A Rare Ruby (5 page)

Outside it was raining that fine drizzle that made everything feel dreary and damp. Ruby dragged her coat round her and pulled her hat down over her flyaway hair. She hurried as fast as the flapping soles of her boots allowed. The sound of the ships’ mournful sirens filled the air and as she went past the high wall surrounding the gasometer, she could hear footsteps; someone was walking behind her. She couldn’t look round. Fear made the sweat run down between her tiny breasts. As they got closer she wanted to run, but knew she would fall over if she tried. The sole of her boot had started to come off and was beginning to slow her down. How she hated all this poverty. Why couldn’t she get a job like Beth Norton and not have to go out on nights like this to deliver washing?

‘What you doing round this way, Ruby Jenkins?’

Although she could have flung her arms round Ernie Wallis’s neck she was so relieved to hear his voice, she was still very angry with him.

‘Here, you ain’t coming round this way looking for washing, are yer?’ he asked as he fell in step with her.

‘No, I ain’t. And I don’t want to talk to you after what you told that Mrs Watson.’ Deep down Ruby knew that wasn’t true, she wanted to talk to him more than anything else in the world, but she wasn’t going to let him know it.

He laughed. ‘I shouldn’t worry about it, they’re always looking for girls to work there.’

‘D’you think I should try again?’

‘Don’t ask me. So what are you doing round this way at this time of night?’

‘I’m just taking some washing back.’ She had to think quick. ‘It’s me mum’s friend.’

‘Well, that’s all right then. I can’t hang about chatting. I’ve got to get a move on.’

‘The woman ain’t that well and Mum’s doing her a favour.’ Ruby knew she was blabbering on, but she wasn’t going to tell him the truth and she really wanted him to walk with her.

‘So, where does this friend live?’ he asked as his pace quickened.

She crossed her fingers. She couldn’t tell him the address or who it was as her mother might lose a customer. ‘She’s in the road next to the buildings.’

‘You shouldn’t be round here in the dark, you know, it ain’t safe. I can walk a bit of the way with you, but I’ve got to go to the pub.’ He hesitated. ‘Me mum likes a tipple. Come on, I’ve got to hurry.’

‘Thanks, Ernie. I don’t like being out in the dark.’

In silence they quickly moved on. Ruby was sure he would be able to hear her heart beating. The sound was filling her ears. Was it through fear, or just being with him?

When they reached the pub, he said, casually pushing open the door, ‘See you one day. And, Ruby, try for that job again.’ With that he was gone.

Ruby slowed down. Well, his mother must certainly be in need of a drink. Or was it him? Surely he wouldn’t waste his hard-earned money on beer; after all, he was the only breadwinner. And what did he mean, try again? Would he have a word with that Mrs Watson? She smiled as the glimmer of hope took hold, but when she continued on her way, she kept glancing nervously over her shoulder nearly every step of the way.

Inside the buildings the smell of stale pee took her breath away. She peered round the bend in the stairs. It was dark and eerie. Oh, how she hated this place. During the day screaming kids filled the stairs, stopping her going on as they tried to pinch the washing from the pram. Tom always took a stick to them, but he wasn’t with her now. Why didn’t her mother let him come with her? They could have got the coal together. Tonight the stairs were empty and she could hear the sound of her breathing above the hissing from the gas lamp; it didn’t have a mantle and the shadows on the walls frightened her. Shouts and swearing were coming from behind most of the closed doors, yet from one there was the sound of somebody playing a piano. It was very tuneful. At last she knocked on Mrs Bell’s front door.

She knocked again when there wasn’t any answer. She wanted to cry. Had this been a wasted journey? She was cold and miserable. She banged again, only much harder this time. Why did Mrs Bell live in such a terrible place? She was always well dressed and had lovely undergarments. He mother never let her iron the delicate fabric, as they looked very expensive and she was worried Ruby might scorch them. Tears welled up in her eyes. She banged again.

‘All right. All right. Keep yer hair on.’ A thickset man wearing only trousers and a vest pulled the door open. The hair on his chest sprouted out from the top of his vest. His braces were dangling down and he didn’t have any shoes or socks on. ‘Well, what d’yer want?’

‘I’ve brought Mrs Bell’s washing back.’

‘Have yer now? Rita!’ he yelled. ‘There’s a kid out here with yer washing.’

‘Give her the money then,’ came a voice from inside.

‘I ain’t giving her no money.’

‘You can be so bloody annoying at times.’ A thin woman came into the passage. She only had on a white cotton petticoat with pretty rosebuds on the bodice. Ruby had seen it many times. Her hair was all over the place and Ruby could see she had a lot of make-up on even though most of it was smeared round her face. She pushed past the man and gave Ruby sixpence. ‘Thanks, love. Can you collect the dirty stuff tomorrow? Only I ain’t stripped the bed yet.’

The man put his thick hairy arms round Mrs Bell’s waist. ‘Come on. Let’s get back to bed. I want me money’s worth.’

‘Shh. You’ll shock this little girl here.’

Ruby now guessed what she did for a living. The girls at school had told her all about women like that. As she walked away the thought that was filling her mind was: I bet she earns more in a night than me mum earns all week. And it can’t be all that hard work.

Ruby hurried home, jumping at the shadows. She let her mind wander to Beth Norton and Mrs Bell. Everybody seemed to be making money except her. Even Ernie had money to waste on beer. By the time she turned into Hill Street, giving a sigh of relief at being home, she had made a decision. Tomorrow she was going back to the laundry to see Elsie and try again to get a job.

Ruby carefully took Tom’s arm from across her waist. She’d had a restless night; the baby seemed to be crying all the time. She’d tried stuffing bits of rag in her ears, but that hadn’t helped. She was glad when she heard her mother moving about.

‘I hope Danny didn’t disturb you.’ Beth Norton’s voice came from out of the darkness.

‘No, no, course not,’ said Ruby.

‘Does he always cry like that?’ asked Tom.

‘No. He must feel a bit strange, being in a new place.’

Ruby couldn’t see that. He was only a baby. How would he know a strange place when he was sleeping in his own pram that had been pushed hard under the window? All night Ruby had felt the wheels with her feet.

She waited till Beth Norton was out of the room, then quickly dressed and walked out into the kitchen. As usual at the beginning of the day, the range had been black-leaded and the hearth whitened. Despite being so short of money her mother still had standards she liked to keep up, and that Mr Cox would complain if the front doorstep wasn’t kept up to his satisfaction. On the range, the lid on the black kettle gently bobbed up and down. The room felt warm and comforting. In the washhouse, her mother had already got the fire under the brick boiler well alight.

‘Hello, love,’ said her mother as she pounded the washing down in the boiling water. ‘Did you sleep all right?’

‘Not too bad.’

‘Right, I’m ready,’ said Beth popping her head round the door. ‘Wish me luck.’

‘Course we do,’ said Mary Jenkins.

Beth closed the door.

‘That baby makes a bit of a racket. Did it disturb you?’

‘A bit.’ Ruby wasn’t going to let on how much; after all it had been her idea that Beth Norton came to live here. ‘I expect he’ll settle down,’ she added.

‘I hope so. With these thin walls, I’m expecting him upstairs to come down as soon as he gets up.’

‘Mum, what if he says she has to go?’

‘I don’t know. Remember, it was your idea. Don’t worry. I’ll think of something. There’s a bit of bread you can toast, then I want you to do all that ironing.’ As her mother went back to pounding the washing she added, ‘There’s a couple of shirts that want buttons on, so put them to one side.’

In the kitchen Ruby looked at the pile on the chair. She knew that it would take her all morning.

 

In fact it wasn’t till late afternoon that Ruby finally managed to get out. Beth had come home from her cleaning and had been telling them all about it. How Ruby envied her when Beth said she would be getting seven and six a week. To Ruby that was a fortune - but Beth did have to go in every morning, including Sundays.

‘The floor’s in a bit of a state. I don’t think Mrs Moss could get down to give it a good scrub, but my knees can stand it. And he does let me have hot water. I’ll be able to give you two and six a week all the time I’m working there.’

‘How did you manage before?’ asked Mrs Jenkins.

‘My husband gave me money before he left, but I don’t know what I’ll do when Mrs Moss comes back. I don’t wish anybody any harm, but I hope she don’t come back too soon.’

‘We never know what’s round the corner. At least it’ll give you a chance to get back on your feet, and who knows, your husband might return very soon.’

Beth just smiled.

 

Elsie had told her they didn’t finish till seven o’clock so it was dark when Ruby finally got to Stone’s. She didn’t want to go in as she didn’t want to upset Mrs Watson. She hung about hoping Elsie or someone would come out. The door opened and Ruby caught sight of a figure hurrying round a corner. ‘Elsie,’ she called.

‘Who’s that?’

‘Me. Ruby.’

‘I ain’t Elsie. Who are you, and what are you doing here?’

‘I wanted to see Elsie.’

‘Wait here, I’ll see if she can get away.’ The young woman, who was much the same build as Elsie, disappeared inside.

After what seemed to be for ever, Elsie came out. ‘What’re you doing here?’

‘I had to see you.’

‘Come on then. I’m just going to have a pee, but don’t breathe in, will you?’

Ruby quickly followed her but stopped when the smell took her breath away. ‘What a pong!’

‘It goes with the job.’

Above the sound of Elsie peeing in the galvanised bucket, she shouted to Ruby, ‘I thought you was looking for a job?’

‘I was, am. I did see Mrs Watson, but someone I know told her I only wanted a job here to get some work for me mum. She takes in washing.’

‘Who’d do a thing like that?’

‘Ernie Wallis.’

Elsie came out pulling up her knickers. She straightened down her skirt. ‘That’s just the sort of thing he would say.’

‘You know him?’

‘Everybody knows him. Right charmer he is.’

‘I know.’

Elsie laughed and gave her a small punch on the arm. ‘’Ere, you ain’t fallen for him as well, have you?’

‘No, course not. I knew him at school. All the girls liked him then.’

‘Well, he ain’t changed. There’s a few in there that’ll drop their drawers for him any time he asks.’

Ruby didn’t answer. She was too shocked.

‘Look. I’ll have a word with old Watson and see if I can’t sort something out for you.’

‘Thank you, Elsie. When shall I come back?’

‘I’ll go and see her now. She’s in a good mood today. Think she might have been out with old man Stone last night.’

Ruby could have kissed her. Was some of Beth Norton’s luck rubbing off?

It was ages before Elsie finally came out again. ‘You can come in and see her now. I don’t hold out much hope, but good luck anyway.’

‘Thanks.’ Ruby followed Elsie.

‘So it’s you,’ said Mrs Watson when she caught sight of Ruby. ‘I’ll say this for you, you’re persistent.’

Ruby hung her head and said softly, ‘It ain’t true what Ernie Wallis told you. I ain’t looking for work for me mum. She’s got more than she can cope with already.’

‘Has she now. Well, she might want to send some round here to us?’

Ruby shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She hoped the sole of her boot would stay in place.

‘We might be needing someone in the washroom. It’s hard and heavy work. You don’t look very strong, do you think you could cope?’

Ruby looked up. Her smile was beaming. ‘Yes. I know I could.’

‘Well, you don’t look very strong to me. But you can be on trial for a week and we’ll see from then on.’

Ruby could have flung her arms round this woman. ‘When shall I come here?’

‘You can start Monday. Be here at seven-thirty. You’d better wear some waterproofs on your feet, it’s very wet work. And don’t be late.’

‘I won’t.’ Ruby couldn’t tell her these boots were all she had. ‘Mrs Watson, what time does Elsie finish?’

‘In about a quarter of an hour.’

‘Can I wait for her? I want to thank her.’

‘You can wait here. And I don’t want you two chatting all the time you’re working otherwise it’ll be out of the door for both of you.’

The last thing Ruby wanted to do was to get Elsie the sack. ‘I won’t.’

Ruby listened to the chatter and shouting that came from behind a closed door. She was so excited. She had got a job. She had forgotten to ask how much she’d be getting, but that didn’t matter at the moment. She would be working with other girls and women. It seemed that Beth Norton had brought them good luck after all.

 

‘Where have you been?’ asked Mary Jenkins, straightening up from bending over the ironing. ‘I’ve been waiting for you to give me a hand with this lot.’

‘I’ve been to get a job.’

‘What d’you mean, get a job? Where?’

‘The laundry. I start on Monday.’

‘What?’

‘I’m working in the washroom.’

Her mother brushed her troublesome hair from her face. ‘That’s hard work.’