One Rainy Day (15 page)

She leaned back against the sink, her chin in her hand. She could do with a bit of help, but if she called one of the children out, Marg would smell a rat. At the moment she was busy telling David and Poppy a tale that had them in stitches. She was a born comedienne who liked to see people laugh, even when she was pulling their leg. But there was a soft side to her, and she would go out of her way to help anyone in trouble.

A burst of loud laughter brought Eva out of her reverie. She’d better think of something quick, or Marg would twig she was up to something. Her eyes searched the kitchen walls for inspiration, and it was when they landed on the bag of sugar that an idea came to her. Popping her head round the door, she said, ‘Yer don’t seem to be in a hurry, Marg, and as I was about to make us a fresh pot of tea when you knocked, would you like one? Or do yer think yer should be getting back to Ally and the girls? They’ll be spitting feathers now if they haven’t had anything to drink.’

Marg swivelled in her chair to face the kitchen. ‘One minute you’re telling me yer’ve got no sugar, and now ye’re offering me a cup of tea. Make yer mind up, queen.’

‘I’m asking you out of courtesy, Marg, ’cos I could hardly take three cups in and leave you without. Besides, the spoonful of sugar in the cup of tea would be taken off what I intend to lend yer. It’s up to you. Whatever yer want, it’s no skin off my nose.’

‘Talking about skin, which I know we wasn’t but I’m curious. How come I still can’t smell that bleeding rice
pudding yer were on about? It’s either you’re telling fibs, or I’ve lost me sense of smell.’

Eva, with her hand on the kitchen door, tutted as she shook her head. ‘Why do yer always change the subject, Marg? I’ve never known anyone like yer for hopping from one subject to another. So, before it gets time for us to go to bed, do yer want a cup of tea or not?’

Marg’s eyes rolled. ‘Oh, go on, seeing as yer twisted me arm. If my feller has a cob on when I get back, I’ll say you weren’t well and I was looking after yer.’

‘You’ll do no such thing, Marg Boden. That’s tempting fate, that is. Why don’t yer tell Ally the truth, that yer were busy talking?’

‘I don’t need to tell him that, queen, ’cos we’ve been married long enough for him to know I only ever stop talking to take a breath every now and then. He reckons I’ve got a mouth as big as the entrance to the Mersey Tunnel.’

‘Ah, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, sweetheart. You’re not that bad. The person I would say fits that description perfectly is Florrie Lawson across the street. She’s got a mouth on her like I’ve never known before. And her language is disgusting. Half the things she comes out with are beyond me. I haven’t a clue what they mean.’

‘Always come to me if yer get stuck, queen, because I know the meaning of most of her words. In fact, I could probably teach Florrie a few, come to that. But I won’t tell yer what they are, ’cos I know yer don’t like bad language.’ Marg suddenly banged her clenched fist on the table and made them all jump. ‘What about this cup of tea, Mrs Woman? Am I getting one or not?’

Eva stood quickly to attention and saluted. ‘Aye, aye, sir, one, two, three, sir!’ She winked at her daughter. ‘Poppy, come
and give me a hand. David can keep Marg company for five minutes.’

Out in the kitchen, Eva put a finger to her lips. Then very quietly she said, ‘I want to pull a fast one on Marg for a change, ’cos it’s always her getting one over on me. So help me think of something. Some trick to play on her over the sugar. I think she’s pulling my leg about running out, because I was at the shops with her and she bought the same as me. So help me get one back on her for a change. And it’ll have to be quick or she’ll know we’re up to something.’

Poppy closed her eyes so she could think clearly, and a few seconds later a slow smile spread across her lovely face. ‘Mam, salt looks very much like sugar, doesn’t it? You couldn’t tell the difference just by looking at them, could you?’

‘Sugar is a bit finer than salt, but you’d never notice unless yer had reason to think there was something amiss. Anyway, I’ll put the kettle on for the tea, then we’ll put our heads together.’

Poppy rubbed the side of her nose. ‘I know Marg loves a laugh, and she gets a kick out of playing jokes on people. But how would she react to being the butt of a joke? Would she take it in good part?’

Eva chuckled. ‘There’s only one way to find out. Tell me what yer’ve got in mind.’

Five minutes later, Poppy was handing her mother a wooden tray with four cups of steaming tea on. She gave her mother a gentle kiss on the cheek, then pointed a finger at the tray and whispered, ‘Don’t forget the cup with the salt in is the one in the top right hand corner. Can yer remember that, or shall I carry the tray in?’

‘I’m not helpless, sweetheart. I can manage.’ Eva looked down at the tray. ‘The one in the top right hand corner.’
With that she marched with confidence into the living room. However, her confidence didn’t help her at all, for what she needed badly was a sense of direction. She hadn’t taken into account that when she put the tray down on the table and turned to sit down, the tray didn’t turn with her, and the cup meant for Marg ended up in front of David. Eva didn’t think anything of it. As far as she was concerned it was a mission well carried out. And Poppy, following her mother a minute later with a plate of biscuits, didn’t spot the mistake, and was in a happy frame of mind when she sat down. ‘Would you like a biscuit, Marg? They’re custard creams.’

‘I’d love one, queen, but just hang on till I put me cup down.’ With the tea in front of her, and a biscuit in her hand, she said, ‘Ay, this is the life, eh? Sunday morning tea and biscuits, yer can’t beat it. I always said I should have been born into money.’ She lifted her cup and took several sips before placing it back on the saucer. She seemed unaware of the surprised looks being exchanged between Eva and Poppy, and carried on talking, as only Marg could. She was noted for being able to chat for hours about nothing in particular and everything in general. Today she chose David as her target. And because she was looking into his face, he didn’t like to be ungentlemanly by turning his eyes from hers while she was in full flow.

Mother and daughter didn’t know quite what to do. Three cups of tea were still on the tray, each one in a corner. Eventually, and mentally telling herself she’d never again agree to be involved in pulling a trick on someone, Poppy reached for one of the cups. Her tummy was turning over at the very thought of drinking a mouthful of salted tea. But they couldn’t sit there much longer, for the beds hadn’t been made yet, or potatoes peeled for their dinner. So she took a tentative sip of
the tea with her eyes closed and her tummy preparing itself for an invasion. The first sip was fine, so she took another, which was also fine. She touched her mother’s arm and whispered, ‘This isn’t the one, Mam, so it’s down to you and David.’

‘Pass one of the cups over, David, save me stretching across the table.’ Eva held out her hand.

‘Which one is yours, Mam?’ David asked. ‘Or are they both the same?’

When his mother nodded, David handed a cup and saucer over, then turned to listen once again to their neighbour. ‘What were you saying, Marg? I missed the last bit.’

‘I’ve lost track now, lad, so give me brain time to get back on the rail.’ As she was talking, Marg was watching Eva out of the corner of her eye. She noticed Eva’s smile when she’d sipped her tea and saw her nod at her daughter. So when David lifted his cup, Marg said, ‘I wouldn’t drink that if I were you, lad. Yer wouldn’t like it.’

While Eva and Poppy sat open-mouthed, both blushing with guilt, Marg told a very surprised David that his tea didn’t have sugar in, only salt. ‘But you’re drinking your tea and it’s all right,’ the lad spluttered, ‘and so are me mam’s and Poppy’s.’

Poppy jumped from her chair. ‘I’ll get yer another cup, David. Marg is right. Me and me mam were trying to play a trick on our friend from next door, but we made a proper mess of it. That cup wasn’t meant for you.’

David, looking perplexed, leaned across the table. ‘How did yer know what they were up to, Marg?’

‘Listen to me, lad, and I’ll tell yer the signs to look out for first. To be able to read the mind of a prankster, yer need a good sense of smell. That was yer mam’s first mistake. No
smell of rice pudding. Secondly, yer need a good pair of ears to hear the whispers and very low voices. And the word “salt” is easy to pick out. Your mam’s real mistake there was repeating what Poppy said. That the cup meant for me was the one in the top right hand corner.’ Marg couldn’t keep the laughter back any longer. In between chuckles that brought smiles to all three faces, she said, ‘But didn’t yer mam put the tray down facing the wrong way, and the bleeding cup with salt in landed in front of you! And they still thought their plan was running smoothly until I picked up me cup, took a swallow, and didn’t bat an eye. If only they could have seen the looks on their faces! I was wishing I had a camera with me.’ Hitting the table with both hands, Marg doubled up with laughter. She rocked to and fro, tears running down her cheeks. ‘Oh, I haven’t laughed so much since the night Ally came back from the pub rotten drunk and I had to help him up to bed. Then didn’t the silly sod have to get up to go to the lavvy, and he took the wrong turn and fell down the bleeding stairs.’

That was one piece of information David had never heard before, and he was all agog. ‘He didn’t, did he? It’s a wonder he didn’t kill himself.’ Then he suddenly remembered Marg’s gift for leg-pulling. Grinning sheepishly, he said, ‘I almost fell for that. Wouldn’t yer think I’d have learned by now?’

Taking two or three sniffs before answering, Marg said, ‘Yeah, yer should take everything I tell yer with a pinch of salt, lad.’

Marg’s quick wit was met with more laughter. It would take a good one to get the better of her. ‘Well, that’s helped pass a very pleasant morning,’ she said, pushing her chair back under the table. ‘It certainly beats watching my feller reading the paper while rubbing his chin to see if he really does need
to shave. I’ll bet a pound to a pinch of snuff he hasn’t moved off the chair since I came out of the house. Lazy bugger, he is.’

‘I don’t know why ye’re always pulling Ally to pieces,’ Eva said, ‘when yer know yer’ve got a wonderful husband, and yer love the bones of him.’

‘I know when I’m well off, Eva, but I’m not daft enough to tell my feller that. Anyway, it’s about time I got back to him and the girls. It’s time to start getting the dinner on the go. But I’m not going without the sugar you offered to lend me.’

‘I’ll get it,’ Eva said, hiding a smile. ‘Six spoonsful, wasn’t it?’ She stopped short of the kitchen door. ‘No, yer’ve already had one spoonful in that cup of tea, so that makes it five.’

‘It’s not worth wasting yer shoe leather to fetch it, queen, so we’ll call it quits. It means me opening a pound bag, but what the hell, it’s got to be opened some time. So I’ll thank yer for a pleasant morning, and love yer and leave yer. Ta-ra for now.’

‘I’ll see you out,’ David said. ‘Then yer can’t tell the neighbours I’m not a gentleman.’

No sooner had the front door closed on their visitor than Eva and Poppy set to. ‘I’ll clear away and get the dinner on the go,’ Eva said, ‘while you nip up and make the beds.’

Poppy took the stairs two at a time, followed closely by her brother. ‘I’ll see to my own bed,’ David said. ‘Then I’ll peel the spuds for me mam. But it’s been a good laugh, sis, hasn’t it? I’ve never known anyone as quick-witted as Marg. She doesn’t miss a trick.’

‘Me mam doesn’t stand a chance with her.’ Poppy grinned. ‘Her trouble is, she’s too nice. She’s tried dozens of times over the years to get one over on Marg and not once has she been successful. She definitely thought she was on to a winner
today, but once again Marg was too good for her. If I was me mam, I’d give it up as a bad job.’

David chuckled. ‘I don’t know, sis, it’s always a good laugh whichever way it goes. And Marg has been good for our mam. She’s always been there when help was needed. We couldn’t have a better friend or neighbour.’

‘It’s not only Marg – the whole family are nice. Ally’s a husband in a million, and the two girls are smashers. Sarah and Lucy have grown up to be very pretty.’

‘Yeah, I’ve noticed,’ David said. ‘How old are they now?’

Poppy frowned in concentration. ‘I believe Sarah is eighteen in a few weeks, and Lucy, I’d say, is about sixteen and a half.’ She was plumping her pillow when she said, ‘Go and do what yer said yer’d do, David. Your bed, and peeling the spuds. I want a couple of hours to meself after dinner, to go through this book on shorthand. I won’t feel as nervous or stupid as I did when I was sixteen. Jean from the office has explained some things to me, and I’d like a few hours on me own, nice and quiet, to see if I can remember what she told me. I’m determined to get a decent job, so I can do what you’re going to do in two weeks. And that’s to give me mam extra housekeeping money. That’s my priority, and if it means me sitting up all night to get the hang of half moons, dots and dashes and lots of squiggles, then I’ll sit up all night.’

‘There’s another light on your horizon, sis,’ her brother reminded her. ‘In twelve days you and Mam can go shopping for your new coats.’

Poppy’s eyes lit up at the thought. ‘Yeah. I’ve been busy in me head trying to decide what colour to get. I’ll miss the old raincoat, though, ’cos I’ve had good wear out of it. The only thing is, it’s not as warm as a coat.’

She suddenly realized she was wasting time, and she shooed
her brother out of her bedroom. ‘That’s enough, now let’s both get down to work. The quicker we move, the sooner it’s done.’

David popped his head back in. ‘That makes sense, sis.’

‘Get out, David! Vamoose, scram, disappear.’ But Poppy was smiling as she slammed the bedroom door shut.

Poppy was in high spirits as she walked out of the school, hugging her notebooks to her chest and strolling between the two girls she’d sat next to in the class. They were roughly the same age as herself, and their names were Joy and Jane. It was their third week at the night school, so they were ahead of Poppy. This information had been gleaned during a short break in the lesson. Joy was small in stature, with dark hair and a face which was a perfect partner for her name, as she had an ever-ready smile. Jane, though, was the complete opposite. She was very tall, slim with mousy-coloured hair, and quite manly in stature and walk. She was also very intellectual.