The Cobbler's Kids (33 page)

‘You need a break, a bit of a treat,’ he told her, ‘and so do I.’

At first she had demurred, saying she couldn’t leave her dad, but Jack had scotched this excuse right away.

‘I’ve had a word with Benny and he’ll listen out for him.’

Vera looked concerned. ‘Are you sure he’ll hear him? Benny gets so engrossed when he’s studying …’

‘He will. He’s promised. He knows if he lets us down he won’t get any money.’

‘You’re paying him?’ Vera didn’t know whether to feel angry or not.

‘If you called in a stranger to sit with your dad you’d expect to pay them, wouldn’t you?’ Jack pointed out. ‘Well, this is the same. It’s a way for Benny to earn some pocket money for himself. He was quite keen to do it, I can assure you.’

It took Vera a few days to come round to the idea, but the more she thought about a trip to the pictures the more attractive it seemed.

Finally she gave in and agreed. ‘But we’ll only go if Dad has had a peaceful day,’ she stipulated.

Jack nodded understandingly and readily agreed to her terms.

He insisted that Vera should be the one to decide which picture they should go and see.

‘I don’t know what sort of thing you like,’ she pointed out. ‘Suppose I pick something that you find isn’t to your taste?’

‘Then I’ll sit and look at you all night instead of the screen,’ he told her with a cheeky grin.

She didn’t answer, but she felt her cheeks burn. The trouble was, she suspected that he was telling the truth. It was becoming more and more obvious that his feelings for her were growing deeper.

She felt the same way about him, but she was afraid to admit it, even to herself.

It’s only because we’re living under the same roof and spending so much time together, she kept telling herself. He cares about me in the same way that I am fond of Benny. I’m always going out of my way to do things for him and make his life more comfortable. It’s the same with Jack.

In her heart of hearts she knew this wasn’t the case, though, it was much more than that. When she went to bed at night she listened for every movement from the room directly above her, knowing that Jack was sleeping there.

She even began to take more care about her appearance. Sometimes he noticed the changes. If he commented on them, she was thrown into a tizzy and blood rushed to her cheeks.

When they started going to the pictures together, she tried to look her best. Sometimes it was a different hairstyle, a new blouse, a change of lipstick. Whenever he noticed these things it made her feel pleased, but self-conscious at the same time.

She tried to hide her disappointment when Jack said he would be going to Wallasey to spend Christmas with his mother.

‘I haven’t seen her for ages, not since I moved in here, so I owe it to her. I’d much rather be staying here with you, mind. It will be quiet for you, all on your own. If there is any trouble with your dad, send Benny across for me and I’ll come back right away. OK?’

When she came downstairs on Christmas morning she was disappointed to find that Jack had already left the house. On the table were several gift-wrapped presents, one of them with her name on it. Inside was a bottle of perfume. She opened it hesitantly, all the time remembering how much she had hated the smell of the California Poppy scent that Di Deverill had used.

The first whiff took her breath away, it was so strong. She dabbed a spot of it onto the back of her wrist and this time the smell was so delightful that she was captivated.

She checked the label and vaguely remembered seeing an advertisement for this very perfume. It had been so expensive that she’d laughed to herself, wondering what sort of people could afford to buy such luxuries.

Benny sniffed the air appreciatively as he came into the room and grinned knowingly. She handed him the small slim package Jack had left for him and watched his face transform as he unwrapped it and found a fountain pen inside it.

‘Gosh! I never thought I’d own one of these,’ he gasped. ‘It’s a real beauty! It has a nine-carat gold nib!’

The package for Michael Quinn contained a large bar of chocolate, something he never ate, but he seized on it with glee. ‘Rations!’ he exclaimed with obvious relief. ‘Thank God, they managed to get this past the enemy.’

For the rest of the day he wrapped and unwrapped his present, slyly eating chunks of it when he thought no one was looking.

Vera and Benny exchanged amused smiles. ‘It doesn’t look as though he intends to give us a taste of it,’ Benny commented.

Jack didn’t return until New Year’s Eve and Vera felt desolate. The house seemed so empty without him. She missed having him to talk to. Although she opened up the shop each day there were very few customers and she felt she’d never known such a long week in her whole life.

Jack was surprised at the spread she prepared for them on his evening home.

‘I put off cooking the turkey until I knew you would be here,’ Vera explained.

‘You shouldn’t have done that,’ he remonstrated. ‘That makes me feel guilty. What did you have on Christmas Day?’

‘Bread and water,’ Benny told him with a grin. ‘Dad was all right, he had his chocolate!’

‘Didn’t he give you a piece?’ Jack laughed.

As Vera went back into the kitchen to get on with last-minute preparations for dinner she could hear them laughing about what had happened.

For a moment she felt angry, but then common sense took over. What harm was there in it? They didn’t mean it unkindly, and it was good for Benny to have another man around the place to talk to and share things with.

As she washed up after their meal, leaving Benny to teach Jack how to play the new game of
SORRY
that she’d bought him, Vera thought what a wonderful day it had been. Even her father had been dressed in his best suit and had sat at the table with them. She felt that they had been like a real family.

The only one missing was Eddy. They’d heard from him several times. He’d found a good job and had settled down well in Malta. He and Maria now had a baby boy and they’d named him Jacques.

It means Jack in English
, he’d written,
so you can tell Jack Winter that we’ve named the baby after him
.

Even though it was New Year’s Eve, Michael Quinn went to bed early, too tired to see 1935 in.

‘I shouldn’t imagine he will be able to sleep through all the noise, not when the bells and the ships klaxons start sounding,’ Vera said when she came back downstairs. ‘Benny said he’ll stay up there with him until he has settled.’

‘We’ll hear him if he calls out,’ Jack assured her. ‘Come and sit down, I’ve got a present for you.’

‘You’ve already given me a gift,’ she protested.

‘Yes, but this is another one. A very special one. Sit down in your dad’s armchair and close your eyes!’

As she did so, from somewhere came the sound of music. She gave a sigh of pleasure as the strains of Henry Hall’s Orchestra filled the room.

‘You can open them now.’

On the table was a wind-up gramophone and beside it a small stack of records.

She clapped her hands in delight. ‘Oh, Jack. It’s absolutely marvellous!’

‘The records are all your favourite bands and singers,’ Jack told her smiling. ‘As well as Henry Hall, there’s Geraldo, and Glen Miller. Now you can listen to them whenever you want to.’

‘How do you know they’re my favourites?’

‘They’re all songs from pictures we’ve been to see!’

‘Really?’ She looked up at him wide-eyed, her cheeks pink with excitement.

‘Truly!’

‘I don’t know what to say. Thank you doesn’t seem to be enough!’

‘You could give me a kiss,’ he murmured softly.

They stared at each other for a long moment. She could feel her heart pounding. It was so loud that she wondered if he could hear it too.

Then, without knowing how it happened, she was in his arms. As their lips touched she felt a thrill of pure happiness spread through her, knowing that at last she had found love with a man she could trust. It was as if every nerve in her body was on fire.

They kissed again, eagerly, hungrily, enjoying the exquisite experience, something they’d both dreamed about for so long.

‘I love you, Vera Quinn. I always have, ever since we were little kids,’ he told her softly, stroking her hair.

He knew from her response, from the way she’d kissed him, that she felt the same way about him. He now wondered why they had waited so long. He had known what his feelings for her were from the first moment he’d walked into the shop.

Vera gave herself up to the sheer delight of being in his arms. She was sure it had been fate, as well as old Sam Dowty, that had brought them together.

Then, suddenly, memories she’d tried so hard to forget came flooding back. She struggled to free herself from Jack’s enveloping arms. Tears brimmed in her eyes and her face was twisted with anguish as she shook her head and pushed him away.

‘No, this mustn’t happen,’ she whispered. ‘Please, Jack. There are things you don’t know about me, terrible things. I can’t even start to tell you!’

‘Hush, hush! He pulled her back into his arms, holding her tight, smoothing her hair back from her brow. ‘Everything is all right.’

‘You don’t understand …’

‘But I do, Vee. I know all there is to know about you.’

Vera laughed bitterly. ‘You only think you do, Jack. There are things in my past that even to this day I can’t talk about.’

‘You don’t need to. I know all about what happened.’ His lips rested on her sweat-soaked brow. ‘Eddy told me. Everything! I know all about Bill Martin and what he did to you, so you don’t have to say another word. OK?’ he said gently.

Vera stared at him in amazement. ‘Eddy told you? How on earth did he come to do that?’

‘Does it matter? I know all about what happened and it doesn’t matter. All I want to do is make you happy for the rest of your life. If you want to talk about it then I’ll listen, but you don’t have to.’

She shuddered and buried her face in her hands, as if unable to meet his eyes.

‘I love you, Vee, with every fibre of my being. Please tell me you love me too.’

‘Oh I do!’ she breathed. ‘I can’t even start to tell you how much.’

Jack’s lips covered hers in a kiss so sweet, so tender, that once more she melted into his embrace, cocooned in his love for her.

For a brief second, as the pressure of Jack’s arms tightened, she stiffened. Then, with a blissful sigh of surrender, she let her own strong feelings of love sweep through her and take control. Jack knew everything about what had happened and yet he still loved her.

‘We were meant for each other,’ he whispered, ‘time has proved that. Our being together is a wonderful beginning for the new year.’

Vera nodded. She felt as if she was bursting with happiness. 1935 was just dawning and she going to see her most treasured dreams coming true.

The New Year brought so much happiness into her life that there were times when Vera felt that either she must be dreaming, or the bubble of euphoria that enveloped her would suddenly burst. She found it hard to believe that she deserved so much contentment or that it really could be true that Jack Winter loved her so deeply.

Since she and Jack had admitted their feelings for each other it was as if they had opened a door to another world. Everything had changed. The sun seemed to be shining even when it was cloudy; the early morning frost on the rooftops glittered more brightly; the wind was bracing, rather than dank and chill, as it swept in from the Mersey. She even saw people in a different, more compassionate light.

Never before had she felt so close to anyone as she did to Jack. It was as if their innermost thoughts and moods intermingled: they knew what the other was thinking without having to resort to words.

Every day revealed some new facet of their feelings for each other. She had always known that Jack was tall, friendly and good-looking, but now she discovered how deeply caring, thoughtful and generous he was, too.

Jack thought that he had already discovered what a wonderful, loving person Vera was. He had seen how she was ready to sacrifice her time, and even change her way of life, to ensure that those nearest to her had all the care and attention she could possibly give them. Now he found that these endearing traits were more and more centred on him. She lavished so much affection on him that he was overwhelmed by the fact that anyone could care so much about him.

They had such strong feelings for each other, and delighted so much in their new-found love, that they could hardly keep their hands off each other.

When she brought a cup of tea through to the shop for him at mid-morning the moment their hands touched they found it wasn’t enough. The desire to kiss was so powerful that their arms went around each other intuitively, and their lips automatically met.

Murmuring sweet endearments they would retreat back into the living room out of view of passers-by. He would hold her in his arms, kissing and caressing her for so long that by the time he went back to his work in the shop his cup of tea was often stone cold.

Several times, Jack tried to tell Michael Quinn that he wanted to marry Vera. Sometimes the answer was a smile and a nod, at others a raised fist and a threatening, low growl.

Neither of them were sure whether he realised what Jack was telling him or not. Even Vera seemed to be unable to make her father understand their intentions.

‘There’s only one way. We’ll simply have to go ahead and get married,’ Jack said resignedly. ‘Thank heaven you don’t need his permission to do so.’

‘You’re right, but I would still like to have his approval. Sometimes he doesn’t even seem to know who you are. Yet, he did when you first came to work here.’

Jack gathered her into his arms, trying to pacify her as tears rolled down her cheeks. ‘That was quite a long time ago,’ he said softly.

‘It means my dad is getting worse,’ she said sadly.

‘I’m afraid so, Vee. The only good thing is that he’s much calmer these days. It’s weeks since he’s had one of his awful attacks and taken refuge from everyone.’