Live the Dream. Josephine Cox

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СКАЧАТЬ ‘I’m over it now, Mam. If he walked in that door right now, I’d speak to him, yes, but I wouldn’t feel anything. Not any more.’ This was in part true: nothing for it but to move forward. The love she once felt for him had long since gone.

      Marie slid an arm round her. ‘I’m glad about that, lass,’ she said softly, before quickly changing the subject by asking brightly, ‘And you’re absolutely sure you don’t regret giving up promotion to come here and work with me?’

      ‘I’m content enough here,’ Amy answered. And she was.

      In truth, Amy had not been too keen to give up her job, and at first had missed the banter and comradeship of her factory mates. But much to her astonishment she had come to enjoy working in the corner shop. It was easy enough work, and the tasks were always varied: selling tobacco, weighing out dried peas or potatoes, unwrapping the fragrant sacks of sugar and tea, or stacking the shelves with fresh eggs or that day’s newspapers.

      Her mother was great company; though the wages were not as good as Amy had been used to, but there were other compensations – no journey to work, the pleasant work and the friendliness of the customers – and so she had settled into the job surprisingly well.

      By six thirty, just as Amy had predicted, Dave arrived home. A man with no airs or graces, he was of good build, with a shock of fair hair and a homely smile, which he now bestowed on them. ‘By! Summat smells good.’

      Coming into the back parlour he kissed Marie first. ‘Don’t tell me …’ throwing off his coat he draped it over the chair and sniffed the air, ‘… meat pie, roast potatoes and baked parsnips, am I right?’

      Amy came for her kiss. ‘I don’t know when you’ve ever been wrong,’ she laughed.

      He joined in, then assumed an apologetic expression. ‘Look, I’m sorry, but we’ve had such a rush on, I didn’t have time to find you a present.’

      ‘Aw, never mind, love.’ Marie was philosophical. ‘You’ve brought yourself home and that’s all that matters.’

      He gave her a kiss. ‘You’re a very understanding woman,’ he said gratefully. ‘There’s not many men can say that about their wives.’

      Marie gave him a little shove. ‘You go and get your wash,’ she said, ‘while me and Amy get the dinner on the table.’

      When he was gone into the scullery, Marie gave Amy a knowing wink. ‘I’ve learned to be crafty as him over the years,’ she whispered.

      Amy whispered back, ‘What d’you mean?’

      In answer, Marie tiptoed to her husband’s jacket and, dipping her hand inside it, withdrew two small packages.

      Just then, Dave shouted for a towel. ‘Hurry up, Marie. I’m dripping wet!’

      ‘Here,’ handing Amy the two small packages, Marie instructed mischievously, ‘hide ’em, quick!’

      Dave’s frantic voice sailed in from the scullery, ‘MARIE!’

      ‘All right, all right, I’m on my way!’ And off she went, chuckling at their innocent deception.

      A few minutes later, washed and changed and ready for his dinner, Dave returned to the parlour. ‘By! A feast fit for a king!’ he said, his hungry eyes roving the table. Right in the centre was the deep-dish meat pie with a brown crusty pastry and a wash of egg to make it shine.

      There were two earthenware bowls: one filled with roasted potatoes, the other brimming with quartered parsnips. For Dave there was a welcome jug of beer, a glass of stout for Marie, and a tumbler of home-made elderberry wine for Amy.

      ‘Well, don’t just look at it!’ Marie told him. ‘Sit yourself down and eat.’

      ‘One minute,’ he said, reaching into his jacket pocket. ‘I’ve summat here for the pair of you …’ Chuckling, he confessed, ‘I were just winding you up when I said I hadn’t got you a present.’

      Marie feigned excitement. ‘So you brought us one after all? Oh, sweetheart, I knew you would.’

      The grin on Dave’s face faded as he felt in the pocket for the third time, fumbling this way, then that. ‘They’ve gone!’ he cried. ‘Some thieving bugger’s ’ad ’em away!’

      At the look of horror on his face, Amy couldn’t bear it. ‘Here they are, Dad.’ Collecting them from behind the clock on the sideboard she handed them to him.

      When his mouth fell open with surprise, Marie laughed. ‘It serves you right for teasing us. Come on then, let’s see what you’ve brought?’

      Marie’s present was the prettiest brooch, shaped like a butterfly and made out of enamel. ‘Aw, Dave …’ She gave him a hug. ‘It’s lovely … you’re lovely!’

      Grinning like a Cheshire cat, he seemed embarrassed, though he enjoyed her fussing round him. ‘You know how I like to give you nice things,’ he said proudly. ‘It’s only what you deserve.’ He glanced at Amy. ‘Come on, lass … open your present.’

      Amy was thrilled with hers too. The necklace was a tiny heart, shaped in silver, and when she put it on, both Marie and Dave said how pretty it looked on her.

      ‘Thanks, Dad.’ She too gave him a fond hug. ‘But you shouldn’t spend your money on us like that.’

      Indignant, he asked sombrely, ‘If I can’t spend it on the two most important people in my life, who can I spend it on?’

      There was no answer to that, except for Marie to say, ‘Let’s eat our dinners, afore they go cold!’

      As they ate, the three of them chatted and laughed, and Dave told of his latest disaster.

      ‘For the life of me, I don’t know how it happened,’ he began excitedly. ‘Soonever I was given the address, I knew straight off there were a good many narrow little streets in that area, some of ’em virtually impassable, especially with a lorry that size. The new foreman assured me there was no problem as the road widened out at the end and I could drive straight through. But when I got halfway down, I knew some bugger had been playing silly devils with me, ’cos instead of the road getting wider, it got narrower. In the end I couldn’t go forrard and it seemed there were too many twists and turns to go backards.’

      ‘Sounds frightening.’ Against all odds, but urged on by Daisy, Amy had once secretly considered learning to drive, but the tales her dad came home with had put her off altogether. Dave had a little car, his pride and joy, but now Amy couldn’t envisage being one of the pioneer female drivers of Blackburn.

      ‘Aye, it were frightening an’ all, lass!’ Rolling his eyes he groaned. ‘In fact it were a bloody nightmare!’

      Marie was horrified. ‘So what did you do?’

      ‘Well, I had no option, did I? All I could do was to feel my way back inch by inch. Unfortunately I badly scraped the side of the wagon and almost demolished a wall on the way.’

      Once he got into the swing of it, Dave could tell a tale as well as any man, and on this particular occasion he had a riveted audience.

      ‘Not СКАЧАТЬ