than your son. He’s a fine lad, Olive, and I bet ye’re proud of him.’

‘I have a son in a million, Aggie, and I’m more than proud of him. Nobody will ever know the life that lad’s had since his dad died.’ She put her hand on top of the clothes. ‘He deserves to wear clothes like this, and I’ll never be able to thank yer enough. One day, please God, I’ll be able to pay yer back in some way.’

‘Yer’ve nothing to pay me back for – that clobber belongs to Titch.’ Aggie gave her cheeky grin. ‘Still, seeing as he’s away all the time, yer can pay me back by letting me be a friend to Steve. I’ve really taken to the lad, and I’d be over the moon if he called in now and again for a natter. Yer see, it gets lonely when Titch is away.’

‘Yer’ve no worries on that score, Aggie, because I think ye’re stuck with Steve whether yer like it or not. He thinks you and Titch are the funniest things on two legs. I must have heard every word yer’ve spoken in his presence. The tricks Titch plays on yer, and the jokes and wisecracks that fly between yer. I was a bit jealous that I wasn’t a fly on yer wall and could have heard it all first hand. Olive stood up and placed the folded clothes carefully on the broken-down sideboard. Then she put the basket on the floor and sat on the couch with her legs curled under her. ‘I’m glad he’s making friends, Aggie, he needs them. It’s not healthy for a young lad to have no other company than a sick mother.’