Down Our Street

by Joan Jonker

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

Synopsis

With a double wedding on the cards, Liverpool's best-loved neighbours plan for an unforgettable day. In Down Our Street, 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 Katie Flynn and Lindsey Hutchinson. 'Hilarious but touching' - Woman's Realm The Second World War is finally over and best friends Molly Bennett and Nellie McDonough are bursting with happiness. Their beloved sons are coming home at last and their eldest children are planning to marry each other. When a double wedding is announced, Molly is determined to give her two beautiful daughters a day to remember for the rest of their lives. Meanwhile Nellie's daughter Lily has a boyfriend whom no one likes. When he brings trouble to their door, Nellie's friends in the street are ready to face it. And there's a handsome young chap just waiting in the wings for Lily... What readers are saying about Down Our Street : 'This book is like a breath of fresh air, never have I laughed so much and also cried at the antics of Molly and Nellie' 'A lovely story that will make you laugh out loud and shed a tear. A story that will touch every emotion. It's so well written that it makes you feel a part of the families'

Release date: February 2, 2012

Publisher: Headline

Print pages: 576

Sample

Molly Bennett threw the sheet on the draining board and looked down at her hands which were red raw with wringing the washing out. One of the nuts on the mangle had worked itself loose and the handle wouldn’t turn properly, so rather than wait until her husband came in from work, she’d decided to wring the clothes out by hand. ‘Serves yer blinking well right,’ she said to the empty room. ‘Yer should have waited until Jack came in.’ Then she answered herself. ‘It would have meant leaving the dolly tub in the middle of the kitchen all day, and there’s not enough room to move as it is.’

A knock on the front door had her wiping her hands on a corner of her pinny before picking her purse up from the sideboard and making for the door. ‘This should be Tucker. I hope he’s got some decent coal on for a change.’

‘Good day to yer, Molly.’ White teeth shone from the face blackened with coal dust. ‘Have yer recovered from yer hangover yet?’

‘I have, Tucker, but me ruddy mangle hasn’t. The damn thing’s conked out on me.’ Molly poked her head out of the door and gazed up and down the street which was still festooned with coloured bunting left up from the street party they’d had last week to celebrate the end of the war in Japan. ‘I still can’t believe it’s all over, can you?’

‘It takes some getting used to after nearly five years of war, Molly. We won in the end, thank God, but paid a very heavy price for the victory.’

‘I know. I’ve prayed that much, I’m sure God must be fed-up listening to me. Prayed for our lads that got killed, the ones who’ll come home wounded and the lucky ones, like my Tommy. By the time he got called up, the worst of the fighting was over. I count me blessings, Tucker, I know how lucky I am.’

When Molly saw a smile come to the coalman’s face, she turned her head to see a neighbour, three doors up, step into the street. Nellie McDonough, all eighteen stone of her, folded her arms under her mountainous bosom, hitched it up and swayed towards them. ‘I’ll tell yer what, girl, yer can’t half talk.’ She nodded to the horse standing between the shafts of the coalcart and tutted. ‘The poor bloody horse got so fed-up with the sound of yer voice he’s gone to sleep on his feet.’

‘Oh, ye’re there, are yer?’ Molly tried to keep a smile back, but it was impossible. She only had to look at her best mate and her face took it upon itself to widen into a smile. Nellie was better than a dose of medicine any day. ‘I bet yer’ve been peeping through yer curtains, dying to know what me and Tucker were talking about.’

‘Well, I didn’t see Tucker doing much talking, unless he’s a bloody ventriloquist. I could tell he wasn’t able to get a word in edgeways with yer, so I came to put him out of his misery.’

‘That’s very thoughtful of yer, Nellie,’ Tucker said. ‘But I’ve only been here a few minutes.’

‘Six minutes by my clock.’ Nellie nodded her head and the sharp movement sent her layers of chins flying in all directions, and the turban she wore over her thin, straggly mousy hair, fell down to cover her eyes. She’d worn the turban all through the war, ever since she heard the women in factories making munitions had to wear them. If anyone asked her why, she said it was her contribution to the war effort. Pushing it out of the way now, she said, ‘And it doesn’t take six minutes to say yer want a bag of coal. Unless me mate’s been complaining about the muck yer’ve been giving us. All ruddy slate it was last week, Tucker, and I’m telling yer straight to yer face that if I hadn’t used it I’d be giving it back to yer and asking for a refund.’

‘Yer’ve been getting the same coal as all me customers, Nellie, and yer were lucky to get any at all. All the best stuff has been going to help the war effort.’

‘Well, the war’s over now, lad, so yer can throw me a bag of nuts in.’

‘The war might be over, but it’ll be a year or two before rationing is over. Things are not going to be back to normal for quite a while.’

‘Take no notice of her, Tucker, she’s having yer on,’ Molly said. ‘We were only saying this morning when we were having our elevenses that it would be ages before rationing was finished.’

‘It was you what said that, girl, not me. And if yer’d been paying attention yer would have noticed I didn’t say I agreed with yer. I’m living in hope that this time next week I’ll be able to walk in the Maypole and ask for a pound of streaky bacon and a dozen eggs.’

‘Wishful thinking, sunshine,’ Molly said. ‘Mind you, there’s nothing to stop yer walking into the Maypole today and asking for a pound of streaky bacon and a dozen eggs. Yer won’t get it, like, but there’s no harm in asking. And yer’d give them all a good laugh.’

‘If I thought yer were being funny, girl, I’d clock yer one.’

‘Ladies, I hate to break this up, but I do have work to do.’ Tucker looked from one to the other. ‘Can I take it that yer both want a bag of the muck I’ve got on me cart?’

‘Yes, please, Tucker.’ Molly opened her purse and passed over two half-crowns. ‘Give us some copper in the change, for the gas.’ She took her change, dropped it in her purse and gave him a big smile. ‘And I want to thank yer for doing yer best for us while the war was on, I really appreciate it. It can’t have been easy having hundreds of women moaning at yer every day, as though it was your fault.’

Nellie gasped. ‘Well, you polished bugger! D’yer know, Tucker, she’s been calling yer fit to burn for the last five years! Some of the names she called yer had me blushing.’

‘At least I had you on my side, though, Nellie. I bet you never called me names.’

‘What! I wouldn’t dream of it, Tucker! Anyway, yer know I’m not one for swearing. It’s not ladylike.’ When Nellie’s body started to shake, Molly waited for the laughter to erupt. ‘There are exceptions, though,’ the big woman spluttered. ‘If I’ve got to spend an hour coaxing that ruddy coal to light, I’ll call yer every name I can lay me tongue to.’

‘I’ll try and be out of the street by then.’ The coalman whistled softly and the horse moved up to stop by the side entry. It had been doing the same round for so many years it really didn’t need Tucker, only to carry the sacks. ‘Can I have yer money, Nellie?’

‘I haven’t got me purse on me. You pay him, girl, and I’ll give it to yer later.’

‘Sod off, Nellie McDonough!’ Molly’s eyes rolled. ‘Yer did that to me once before and I’m still waiting for me money back.’

‘In the name of God, that was ages ago!’ Nellie looked put out. ‘Yer’ve got a ruddy good memory, girl, I’ll grant yer that.’

‘Yes, I’ve got a good memory, sunshine, but what I haven’t got is me money back.’

‘Can yer hear that, Tucker? We’ve just got one war over and me mate here wants to start another! All over a couple of bob!’

‘Nellie, go home and get yer purse, the man hasn’t got all day.’

‘I don’t want to go home, girl, I want to come in yours. I’ve got something very important to tell yer.’

‘I’m not falling for that, sunshine! Yer haven’t been over the door since yer left here earlier, so unless yer ceiling’s fallen in on yer, nothing important could have happened. Anyway, ye’re not getting in here ’cos me flamin’ mangle conked out and I’ve got clothes dripping all over the place.’

A crafty gleam came to Nellie’s eyes. ‘There’s nowt wrong with my mangle, girl, it’s in good nick. So if you pay Tucker, I’ll come in yours and have a natter, then we’ll take yer washing to my house and put it through me mangle. Now yer can’t say that’s not fair.’

Molly saw the coalman’s chest heave in a sigh, and she felt sorry for him. If he spent this long at all his calls he’d be working until midnight. She opened her purse and counted out the correct money. ‘This is nothing but barefaced bribery, and I’m only doing it so Tucker can go about his business.’

Nellie grinned and her cheeks moved upwards to cover her eyes. ‘See yer next week, Tucker.’ With that she pushed Molly aside and entered the house. ‘I’ll stick the kettle on, girl, and we can have a cuppa while we’re talking.’

‘Don’t mind me, sunshine, you just make yerself at home.’ Molly followed her mate into the kitchen. ‘It doesn’t matter that I’m up to me neck in work. Nor, I might add, can I afford to be making yer two lots of tea in one day. Me caddy’s nearly empty now, and it’s got to last me until next week.’

‘Me heart bleeds for yer, girl, it really does.’ Nellie was grinning as she struck a match under the kettle. ‘In fact, it’s bleeding that much I’ve got to do something to stop it before it’s running all over yer kitchen floor. So I’m going to say something that will shock yer, so hang on to the sink for support in case yer feel faint.’ Her eyes full of mischief, she laid a chubby hand on Molly’s arm. ‘When we take these clothes into mine to mangle, I’ll give yer the coal money, plus a couple of spoonfuls of tea to help yer out. Now, that’s a bit of good news, isn’t it, girl?’

Molly cupped her chin in her hand and looked thoughtful. ‘By my reckoning, sunshine, yer’ve had over a thousand cups of tea in this house since rationing started. That’s only the elevenses. If I take into account the times yer’ve been here to a party, well, that’s another couple of hundred.’

Nellie tried to look suitably impressed. ‘Ay, aren’t you good at sums, girl? Just wait until I tell George that yer’ve counted every cup of tea I’ve had – he won’t believe me. I don’t suppose yer know how many mouthfuls that is, do yer, so I can tell him that as well?’

Molly went back to looking thoughtful. ‘Well, seeing as yer can drink half a cup in one go, all yer need do is double the number.’

The kettle began to whistle and Nellie moved away from the stove. ‘Yer’ve put me off now. I could no more drink a cup of tea off yer than fly.’

‘I wouldn’t worry about that, sunshine, ’cos it’s going to be so weak yer won’t know what ye’re drinking.’

‘Oh, that’s all right, then.’ Nellie leaned to look into her friend’s face. ‘I’ll go and sit down because I couldn’t stand the excitement of watching yer count each tea-leaf.’

Molly was grinning as she carried two steaming cups through. ‘I did warn yer! It’s warm, wet and very weak.’ She put Nellie’s cup in front of her. ‘I’ve been trying to get a little stock put by for us when the boys come home. Don’t forget, there’ll be a couple of weddings to worry about in the very near future.’

Nellie sipped on the tea and pulled a face. ‘I was going to say it tastes like maiden’s water, but I know yer’d only get a cob on so I won’t say it.’ She put the cup down and leaned her elbows on the table. ‘That’s what I wanted to talk to yer about.’

‘What! Yer said it was something important!’

‘Well, isn’t my son marrying your daughter important?’

‘Nellie, we’ve talked about Jill and Steve getting married for God knows how long. We even talked about it this morning!’

‘Keep yer hair on, girl, don’t be taking off on me.’ Nellie sighed and her bosom rocked the table, causing the tea to spill over. But a little thing like that didn’t worry her, she wasn’t as houseproud as Molly. ‘I can’t stand being in the house on me own, that’s the truth of it, girl. I can’t wait for me sons to come home. I haven’t seen our Steve for nearly two years, and Paul for eighteen months. When I see them standing in front of me, and know they’ve not been injured or anything, then I’ll be as right as rain. It’s the waiting and not knowing I can’t stand.’

‘I know, sunshine, I feel the same about our Tommy. But at least we know they’re alive, that’s more than some poor families can say.’

‘Well, can we talk about the wedding, to cheer me up? Remember yer said years ago that yer were going to buy the biggest hat in Liverpool for Steve and Jill’s wedding? Yer haven’t changed yer mind, have yer?’

Molly shook her head. ‘The biggest hat that Lewis’s have got. I’m going to be dressed to the nines the day they get married. We’ve waited long enough for it, haven’t we, sunshine?’

‘My George said I’d look a right nit in a big hat.’ Nellie looked dejected. ‘And I don’t want to let me son down by making a show of meself.’

‘There’s a happy medium, Nellie. Buy a hat that’s in between. Not too big but not so small it would look like a pimple on a mountain. Tell your George to keep his flamin’ nose out, anyway! We women know what’s best for us.’ Molly glanced at the clock. ‘I’m sorry, sunshine, but I’m going to have to put a move on. I want to get the sheets on the washing line so they’ll be dry for ironing in the morning.’

Molly held her breath when Nellie pushed her chair back and it creaked in protest. Never a day went by that Molly didn’t expect the chair to collapse and her mate to end up on the floor. And she couldn’t make up her mind whether she’d be more worried about the chair being broken, or having to try and lift her eighteen-stone neighbour off the floor. ‘We can talk while we’re doing the mangling. I’ll feed the sheets in and turn the handle, and you can catch them the other side. Is that OK, sunshine?’

Nellie grinned. ‘How much is it worth?’

‘It’ll pay for that cup of tea yer’ve just had, yer cheeky article.’

‘What cup of tea, girl?’

Molly pointed to the empty cup. ‘That one!’

‘That was never tea was it? Well, I’d never have known. It just goes to show, girl, that yer learn something new every day.’

The postman knocked on Molly’s door the next morning with a huge grin on his face. He handed over two letters. ‘One for you, Molly, and one for Jill.’

Molly was so delighted she couldn’t resist planting a kiss on his cheek. ‘Oh, you lovely man, yer’ve made me day.’ She closed the door and gazed down at the envelopes. Her heart began to race when she recognised her son’s handwriting on one, and Steve’s on the other. Clasping the precious letters to her heart, she walked back to the living room where her two daughters were having breakfast. Jill, her eldest girl, was twenty-one and Doreen a year younger. The sisters were very alike in looks, having inherited their mother’s long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. But where Molly had put weight on over the years, the girls had slim, shapely figures. ‘Jill, there’s a letter for yer, sunshine, from Steve.’

With a shriek of delight, Jill dropped the piece of toast she was eating and reached out for the letter. ‘Please, please, please say he’s coming home.’ Her hands shaking with excitement, she tore the envelope open and took out a two-page letter. As her eyes moved quickly over the lines, her smile grew wider. ‘He’s coming home, Mam! He’s being demobbed and is hoping to be home next week!’

Doreen left her chair to give her sister a hug. ‘That’s marvellous news, our kid, I’m really made up for yer. Isn’t that great, Mam?’ Then she noticed her mother was standing with a letter pressed to her lips. ‘Is that from our Tommy, Mam?’

Molly’s voice was choked. ‘I know I’m daft, but I’m going to cry. And when ye’re a mother yerself yer’ll understand.’

‘I understand now, Mam,’ Doreen said. ‘I feel like crying meself. Would yer like me to read it to yer?’

Sniffing loudly, Molly said, ‘Not ruddy likely! I want to be the first one to know when he’ll be home, safe and sound.’

‘Well, hurry up and open it, then! Me and our Jill have got to go to work.’

Jill, having devoured every word of her boyfriend’s letter three times, put it back in the envelope and turned her attention to her mother. ‘Come on, Mam, open up.’

‘Give our Ruthie a shout for us, will yer, while I read what Tommy’s got to say. I don’t want her to be late for school.’

Jill was standing at the bottom of the stairs when she heard her mother’s cry of delight. ‘He’s back in England! He wrote this letter on the ship and says by the time I receive it he’ll be back on English soil. Oh, thank God for that! He hopes everyone is well and sends his love.’ Her eyes wet with tears of happiness, Molly read on. ‘He can’t wait to see us all, he’s missed us so much.’

‘Ruthie,’ Jill shouted. ‘Hurry up, me Mam’s had a letter from our Tommy.’

The loud clatter from above had Molly shaking her head. ‘She’ll probably jump down the flaming stairs and break her neck.’

The baby of the family entered the room like a whirlwind. ‘When’s he coming home, Mam?’ Ruthie had been a surprise addition to the family, coming along seven years after Tommy was born. It was a time when Molly was having a struggle to make ends meet with three children to clothe and feed on the low wages her husband earned. Another mouth to feed wasn’t exactly welcome. But from the time the baby had been put in her arms by the midwife, she’d been cherished not only by her parents, but also her sisters and brother. ‘Does he mention me in the letter?’

‘No, sunshine, he doesn’t mention anyone by name. He just sends his love to everyone and says he can’t wait to see us all.’

‘I’ve had a letter from Steve,’ Jill said. ‘And he’s coming home next week.’

‘Go’way!’ Twelve-year-old Ruthie was the spitting image of her two sisters. The same blonde hair, blue eyes and slightly turned-up nose. ‘If Steve’s coming home next week, Mam, why isn’t our Tommy?’

‘He is, sunshine! He doesn’t know exactly when, but he’s going to write again as soon as he finds out.’ Molly pointed to the clock. ‘Jill, Doreen, yer’d better get cracking or yer’ll be late clocking in.’

Jill slipped her arms into her coat. ‘I wonder if Auntie Nellie’s had a letter from Steve?’

‘She’s bound to have had. Anyway, I’ll be giving her a knock as soon as I get Ruthie off to school. Then I’m going to me ma’s to see if they’ve heard from Tommy.’ Molly wagged her shoulders and bottom. ‘Isn’t this just a beautiful day?’

Jill gave her a kiss. ‘Yer can say that again, Mam. There were times when I thought this day would never come.’

Doreen followed with a kiss. ‘Yer’ll soon have all yer chicks around yer, Mam, like a mother hen.’

‘Until yer all start leaving the nest.’ Molly smiled. ‘When yer were young I was wishing yer’d grow up, now I wish yer were youngsters again.’

The two sisters stood framed in the doorway. ‘Yer won’t get rid of me that easy, Mam,’ Doreen said. ‘When me and Phil get married we’ll only be living over the road.’

‘And me and Steve won’t be moving far away from yer.’ Jill’s gentle smile brought a lump to Molly’s throat. ‘We’d be lost without you and Auntie Nellie.’

Molly followed them to the door. ‘Wait until yer Dad knows, he’ll be over the moon. I bet him and George go for a pint tonight to celebrate.’

‘Me dad deserves it, the hours he’s been putting in at work.’ Jill linked arms with her sister. ‘Me and Doreen will mug him to a few pints.’

‘I’ll see yer tonight. Ta-ra.’ Molly waved them off and went back into the living room to find Ruthie reading Tommy’s letter. ‘Ay, buggerlugs! Out in the kitchen and get yerself washed while I make yer some toast. And in future, don’t read letters that aren’t addressed to yer.’

Ruthie’s grin was cheeky. ‘I looked at the envelope, Mam, and it said to Mr and Mrs Bennett and family. That means me.’

Molly held her arms wide and the girl walked into them. Rocking her gently, Molly said, ‘Oh, sunshine, I must be the luckiest woman alive. I’ve got a lot to thank God for. A marvellous husband and four lovely children. And He’s kept us all safe through the war. I’ll never complain again as long as I live.’ She patted her daughter’s bottom. ‘Go on, sunshine, get yerself washed or yer’ll be late for school.’

Ruthie was eating her toast when she heard her mother talking to herself in the kitchen. ‘Just look at that pile of ironing I’ve got to do. And I hate ruddy ironing.’

‘I knew yer wouldn’t keep it up, Mam!’

Molly popped her head around the door. ‘Keep what up, sunshine?’

‘Yer said yer’d never complain again as long as yer lived. Five minutes later ye’re complaining about the ironing!’

Molly stopped the chuckle from leaving her mouth. Standing with her hands on her hips she said, ‘Listen to me, Miss Nosy Poke, I was having a private conversation with meself, if yer don’t mind. And I can’t complain to meself about meself, can I? Now if I’d said to you that I had a stack of ironing to do and I hated ironing, then that would be complaining. Can yer see the difference?’

‘Not really, Mam! But seeing as it’s a special day, I’ll let yer off.’

‘Gee, thanks, kid!’ Molly retreated, thinking that when she was young, children were seen and not heard. The war had a lot to answer for.

Nellie opened the front door, folded her arms and came to stand on the edge of the top step. ‘You’re late, aren’t yer?’

Molly looked up with surprise. ‘What d’yer mean, I’m late? I’m not supposed to be here, so how can I be late?’

Nellie delved into the pocket of her pinny, brought out a letter and waved it in her friend’s face. ‘This came two hours ago, the same time as yours.’

‘How did yer know I got a letter?’

‘I asked the postman, of course, soft girl.’ Nellie jerked her head back and tutted. ‘It wouldn’t have done me any good asking the blinking milkman, would it?’

Ooh, I’ll get you for that, Molly thought, chuckling inside. ‘That’s very perspicacious of yer, sunshine! Ye’re nobody’s fool, are yer?’

Nellie narrowed her eyes and clamped her lips together. That was a very long word, that was, and she hadn’t a clue what it meant. She might have done if she hadn’t sagged school so often, but it was thirty years too late to worry about that now. So, not wanting to be beaten, she decided that two could play at that game and she’d bluff her way out. ‘Ye’re right there, girl! I’m nobody’s fool and it’s nice of yer to say so.’ She stepped aside and made a sweeping movement with her hand. ‘Come in and tell me all yer news.’

She’s a crafty minx, Molly told herself as she turned sideways and took a deep breath before squeezing past her mate’s enormous tummy. But she’s too nosy to let it drop. I bet she’ll ask me what the word means before I leave. ‘I won’t stay long, sunshine, ’cos I want to slip round to me ma’s to see if they’ve heard from Tommy.’

‘What did he have to say in his letter, girl?’

Molly feigned surprise. ‘Oh, didn’t the postman tell yer?’

Nellie’s face was deadpan. ‘I did ask him, but he said although he could see the writing, the envelope was too thick to make out the words. So I’ve had to wait two hours for you to come and tell me. I hope it’s been worth the wait.’

Molly couldn’t keep it in any longer. ‘He’s coming home next week, same as Steve.’

‘Oh, that’s the gear, girl!’ Their two hands met across the table and they gripped each other tight. ‘D’yer know, I’ve done nothing but cry since the blinking postman came. George said he couldn’t make me out, that I should be dancing for joy.’

‘They’re tears of relief, sunshine, and I’ve shed a few of them meself. My Jack doesn’t know yet, he’d left for work before the post came.’ Molly had a thought. ‘Oh, I haven’t asked yer about your Paul! Have yer heard from him?’

Nellie shook her head. Paul was her youngest child, and although he was now twenty he was still her baby. ‘George said it’ll take weeks to get the lads home from all the different countries, so I’ll have to be patient. It’s all right for him to talk, though, isn’t it, girl? Men don’t have the same feelings as us women. Before he went out, he said Paul was alive and well and that was the main thing. But I won’t rest until I’ve seen him with me own eyes and hugged him to pieces.’

Molly looked with fondness at the woman who’d been her best mate for nearly twenty-five years. Many of them had been lean years, when the children were little and it was a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. But they’d always shared what little they had with each other. ‘I’d never have got through the war without you, Helen Theresa McDonough. Yer kept me sane when I was nearly out of me mind with worry, and yer made me laugh when I was down in the dumps. Ye’re the best mate anyone could have.’

Nellie’s chubby face lit up. ‘And I’m clever, as well, aren’t I, girl?’

Molly puckered her lips before saying, ‘I think crafty is the word for you.’

‘Oh no, I like that other word better. It sounds more posh.’

‘Which word was that, sunshine?’

‘Don’t come that with me, Molly Bennett, yer know damn well what the word is. What yer said I was for not asking the milkman.’

‘Oh, yer mean perspicacious? It’s a good word, isn’t it, sunshine? I wonder what it means?’

‘Don’t tell me a clever bugger like you doesn’t know what it means?’ Nellie was trying to think fast so her mate wouldn’t get one over on her, and she came up with what she thought was a beauty. ‘I’ll tell yer what, girl, save yer racking yer brains, just write it down and I’ll ask George what it means when he comes in. My feller’s very clever with words.’

Not to be outdone, Molly raised her brows. ‘Have yer got a pencil and a piece of paper? I’ll print it in case he can’t understand me writing.’

Like a little girl who’s been caught out in a game of rounders, Nellie made her way to the sideboard and opened a drawer. She slapped a piece of paper and a stub of a pencil down on the table. ‘I bet yer can’t spell it.’

‘Of course I can!’ Molly sounded more confident than she felt. She’d come across the word in a dictionary and had kept it in her mind until the time came to use it on Nellie. But she hadn’t taken any notice of the way it was spelt. Still, George wouldn’t know, either. So, licking the end of the pencil, she wrote down what she thought was near enough. Handing it to her mate, she said, ‘I know what it means, too! It means understanding clearly.’

‘Well, why the bloody hell didn’t yer say that in the first place?’

‘It’s no good knowing big words if ye’re not going to use them, sunshine.’

‘And by the same token, girl, it’s no good using them if no one can ruddywell understand them!’ Nellie gazed down at the scrap of paper. ‘There’s thirteen letters in that word. Six I can manage, thirteen I wouldn’t even attempt.’

‘Well, I’m going to attempt to get away now, sunshine. If me ma’s had a letter she’ll be expecting me.’

‘Can I come with yer? Me nerves are too shattered to stay in the house.’ Before Molly had time to refuse, Nellie reminded her, ‘Don’t forget, yer’d never have got through the war without me.’

Molly knew when she was beat. ‘Are yer respectable enough to go straight from there to the shops?’

Nellie looked highly indignant. ‘Of course I am! I’ve got no holes in the heels of me stockings, the elastic hasn’t snapped in the leg of me knickers and I haven’t got no tidemark.’ She leaned her weight on the table and lifting her leg she rubbed the front of her shoe over the back of her stocking, then changed foot for the other one. ‘And me shoes have been polished.’

Molly was looking at her with an amused expression on her face. ‘How come yer can get up and down on your chairs without a creak from them, but when yer sit on mine they creak that much I think they’re going to collapse?’

‘Ah, well, yer see, girl, I take yours by surprise. Mine are used to me, and when they see me coming they brace themselves for the onslaught.’

Shaking with laughter, Molly folded her arms on the table and laid her head on them. And Nellie, happy that she’d made her friend laugh, sat down and followed suit. And there wasn’t a peep of protest from the chair.

Bridie Jackson was always pleased to see her daughter but this morning her smile was wider and her eyes sparkling with excitement. ‘I knew yer’d be round, me darlin’, so I did.’ She cupped Molly’s face and kissed her soundly. ‘Sure, isn’t it the best news we’ve had in years?’

‘Yer knew we’d had a letter then, Ma?’

‘Didn’t Tommy tell us that he’d written to yer as well? And wouldn’t he be wanting his mother to know before anyone else?’ Bridie stepped aside to let her visitors pass. She smiled at Nellie and kissed a chubby cheek. ‘Top of the morning to yer, Nellie, me darlin’. Come along in and sit yerselves down.’

Bob Jackson was sitting in his favourite chair at the side of the fireplace and he lifted his cheek for a kiss. ‘Marvellous news, isn’t it, love?’

‘It certainly is, Da! I was that happy this morning I even kissed the postman!’

Nellie’s jaw dropped as she gave her friend a dig. ‘Yer didn’t kiss him, did yer?’

Molly nodded. ‘He must have thought I’d lost the run of me senses.’

‘He never told me that!’

‘Well, he wouldn’t, would he? He knows what ye’re like for gossiping, and it would have been round the street like wildfire. He’d told yer about me getting two let