SALLY HADN’T TOLD Valmai and Gwilym about her visit to Bristol and seeing Rhys with the woman and the child. She was hurt and humiliated and needed time to nurse her wounded pride before revealing the truth to them. Partly it was her own realization that she had been foolish to just walk away. She should have sat on the steps and waited until he returned then demanded an explanation.
She also realized she had been foolish by not making a note of the address. It was as though she had been searching for an excuse to go there again, and, without telling anyone, not even Amy, she went by train to Bristol.
She dressed with care, choosing Sadie’s newest clothes, and set off with the pushchair and all that was necessary for the day, determined to stay until she had faced Rhys, and the woman he was obviously living with, and learn the truth.
There was no reply to her knock on the door and after waiting a few minutes she asked a neighbour if she knew where they could be found.
‘They’ve gone away. A little holiday I believe.’
‘All of them? The man as well as the woman and the little girl?’
‘Yes. Little Erica was so excited at going to stay with her grandmother.’
There was no point in staying. Dejectedly she walked away and after a snack in a café near the railway station, they went home. Now she had to tell Valmai and Gwilym what she had learned. She would leave any further contact to them. Rhys was no longer anything to do with her or Sadie.
She hesitated about talking to Rhys’s parents. She kept putting it off and when she had finally made up her mind to face them with it, Amy asked if she would like to go to Cardiff sales to buy bedding and towels for the new home, and she gladly accepted the reprieve.
They had a successful spending spree and Sally managed to forget for a while the pain of losing Rhys and enjoy the atmosphere of busy shoppers searching for bargains.
She said very little on the way home. Amy asked a few questions but quickly realized that her companion was not in the mood to discuss what had so obviously upset her. Instead she talked to the little girl, pointing out things she thought might interest her but after a while Sadie fell asleep and the journey continued in silence. ‘Would you like to stop and have a cup of tea?’ Sally asked eventually, aware of her rudeness in ignoring Amy, who had so kindly given her a lift. ‘I’m sorry I’ve been so quiet but I have a lot to think about. That’s no excuse for my rudeness though. A cup of tea and I’ll tell you a little of what has happened.’
Smiling, Amy shook her head. ‘There’s no need for any explanations, but if you want to talk, can we talk about my wedding dress? It’s beautiful but I think the train might be a bit too much for little hands to manage.’
They stopped in a small village where a row of shops boasted a café that advertised homemade scones. Sally carried Sadie and Amy went to find a table. Amy pulled a face when they saw the place was filled with men, whom she guessed were delivery men from their clothes and overalls. The tables were covered with plastic cloths and the steamy atmosphere didn’t auger well for a tasty snack. But Sally was already sitting down and she reluctantly followed.
In her loud, imperious voice she asked for scones and tea and a drink for Sadie. A huge red-haired man dressed in overalls with a clean, open-necked shirt showing at his beefy neck, scraped back his chair and stood up. Sally stared in alarm. Then the man smiled, showing perfect white teeth and said, ‘I’m afraid you have to go to the counter to order and pay, miss.’
‘What? How ridiculous!’
‘Tell me what you want and I’ll ask them, shall I?’
‘Thank you.’ He went to whisper something to the woman behind the counter, who came, with an amused look in her eyes, took her order then held out her hand for the money.
The scones were very good and there was a generous amount of jam and cream. Sadie ate all of hers with Amy’s help and, when they stood to leave, to Sally’s surprise Amy went to the counter and thanked the woman for a delicious snack. She also thanked the man who had helped her to order.
Amy was laughing as they went back to the car. ‘Shout loud enough and someone will help, even if it’s simply to shut you up,’ she said as she unlocked the car.
Sally’s mood was lifted by the brief incident and she chattered to Amy for the rest of the journey while Sadie slept. They were almost home when the car began to make strange sounds. It spluttered, moved, slowed down and finally stopped.
‘I can’t believe this,’ Amy gasped. ‘I’m out of petrol! How can that be? I always fill up each month and I rarely need to bother between times.’ She looked up and down the road. ‘No phone box, of course. Typical!’
A lorry rumbled into view on the same side of the road and, seeing Amy standing beside her car, he stopped. ‘Blimey, miss, you do seem to find trouble, don’t you?’ It was the red-haired giant from the café.
He parked his vehicle and strode over. After discussing the problem he said, ‘There’s a garage not far ahead. Stay here and I’ll take a can and bring some petrol back.’ He reached into the cab and brought out a two-gallon can and, waving it, he strode off and was soon out of sight.
Sally slid the sleeping child on to the back seat and stood outside with Amy. They heard a car approaching and stepped back between the lorry and the car. The car driver slowed and seemed about to stop and offer help but then he put his foot down, the tyres squealing as he drove quickly away.
‘Did you see who that was?’ Amy asked.
‘I thought it was David Gorse, but it couldn’t have been him. He doesn’t have a car.’
‘I didn’t see the driver but I’m sure the car belongs to the hairdresser. Christine, she calls herself although her name is Margaret. How very odd.’
‘Perhaps we were both wrong,’ Sally replied doubtfully.
‘I’m sure about the car – it has a stupid curtain in the side window. Dangerous. According to Rick, anything that impedes the driver’s view is a silly idea. I don’t go to her of course. My hairdresser is Olivier’s, in Cardiff.’
‘Very expensive.’
‘If you settle for second best that’s what you always have!’ She looked at Sally thoughtfully. ‘Like cleaning floors when you could do something more interesting – and better paid.’
The lorry driver returned with the petrol for which Amy paid him, and a bar of chocolate, ‘For the little girl when she wakes,’ he said, handing the treat to Amy.
‘She isn’t mine!’ Amy protested, horrified, and Sally took the chocolate and thanked him.
It had been a tiring day and once Sadie was settled into bed, Sally sat for a long time wondering about Rhys and why he had failed her. She tried to think about her future which was all up to her; she was on her own and had to face it. Amy’s words about accepting second best wouldn’t leave her mind and at 1 a.m., when she was still sitting beside an electric fire in the silent house, she came to a decision.
Before Rhys and Sadie, she had lived in a smart flat in a pleasant area and had earned enough to live comfortably. Surely there was no reason why she couldn’t go back to what she did best? She had been a buyer of fashionable clothes and accessories for a chain of stores in South Wales and beyond. The job had taken her to many other towns as exhibitions and clothes shows had led her to find new and exciting additions to her ranges. Nothing had changed apart from her own attitude. She smiled then as she remembered another of Amy’s rules for life. Speak loudly and with confidence if you want to be noticed.
Wide awake, she reached for the newspaper and began thumbing down the vacancies column. There were very few vacancies in the fashion business apart from sales ladies and she knew that, as Amy had advised, she needed to avoid accepting second-rate choices and aim high. She was still buzzing with excitement an hour later but eventually slept. When the morning alarm woke her, her mind was filled with ideas.
Firstly she had to talk to Valmai and Gwilym. They were entitled to know what she had learned even though her news was disturbing. Leaving Sadie at the nursery, she went to a phone box to rearrange her calls and at eleven o’clock went to find Valmai. She was due home after an early start so she waited. Gwilym was sitting in his usual place near the workbench, with his legs tucked out of sight.
‘I’ve seen Rhys,’ she said, as soon as Valmai arrived. ‘He appears to be living with a woman, and there’s a child, a girl about six or seven years old.’ The words had burst from her and now she stopped and waited for their reaction.
‘Oh, no,’ Gwilym murmured.
‘I’m afraid it’s true.’
White faced, Valmai was staring at her as though she were a stranger. ‘Tell us exactly what happened. Where is he?’
‘In Bristol. I asked around at the café where letters were sent and was told he might be at the school. I saw him there, meeting a little girl. I followed him to a house and as he reached the front door it opened and a woman came out to greet him. She was smiling and they hugged and she kissed his cheek. He followed her inside and I stood there wondering what to do and he came out again, with the woman, who handed him a piece of paper which I presumed was a shopping list.’
‘Then you spoke to him?’
‘He was so shocked to see me. He spluttered in a confused way and promised to explain, said it wasn’t what it seemed, but I ran away. I couldn’t stand there in sight of the house he shared with someone else and listen to more lies.’
‘Tell us the address. I’ll go and find out exactly what’s going on.’
‘If you wish, but it’s no longer anything to do with me.’ She handed Valmai a note bearing the address. ‘I think the little girl’s called Erica but I don’t know the woman’s name. Mrs Rhys Martin perhaps?’ she added bitterly.
She walked with Valmai to where she worked but refused to discuss it further. Two years and more she had given him, years in which he had taken her money and lied about why he needed it. The request for more time was just more lies. It had to end here and now.
She worked particularly hard that day and the days that followed, using physical exhaustion to stop herself thinking about Rhys’s lies and her own gullibility. Instead she thought about how she could change her life around. There were still a couple of hundred pounds in her savings and that would be for a new flat and a new life. But first she had to convince an employer that she was still capable of doing the job she had abandoned more than two years ago. That wouldn’t be easy.
Over the following weeks, between her various jobs and working on finishing the decorating at Greenways, she applied for several positions, giving details of her previous work and explaining that she had given up for a while to look after her daughter. She carefully said nothing about her non-marital status. Three weeks later, in early March, she had still not found anything suitable and it was almost time to leave Greenways. She’d had the offer of two jobs but not what she wanted and what she was trained to do so, remembering Amy’s words about accepting second best, she had decided to be strong and wait for the right one.
The decorating was finished and that meant there was little time left to find accommodation. Without a better paid job she would be moving into the awful boarding house where Eric lived. Surely she deserved a bit of luck? Then she met Amy again.
‘Only two weeks for your wedding, isn’t it?’ she called as Amy stopped her car and lowered the window to speak to her.
‘Yes, and everything is frantic. The house isn’t finished, and Rick and I have argued about stupid things and I wish we’d married last year like he wanted to. A quiet wedding, no fuss.’
‘I’ve just finished for the day. I have to meet Sadie then I’m making tea if you have time?’ Sally suggested.
‘You aren’t still cleaning, are you?’
‘I have tried to find something better but no luck I’m afraid. The trouble is I’ll have to leave Greenways soon. The work there is almost finished.’
‘Jump in. We’ll meet Sadie then you can make me that cup of tea. I think we both need one.’
She stopped at the bakers and came back with a box of cream cakes, then they collected an excited Sadie with her arms full of the paintings she had done that day, and went back to Greenways.
While the kettle boiled Amy looked around the house, admiring the neat and clean rooms. ‘I’m impressed,’ she said. ‘The place is transformed.’
‘It’s been hard but I’m very pleased with the result. It’s earned me money and kept a roof over our heads.’
‘But now it’s time to move on.’
Sally shrugged. ‘But where? And how? I have to consider Sadie in everything I do. She has to be happy and safe.’
‘Will Rhys’s parents help?’
‘Gladly, but I don’t want them to be involved. I have to keep away from Rhys and that means his parents too. I will let them see her as often as they want – she is their granddaughter, after all – but only when I’m sure Rhys won’t be around.’
‘Did you try to find work in the fashion industry?’
‘I applied for several positions but I didn’t get through the interview.’
‘What did you wear?’
‘A suit I bought two years ago. Expensive, but not at its best.’
‘Your clothes are probably a mess. Out of date, well worn, shoes and tights not matching – you have to look the part, Sally, and if that means spending some money then that’s what you have to do. Speculate to accumulate.’
‘I need all the money I have left to get us a home.’
‘Splash out and look the part of a successful fashion expert. I’ll come with you and help you choose some decent clothes. After all, I’ve always been able to afford the best, as you could once.’
‘Until the Rhys era!’
The following day Amy was waiting for her, bobbing with excitement when she went to meet Sadie. They drove home with Amy obviously bursting to tell her something. ‘I won’t tell you until you’ve made tea and sorted little Sadie out,’ she teased.
With Sadie settled with her midday snack and the three of them sitting down beside the electric fire – Sally too curious and impatient to start lighting the coals – Amy said, ‘You have an interview in ten days’ time!’
‘What? But how did that happen?’ Sally gasped.
‘My parents owned a large fashion house and after Daddy died, Mummy has kept in touch and she spoke to a few people and, there you are, an interview. Give it your best, Sally, and the job will be yours.’ She handed her a pile of fashion magazines. ‘Here’s your homework. Look and absorb,’ she said to a delighted Sally.
The following day, with Valmai having promised to meet Sadie from nursery, Sally and Amy went into Cardiff. They looked in all the better dress shops and Amy encouraged Sally to examine everything on display, try on several and discuss with the assistants what the summer styles and fabric were. She spoke to managers too, and a few buyers, discussing the fashion world as though she was well aware of the current trends and the prospective colours for autumn. She learned a lot and used her knowledge to learn more. In one department store she spoke to a senior buyer who told her she was due to retire. A word with the manager followed.
She had a flair for choosing the right accessories and bought scarves and hair ornaments as well as shoes and handbags. Amy said she was proud of her and knew she would be successful. ‘You shed your unhappy put-upon self as soon as we walked into the first shop,’ she told her.
They returned home exhausted and carrying two outfits plus the rest, and some jewellery. The jewellery was Amy’s but she wanted Sally to borrow it for her interviews, of which there were now two.
Going to clean for Mrs Glover the following day was unreal. She had dreamed of going back to her previous career so strongly the real life was the dream, the new life the reality. She told the friendly lady what she was hoping to achieve and Mrs Glover gave her a pair of pure silk stockings. ‘I know nylons are all the thing now, but real silk has a softness that caresses you and makes you feel so good you can achieve anything.’
Eric was waiting for her when she and Sadie reached home that day and he came in and began to light the fire while she prepared their usual light lunch. ‘You’ll stay, won’t you, Eric?’
‘I’m sure you’re busy,’ he said.
‘Sit down and enjoy the fire you’ve lit,’ she said, but he went first to the coal store to fill her scuttle and chopped sticks and brought them in to dry.
‘I have two interviews in about ten days,’ she told him.
‘Good luck, it’s about time things started to get better for you. You have to leave this place soon, I suppose, now the work is done.’ He hesitated and she stared, smiled, encouraged him to speak. ‘I have the best room in the boarding house at the moment,’ he said, ‘and if you’re thinking of moving in – just until you get a proper place – I’ve arranged to move to the top room which is the only one vacant, and let you have mine. Better for Sadie, being on the ground floor.’
‘Thank you, Eric. You’re such a lovely man. But I wouldn’t have you climbing all those stairs because of me. I’ll manage fine. Who knows, if this interview becomes an offer I might be able to move into a flat. And you, dear Eric, will be our first visitor.’
She crossed her fingers superstitiously and reminded herself that the chances of well-paid work was little more than a dream and the dreary boarding house was likely to be her home for months to come.
She went to tell Valmai and Gwilym the times of her interview as they would be involved by looking after Sadie. Shouts were heard coming from next door, the voices of Netta and Walter raised in anger. She found Jimmy in with Gwilym, the radio turned up loud to muffle the distressing sounds of his parents’ quarrel.
‘Go on in, Valmai’s in the kitchen,’ Gwilym said. ‘Come on Jimmy, we’ve got some freshly made pasties, just for you.’
Covering his ears, Jimmy ran inside.
Valmai willingly agreed to look after Sadie on the days of the interviews and Sally felt both relieved and guilty for making use of them while being determined never to let Rhys come near her daughter again. Jimmy walked back with them pushing Sadie’s chair while the little girl walked beside him holding his hand and chatting happily.
Amy and Rick called that evening, carrying flowers and a book containing all the various lists of things to do for the wedding. ‘Can you listen while I go through these arrangements for the last time? I know it’s boring but I’m so afraid I’ll forget something and turn the whole thing into a farce,’ Amy said light-heartedly. ‘Rick is going to see Gwilym about making an arch for the garden. We’ll plant roses and honeysuckle. Rick’s idea, but Mummy agrees.’
‘For once,’ Rick added, with a wink for Amy.
When they were on their own, with Sadie asleep, Amy said, ‘How are you feeling, about the first interview?’
‘Guilty about the money we spent, that’s my strongest emotion. What if I don’t get either? I’ll be stuck with clothes I can’t wear and not enough money to pay rent on a decent flat. Eric came earlier and he offered to move from his downstairs room so Sadie and I can have the best in the house.’
‘Sweet of him, even if he’s no better than a tramp!’ Amy smiled ruefully. ‘I was mistaken about him and several others, wasn’t I?’
‘We are all guilty of making snap judgements. I didn’t like David Gorse but he helped me when the baby was born and he was kind and thoughtful. I presumed he was lazy and not to be trusted just from listening to others.’
‘That’s one person I haven’t changed my mind about,’ Amy said sharply. ‘Smarmy – that’s an old-fashioned word but it’s how I’d describe him. Unpleasant to some and showing a different face to others.’ She laughed then. ‘When do you leave here?’
‘At the end of April. I can’t complain. The man has been very generous.’
‘Plenty of time to find a place to live. Once you get this job everything will settle in no time at all.’
Sally wished she could believe her.
When Rick returned he came back to the door after Amy was seated in the car. ‘Sally, I need someone to clean the house now the workmen have finished. It mustn’t be you, but I wonder if you know someone who would do a good job. You know how fussy Amy is.’
‘Leave it with me. I know just the person. But she’s shy, so if you leave her money and give her the key, she’ll work in the evenings. A week should see it done.’
‘What’s her name?’
‘Frankie. I can really recommend her.’
The following week, while Valmai sat with Sadie, Sally scrubbed the house. Once she saw Amy at the gate and panicked but Amy obviously thought better of it and walked on. Rick had kept his word and no one came to interrupt her. The money was left for her in advance and at the end of the eight days it took to finish, there was an added bonus.
Sally could hardly move and the following day she stayed in bed on Valmai’s firm instruction while Valmai took Sadie to nursery and then back to her home in Mill Road.
Sally was still very stiff and sore but after one day of being spoilt by Valmai she returned to her usual jobs. Monday was only three days away, the deciding moment when she knew that if she failed to get one of the jobs for which she was being interviewed she would have to accept facts and look for something less than the dream.
On Monday morning she rose early, bathed in the sunshine-yellow bathroom and laid out her new clothes. It was daunting, this sudden change from cleaning lady to fashion expert and she panicked and wondered why she had even considered being able to carry it off. She looked at her hands, neglected and with nails so short they almost looked bitten. With Sadie still sleeping, she filed them and applied some pale varnish. As she sat there waiting for them to dry, a letter came through the door. Puzzled, she picked it up to find a card from Amy and Rick, wishing her luck. She placed it on the hall table, telling herself that she would do her best and her best was very good. As a sort of mantra she repeatedly murmured to herself that ‘Second best will not do.’
Later, with hair arranged and wearing her new clothes she went out to meet Amy, who was going to drive her to the first appointment. A last glance at the card cheered her and added a smile to her lovely face.
The questions were varied, mostly to test her knowledge of the business and others about herself and her ambition. Some were about Sadie, the interviewer wanting to know what arrangements she had made for childcare and if the little girl became ill. ‘Reliability is paramount,’ she was reminded. ‘You will have to be prepared to travel at very short notice sometimes.’
‘My daughter is a healthy child but if she were seriously ill she would be my priority.’ She looked at the interviewer anxiously but he smiled and said, ‘That’s how it should be, Mrs Travis.’ She didn’t correct him about her marital status.
The second interview was similar in content but this time, instead of sitting in a chair facing someone across a desk, she was shown around the premises and asked her opinion on the layout and contents of the stockrooms. She decided to be bold and offered opinions on some areas that could be improved. Even in the office she pointed out, trying to hide her nervousness at her audacity, that the typists’ desks should be moved as they were blocking the way to a cupboard that was in constant use. She added that blinds were more businesslike than the flowery curtains hanging at present and – trying not to smile – pointed out the need to tell the cleaners to move furniture occasionally and make a particular note of corners.
All the time, the interviewer made notes and at the end of the thirty minutes Sally was exhausted. She still waited for the one question she dreaded, why her left hand bore no wedding ring.
One more question, Mrs Travis.’ Sally braced herself, determined to tell the truth even if it meant losing the job. ‘Will you come to the staffroom and have a cup of tea with me? I bought some cakes specially.’ Relaxing then and talking easily, she was surprised to be told that if she wanted it, the job was hers.
When she told the landlord of Greenways that she would be moving out as soon as she could find a place, she was prepared to move into the boarding house for six weeks, when she would have her first monthly cheque. Valmai wouldn’t hear of it.
‘Stay here, please, Sally. We won’t interfere with anything you want to do. The bedroom will be your own private place and I’ll only look after Sadie when you want me to.’ How could she refuse?
She moved most of her things that day and left the rest to be collected by a storage firm. Then she made sure everything was clean for the new tenants. She left flowers for them and a card hoping they would be happy in their new home. Then headed back to the single room in the Martins’ house, a place she did not want to be.
Jimmy continued to spend a lot of time out of the house. If his parents noticed, they said nothing. If they were aware of the days he missed school they didn’t comment on that either. With Rick and Eric’s encouragement he attended more regularly but sometimes the warmth of the sun, or the excitement of a gusty wind, or just the scent on the air made him head for the woods instead of the schoolroom. He frowned as he wondered how long it would take for his parents to miss him if he ran away from home and found a happier place to stay. Weeks, probably, he thought miserably.
The fields and woods were his playground, and he learned where to find many of the smaller animals and reptiles, like adders, which he watched nervously as though expecting them to leap up at him, although Eric assured them they would move away as soon as they became aware of his presence. He liked the lizards he occasionally saw darting about on warm banks, and the slow worms that looked as though they were made from metal when the sun shone on them. Sometimes he would catch them and draw them then let them go. His notebook was filled with these drawings and on occasions he showed them to his teacher, who admired this work but reminded him that his other subjects were in need of attention.
He smiled as he tucked the notebook away, having drawn a clump of reeds growing in the stream. Then he walked back to the mill, found his spade and settled to work on the foul-smelling silt around the waterwheel. He had talked to Eric about it and learned that, if he wanted to get the sluice gate to open and free the water, so it ran under the wheel through the leat, that would take a lot of work, freeing the rusted metal. Time to work on the mill was something he had in plenty. Home was a place to avoid.
A few people still gathered each day at the site of the factory where walls were now towering far higher than the original building. The carpenters were fixing the roof struts and soon the place would be weatherproof, allowing the men to work inside. The factory had vanished, and the men who watched its demise wandered off to talk some more about the good old days, when they had work. Eric no longer went to watch the progress but he would sit in a café when he had the money for a snack, and listen to the others talking about the ‘wonderful’ days when they had worked there, forgetting how they had moaned about the job and wished for something better.
The wedding of Amy and Rick was only days away when disaster struck. Amy’s mother was taken ill and rushed to hospital. In panic, Amy came to Sally and together they wrote notes to all the guests explaining the cancellation. The booking for the hall, the florist and the car hire firm were informed, and Amy was sitting beside Sally’s fire looking dejected when Rick came home from work and joined them.
‘Darling, its terrible news, but we’ll rebook as soon as your mother is well enough.’
‘The honeymoon in Paris will have to be cancelled too. I was looking forward to that so much,’ Amy said.
‘Why cancel? You can still go, can’t you? No one will know and you’d lose money on the bookings if you don’t.’
‘Sally! We couldn’t! What a suggestion!’ Amy covered her face with her hands.
‘We could book an extra room,’ Rick said. ‘Or not, as you wish.’
‘Oh, I don’t want to continue with this conversation. What would my mother think?’
But they went. With her mother now convalescing in Bournemouth with a cousin, they were seen off by Sally and Sadie as they travelled by train from Cardiff, looking as happy as two lovers should. Sally waved until the last carriage was out of sight.
May brought its display of flowers in the hedgerows. The daffodils planted years before by schoolchildren were long gone but had been replaced with the lacy white borders of cow parsley. Blossoms transformed the trees and the scent of early wallflowers filled the air as Sally walked along Mill Road towards the fields. Sadie was pushing the picnic in her pushchair, stopping occasionally to put fingers together as she sang, ‘Incie Wincie Spider’.
They walked through the fields towards the old mill. It was Sunday and the following day she and Sadie were moving out of Greenways. Any furniture she wanted to keep was being stored. Much of what she had needed for their brief sojourn had been discarded. A new flat and new beginning meant nothing dragging her back to the old life.
‘It’s only you and me from now on, Sadie, just you and me.’
Sadie began to feel tired and Sally lifted her into the pushchair where she immediately fell asleep. The woods on either side of the path were filled with birdsong and the chuckling of the stream and she stood for a while and listened. It was then, in the peace of the Sunday morning, that she heard crying. Deep, heartrending sobs. As quietly as she could, she crept forward until she could see the stream where the great wheel now stood, a silent witness. Jimmy was lying on the narrow bank, curled up with his hands covering his face.
Leaving the pushchair on the path Sally crept closer and moved carefully down until she stood beside him. She knelt and called his name. His head jerked up and he made a move but she held him. ‘Jimmy, don’t go. What’s wrong? I might be able to help.’
‘Go away. I hate you!’
‘That’s a shame. I rather like you,’ Sally replied. ‘I think you’re clever, very knowledgeable about the countryside, and very handsome, and one day we’ll all be able to boast that we once knew you.’
‘What d’you mean?’
‘Some people become famous or at least very important and then everyone who had known them will boast about it. You neglect schoolwork, I know that, and that’s a pity. Learning is more difficult later without the base of schoolwork.’ Seeing him relaxing and the tears drying, she then asked softly, ‘But school isn’t the problem, is it? Can you tell me about it?’
‘Mam and Dad are always fighting. I hate living at home and wish I could run away.’
Please don’t do that, Jimmy. Whatever you do, stay at home. It’s bound to get better. Just bide your time. A couple more years, then, once you have a job, you’ll be able to plan your escape.’
‘Escape?’ He gave a small smile. ‘That’s a funny word to use.’
‘Better than running away, specially when it’s too soon.’
‘I haven’t any aunties like some of my mates.’
‘Nor I. I have Sadie now but my childhood was a lonely one.’
‘Lonely’s better than a mam and dad who fight all the time.’
‘We’ve brought a picnic, plenty for three, will you set the cloth and blanket out for me?’
After eating a generous share of the food, he began to talk. ‘Every day when I go home from school, or the woods,’ he added with a grin, ‘and the house is quiet I know at least one of them is out. As soon as Dad comes in it starts. He doesn’t like what Mam’s cooked, or the television programme is rubbish. I’m rubbish.’ Tears threatened again and Sally didn’t try to stop them; she just put an arm on his shoulders and waited for them to subside.
Sadie sat playing with some farm animals and a cart she had chosen to bring, looking up at Jimmy sometimes and smiling at her mother as though she understood the need to be quiet.
They walked home together and Jimmy went with her to see Gwilym before going home. She left them in the workshop, talking about cricket, and went to join Valmai.
‘I’m worried about him myself,’ Valmai said when Sally explained why Jimmy was with them. ‘Things seem to be getting worse between Netta and Walter. He’s always been aggressive but she seemed able to cope – she just ignored his jibes and waited until he calmed down. Now she retaliates and that isn’t going to cure the problem.’
‘Poor Jimmy, he’s getting more and more abuse from his father. Constantly being told he’s stupid and useless, and a boy of Jimmy’s age can’t cope with that.’
‘That’s probably why Netta has started answering back. Starting on the boy was probably more than she was prepared to take.’
In the workshop Jimmy watched as Gwilym modelled a small-sized cricket bat, the hands holding the tools sure and patient.
‘Who’s that for, Mr Martin?’
‘Someone ordered it for a grandson’s birthday.’
‘You used to play cricket, didn’t you? Can you teach me? They play at school but I never get chosen, see.’
‘I used to play and I used to coach the youngsters too but those days are gone.’
‘Why? You don’t need legs to coach, only a bit of know-how. It’s the know-how that’s important, according to the teacher. He hates me, the teacher. That’s why I’m never chosen.’
‘No one hates you, Jimmy. Don’t say such things.’
‘Everyone does. I’d better go. Mam’ll be home.’
‘Of course, she’ll be worrying about you.’
‘No, she won’t! But I’d better get home or I’ll miss my tea. Ta-ra. Remember about the cricket when you have time, Mr Martin. It’d be good to show that teacher I can bowl a ball and break the wicket and hit a six. Real good that’d be!’
Gwilym put down the bat he was working on and sighed. If only he had faced things straight away, things would be very different. Stubbornness was as damaging as the loss of a leg. Too late now. He took a piece of paper from a drawer and began to sketch a plan of a cricket field. He became more and more absorbed in the task and Valmai called twice before he heard.
If only the factory hadn’t closed. If only he and Eric hadn’t been out riding their bikes that day. If only … The saddest words in the English language.
Sadie greeted him joyfully as he wheeled himself along the path. He lifted her, giving her a ride up the ramp and into the house, something that had already become a regular treat.
Sally slept fitfully that night. She was tense as she wondered how she would fare on her first day in the new job and how she would find someone suitable to care for Sadie. Besides those anxieties, thoughts of Jimmy entered her mind repeatedly and half-awake dreams were filled with worries about his safety.
Roll on next week, she murmured, she rearranged the pillows and tried once more to relax. By then I’ll know whether or not I can do the job and a week might see an end to Walter and Netta’s situation, although even in her weary, half-asleep state she knew that was wishful thinking. Walter had retired from the workforce and without him getting a job nothing could change.
Gwilym was sleepless that night. He was thinking of Jimmy too. He kept seeing the young boy’s face, tinged with hope at the prospect of succeeding at school when everyone expected him to fail. It wasn’t much to ask, just a few hours of his time, but the thought of going out in that hateful wheelchair and people seeing him helpless where he had once been so strong, was a powerful barrier. Even going out after dark had been denied him. What time of night was safe from the chance of meeting someone? Besides, that wouldn’t help Jimmy. Cricket wasn’t a game for the hours of darkness. Perhaps one day he’d face going just as far as the park and giving the boy a few pointers. But not now, not yet. Perhaps when Rhys came home.
Having given himself a long-term excuse to do nothing, his conscience was eased and he slept.
Amy and Rick returned home after their unofficial honeymoon and from the look on their faces Sally knew they had enjoyed the occasion.
‘Knowing it was secret and unconventional added to the fun and even if Mummy finds out now it would be too late to spoil it,’ Amy told her. She asked about the new job but was too excited to take in anything Sally told her.
A couple of weeks later the wedding was rearranged, a smaller version of the original and Amy asked Sally to help plan it. They sat in the Waterstones’ house where everything was ready and waiting for them. ‘Oh, this isn’t as important any more, Sally. Paris was wonderful and I don’t regret a thing, but the wedding will be an anti-climax now,’ she said, then laughed. ‘As if we care!’
Sally felt sadness and regret clouding her face. That was how she had felt too, until everything went so terribly wrong. Then she hugged her friend, wished her every happiness, and meant it.