Outside in the street, Ellen and Grandad had climbed out of the car and were at the door, when they heard the sweet sound of Maddy singing.
“By, that lass has such a beautiful voice.” Bob Maitland did not spare his praise. “The pair of you should be earning a fortune on the stage.”
Ellen thanked him for saying so, but added, “I can sing, yes. But Maddy has a magical way with a song. She lifts the soul in a way I could never do. I reach the notes and I entertain. People
Curling his arm round her thin shoulders, her grandfather looked down on her. “I’m so proud of you,” he told her. “When you were no higher than the table, you could always entertain… singing away to your heart’s content. You have a lovely voice, my girl. Don’t ever forget that.”
But he knew what she meant about Maddy. When Ellen sang, it made you sing along, and smile with pleasure. But when
It was late morning. The beds were made, the washing was blowing freely on the line, and the meat pie for dinner was in the pantry, ready for reheating in the oven later in the afternoon.
“It’s such a nice day,” Grandad suggested, “why don’t the two of you go into town, have a couple of hours to yourselves? The young lad’s just been fed and I can take care of him; you’ve seen me change his nappy and rub his back. You could have a drink at a cafe – and what about that new dress shop in Lytham? I heard the pair of you saying how much you’d like to pay a visit. Well, now’s your chance.”
“But it’s a half-hour bus ride to Lytham,” Ellen protested half-heartedly.
“Then take the car, and you’ll get there a bit quicker. I filled the tank up only last night, so there’s no reason not to go. Besides, the pair of you haven’t been out together for days. And don’t worry about young Michael. He’ll be fine with me.”
The girls were grateful for his offer.
“It’s true,” Ellen told Maddy, “we’ve not really been anywhere for days now, except for this morning when I went for a job at Woolworth’s and was turned down, because,” in thin, nasal tones, she mimicked the manageress, “‘I’m sorry, my dear, but we have so many applicants, we can pick and choose. And of course we must give priority to someone who’s experienced.’”
“You wouldn’t have liked it anyway,” Maddy grinned. “You know you can’t stand being cooped up.”
“Yes, you’re right. I couldn’t stomach being stuck behind a counter for eight hours a day.”
“There’s many as do.” Grandad had his say. “Needs do when needs must.”
“Oh Grandad, I understand that. But you know what my feet are like, and I’ve worn high heels for so long, I couldn’t do without them. But they’re not ideal for standing on all day long.”
Maddy teased her, “You’re missing a lot though, Ellen. Think how many Nora Winterhouses you might get to serve?”
Ellen made a face. “That settles it,” she declared. “I think I’ll look for a job as an usherette at the pictures. That way I’ll be in the dark, and I can scowl to my heart’s content.”
Grandad finished the conversation. “You said you wouldn’t go looking for work until the summer, so I don’t see why you shouldn’t stick to that plan. Unless o’course, you’re all spent up?”
Ellen shook her head. “Not yet,” she told him. “Me and Maddy did our sums only the other day, and we’re all right for a while yet.”
“There you are then.” Old Bob was pleased at that. “Once you start work, there’ll be no time for walking round the shops or strolling through the park. So make the best use of it while you can.”
A few moments later, Ellen and Maddy were away down the street in Grandad’s Rover. “I’ll telephone you when we get there!” Maddy called through the open window. “Meantime, if you need help before then, get Nora in from next door.”
“I’d rather walk around for a week with a bucket on my head!” he shouted back.
“I reckon he would an’ all,” Ellen laughed.
Maddy knew he would be absolutely fine. Michael was a good baby. With his belly full and his bottom comfortable, he would probably sleep for the next three to four hours. “All the same, if there’s the slightest problem when we get there, will you bring me straight back?” she asked.
“Course I will,” Ellen replied, “but we’ll only be gone two hours – three at the most.” She gave a sigh. “Oh Maddy, it’s so good to be out on the open road. If it wasn’t for you-know-who, I’d be perfectly happy living as we are for the rest of my days. I wish they’d hanged him. Then we’d really be safe.”
Maddy was astonished. She had never heard Ellen talk like that. “What’s going to become of us?” she asked quietly. When the baby had arrived so unexpectedly, the girls’ plans to move out and rent a place together had been put on hold. And now it seemed cruel to bring the subject up, as Grandad was in his element with little Michael in the house.
“I don’t know.” Ellen had often wondered the very same thing. “Are you happy here, Maddy?”
Maddy nodded. “Well, if I’m honest, I can’t say I’m exactly ‘happy.’ It’s more like… well, feeling secure. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful.”
But Ellen agreed. “I know what you mean,” she said, negotiating the junction. “We’re almost like prisoners, but we can’t go back, not ever. London is finished, where we are concerned.”
“I have to!” Maddy had a sense of panic. “One day, I
Now it was Ellen’s turn to panic. “Do you think that’s wise?” she entreated. “Raymond already told you – he took care of Alice. It would be dangerous for you to go back there. I mean, you can’t know what Steve Drayton is up to, can you?”
Just the mention of his name sent shivers through Maddy.
For the remainder of the journey, both she and Ellen lapsed into deeper thoughts of what had transpired, back there in London.
“Here we are!” Excited and chatty once again, Ellen parked the car by the promenade.
“Look.” Pointing down the road, Maddy informed her, “There’s a phone booth. You get the parking ticket and I’ll give Grandad a ring.”
Between the two of them they found enough coinage for the ticket machine so, leaving Ellen to do the business, Maddy ran the few yards to the phone booth.
A few minutes later she was back. “Everything’s fine,” she told Ellen. “Michael is still fast asleep, and Grandad said we’re not to fuss.” She took his gruff manly voice off to a T. “‘I’ll have you know, I am perfectly capable of looking after a scrap of humanity without being checked up on every few minutes!’”
“That’s Grandad for you,” Ellen laughed. “He’s not about to be organized by some snip of a girl! And although it will kill him to do it, he
Reassured, Maddy suggested they should make straight for a cafe. “I fancy a mug of hot chocolate.” She licked her lips.
“You and your chocolate!” Ellen chuckled. “It’s a wonder you’re not twice round as the gasworks.”
As it turned out, the cafe did not do hot chocolate. “There’s not enough profit in it,” said the owner, a surly man of weasel build. “Pots of tea, coffee and thick bacon butties. That’s where the money is.”
Needless to say, Ellen and Maddy decided to walk down to the bigger cafe, further along, where the middle-aged, bottle-blonde waitress told them. “He’ll not be there for long. He’s a miserable, dirty old bugger. We’ve already poached the bulk of his customers.”
She was the sort of person who could turn her hand to anything. She took their order, made the hot chocolate, and served them each a freshly made cheese and onion toastie, which they ate with relish. “I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a mug of hot chocolate so much,” Maddy told her as they paid at the till.
“It’s my own recipe,” the woman imparted in a whisper. “The secret is to whisk the milk to a frenzy and get the air bubbles up – makes it nice and light. Then of course, there’s my own special ingredient,” which she wasn’t about to reveal, “then a dash of nutmeg finishes it off a treat.”
Next stop was to give Grandad another call from the booth outside. “How’s it going?” Maddy asked. “Is Michael still asleep?”
“No.”
“How long has he been awake? Is he crying? Maybe he needs his nappy changing!”
“Hey!” Grandad’s stern voice cut her short. “Enough of the panicking. Your baby son is lying here, kicking his legs and gurgling. Later, I might take him for a walk down the street. The fresh air will happen send him off again.”
When Maddy was about to make a suggestion, he preempted her. “No, I won’t forget to make sure he’s covered up warm, and yes, if he needs his bottom changed I’m quite capable of doing that an’ all. Now go and enjoy yourselves and stop fretting.”
A little more reassurance and Maddy went away satisfied. “He’s very special, your grandad,” she told Ellen as they walked along. “Nothing is too much trouble for him.”
Ellen confided in her. “It was wrong of me to desert him like I did,” she said, “but you know what it’s like. I wanted to see the big wide world, thought I’d find fame and fortune. And here I am, yes, with money in the bank, and yes, I’ve had my name on posters and I’ve seen the sights of London town.” She gave a sad little smile. “I went away searching for my dream, when all along what I really needed was a simple, quiet life.”
She took a deep invigorating breath. “But I’m back now, and I mean to stay.”
“Will you be content to stay in these parts forever, though?” Maddy had seen for herself, how quickly and easily Ellen had fitted back into her hometown, like a foot in an old slipper.
For what seemed an age, Ellen lapsed into a brooding silence, before turning to Maddy with a deep, knowing smile. “We all of us belong somewhere,” she murmured wisely. “I belong here.” That was all. But it was from the heart. And in a way, Maddy envied her.
The shopping center was designed round a small square, with seats and flowerbeds, and wide walkways where a body could pass without shuffling and pressing against other people.
“I think I’ll pop in there.” Ellen stopped to look in the window of the new dress shop. There were dummies clothed in pretty dresses in the latest styles; shoes and
