When Wishes Come True (23 page)

The first time Billy shouted ‘Stop!’ Aggie was caught with the parcel. She tried to shove it towards Rita, but calls of ‘Cheat’ by the others caused her grudgingly to agree to pay a forfeit. Her choice was the song sung in most of the corner pubs at throwing-out time. It was ‘Sweet Nellie Dean’, and God help the man who wrote that song for Aggie had a voice like a foghorn and murdered it. But the contortions of her chubby face caused much hilarity and even Billy clapped her at the end. His second victim was Rita, who strongly objected to singing on the grounds that she had a worse voice than Aggie, if that were possible. She opted for the nursery rhyme ‘Three Little Pigs’. It didn’t go down as well as Aggie’s but was worth a round of applause because Rita had at least tried.

Billy timed the third intervention nicely, shouting ‘Stop’ just as Bessie was handing the parcel to Amelia. The girl was screaming with laughter as she looked down at the parcel in her hand. She had no way of knowing that this was the moment the three women had been waiting for. ‘What shall I do, Auntie Bessie? Shall I sing a nursery rhyme?’

‘You do what yer want, sweetheart, but remember, the one who is judged to have given the best forfeit gets to keep what’s in the bag.’

‘Ooh, er, I’m not very good, but I will try.’ Amelia took a deep breath and began to sing in a sweet, clear voice.

‘Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie, kissed the girls and made
them cry,
When the boys came out to play, Georgie Porgie ran away.’

The three women made a lot of noise by banging on the table and shouting ‘Hurray’. Even Billy clapped and whistled. ‘That’s the best so far,’ he surprised himself by saying. Usually he gave all girls a wide berth.

Amelia gave him a stern look. ‘Auntie Bessie hasn’t had her turn yet, and I bet she’s the best of the lot.’

‘No, I think we’ll leave it at that, sweetheart, or me mates will be dying of thirst. I can see by their faces they’re ready for their bottle of milk stout. Besides, seeing as it’s my house, I can’t be the winner or they’ll say it was rigged.’ Bessie ran her hand over the girl’s hair. ‘We’ll vote now, sweetheart, and if there’s a tie Billy can be the judge.’

And of course it was rigged, that was the intention. All hands, even Billy’s, shot into the air when Amelia’s name came up. ‘Go on, queen, open it up,’ Aggie said. ‘Put us out of our misery. But don’t forget, I came a close second.’

‘Don’t expect too much, sweetheart,’ Bessie told her. ‘It’s only a small token.’

Amelia’s hands were shaking with excitement. Never had she dreamed of having a day like today, with so many people being nice to her. Normally her birthday passed without even a mention. ‘Can I tear the paper, Auntie Bessie?’

‘Of course yer can, sweetheart, but don’t be too rough with it in case I want to use it again some time.’

Billy came closer to the table, not wanting to miss anything. And when the paper had been carefully torn and spread open to reveal a doll, instead of jerking his head in disgust as he usually did over girls’ sloppy toys, he joined the women in their loud exclamations of surprise. Amelia herself didn’t make a sound. She sat wide-eyed, looking down at the first doll she’d ever had in her hands. It was a rag doll, with a pretty china face, long blonde hair tied at the back with a pink ribbon, and dressed in a long dress of pink and white cotton, trimmed at the cuffs and hem with white lace.

Bessie exchanged glances with her two mates before asking, ‘Don’t yer like it, sweetheart?’

Amelia lifted her head, her eyes wet with tears. ‘Is it for me, Auntie Bessie?’

‘Of course it is, sweetheart, it’s yer birthday present.’

The girl lifted the doll from the paper, stroked its hair, and held it to her chest with one hand while wiping away the tears with the other. Then she pushed her chair back and ran to throw an arm around Bessie’s neck. ‘She’s lovely, Auntie Bessie. She’s the first doll I’ve ever had. You are very kind to me, and I do love you.’

Rita was beginning to understand why Bessie loved this girl so much, no one could help it. Except her mother, of course, who must be heartless. ‘You can go now, Billy, we won’t be playing any more.’

‘Ah, ay, Mam! Can’t I stay for a bit, just a few minutes?’

‘No, yer can’t, sunshine, me and me mates are going to have a drink now.’

‘Thanks for helping us out, Billy,’ Bessie said over Amelia’s head. ‘I appreciate it.’

Amelia was feeling happy and sad at the same time, but she didn’t forget the manners she’d had drummed into her. ‘Yes, thank you, Billy.’ Then she had a thought, and giggled. ‘It was a good job you stopped at me, otherwise your mother or Auntie Aggie might have ended up winning the doll.’

‘Yeah! That would have been funny.’ He was chuckling as he stepped into the street. His mother had opened the front door for him, and he grinned up at her. ‘She’s all right, that girl, not like her stuck-up mother.’

‘I don’t want to hear yer saying that to anyone else, Billy, d’yer hear? None of us can help the mothers we get, but you just thank yer lucky stars that yer ended up with me.’ She watched as he crossed the cobbled street. ‘Yer’ll be in bed when I get home, so goodnight and God bless, sunshine.’

‘Goodnight, Mam.’

Rita closed the door and went back into the living room. Amelia was sitting on the couch next to Bessie, inspecting the doll’s clothes. Bessie had bought the doll for sixpence and made the clothes herself on the old Singer hand-machine she kept in her bedroom. She didn’t use it much, for she spent her working life behind a sewing machine and never felt like starting again when she got home. ‘Ay, sunshine, yer made a good job of that dress, it looks smashing,’ Rita said. ‘Yer could make a few bob taking sewing in, ’cos that looks really professional.’

Amelia lifted the dress on the doll. ‘Look, Auntie Rita, it’s got knickers on as well, and they’ve got lace round the legs.’ She held the doll to her chest. ‘I do love it, and I’ll always love it and always look after it and keep it safe.’ She glanced at Bessie. ‘Can I keep it in my bedroom here, please, Auntie Bessie? ’Cos my mother thinks dolls are childish and she might not let me play with it.’

‘Oh, go ’way,’ Aggie said. ‘Yer mam won’t stop yer playing with the doll, that’s what little girls do. Even if it’s only for half an hour a night before yer go to bed.’

‘Please let me keep it here, Auntie Bessie, please! It can sleep on my bed when I’m not here, and it won’t be in your way.’

Bessie could see the girl was agitated and wasn’t going to spoil the day for her. ‘Of course she can stay here, sweetheart, she’ll be company for me as well as keeping the bed warm for you.’

‘Aren’t yer going to give her a name?’ Rita asked softly. ‘She’ll have to have a name so yer can talk to her.’

Aggie added her twopennyworth. ‘And as she’s a pretty doll, queen, with a pretty dress and lace on her knickers, yer’ll need to give her a nice name.’

The girl looked very undecided, as though she didn’t really believe what she’d been told. ‘You won’t make me take her home, will you, Auntie Bessie, promise?’

‘I’ve said she can stay here, sweetheart, and I never tell fibs or break a promise. So, now can you think of a nice name you would like for her? Or shall we all make suggestions until yer come to one yer fancy the best?’

‘I know what name I want to give her, Auntie Bessie. As soon as I opened the paper and saw her lying on my knee, I thought she looked as pretty as a flower and the name Daisy came to me. I’ve seen daisies growing in a garden near our school, and they’re yellow and bright and look cheerful. So I’d like that to be her name.’

‘Then so be it, sweetheart, because she’s your doll and it’s only right you should call her what you want to. Besides, I think Daisy is a lovely name.’ Bessie appealed to her mates, ‘Don’t yer think so, ladies?’

Rita nodded. ‘Whenever I see a daisy, it always reminds me of sunshine. There are usually some growing wild in the park by the swings, and they always cheer me up.’

Aggie was nodding her agreement. ‘And what about the song, “Daisy, Daisy, Give Me Your Answer Do”? That’s not half a cheerful song, I always have to sing along to it.’

Amelia’s face was a picture of happiness as she held the doll to her cheek. It was the first toy she’d ever had to call her own, and her pleasure knew no bounds. ‘I’m going to sing her to sleep tonight. And I’ll wrap my nightie around her, so she won’t be cold.’

‘There’ll be no need for that, sweetheart,’ Bessie said, pushing her chair back and making for a cupboard in the sideboard. ‘Daisy’s a very posh doll, she’s got her own blanket.’ She held a square piece of pink blanket aloft. ‘I knew yer wouldn’t want her to get cold.’

As the three neighbours were to say later, when the girl was in bed and they had their glasses of milk stout in front of them, they couldn’t remember seeing anyone so happy. Amelia had wrapped the doll in the blanket, cuddled her to her chest, then rocked her for a while before saying, ‘I think me and Daisy would like to go to bed now, Auntie Bessie, because we are both very tired. But we want to thank you for bringing us together, and we both love you very much. And you too, Auntie Rita and Auntie Aggie.’

She’d kissed everyone, told Daisy to be a good girl and kiss her aunties, then she’d made her way up the stairs, cuddling the doll as though it was the most precious thing on earth. And, needless to say, left behind three women whose tears kept their glasses topped up.

Philip had his hand on the small of Evelyn’s back as they stepped through the doors of the hotel and into the cool night air. He felt her shiver. ‘Oh, you are cold, my dear, let me put my overcoat across your shoulders, I can’t have you catching a chill.’

‘I’m not really cold, Philip, it was coming out of the warm atmosphere that caused me to shiver. And there is a feel of autumn in the air.’

Philip was being very gentlemanly and draped his fine wool overcoat across her shoulders. Cupping her elbow, he said, ‘We’ll be at my apartment in a few minutes and you’ll soon be warm, I left a fire burning.’ Then he asked, ‘Did you come to the hotel by taxi?’

‘Yes, I could hardly come by tram in this attire, I would look so out of place. And I’m relying on you to arrange a taxi to take me home later, if you will be so kind?’

‘Don’t let’s talk of you going home, my love, I hope you will stay for a while. After all, there is no one at home expecting you, is there?’

Evelyn felt no guilt about continuing the lie, nor did she give any thought to her daughter. That was something she would sort out later, when she knew Philip better and he was well and truly under her spell. She shook her head. ‘No, I live alone, as I told you.’

‘Then the night is ours, my love. There is so much I want to know about you.’ He pulled her to a halt outside a building.’ This is where my apartment is.’

Evelyn’s surprise could be heard in her voice. ‘But I thought all these buildings were business premises!’

Taking a key from his pocket, Philip placed it in the lock of a door set slightly back from the building’s frontage. ‘The ground floor consists of three offices. My apartment covers the whole of the second floor, and as you can see has a private entrance.’ He pushed open the door, waited for her to enter, then followed her, closing the door behind him and switching on an electric light. ‘It’s just the one flight of stairs, my lovely, and don’t look so frightened, there are no bogeymen.’

‘I’m not afraid,’ Evelyn told him, thinking a few compliments wouldn’t go amiss. ‘Not when you are here to protect me.’

When they reached the top of the stairs, Philip led her towards one of the four doors she could see leading off the landing. ‘In here, my lovely, and I’m happy to say the fire is still glowing.’

It took all of Evelyn’s willpower to stop her jaw from dropping at the sight of the luxurious furniture in the huge room. She knew Philip’s family must be well-to-do because of his clothes and his air of confidence, but had never expected to see such opulence in the apartment he said he seldom used. ‘It seems a large place for one man,’ she said. ‘Or do you share with another person?’

‘Good heavens, no!’ he said, taking her cape from her. ‘I could never share with anyone, certainly not a man anyway. Besides, I have no need to. My father owns the whole building.’

‘You are very lucky, Philip.’ Evelyn lowered herself on to the huge brown leather couch. ‘I’m surprised you haven’t been snaffled up by now, you must have had plenty of chances.’

He chuckled as he walked towards the massive mahogany sideboard where there were four bottles standing on a silver tray. ‘Many, many chances, my dear Evelyn, but the right one never came along. Now, what would you like to drink?’

‘You choose,’ she told him, while crossing her legs and making sure she showed more than a little of her slim ankles. ‘But not a full glass, please, Philip. I have to find my way home, remember.’

‘Not for several hours, my lovely Evelyn, for I intend to start unravelling the mystery that surrounds you. And I need my senses intact to do that.’

‘There is no mystery surrounding me, Philip, I promise you. What you see is what I am.’

He sat down beside her and handed her a glass half filled with deep red wine. ‘I like what I see, my lovely, but surely there is more to your life than you admit? Perhaps something too hurtful for you to talk about?’

‘I have told you about my husband and how he was killed. What I haven’t told you is that although we had courted for a year or two before the war, I only saw him a few times after he joined the Army when he was allowed home on leave. When he learned he was being shipped out, he was given three days’ leave and we were married by special dispensation on his last day. I never saw him again after he went back to join his unit.’

Philip placed his glass on a mahogany side table before putting an arm across her shoulders. ‘Oh, you poor darling, how very sad. It must have been heartbreaking for you, and I can understand why you have no wish to talk about something that must still cause you great pain and sadness.’ He pulled her close. ‘And has there been no one else in the years since then? No one to hold you close and soothe your aching heart?’