The Girl From Number 22 (16 page)

Hetty waited for a few seconds, then, when there was no response, she bent down and lifted the letter box. ‘Ada, will yer open the door, please?’

Muttering that her friend was in for a mouthful, Ada threw the floorcloth into the bucket, wiped her wet hands down her pinny, and scrambled to her feet. ‘What d’yer want, Hetty? I told yer I’d be busy until eleven. I was on me hands and knees when yer knocked, so whatever it is yer want, it had better be good, or I’ll ruddy marmalise yer.’

‘It was Bob telling me that yer’d told him all the news, and that he’d got the message. That’s what he said, girl, but he couldn’t
get away quick enough. He practically snatched the money out of me hand and scarpered. What news did yer have to tell him, that’s what I want to know?’

Ada put a hand to her forehead and rubbed hard, saying, ‘God give me patience, don’t let me lose me temper.’ She looked down at her mate. ‘Have you got me off me knees to ask me that? Couldn’t yer have hung out until eleven? I mean, there hasn’t been an earthquake, or a thunderstorm, has there?’ Again she gave her forehead a vigorous rub. ‘If I was a woman who used bad language, sunshine, I’d say I felt like breaking yer bleeding neck.’

Hetty’s pursed lips gave her the appearance of being prim and proper. ‘Well, Ada Fenwick, there’s no need for that sort of language. I’m not used to it, and I strongly object to hearing it from a woman who is supposed to be me best friend.’

Ada let out a deep sigh. ‘What were yer doing when the rent man called, sunshine?’

‘I was just combing me hair,’ said a puzzled Hetty. ‘Me jobs were all done, so I was going to sit down and listen to the wireless until it was time to call for you.’

Waving a hand from her head to her feet, Ada said, ‘I was like this when he called here. I was nowhere near ready to comb me hair, or listen to the wireless. I had other things on me mind. Like scrubbing the floor to get all the sticky paste off. After that I was going to put as much of me furniture back in place as I could, and then polish it until I could see me face in it. Yer see, sunshine, Jimmy and Danny didn’t finish decorating until eleven o’clock last night, and the place was a mess. We were all too tired to clean up at that time of night, so I was met with it this morning.’

Hetty looked very uncomfortable as she shifted from one foot to the other. ‘I wasn’t to know, was I? I can’t see through ruddy walls, or I’d have come in and given yer a hand. It wouldn’t have hurt yer to shout over the yard wall and let me know yer were up to yer neck with all the jobs needing to be done.’

Ada’s irritation was beginning to evaporate. She shouldn’t be talking like this to her friend, who would be the first to roll up her sleeves and get stuck in if she was asked. So when she spoke, her voice was calm. ‘I’m sorry, sunshine, I shouldn’t let things get on top of me. Even though I do have a lot to do today, and me head is splitting, that’s no excuse for taking it out on you. You weren’t to know all this, and come what may, I will be ready to go to the shops with yer at eleven o’clock. And as for the rent man, he was being funny with yer ’cos I told him to tell Mr Stone that he better hadn’t put a rowdy family in Eliza’s house. That’s all it was, and he had no right to get narky with yer for that.’

‘Just wait until he calls next week, he’ll get a piece of my mind,’ Hetty said. ‘And if yer want a hand now, girl, I’d be only too willing.’

‘I know yer would, sunshine, but I’ll manage. We’d only be under each other’s feet. I’ll be ready for yer at eleven, even if I haven’t finished all the jobs. I can do a bit when we come back.’

Hetty couldn’t wait until eleven. ‘Did they finish the whole room off, girl? They must have worked really hard.’

‘The room’s not finished yet, there’s still some paintwork to do. Jimmy’s going to do the skirting board tonight, and the picture rail. The whole lot will be finished for the weekend.’

‘Ooh, I’m dying to see it, girl, I bet the room looks lovely. Are yer happy with it?’

Ada knew what her friend was angling for, but she was determined no one would see the room until she’d cleaned up. First impressions were important. ‘Yer’ll see it soon enough, sunshine, it won’t hurt yer to wait another hour. So will yer go home now, and let me get on with what I’ve got to do.’ She smiled to soften her words. ‘I’d have got the worst of it over if yer hadn’t been so nosy. So off yer pop, and I’ll see yer at eleven, not a minute before.’

‘All right, girl, I can take a hint, I don’t need a house to fall in on me.’ Hetty turned towards her own front door, saying, ‘It wouldn’t have hurt yer to let me have a little peek.’

‘Eleven o’clock,’ Ada said, shutting the door very firmly. She’d have to move like lightning to restore the room to some sort of order, and get herself washed and changed to look respectable.

Hetty’s eyes were wide as she gazed around the room. ‘Oh, Ada, it’s beautiful. I feel as though I’ve walked into the wrong house. They’ve certainly made a good job of it.’

Ada’s chest swelled with pride. ‘They worked hard. I bet they’re aching all over today. I was really surprised at Danny, ’cos he’s never decorated anything in his life before, only himself. But he kept up with Jimmy, and worked a treat. And don’t yer think the paper looks better now it’s on the wall than it did in the shop? And the place will look better still when the woodwork has been painted.’

The pale beige paper, patterned with soft green leaves, was a definite winner with Hetty. ‘Yer’ve got me dead jealous now, girl. My room will look miserable compared to this. I’ll have to get round Arthur to do our living room.’

A grin came over Ada’s face. ‘Well, use yer head for once, sunshine, and pick the right moment. If yer want a favour off yer
husband, always ask in bed. The minute his arm comes round yer waist, and yer know he’s feeling amorous, then that’s the time to ask him. Sweet-talk him first, of course, to get his temperature to rise, then nibble his ear and whisper what yer have in mind. He may regret it the next morning, and try to wriggle out of it, but there’s one way to shame him into keeping his promise.’

‘Oh, aye, and what’s that, girl? Come on, out with it. Yer know I’m not as crafty as you, and I need all the help I can get.’

Ada was silent for a while, until she had the scene set in her mind. Then she described it in detail to her mate. ‘One night, when ye’re having yer dinner, just say casually to Sally and Kitty that their dad has promised to decorate the living room, and ye’re going to buy the wallpaper the next day. And if Arthur starts to choke on a piece of potato, and yer know he’s about to say he never promised any such thing, then get in there quick and don’t let him. Back him into a corner by praising him to the girls, and saying how nice the room will look when it’s decorated. Don’t look him in the eye when ye’re saying all this, ’cos if yer do, he’ll be giving yer looks to kill, and ye’re soft enough to feel sorry for him.’

On Hetty’s face there was a look of incredulity. ‘Does your Jimmy know how devious his wife is?’

‘Oh, yeah, and so do the kids.’ Ada chuckled. ‘They take that into consideration every time I tell them anything. It’s part of the fun in this house. For instance, on the day Eliza hurt her ankle and couldn’t move off the bed, I told them what I told the butcher, that I’d climbed a ladder to get into her bedroom. But to make it sound more exciting, I told them I got one leg through the window and the ladder fell down, leaving me with one leg in and the other dangling in space outside.’ She chuckled again at the memory. ‘I didn’t tell them like I’m telling you, of
course, I did all the actions and made it like a Charlie Chase comedy.’

‘I bet they didn’t fall for it though,’ Hetty said with a huff.

‘They’re not that daft.’

‘They believed me until I brought the ladder on the scene, then the penny dropped. But by the time I’d finished they were all doubled up with laughter. Yer see, sunshine, yer don’t need money to have a happy home and family. A good laugh doesn’t cost yer a cent.’

‘I haven’t got the gift for telling tales like you have, girl, I’m sorry to say. My humour only stretches to laughing at another person’s jokes. The only thing I’ve had a talent for was singing. I was a really good singer when I was young, and in the school choir.’

‘Yer’ve never told me that before.’ Ada was surprised. ‘We’ve been mates for twenty years, and yer’ve kept yer secret hidden under a bushel.’

‘There didn’t seem any point in telling yer, girl, ’cos I haven’t sung in those twenty years. And if I’d said anything, it would have sounded as though I was bragging.’

‘I would never have thought that about yer, sunshine, ’cos ye’re the last person in the world I’d expect that from.’ Ada glanced at the clock and told herself it was time they were making a move to get their shopping in, instead of standing gabbing. But it wasn’t often her friend opened up and talked about herself. ‘Were yer really good at singing, then, sunshine? On yer own, I mean, not in a choir?’

‘There was nowhere for me to sing when I left school, because leaving school meant I had to leave the choir as well.’ Hetty’s eyes became bright when she said, ‘I used to sing at home with me dad. He had a wonderful voice, did me dad, and
he used to get me to join in with him when he was singing. He used to love all the old Irish songs, and with his lovely clear voice he could reach all the high notes. I can still remember the words to all those songs, but never have occasion to sing them.’

Ada shook her head, amazed at what she was hearing. ‘Just think, it’s taken us twenty years to find this out. D’yer know what, sunshine, my granny was Irish, and she taught me all the songs she remembered from the old country. A lot of them are sad, and I used to sit and cry me eyes out.’ Once again she shook her head. ‘I bet I know all the songs you know, but I haven’t got a singing voice.’

‘Oh, I don’t know, Ada, yer haven’t got a bad voice. Not the best in the world, like, but not the worst, either.’

‘Now how would you know that, sunshine, or are yer just saying it to be nice to me?’

‘Sod off, Ada Fenwick! Why would I say something just to be nice to yer? I might be frightened of Ivy Thompson, but I’m certainly not frightened of you. No, I know yer can sing ’cos I hear yer when ye’re raking the grate out. I’ve even heard yer singing in the kitchen on wash days, when yer’ve got the door open to let the condensation out.’ A smile played around Hetty’s mouth. ‘I’ve even heard yer singing in the yard, when ye’re on yer way to the lavvy.’

‘In the name of God,’ Ada gasped. ‘Can’t I even go to spend a penny without the neighbours knowing?’ She jerked her head towards the house on the other side of her. ‘I suppose Annie Fields knows every time I go to the lavvy, too! But how come you two know that, yet I don’t know when you or Annie go?’

‘There’s a simple explanation to that, girl, if yer think about
it. You advertise the fact, while me and Annie keep quiet about it.’

Once again Ada looked at the clock, and this time she took notice. ‘Shall we discuss this later, sunshine, ’cos if we don’t get out now, the shops will be closed for dinner.’

Hetty’s eyes went to the mantelpiece and she gasped. ‘Ooh, I didn’t realise it was that time, girl. I’ve been here over half an hour now.’

Ada buttoned her coat. ‘They say time passes quickly when ye’re having fun. To prove that right, you and me should be doubled up with laughter.’ She felt in her pocket to make sure her purse and keys were there, then pushed Hetty ahead of her. ‘When we get back, I’ll make a pot of tea and then we can have a little sing-song. Just you, me, and the new wallpaper.’

Ronnie Atwill waved through the window of his butcher’s shop when he saw the friends crossing the road, causing Hetty to remark, ‘Ronnie’s feeling in a friendly mood, girl. It’s not often we get a wave from him.’

‘He’s probably glad to see us, sunshine, ’cos Monday isn’t a busy day for him. A lot of people have a fry-up on a Monday, using the leftovers from the weekend. I’ve done it meself many a time, before Danny started work.’

‘Good morning, ladies, or should I say good afternoon, seeing as it’s twelve o’clock? Ye’re late today.’

‘I don’t give a bugger whether it’s morning, noon or night,’ Ada said. ‘It doesn’t make any difference to me; as long as I’ve got food in to feed the family I’m quite happy. So I’ll have six pork sausage and five slices of streaky bacon, please, Ronnie.’

‘Are yer having mashed potatoes with them, girl,’ Hetty asked, ‘or are yer giving them fried bread?’

‘I’m giving them mash, sunshine, it’s more filling for the men. I love fried bread meself, and I can feel me mouth watering at the thought of it, but the men need something more substantial after a day’s work.’

Hetty smiled at Barry, the young assistant. ‘I’ll have the same as me friend, love.’

When Ronnie was taking Ada’s money, he said, ‘There seems to be a lot of interest in Mrs Porter’s house, Ada. Several women have mentioned it this morning, and apparently there’s a few going down to the landlord’s office to put their name down for it. So from the sound of things, it won’t be long before yer have new neighbours.’

‘That’s just idle gossip, Ronnie, ’cos only the people in the street know Eliza has left. Anyway, she’s paid up until next Saturday, so really it’s still her house. Whoever’s been talking to yer have been talking through their hat.’

‘I don’t know so much,’ the butcher said. ‘A couple of the women are noted for being gossips, but two of them are very respectable. I won’t tell yer their names ’cos I don’t want to start a war, but they were saying their landlord doesn’t look after their property, and they’ve heard Mr Stone is a good landlord. Anyway, we’ll find out soon enough, ’cos let’s face it, Ada, he’s not going to let the house stand empty for long when he can be earning money from it.’

‘As yer say, Ronnie, we’ll find out soon enough. But if the ladies ye’re talking about have gone down to the rent office, I think they’ll be disappointed, for I know for a fact that Mr Stone has a very long waiting list. And now, Hetty, let’s get cracking. I’ve got loads to do.’

‘Hang on a minute, girl, I haven’t paid yet.’ Hetty handed some coins over to the young assistant. ‘I think yer’ll find that’s
exactly the right money, son.’ She linked Ada’s arm. ‘Ta-ra for now.’