‘I still don’t see why you want to let Neville waste money on an engagement ring,’ Cora complained. ‘Thought you weren’t meant to be spending money, and that’s why you’re working all the time. Look at you now, worn to shreds. That’s what happens when you stay out late and get up and do a full shift. Burning the candle at both ends, my girl. Can’t go on like that. And now you’re off gallivanting, wasting money on a ring.’
‘Leave it out, Mum.’ Hazel was too pleased to be really cross. She and Neville had had a lovely evening at the cinema, then they’d gone for a drink and sat in their favourite snug. Tomorrow he would take her round the jewellers. She didn’t care if she was tired. Her mother was just jealous. ‘What’s for tea?’
‘What does it look like?’ Cora could understand that her middle daughter didn’t want anything to do with getting a meal ready after spending all day serving food to other people but it was no excuse for being soft in the head. ‘If it looks like a pie and smells like a pie, odds are it’s a pie. Although if your sister had come home on time and brought us something like she ought to, we could have had a better one. Still, it’ll be good enough if I say so myself.’
‘I’m sure it will.’ There was no sense in Hazel winding up her mother, or she might get dragged into helping in the kitchen. She could do without that. ‘I’m going to wash my hair if dinner’s not ready yet. I want to look my best for tomorrow.’ She made her way out of the kitchen just as the front door opened and Alison walked in. She was drenched.
‘Don’t just stand there dripping all over the place, you great drowned rat.’ Cora sighed in exasperation. ‘Get that coat off and bung it in front of the fire. Here, you lost a button?’
‘Maybe,’ gasped Alison. It hurt to talk where she’d been hit but she wasn’t going to admit that.
‘Clumsy as ever. Hang about, what’ve you done to your face?’
‘Slipped on a wet bit of pavement,’ Alison lied. It sounded plausible on a night like this.
‘Careless as well as clumsy. Hope you haven’t torn your clothes.’ Cora turned away from the sight of her youngest, hair hanging down and water falling off the ends, with her hangdog face soaking wet. It was enough to drive anyone to despair. ‘You brought home anything from Fred to keep us going over the weekend?’
‘No, sorry, we were flat out all day and ran out of nearly everything.’ Alison turned to go upstairs.
‘Bloody marvellous,’ Cora snapped. ‘now I’ll have to go to the market to get a bit of meat for our Sunday roast.’
Alison shut her eyes briefly to cope with the pain in her throbbing face. At least this would give her mother something else to complain about. All her survival instincts screamed at her to try to carry on as normal and so even though she wasn’t hungry she said, ‘Is that pie for tea?’
‘Yes. I been slaving away ever since I got back from the newsagent’s. It’s steak and kidney.’
With a hand over her mouth Alison ran up the stairs.
As soon as Neville came into the café on Saturday afternoon, Hazel was ready to go. She’d hung up her apron early and was all set to leave as soon as she saw him. He barely had time to wave to her boss before she dragged him out of the door.
‘I want to show you something,’ she explained.
‘Steady on, Hazel, what’s the hurry?’ Neville was still feeling hung-over from the night before. His mates had made sure he stayed for the whole evening, plying him with pints and then with shots of whisky, which he wasn’t used to. At least he hadn’t had to buy anything, but he didn’t know how he managed to get up in time for the morning shift. Now the last thing he wanted to do was to be dragged around the jeweller’s shops. But he knew he couldn’t back out. Hazel would never forgive him. Her heart was set on this and, whether they could really afford to or not, he had to keep her happy.
‘I don’t want them to start packing up.’
‘Who?’
‘The market stalls. You’re going to love this.’
Neville very much doubted it but didn’t have much choice. Hazel was forging ahead like a galleon in full sail, sweeping him alongside her. He wondered what could be so urgent, as he tried to keep up.
‘Here we are,’ she said as they reached the market. Some traders were already shutting down as the flow of customers had started to dry up, but Joe Philpott’s bolts of material were still all on display. ‘Hello, Joe. See, I told you I’d bring him along.’ She nudged Neville. ‘Joe’s got something special for us. Haven’t you, Joe?’
‘I surely have,’ said the big man, noticing that Neville was much less keen than Hazel though he was doing his best to hide it. ‘Some lovely taffeta for your bridesmaids. It’s a shade that will set your hair off perfect, Hazel. Not quite blue and not quite green. Sort of turquoise. There. What d’you think?’
Hazel turned to Neville in great excitement. ‘Isn’t it the bee’s knees? Your Kathy will look fabulous in that and so will Linda. Even Alison might not be too bad. I’ll get the exact lengths off your mum and pick it up on Monday, as long as you’re happy.’
‘I’m happy,’ Neville assured her. He was glad she was pleased even if he couldn’t see what the fuss was about. At least it wouldn’t cost them an arm and a leg.
‘And there’s more,’ Hazel went on, excited that she was getting what she wanted, even if it wasn’t quite the expensive dress she’d first dreamed of. ‘Show him, Joe.’
Joe reached underneath the stall and emerged with another bolt of material, this time white and lacy. ‘Only got this one lot left, so you’ll need to make up your mind.’
Some of the neighbouring traders had come to a stop and were looking on. Neville wasn’t sure what he was meant to say. ‘It’s very nice … It’s lovely,’ he added, catching Hazel’s eye. Then it dawned on him. ‘You’d look like a real princess in that, Hazel. This is for your dress, isn’t it?’
‘As long as your mum can make it from this amount of material,’ she said anxiously. ‘It’ll be touch and go. But it’s just what I’ve been dreaming of. I’ve kept an eye out for ages and there hasn’t been anything as good as this.’
‘If anyone can do it, my mum can,’ Neville assured her. He felt his spirits rise. His gorgeous Hazel was going to get the dress that she wanted after all. ‘Why don’t you bring her along on Monday? She’d love to help out and make sure you buy enough stuff.’
‘Will you set it aside until then, Joe?’ asked Hazel. She wanted to cry, it was all working out so well.
Joe nodded, packing the precious material safely away under the stall. ‘It’ll be my pleasure.’
‘And now we’re off to look for the ring,’ Hazel announced.
‘Good luck then,’ said Joe and some of the other traders nodded. Neville could see they all thought the world of Hazel and wanted her to have the best. He felt his heart swelling in his chest.
‘Let’s go,’ he said. ‘Only the best for my princess.’
Hazel had never been so happy.
On Monday morning Cora was at the counter as usual, glad of a sit-down. She was relieved to get back to work after the weekend. Hazel had been impossible, all excited about finding her material and Neville taking her shopping for the blasted engagement ring. Cora wanted her daughter to be happy but still couldn’t see the point of extravagance. In the event they hadn’t come home with anything but Neville had been hinting heavily that Hazel was to expect a surprise. She’ll have a surprise when she sees what sort of a place they’d be living in on his pay packet, Cora thought darkly. He was a nice enough lad but he lacked ambition and had no real get up and go to him. His sister was different – she could see that girl going far. But Neville? She doubted it.
‘Cora!’ It was Winnie. ‘Thank God you aren’t busy.’
‘I only just sat down,’ Cora said.
‘I’ve got to tell someone. You’ll never guess.’
‘Go on.’ Cora could see there would be no stopping the woman.
‘It’s Beryl’s neighbours. They was shouting and fighting all last week and she nearly called the police on them. She wouldn’t normally want no bother but it was that bad, she was at her wits’ end. Then yesterday it all went quiet and she thought they was sleeping it off. First thing this morning the landlord’s banging on her door and she hasn’t seen him round their place for months. Wouldn’t usually get his hands dirty but soon as it looked like he might lose money he was round like a shot.’
‘Lose money?’
‘Yes. They’ve only gone and done a bunk. No sign of any of them. But the state they left the place in! He won’t be able to get anyone else in there for I don’t know how long. It’s filthy, there are holes in the walls, and just like I said, there’s rats all over. How they lived like that I don’t know. Those Lannings are a disgrace. So now nobody knows where they’ve gone. The landlord had the cheek to ask Beryl if she knew. She said to him, do I look like the sort of person who would associate with the likes of them? So he’s none the wiser.’
‘And it was gambling, you said?’ Cora needed to get all the details straight.
‘Horses and the dog track. Beryl heard it all. The old man blew everything on one last bet and lost. His boys didn’t take kindly to it and they’ve been arguing for days on end. So they couldn’t pay the rent or anything else and now they’ve done a runner.’
‘Your poor sister,’ said Cora. ‘What a worry. And her with little kids.’
‘It’s been awful for her,’ Winnie said. ‘At least now she’ll have a bit of peace. He’ll have to do the place up, and that’ll mean he’ll be a bit more careful about who he lets move in next time. He won’t want anyone that rough again. She might get some decent neighbours at last.’
‘The least she deserves,’ said Cora. ‘Can I get you anything, Winnie? Or did you drop in to tell me the news?’
Winnie put her hand in her pocket. ‘I’ve only gone and forgotten my list. That’s what it’s been like these past few days. I’ll take a packet of shortbread for the time being and come back later if I need more.’ She handed over the money and put the biscuits in her big net bag. ‘I’d best get on.’
Drawing her warm cardigan around her, Cora watched the woman go. That was a good start to the morning. A pity nobody she knew would know who this family who’d done a flit were, but it was a choice piece of gossip none the less.
Ten minutes later, Jill Parrot came in, a large parcel under her arm. ‘Hello, Winnie. I’ve just come from the market with Hazel. We went there together when she was on her break and look what we bought.’ She put the parcel on the table and carefully unwrapped it.
‘This is the famous turquoise taffeta, I suppose,’ said Cora. Hazel had gone on and on about it at the weekend and she’d got fed up, but now she couldn’t help a flutter of excitement as Jill pulled back the last of the brown paper. ‘Oh, it’s lovely. I’ll give her credit where it’s due, that girl can pick a good material.’
‘It is, isn’t it,’ beamed Jill. ‘And look what’s underneath. We’ll have to be careful as there isn’t much leeway, but as long as we don’t make any big mistakes …’
‘This is for Hazel’s dress?’ Cora fingered the delicate lace and felt a tear come to her eye. Stop it, you daft old fool, she told herself. But she was thrilled that her daughter was going to get her big white dress after all. ‘I don’t know what to say. It’s so fine. She’ll look like something out of the magazines. You’re doing her proud, Jill. I can’t thank you enough.’
‘Well, it’s Neville’s big day too,’ Jill pointed out. ‘He wants nothing more than to make Hazel happy. If I can help with that, I’ll be more than pleased.’ She began to rewrap the parcel again. ‘Don’t want to get newsprint or anything on this. There’s not an inch to spare. She wanted you to see it at once though.’
‘Oh, she’s a good girl.’ Cora sank down on her stool, almost overcome with emotion. ‘I can’t believe she’ll be gone soon. And I have to say, you are good neighbours. I know you aren’t from round here but you’ve been nothing but kind to us.’
‘Thanks, Cora.’ Jill tied the string tight around the bundle, careful not to damage it.
‘Talking of which,’ Cora added, ‘there’s been a right to-do down towards the power station. You won’t know her but Beryl – that’s auntie to Vera Jewell that Alison used to work with – she had awful neighbours and now they’ve done a bunk.’
‘Vera Jewell? I think Neville’s mentioned her.’
I bet he has, Cora thought. ‘Yes, apparently it was all about gambling debts. A family of four disappeared overnight. Dreadful, isn’t it?’
‘Sounds like it,’ agreed Jill. ‘We should count our blessings. There but for the grace of God and all that. Right, I’d better get this home and start thinking about patterns.’
‘Yes, we’ve a lot to be thankful for,’ said Cora, wondering who she could pass the news on to next. It never hurt to have a good piece of gossip to spread.