The Girl From Number 22 (12 page)

Hetty threw the piece of paper on the fire and watched the flames eat it up. Then she sat on the edge of the couch and swung her legs over the side. When she was settled, she rehearsed a few groans. That should do the trick, she told herself. If she was going to tell a few white lies, she may as well do it in comfort.

Ada nearly tripped over herself as she hastened to open the door to Hetty the next morning. ‘How did yer get on? Did yer do what I told yer?’

‘I certainly did, and it worked a treat.’ Hetty was grinning as she followed her friend into the living room. ‘I’ve got to admit I felt a bit guilty at first, knowing Arthur and the girls had put in a long day at work. Still, my pleasure at being fussed over soon outweighed any guilt I may have felt.’

‘The kettle’s been boiled, so sit yerself down and we’ll have a cuppa before we go shopping.’ Ada stood with her hand on the kitchen door. ‘I cut off me nose to spite me face in one way, sunshine, ’cos when we were in bed, and Jimmy started feeling frisky, I had to fob him off. I was cursing meself, for I was feeling romantic too! But I could hardly start being active after playing the wounded soldier all night.’

‘It won’t hurt either of yer to go without for one night,’ Hetty said, then sat back and waited for the reaction. And she didn’t have to wait very long.

‘What d’yer mean, Hetty Watson? Anyone listening to you would think me and Jimmy were sex maniacs! And you and Arthur must have your moments, unless ye’re both made of stone. Or flipping icebergs.’ Ada disappeared just long enough to
higher the gas under the kettle. ‘We’re still young enough to enjoy ourselves in bed, and speaking for meself it’s the only entertainment I get! It costs money to go to the pictures, and once the picture ends yer don’t get an encore. In bed, though, I can have as many encores as I like, ’cos Jimmy is always ready, willing and able. We’re good in bed together, and it doesn’t cost a cent.’

Hetty was quiet as she digested her mate’s words. Was there an implication there, that her Arthur wasn’t as able as Jimmy? She’d better put the record straight on that. ‘Don’t be bragging, Ada Fenwick, ’cos Jimmy would have to go a long way to beat my Arthur. And another thing, I let him have his way with me in bed last night. I pretended I was still sore, and let out a groan every now and then, but we both enjoyed ourselves.’

The kettle began to whistle and Ada pushed her chair back. ‘The water’s boiling, sunshine, so we’ll resume the conversation when we’ve got our tea in front of us.’ Five minutes later she was facing her friend across the table, her hands around the cup of hot tea. And she explained to Hetty why there was a smile on her face. ‘I promised Jimmy I’d make it up to him tonight, so we’re having an early night.’

‘What time d’yer call early?’ Hetty asked. ‘Six o’clock, as soon as yer’ve finished yer dinner, or will yer be able to hang out until the kids go to bed?’

‘I think I can hold out, sunshine, but I’m not sure about Jimmy. I might have to tie him to his chair for a couple of hours.’ Ada drained her cup and put it in the saucer. ‘Drink up, Hetty, and let’s make a move.’ After pushing her chair back under the table, she put her hand on the back-rest. ‘It’s our day for seeing to Eliza, and I wondered if yer’d have any objection to me telling her about us scraping the wallpaper off, and then kidding our
husbands into waiting on us? It would give her a laugh, don’t yer agree?’

‘Oh, yeah, she’d certainly see the funny side.’ Then a doubt entered Hetty’s mind. ‘Yer wouldn’t tell her everything, would yer? Like what happened after we went up the stairs? I’d be dead embarrassed if yer did, ’cos Eliza is of the old school, and in her day, what happened in the bedroom was never talked about.’

‘Of course I wouldn’t tell her about our nocturnal activities, yer daft nit! I’ve too much respect for Eliza to embarrass her. Anyway, I wouldn’t talk to anyone about me private life, only you. So give us that cup so I can rinse it out with mine. I can’t abide coming in to dirty dishes, it makes me feel as though I’m an untidy housewife, too lazy to keep the place nice.’

Hetty passed the cup over. ‘If you’re a lazy housewife, I feel sorry for meself.’ Her eyes travelled over the grate and the polished sideboard. ‘Yer keep yer house like a little palace. Yer might have a dirty mind, but yer home is spotless. Yer could eat off the floor.’

Eliza smiled when she opened the door. ‘You’re on duty today, are yer?’ She stood aside to let them pass, then closed the door. ‘I’ve lit the fire because I was feeling the cold.’

‘Oh, yer should have left that for us to do, sunshine! Yer shouldn’t be lugging coal around at your age.’

‘I didn’t have to carry the coal, Ada, ’cos John came last night and he filled the scuttle for me. And he rolled the newspaper up ready, and laid the firewood out on the hearth. So all I had to do this morning was rake the ashes out and set the fire. I had it roaring up the chimney in no time. Just looking at the fire makes yer feel warm and the room cheery.’

‘Everywhere looks nice and cosy,’ Hetty said. ‘And there’s
nothing like a fire for cheering yer up on a cold day. And it is cold out; the winter will soon be upon us.’

Ada held her hands in front of the flames before rubbing them together and sitting down. ‘What would yer like for yer dinner today, sunshine? Have yer anything in mind?’

‘I’ve got me dinner in, sweetheart,’ Eliza told her. ‘Vera had made a big pan of stew, and John brought some up for me in a bowl. All I need to do is put it in the oven to heat up.’

‘That was thoughtful of him,’ Ada said. ‘Him and Vera have been very good to yer over the years. They never miss a week without a visit.’

Eliza bent her head and was quiet for a few seconds. Then she looked up, and in a soft voice told them, ‘There was a purpose to his visit last night. He asked me to go and live with him and Vera. He said he worries about me being on me own, especially with winter approaching. And there’s plenty of room in their house, now there’s only the two of them. I’d have me own sitting room and bedroom, so I could have as much privacy as I wanted. And they’ve got a bathroom, so I wouldn’t have to go down the yard to the lavatory.’

Ada met Hetty’s eyes, and each knew what the other was thinking. They’d be sad to see this gentle old lady go, for they were very fond of her. The street wouldn’t be the same without her; she’d be missed by all the neighbours.

The first to find her voice was Ada. ‘And have yer made up yer mind to go, sunshine?’

‘I told John to give me time to think about it. It’s not something which yer can make up yer mind about right away. I’ve lived in this house for the best part of me life. I moved in on the day I got married, and that’s nigh on sixty years ago. It would be a wrench to leave it, for there’s so many memories here. I can
still see my beloved husband sitting in the rocking chair at the side of the fireplace, puffing away on his pipe after a hard day’s work. That’s when he had a few coppers to buy some baccy. And I can still see his face on the day John was born. There wasn’t a prouder man in the whole of Liverpool.’ There was a catch in Eliza’s voice now, brought about by the memories. ‘He was a wonderful husband and I loved him dearly. And I still miss him, to this very day.’

‘I bet he adored you, sunshine,’ Ada said, ‘’cos yer can tell yer’ve been a real beauty when yer were younger. Ye’re still a fine-looking woman now. We all love the bones of yer, yer know that. And we’d be very sorry to see you go, we really would. Everyone in the street likes and respects yer. You would be much missed, Eliza, and I can’t imagine this house without yer. It wouldn’t be the same with strangers living here.’

‘And I’d be sorry to go, sweetheart, ’cos I’d miss all me friends and neighbours. Particularly you and Hetty, and Edith and Jean. You’ve all been so good to me, always there when I needed yer, and I’ll never forget that.’

Ada looked into the tear-filled, faded blue eyes, and knew her old friend’s heart was being torn in two. And they shouldn’t be making her miserable by saying they’d miss her, they should be cheering her on her way. ‘Me and Hetty will be very sad to see yer go, sunshine, but that’s because we’re being selfish, and only thinking of ourselves. We should be happy for yer, ’cos yer’ll live the life of Riley with John and Vera. With yer own living room and bedroom, and a proper bathroom, yer’ll be better off than any of us.’ She forced a grin. ‘Every time I go down the yard on a cold winter’s night, with me backside freezing, I’ll think of you in yer posh bathroom. And I don’t mind telling yer I’ll be dead jealous. I know this house holds a lot of memories for yer, but
don’t forget the house is only bricks, while yer can take yer memories with yer. No matter where yer go, they’ll always be with yer.’

Hetty carried on where her friend left off. ‘Ada’s right, Eliza, yer’d be mad not to take John up on his offer. If you won’t, then I’ll gladly swap places with yer. If I had the chance to be fussed over and mollycoddled, I’d jump at it. And it isn’t as though yer’d be getting rid of me and Ada, ’cos we can come and visit yer in yer fine house.’

‘Would yer really come and visit me?’ Eliza started to show interest. ‘That would be something for me to look forward to. And Vera makes lovely cakes, so I can offer yer some refreshment.’

‘Too blinking true we’d come and visit yer,’ Ada said. ‘Yer don’t think yer could get away from us that easy, do yer? Not now we know Vera makes nice cakes.’

‘Do yer really believe I’d be doing the right thing? I couldn’t sleep last night, with it going round and round in me head. What would I do if I went, then regretted it, and wished I was back in me little house?’

‘Yer’ll not do that, sunshine, I promise yer. Yer’ve got yer son with yer, who yer can talk about the old days with. Him and Vera are yer family, and they really want yer with them. It’s not as though ye’re going to live with strangers, and I bet yer’ll be able to take some of yer belongings with yer. If ye’re to have yer own sitting room, then yer’ll have all these things around yer, just as they are now.’

Eliza nodded. ‘John went all through that with me. And as they’ve had two empty bedrooms since Pat got her own house, I can take all me bedroom furniture with me as well. John has a friend with a van, so everything would be done for me. He said all I had to do was get meself there and sit with Pat in their
living room while the men sort it out.’ She smiled as her son’s words came back to her, and when she spoke her voice was stronger. ‘He even said all me furniture would be put in exactly the same position it’s in here, so I won’t even know I’m in a different house.’

‘Well, yer can’t ask for more than that, sunshine, and yer’d be crazy to turn it down. Don’t you agree with me, Hetty?’

‘Yer’d want yer bumps feeling, Eliza, ’cos from the sound of things ye’re going to be much better off there than yer are here. We come in to see yer, and so do Edith and Jean, but for the best part of the day ye’re on yer own. And yer must get lonely sometimes. So just think, yer’d never be lonely again, ’cos Vera would be there with yer.’

The old lady nodded. ‘Me and Vera get on like a house on fire, always have done. She’s a good wife, mother and daughter-in-law. And of course she’s a good grandmother to Pat’s children.’

‘Ay, just think what a difference it will be for yer at Christmas,’ Ada said. ‘Knowing John, I bet the house will be decorated and they’ll have a big tree with presents on, and Christmas dinner with yer whole family around yer. Ye’re lucky, sunshine, and if I were you I wouldn’t hesitate to tell John that ye’re ready when he is.’

‘Me and Ada will give yer a hand with any packing yer want doing, Eliza,’ Hetty told her. ‘Don’t you be trying to do it on yer own. I can ask at the shops for any empty cardboard boxes, and we’ll keep our newspapers for wrapping your ornaments in.’

‘That’s kind of yer, and I’ll be glad of your help. What I must do as soon as you’ve gone is knock for Edith and Jean. I want them to know before the rest of the street find out, ’cos like yerselves, they’ve been very good to me. I don’t want them to hear the news from anyone else.’

‘So it sounds as though yer’ve definitely made up yer mind, sunshine.’ Ada left her chair to plant a noisy kiss on the old lady’s cheek. ‘Good on yer, ’cos ye’re doing the right thing.’

‘It’s listening to you two that’s done the trick. I’ll miss all me friends, and I’ll miss me little house, but what yer’ve told me makes sense. I’d be a fool to turn John down, and selfish, ’cos I know he worries a lot about me. And I remember last winter, when the snow was thick on the ground, he trudged all the way through it to get here. Well, he won’t have to do it this winter, because I’ll be living with him and Vera.’

‘Would yer like us to tell Edith and Jean? We’re going shopping now, we could give them a knock.’ Ada knew her offer would be turned down, for Eliza would want to tell her next-door neighbours the news herself. ‘I know yer won’t, but just thought I’d ask.’

‘No, sweetheart, I wouldn’t like them to hear it second-hand. Not after they’ve been so good to me. After yer’ve gone I’ll give a knock on each wall. They’ll get a shock, I should imagine. I know you two did ’cos I could see it on yer faces.’

‘Well, it came as such a surprise,’ Ada told her. ‘We knocked to see what yer wanted for yer dinner, and got told ye’re leaving! It was certainly a shock, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised how much better off yer’d be.’ Her chuckle brought a smile to the old lady’s face, even before a word was spoken. ‘I can make a joke of it now, and ask if our cooking has anything to do with yer wanting to leave home. I know Hetty’s Lancashire hotpot leaves a lot to be desired, but I don’t think mine’s that bad.’

‘You cheeky beggar! My cooking’s as good as yours any day! My family all smack their lips after they’ve had their dinner, ’cos they’ve enjoyed it so much.’

Ada gave Eliza a sly wink before telling her friend, ‘I’ve always said your family were good actors, sunshine, and that proves it. Even if the food yer served was terrible, they’d keep their faces straight because they wouldn’t want to hurt yer feelings.’

Hetty showed she could give as good as she got. ‘Ay, girl, I think yer’ve solved a mystery for me. Now I know why they queue up every night to go to the lavatory, it’s me cooking what does it.’