Bells of Bournville Green by Annie Murray Page A

lad. They’re astonishing, babies are! You should have seen Mom’s face! He was the centre of attention all the time of course. Even while we were eating dinner and having games and all the usual sort of thing. We have all sorts of things we do at Christmas – rituals you’d call them, I s’pose. There’s a meal on Christmas Eve and we gather the presents together all round the tree. And when we all get up in the morning we always have boiled eggs. Nothing fancy – just things we always do.’ He took a sip of his pint. ‘It makes you realize – there’s nothing like family life, is there?’
    ‘No – no, there certainly isn’t,’ Greta said, her heart sinking. ‘Only mine isn’t a big close one like yours.’
    ‘We’re very lucky – but we can’t all be the same,’ he said, turning to her. ‘Look, I’d like you to come home, soon – meet everyone. Or at least the ones who are around. Maggie and Don live in Wolverhampton now of course. He works on the Express and Star.’
    ‘I’d like that,’ Greta said, feeling excited. If Dennis thought she was good enough to meet his wonderful family, then things must be going all right.
    ‘We’ll sort it out then. You can come round for tea or something, at the weekend. It’s very important to me – and so are you.’
    They sat chatting about the book she had given him and how he’d enjoyed it. She told Dennis a bit about Bonjour Tristesse and he said he’d like to borrow it when she’d finished.
    ‘We’ll have to go and have a browse in that shop together,’ he said. ‘He’s a great bloke, the one who runs it.’
    ‘Yes, he seemed very nice,’ Greta said. She suddenly felt Edie’s words wash through her, the feeling that she had wasted her opportunities at Cadbury’s, that there were so many more things she could be doing. Dennis seemed to be in so many clubs: the film club, cricket and football, and he even went to German classes on Mondays.
    ‘I went on one of the trips,’ he told her. ‘When I was sixteen. We went walking in the Austrian Alps and it was absolutely marvellous. I’d never heard German spoken before and everyone seems to hate Germans anyway, but the Austrians were ever so kind and hospitable to us. I’ve been learning for a few years now.’
    ‘Oh,’ Greta said, shrinking inside. Cadbury’s offered trips to everyone of course, but somehow she never seemed to have taken these opportunities. Whereas Dennis just took life head-on and did things with straightforward enthusiasm. Somehow, for herself, things always seemed to be more twisted round. Why did she not want to do more things to improve herself? She knew there was a competition at the factory – Cadbury Girl of the Year. When she’d heard she’d felt a bitter pang of envy knowing that she couldn’t enter herself. What did she have to offer? Nothing.
    ‘I don’t do many club things,’ she admitted. ‘But I think it’s time I took up some more.’
    ‘Good idea,’ Dennis said. ‘It’s marvellous, I think, all the things we can do. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Some people even go on to the university.’
    This seemed so completely over the horizon to Greta in terms of ambition that she could think of nothing to say.
    ‘It’s so nice talking to you,’ Dennis said suddenly. ‘I always feel that you really understand what I’m saying.’
    Greta blushed. Suddenly she was filled with a longing she couldn’t explain. ‘Do you?’
    ‘Yes. You’re sweet – lovely.’
    Everyone seemed to keep telling her she was lovely, but she didn’t feel it.
    They walked home very slowly in the icy darkness and Dennis took her arm on the slippery pavement and walked her all the way to the front door.
    ‘D’you want to come in?’ she felt compelled to ask, praying that he would say no. Herbert Smail was there no doubt, and she could hardly bear the thought of Dennis seeing him. She breathed out with relief when he said, ‘Better not. Another time when it’s