After the Dance is Over

by Joan Jonker

Genres: Family Life; Siblings; Friendship; World War II; Sagas

Synopsis

With love on the horizon for their children, but sabotage just around the corner, two friends fight for those they love... while having a blast, of course. In After the Dance is Over, Joan Jonker brings us another instalment of her hugely popular Molly and Nellie series, as the two friends get up to more mischief in their beloved Liverpool. Perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Katie Flynn. 'There's something for everyone and all delivered up in that inimitable Jonker style which is guaranteed to delight her large number of fans' - Middlesborough Evening Gazette There's never a dull moment when Nellie McDonough and Molly Bennett get together, and there's always something to keep them busy in their Liverpool street. First, Molly's son Tommy sets the date for his wedding to Rosie O'Grady, and everyone's saving hard to ensure their day is perfect. Then a new family arrive in the area and their daughter is determined to put a stop to the budding romance between Nellie's son Paul and Phoebe Corkhill. Meanwhile, Molly's daughter Doreen and her husband Phil make an announcement, and Nellie and Molly are determined to track down Phil's long lost family, so that they can share in the joyful news... What readers are saying about After the Dance is Over : 'Being an enthralled fan of Joan's books, I couldn't wait to read this book... this book is definitely the funniest yet! Molly and Nellie are hilarious, warm, honest and very touching ' 'Enjoy a stroll down a Liverpool street in the early 40s, feel the warmth of the residents, laugh at the antics of two very humorous ladies, but also have a hanky ready to collect your tears of laughter '

Release date: February 2, 2012

Publisher: Headline

Print pages: 512

Sample

‘Molly Bennett, will yer slow down, girl, before me heart gives out on me?’ Nellie McDonough was red in the face as she tried to make her eighteen stone move faster to catch up with her friend. ‘What the hell’s the hurry?’

Molly turned around, put her hands on her hips and tutted. ‘I’m only going to the bread shop. I used the last of the loaf for Ruthie’s breakfast and there’s not a crumb in the house. Anyway, where are you off to?’

‘I’m following you to see what ye’re up to! What’s the big idea? Yer never go to the shops without me.’

‘Oh, aye? Well, who was it passed my window on her way to the shops about an hour ago, sunshine? Yer never knocked to ask if I wanted to come with yer.’

‘Ah, but there’s a difference, girl. Yer see, I don’t mind going to the shops without you, but I object to you going without me! If I’m not with yer, God knows what yer’d get up to on yer own. So now yer know.’

‘Nellie, ye’re with me more often than me shadow. By the time I get back with me loaf, yer’ll be knocking on the door for yer morning cup of tea.’

‘I won’t, yer know, girl, ’cos you’ll be letting us in with a key. I might as well stay with yer now, it’s no good wasting good shoe leather going home and then coming out again.’

‘If I thought yer’d understand, sunshine, I’d explain that ye’re wasting more shoe leather coming to the shops with me now than yer would walking the few yards from your house to mine. But yer’d only talk yer way out of it, so I won’t bother.’

‘Yer know something, girl, yer talk too much. Yer mouth is never still. We’re wasting good time standing here doing nowt when we could be back in your house and I could be dunking a ginger biscuit in me tea.’

Molly’s mouth gaped. ‘You cheeky article, Nellie McDonough! What makes yer think ye’re getting a ginger snap? I’ve kept yer in cups of tea for the last twenty odd years, now yer expect to get biscuits with it! And yer know everything’s still on ration so yer’ve got a flaming nerve.’

‘Ay, yer’ve got a short memory, girl. What about the packet of custard creams I gave yer that time?’

Molly was dying to laugh at the expression on her best mate’s face. At the moment she was playing the drama queen, but any second she’d be a petulant child with a quivering bottom lip. ‘And aren’t you forgetting who ate that packet of biscuits? If my memory serves me correct, by the time I’d had two, you’d scoffed the rest!’

‘I don’t know why ye’re raking that up, girl, ’cos it was years ago!’

‘You’re the one what raked it up, not me! And you’re the one what ate the biscuits!’

At four feet ten inches, Nellie had to look up at Molly. ‘I’m getting a kink in me neck, so are we going for yer bread or not? It’ll be ruddy stale by the time yer get it, and I’m not very partial to stale bread.’

‘You should worry, yer won’t be the one eating it!’

A sly smile spread across Nellie’s chubby face. ‘I would be if yer asked me to have a bit of lunch with yer. After all yer wouldn’t begrudge a member of yer family having a round of toast?’

‘How many times do I have to tell yer that ye’re not one of the family? Just because your Steve married my Jill, that doesn’t make us blood relations!’

‘As near as damn it, it does! Anyway, me tummy heard me mention a round of toast and it’s starting to rumble, so can we get our skates on?’ She linked her friend’s arm. ‘Come on, girl, and don’t talk so much.’

‘Oh, no, yer don’t.’ Molly moved her arm away. ‘Me other arm, sunshine, I’m not walking on the outside and ending up in the gutter.’

‘I can’t help having wide hips what sway, girl. Anyone would think I was pushing yer on purpose, and I wouldn’t do that, not to me very best mate.’

‘Flattery won’t get yer a round of toast, Nellie, so don’t be trying it on. I’ve got a stack of washing to put out on the line, and if you hadn’t come along I’d have been to the shop and back by now and me washing would be wafting in the breeze.’ She squeezed her friend’s arm. ‘Still, the sun’s going to shine for another few hours so I’ll get me clothes dry.’

‘I put mine out at eight o’clock and they’re dry now,’ Nellie said, her face the picture of innocence as she purposely threw the cat amongst the pigeons. She’d been up since seven and hadn’t had a decent laugh yet. ‘I’ve got them all folded up ready for ironing.’

Molly pulled up sharp. ‘Yer’ve what! Got all yer washing dried and ready for ironing! Well, you cheeky so-and-so! Yer’ve got yerself all organised, with time on yer hands, so yer think yer’ll do some socialising in my house, do yer, drinking my tea and eating my biscuits?’

‘I thought yer said yer had no biscuits, girl?’

‘Oh, sod off, Nellie McDonough!’ Molly stuck her nose in the air and thought of how to get one back on her mate. She’d found this word in the dictionary a couple of weeks ago and had been waiting for the opportunity to use it. ‘Whether I’ve got any biscuits or not is really inconsequential – and none of your ruddy business.’

‘Temper, girl, temper! Remember that bad heart of yours. I don’t want yer pegging out on me in the middle of the main road.’

‘That’s my mate for yer, full of sympathy. Never mind that I’ve conked out in the middle of the tram lines, all yer thinking about is how soft you’ll look. Ye’re as hard as nails, Nellie, with a swinging brick for a heart.’

The two friends were walking towards the main road, with Nellie chatting away oblivious to the fact that Molly was getting pushed nearer to the wall with each step. ‘Yer might know a lot of big words, girl, but ye’re not that bloody clever. I said I didn’t want yer pegging out on me, not conking out. Conking out means passing out if yer’ve had too much to drink, or fainting with the heat. But pegging out means finito, yer haven’t got a return fare, yer’ve gone for good.’

‘Very nicely put, sunshine, with just the right amount of delicacy and sympathy for which ye’re well known.’ They were standing at the kerb and Molly looked both ways before leading her friend across the wide main road. ‘I may as well get all me shopping in now, save coming out later. Yer’ve turned me whole day upside down, Nellie McDonough, but then I should be used to it ’cos I always end up giving in to yer.’

Tony Reynolds was putting a tray of minced meat in the window of his butcher’s shop when he saw them crossing the road. He shouted to his assistant, ‘Ay out, Ellen, here come the terrible twins. They should brighten the day for us, they usually do.’ He smiled as his two favourite customers entered the shop, with Nellie having to come through the door sideways on. ‘Good morning, ladies, how are you this fine day?’

Nellie swaggered over to the counter. ‘Morning, Tony. Morning, Ellen. I’m feeling very well meself, but I wouldn’t ask Molly if I were you ’cos she’s got a right gob on her. Nearly bit me head off she did because I asked her if I could have a bite to eat with her! I mean, yer wouldn’t see a beggar in the street starve, would yer, never mind yer own flesh and blood?’

‘So help me I’ll clock her one of these days.’ Molly winked at the butcher she’d known since the day she moved into the area as a newly married woman, and to his assistant who was her next-door neighbour and good friend. ‘And I didn’t have a gob on me until I found her following me down the street. I only came out for a loaf, ’cos as yer know we don’t usually do our shopping until later, but me bold Nellie changed all that just ’cos she’s too ruddy nosy.’

‘That’s a load of cobblers.’ Nellie’s vigorously shaking head sent her layers of chins flying in all directions. ‘The real reason she’s got a cob on is because I’ve got all me washing dried ready to iron and she hasn’t even got hers on the line yet. Now is it my fault if she’s too bloody lazy to get out of ruddy bed in the mornings?’

‘I’m not getting involved,’ Ellen said, knowing full well the two women had never had a proper falling out in the twenty years she’d known them. And if they didn’t leave here laughing their heads off, she’d eat her hat. ‘Fight it out between yerselves.’

‘Ye’re a wise woman, Ellen,’ Tony said, beaming. ‘Never take sides between two friends.’ He rubbed his hands together. ‘What can I get for you, ladies?’

‘I haven’t got me ration book with me, Tony, ’cos I wasn’t expecting to do me shopping now,’ Molly said. ‘So can I have half of mince and I’ll bring yer the coupons tomorrow?’

‘Yer certainly can, Molly. And I’ll throw yer a bit extra in for good measure ’cos the bloke at the abattoir was in a good mood this morning and gave me over the odds.’

‘I’ll have the same as me mate.’ Nellie wasn’t going to be left out. ‘Especially that extra bit ye’re throwing on for good measure what yer got off the bloke at the . . . er . . . the . . . er . . . the place what yer get yer meat from.’

Tony chuckled. ‘The abattoir, Nellie, that’s what the place is called.’

She walked around the shop in a circle while she considered how best to find out what she wanted to know. Then she had a brainwave. ‘Ay, ye’re good with words, Tony, but I bet my mate can lick the pants off yer.’ She jerked her head at Molly. ‘Go on, girl, tell him what it is when ye’ve either got biscuits or yer haven’t.’

Molly kept her face straight but she was laughing inside. She’d wondered when her friend would get round to it. ‘It’s none of your ruddy business!’

‘Yeah, I know yer said that. But what did yer say before?’

Molly held her chin in her hand, her blue eyes thoughtful. ‘Let’s see if I can remember. Oh, yes, I said whether I had biscuits or not was inconsequential.’

Nellie folded her arms and hitched up her mountainous bosom. ‘There yer are, Tony, how’s that for a word? I bet yer a tanner yer don’t know what it means.’

‘Oh, yer shouldn’t have bet me a tanner, Nellie, ’cos yer’ve lost. It means something of little importance. So hand yer money over.’

Nellie was flummoxed. Her eyes darted around the shop seeking a way out. And she found it. ‘I’ll only believe yer, Tony, if yer write it down for me. Go on, spell it out.’

It was the butcher’s turn to be flummoxed. He hadn’t got a clue how to spell it. But he found a way out, too! At least he thought he had. ‘I’ll tell yer what, I’ll weigh yer mince while Ellen writes it down for yer.’

Ellen’s eyes and mouth were wide. ‘Spell it? I can’t even say it, never mind write it down. No, I’ve got a better idea, Tony, I’ll serve the ladies while you find yerself a nice clean piece of paper what hasn’t got any blood on.’

‘Ha-ha.’ Nellie’s shoulders shook with mirth. ‘Yer can’t spell it, can yer, Tony? Come on, be a man and admit it.’

‘Nellie, you bet me a tanner and the bet stands. Just make sure yer have it with yer tomorrow when I bring in a nice clean piece of paper with the word written on it.’

‘Bugger off, Tony Reynolds, yer must think I just came over on the banana boat!’ Her shake of head and chins signified her disgust. ‘Yer haven’t got a ruddy clue! Fat chance yer’ve got of getting a tanner off me. If I want to see it written down I can get me mate to do it for nowt!’

‘Yer know what you can do, don’t yer, sunshine?’ Molly said. ‘I can say it, and I know what it means, but I’d have a job spelling it. Yer bet Tony a tanner he didn’t know the meaning of it and he did, so pay up and look happy.’

Nellie wasn’t having any of that. Her head shook so fast her chins didn’t know which way to turn. ‘Tony stands as much chance of getting sixpence off me as my George has of winning the football pools.’

‘But George doesn’t do the football pools!’

Nellie spread her hands. ‘See what I mean, girl? Tony doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell. Anyway, him being a fine upstanding Catholic, he knows it’s a sin to gamble. So I’m doing him a favour by leading him down the path of rightussness.’

Molly and Ellen covered their mouths, bodies shaking with laughter, while Tony tilted his head back to enjoy a loud guffaw. In the process his straw hat fell off, landed on the sawdust-covered floor, and brought a fresh burst of hilarity from them. As he bent down to retrieve it, he used the counter as a screen while he tried to wipe the smile off his face. ‘Oh, aye, Nellie, what path is that, then?’

‘You heard me, yer haven’t got cloth ears.’ Nellie knew exactly what she was doing and saying, she always did. But she was game for a laugh, too. Mind you, she’d learned about the path of righteousness at school, the priest had made sure of that, so she was on safe ground there. It was that big word of Molly’s that had her beat, she couldn’t even get her tongue around it. ‘I don’t know what the three of yer are laughing at, yer silly sods. Have yer never heard of the path of rightussness?’

‘I’ll tell yer what I’ll do, Nellie, so we’ll be quits. I’ll take a chance on God not minding anyone having a little flutter, and I’ll bet you a tanner yer can’t spell it. Now I can’t be fairer than that.’

Nellie’s mind went back to the priest who used to take them for religious instruction every morning. Where was he now when she needed him? He used to drive it home to them every morning about the path of righteousness, but he’d never asked them to spell it! ‘Not on yer life, Tony Reynolds. I don’t think much of me chances of getting to heaven as it is – I’m not going looking for trouble!’

Molly put an arm across her friend’s shoulder. ‘Yer know I’m going to put in a good word for yer, I’ve told yer that. When we get to the pearly gates I’ll tell St Peter of all the good things yer’ve done in life which might have slipped his notice.’

‘I don’t know about slipping his notice, they’ve slipped mine as well! I can’t for the life of me think of any good things I’ve done.’ Then a gleam came into her eyes. ‘I know, I’ll get George to give me a reference! He’s always telling me how good I am in the bedroom.’

Molly’s hand shot out to cover her friend’s mouth. ‘Tony, will yer serve us quick and let us get out of the shop while I can still look yer in the face?’ She glared at Nellie. ‘I don’t want to hear another word out of you, just hand over yer money so I can pay for yer meat.’ When there was no response, she took her hand away. ‘Did yer hear what I said, sunshine? I want some money off yer to pay Tony.’

‘I heard yer, girl, but yer had yer hand over me mouth and yer didn’t give me a chance to tell yer I haven’t got no money on me! I didn’t know we were coming shopping, did I? I only followed yer to see what yer were up to. So you pay the man and I’ll settle up with yer later.’

Molly shook her head. ‘I don’t believe this, I only came out to buy a loaf of bread. Now I’m lumbered with paying for me mate’s dinner! When we get to the greengrocer’s I’ll have to fork out for the spuds and veg as well! I just can’t win!’

‘Holy sufferin’ ducks, girl, don’t be making a song and dance about it! I’ve said I’ll pay yer later, and I will!’

‘How much later, sunshine? This year, next year, sometime, never? I wouldn’t mind if I got it back the same day, but getting money off you is like getting blood out of a ruddy stone. I think I’ll have to start learning this trick meself. All it needs is to act daft and pretend I’ve come out without me purse.’

‘It wouldn’t do yer no good, girl, ’cos as they say, every dog knows its own tricks. Yer wouldn’t get away with it, not with me.’

‘Then I’ll have to get into the habit of making sure yer’ve got yer purse on yer before we set foot out of the house.’ Molly didn’t mean what she was saying, and Nellie and the two behind the counter knew it, because this sort of banter went on every day. They enjoyed it, their friendship thrived on it and it brought laughter to a lot of people. ‘Ye’re a scrounger, Nellie McDonough, that’s what yer are.’

Nellie raised her brows, curled a hand to examine her fingernails and feigned a yawn. ‘Go on, girl, tell them about the one thousand two hundred and fifty-three cups of tea I’ve had off yer while ye’re at it. Oh, and don’t forget the custard creams and ginger snaps, I bet yer know exactly how many of them I’ve had, too. It’s a wonder they didn’t choke me they were that begrudged.’

‘Well, there was no fear of me choking on the cups of tea and biscuits I’ve had in your house, sunshine, ’cos I’ve had none.’ Molly slapped an open palm to her forehead. ‘Ah, I tell a lie. The day me mangle broke down and yer said I could use yours, well, yer made me a cup of tea that day. It was the first time in twenty-four years, and the last.’ She rooted in her purse, brought out half a crown and passed it over the counter. ‘Here yer are, Tony, there’s two customers coming in so we’ll get out of yer way. I bet yer’ll be glad to see the back of us.’

She took the meat off the butcher and linked her mate’s arm. ‘Come on, sunshine, or it’ll be dark before I get me washing out. Ta-ra, Ellen, I’ll see yer later.’

Tony and his assistant watched them walk through the door and burst out laughing when they heard Nellie say, ‘I did buy yer a cream slice one day, girl, have yer forgotten? And I always mind yer table when ye’re having a party . . .’

‘They’re priceless,’ Tony said. ‘I wish all me customers were like them.’

Ellen didn’t answer as she went to attend to the customers. If she’d had time, she’d have told her boss that women like her neighbours didn’t come along very often. She wouldn’t be where she was today but for them. Once married to a violent, bullying drunkard, she hadn’t been sorry when, blind drunk, he’d staggered into the path of a tram and been killed. It was a relief for her and her children who were beaten black and blue by him almost daily. But she was left penniless with no money for food or rent, and the prospect of being turfed out of her home was looming large when Molly and Nellie took her and the kids under their wings. Thanks to them her children were now happy and well nourished, and she was married to Corker, the most loving and caring person in the world. She would never forget her debt to the two women who’d made it possible.

‘Am I coming in for a round of toast, girl? Go on, don’t be mean.’

‘Go home and get yer purse then, sunshine, I need me money back today. Yer owe me for the meat, spuds, onions, carrots and turnip. So poppy off while I make a start getting me washing on the line.’

‘Anyone would think I was going to do a bunk to hear you talk. I’ll give yer the money tonight, scout’s honour.’

‘No, Nellie, I want it now! I’m counting me coppers these days and trying to put a few to one side each week for something special. So scarper before I reckon up what it’ll cost me to give yer a round of toast with margarine on, and two cups of tea.’

‘What are yer saving up for, girl?’

‘I’ll tell yer while we’re having our lunch, as long as yer promise to keep it a secret.’

Considering her weight, Nellie was very light on her feet and she covered the distance from Molly’s to her own house, three doors up, like a ballerina. She grabbed her purse from the glass bowl on the sideboard and was back before Molly had time to get her pegs out. ‘My God, ye’re not half slow, girl, I thought yer’d have yer washing out by now!’

‘It won’t take me five minutes, sunshine, and for yer cheek yer can fill the kettle and cut a few slices off the loaf. And I don’t want them like doorsteps, either, so don’t be too heavy-handed.’ Molly slipped her pinny on, filled the pocket with pegs and draped a sheet over her arm. ‘Oh, when the kettle’s boiled, pour some hot water in the teapot to warm it up. Swill it around and empty it out before yer put the tea in.’

Nellie saluted. She couldn’t see her feet, but she hoped that, like her bosom, they were standing to attention. ‘Aye, aye, sir! All present and correct, sir!’

Molly was grinning as she pegged the sheet on the line. She’d been glad of Nellie the last two months to take her mind of losing her two daughters. They’d married in a double wedding ceremony and Molly and her husband Jack had been so proud that their beautiful daughters had wed decent men who loved them dearly and would be good to them. Jill, the eldest, had married Nellie’s son, Steve. They’d been sweethearts practically since they were toddlers. Doreen had married Phil, with whom she’d fallen head over heels in love the night they first met at Barlow’s Lane dance hall. But although Molly had cried at the wedding, knowing her girls were leaving home, she’d had no idea then she’d miss them so much. Mind, she had a lot to be thankful for because they still lived in the street and she saw them every day. Doreen and Phil lived in the house facing with Miss Victoria Clegg, who had taken Phil in as a lodger when he had nowhere to live. He’d become like a son to her, the family she’d never had, and he adored her. So Doreen was lucky, walking into a fully furnished house and living there with two people she loved. And Jill, the gentle one of the family, only lived at the top end of the street with Corker’s mam, Lizzie, who had offered to share her home with the newly weds until they could afford to buy the furniture for a place of their own. Molly saw her girls every day and knew they were happy. But even though she still had her son Tommy, and daughter Ruthie at home, she missed the two fledglings who had flown from her nest.

‘What the hell are yer doing, girl?’ Nellie stood on the kitchen step looking very impatient. ‘Are yer blowing that sheet dry?’

Brought out of her reverie, Molly grinned. ‘Pass the other sheet out and a few pegs. I don’t mind as long as I get them dry, I can put the smaller things on the ceiling rack.’

Ten minutes later they sat facing each other across the table, and there was margarine trickling down Nellie’s chin as she asked, ‘What’s the secret, girl, what are yer saving up for?’

‘Nellie, if yer tell a living soul I’ll never speak to yer again. I want it to be a surprise.’

‘Cross my heart and hope to die, girl, I won’t breathe a word.’

‘Well, yer know our Tommy said he wouldn’t marry Rosie O’Grady unless her mam and dad could be at the wedding? He’s not on full pay yet and his wages are lousy so him and Rosie are going without things to save up for the wedding and pay for her parents to come over from Ireland. I want to help them as much as I can. It cost me and Jack a packet when the girls got married, and I really don’t begrudge a penny of it because we wanted to give them a good send off, but now I think it’s only fair to do what we can for Tommy and Rosie, with her parents not being here. He’s me only son, and he’s a good lad. Never given us any trouble and always bright and cheerful. He must be worrying about where the money’s going to come from for the wedding, but he never says a word.

‘I’ve told Jack we can’t give him less than we gave our daughters, it wouldn’t be fair and would look as though we didn’t love him as much. And I do, Nellie, I love the bones of him. So me and Jack are going to put a bit by each week. It won’t be much because I’m missing the girls’ wages, but we’ll do our best.’

‘They’re not getting married for a while, are they, girl?’

‘Not until next summer, but the weeks fly over, sunshine, so we can’t afford to hang about. He won’t be out of his time then, not for another few months, but they’ll be living with me ma and da after the wedding, so they won’t have a lot to lay out each week. And Rosie is a very good manager.’

Nellie reached into her pocket and brought out her well-worn purse. ‘I’ll give yer what I owe yer now, before yer have me crying in me tea.’ She put a handful of change on the table. ‘Help yerself, girl, but leave me enough to pay the rent man.’ She watched her friend carefully picking out the right amount of coins to cover what was owing to her. ‘Talking about the rent man, girl, remember I told yer I asked him to consider Archie’s mam for the first house what came empty in the street, and he said he’d got someone lined up who’d been waiting a long time? Well, I’ve heard this morning that old Mrs Harwick from next door but two is leaving to go and live with her daughter in Maghull. She’s getting too old to look after herself now, and her daughter’s frightened of anything happening to her and them not able to get to her in time. So I believe she’s moving the week after next.’

‘Ah, she’s a nice little thing,’ Molly said. ‘A good neighbour, keeps her house spotless and doesn’t have a bad word to say about anyone. I think after Miss Clegg she’s the oldest resident of the street. We’ll miss seeing her around.’

‘Yeah, she’s a little love. But if she was my mam I wouldn’t want her living so far away from me, not at her age. Yer never know, she could easy fall over and not be able to move and then lie there for days without anyone knowing.’

‘That’s right, sunshine, cheer me up! Anyway, what’s all this got to do with the rent man and Archie’s mam?’

‘Well, it means that Ida can have the next house what comes empty. And I’m going to remind Mr Henry he’s not to promise it to anyone else.’

Molly curled her hands around the cup and held it near her mouth. Peering over the rim, she studied her friend. When Nellie’s son Steve got married she was left with two other children, just like Molly herself. Except that Nellie’s were both grown up, Lily had just turned twenty-one, and Paul was nearing twenty. ‘Is your Lily going serious with Archie, or are they just good friends?’

‘He’s dead serious, girl, but yer can’t get to the bottom of our Lily. I think she’s frightened of showing her feelings because of what that bastard Len did to her. She’s got over him all right, but it’s going to take a while before she trusts another feller completely.’

‘Pity, really, ’cos Archie’s a smashing bloke. If I was twenty years younger – no, twenty-five years more like – and I didn’t have Jack, I’d be running after him meself,’ Molly said. ‘He’s our Tommy’s hero, he really looks up to him. He says if it wasn’t for Archie, him and a lot of other soldiers would have been blown up. Led them through a minefield, he did, without any thought for his own safety. That takes guts, that does. And I’m very fond of him, which is why I’m wondering if yer think it’s wise to be asking Mr Henry to let Ida have the next house what comes empty? It’s not that I wouldn’t like her and Archie as neighbours, ’cos I would, but what if they get a house in the street and then your Lily decides he’s not the one for her? It would make things very awkward all round.’

‘I have thought of that, girl, I’m not daft. But yer know how often a house comes empty in this street. Every blue moon. Plenty of time for our Lily to make up her mind. I’d lay odds she already has, really, but is frightened of showing her feelings in case she gets hurt again.’ Nellie nodded to the two framed photographs standing proudly one at either end of the sideboard. They were wedding photographs of Molly’s two girls with their brand new husbands and it brought a lump to Nellie’s throat to see her Steve smiling broadly with his arm around the girl he’d loved all his life. ‘Looking at them photographs, girl, yer wouldn’t know which of the girls was which ’cos they’re so alike. Anyone would take them for twins.’ She put on her hard-done-by look. ‘Ye’re lucky having two photographs, I’ve only got the one.’

‘Don’t start that again, sunshine, ye’re beginning to sound like a broken record. It’s only natural I’ve got two, ’cos two of my daughters were married. When your Lily gets wed, you’ll have another one to stand on yer sideboard.’

‘Ah, but when your Tommy gets married, yer’ll still be one up on me.’

Molly tutted. ‘Yer’ll catch up with me when your Paul decides to settle down. And before yer bring our Ruthie into it, may I remind yer she’s not thirteen until next week? And anyway, it’s not my fault I’ve got four children and you’ve only got three.’

‘Of course it’s your fault! Ye’re a dark horse, Molly Bennett, telling me off every time I mention what goes on in me bedroom, when you and Jack must go at it hammer and tongs! And don’t look at me like that, ’cos the fact that you’ve got one more child than me speaks for itself.’

‘Let’s change the subject, sunshine, shall we? What about your Paul, is he settling down at all? I know he’s going out with Phoebe ’cos I see them passing the window, but d’yer think it’s the real thing?’

‘Your guess is as good as mine, girl, I wouldn’t have a bet on it. She’s tamed him a lot, but whether he’ll stay tamed is another matter. I think Ellen and Corker have told the girl to let Paul do all the running, and I wouldn’t blame them if they had because all he thinks about is having a good time. She’s got him on a string now, but whether the day will come when he