The Girl From Number 22 (13 page)

‘Don’t worry about it, sunshine, yer haven’t killed them off yet. I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it if I were you.’

‘Oh, it won’t worry me, girl, but I have often wondered about it. And it’s not something yer can ask about, is it? I mean going to the lavatory is quite a private thing, don’t yer think?’

Her face straight, and her lips pursed, Ada nodded. ‘Oh, definitely a subject that would go in the personal and private file.’

Eliza looked from one to the other. ‘I’m going to miss you two. Yer never fail to give me a laugh, even though it might be at the expense of some poor unfortunate creature.’

‘Oh, don’t think of Hetty as some poor unfortunate creature, Eliza, ’cos believe me, she can hold her own with anyone. She keeps me on me toes, I can tell yer.’

Hetty nodded. ‘And I’m going to get yer on yer toes, now, girl, for it’s time we were on our way to the shops. I’m getting a sheet of ribs for tonight, and they’ll need steeping for a couple of hours to get the salt out. So move yerself off that chair and let’s get cracking.’

Ada curled her fists to push herself up. ‘See what I mean, Eliza? She’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing is my mate. Soft as putty on the outside, but as hard as nails inside. I might be bigger
than her, but she’s proved to me that there’s good stuff in little parcels.’ She bent and kissed the old lady’s cheek. ‘We’ll love yer and leave yer for now, sunshine, but we’ll be over tomorrow to see yer. In the meanwhile don’t do anything Hetty wouldn’t do.’

Hetty’s jaw dropped. ‘What did yer say that for? Honestly, if anyone but Eliza heard yer say that, they’d get the impression I was some fast floozy.’

Tongue in cheek, Ada asked, ‘What’s a floozy?’

Eliza showed she wasn’t without humour when she said, ‘A floozy is a woman who sells flowers, sweetheart, and fast floozy means she’s quick at selling her wares.’

‘Oh, is that all? I got the impression, from Hetty’s face, that floozy meant someone who sells her wares, but they definitely ain’t flowers.’

‘Ah, well, that’s what comes from having a bad mind, yer see, girl,’ Hetty said. ‘All is pure to the pure.’

‘There speaks a woman whose mind is as pure as the driven snow,’ Ada said. ‘She’s like the three wise monkeys, who hear no evil, speak no evil, and see no evil. There’s a word to describe my mate, Eliza, and I think it’s pronounced sanctimonious. Don’t ask me to spell it, though, ’cos I wouldn’t know where to start.’

‘I know what it means, Ada Fenwick, even though I can’t spell it,’ Hetty said, trying to look hurt. ‘And I’m cut to the quick that my best mate can say that about me. Just wait until I get home and get me dictionary out. If it takes me hours, I’ll find a word what suits you.’

‘Don’t go to all that trouble, sunshine, I think I can help yer out. I know yer’ll be looking for a big word, so would ignoramus satisfy yer? If it does, then it means yer think I’m as thick as two short planks.’

‘While it suits the purpose, girl, it hasn’t got as many letters in as sanctimonious, so it doesn’t really satisfy my hurt feelings.’

‘Oh dear, I can’t have yer walking round with hurt feelings all day, sunshine, so how about stupid ignoramus? Yer get twice as much for yer money there.’

‘As long as yer admit to being that, then yeah, it’ll satisfy me.’

‘Right now I’ll agree to anything, ’cos yer’ve kept me standing here like a lemon for so long, me corns are giving me gyp. So while I might argue the point with yer tomorrow, I’ll give in now. We’ll say goodbye to Eliza and be on our way.’ Ada bent and kissed the old lady who was smiling at their exchange. ‘See yer tomorrow, sunshine. Ta-ra for now.’

When the friends called at Eliza’s the next day they were surprised when Edith opened the door. She grinned at the look on their faces. ‘I hope you two have got yer pinafores on under yer coats, ’cos there’s work going on here, and it’s all hands to the pumps.’

Ada brushed past her, followed by Hetty, who asked, ‘What’s going on? I haven’t got me pinny on, but I don’t mind getting me hands dirty in a good cause.’

Standing in the living-room doorway, Ada was amazed at the state of the room. For there were cardboard boxes on the couch and on the table, and Jean Bowers was on her knees in front of the sideboard cupboards, passing crockery into Eliza’s waiting hands. ‘In the name of God, sunshine, ye’re not moving out today, are yer?’

‘No, sweetheart, we’re just packing a few things into the boxes John brought with him last night. He thought if the small things were out of the way, there wouldn’t be so much to do on Saturday when the van comes.’

‘Are yer moving out on Saturday? I didn’t think it would be so soon.’

‘Neither did I,’ Eliza told her. ‘John came last night to tell me the friend of his who drives a van had asked his boss if he could borrow it to do a favour for an elderly lady. And the boss was very kind, and said the man could have it for a few hours as long as it wasn’t in working time. So Saturday afternoon it is. And John reckons if I can get the small items out of the way, him and his friend can finish the job in a couple of hours.’

Jean had her head turned towards Ada, and with a grin on her face, she jerked her thumb. ‘Get yer coat off, Mrs Woman, and take over from Eliza. As yer can see, she’s wrapping the crockery in paper as I pass it to her, and putting it carefully into the boxes. She must be getting tired now, though, so yer could do the job and give her a break.’

As Ada was taking her coat off, Hetty asked, ‘What can I do to help?’

‘Yer can be my assistant,’ Edith said. ‘I’m emptying the drawers in the dressing table. And there’s a tea chest upstairs to put all the bedding in, and the clothes Eliza won’t be wanting to wear before she moves. Only the bare necessities are being left, to save time.’

When Hetty followed Edith up the stairs, Ada waved Eliza to a chair. ‘Sit down and let us do the work. And if John comes before Saturday, yer can tell him there’ll be plenty of men to give a hand. Jimmy and Danny will be glad to help, and so will Arthur.’

Jean passed over six small china plates, with the words, ‘Be careful, girl, they’re real china. Eliza’s had them about fifty years, so I’d hate to see them get broken, or even cracked.’ She watched as Ada spread out the sheets of newspaper on the table and
wrapped each plate separately. ‘Gordon and Joe are going to help as well, so everything should go smoothly. But it won’t half take some getting used to when it’s all over. We’re so used to Eliza, it won’t be the same with new neighbours.’

Ada had a thought. ‘Ay, sunshine, what about the rent man? Yer know ye’re supposed to give a full week’s notice?’

The old lady nodded. ‘John’s calling to the office today in his dinner break. He’s going to pay the rent up to the end of next week. He’ll be handing the keys in on Monday.’

‘He doesn’t stand around, your John, does he?’ Ada said, smiling at the old lady whom she was really going to miss. Always quiet and polite, never a shout and never a swear word crossed her lips. ‘Organised and efficient, that’s him.’

‘He’s always been tidy and organised,’ Eliza told her with pride in her voice. ‘Even as a boy, everything in his bedroom was exactly where it should be. And always thoughtful. He’s sending a taxi here on Friday to take me to his house, so I won’t get flustered with all the goings-on. At least that’s what he said, but I think he’s afraid of me getting upset when the time comes to walk out of the front door for the last time.’

‘Are yer going in the taxi on yer own?’ Jean asked, thinking Eliza shouldn’t be left alone at any time on Friday, for it was bound to be a sad day for her.

‘No, I’ll not be on me own. Vera is coming with the taxi.’

Jean passed over a small china sugar basin and milk jug, a match to the plates which were already wrapped and in the box. ‘That’s this cupboard empty, Eliza.’ She used her fists to push herself to her feet. ‘Where shall we start next?’

‘There’s only the cupboard next to the fireplace now. The things in the kitchen are not worth taking, they’re very old and Vera would have no use for them. Perhaps if the rag and bone
man comes in the street, they could be given to him. Better for him to make a few coppers than putting everything in the bin.’

‘We’ll keep our eyes open for him,’ Ada promised, ‘and I’ll tell Ronnie in the butcher’s as well. If he sees the cart in the road he can tell him to call here.’

‘What about the drawers in the sideboard, Eliza?’ Jean asked. ‘D’yer want me to empty them or not?’

The old lady shook her head. ‘I’m going to sit and go through them tonight, sweetheart, ’cos although there’s mostly junk in them, there’s also old cards and letters which I’d like to keep for sentimental reasons.’

‘Right, then me and Ada will start on the cupboard, and there’s not much more after that. It hasn’t taken long, has it?’

‘What about yer clothes, sunshine?’ Ada asked. ‘Yer’ll need to take yer dresses and that nice warm coat of yours.’

‘Apart from a few pair of bloomers, which I’ll need over the next few days, the rest of me clothes are going in the tea chest on top of the bedding.’

Ada was full of admiration for the old lady. ‘I’ll tell yer what, sunshine, if I ever move house I’ll ask you and John to organise the proceedings. This is running like clockwork.’

‘Don’t you think of moving, Ada,’ Jean said, pulling a face. ‘We don’t want a lot of strangers in the street. I hope whoever takes this house over will be as good a neighbour as Eliza’s been. I’ll go mad if Mr Stone lets it to a noisy, rowdy family.’

‘Oh, Mr Stone won’t hand the keys over to a family like that, he’s very fussy who he takes on as tenants.’ Ada nodded knowingly. ‘He’s got his head screwed on the right way, and he’s a shrewd judge of character.’ Then she began to chuckle. ‘Mind you, he slipped up when he took Ivy Thompson on as a tenant. She’s noisy and rowdy if ever anyone was.’

‘Ooh, ay, ye’re right there, Ada,’ Jean said. ‘She’s a real big-mouthed bully. I was behind her in the Maypole the other day, and her language was so bad I didn’t know where to put meself. I was ashamed of me own sex. And I felt sorry for the young girl who was serving her, she was shaking like a leaf. Ivy had asked her for two ounces of tea . . . no, she didn’t ask, she demanded. All the customers in the shop were watching the poor girl as she weighed the tea on the scale, and the woman standing next to me said the manager should have come, not left the girl to it. Anyway, the tea was weighed and put in a bag which was handed to Ivy, and then the girl held her hand out for tuppence. And that was when Ivy took off and started banging on the counter, yelling that she’d been watching the girl weighing the tea and there wasn’t a full two ounces.’

Ada sighed. ‘She’d cause trouble in an empty house, that one. She doesn’t worry me, I give her back as good as she gives, but that young girl in the Maypole must have been terrified. I know when they get the job they are told to be pleasant, and that the customer is always right. But they shouldn’t have to put up with the likes of Ivy Thompson.’

‘Well, it ended up with the manager having to show his face. He didn’t stand up to Ivy, though, much to the disgust of all the women. Instead, he weighed the tea, then, the coward that he was, he added a little more to satisfy Ivy. And she walked out of that shop with her head in the air and a sneer on her face.’

Eliza had been listening intently. Then she voiced her feelings. ‘The Ivys of this world may seem to come off best because people are afraid of them. But, really, they don’t have a happy life because no one likes them and they don’t have any real friends. They are to be pitied, for they’ll never know how precious true friendship is.’

‘That’s right, sunshine,’ Ada agreed. ‘Ivy hasn’t got any friends. There’s a couple of women who hang around and pretend to be her friend, but only because they’re frightened of her.’

There were footsteps on the stairs, then Hetty appeared. ‘Edith sent me down to tell you we’re just about finished, and what time is tea break? She also told me to say that even prisoners in Walton jail get a tea break, but I won’t say that because it sounds cheeky.’

‘We wouldn’t like yer to be cheeky, sunshine,’ Ada winked at her friend, ‘so we’ll pretend yer didn’t say it. Just go and tell Edith I’m putting the kettle on now, so tea won’t be long. And while the kettle’s boiling, I’m slipping home to see if I can rustle up some biscuits so we can have a little tea party while we have the chance. We might not all be here at the same time again, so let’s go mad and enjoy ourselves.’

Eliza sat back in her chair, and, before anyone noticed, she wiped away a tear which was rolling down her cheek. It was the end of an era. But as Ada had told her, her memories were the most precious thing she had left, and she’d be taking those with her.

The news spread like wildfire in the street on the Friday morning. The taxi was coming to pick Eliza up at one o’clock, and women were leaving their houses from half twelve so they wouldn’t miss saying goodbye to the woman who was held in such great esteem by everyone. They hadn’t seen much of her in the last year or so, but when she was more agile she had been out every morning scrubbing her step, cleaning the window ledge and brushing the pavement in front of her house. She always had a smile and a good word for everyone who passed. And now they stood in groups, waiting to say goodbye and wish her well.

Inside the house, Ada and Hetty, with Jean and Edith, kept the conversation going to take Eliza’s mind off what was happening. She was nervous, and couldn’t keep her hands still as the fingers on the clock moved towards the hour. Her four neighbours were also nervous, and sad, but Ada did her best by telling of funny incidents which brought quiet laughter from her friends and a shaky smile from the old lady. Most of the tales were made up as she went along, but they were welcome for they helped to pass the time.

It was exactly one o’clock when the taxi turned into the street, and when Vera saw the groups of women standing on
the pavement outside and opposite her mother-in-law’s house, her tummy turned over with fear, for she thought something dreadful must have happened. When she stepped from the taxi to be greeted by friendly smiles, she gave a sigh of relief. But what were all these women standing around for?