Stay as Sweet as You Are (7 page)

‘That’s put me in me place,’ Billy chuckled. ‘And you, Bob.’

Peg Butterworth stood up when the whistle sounded. ‘Back to the grind, folks.’ She leaned over the table and grinned in Billy’s face. ‘Kate’s right. All men are nothing but a load of bleedin’ trouble. The only time they’re happy is when they’re in the pub supping beer, or in bed taking advantage of their poor, longsuffering wives.’

There was a surge towards the door, and Bob just had time to smile at Kate, and say, ‘Thanks a million.’

Bob let himself in and closed the front door quietly behind him. He felt like flying up the stairs and having it out with Ruby, but the thought of waking Lucy held him back. He’d keep it bottled up until she’d left for school, then he’d have his say. Usually, when he was on nights, he’d make himself a pot of tea and some toast, then slip into bed as Ruby was getting out to see to Lucy. But today he only made himself a pot of tea. This was one morning he’d have his breakfast cooked for him.

Sitting at the table, smoking a Woodbine and supping his tea, Bob was asking himself where it was going to end. They couldn’t carry on like this, at loggerheads with each other all the time. It was no way for a married couple to live, and certainly not the right atmosphere to bring up a child in. Something had to be sorted out, and quickly, because he couldn’t stand much more. A row between man and wife was
one thing, it happened in every household, but in most cases it could be ended with a bit of coaxing and a kiss. But what was happening here was no ordinary row; it had gone too far to be sorted out with coaxing and a kiss.

He heard a sound from the room above and knew Ruby would be down any minute. He didn’t move, just stared at the door. And when it opened and she walked through, yawning and scratching her head, he never uttered a sound, just stared.

‘What’s the matter with you? Why haven’t yer gone to bed?’

Bob closed his eyes to shut out the sight of her matted, dyed blonde hair, the hardness in her eyes and her bloated face still caked with yesterday’s make-up. Was this really the girl he’d fallen in love with and married? He opened his eyes and sighed. ‘I’m waiting for yer to cook me breakfast.’

‘Yer what! You cook yer own breakfast!’

Bob picked up his carry-out box and threw it on the floor at her feet. ‘Not after the little trick yer pulled on me last night, I don’t.’

‘What are yer on about? I didn’t pull no trick on yer! I did yer carry-out, didn’t I? What more d’yer expect?’

‘I’m not going to argue with yer, Ruby, I’m not even going to raise me voice. At least not until Lucy has left for school. Then I intend to raise the roof, and I don’t care who hears me. So while I’m waiting, yer can cook me breakfast.’

‘I don’t know what the bleedin’ hell ye’re on about, and I don’t ruddy well care, anyway.’ The washed-out cardigan Ruby was wearing was wrapped across her chest as she bustled out to the kitchen. ‘Yer’ve sat there for an hour, like a stuffed dummy, too bloody lazy to toast two pieces of bread! Yer want yer head testing, you do.’

‘No, Ruby, that’s where ye’re wrong. The day I needed me head testing was the day I married you. But we’ll discuss all this later, when Lucy doesn’t have to listen to her parents pulling each other to pieces. Right now, though, I’ll have me two rounds of toast, lightly done, and a fresh pot of tea.’

Lucy was surprised and pleased to see her father sitting at the table. ‘I thought yer’d be in bed by now, Dad. Yer usually are.’

Bob gave her the brightest smile he could muster before biting into a piece of toast. ‘I felt like some company with me breakfast this morning, so I waited for yer.’

‘That’s nice, I’m glad yer did.’ Lucy looked down at the plate her mother put in front of her. There was no burnt offering this morning, the bread was toasted to a nice golden brown. She knew her father’s presence accounted for this, and she also knew this would be one morning she wouldn’t be subjected to her mother’s taunts or clouts. ‘How did work go, Dad?’

‘Same as usual, pet, I can’t complain. It’s a job, and I’m lucky to have one with so many men out of work.’ He looked across at his wife who was sat on a fireside chair with a plate on her lap and her cup of tea close to hand on the fire hob. ‘We wouldn’t know what had hit us if I wasn’t working. We’d really be in Queer Street.’

‘I know it’s a long way off,’ Lucy said, ‘but when I leave school my wages will help out, won’t they?’

Ruby snorted. ‘Blimey, we might all be dead and buried by then.’

‘That’s right, Ruby, there’s nothing like starting the day on a happy note.’ There was sarcasm in Bob’s voice. ‘Always laughing and joking, that’s you. The life and soul of the party.’

‘Well, I’m not going to die, I’m too young.’ Lucy nodded her head to show she meant it. ‘I’m going to live until I’m as old as Mrs Aggie.’

‘Don’t let Aggie hear yer say that, pet, ’cos she’s not that old, yer know. I’d say in her early sixties.’

‘Oh, I didn’t mean I thought Mrs Aggie should die, Dad!’ Lucy said. ‘I’d be very sad if anything happened to her, she’s lovely and she’s me friend.’

‘She’s a nosy old witch,’ Ruby snorted. ‘All she needs is a broomstick and she could fly away over the houses. And it would be good riddance to her.’

Lucy looked down at her clasped hands for a second, then twisted in her chair. ‘Mrs Aggie’s not wicked, she’s nice and kind.’

‘That’s enough now.’ Bob pointed to the clock. ‘Don’t yer think yer’d better be making tracks, pet? Yer don’t want to be late for school.’

Lucy’s heart was beating fast. She’d rather have had a clout off her mam than have her say those things about Mrs Aggie. Why did she hate everyone so much? There wasn’t one neighbour she had a kind word for. ‘I’ll get me coat, Dad.’ She pushed her chair back under the table, and knowing her father’s presence would prevent her from getting a hiding, she had the courage to face her mother. ‘You don’t like no one, you don’t.’

Bob stood up. ‘Come on, get yer coat on and I’ll see yer out. One of the reasons I stayed up was to sneak a kiss off yer. I don’t get nearly enough.’

This brought a smile to Lucy’s face. ‘I’ll give yer six, that’ll be one for every day.’

Bob gave her a playful smack on the bottom. ‘I’ll put five in me pocket and take one out every morning.’

After waving his daughter off, Bob closed the door with a heavy heart. He was tired after working all night and would have loved nothing better than to get his head down. But things needed sorting out, and they needed doing now. But where to start, when his wife was making it plain she had no intention of meeting him halfway?

Ruby lit a cigarette and drew deeply on it when Bob came into the room. ‘Ye’re making a rod for yer own back with that girl, she’s getting far too cheeky.’

‘Let’s leave Lucy out of it, shall we? This is just between you and me.’

She raised her eyebrows. ‘Aren’t yer going to bed?’

‘Later.’ Bob looked down at the littered table. ‘Will yer clear these things away, please?’

‘I’ll do it when I’ve finished me cigarette. There’s no bleedin’ hurry, I’ve got all day.’

‘You might have, but I haven’t.’ Bob made no move to sit down. ‘I want a bit of comfort in me own home, if it’s not too much trouble.’

With the cigarette dangling out of the side of her mouth, Ruby began to stack the plates and cups. She did it almost in slow motion, with that hard look on her face and all the while blowing smoke in Bob’s direction. Her actions were deliberate, and her way of telling him she wasn’t going to knuckle under to him or anyone else.

Bob’s temper snapped as the incident in the canteen came back to remind him why he had to put his foot down. He leaned across the table, snatched the cigarette from her lips and flicked it into the grate. ‘I have never been nearer to hitting you than I am this minute. Don’t try me patience too far, Ruby, or yer’ll be sorry. Now get this mess cleared away and we’ll sit down and air our differences.’

The table was cleared within minutes and the chenille cloth put back. Then Bob gestured to a chair facing him. ‘I’m tired and ready for bed, but I’ll not leave this room until we come to an understanding. We can do it in a civilised manner or we can do it the hard way. It’s up to you.’

Ruby narrowed her eyes. ‘What d’yer mean, an understanding?’

‘If we’re to live under the same roof, there’s got to be give and take. For Lucy’s sake, we’ve got to try and get on together so she has a decent home life. Show each other a bit of respect and politeness. I’ll say what I would like, then you can have your turn. I’d like good food on the table when I’m home, and I’d like carry-out that doesn’t shame me in front of me workmates. I don’t want yer to use bad language in the house and I don’t want yer pulling the neighbours to pieces.
Especially in front of Lucy.’ When Ruby opened her mouth, Bob raised a hand to silence her. ‘No, let me have my say first. Yer don’t leave our daughter alone in the house while ye’re out boozing with yer so-called mates, and I don’t want to see her treated like a skivvy. Other women in the street do their own housework and shopping, there’s no reason why you can’t. God knows, yer’ve got all day to do it in. And last but not least, I don’t want yer raising yer hand to her. She’s a good kid, not cheeky or forward. I’ve only heard her answering yer back twice, and that was called for because yer were saying nasty things about people she likes. She doesn’t deserve to be bawled at all the time, a kind word now and again wouldn’t go amiss. So I’m asking yer to keep yer voice down and yer hands to yerself.’ He met his wife’s eyes and could see the blazing anger there. ‘I’ve had my say, now it’s your turn.’

Ruby couldn’t get her words out quick enough. ‘You arrogant bastard! There’s got to be give and take, yer say, then reel off all the things I can and cannot do in me own flaming home! I’m a grown woman, not a child!’

Bob said quietly, ‘Then act like one.’

‘Everything yer’ve said is what
you
want, not a mention of what
I
might want. If you had your way, I’d be stuck in the house like a bleedin’ prisoner. I’m allowed to go to the shops because darling Lucy mustn’t do any shopping. She mustn’t help with the housework, either, ’cos she’s not a skivvy. No,
I’m
to be the skivvy!’

‘I’m only asking yer to do what every other mother does. Keep the home clean and warm, feed and look after yer family, and be pleasant. Is that too much to ask?’

‘And be the dutiful little wife? How soft you are!’ Anger made Ruby reach for her cigarette packet. And after she’d lit up, she stared him out. ‘And what happens if I don’t agree to this understanding, as yer call it?’

‘Yer’ll find out soon enough.’ Bob pointed to the cigarette packet she was holding. ‘Yer won’t be able to afford them,
for a kick-off. And there’s a lot more yer won’t be able to afford. Like the stuff yer bleach yer hair with, and the muck yer thicken on yer face. Yer’ve had it easy with money up to now, buying yerself everything yer wanted while yer daughter walked around in rags. But all that will change if yer don’t agree to mend yer ways.’

Ruby could tell by his eyes and the tone of his voice that he meant every word. She’d be well advised to agree, or pretend to. ‘If I agree to everything yer’ve asked for, what do I get in return? Can I have a night out with me mates now and again, so I get a bit of pleasure out of life?’

‘When I’m on early shift, yer can go out every night if yer want, I’m not that interested. But when I’m working, you stay put.’

Ruby was gloating inwardly. As long as she got her housekeeping, and she had a few bob in her pocket, that’s all she was interested in. She’d found ways of getting out before when he was at work; she could do it again. Even if it was only an hour, after Lucy was asleep. He’d never find out, she thought craftily, so she’d go along with him. ‘What about me money? Do I go back to what I was getting before?’

Bob shook his head. ‘Not for a few weeks, until I’ve got enough saved to buy Lucy a new coat. She certainly could do with one, and I’m hoping to take her to town on her birthday so she can choose one she likes. After that we can go back to normal, but you’ll be responsible for buying her clothes and making sure she always looks decent. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll dock the money again and see to her meself.’ He stretched his arms over his head and yawned. ‘Have yer anything else to say? If yer have, get it off yer chest now.’

‘No, we’ll see how it works out. I’ll do my bit.’

‘Right! I’m off to bed then, ’cos right now I could sleep on a clothes line. If I’m not awake, give me a call about five o’clock.’

Ruby heard him climbing the stairs and pulled a face. What a miserable man she was married to. He had no life in
him at all. All he thought about was work, bed, his tummy and his beloved daughter. Not like the men her mates were married to. They liked nothing better than taking their wives to the pub a few nights a week and having a laugh and a sing-song.

She threw the cigarette stub into the hearth, and after telling herself she didn’t have much to do and all day to do it in, she decided another smoke wouldn’t do no harm. And as she watched a smoke ring drift towards the ceiling, she asked herself what she’d ever seen in Bob Mellor. Oh, he was tall, dark and handsome, all right, but he wasn’t exciting. And that’s what she wanted, some excitement in her life.

‘Hey, Aggie!’ Irene Pollard saw her neighbour walking up the street ahead of her and hurried to catch up. ‘What’s the big rush, sunshine? Have yer got a heavy date?’

‘Yer could say that, queen.’ Aggie’s smile was wide, showing that this wasn’t a day for her gums to be on display. ‘The postman brought a letter from Titch this morning and his ship’s docking some time today.’

Irene linked her arm and squeezed. ‘That’s what yer call good news, eh?’ Tommy McBride was Aggie’s son, the only family she had. And she idolised him. ‘It’s been a long trip this time, hasn’t it?’

‘Four months. I’ve been expecting a letter every day, ’cos I knew he was due any time. But he’s still caught me on the hop, with a pantry as bare as Mother Hubbard’s. So I’m off to the shops to stock up, ’cos yer know what an appetite he’s got. He eats me out of house and home when he’s here, but it’s a pleasure to see the way he tucks into anything yer put before him.’ Aggie’s chuckle was hearty. ‘He used to lick his bleedin’ plate clean when he was a youngster, but I had to put a stop to that when he was twenty-one ’cos it didn’t look right somehow.’