You Stole My Heart Away

by Joan Jonker

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

Synopsis

Molly and Nellie unite for the last time, in this heart-warming saga complete with hilarity, friendship and a perfect wedding. In You Stole My Heart Away, Joan Jonker brings us the final 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 Nadine Dorries. Molly Bennett and Nellie McDonough are very happy with their lot in life. Their expanding families and abundance of friends always keep them busy. And as they walk arm in arm to the shops every day they are greeted with warmth by their neighbours, for wherever they go they bring fun and laughter with them. Their rock-solid friendship has lasted over twenty years, through good times and bad, and never once have Molly and Nellie fallen out. The two best mates love a bit of excitement so when they learn there is a wedding in the offing which will bring the Bennett, McDonough and Corkhill families even closer it gives the intrepid pair a good reason to save up for a visit into Liverpool and to the shop selling wedding hats. As Nellie says to Corker: 'It had better be a posh wedding to match me posh new hat.' What readers are saying about You Stole My Heart Away : 'This book was fantastic. I laughed all the way through - walked round the house with a smile on my face. Well done Joan' 'Great book, just what I wanted, a real story to read over and over again'

Release date: February 2, 2012

Publisher: Headline

Print pages: 484

Sample

Molly Bennett carried the breakfast dishes out to the kitchen and put them on the draining board. There weren’t many these days, since three of her children had flown the nest. All in the space of two years. She didn’t half miss them, especially at mealtimes when the room would be alive with voices shouting to be heard above the din, and laughter. Lots of laughter.

Leaning back against the sink, Molly let her mind go back over those days. And she told herself she shouldn’t be feeling sorry for herself, she should be glad the three children were happily married and settled down so close to her. She saw them every day, and two of them had made her a grandmother. ‘I should be counting me blessings,’ she told the gas cooker, ‘instead of standing here feeling sorry for meself. So pull yerself together, Molly Bennett, and get some work done.’

She walked back into the living room, and bending over the table she gathered together the four corners of the white tablecloth. Then she took it out into the yard and gave it a good shake before folding it neatly and putting it in the cupboard of the sideboard. While she was doing this with one hand, the other hand was reaching for the maroon chenille cloth which would cover the table until dinnertime. When that task was complete, she tried to put some spark into herself, but she couldn’t raise her spirits.

Sighing softly, Molly told the empty room, ‘It’s Monday morning blues, that’s what’s wrong with me. Just the thought of that tub full of washing is enough to give me the willies. Still, the clothes have been in steep all night, so I’ll only have to rinse them in clean water before putting them through the mangle. And from the look of the clear blue sky, it’s going to be a good day for drying. So, all being well, I should have the clothes pegged out on the line in an hour, and they’ll be dry enough for ironing before Jack and Ruthie get home from work.’

‘Who are yer talking to, girl?’

Startled, Molly spun round, to find herself looking down into the face of her mate, Nellie McDonough, who looked as though she didn’t have a care in the world. This didn’t go down well with Molly, whose heartbeat was racing with shock. ‘Nellie McDonough, yer gave me the fright of me life! What d’yer think ye’re playing at? And how the hell did yer get in anyway?’

‘Yer door was ajar, girl, and I thought yer’d left it open on purpose. You know, like yer were inviting me in for a cup of tea.’

‘Yer must think I want me bumps feeling! It’s Monday, Nellie McDonough, washday! Yer know damn well I won’t let yer in for a cuppa on a Monday morning until me washing is on the line, me beds are made, and the place is cleaned and tidied.’ Molly shook her head. ‘Nellie, it’s no good looking sorry for yerself and pulling faces, ’cos it won’t work. Yer can just turn round and go out the way yer came in. And make sure yer close the door properly on the way out, ’cos I don’t want any more unexpected visitors.’

Nellie pouted her lips and dropped her head as she turned towards the door. But it wasn’t her little girl lost look that caused Molly to follow her, it was curiosity. ‘Why were yer passing my door at eight o’clock in the morning, anyway?’

Nellie kept her head down so her mate couldn’t see the crafty look in her eyes. ‘I was on my way to the corner shop for an aspirin, girl, ’cos I’ve got a splitting headache, and I don’t feel so good.’

As Nellie had anticipated, Molly found herself in a dilemma. She was used to her mate playing the fool to get some sympathy, but as Nellie was a good actress, you could never tell whether she was telling the truth or not. So Molly was torn, and decided to take the middle road. ‘I’m sorry about that, sunshine, and I can’t help yer ’cos I don’t have any aspirin. I’ve got a Beecham’s powder, though, and they’re very good for headaches.’ She put an arm round Nellie’s shoulder. ‘Sit at the table and I’ll mix yer a powder, then I’ll make yer a cup of tea. Yer’ll be as right as rain then, and yer can go home and leave me to get me work done.’

When Molly bustled out to the kitchen, still wondering if her mate was telling the truth or not, Nellie carried the carver chair from the wall by the sideboard to the middle of the room. After using a foot to kick one of the dining chairs out of the way, she placed her trophy at the head of the table. She told herself that she deserved to be comfortable after being clever enough to make up that cock and bull story so quick. Mind you, she didn’t fancy having to take a Beecham’s powder, ’cos she hated them.

‘Here yer are, sunshine, get that down yer while I see to the kettle.’ Molly put the cup down in front of her mate. ‘Yer’ll feel better in no time.’ Then she bustled out to the kitchen again.

Nellie pulled a face when the cup neared her lips, and she shivered with distaste. It was no good, she couldn’t drink it. But what the heck could she do with it? She couldn’t tell her mate now that she didn’t have a headache, because she’d be sent home without a cup of tea. ‘I can’t drink this, though,’ she muttered under her breath, ‘I’d make meself sick. I’d throw it away if there was anywhere to throw it.’ Just as she was saying that, her eyes lighted on Molly’s pride and joy, the aspidistra plant that stood on a little table in front of the window. Now even Nellie knew that plants never got headaches, but they did like a drink now and again. In fact they died if they didn’t get watered, so she’d be doing it a favour.

Her eyes narrowed to slits, Nellie cocked an ear to the kitchen. She could hear her mate getting the cups down, so she’d have time to make it to the aspidistra while Molly was busy, and no one would be any the wiser. Except the plant, of course, but that wouldn’t be able to snitch on her. So slowly scraping her chair back, Nellie put the cup down while she used her two hands to push herself to her feet. Then, after a furtive glance towards the kitchen, she picked up the cup and began the slow, silent walk towards her goal.

In the kitchen, the kettle began to boil and Molly switched it off. But she didn’t pour the water into the teapot, for there was a little niggle in her mind that was telling her to keep an eye on her mate, for the tale she told didn’t ring true. In the twenty-odd years of their friendship, she’d never once known Nellie to have a headache. So she walked into the living room just in time to see her mate’s arm moving upwards, with the cup in her hand tilted ready to pour the contents on to Molly’s pride and joy. ‘Don’t you dare, Nellie McDonough, or so help me I’ll never speak to yer again as long as I live.’ Molly took the cup from Nellie’s hand and glared down at her. ‘My ma gave me that plant twenty years ago, and I’ve treasured it ever since. And you, you sneak, were going to kill it off! What the hell were yer thinking of ?’

‘I wasn’t going to kill it off, I was only going to give it a drink, like what I’ve seen you do plenty of times.’ Nellie put on her innocent face. ‘I was doing you a favour, girl, that’s all!’

‘I’m lost for words, Nellie. I thought I was past being surprised by anything you do. But this little lark takes my breath away. Even you should have known the powder I put in that cup was to clear your headache, not to kill off me plant.’

‘Oh, don’t be getting yer knickers in a twist, girl, not this early in the morning. If yer look in the saucer, yer’ll see I poured half the ruddy water in there! So the drop what’s left in the cup wouldn’t have done the bleeding plant no harm. In fact it might have done it the world of good. Yer might have come down tomorrow morning and found flowers growing, what yer’ve never had in the twenty years yer’ve had it.’

With her nostrils flared and teeth ground together, Molly said, ‘Nellie, aspidistra plants don’t have flowers.’

Nellie turned her head slightly, telling herself Molly was weakening: she could see it in her eyes. ‘What good is a plant what doesn’t ever flower, girl? Waste of space if yer ask me.’

‘Nobody is asking you, Nellie McDonough, certainly not about a plant what yer nearly murdered.’ Molly leaned forward and looked closely at Nellie. ‘Yer haven’t got a headache, have yer? In fact yer never did have one and when yer said yer weren’t feeling too good, that was a lie as well, wasn’t it?’

‘Are yer asking me or telling me, girl?’ Nellie shook her head slowly, for she didn’t want to wake her chins up. ‘If yer don’t calm down, it’ll be you what’s got a headache and not feeling too good. But yer wouldn’t have to worry, girl, ’cos help is at hand. There’s enough Beecham’s powder in me saucer to clear the headache, and the kettle’s been boiled once, so it won’t take me long to make yer a nice cup of tea.’ Nellie’s chubby face beamed. ‘So yer see, girl, there’s no need to get yerself all worked up, which I keep telling yer is bad for yer heart. That’s your trouble, girl, yer worry about things what are not worth worrying about. Like that ruddy plant! I know yer ma gave it to yer and yer think the world of it, but just ask yerself, what is more important? Your life, or me poisoning that bleeding plant?’

‘Oh, I was never worried about the aspidistra, Nellie.’ Molly kept her face straight. ‘Yer see, the only thing in the cup was a drop of water out of the tap, with a spoonful of cold tea added to make it look like I’d put a powder in. Yer see, sunshine, I never really believed the tale yer came up with, about having a headache and not feeling too good. Yer never have a headache, and if yer did get one, yer wouldn’t be going to the corner shop for an aspirin, ’cos Maisie doesn’t sell them. So now we’ve sorted the truth out, I’d like you to get back home and leave me to get me washing out. But I still want to know how you got in here. I’m sure I closed the door after seeing Jack and Ruthie off to work.’

‘Well, ye’re not as clever as yer think yer are, girl, ’cos I hear your door getting banged every morning. Regular as clockwork, you are. And I heard yer closing it this morning. But I’ve got sharp ears, girl, and I didn’t hear the lock click into place like it usually does. So I knew yer hadn’t banged it hard enough. Easy mistake to make, girl; I’ve done it meself before today.’

‘Now I know you watch me every movement, sunshine, I’ll be extra careful. But don’t keep looking at yer chair, ’cos it’s not going to have the pleasure of your company for at least two hours. I’ll see yer at half ten.’

Nellie was very reluctant to lift her feet off the ground, and Molly had to take her arm and escort her to the door. All the time Nellie was muttering, ‘She’s a miserable bugger, even if she is me mate. There’s a ruddy good chair going to waste in there. And even though she wouldn’t agree, I bet it’s missing me, ’cos me backside keeps it nice and warm.’

Thinking of all the work she had to get through in two hours, Molly started to close the door. ‘See yer at half ten, Nellie, and I’ll have a couple of custard creams for yer to have with yer tea.’

She shut the door and leaned back against it, then chuckled when she heard her mate saying, ‘Two fiddling custard creams! She’s killing me with bleeding kindness, that’s what she’s doing, the miserable beggar. Thinks she’s doing me a big favour with two biscuits what I’ll swallow so quick me throat won’t even know they’ve passed through.’

While Molly went back to her kitchen and the dolly tub, Nellie walked slowly to her own house three doors away. She really felt down in the dumps. It wasn’t often she failed to get round her mate, but she had today and it was her own fault. She’d really put her foot in it over that ruddy plant. She wouldn’t give it house room herself. ‘I mean, what good is it? It doesn’t speak or laugh, to brighten up the place. It just stands there, day after day, doing sweet bugger all. And it expects to be given a drink twice a week, and dusted once a week. Molly doesn’t half fuss over it, even washes its leaves with a damp cloth every Saturday without fail. And she even goes as far as moving the ruddy thing away from the window when the sun is shining on it! I mean, that’s going a bit too far. She needs her head seeing to,’ Nellie muttered finally as she used the doorframe to pull herself up the two steps. Then, puffing and red in the face from exertion, she waddled halfway down the tiny hall before coming to a halt just long enough to kick her leg backwards to shut the front door. And when Nellie shut the door, well, the door knew only too well that it had been shut, for it shuddered for a few seconds with the impact.

The first thing that met her eyes when she entered the living room was the fireplace. It hadn’t been cleaned out, and the ashes were spread across the grate and hearth. And the sight added to Nellie’s woes. Pointing to it with a chubby finger, she said, ‘And as for you, ye’re as useless as that bleeding plant of me mate’s. Ye’re just bone idle.’ After a few huffs, she added, ‘And yer can stay like that for all I care. I’m going to give me washing a quick rinse out, while the kettle’s warming up. And I’ve no intention of pulling me guts out by putting the clothes through the mangle, either, ’cos it’s too much like hard work. I’ll wring as much water out of them as I can with me bare hands, then put them on the washing line to drip dry. The kettle will have boiled by then, and I can make meself a cuppa.’ Once again she pointed to the grate. ‘If I’ve got any time to spare after that, I’ll give yer a quick going over with the hand brush and shovel. But only if I’ve got time, mind, ’cos I’ve got to be at me mate’s by half ten. I know it’s only two custard creams, but even that is better than a kick up the backside. And credit where credit is due, she makes a better cup of tea than I do. Don’t ask me how, but I think it’s got something to do with the way she holds her mouth.’ She held up an open hand. ‘Anyway, don’t argue with me ’cos the way I’m carrying on, it’ll be bedtime before I get me ruddy washing on the line.’

Nellie waddled into the kitchen, a hand on each hip. And she put a question to the dark, empty room. ‘Shall I make a cup of tea first, or see to me washing?’ Then she tutted. ‘What’s the point of asking you? I’m more likely to get an extra biscuit off me mate than I am to get an answer from you.’ She began to laugh, and her eighteen-stone body shook. If the floor had been a wooden one, it would have joined in the laughter because floorboards had a sense of humour. But concrete was too thick to see the funny side of anything. ‘I’ve often heard people say it’s like talking to a wall, and here’s me doing it meself. I must be going barmy.’

Rolling her sleeves up, Nellie put the plug in the sink and turned on the tap. While she was waiting for the sink to fill, she had a word with the window. ‘I’ve changed me mind about making meself a cup of tea. I’m going to wait until I get to me mate’s. I don’t enjoy sitting at the table on me own with a cup in me hand and no one to talk to, or have a laugh with.’ She saw the sink was now half full, and turned the tap off before bending over the dolly tub and pulling out a pair of her husband’s working trousers. She wrung as much water out as she could over the tub, then quickly transferred them to the sink, where she dunked them up and down in the clean water.

Now Nellie didn’t believe in wasting time on any job, so the trousers were only given the one rinse before being carried, dripping wet, out to the yard, where they were thrown haphazard over the line, while Nellie went back for some pegs. The next item to receive the same treatment was a double sheet, followed by two shirts belonging to her son Paul. And last but not least came a pair of her own bloomers. And it was when she was hanging these out that she heard her mate’s voice from three yards away and called, ‘Is that you, girl?’

‘It is, sunshine. I was just passing the time of day with me next door neighbour, seeing as we are both putting our washing out. I was saying it was a good job out of the way. Have yer got yours out yet?’

‘Of course I have, girl. I don’t mess around, yer know that.’ Nellie’s eyes went towards the heavens, and she said, very quietly, so her mate wouldn’t hear, ‘That’s only a white lie, St Peter, not worth yer making a note of. I’ll be putting the rest of me washing out later, after I’ve had a little break. You wouldn’t understand, being a man, but a woman’s work is never done.’

Molly’s voice floated over the walls. ‘Did yer say something, sunshine?’

‘Yes I did, girl, but it wasn’t something I want the whole world to know, so I’ll tell yer later. I’ll be in yours in fifteen minutes.’ With that, Nellie moved as speedily as she could up the step into the kitchen and banged the door shut. She didn’t want to hear her mate’s reply.

Molly had called out once and got no reply, so she shouted louder. ‘Half an hour, Nellie, and not a minute sooner. I haven’t made me beds yet.’

‘She mustn’t have heard yer, Molly,’ the neighbour, Irene, said. ‘Is Nellie hard of hearing?’

Molly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. But she did know she’d better get in and make the beds in ten minutes flat. ‘Irene, I’m going in, sunshine, and I hope the weather stays dry for us. See yer later, perhaps. Ta-ra.’

Ten minutes later, Molly was puffing when she stood on the landing. She’d never made the beds so fast in all her life. What with a line full of washing out, pushing the heavy mangle back into the space in the corner of the kitchen, cleaning the grate and dusting the living room, she felt worn out and it was only quarter past ten in the flipping morning! Just wait until Nellie McDonough came. ‘I’ll give her a piece of me mind. It’s all her fault that the day’s routine has been turned on its head.’ And she’d tell her so, as well.

Holding on to the banister, Molly took her time going down each stair to allow her heartbeat to slow down. And as she reached the last stair, she was telling herself this would never happen again. In future, no one would get over the doorstep until she’d done all her housework and was ready, and willing, to receive visitors. Even the Queen wouldn’t be allowed in. But standing in the hallway she decided she’d weaken in her resolve on one condition, and only one. And that was if the person knocking on her front door was Robert Taylor. Now that was something that would make her very happy. And she’d make sure Nellie didn’t get a foot over the doorstep that day, for she’d hog the limelight and no one else would get a look in.

Molly’s wishful thinking was brought to an abrupt end when there came a loud knocking on her door. She didn’t have to open the door to see who it was, ’cos her mate was the only person she knew who was so heavy-handed. ‘Yer can wait until I’m ready, Nellie McDonough,’ Molly said as she sat on the second stair. ‘Yer’ve upset me whole day with yer shenanigans, and I’ve a good mind not to open the door to yer! If I set eyes on yer, I’m sure I won’t be able to stop meself from throttling yer.’

Nellie knew she was in her mate’s bad books, so she thought she’d better do a bit of crawling. Bending down, she opened the letterbox and peered through. She could see Molly sitting on the stairs and said, coaxingly, ‘Come on, girl, open the door. Yer know yer’ll get a headache if I keep on knocking. And besides, it’s not like you to go back on yer word.’

Molly sat with her chin cradled in her two hands. ‘What word was that, Nellie? Quite a lot of words were spoken this morning, and most of them childish and unnecessary. So I think the best bet for us is not to see each other at all for the rest of the day. Let’s cool off, and we’ll feel better tomorrow. Yer see, right now I feel like marmalizing yer for ruining the whole day for me. It’s only half past ten and I’m worn out.’

Nellie called through the letterbox. ‘Is that all it is, girl, half past ten? Well, fancy that! I’m just in time for our usual cup of tea and two custard creams. So yer can’t tell me off for coming too early.’

It was on the tip of Molly’s tongue to shout back that Nellie’s eight o’clock call had ruined the usual daily routine, and now everything had gone to pot. But she knew if she did it would just be a waste of breath. She knew her mate well enough by now to know that if Nellie was determined to get in, then there was nothing more certain than that she would get in. Even if she had to climb over the back yard wall. It wouldn’t be the first time. Mind you, it was many years ago now, and both she and Nellie were a lot younger then. Molly had told her mate not to come in one day, because she wasn’t feeling so good. It was not long after Tommy was born, and she wanted to feed him before putting him down to sleep for a few hours. She wanted a break, so she could put her feet up while he slept.

These thoughts took Molly back in time, and although it had happened over twenty years ago she could see it in her mind as though it was only yesterday. She’d fed Tommy, nursed him until he dropped off to sleep, then laid him in his pram in the hall. Then, looking forward to putting her feet up for a few hours, she’d walked back into the living room and flopped on the couch. She was just about to swing her legs round, to stretch out full length, when she saw, through the back window, a sight she thought must be an illusion. She’d rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hands, thinking she must be seeing things, for that couldn’t be Nellie sitting astride her back yard wall, surely? She thought she was imagining it at first, until her mate waved to her. It turned out that Nellie had asked her neighbour for the loan of her stepladder. The neighbour was very dubious, but Nellie could talk anyone into thinking the sun was shining when in fact there was two foot of snow on the ground. Anyway, Nellie had ended up on the wall, but couldn’t get down into Molly’s yard. And to add to her dismay, the neighbour had taken her steps back in, saying she wasn’t going to be involved with Nellie’s falling and breaking her neck. So, armed with a chair, Molly had had to forgo her rest to rescue her mate. Remembering it now brought a smile to Molly’s face as she pushed herself off the stair. Nellie had been a ruddy nuisance at times, and caused Molly much embarrassment, but those times had been few compared to the number of occasions she’d had Molly doubled up with laughter at her antics. And not only Molly, but all their friends and families.

The letterbox rattled, and Nellie shouted, ‘Come on, girl, those ruddy biscuits will be stale by the time I get them. And me throat is parched with shouting.’

‘Well stop ruddy well shouting, yer silly nit.’ Molly was feeling a lot more relaxed as she walked towards the door. She should take a lesson from her mate and not worry so much. If she lived at a slower pace, she’d live longer.

Her jaw dropped when she opened the door to see Nellie kneeling on the second step. ‘In the name of God, sunshine, what are yer doing down there?’

‘I had to get down here to look through the letterbox, girl, and it’s taken yer so long to move yerself me knees must be locked, because I can’t get up now.’ Nellie was holding on to the edge of the wall to keep her balance. ‘It’s your fault I’m down here, so the least yer can do is give us a hand up.’

Molly saw the funny side and chuckled. ‘Seeing as it’s you, and ye’re me best mate, then I’ll give yer me two hands.’ She pulled Nellie upright, then stepped back to let her enter the hall. ‘But don’t think that means I’m taking any responsibility for yer being on yer knees, ’cos I’m not. Move along now so I can close the door, unless yer want to stand tummy to tummy while we chat.’

‘How many times do I have to tell yer that sarcasm doesn’t suit yer, girl?’ Nellie asked as she waddled into the living room. ‘Yer’ve got the wrong face for it.’

Molly had just closed the door, and was about to follow Nellie, when there was a rap on the knocker. With a sigh of resignation, she wondered aloud, ‘Who can this be now?’

But when she saw who was standing outside, her face lit up. ‘Hello, sunshine, this is a nice surprise. Do yer want me to get something from the shops for yer, when me and Nellie go shopping?’

Doreen was Molly’s second daughter, and lived in the house opposite with her husband Phil, baby Bobby and ninety-year-old Victoria Clegg, who had lived in the house alone for about fifty years. She had offered a home to Doreen and Phil when they got married, and it was a happy arrangement. ‘No, I’m going out to do me own shopping, Mam, to give Bobby some fresh air. I’ve come over because I thought there must be something wrong, with Auntie Nellie shouting through the letterbox. I could hear her shouting but couldn’t make out what she was saying. Are you all right?’

‘Of course I am, sunshine. It was just me and Nellie playing silly beggars. I’ll tell yer about it some other time; it’s nothing exciting.’ Molly called through to the living room, ‘Are yer listening, sunshine? I’m just telling Doreen we’ve been playing silly beggars.’

‘I can’t answer yer, girl,’ Nellie croaked, ’cos me mouth is as dry as a bone.’

Molly winked at her daughter, and very quietly whispered, ‘Tell her a Beecham’s powder is good for a sore throat.’

Doreen whispered back, ‘But a Beecham’s is no good for a throat. They’re more for colds, or headaches.’

‘I know that, sunshine, but do it anyway, and see what me mate has to say about it.’

Doreen shrugged her shoulders, then called out, ‘Try a Beecham’s, Auntie Nellie, that’ll ease yer throat.’

Nellie’s voice came back as a growl. ‘Ha, ha, very funny. Yer look like yer mam, and now ye’re beginning to take after her for being sarky.’

Doreen passed her mother and went into the living room. ‘I wasn’t being sarcastic, Auntie Nellie, I was trying to be helpful. It sounds to me as though ye’re getting a cold, ’cos yer voice is really gruff. And the best medicine for a cold, I’ve always found, is a Beecham’s powder.’

‘I’ll clock the next one who mentions that bleeding stuff again. I’ve heard nothing else since eight o’clock this morning.’

Doreen’s eyes widened. ‘Eight o’clock this morning? You weren’t up and about at that time in the morning, surely? If yer were, Auntie Nellie, then ye’re definitely sickening for something.’

‘Oh, I’m sickening for something all right, and that’s a ruddy cup of tea and two custard creams. I was promised them by your mam at eight o’clock, when she threw me out of the house without any pity. She’s a hard woman is your mam, and if she doesn’t stop messing around, and get me tea and biscuits, then she’ll be a hard woman with two black eyes.’

Molly chuckled. ‘You better go home and see to Bobby, sunshine, and me and Nellie will see yer later. As soon as she gets an injection of tea and biscuits, she’ll brighten up and be back to her lovable, happy self.’

Doreen bent to kiss Nellie’s cheek before walking to the front door. ‘Aunt Vicky will wonder what’s keeping me. She’ll be on pins, thinking there’s something wrong, like I did.’

‘Oh, I’ll tell yer the whole tale later, sunshine.’ Molly looked down at her daughter from the top step. ‘All in all it’s been quite an eventful morning so far. It seems like a week to me; I can’t believe it’s still only half past ten. Still, by the time we get across to yours, me and Nellie will be back to normal.’

Doreen grinned. ‘When ever has Auntie Nellie been normal, Mam? I’d think there was something wrong with her if she was.’ She turned to cross the cobbles. ‘Give us a knock before yer go shopping. Add a bit to the story to make it more exciting. It’ll give me and Aunt Vicky something to talk about. Our life is very dull compared to yours.’ She waved when she got to her front door. ‘I can hear Bobby complaining because he’s due for a feed. See yer later.’

Molly closed the door and walked through to the living room. ‘Did yer hear that, sunshine? Doreen wants an exaggerated account of our shenanigans. So while I’m making the tea, you put yer thinking cap on.’ She hesitated at the kitchen door. ‘But keep it clean, sunshine, ’cos Victoria enjoys a laugh as long as there’s no swearing or tales of what happens in your bedroom.’

Nellie jerked her head back, confusing her chins. They were used to swaying from left to right, even enjoyed the up and down sensation when she nodded, but the quick backward jerk of her head had them flying all over the place. ‘If I’m not allowed to swear, or mention my George’s lust for me voluptuous body, then I’ll have nothing to say. So I’ll leave the talking to you while I sit yawning. ’Cos yer have to admit, girl, that you can’t tell a tale like what I can.’

‘Don’t yer mean I’m not as good a liar as you, sunshine? Because surely yer don’t think for one minute I believe half the things you come out with? Your George, who I have the greatest sympathy for, would have to be Tarzan and Herc