‘With a bit of luck it will rain tomorrow and we’ll be busy most of the day. I dare you to keep up with the washing-up then,’ Marge said, roaring with laughter again at the look on Ruby’s face.
‘Why would you wish for rain? Haven’t we had enough these past few months? I’ve never known such a miserable summer.’
Marge tapped the side of her nose as if imparting some important secret. ‘You watch them come rushing in to get out of the rain. I sell more tea and buns, as well as cups of Bovril, to people who come in to shelter from the weather than I do some dinnertimes.’
‘In that case, we must pray for rain,’ Ruby chuckled. ‘As long as it isn’t on wash day.’
‘Ah, about Monday. Is there any chance your mother could help you out with the washing? It’s just that my old man has had another of his queer turns, and he’s been told by the doctor to stay in bed for the next week. I’m going to have to look after the other place – which means you’ll be on your own here, and I need you to work on Monday as well. Is that a problem? Anyroad, I’ll leave you to crack on and you can tell me before we lock up later. All right?’
Ruby nodded and returned to drying the last of the crockery, stacking it as she went. Of course, she could do with the money, if only to tuck it away in her savings tin hidden at the back of the pantry, ready for a rainy day. She’d not had to dip into the tin once to pay the rent since working here because, as good as his word, Eddie had picked up a few shifts down at the coalyard, with the promise of more once the colder months crept in. Milly too had found herself a few hours cleaning each day in the Prince of Wales Hotel, only a five-minute walk from their home. With luck, they’d soon have enough put by for more furniture and some home comforts. They had use of the pieces left by the previous tenant, but Ruby had a fancy to have her own bits and pieces around her so she felt more settled – not that she had any thoughts of moving away from Alexandra Road. If she had her way, she’d one day purchase the house from Cedric and have, for the first time in her life, a security she’d never known before. If she envied her two older sisters anything, it was that their husbands had invested wisely and now owned their homes. While living in rented rooms in Woolwich she had dreamt of being like her sisters – a property owner. At the time, she’d scoffed at her own dreams, but held them close to her heart in the hope that one day . . . If she shared her dream with her husband, she knew Eddie would say she was barmy. He probably wasn’t even interested in owning their own home. But just perhaps, with three adults working, it could be done. Stella had told her how some of the sixty-plus terraced homes that ran each side of Alexandra Road were already sold to families, while others remained in the ownership of the family of builders who’d created the rows of bay-fronted homes. It was one of these builders who had passed a house to Cedric to clear his gambling debts. Ruby had never been so thankful to be able to rent number thirteen.
When the time came to lock up the cafe and head for home, Ruby turned to Marge. ‘I’d like to work on Monday. I’ll do the laundry on Sunday.’
Marge enveloped Ruby in her chubby arms and thanked her. ‘Mind you, I’d think twice about doing your washing on the Lord’s day. You could be bringing trouble down on your head.’
‘I’ll be in more trouble if my husband doesn’t have any clean undergarments,’ she grinned. ‘The Lord I can deal with, but Eddie’s another kettle of fish.’
‘Be off with you,’ Marge guffawed, nudging Ruby in the ribs. ‘It would take a braver woman than me to hang out my washing on a Sunday. What are your neighbours like – would they approve?’
Ruby shrugged her shoulders. ‘I can’t say I’ve met them. I know there’s an old lady on one side; she seems to live on her own. I’ve only seen her when she twitched her net curtains to watch our George kick a ball about in the road. I waved in a friendly way, but she straightened her curtains and disappeared. Whether she approved of that or not, I don’t know. On the other side there are a couple with two older children. I would think they are past the age of fourteen, so must work somewhere. They seemed friendly enough when I saw them at their gate one morning leaving for work, although they were a little aloof. I’ll get up extra early tomorrow and have the washing on the line, then I’ll disappear indoors. If my neighbours can’t see me to speak to, they can’t complain.’ Ruby grinned, kissing Marge on the cheek and heading for home. She nodded to customers she recognized as she headed down the high street and into Manor Road.
The pay packet Marge had handed to her weighed heavy in her pocket. Hopefully the extra hours she’d worked this week would show in the envelope and it wasn’t just full of farthings and halfpennies taken from the jar left on the counter for tips. She might just have enough to pay off the splendid sideboard she’d placed a deposit on while browsing last week in Mitchell’s second-hand furniture emporium. To her eyes it looked almost new, and it would fit perfectly in the front room, with its four cupboard doors and a mirrored back. She’d soon have the splendid mahogany cabinet shining in the sun that
