Bia's War (11 page)

“His voice rose as he got to the
end of the sentence and he started remembering both why he was
there and that people were generally afraid of him. By that time,
however, I was in such a white-hot rage with him that I did what no
other person had ever done before to him in the whole of his
stupid, stinking, fat life. I stepped even closer to him, so that
my nose was within half an inch of his and I was almost overpowered
by the stench from his mouth, body and clothes. It was
nausea-inducing but my fury so intense I overrode my sense of smell
as well as my fear.”

“ ‘You get off my property this
instant and stop acting like a schoolboy bully in a playground with
me, Mr Dennison.’ I said, putting as much sarcasm as I could muster
into saying his name, but still not raising my voice above a
church-pew-during-a-funeral whisper. ‘Take your drunken brain home
for a rest and don’t you ever come threatening me again.’”

“My voice was so quiet and
controlled that the pig butcher couldn’t decide whether he had
heard me properly or not, but he took a step backwards to give
himself breathing space and the time to try and think up an answer.
Something, I don’t know what it was, made me step towards him so
that we were once again nose-to-nose.”

“‘Don’t even think about it, Mr
Dennison.’ I said, as quietly as before. ‘Get off my property and
go and sober up before you do something you will later regret.’

“I could hear that a crowd had
gathered behind me, at the open backyard gate and I prayed that if
the butcher turned violent then they would stop him before he did
me any real damage. I couldn’t rely on anyone to intervene when he
started causing me pain, I could only hope, but that didn’t stop
me. I continued to step forward every time he retreated and I
continued to let him know that I wanted him off my property. He was
finding it very difficult to understand that I wasn’t going to
buckle under his bullying attitude, I think because he was so used
to his poor little wife cowering in front of him. The fact that I
didn’t let him intimidate me was what was holding him back from
letting his fists fly, so I continued to press forwards, but, at
the same time and with a detached part of my brain, I was trying to
work out where I went from there. We would eventually run out of
back yard and when his back was up against the wall, he could turn
nasty again.”

“What did you do next?” Victoria
was horrified at the thought of the pig butcher hurting her
grandmother.

Nana Lymer smiled at Victoria’s
shock.

“I was at a loss as to what to
do next and I was terrified that he would turn violent again if I
gave him chance to think and then inspiration struck me. In the
same formal but soft voice I had used all along I said,

‘I am very sorry about the loss
of your son and I couldn’t begin to imagine the grief and misery
which you must be feeling. But that wasn’t my fault, nor was it
Hannah’s and you won’t feel any better for taking your anger and
despair out on us. Peter has gone for the constable, Mr Dennison.
Don’t you think it would be wise if you left before he arrives? You
could get into very serious trouble for brawling in the street and,
just think on, you can’t run your business if you are in a police
cell.’”

“That was where I made my first
mistake in dealing with the pig butcher. Mentioning his business
reminded him of the reason why he was there in my shop and the
spittle flew from his slack mouth and splattered across my face as
he yelled at the top of his voice.

‘I can’t run my business without
someone to work for me and you’ve stolen my servant girl. I want
her back or I’ll break every shelf in your shop and then I’ll break
every bone in your body.’

“I didn’t think it was possible
to get any angrier than I already was, but feeling the filthy
wetness hit my cheeks and having him screaming abuse in my face
froze my rage even further. It was so intense an anger that my
sensible brain ceased to function and I acted purely on instinct
when he prodded his meaty stinking forefinger into my chest as he
threatened to break my bones. I could clearly see his ugly
red-veined face, but it had a scarlet aura around it that hid
everything else from my view. I could see his huge, round,
slobbering, drunken, ugly face, but I was blind to the rest of the
world. He had dared to prod me in my chest and I couldn’t stop
myself from responding as all reasonable thought left my head. I
lifted my hand until it was level with his chest and I jabbed my
forefinger into an expanse of flabby, dirty shirt-front, at the
same time screeching at the top of my lungs for him to ‘GET OFF MY
PROPERTY.’

“I don’t know whether it was
shock that I had dared to poke him or surprise because my voice was
suddenly so loud right in his face, but he took an involuntary step
backwards. I don’t kid myself that it was because I was strong
enough to topple him with one finger, drunk as he was, or that he
was frightened of me for even a single second, but step back he did
and the tin bath which should have been hanging on its hook on the
backyard wall but for some reason wasn’t, caught him behind his
knees and his legs buckled under him and he fell backwards into the
bath. Because it hadn’t been hanging on the wall, the bath had
about two inches of cold rainwater in the bottom of it and this
fountained out around him as his heavy body dropped into it,
splashing me from head to foot with a shock like ice.”

“What the cold water was doing
to Dennison’s nether regions, I neither knew nor cared, but the
cold was enough to tip me over the edge into absolute fury and I
grabbed his wet hair and shook his head until his teeth were
rattling like hailstones on a tin roof, screaming all the time for
him to ‘GET OFF MY PROPERTY.’”

“I stopped shouting and let go
of the butcher’s hair when I realised that I could hear laughter
coming from behind me and I turned to see a crowd at my open
backyard gate, all convulsed with laughter at Dennison’s plight.
Sammy and Peter were just pushing their way through the crowd and
both were grinning from ear to ear at the sight of the overweight
lump sitting in our tin bath, still snorting from the shock of his
fall and his impromptu bath.”

“‘Are you all right, lass?’
Sammy asked, as soon as he was close enough for me to be able to
hear him over the laughter and jeers of my neighbours. ‘I never
thought the drunken bugger would come here trying to lay down the
law with you, even though I did think he might try going after our
Hannah.’”

“‘I’m all right, Sammy.’ I
answered, although I had to admit that I was feeling pretty shaky,
more from the anger I had felt than fear, although I wasn’t
sure.’”

“Sammy turned to Dennison, who
was just starting to climb out of the bath, all the fight having
gone out him, what with the shock of his fall, the cold dousing he
had had, and the jeers and catcalls of the neighbours.”

“‘You ever try coming after my
Hannah again, Dennison.’ Sam said, ‘And I’ll run you through with
my father’s campaign sword he got in the Crimea. Do you understand
me?’”

“But, before the pig butcher
could answer him, a voice shouted from the gateway.”

“‘You’ve no right coming after
women like that. You want to find someone your own size to pick
on.’”

“There were cries of agreement
from the gathered crowd out there and Mr Nugent, who lived next
door-but-one to my shop, shouted,

‘You try attacking Mrs
Drinkwater like that again, butcher-boy, and we’ll give you the
pasting you deserve. We all know your lad’s been killed at the
Front, but that’s not this lass’s fault. She’s only trying to keep
a roof over her head, while her lad’s away fighting and you should
be ashamed of yourself for trying to attack her. She’s not the size
of twopennorth of copper!’

“There were general cries of
agreement at this statement and, to be honest, it was those which
reduced me, finally, to tears. Annie came and put her arm around my
shoulders and led me into the kitchen, away from the gathered
crowd. Hannah had come downstairs with Simon, now that all danger
seemed past and, sensible lass that she was, she was putting the
kettle on for a restorative cup of tea.”

“I almost collapsed onto the
fireside chair while Annie and Hannah fussed round me and Simon
buried his face into my aproned lap, aware that there had been a
lot of shouting and banging and not sure if it was all over now. I
cuddled him to me, whispering words of comfort which were as much
for my benefit as his. Peter followed us into the kitchen within
minutes, although Sammy stayed outside until all was peaceful
again.”

“‘He’s gone.’ He announced, as
he came through the back door and gratefully took the tea Hannah
proffered him. ‘Some of the lads from Westcough’s brewery yanked
him out of the bath and are escorting him back to his own shop. The
crowd have dispersed now that all the excitement is over so I’ve
locked the back gate. I’m going to come with you when you deliver
the orders tonight, Bia, just in case the idiot takes it into his
head to have another go, although I think he’ll think twice about
bothering you again now he’s seen that so many people are against
him. Let’s just hope that he’s learnt his lesson now and doesn’t
get it into his head to try that trick again.’

“‘I don’t think he’ll try
anything again.’ I said, with far more confidence than I was
feeling, nodding down at Simon who was still hiding his head in my
apron. ‘He’s had enough of a shock to stop him ever coming back
here again.’

Sam picked up on this
immediately.

‘That big baby won’t come back
for another cold bath, that’s for sure. I don’t think he likes
having a bath, the spluttering he was doing.’

“Simon raised his head from my
apron and smiled at Sammy.”

“‘Dirty man,’ he said, grinning
shyly at Sam. ‘Dirty man doesn’t like water.’”

‘You are right there, Simon.
That dirty man won’t be having another bath for a long, long
time.’

“I smiled at Sammy over the top
of Simon’s head, trying to show my gratitude for his instant
understanding, but Sam just smiled and gave his head a little
shake, brushing off the compliment. Hannah and Annie went back into
the shop to serve the customers who were once more queuing for
their groceries and Simon followed them. I could hear him asking
for a sugar mouse from the jar as he sidled up to Hannah and there
was the distinct sound of a large glass jar being lifted from the
shelf and then opened.”

“‘Don’t worry about him, pet.’
Sam said, as he stretched his feet out towards the warmth of the
range. ‘Those brewery lads were a bit rough with him as they got
him out of that bath and they carried him like one of his own sides
of bacon to get him back to his shop. I’ve had a few words with
some of your neighbours while I was out there and they’ll keep an
eye out for him reappearing at any time. But I think he’s realised
that he’s not welcome anywhere round here now, so you and little
Simon will be safe.’”

“‘Thank you, Sammy.’ I said,
relieved that the pig butcher had been warned off in that manner,
because I was still shaking from the shock of it all.”

“‘You’ve got a rare temper on
you, lass, when you’ve got your dander up like that. I almost felt
sorry for old Dennison, having you nose to nose with him. It’s one
of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long time, you poking him and
him falling backwards into that bath! It’s done me a power of good.
I haven’t had a laugh like that in a long time.’”

“‘Well, I must say, I hope you
enjoyed it! I must do it again so that everyone can enjoy
themselves.’ I said tartly, a bit put-out by Sammy’s delight in
watching Dennison get his come-uppance.”

“‘No, you don’t have to do it
again. I’m just trying to lighten the atmosphere a bit.’ Sam said.
‘I know how much it’s shaken you to have him forcing his way into
your house and none of us want it to happen again, but you mustn’t
dwell on it. Anyway, I’ve got to get back to work. They’ll be
docking my pay if I’m out much longer.’

“I knew he had to get back to
the works, but I was extremely grateful for what he’d done for me
that day. Even though I prided myself on my independence, it had
been good to know I had someone close on whom I could rely in a
crisis. It marked the next stage in our relationship. We were now
very good, close friends.”

Victoria had been silent all
through this monologue, concentrating on what her grandmother was
telling her but also trying to imagine what it must have been like
to have faced down a bully like Dennison.

“Did he come back, the pig
butcher I mean?” She asked. “Or did he learn his lesson and stay
away from you and Hannah?”

Nana Lymer smiled a rather wan
smile.

“He stopped bothering us about
Hannah,” she said. “But that wasn’t the last I saw of him, not by a
long way. But I’m tired now, pet. I think I could do with a little
nap to recover from all this talking. Why don’t you come back
tomorrow and we’ll talk about it then? Is that ok?”

Victoria felt incredibly guilty
for keeping Nana talking when she was obviously tired. She berated
herself for not keeping an eye on her and stopping her when she
started showing the first signs of fatigue. Victoria could clearly
see the dark rings under her grandmother’s eyes, standing out
starkly because her face was very pale. She tucked her up into the
blankets and then tiptoed out of the room, silently promising that
she would take more care of Nana tomorrow.

Chapter Six

The next day was Christmas Eve
and Victoria knew it was going to be a bad day before she even got
downstairs. She could hear her mother’s voice from the bathroom
while she was cleaning her teeth, the decibel level and the screech
level both pointing to one of her mother’s bad moods. As she walked
downstairs, hoping that her mother was only complaining to a
delivery man, the decibel level rose and Victoria could make out
the subject of her mother’s diatribe.