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  ‘Yeah, me mam’s old mates. Women I used to run messages for and played with their children. I didn’t get a chance to talk to them, apart from Monica Platt, but I had a feeling they were cheering me on.’

  ‘And to think I missed all this,’ Amy said, shaking her head. ‘Did yer really threaten to put a window in?’

  ‘Yeah, sunshine, I did. But I can’t say I’m pleased with meself, shouting in the street like a common fish-wife.’

  ‘I wonder what yer dad will make of it?’

  ‘I’m not going to say a dickie bird to anyone, Amy, and I’m relying on you to keep it to yerself. I’m not even going to tell Stan.’

  ‘Yer can’t keep it a secret, girl, ’cos the queer one is bound to tell yer dad.’

  ‘I doubt it, Amy, I really doubt it. She’s not that soft, she knows me dad wouldn’t take her part, not now. Yer see, although he’s never said anything, I think he wishes he could wake up one morning and find he’s been having a nightmare, and there’s no such person as Celia. There’s no wedded bliss in that house, I can tell yer. There couldn’t be, there’s no room for it with all the dirt.’

  Amy blew out a long, deep sigh. ‘Come on, girl, let’s get the shopping in. I’ll mug us to two cream buns, to have with a cup of tea when we get home. And then yer can go all over it again in slow motion, so I haven’t missed anything.’

  Mary pushed open the door of the Maypole, but before stepping inside, she turned her head. ‘What I’ve told yer was for your ears only, remember that. Not even a word in Ben’s ear when ye’re in bed.’

  ‘Ay, girl, when I’m in bed I’m too busy being otherwise engaged to talk. That’s for when yer’ve read all the Echo and there’s nowt on the wireless worth listening to.’

  When Amy saw a smile light up Mary’s face, her heart lifted. After a cup of tea and a cream bun, her friend’s worries would have all but disappeared. Please God.

  Chapter Eight

  Janet Porter’s smile was wide when she opened the front door. ‘Jenny! Oh, am I glad to see you! I’ve been going to come round to yours a few times, but I was worried that yer might have gone a bit stuck up, now ye’re working in an office.’

  ‘Don’t be daft, it’s just a job, same as any other.’ Jenny was pleased with the smile of welcome from the girl who had been her friend all through school. ‘D’yer feel like coming for a walk, so we can have a good gab and catch up with our news?’

  Janet held the door wide. ‘I’m helping me mam wash the dishes, so yer can come in and wait for us, I won’t be long. She’ll be glad to see yer, she’s always asking about yer.’

  Jenny followed her friend into the living room where her father and brother were seated at the table. ‘Hello, Mr Porter. Hi-ya, Bill.’

  ‘Hello, stranger, long time no see.’ Vincent Porter flicked the butt of his cigarette into the fireplace and hooked his thumbs into his braces. ‘How’s the job going, lass?’

  ‘It’s fine, I love it.’

  The sounds from the kitchen stopped and Janet’s mother came through, drying her hands on her pinny. ‘Well, well, a stranger in the camp. It’s good to see yer, queen, I thought yer’d fallen out with us.’

  Jenny smiled. ‘Now as if I would. Me and Janet have never fallen out, have we, Jan?’

  ‘No, not once.’ Janet pointed to a chair. ‘Sit down, Jenny, while I help me mam finish the dishes, then we can go out.’

  Martha Porter shook her head. ‘Yer don’t have to help, queen, I’ve nearly finished. But don’t be rushing off out, I want to hear about Jenny’s job.’

  Jenny sat down facing Janet’s sixteen-year-old brother, Bill, who had so far not opened his mouth. He couldn’t think of anything to say to the girl whose leg he used to pull something terrible. But she wasn’t a schoolgirl any more, she was a young lady, and a very attractive one at that.

  ‘I’m only a filing clerk, really,’ Jenny told them, the grin never leaving her face and her eyes shining. ‘But the manager is letting me practise on one of the typewriters and I’m hoping I make the grade as a typist.’ Her familiar infectious giggle brought smiles to the other four faces. ‘It’ll be years before I get me speed up to match the other women, though. Their fingers just fly over the keys so fast they make yer dizzy. So far I’m only using the one finger on each hand, although I was daring this morning and tried with two.’

  ‘Yer’ll get there, queen, don’t worry,’ Martha said with conviction. ‘Yer know what they say about Rome not being built in a day.’

  ‘If they’d only been using two fingers, Mrs Porter, it would never have got built.’ Jenny could feel Bill’s eyes on her. ‘What’s the matter with you, Bill Porter? Ye’re staring at me as though I’ve got horns sticking out of me head.’

  ‘I’m trying to make out who yer are.’ Like his parents and sister, Bill had rich chestnut-coloured hair, eyes that were constantly changing from brown to hazel, a square chin and a broad nose. ‘They keep calling yer Jenny, but the only Jenny I know is one who cadged a bull’s-eye off me last time I saw her, and she was wearing a gymslip.’

  Her eyes dancing, Jenny leaned closer. ‘What’s the matter, Bill, d’yer want yer bull’s-eye back?’

  Janet was getting impatient. ‘Ay, come on, Jenny, let’s go for a walk.’

  ‘I’ll come with yer,’ Bill said, bringing a smile to his mother’s face. ‘A bit of fresh air will do me good.’

  ‘Yer will not!’ Janet was indignant. ‘Me and Jenny want to talk, and it wouldn’t interest you ’cos it’s girls’ talk.’

  ‘Oh, let him go with yer,’ Martha said, thinking to do her son a favour. ‘Get him out of our way for an hour.’

  ‘Ah, ay, Mam! I’m not having me brother traipsing around with us! Me and Jenny want to catch up on our news and we won’t be able to talk with him there.’

  ‘Just hang on a minute.’ Bill sat upright in his chair. ‘What about when I used to have to traipse around with you? I couldn’t go to the Saturday matinée without yer crying to come with me. I couldn’t even have a game of footie with me mates without dragging you along. I used to get me leg pulled soft over you. And yer were a proper little pest, always whinging.’

  Janet was having a quick change of heart. If he mentioned that she used to wet her knickers she’d die of humiliation. ‘What d’yer think, Jenny?’

  ‘I don’t mind, honestly. Although I think he’d be bored stiff.’

  ‘No chance of that.’ Bill was looking decidedly pleased with himself. ‘I’ve always wondered what girls find to talk about. And yer should be pleased to have a handsome escort, who can see yer both safely home.’

  Martha and Vincent exchanged knowing looks. Their son must have taken a shine to young Jenny, that was the only reason they could think of. Wild horses wouldn’t have dragged him out of the door to go for a walk with his sister. ‘Make sure Jenny’s home by ten,’ Martha said, ‘in case her mother worries where she is.’

  When Bill got to his feet, Jenny gaped. ‘Good grief, you haven’t half got big since the last time I saw yer.’

  While Bill grew two inches in stature, his mother did the bragging. ‘Five feet ten inches, he is, and still growing. And he takes a size ten shoe.’

  ‘If he keeps on at that rate, Mrs Porter,’ Jenny said as she slipped her handbag over her arm, ‘yer’ll have to be looking for another house.’

  After seeing the youngsters out, Martha came back chuckling. ‘D’yer know what, love? I think the penny’s just dropped with our Bill. He’s finally noticed the difference between boys and girls.’

  Much to Bill’s dismay, the two girls linked arms with Jenny walking on the inside. Wanting to make a good impression, the boy had no option but to act the gentleman and walk on the outside, putting him next to his sister.

  Jenny was in a very happy frame of mind. It was lovely to be with her old schoolfriend again. ‘How’s your job, Janet, d’yer like it?’

  ‘Very hot and very tiring.’ Janet was working in the pressing room of a laundry.
‘The women are nice, and we have a good laugh, but in the hot weather it’s killing. What with the heat from the pressers and the steam, the sweat just pours off yer. I never thought I’d hear meself say this, but I’ll be glad when the winter comes.’

  ‘It’s a job, our kid, that’s the main thing,’ Bill said. ‘If yer think it’s hot in your place, yer should try working with me, in the tannery. But when I get me wage-packet on a Saturday I forget how I’ve had to sweat to earn it.’

  ‘Ye’re sixteen now, aren’t yer, Bill?’ Jenny leaned forward so she could see him. ‘Yer’ll be earning more than me, I only get seven and six a week.’

  ‘I started on that, but I’ve had two rises since. It was me birthday a few weeks ago, and me pay went up to nine and six a week. Not bad, eh?’

  ‘Not bad!’ His sister’s voice rose. ‘It’s blooming marvellous! Especially when me mam only takes five bob off yer, the same as she does me.’ She squeezed Jenny’s arm. ‘He’s a real mammy’s boy, this one. She gives him all his own way, spoils him soft.’

  ‘I pay me own fares out of it, and buy me own shoes.’ Bill glared at his sister. Mammy’s boy indeed. ‘You’ll get the same when ye’re earning it.’

  ‘I hope you two don’t come to blows.’ Jenny laughed. ‘Yer’ve both got hot jobs and hot tempers to go with them.’

  ‘It’s his fault,’ Janet said, as they turned into County Road. ‘We should have left him at home.’

  It wasn’t long before Bill was himself wishing they’d left him at home. Why did they have to look in every shop window? Shoe shops, dress shops, jewellers, even blinking hat shops! And they didn’t just glance in the windows, they spent ages pointing out a dress that they’d buy if they had the money. And those high-heeled shoes, well, they’d definitely be getting a pair like that, they were the last word in fashion. Blimey, he thought, it doesn’t take much to make girls happy. Men now, they only ventured near shops when something wore out.

  ‘I hate to break it up, girls, but it’s starting to get dark and I think we should be making our way back. I don’t want Jenny’s mam telling me off for keeping her out late.’

  There was a wicked glint in Janet’s eyes when she turned to him. ‘I bet yer’ve really enjoyed yerself, haven’t yer? Think what yer’d have missed if yer’d stayed home.’ She was turning her head when she spotted a familiar figure on the opposite side of the road. Giving Jenny a nudge, she pointed. ‘Ay, am I seeing things, or is that your Laura over there? Yeah, it is, because she’s got that horrible Cynthia with her.’

  Jenny clamped her lips together when she saw her sister hanging on to a boy’s arm and laughing up into his face. And behind them walked Cynthia, also engrossed in the boy she was linking. They looked like courting couples, but Jenny had never set eyes on the boys before. Her mam would go mad if she knew. She was always telling Laura that if she ever had a date the boy must call for her, so they could see him. And these weren’t boys, either, they were men, much older than her sixteen-year-old sister. ‘Don’t let them see us. Yer know what our Laura’s like for showing off.’

  ‘Is she courting?’ Janet asked. ‘Is that her boyfriend?’

  ‘I couldn’t tell yer, she’s never mentioned having a boyfriend.’

  ‘If she has, she’s two-timing him something rotten,’ Bill said. ‘I’ve seen her with loads of fellers, but I’ve never seen those two blokes before.’

  Jenny peeped over her shoulder. ‘They won’t see us now, so let’s go. Wherever our Laura’s off to, I hope she keeps her eye on the time because she’s got to be in by half ten.’

  Bill decided to be daring. ‘Let me walk between yer, then yer’ve got to let me join in the conversation. As long as it’s not about dresses, shoes or flaming hats!’

  This had the girls laughing and they kept it up all the way home. Funny incidents at work were remembered and exaggerated for maximum effect. And it was a happy trio who stood outside Jenny’s front door. ‘I’ve really enjoyed meself, it’s been lovely seeing yer again, Jan. And you, Bill, of course.’

  ‘I’ll come round here tomorrow night, shall I?’ Janet jerked her head at her brother. ‘We can talk better without the queer feller with us.’

  Jenny cocked an ear when she heard the lock turning. She just had time to whisper, ‘Don’t mention our Laura, please,’ when the door opened.

  Mary’s face showed her pleasure. ‘Janet, it’s lovely to see yer again, I’ve missed that cheeky smile of yours.’ Her gaze went to the boy with them. ‘My God, Bill Porter, I didn’t recognise yer! Ye gods, yer haven’t half shot up.’

  ‘It’s me mam’s dumplings and pies, Mrs Nightingale. I keep telling her I don’t want two helpings, but she just keeps piling me plate high. She always makes too much, yer see, and to save her walking down the yard to the midden, she makes me eat it.’

  ‘Well, whatever it is, son, ye’re looking well on it. And you, Janet, yer look a treat, a sight for sore eyes.’ Mary was happy to see her daughter’s smiling face, and in the company of youngsters her own age. ‘Has Jenny asked yer if yer’ll go to the pictures with her one night?’

  ‘She hasn’t asked me yet, Mrs Nightingale, but yer see, we haven’t said half what we want to because of big brother here. He’s cramped our style something awful.’

  ‘I’ll take yer to the pictures, Jenny,’ Bill said. ‘If yer’ll do me the honour.’

  Jenny’s clear laugh filled the night air. She was used to Bill pulling her leg, he’d done it for as long as she could remember. Many’s the time she’d fallen for one of his jokes, but not now, she was wise to him. ‘I’m too big for yer to pull me leg now, Billy, and I’m not daft enough to fall for that.’

  Where he got the nerve from, Billy would never know, but out came the words he was thinking. ‘It’s because ye’re big I’m asking yer, Jenny. I wouldn’t want to take no girl in a gymslip to the pictures.’

  ‘Ooh, er!’ Janet started to giggle. ‘The state of him and the price of fish! Take no notice of him, Jenny, he’s acting the goat. He’s always saying he can’t stand girls. Oh, what he said was, God slipped up when He gave them mouths. They wouldn’t be half bad if they didn’t have that hole in their faces.’

  Mary looked on with amusement. She wasn’t so sure the boy was joking. It was dusk now, too dark to see her daughter’s face clearly, but she’d bet any money that Jenny was blushing to the roots of her hair. She was soon to find out how wrong she was.

  Far from blushing, Jenny found it so hilarious she couldn’t stop giggling. Bill had always made her laugh, the things he came out with. It never entered her head he could be serious. ‘If you didn’t have that hole in yer face, Bill Porter, yer mam wouldn’t have to slave over a hot stove all day. Just think of the money she’d save. And, you wouldn’t be able to take the mickey out of people, as yer are now.’

  Bill told himself it was best to quit while he was still ahead. After all, he hadn’t thought of Jenny Nightingale for ages, until she walked into their house a couple of hours ago. And he’d be seeing a lot of her in future through his sister. ‘I keep asking me mam to give me the money instead of the food, but she won’t hear of it. I’ve reached the conclusion she’s a sucker for punishment and likes slaving over a hot stove all day.’

  ‘If you weren’t so big, I’d hit yer!’ Janet shook a fist in his face. ‘Will yer keep yer mouth closed long enough for me and me mate to make arrangements to go to the pictures?’ She watched as he stood to attention and saluted. She felt more like kissing him than hitting him. He was a good brother, always looking after her when she was little, protecting her when someone older than her picked a fight with her. He made sure she never came to any harm. Even now when she went out, he always asked where she was going and who with. You didn’t get many like him in a pound. ‘What night were yer thinking of, Jenny?’

  ‘How about Saturday?’ Jenny had her hands clasped under her chin. ‘We could go to the first house, then yer could come back here and have a game of cards. That’s if yer ma
m will have no objections.’

  ‘She won’t mind, the only thing is, she likes me to be in by ten o’clock. She doesn’t like me being out in the dark on me own, either.’

  Bill saw his opening. ‘That’s all right. I’ll pick yer up at ten and walk yer home.’

  Janet voiced her surprise. ‘What! You go out every Saturday night! The highlight of yer week, that is. It takes yer ten minutes to flatten yer hair with Brylcreem and another ten minutes to polish yer shoes until yer can see yer face in them.’

  Bill roared with laughter. ‘A bit of an exaggeration, Jan, but I do have a lot of hair to flatten, and I do have big shoes to shine. Anyway, for your information, me and Johnny had decided not to go anywhere this Saturday because we’re saving up to have a day in Blackpool. So as we’ll be at a loose end, yer’ll have two escorts home.’

  ‘Yer can’t ask fairer than that, sunshine,’ Mary said. ‘Grab the offer while yer can.’

  ‘I’ll come tomorrow night and we can see what’s on that takes our fancy.’ Janet didn’t want to arrange things now because she had a feeling her brother was up to something. ‘I don’t want to go to the Atlas, though, ’cos Herbert Marshall’s on and I think he’s too old to be a heart-throb.’ She linked her brother’s arm. ‘Come on, Bill, let’s get going before yer open yer mouth again and we’re here all night.’

  Jenny stood on the step with her arm across her mother’s shoulders and waved them off. ‘I’m glad I went round, Mam, it was lovely being with Janet again.’

  ‘Bill’s grown into a fine-looking boy,’ Mary said, closing the door. ‘Nice with it, too.’

  ‘Yeah, he’s a scream the things he gets up to.’ Jenny smiled at her father who was hammering studs into the worn-down heel of one of his shoes. ‘Still at it, eh, Dad?’