Chapter Two

 

Freddie sat at the table eating his supper of baked beans on toast. He always had a good appetite, despite the many other ‘deficiencies’ in his young life and Maggie looked at him with total devotion as he ate; her chubby arms folded across her ample bosom and her round pink face beaming proudly. Maggie was no debutante and she knew it, but neither did she have any regrets on that score. Joe was her second husband since number one had taken off only a few weeks after their marriage and nobody ever knew where he went or what had happened to him . . He just went without a bye your leave. . . .is how Maggie described his parting, when asked. She was a little on the plump side, perhaps. Wholesome as Joe described it. He had always maintained that he liked a lady who was substantial . . . and not one of ‘them skinny, skeleton types . .’ They had been married for just over three years, when they adopted Freddie, who was nearly five by that time and Joe was then a handsome young stripling of . . . well, she was never quite sure of his age, only that he said he was a little younger than her. They never argued about that subject, but Maggie was convinced that Joe was ten years older than he professed to be. . . for reasons that confused her at times, for Joe wasn’t the least bit vain and certainly not about such a trivial matter as his age. He said he was twenty four when they had got married, since he thought he was twenty-four then and Maggie never disputed that . . even when she saw his birth certificate one day in a drawer in the bedroom, under the drawer lining. But that was another story . . and Maggie’s only regret was that she had no children of her own. . . . . .

“Will you have ice cream for ‘afters’, Love. It’s your favourite flavour . . or would you prefer a nice slice of lemon meringue pie?” Maggie smiled at her little soldier. “Oooh! watch it Love, you’ve just spilled some beans on the carpet, look! Never mind. It won’t show when I’ve washed it off, will it? Oh look, there’s some more on the table, near your plate.”

Freddie scooped the beans back onto his plate and murmured his choice of ‘afters’ with his mouth full of toast, before he sat back complacently and folded his arms, as Maggie strolled into the kitchen in her usual carefree manner to get her pride and joy the banana flavour ice cream that he liked. Freddie watched her carefully as she returned to the table; unfolded his arms and toyed playfully with his fork..

 

“Would you like to be back at school again, Maggie? . . I mean, . . well, would you like to be young again?” he spluttered and Maggie beamed with a broad smile as she plunked the dessert down before her dream-boy.

“Well now . . I’m not ancient exactly, am I? I’m only . . twenty-something “ She said quietly, raising her eyes to heaven for forgiveness and blushed as she thought of Joe when she said that, “And you wouldn’t call that old now, would you?”

Freddie licked the ice cream from his spoon before he answered.

“ I would . . “ he replied curtly and somewhat jealously as he pushed his bean plate to the other side of the table.

“Well now . . thank you very much, I must say. You’ll go far in life young man, when you grow up, especially with the ladies, I’m sure,” she said but Freddie continued to eat his ice cream undeterred.

“Joe told me his school days were the best days of his life and he’s going to tell me more about it tomorrow, when he gets home from work,” he went on as Maggie lifted the discarded bean plate and stared at the dog as she passed him, where he lay sprawled across the mat in front of the gas fire. She watched him open one eye and sniff hopefully.

“Nothing left for you here, Sammy. The man of the house has eaten it all,” she giggled as

Freddie sucked his teeth and pulled a face.

“He can have a spoonful of my ice cream, he murmured reluctantly as if that gesture would save the situation and re-establish his fond, if somewhat strained relationship with his mongrel friend. Sammy whined and wagged his tail, lazily as he folded his pink tongue over his wet, black snout. “Joe says he would love to be back at school again, Maggie. Do you think he’s having me on?”

Maggie pondered, still holding the supper plate in her hand.

“I don’t think so Freddie. I don’t think he has ever left school, really . . well, not altogether . . he’s still a little boy at heart. I’m sure he has never ever really grown up . . your uncle Joe.”

Maggie retired to the kitchen and Sammy followed her enthusiastically, but her thoughts were not as light as they seemed. There was a mystery about her beloved husband that she could never really fathom. It was a mystery of ten long years that no-one could recall in Joe’s life. He had just vanished into thin air . . or so it seemed . . from the orphanage where he had lived all his childhood life and re-appeared suddenly when he was twenty. Of course, he never talked about that time of absence and nobody ever asked any questions, least of all Maggie, although she had tried often enough, but there was a certain law of silence . . . and that was all there was to it.