4

‘Alan, I’m trying to tidy the kitchen before I go to work,’ Sarah Gilbert huffed at her husband. ‘Why ever have you covered the table with all this paperwork when we both need to leave shortly, and your mum will be here to walk the children to school?’

Alan looked up at her and grinned. ‘I had an idea about stocking more televisions in the shop. There’s talk that the King’s funeral will be televised and our business could be quids in, with everyone wanting to watch it in their homes.’

Sarah couldn’t be annoyed with her sandy-haired husband for long. He only had to give her a warm smile and her heart would flutter, just as it did the first time she met him on the day she attended the Erith branch of Woolworths for her interview as a counter assistant. ‘I’m not sure it’s the right thing to do. He’s only been dead for two days. It seems rather mercenary to be profiting from his passing.’

Alan raised his eyes to the ceiling and tutted. ‘For goodness sake, Sarah, the man died. He did not “pass” or anything else, for that matter. You are starting to sound like Vera from up the road.’

Sarah snorted with laughter. ‘And you are starting to sound like Freda and Maisie. We all gave Vera that name when we lived with Nan at number thirteen.’

He groaned in jest. ‘Then there’s no hope for me. I’m a lost cause. Maisie will be teaching me to make rag rugs next.’

Sarah leant over and gently kissed his lips. Alan responded, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer.

‘Why are you a lost cause?’ a voice enquired from the doorway.

Sarah jumped with shock, forgetting for a moment that their two children were in the house, as Alan chuckled, noticing her embarrassment and holding onto her hand so she couldn’t move away. ‘It’s nothing for you to worry your head about,’ he told Georgina.

‘In that case, can I do some cooking after school?’

‘Oh, darling, not today. I’m working a full day at Woolies, and your daddy won’t be here to help you, either,’ she replied, hinting to Alan that this was his problem as much as hers.

‘You know I’m not good in the kitchen and leave all that to your mum,’ he replied, giving Sarah a sideways grin.

‘Oh, you two. I don’t know why you had children,’ Georgina huffed, before stomping off, her two long plaits swinging behind her.

‘I blame your mother for this,’ Sarah scowled. ‘She’s put the idea in the child’s head about being a cook when she leaves school, and you know what Georgie is like. She won’t let go of it now.’

The smile left Alan’s face. ‘I had no idea you blamed my mum for this. She’s done a lot to help us out so that you can continue to work at Woolies, now you’ve been promoted.’

Sarah bristled. ‘Don’t forget my dad is also helping us out, so your shop can prosper,’ she spat back, not realizing how much she looked like her daughter, when riled.

Alan stood up and kissed her forehead. ‘I don’t have time to discuss this now,’ he said as he pulled together the brochures and paperwork from the table. ‘But let’s both agree that our parents are marvellous and we couldn’t cope without them. Georgie will get over this fancy of hers, and life will continue as usual.’

‘I suppose you are right,’ she said, giving him a quick hug. ‘We are lucky that our parents fell in love and married so late in life, and then spare us so much time . . .’

Alan gave a belly laugh. ‘Now you are sounding like one of those romantic magazines you and Freda like to read.’

Sarah slapped his arm; he was always joshing her over her choice of reading material. ‘Gosh, thank goodness you mentioned Freda. She’s popping into the store during my dinner break, and I have a knitting pattern I want to give her. She wants to select the wool while she’s there. Sadie was joining us, but she has her hands full, with her nan being poorly.’

‘It’s a shame Vera is unwell, as James doesn’t have his full mind on things at the shop.’

‘Why not give him a special task, like choosing those television sets you’ve decided to stock?’ She smiled, looking towards the brochures tucked securely under Alan’s arm.

His face dropped. ‘I was thinking of giving him more responsibility while I purchased the new stock . . .’

Sarah chuckled as she pushed him towards the door. ‘Oh, Alan, you are as bad as our Georgie, once you have a bee in your bonnet. Off with you, so I can tidy up and get myself ready for work.’

‘You look ready, from what I can see,’ he said admiringly as he opened the front door. ‘Is that your new suit?’

‘Yes, I thought I should wear black today as our King has died. I have to interview new staff and it sets a good example, especially now that I don’t have to wear that ghastly overall any more.’

‘I quite liked you in your Woolies uniform,’ he smiled, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

‘Oh, be off with you.’ She chuckled as she closed the door after him and smiled to herself. She was a lucky woman to have such a loving husband, beautiful children and a good life.

‘Are you sure we are alone?’ Vera asked as Ruby settled herself in an armchair close to her friend’s bed. Two days on from her health scare, she had more colour in her cheeks and was even more demanding than usual.

‘Don’t you worry about that. I convinced Sadie you would be all right with me and sent her packing, to do some shopping. James was more of a problem, as he felt he should be here in case you needed the doctor again. I told him Bob’s down home, so if we need anything I’d give him a shout. It would be good if you had a telephone installed. Have you thought about it?’

Vera shifted herself against the pillows and snorted. ‘I don’t need one. I’ve heard they are expensive. You’d think it would be cheaper, with an exchange at the end of the road. I keep on using yours and leave a few coppers in the pot,’ she added, as if she was doing Ruby a favour.

‘What if it’s the middle of the night and pouring with rain? You don’t want to catch your death, do you?’

Vera shrugged her shoulders before giving a chesty cough. ‘I can send James to use your telephone. He’s young, so a bit of rain won’t hurt him.’

Ruby tried not to laugh. Sick or perfectly fit, Vera was always the same. ‘Well, you are always welcome if there is an emergency. Just remember to knock loudly or we won’t hear you if we are in bed.’

‘I’ll tell him to use the key that’s tied to the inside of your letter box . . .’

Ruby shook her head. Honestly, Vera had no shame. ‘Now, why don’t we have a chat about what you told me the other night? I’m hoping it was your illness and that you were rambling. If not, you’ve got some explaining to do.’

Vera eyed Ruby with her dark, beady eyes. ‘There’s nothing wrong with my memory; it’s my chest that’s the problem, and now I’m taking that jollop the doctor prescribed I’m on the mend. Everything I told you the other night is true.’

‘Perhaps remind me what it was you said, to refresh my memory,’ Ruby said tactfully, as all she could remember was Vera mumbling about having a son.

‘I can do better than that. If you go upstairs to my bedroom and look in the back of my wardrobe, you’ll find a small leather attaché case. Bring it down here and I’ll tell you everything.’

Ruby swore to under her breath as she climbed the steep staircase to the bedrooms. She loved her home at number thirteen, except for the stairs, and was starting to avoid using them as much as possible during the daytime. She felt uncomfortable rummaging about amongst Vera’s personal property. There was a strong smell of mothballs as she pushed aside old coats and Vera’s best finds from the jumble sales. Spying the small leather case, she grabbed the handle and stood up straight, stretching her stiff back. ‘There’d better be something interesting in this case,’ she muttered as she carefully went back downstairs.

‘You took your time,’ Vera said as Ruby placed the case on the bed.

‘I was being careful on the stairs; I didn’t want to fall and break my neck,’ she replied, sitting back down by the bed. ‘Did you know you’ve got a couple of loose stair rods? I’d get James to fix them, if I was you, before someone hurts themselves.’

Vera ignored Ruby’s words as she carefully snapped open the brass catches and started to pull out various documents. ‘I know they are here somewhere,’ she muttered to herself, before pouncing on a roll of newspaper clippings tied up with string. She handed them to Ruby. ‘Be careful, that’s all I’ve got of him.’

Ruby picked at the knotted string until the clippings unrolled onto the bed. ‘They look old,’ she said, not liking to pick them up to read them. ‘Can you tell me why you’ve kept these?’

Vera had started to sort through the yellowing paper, but stopped to hand a snippet cut roughly from the Erith Observer. ‘This is when he won Bonniest Baby at the Erith show,’ she said proudly. ‘I was there, but stayed well back, in case they thought I was up to no good . . .’

Ruby frowned as she read the words: ‘Daniel Carrington was chosen by the mayor of Erith as the Bonniest Baby at this year’s show. Young Master Carrington is ten months old and lives with his proud parents in Avenue Road. He’s certainly a bonny baby,’ she smiled.

‘That’s my Gerald,’ Vera said proudly as she started to sort through the clippings again. ‘Mrs Carrington changed his name, goodness knows why as I like the name Gerald and will continue to call him that. Here he is when he won a prize at Sunday school, and this one is with his classmates before they left to go to grammar school. He’s a clever lad, is Gerald,’ she smiled as she gazed into the distance, deep in thought.

‘I’ll make us a cup of tea,’ Ruby said, wishing to escape from the room while she collected her thoughts. As she set out the cups and warmed the teapot in the small kitchen so like her own, she still wasn’t sure what Vera was going on about, because until her recent outburst there had never been any mention of her having a son. Was she going a bit doolally in her old age? Adding a few malted-milk biscuits to the tray she’d prepared, Ruby walked carefully back to the front room to face whatever Vera had to tell her.

‘Now, can you explain to me what this is all about? As far as I know, you had just the one daughter, Sadie’s mum . . .’ She froze as Vera lurched forward from where she was relaxing against her pillows.

‘Don’t you even mention her name. She’s no daughter of mine, after what she got up to. Besides, she left this earth a long time ago. As far as I’m concerned, Sadie is my only family, and of course Gerald.’

‘Now, calm yourself and drink your tea,’ Ruby scolded her, wishing she had someone else with her at that moment, as Vera was looking distraught. ‘What’s done is done and I won’t say anything to upset you. Your Sadie is a credit to you; she’s a wonderful mother to her two kiddies, considering what she has been through in her young life.’

Vera slurped her tea nosily whilst nodding in agreement. ‘She’s a good girl.’

Ruby winced, thinking back to when Sadie went through a bad patch and found herself expecting her boss’s baby, Vera had thrown her out on her ear, and the girl ended up in a maternity home for unmarried mothers run by the Church. Sadie would have had the baby taken away from her at birth, were it not for friends who had stepped in to help. Then later to lose her husband in a tragic accident just after she was married. Many women would have lost their mind. Now she was settled with James, the brother of her late husband, and was bringing up two beautiful children. Yes, Sadie was lucky, but not because of anything Vera had done back then. ‘She is. Now can you explain to me about the lad in these newspaper clippings, before she comes home from doing her shopping?’

‘He’s my son,’ Vera said, looking at the pile of yellowing papers as if they were set in a gold frame. ‘I’ve already told you that . . .’

Ruby put down her cup and looked Vera straight in the eye. ‘Vera, love, you have never given birth to a son. Don’t you think all this is a bit fanciful and perhaps brought on by your illness? Why, this lad doesn’t even have your name.’

Vera grabbed at the clippings and hugged them to her breast, giving Ruby a malevolent glare. ‘I’ve kept my secret until now and, when I ask for your help, you say that? Do you think I’m making it all up?’

Ruby thought exactly that, but stayed quiet for a few moments until Vera sagged back into the pillows, still holding onto what she thought were her memories. ‘Perhaps you could start at the beginning?’

Vera sighed and started to straighten the papers on the blanket that covered her knees. ‘No, my old man was still away at the end of the First War. I had my head turned by a chap who used to deliver the groceries to the house where I put in a few hours a day as a cleaner. I know I was a fool, but I was lonely, and I missed my husband so much, and it was a mistake.’

‘I’m not one to judge and, as far as I’m concerned, what happened in the past is best forgotten. All I’ll say is that I’ve been no saint myself,’ she replied, handing Vera back her drink. ‘Best get that down you before it gets cold.’

Vera’s paleness had disappeared, with her now-pink cheeks burning brightly, although she had an aura of peace about her. ‘I’m glad I got that off my chest. You won’t tell anyone, will you? I don’t want our Sadie finding out. I had another man’s child while her grandad was away serving his country. The last thing I want is her thinking badly of me.’

Ruby put the back of her hand to Vera’s forehead; she was a little warm. ‘Sadie won’t hear anything from me about this,’ she promised, although it was a little late now for anyone to think of Vera as a good person. ‘I want you to settle down and have a short nap. I’ll stay here,’ she promised, seeing a look of alarm cross her friend’s face. ‘May I read the cuttings while you sleep? If Sadie returns, I’ll hide them away.’

Vera nodded and was very soon asleep, after Ruby had settled her down and straightened the bedcovers. Collecting the newspaper clippings, she did her best to put them into date order and slowly read each one. They mainly charted the life of a little lad who lived a comfortable life in this very town. Ruby prayed Vera wasn’t going to do anything to disrupt another family’s life. After all, if she had decided to tell her about this, what was to stop her speaking to the boy’s parents? She frowned and checked the dates on a few of the cuttings. The lad was now a grown man and would, more than likely, have a family of his own. He could have a distinguished career and might not be happy to find out that Vera Munro from Alexandra Road was his mother – if, in fact, she was.

Ruby’s eyes strayed to the leather attaché case leaning against the bed. Being careful not to make a sound, she opened it and flicked through the contents. There she found Vera’s marriage certificate, her husband’s death certificate along with the notice from the Erith Observer of his passing, and two birth certificates for Sadie and her mother. There was nothing for a Gerald Munro.

‘I never registered him,’ Vera whispered.

Ruby was embarrassed to be caught going through her property. ‘I’m sorry for being nosy. I was just wondering . . .’

Vera gave a gentle smile. ‘Let me close my eyes for a little longer, then I’ll tell you more, and what I want you to do for me.’