Lily had just rounded the dog-leg bend in the street when she saw her neighbour Muriel heading towards her. Lily was feeling relaxed after a lovely family Easter, during which she’d fed the children too many chocolate eggs and indulged them far too much, but what were holidays for if not to spoil your nearest and dearest? Besides she’d got the eggs at a last-minute bargain price from Woolworths and it had been worth it to see the kids’ faces. Mavis had painted them Easter cards and they’d had an egg hunt in the garden, which hadn’t been very difficult as James found everything almost at once, but it had been fun to plan. The kids had insisted they do the same next year so it had been a big success all round.
Now she decided she’d speak nicely to her miserable neighbour and not pretend to be too busy, which is what she’d found herself doing after their first conversation in the garden. Muriel’s coat was flapping open to reveal a faded cotton printed apron beneath, a look which Lily thought made her seem years older than she was. She herself wouldn’t be seen dead going out like that. She patted her hair, which she’d carefully sprayed into place before leaving the house earlier that morning. ‘Had a good Easter, did you?’ she began cheerfully.
‘Not particularly,’ said Muriel. ‘I heard your lot out in the garden, running wild. I take it you don’t take send them to church on Easter Sunday then.’
‘It was better to let them work off their energy outdoors, seeing as the weather was right for it,’ said Lily, refusing to be riled. ‘Which church do you go to? I wondered whether to start Bobby at Sunday school when he’s a bit older, be good for him to make friends his own age.’
‘Oh, I don’t hold with any of it.’ Muriel snorted. ‘Organ fund this, roof repair that. If they’re so high and mighty they can put their money where their mouth is. They ain’t having any of mine.’
Lily thought the woman contrary. If she didn’t go to church, why had she brought up the subject? ‘I’ll think about Sunday school when Bobby’s more the right age,’ she said. ‘He ain’t three yet.’
‘I take it your daughter doesn’t attend either, then,’ sneered Muriel, her eyes narrowing.
Blimey, thought Lily, what’s that about? Had Mavis done something to add to the neighbour’s sourness? It didn’t seem likely. ‘No, not really,’ she said neutrally.
‘Thought as much,’ said Muriel. ‘Not what with her having that young man round all the time.’
So that was it. Lily drew herself up to her full height, hefted her shopping basket on her elbow and looked her neighbour direct in the eye. ‘There nothing wrong with my daughter seeing a young man and he only visits, he doesn’t stay overnight.’
‘I’m glad to hear it,’ snapped Muriel. ‘’Cos if I had a house full of children I wouldn’t allow no hanky-panky going on in front of them and that’s a fact.’
Lily reckoned a bit of hanky-panky would have done Muriel the power of good, but she doubted if the older woman had ever gone in for that sort of thing even in her youth. Some people just didn’t have it in them to enjoy themselves.
‘Tommy has been a tower of strength to all of us in what has been a very difficult time,’ she replied, choosing her words carefully. ‘He’s a pillar of the community, owns his own business, doing very well too. So I won’t have him badmouthed in my own street. As long as we’re clear about that.’ She fixed her gaze on Muriel’s mean face.
‘Ain’t she lucky to have found such a paragon of virtue,’ Muriel snorted. ‘Well I can’t stand around here gossiping all day. I’ve work to do.’ She turned and sped down the road, nose in the air.
For the thousandth time Lily cursed Alec for leaving Mavis in such an impossible situation. If Mavis could get a divorce, then she’d be free to marry Tommy, but instead he’d just upped and disappeared. It was the cruellest thing he could have done, which was no doubt the reason for his actions. Lily cursed under her breath. If she were ever to catch sight of him again, she’d tear him limb from limb.
Mavis knew she was running late as she hurried back from Peckham Rye and its shops. Tommy was coming round for a meal and she’d run out of milk of all things, and then she’d decided while she was out she’d get some nice vegetables to go with the pork chops. She’d also seen some lovely cooking apples, going cheap because it was the end of the day, and she could almost taste the delicious sauce she could make with them. So she had a full shopping bag as she made her way home, hoping that Tommy hadn’t already arrived. Though she was still a little unfamiliar with the area she’d noticed people coming in and out of a side alley and reckoned it could be a useful shortcut. It would save her a few minutes. She’d told Lily she’d be back at half past and it was already twenty-five to.
The clouds had been threatening all afternoon to land some late April showers and now they obscured the sun as she turned into the alley. Mavis almost stumbled as the ground quickly became uneven. The walls were high on either side and there wasn’t much light. She hurried on, banging one elbow against a jutting-out piece of stone as the passage narrowed. She hastily checked her sleeve as even in the gloom she could make out that the stone was slimy. Better not to think about what that might have been caused by.
There was a sudden rustling behind her and Mavis jumped involuntarily, turning round to look just as a long, narrow tail disappeared under some abandoned newspapers. A rat. Where there was one there would be more she remembered someone telling her, and she glanced around nervously. She knew they would be unlikely to hurt her and would be trying to get away but that didn’t mean she had to like them.
Ever since having James and Grace she had done her best not to show any fear when confronted with insects or animals, in case she made them frightened as well. It wasn’t always easy and it didn’t always work; Grace was petrified of daddy-longlegs, even though nobody else in the family was bothered by them. Mavis had no idea where that had come from, certainly not from her, but as long as everyone was careful to shut the windows before it was dusk and remembered to check the bathroom before Grace went in, there was usually no problem.
Mavis smiled now as she remembered Tommy carrying one out in an empty tin so that Grace wouldn’t see. It was about the only thing that did scare the girl, though. Once, when Rhona had been babysitting, a big spider had run along the edge of the carpet and Grace had thought nothing of catching it in a hanky and asking Rhona to open the window so she could put it outside. Rhona had told Mavis she’d been the one shaking in a corner. Now Mavis turned once more and began to walk along the narrow alley, treading carefully, making sure not to bang her bag against the walls, which would bruise the lovely apples. She reminded herself that the rats would be far more wary of her than she ought to be of them.
Maybe this wasn’t such a shortcut, she thought, as the winding path seemed to be taking much longer than she’d thought it would. Then again that was probably because it was unfamiliar. The first time you went anywhere it always seemed to take longer. She glanced at her watch. It had only been five minutes, though it felt like far more. She rounded a corner and could see that the walls opened out on to a bright street at the end. Not far now.
There was more noise behind her but she didn’t turn round, not wanting to see more rats or whatever scavenging creature it was. She forced herself to ignore it, to concentrate on getting to the end of the alley which was so close now. Then she felt something on her shoulder. She screamed.
‘You always was a squealer.’
Terrified, she spun round and came face to face with the person she’d seen in the market weeks ago, the person from her past, the last person she ever wanted ever to see again: Larry Barnet.
‘What … what …’ She couldn’t get the words out.
‘Lost your voice?’ he taunted. ‘Didn’t do that all those years ago, did you, telling on me and Tommy to our mums.’ He grabbed her hair as she tried to flinch away.
Mavis tried to answer back but couldn’t. Her protests froze in her throat. She twisted, attempting to break free.
‘Trying to get away? I don’t think so.’ Larry’s breath was hot on her face and she could smell drink on it, beer mixed with something stronger, whisky maybe. It was foul and sour. ‘We’ve got unfinished business, Dumbo. Bet you still can’t read, can you?’ He held on to her hair with one hand and blocked her way with his other arm, pressing it across her shoulder and into the wall behind. She was backed up against the brickwork, the sharp corners jabbing into her as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp.
‘I’m gonna show you what you missed out on all those years ago,’ he said, leaning in closer. ‘Now it’s your lucky day ’cos you’re about to find out.’ He released her hair and moved his hand down towards his flies.
Mavis acted without thinking, throwing her bag to one side, unbalancing him, then slamming her knee up and into his groin. Before he could grab her, she was off, down towards the end of the alley. The clouds parted again and a beam of light fell on the dark pathway, and as she dared to look back over her shoulder she could see Larry curled on the ground, gasping in pain.
‘You bitch!’ he managed to get out. ‘You’re gonna pay for that. I’ll get you, you’ve got it coming to you big time.’
Mavis came to an abrupt halt as a silhouette appeared at the end of the alley.
‘Mavis! Are you all right? What’s happened?’
‘Tommy!’ She fell into his arms. ‘I … I …’
Tommy took in the scene in the alley, the man on the ground, the shopping bag spilling its contents, Mavis shaking and now sobbing into his shoulder. It didn’t take a genius to work out what had gone on.
‘Shush, you’re safe.’ He held her tightly for a moment, catching his own breath. He’d been rushing along the street, thinking he was late and she’d have had the meal ready and waiting. Then he’d heard the sound of someone running down the alley and seen who it was. The horror of what might have happened flashed before his eyes.
‘You’re OK now, it’ll be all right,’ he soothed her, stroking her hair. ‘I’ll make sure of it. Come on, let me pass. This has gone far enough,’ he muttered, running down the slimy path towards the curled-up figure. He bent and clutched Larry’s collar, dragging him upright even as the man moaned and protested.
The material of the flashy shirt ripped under Larry’s weight but Tommy just gripped him by the throat and forced him back against the mouldy wall. Larry groaned and tried to fight back but Mavis had totally winded him and he didn’t have the strength to stand, let alone land a punch on his old school friend. ‘Lemme go,’ he rasped. ‘That bitch kneed me.’
‘Shut up,’ Tommy snarled. ‘You deserved it.’
‘I didn’t mean nothing by it. I was only going to teach her a lesson.’
‘I know what you were going to do. It’s bloody obvious. You’ve got your flies undone. Old habits die hard,’ Tommy snarled, his face contorted with disgust.
‘You was no angel yourself so don’t you come all high and mighty with me.’ Larry was getting his energy back and sounded hard done by.
‘Yeah, well, I grew up. And now I’m going to teach you a lesson.’
‘Are you? I’d like to see you try to—’ Larry didn’t finish as Tommy’s fist connected with his ballooning gut. He bent over in agony, retching. The smell of sour beer filled the confines of the alley.
Tommy stood back, waiting for him to finish, watching as the man collapsed into the pool of his own vomit. ‘I warned you, Larry, but you didn’t listen. Did you have a few drinks and it made you feel brave so you decided to have another go at Mavis. Brave man, Larry, very brave. But this stops here, so listen, and listen well. You stay away from Mavis or your friends might find out about your big mouth.’
Larry turned his smeared face up to meet Tommy’s gaze. ‘You don’t know my friends. They aren’t the same as back in the old days. You leave them out of it.’
‘Trouble is, I do know who your friends are, Larry. I’ve been doing my homework. I don’t know if you’re in any state to remember, but you’ve been boasting about some jobs you’ve been doing. Who you were with, who for, and where the stolen goods are. You’ve even been stupid enough to boast about the bent copper who’s taking backhanders.’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’ Larry tried to sound convincing but it was more of a reflex response. His expression began to change as the penny dropped that he was in very serious trouble.
‘Yes you do, Larry, and when your friends are nicked, they’ll want to know who grassed them up.’
‘You wouldn’t.’ Larry’s mouth began to tremble. Even after an afternoon’s drinking he recognised a serious threat when he heard one. ‘Come on, we’re old friends. You wouldn’t want a woman to come between us. Specially not Dumbo …’
Tommy made to hit him again but stopped himself. He forced his hand back into his pocket, almost shaking with the effort. The information he had on Larry was a far bigger weapon, gratifying though it would have been to smash his ugly face to ribbons.
‘I reckon you’ve got about twenty minutes to clean yourself up and get on the next train out of here,’ said Tommy as steadily as he could. ‘I’m making an anonymous phone call, and then there won’t be anywhere in South London where you’ll be safe. All your friends, all those valuables you’ve got hidden away, your bent copper, they’ll all be uncovered, and I’ll put it about that it was you and your big mouth that got them nicked.’
Larry gulped and tears of weakness trickled down his filthy cheeks. ‘No, come on, for old times’ sake …’
‘I’m done here,’ said Tommy with finality. ‘I’ve got better things to do than stand in stinking alleyways with fat blokes covered in their own sick. You should have listened to me, Larry. You made the mistake of not taking me seriously, but now you know better. If you’re not gone in the next few minutes you’re dead meat.’
With that Tommy turned and walked back towards the opening into the street.
‘Was that all true?’ It had taken Mavis a while to recover, but now that she was home in her own kitchen, she’d begun to think through what she’d overheard.
Lily was fussing around, taking over the cooking as Mavis was too shaky. The apples had been lost along with the milk and vegetables, but Lily had carried up some potatoes and carrots from her own kitchen as well as a jar of apple sauce. It might not be what Mavis had planned but it was better than nothing.
‘Afraid so,’ said Tommy. ‘I knew he was back and thought I’d done enough to warn him off, but obviously not.’
Mavis shuddered. ‘I dread to think what he’d have done if you hadn’t turned up when you did, Tommy.’
‘I don’t know about that. It looked as if you’d landed a good blow yourself. He was writhing around on the ground in agony.’ Tommy gazed at her with admiration.
‘Good,’ said Lily, flipping over one of the chops. ‘I didn’t know you had it in you, pet. You look as if you wouldn’t hurt a fly, then you go and knee that bastard in the balls. I’m proud of you.’
‘I didn’t think, I just reacted,’ said Mavis, scarcely believing it herself. She’d always been so timid before. ‘I just did it. I didn’t know he’d fall like that. I just ran.’
Lily turned down the heat under the pot of potatoes which was threatening to boil over. ‘And are you really going to ring the police, Tommy?’
Tommy shrugged. ‘There’s not much point in saying you’re going to do something like that and then not following through, though it goes against the grain.’
Lily moved to the sink to drain the carrots. She put them on plates, added the potatoes and finally the chops. ‘Right, here you are. I’ll get the kids in from the garden and your two can eat with us, Mavis.’
‘Thanks, Mum.’
There was a moment of silence after she had gone, but then Mavis sighed and shook her head. ‘I don’t know what to say, Tommy.’ She reached across the table for his hand. ‘It’s really only sinking in now. And you had all that information up your sleeve, just in case he came after me? I can’t believe it. You won’t be in any trouble from those people, will you?’
‘No,’ said Tommy, hoping it was true. He’d be very careful when he made his phone call. ‘All I’ll do is point the police in the right direction, and I’ll make sure my name is kept out of it. If I don’t carry out my threat, Larry might find out and I won’t have that bastard hanging round tormenting you. I should have stood up to him years ago, but better late than never.’ He stroked her hand. ‘I’d do anything to keep you safe, Mavis? I won’t let anyone hurt a hair on your head. You are the most precious person in the world and I’m here to protect you.’
Mavis gasped and tears ran down her cheeks once more as the reality of it hit home. She knew with her head and her heart that he meant it. ‘I’m … I’m sorry,’ she blurted. ‘I should be happy, not crying. I’m just so … it’s all too much.’
‘Mavis,’ Tommy said, ‘you can cry all you like, you’ve had a horrible fright, but it’s not going to happen again. I love you and I’ll protect you. Nothing will change that.’
‘I love you too, Tommy,’ she said, ‘and I’ll never forget what you did for me.’ She smiled through her tears as he pushed his chair back and came around the table to hold her tightly. She had thought that she could stand on her own two feet now that she was independent, but as Mavis rested her head against his warm body she relished how safe she felt in Tommy’s arms.
Slowly the thought came into her head that here was a man she could absolutely trust with everything – even with her life – and at last the wall of ice, the fear and defensiveness she had built around herself after Alec’s years of mistreatment, started to melt.