MB06 - The Sunshine of your Smile, page 35
‘That’s what you think, sunshine,’ Molly said, coming through with the tray. ‘But the truth is I sit on it now and again on me way to the kitchen. It breaks the journey, yer see.’
‘Oh, very funny!’ Nellie saw the tray contained a plate with some biscuits on, and gave a soft sigh of pleasure. Things were looking up, she thought as she turned to Claire. ‘Were the clothes all right for you and Ken, Kenny and Tommo?’
Molly chuckled. ‘She’s pulling yer leg, sunshine, take no notice of her. When we asked yer son what his name is, he gave us his nickname. Then when he lost his shyness he said he’d like to be called Ken. And that’s what it’ll be, Nellie McDonough, so leave well alone.’
‘I’ll start again then,’ she said, ‘and I’d be grateful if yer didn’t interrupt this time, girl, ’cos it’s bad manners. Even us what were brought up in the gutter knows that.’ Throwing her mate a look of disdain, the little woman faced Claire. ‘Were the clothes all right for you and Ken, did they fit yer?’
‘Yes, they did, and I can’t thank you enough. The dresses fit me perfectly, as though they’d been made for me, but I’m going to take one to pieces to make a dress for my daughter out of it. She was looking at me and Kenny with envy, and although she didn’t say anything, I think she felt left out. I started unpicking it last night, and with a bit of luck, and staying up half the night, I might just have it ready for her to wear tomorrow.’
‘Yer’ll never make that, sunshine, not for tomorrow, even if yer do stay up all night.’
‘I’m pretty quick with my hands, and if I didn’t have to go to work today I’d have a pair of trousers turned up for Kenny, and the dress made for Amy.’
Nellie looked surprised. ‘Ye’re not going out to work today, are yer?’
Claire nodded. ‘I have two cleaning jobs today, but only for two hours each. That’s why I can’t stay too long, much as I’d like to. I have eight two-hour cleaning jobs a week and have to go, hail, rain or snow, because we’d starve if I didn’t. I should have gone to one this morning, but my daughter said she’d go and tell the woman I’d be late. Yer see, I had to come and thank you for everything. And on top of all that kindness, I believe your son-in-law, Phil, is going to try and help Ken in getting taken on as an apprentice?’
‘I couldn’t tell yer about that, it’s the first I’ve heard of it. Yer see, I didn’t see Phil after he left here last night to walk to the tram with yer son, and I haven’t been over to me daughter’s yet. But if Phil said he’d help, then he will, sunshine, because he is one hell of a nice bloke. In fact I have two of the best sons-in-law anyone could wish for, and I love them like they were my own sons. My eldest girl Jill is married to Nellie’s son Steve, and like Phil, he’s one of the nicest people ye’re ever likely to meet.’ Molly noticed Nellie squaring her back and holding her head high. ‘Mind you, he had a good mother and father, didn’t he, sunshine?’
‘I’m far from perfect, girl, and I’ll be the first to admit it. But me and George must have done something right ’cos we’ve got three good kids.’
‘All I can say is, I’ve never known such kindness from people who don’t even know us.’ Claire was feeling emotional and it could be heard in her voice. ‘You took my son at face value and I’ll never forget that. When he went out to work yesterday morning I could have cried for him because he looked so pitiful in his old jacket and worn-out shoes. He must have been freezing, there was never a word of complaint. Amy’s the same. I’ve done my best for them since my husband died, God knows I couldn’t do any more. But it’s hard to bring up two children on the pittance I get for being a widow. By the time the rent is paid there’s little left for food, clothing or coal. But we manage because we love each other. And things can only get better now Kenny’s left school. We’ll pull together until our fortunes take a turn for the better.’
‘If Phil said he’d help, then he will.’ Molly didn’t want to say any more in case she raised the woman’s hopes too much. ‘Is he going to let Ken know?’
‘Yes, he’s asked Kenny to call tonight and says he might have some news for him then. I believe he lives right opposite?’
Molly nodded, and chose her words carefully. There was no need to go into detail, talk of the past and how Phil and Doreen came to be living with Victoria. That was their business and better left alone. ‘Phil and my daughter Doreen have a new baby and are so happy it’s a pleasure to see them, and they have an elderly aunt living with them who makes their family complete. Needless to say, if my children are happy, then my husband and I are happy. And talking of children, I’ve just remembered me youngest is still in bed. It’s her first day of not being a schoolgirl, and already she’s laying down the law.’
Molly pushed herself up from the chair. ‘You have another cup of tea, Claire, while I go and wake Ruthie.’
‘No, thank you, I’ll have to be on my way.’ Claire passed her cup to Nellie who was nearest the table. ‘I badly need the money from the two jobs today so the children have a present to open tomorrow morning. Thanks to you and your families, it will be a better present than they’ve had for four years.’ She shuffled to the edge of the couch and got to her feet. ‘Words are not enough, Nellie, but they’re all I have to give.’ She kissed a chubby cheek. ‘You never know, but one of these days I may be able to pay you back for your kindness.’
‘I’ll see you out,’ Molly said. ‘The visit was short and sweet, but I understand the need for yer to work. Me and Nellie know what it’s like to be skint, don’t we, sunshine? Robbing Peter to pay Paul, hiding from the rent man and getting food on tick, we’ve gone through all that and survived. And you will, Claire, ’cos yer’ve got two children to help yer through these lean times. And as yer said, things can only get better. Perhaps, please God, Phil will have good news for Ken when he calls tonight.’
‘I’ll say a prayer, girl, and keep me fingers crossed for yer. And if I could think of the word what means yer can feel something about the future, I’d tell yer what’s in me mind.’ Nellie looked at Molly. ‘Come on, smart arse, what’s the word I’m after?’
‘I don’t know, sunshine! Yer don’t mean to have a premonition, do yer?’
Nellie slapped her thigh. ‘That’s it! Well, I’ve got one of those which says the future is going to be rosy for you and the kids, girl. And me mate will tell yer I’m pretty good at these prem . . . er . . . pronto . . . er, well, I’m more often right than I am wrong.’
Molly chuckled. ‘Come on, Claire, I’ll see yer to the door. If Nellie had her way yer’d be here all day. I hope Ken has good news for yer tonight, and like Nellie said, we’ll say a prayer. Wouldn’t it be a marvellous Christmas present? The stuff that dreams are made of. Anyway, I’m the one keeping yer back now, so get going. And thank you for coming, it was a real pleasure to meet yer.’
Chapter Twenty-One
Molly was smiling when she came back from seeing Claire out. ‘That was a nice surprise, and what a lovely woman she is! Both in looks and nature.’ She rubbed her hands in front of the fire. ‘I feel as though we don’t have to worry about Ken any more, him and his family are going to be all right.’
‘We did well there, didn’t we, girl? If it hadn’t been for us, no one would have known how badly off they were. I really feel chuffed with meself, and at the moment the resolution is back on course again.’
Molly chuckled. ‘Yer change yer mind more often than the weather, you do, sunshine, I can’t keep up with yer. Anyway, what are yer talking about resolutions for? Yer don’t need to ’cos ye’re just as generous as the next person.’
‘Only when you remind me to be, girl, or shame me into it.’ Nellie pushed the turban back into place. ‘I’ve got to admit it makes me feel good when I see how happy yer can make people what are not as lucky as we are.’
‘Well, our good deeds are over for this year, sunshine, but no doubt something will come along next year.’ Molly looked down at her friend’s legs and shook her head. ‘It’s time we were getting out to the shops, but I hope ye’re going to pull yer stockings up before we go otherwise I’ll make yer walk behind me.’
‘It’s not my fault I can’t bend down to pull them up proper, and anyway, I can’t see me feet so it doesn’t worry me.’
‘I’m fed up telling yer, sunshine, that yer should bend down more than yer do. Yer could do with losing some of the fat around yer waist and tummy.’ Molly secretly worried about her best mate, knowing that carrying so much weight must be a strain on her heart. ‘Just try bending down two or three times a day, sunshine, and yer’d soon have a figure like Mae West.’
Nellie’s eyes narrowed. ‘If I did it four or five times a day, girl, would I get a figure like Jean Harlow?’
‘I think that’s being a bit optimistic, sunshine, I’d settle for Mae West if I were you, then yer won’t be disappointed.’ Molly heard a noise from above and then a floorboard creak. ‘It sounds as if me daughter has decided to drag herself out of bed. She can get her own breakfast seeing as she was too lazy to get up when I called her.’
Ruthie came down rubbing her eyes and yawning. ‘I heard that, Mam! Me first day of luxury and yer won’t even make me breakfast.’ The girl smiled when she saw the position of the carver chair. ‘Good morning, Auntie Nellie, are yer watching for Santa Claus?’
‘Yer Auntie Nellie is going home now to get ready for the shops. And you, young lady, can put a move on. Don’t forget Uncle Corker is getting someone to drop three Christmas trees off here, and he said it would be in the morning. So look sharp and get yerself washed and dressed before seeing to yer breakfast. Yer’ve got all day to sit and do nowt,’ Molly said, chuckling to herself, ‘after yer’ve made the beds and washed yer breakfast dishes.’
‘Make the beds! Ah, ay, Mam!’
‘Don’t argue with me, sunshine, ’cos they’d have been well done if yer’d come down when I called yer. Anyway, fifteen minutes is all it takes to make two beds and wash a couple of dishes. Then yer can sit and wait for the man to bring the trees. I’ve got next door’s key, so they can put theirs inside, in the hall. And the same with Auntie Nellie’s.’
Ruthie was beginning to brighten up, remembering tomorrow was Christmas Day. ‘Can I start to decorate ours, Mam? I’ll be careful, honest!’
‘Of course yer can, sunshine, it will save me a job. The wooden block to stand it in is on the floor of the pantry, so put that on the little table first, then stand the tree in it.’ Molly noticed her friend was sitting comfortably, nodding her head as she listened. ‘As for you, Mrs Woman, you can get yerself home, tidied up and back here in fifteen minutes without a wrinkle in yer stockings.’
Nellie lumbered to her feet, calling her friend fit to burn under her breath. ‘I suppose you are going to sit counting the minutes till I get back, are yer, bossy boots?’
Molly bent down to put her face close. ‘Why, would yer like me to come and pull yer stockings up for yer?’
‘Don’t be so bleeding sarky, Molly Bennett. And what makes yer think I’d want your hands fiddling around the top of me legs? I might be untidy, but that doesn’t mean I’m not fussy about who goes up me clothes.’
We’re getting on to dangerous ground here, Molly thought when she heard Ruthie titter. God knows what Nellie’s going to come out with next. Best not to give her the chance. ‘Come on, sunshine, away home and get yerself ready. We’ll only be out an hour at the most, and because I’ve been a bit short with yer, I’ll make it up by letting yer buy me a cream slice.’
‘You cheeky bugger! Yer insult me all ends up and then expect to be rewarded for it!’ The narrowing of her eyes warned that the little woman’s thoughts were devious. ‘Our Lily put some of the decorations up last night, but she couldn’t do the tree because we didn’t have it, did we? So if I was to buy an extra cream slice, would you decorate the tree for us, Ruthie? It’s only a case of hanging a few coloured balls and some tinsel on it. I’d do it meself, girl, but I can’t stretch up to the top. I tried last year and pulled the bleeding thing down on meself.’
‘Nellie, will yer watch yer language, please? The children don’t hear it from me and I don’t want them to hear it from anyone else.’ Molly gave a sharp nod to say she meant it. Then she said, ‘If Ruthie wants to do it, it’ll have to be when we come back from the shops. I don’t want her in your house when you aren’t there.’
Ruthie was eager. She loved decorating the tree, and seeing an ordinary everyday living room change to one that looked warm and Christmassy. ‘Yeah, I’ll do it, Auntie Nellie! Can Bella come and help me?’
‘Ooh, yer strike a hard bargain for a young girl,’ Nellie said. ‘That means I’ve got to fork out for four cream slices. But go on, I’ll let yer off as long as yer promise to make me room look like Blackler’s grotto.’
‘And you promise to pick out the four cream slices with the most cream in.’ Ruthie took after her mother for having a sweet tooth, but where Molly had been forced for money reasons to rein in her craving, her daughter didn’t give a thought to the money aspect. ‘Mind yer don’t squash them, hold the bag straight.’
‘Will you two pack it in and let’s be getting about our business? It’s Christmas Eve and there’s loads to do.’ Molly gave her friend a not-so-gentle push towards the door. ‘I’ve got everything sorted out in me mind, but you two gabbing is making it hard for me to stick to me plan.’
Putting on a show of weariness, Nellie let out a deep sigh. ‘What plan is that, then, girl? All week yer’ve been saying how well we’ve organized ourselves this year, and we were going to have a very easy day instead of rushing round like those flies with blue bottoms. We can sit with our feet up, that’s what yer said.’
‘And so we can! We’re a lot more organized than other years. All I’ve got to do when we get back from the shops is peel the spuds and get the veg ready. And I’ll clean the turkey and stuff it ready to put in the oven at eight in the morning.’
This gave Nellie an excuse to linger. ‘Oh, I knew there was something I wanted to ask yer, girl. When ye’re making the stuffing, will yer make a bit extra for me? Yer know I’m bloody hopeless at it, and our Lily wants everything just right with Archie and his mam being there for dinner.’
‘Will I do a bit extra for yer?’ Molly shook her head in disbelief. ‘Nellie, your turkey is twice the size of mine, so I wouldn’t have to make a bit extra, I’d have to make three times as much.’
‘It’s not a lot to ask, girl, so don’t be pulling a face. Anyone would think I’d asked yer to cook the ruddy turkey for me! All yer’ve got to do is use a bigger bowl to mix it in.’
‘I’m going to close the door on yer now, Nellie, so I can calm meself down. Just go home and pull yer stockings up, comb yer hair, and by the time yer get back I might be in a better frame of mind.’
‘Okay, girl, I’ll do that.’ As Nellie walked away her bosom was shaking, and Molly knew her mate had something up her sleeve. ‘I’ll remind yer when we go to the butcher’s to buy an extra packet of Paxo stuffing, and I’ve got an onion I can let yer have.’
When Nellie banged on the window a quarter of an hour later, her scarf was neatly tied under her chin and there wasn’t a wrinkle to be seen in her stockings.
‘That’s better, sunshine, yer look more presentable than I do now,’ Molly said, eyeing her up and down. ‘It just shows what yer can do when yer put yer mind to it, and how yer can bend down if it comes to the push.’
‘Oh, I didn’t fix me stockings meself, girl, I couldn’t for the life of me bend down far enough to pull them up. I got meself in a right state and all, the sweat was pouring off me ’cos I knew how yer’d carry on if I didn’t pass yer test and look presentable.’
Molly was slipping her arms into her coat. ‘But yer managed in the end, sunshine, so it was worth the struggle.’
‘Ah, but I didn’t manage it on me own, girl, I couldn’t! Then, when I’d given up all hope, I happened to glance out of the window and saw the coal cart going past our house and stopping at Beryl Mowbray’s next door. So before Tucker had time to knock on Beryl’s door, I called him in and he pulled me stockings up for me.’ Nellie’s eyes were bright with mischief. ‘Only to me knees, though, girl. I told him above me knees was out of bounds.’
Molly looked at her daughter and they both burst out laughing. How could you fall out with someone who always saw the funny side of life? And how could you not be thankful that you had her for a friend? ‘What am I going to do with yer, Nellie McDonough? The only thing I can think of is to stick something in yer mouth so yer can’t speak.’
‘I’ll go along with that, girl, it’s a good idea! And if yer stick a cream slice in me mouth, I promise I’ll be as good as gold.’
‘Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear!’ Molly pulled on a pair of navy woollen gloves and reached for her basket. ‘Will I ever be able to have the last word?’
‘I wouldn’t think so, girl, ’cos ye’re too ruddy slow to catch cold.’ Nellie took a key from her pocket and passed it over to Ruthie who was busy wiping away tears of laughter with the back of her hand. ‘Here yer are, girl, that’s to let the man put me Christmas tree in the hall. If he’s been by the time we get back, yer can come and decorate it for me. With Bella, of course.’
All of Molly’s children loved their Auntie Nellie and wouldn’t hear a word said against her. And they showed their affection with hugs and kisses. Now, Ruthie flung her arms around her and planted a really noisy kiss on each chubby cheek. ‘Blackler’s grotto won’t have anything on your living room by the time me and Bella are finished with it, Auntie Nellie. I bet Uncle George will stand back in amazement when he gets home from work. He’ll think he’s in the wrong house by mistake.’
‘I’ll hold yer to that, girl! In fact, I’ll even sell tickets if it turns out as good as yer say it will. A penny for a peep through the window, or tuppence to come in the house.’
