have I done now?" I asked.
"All because the cabbage is a bit watery. Oh, I'll squeeze it again."
I was flouncing back into the scullery when he caught my arm and said soothingly, "Take no notice of her. The cabbage is all right. That woman's mad, she should be locked up. There'll be trouble with her one day, you'll see."
Don and Sam came in every day to inquire after my mother, yet Don never went through to the front room, he always stayed in the kitchen.
But he never managed to get me alone, nor did he manage to meet me outside, for whatever shift he was on I arranged to go for the shopping when I knew he would be at the pit.
Sam would sit by my mother's bedside as long as he was allowed, until she would say, "Well, Sam, you'd better be trot- tin'," or until he heard Aunt Phyllis yell, "Sam! You Sam!" Often he would say to me,
"Can't I do anything for you, Christine, get coal in or anything?" And nearly always my answer was, "No, Sam, thanks; Dad's got it."
The doctor's visits were spaced more widely apart now, which made Dad angry and he exclaimed one day, "He'd be on the bloody doorstep if he could get his seven and a tanner each time. He'll get his bill." And then he ended, "My God! it makes you wish there was a bloody war, for then there'd be no shortage of money. They'd be crying out for us then."
The week before Christmas my mother came into the kitchen and it was a time of rejoicing. I felt so happy that I seemed to do everything right; even the pastry I made turned out light and fluffy, and this caused the first real laugh there had been in the house for months.
The world seemed to be right again. Dad put up the chains, Mrs.
Durrant sent mother a big parcel of food, and Mollie came to see me and told me that she had left the shop for she couldn't stand it with out me.
I had been surprised to see Mollie at the door, and I had invited her in after whispering to her, "Don't swear, will you?" and she hadn't sworn for half an hour. I saw that my mother liked her. Then Stinker came in and, wanting to be friendly, put his paws on her leg and tore her stocking. At this she exclaimed in dismay, "Oh, you bugger! And me best pair." Then giving a laugh she ended, "That's another bloody one an' eleven gone down the drain cost price, too." She gave me a push.
I glanced at my mother and saw that her face was surprised and straight, but Ronnie and Dad were almost convulsed.
Mollie soon took her departure, and Mam asked me, immediately the door had closed on her, "Does she usually swear?"
"No, Mam," I lied. I knew that my mother did not believe me.
Christmas over, Mam's energy seemed to flag again, and one day I found her crying and she said, "Go down to Father Howard and ask him if he will kindly say a mass for me." Then she drew her purse to her and, counting out five shillings in sixpences and coppers, added, "You'd better take this with you. Offer it to him, but he may not take it."
Her request sounded so ominous that I hurriedly put on my hat and coat and went out. There was a cold wind blowing but the coldness of my hands, feet and face could not in any way compare with the coldness I was feeling round my heart. My mother was very ill; she was getting up, but this did not hide the fact that she was very ill.
Even in the biting wind there were men lining each side of the bridge and they called out to me and asked how she was.
The nine o'clock mass was just finishing and I saw Father Howard in the vestry. I made my request and offered him the five shillings, which he took quite casually and laid it on a shelf as if it were of no account.
When I returned home, Mam said, "Well?" She did not ask if he was going to say the mass for her but ended, "Did he take it?" I nodded silently and she said somewhat bitterly, "My God!"
From this time on I started to go to mass every morning, even when there might be a chance of Don waylaying me. I went to Our Lady's altar after each service and begged her to
spare my mother.
"All because the cabbage is a bit watery. Oh, I'll squeeze it again."
I was flouncing back into the scullery when he caught my arm and said soothingly, "Take no notice of her. The cabbage is all right. That woman's mad, she should be locked up. There'll be trouble with her one day, you'll see."
Don and Sam came in every day to inquire after my mother, yet Don never went through to the front room, he always stayed in the kitchen.
But he never managed to get me alone, nor did he manage to meet me outside, for whatever shift he was on I arranged to go for the shopping when I knew he would be at the pit.
Sam would sit by my mother's bedside as long as he was allowed, until she would say, "Well, Sam, you'd better be trot- tin'," or until he heard Aunt Phyllis yell, "Sam! You Sam!" Often he would say to me,
"Can't I do anything for you, Christine, get coal in or anything?" And nearly always my answer was, "No, Sam, thanks; Dad's got it."
The doctor's visits were spaced more widely apart now, which made Dad angry and he exclaimed one day, "He'd be on the bloody doorstep if he could get his seven and a tanner each time. He'll get his bill." And then he ended, "My God! it makes you wish there was a bloody war, for then there'd be no shortage of money. They'd be crying out for us then."
The week before Christmas my mother came into the kitchen and it was a time of rejoicing. I felt so happy that I seemed to do everything right; even the pastry I made turned out light and fluffy, and this caused the first real laugh there had been in the house for months.
The world seemed to be right again. Dad put up the chains, Mrs.
Durrant sent mother a big parcel of food, and Mollie came to see me and told me that she had left the shop for she couldn't stand it with out me.
I had been surprised to see Mollie at the door, and I had invited her in after whispering to her, "Don't swear, will you?" and she hadn't sworn for half an hour. I saw that my mother liked her. Then Stinker came in and, wanting to be friendly, put his paws on her leg and tore her stocking. At this she exclaimed in dismay, "Oh, you bugger! And me best pair." Then giving a laugh she ended, "That's another bloody one an' eleven gone down the drain cost price, too." She gave me a push.
I glanced at my mother and saw that her face was surprised and straight, but Ronnie and Dad were almost convulsed.
Mollie soon took her departure, and Mam asked me, immediately the door had closed on her, "Does she usually swear?"
"No, Mam," I lied. I knew that my mother did not believe me.
Christmas over, Mam's energy seemed to flag again, and one day I found her crying and she said, "Go down to Father Howard and ask him if he will kindly say a mass for me." Then she drew her purse to her and, counting out five shillings in sixpences and coppers, added, "You'd better take this with you. Offer it to him, but he may not take it."
Her request sounded so ominous that I hurriedly put on my hat and coat and went out. There was a cold wind blowing but the coldness of my hands, feet and face could not in any way compare with the coldness I was feeling round my heart. My mother was very ill; she was getting up, but this did not hide the fact that she was very ill.
Even in the biting wind there were men lining each side of the bridge and they called out to me and asked how she was.
The nine o'clock mass was just finishing and I saw Father Howard in the vestry. I made my request and offered him the five shillings, which he took quite casually and laid it on a shelf as if it were of no account.
When I returned home, Mam said, "Well?" She did not ask if he was going to say the mass for her but ended, "Did he take it?" I nodded silently and she said somewhat bitterly, "My God!"
From this time on I started to go to mass every morning, even when there might be a chance of Don waylaying me. I went to Our Lady's altar after each service and begged her to
spare my mother.
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