Northern Girl (23 page)

‘What about your ’ands, then, ower Tom?’

‘“Hands”,’ Rene called out in exasperation.

‘Ah washed them before I came out to get you, you cheeky monkey. Just hurry up and get yourself to the table. We’re all starving, here!’

‘Starvin’ indeed!’ Hannah retorted. ‘That’ll be the day.’

Everyone tucked into their tea, and they continued to try to keep the mood light, mostly for Jeannie’s sake, because Jeannie had no idea about the problem hanging over them, and that’s how they wanted to keep it – for the time being, anyway.

But when Tom glanced across the table towards Dominic, his stomach churned. There were times when Tom despised the weaker side of his character: the way he buried his head in the sand whenever he found himself in a tricky situation. He was weak because he couldn’t fight this tendency; and yet he could fight with
his fists if he had to. It wasn’t so long since he’d helped that lass Maisie out at the dance, he reminded himself. But give him anything emotional to sort out, and he couldn’t cope. His only defence was humour. Trouble with that was, it made everyone else think he didn’t care.

Dominic was being regaled by one of Jack’s stories, and Tom, watching, wondered: What can I say to him? What kind of a message shall I send Maddie, when I don’t have the means to take care of her? He wondered why he had been so bloody selfish and taken her on that warm September day. But then he reminded himself how they’d
both
felt then. There was no doubt she’d wanted him as much as he’d wanted her.

He thought of some of his mates, who went with lasses all the time and got away with it. Then he thought of poor Maddie, the last lass on earth to be too free with her favours. And the one time she let herself go, look what bloody happened …

‘
Tom! Tom!
Are yer deaf or what?’ Jeannie’s voice brought him back with a start.

‘Oh! Sorry, Jeannie, I was enjoying me tea so much that I went off to paradise, and I couldn’t hear you mortals down here,’ Tom answered with a grin.

‘Oh, you, Tom. Yer always foolin’ around.’ Jeannie gave him a gentle push.

He looked around the table, and everyone was busily chatting and tucking in, so he hadn’t been missed while he’d been day-dreaming about France. And it really
had
been paradise there, particularly during those last few
months. Oh yes, he’d loved Maddie all right, he’d adored everything about her. Looking at Jeannie now, he asked, half-heartedly, ‘Well, what was so important, that you had to bring me back from paradise for, then, missy?’

‘Ah want yer ter teach me to play “itchy bays”!’ she announced, in no doubt that Tom would know how to play. After all, he knew everything, didn’t he?

Tom’s initial reaction was to say not now, but the part of him that still needed more time to think seized on the opportunity to delay a little longer. So he answered, ‘I think you mean hopscotch, don’t you? Well, we’ll need some chalk, and a “dabber” to throw.’

‘What, yer mean like a piece of slate, or something?’ Jeannie was asking, as Hannah, hearing the tail end of the conversation, butted in.

‘Well, yer not ter be chalkin’ in my backyard. Ah’ve got enough ter do without havin’ ter wash “itchy bays” off the yard.’

‘Nooo, Gran! We’ll do it in the back street,’ Jeannie explained.

‘Yer’ll do no such thing,’ said Hannah, in no uncertain terms.

‘Where
can
we do it, then?’ Jeannie asked.

‘Aw, come on, Mam,’ said Tom. ‘I’ll clean it up after I’ve shown her how to play.’

‘Come on, Gran!’ Jeannie pleaded, putting on her best anguished look.

‘Oh, just this once, then,’ Hannah relented. ‘After that yer’ll have ter chalk it out in the school yard at playtime.’

‘Well, ah
will
, Gran, once ah know how ter play it.’

‘You weren’t being a bit cheeky to your gran there, were you, Jeannie?’ said Rene, catching her daughter’s tone of voice. Rene had broken off the conversation she’d been having with Jack and Dominic.

‘Nooo, Mam. Ah wuz just tellin’ her that ah’ll only mess up the yard once, that’s all it’ll take. Cause ah’m such a fast learner, aren’t ah, Tom?’

This comment made the whole family laugh. Even Rene concealed a smile – and ignored her daughter’s terrible grammar for once.

‘Aye, you’re a fast learner, all right,’ Tom answered. Too fast for my liking, he thought, as he glanced at Hannah, who he could see was thinking along the same lines as him. Maybe it was just as well that she and Rene would be moving out of the village, because otherwise Jeannie might end up like the brazen lasses at Bank Top. After all, there wasn’t much else for youngsters to do. Nowt’s likely to change there either, he mused, as he put a last forkful of food in his mouth.

He looked around the table. Dominic and Jack were talking about the coal mine, and it was obvious from Dominic’s expression that he was horrified by Jack’s stories. And Hannah and Rene, having thoroughly discussed tonight’s supper, were planning tomorrow’s tea. He smiled warmly at Hannah and said, ‘I’ll clear the table.’

Hannah, trying not to look too surprised at this unusual offer, answered, ‘All right. Will yer put the dishes in the sink? And put the kettle on while yer up,
we’ll be needin’ some hot water fer the pans, if nothing else!’

Jeannie helped Tom clear the dishes, then immediately grabbed his hand in an attempt to drag him to the back door. ‘Come on, Tom! Itchy bays, remember?’

Tom glanced at Hannah. ‘Oh go on,’ she said, ‘Get yerself out there and show the bairn how ter play the game. That’s if you can see in the dark.’

And Dominic, with Jeannie’s encouragement, and after thanking Madame Hannah for his tea, agreed to go outside, too, and see this mysterious game of itchy bays.

‘All right,’ Tom said to Jeannie. ‘But we’ll just do a quick one tonight, cause by the look on your mam’s face I would say it’s close to your bedtime, and us grown-ups need some time on our own. We’ve got talking to do.’

He and Dominic exchanged a pained glance at this. Though Dominic was heartened by Tom’s remark, both men wondered what they could realistically hope to achieve through talk alone.

Back in the scullery, Ma and Rene were busy washing up, and fretting over much the same subject. ‘He seems really nice,’ Rene was saying. ‘Obviously well brought up, and his manners! You don’t see manners like that around here. I wonder what his sisters are like,’ she mused.

Mam pulled the plug out of the sink and dried her hands. ‘Well, this Madeleine’ll be pretty, that’s for sure. Our Tom always gets the pretty ones.’ She made it sound like a curse.

‘From what Tom’s told me about the family, they are all very close. A bit like us, I suppose—’

‘But not like us, Rene!’ Hannah interrupted. ‘Not like us at all. Close, maybe, yes, but there’s the end of it. She’s been livin’ a different life to us.’ Then she added, almost in awe, ‘Why they even have a different way of showin’ their feelings, them French … all emotional, like! Someone like that would never settle here. Never.’ She looked around at the little house she’d always been so proud of, then, glancing at Rene, she gestured, ‘Just look around! Can you imagine the poor lass – and her bairn, don’t forget! – havin’ space enough here?’

‘Well, Mam! Tom can’t live in France, either. For a start he’d never get a job over there without the language, now would he?’

‘Well, he managed all right when he was over there! Enough ter get ter know some lass well enough to get her pregnant!’ Hannah retorted, totally out of character.

Rene, seeing that Hannah was upset, stopped drying the dishes and put down the tea towel. ‘Aw, Mam, I know he’s your blue-eyed boy, but he’s going to have to face up to reality some time. I love our Tom too, you know, but he does bury his head in the sand hoping things will sort themselves out. Well this … this is different, Mam. He
can’t
ignore it. All we can do is stand by him, but he has to make the decisions. And I think he’s going to have to marry her.’ She looked at Hannah.

‘Oh, ah know that yer right, pet, and ah know yer love him and want the best for him. But it breaks me
heart ter see him pretendin’ that all’s well when ah know that he’s churnin’ up inside. It’s all bravado, yer know, lass!’ Hannah very carefully did not use the word ‘marry’. She’d always dreamed of Tom marrying a nice northern lass.

‘I know that Mam, but—’

Suddenly, Hannah exclaimed, ‘Eee, what about Jessie in all this?’

‘Well, Mam, we can’t be worrying about that on top of everything else. Anyway, reading between the lines, I think
that
is all but over. And if it wasn’t, it certainly will be after this, if I know anything about Jessie Parkin!’

‘Oh, what a mess!’ Hannah flopped down on the couch. ‘She’s goin’ ter be heartbroken. And where’s yer da got himself to?’ she asked, as if Jack had no right to be elsewhere at a time like this.

Rene put her hands gently on Hannah’s shoulders. ‘Don’t fret, Mam. He’s only outside in the backyard with the others. You sit there, and I’ll brew us a nice cup of tea,’ she said brightly.

Catching hold of her daughter’s hand as Rene passed in front of the couch, Hannah said softly, ‘Ay, yer a good lass, our Rene.’

Rene squeezed her hand in response, then pushed the kettle further into the fire. She felt troubled. She could sense both Hannah and Tom were resistant to the whole idea of marrying Madeleine, but she couldn’t see how anything would be resolved without that happening. And why didn’t either of them want it?

Meanwhile, out in the backyard, Jeannie and her grandda could be heard giggling as they jumped into the itchy bay squares drawn in chalk by Tom. Dominic, fascinated, was waiting his turn when Rene appeared, calling for Jeannie to come and do her homework. Her shout was greeted with a wry ‘
Aw no!
’ all round.

Eyebrows raised, Rene glanced from Jeannie to Tom, then to her da and Dominic. She was about to ask how they could be out playing a child’s game when there were life-changing decisions to be made. But then she glanced again at Jeannie, saw the pleasure on her face, and stopped herself. Instead she decided to retain the happy mood for a while longer by saying, ‘You older bairns can play a little longer if you want.’ Then, after wagging a warning finger, she added in her best mock pit-man’s voice, ‘But only if yer behave yersels, mind! Else ye’ll be back in ’ere with me boot up yer ar— er … backsides.’

Jeannie, laughing loudly, ran up to Rene and flung her arms around her waist, hugging her tightly. ‘Eee, yer funny when yer talk like that, Mam. Is that how yer used ter talk before yer got all posh?’ she asked curiously.

‘Yes, it is, pet, and I’ve worked hard to get rid of that talk. And I’d like you to do the same.’

Seeing Jeannie’s disappointed expression, after a moment’s thought Rene added, ‘If you do, then maybe we can talk like that just for fun sometimes, eh?’

‘OK, ah’ll try, Mam. But it won’t be easy, cause ah keep forgettin’, and
nobody
, except you, of course –
and maybe Tom a little bit – talks posh around here.’

Rene took Jeannie’s hand and led her back into the house. ‘Well, that’s the very reason we need to move away, so I can get you in to a better school where you’ll have nice new friends.’

‘Aw, but, Mam!’ Jeannie exclaimed, ‘Ah don’t want new friends. Ah’m quite ’appy with the ones ah’ve got, thank you!’

‘“Happy”, Jeannie,’ Rene corrected. ‘You see what I mean? We’ll
never
improve if we stay here, now, will we?’

‘Well, ah’m not comin’ with yer!’ were Jeannie’s words as she rushed off upstairs, slamming the bedroom door behind her.

‘Oh dear, what was all that about?’ Hannah asked, coming in from the front garden, where she’d been sat on the bench in the cold with her cup of tea.

‘Oh, nothing, Mam. I’ve just told Jeannie that we’ll be moving. I didn’t mean it to come out the way it did.’ Then, close to tears, she added, ‘And, needless to say, it was a bit of a shock for her.’

It was Hannah’s turn to console Rene now. ‘Oh, she’ll come round, pet. Just give ’er a bit of time ter get used to the idea. Come and sit next ter me fer a minute,’ she said as she patted the cushion next to her on the couch. ‘Ah’ll pour us another cup of tea, it’ll be well stewed be now.’

And there they sat side by side, deep in their own thoughts, listening to the distant sound of three grown men playing itchy bays in the backyard.

Next morning, a loud knocking on the front door woke the whole household. Tom came stumbling down the stairs, trying to pull on his trousers while shouting irritably, ‘Hang on, for God’s sake, will yer!’ Who the hell could it be this early? Dishevelled and squinting, he unlocked the front door with one hand while fumbling with the other to get his trousers done up. ‘What the hell …?’ he said, as a telegram was waved in front of him.

‘’Ave you got a … Dominic Pelletier stayin’ ’ere?’ the post boy asked, without a glimmer of a smile.

‘Yes,’ said Tom, as straight-faced as the chap in front of him.

‘Well, this ’ere is for ’im,’ said the grim-faced messenger. Tom went to take the telegram, and the post boy drew back his hand. ‘No, I need to give it to ’im direct,’ he said.

Without taking his eyes off the boy, Tom yelled up the stairs, ‘
Dominic!
’

Dominic came bustling down, coming to an abrupt halt as the telegram was shoved at him.

‘From France,’ the post boy informed him unnecessarily.

Without speaking, Dominic took the telegram and read it, and Tom watched his face turn ashen.

‘
Merci
, Monsieur,’ Dominic said to the post boy, who was still standing there.

‘That means yer can go!’ said Tom, waving the nosey fellow away.

The post boy tutted, clearly unhappy. He’d expected a tip. Tom closed the door in his face and walked slowly towards Dominic, who was slumped on a wooden chair at the table.

‘What is it, mate?’ he asked cautiously. ‘Is someone ill?’

‘It’s Madeleine,’ Dominic answered, staring ahead without blinking.

‘Maddie? What about her? Tom asked anxiously, his voice rising along with his heartbeat.

‘She’s left home,’ Dominic answered quietly.