When Wishes Come True (41 page)

Once again Evelyn turned over in bed, this time telling herself there was no way out. The best thing she could do would be to make the most of the next couple of weeks with Philip, and then either pluck up courage to tell him the truth or just disappear out of his life.

When Evelyn called in the following night she didn’t accept Bessie’s invitation to sit, saying she was hungry and urging Amelia not to dawdle and put on her coat. She felt she couldn’t sit and go over her troubles again, last night had left her drained. ‘Come along, Amelia, I’m really starving.’ She thought Bessie would take the hint, but her neighbour had other ideas.

‘Rita was asking me if yer were satisfied with her work. Was the room left clean and tidy enough for yer?’

‘Oh, yes, I am well satisfied. Please tell her so.’

‘I can see ye’re eager to be away so I won’t keep yer long,’ Bessie said. ‘But I was wondering about Saturday. Will yer be going to yer friend’s and staying overnight? It doesn’t matter to me, yer can please yerself, Evelyn, but I need to know if Amelia will be staying over so I’ll know what bread and milk to get in?’

Evelyn’s eyes darted towards her daughter, putting her coat on. She hadn’t expected this, not after telling Bessie about Philip. But from the sound of things her neighbour hadn’t taken it for granted that she was sleeping with him. ‘I thought perhaps you wouldn’t want me to stay at my friend’s, not after our heart-to-heart last night. I was under the impression it may have changed your opinion of me?’

‘Not at all!’ Bessie said. ‘It’s not for me to judge, or tell yer how to run yer life. If yer want to go to yer friend’s, I’ll be more than happy to have Amelia.’ She smiled when she saw the girl’s eyes light up. ‘We get on like a house on fire, don’t we, sweetheart?’

‘In that case, I’ll be delighted to go to Elizabeth’s.’ Evelyn nodded to her daughter. ‘You have the key, Amelia, you run and open the door while I have a quick word with Bessie.’

‘If yer starving, Evelyn, why don’t yer go home and have something to eat? Amelia’s had a meal, so yer’ve no need to worry about her. But I bet you haven’t had much since yer left the house this morning.’

‘Only a sandwich, and that wasn’t very filling.’ Evelyn laid a hand on Bessie’s arm. ‘Thank you, you are a friend indeed. I’ll go and make myself something warm, then I’ll come back, for I have something to tell you that I hope will please you.’

When Evelyn knocked an hour later, she had Milly with her. ‘Bessie, Amelia asked if she could go over to Mrs Wells, to have a game of cards with one of the boys.’

‘The boy’s name is Jack, Mother, and he’s very good to me. We play together.’

‘Will Mrs Wells mind?’ Evelyn looked up at her neighbour, who was standing on the top step. ‘Shall I go and ask?’

‘There’s no need,’ Bessie assured her. ‘Like me, Rita doesn’t stand on ceremony.’

Milly didn’t wait to hear any more, she was across the road like a flash and knocking on the Wellses’ door. It was opened by Jack, whose dirty face beamed when he saw her. ‘Hi, Milly, come on in.’ His greeting was missed by her mother, who had deliberately been ushered quickly into Bessie’s living room out of earshot. She and Evelyn had come a long way in the last few days, but giving her daughter a change of name might not go down too well. ‘Yer’ve no need to worry about Amelia, she’s in good hands over there.’ And for good measure, with a silent chuckle, she added, ‘Two well-behaved boys they are, and yer’ll not hear bad language in there either.’

Evelyn sat down without waiting for Bessie to ask her to. She was feeling a little happier now she knew she had the weekend free, and wanted to give a little happiness in return. ‘I won’t bore you with my tales of woe, Bessie, at least not tonight. But I have some good news for you, and hope you will take it as such.’

Bessie was thinking Evelyn must have had a good education, her English was perfect. Still, the little woman thought, it’s too late in life for me to remember to sound me Gs and me Hs.

‘I could do with a bit of good news to cheer me up, Evelyn, we don’t get much chance in work for telling jokes. If our machines stop for a minute, the boss is down on us like a ton of bricks. The only time we get a smile out of him is when he’s got a rush job on and he’s coaxing us to work either later or faster. And then he’s a smarmy toad.’

Evelyn smiled, hoping the news she’d come with would indeed cheer Bessie up. ‘I want you to believe me when I tell you that every word out of my mouth tonight will be true. I have lied before, not only to you but to everyone around here and I am not proud of myself. Tonight is different, I come with the blessing of another person’s generosity. So please hear me out before judging me. And please don’t take this as an insult, or think it’s given out of pity, it is far from that.’

‘For God’s sake, Evelyn, will yer get on with it! Yer’ve got me on pins now, so get a move on before I throw a wobbly.’

‘Well, you know about my relationship with Philip, and this is his doing. We were talking about Christmas presents, and I said how some people couldn’t afford to buy their children presents because there were so many men out of work, and even those who worked were on very low wages. He asked me how I knew, and although he doesn’t know where I live, I did say I had seen for myself that some boys and girls were running around barefoot.’ Evelyn was watching Bessie’s face for any sign of indignation, but her neighbour’s face remained expressionless. ‘He said many of his rich friends give to charities at Christmas, but he never has because he’d never really given it thought. Then he insisted I take some money from him to help anyone I thought was in need. So will you help me, Bessie, and tell me who is most in need in this street? I don’t want anyone to know where it comes from or think it’s been given out of pity. That would rob them of their pride. I’ve seen boys at the top of this street running around without shoes on, and I would like to help them.’ She was worried that her neighbour hadn’t yet said a word. ‘You’re not happy about it, are you, Bessie?’

‘Not happy! I’d be over the bloody moon if I could help some of the families hereabouts afford a proper dinner over Christmas,
and
get shoes for the kids. They needn’t be new shoes, they could be good secondhand ones from the market. I could easy do it without them knowing it was charity. I could always say the shoes came from the Wells boys, and they’d grown out of them. And Kenny Gordon, he’s always growing out of shoes according to Aggie. Her and Rita could take the shoes up and the women wouldn’t think anything about it, they’d be that glad to see their kids shod. It breaks a woman’s heart if she can’t afford to feed and clothe her children, but there’s nothing they can do if their husbands are out of work.’

Evelyn bent down to pick up her handbag from the floor at the side of her chair. ‘I have the money in an envelope. I would like to buy presents for Mrs Wells and Mrs Gordon, and also for their children so they can open them on Christmas morning. And it would be nice if you could buy books and games for Amelia, you will know what she likes better than I do.’ She handed over the large envelope. ‘I will be buying her a nice dress and a new coat, so she will have a lot to make her happy over Christmas. And if you won’t be insulted, I would like to buy you something for your kindness, if you would give me an idea of what you would like?’

Bessie looked down at the envelope which was sealed. ‘Don’t worry about me, Evelyn, I’ll be all right for the holidays, I’ve got clubs in most of the shops. I put a few coppers in each week and it soon mounts up. I’m lucky I can do that, with me working and only meself to worry about.’ She waved the envelope. ‘Would yer mind if I opened this in front of yer? I’d feel better if yer would watch me and we agree what’s inside.’

‘By all means, go ahead, Bessie. But it isn’t necessary, I would trust you with anything. You are the only one I have spoken to about the last eight years of my life. I wouldn’t have done so if I didn’t trust you implicitly. However, I understand why you would want me to see you open the envelope. So please do.’

Bessie ran her thumb along the inside of the flap and took out the contents. Her mouth gaped and she looked as though she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She thought the white paper was wrapped around the money Evelyn had mentioned, but it was a five-pound note! She’d never had one in her hand before. And when she opened it up, she found it had been wrapped around a further three. ‘Oh, my God, Evelyn, there’s twenty pounds here! I’ve never had so much money in me hand at one time in me whole life! I can’t keep this, it’s a fortune!’

‘It’s not my money, Bessie, it was Philip who gave it to me. And believe me, he can well afford it. He is so happy knowing he is helping children who are not as privileged as he has been. He didn’t do it to look good, he will never meet those he’s helped and is not a snob. He would treat anyone the same, be it a king or a tramp.’

Bessie couldn’t keep her eyes off the notes in her hand. She’d never thought the day would come when she’d have one of those white ones, never mind four! She was shaking her head in disbelief when she gazed across at Evelyn. ‘Are you sure about this? Do yer not want to keep some to buy Amelia’s coat and dress? And something for yerself to wear over Christmas?’

Her neighbour shook her head. ‘I have enough for Amelia’s clothes, and I’ll only be wanting an inexpensive dress myself. Please help as many of the poorer people as you can, Bessie, and you mustn’t say where the money came from. Not a word, please, even to Mrs Wells and Mrs Gordon. Oh, you can tell them I paid for their children’s presents as a thank you for lighting my fire every night and leaving the house neat and tidy, but nothing else.’

‘I feel as though it’s Christmas Eve, and Father Christmas has just come down the chimney.’ Bessie grinned. ‘I’ll really get a kick out of buying shoes for those children at the top end, because when I was going to school I remember a lad in our school coming barefoot, and the other kids didn’t half make fun of him. I can still remember the look of shame on his face. But he had someone come along like your Philip has, only his benefactor was one of the teachers. And she didn’t make a show of him by giving them to him in front of the class, she took them to his home. I can still see that lad’s face when he came to school the next day, he didn’t half swank. He walked across that playground as though he was ten foot tall.’

‘You’re a good woman, Bessie, and it’s a pity I didn’t have the sense to see that years ago. We could have been friends. I’m sorry I won’t be able to help you with buying the presents, but I will help you wrap them up when Amelia’s not around. And tomorrow I will tell Philip how his money is to be spent. He will be really pleased, he’s quite tender-hearted.’

Bessie was beginning to grow excited. ‘He has been very good, and yer can thank him from me. With this money, I can help so many people in the street who are on their uppers. I’ll make a list of names and presents. He has a right to know where his much-appreciated money has gone. There’s not many people give this much away, I’ll bet. He must be a very special man.’

‘Oh, he is, Bessie, a very special man indeed.’ Evelyn pushed herself to her feet. She didn’t want to talk about Philip for she was in danger of crying. ‘I’ll knock for Amelia, and then go home and sit on the couch with my feet up in front of the nice warm fire. I’ll see you tomorrow night and you can tell me what thoughts you’ve had on how to make best use of the money. Perhaps you could write a list of those most in need? But of course you don’t need me to tell you what to do, you are a very sensible lady.’ She shivered as she opened the front door. ‘Tell Mrs Wells I bless her every night when I open the door and see the flames flickering in the hearth. It makes that house feel like home, which it never has before.’

As soon as she’d closed the door on her neighbour, Bessie was so eager to start making a list she moved too fast and banged her shin on the sharp corner of the sideboard. ‘You bloody nuisance,’ she said, rubbing her shin, ‘why don’t yer get out of the way!’ Then as she opened one of the drawers she burst out laughing. ‘I’m talking to the ruddy sideboard now. It’s the sight of so much money what’s gone to me head.’ She took a notebook from the drawer, then rummaged through the bits and bobs in there until she found a pencil. ‘One of these days I’ll get down to cleaning the drawers out, I should be ashamed of meself.’

The fireside chair was pulled closer to the hearth and Betty sank back, telling herself she felt like the Man Who Broke The Bank At Monte Carlo. Then she hugged herself before licking the pencil, hand poised ready to start writing. ‘Now, let me see,’ she said aloud, ‘I can think of four families at the top who badly need help. Mrs Roseby … her husband’s been out of work for ages, and the whole family look half-starved. So it’ll be shoes for the two boys, and if I can wangle it somehow and she won’t wonder where it’s coming from, I’ll make them a box of food up for Christmas. And the same goes for the Summerhill family, father out of work and a boy and a girl needing shoes. Then the Andersons and the McCarthys, all in the same boat. Shoes for the kids, and a box of food for Christmas. I’ll think of some way to give it to them without it looking suspicious.’

Bessie licked the end of the pencil again and began to write. The names of the families went in a column at one side of the page, and she jotted down all that they needed beside these entries. That was the worst off accounted for. There were others who could do with help, but she wanted to do the job properly, and take her time. She looked up at the ceiling, hoping for help from above. ‘I could sit here all night staring at this ruddy book, but that wouldn’t get me anywhere. So here goes, I’ll try and price them. Secondhand shoes from the market, in good nick, would cost between a shilling and two bob a pair, and there are eight kids so that could come to sixteen shillings at the most. I could make up a good food hamper for seven and six which would see them a few days over Christmas. So for those four families, it would come to, let me get me thinking cap on, two pounds, two shillings. That’s not bad, and the families would be made up. It would make all the difference to them. I’d still have nearly eighteen pounds left … that’s a lot of money.’