see Cissy while she’s here?
It’s not as if she gets herself over here often these days.’
Peering out into the yard in Cissy’s direction, she added, to Gladys, ‘We’re gonna have to watch that one. She’s up there by the works with Dolly’s Fred
again.’
Tommy could feel Melly standing by his chair, looking down at him. He didn’t look up and after a minute she went to the door and slipped outside. No one called her back.
Melly stood at the side of the yard, in the dying light. She leaned against the wall, arms clenched across her chest. Cissy had come over after work to stay with them, but
Cissy’s idea of fun these days was hanging around with Freddie Morrison.
Cissy had left school now and was fulfilling Nanna Peggy’s dream of having a daughter working in a big store. Well, almost. Peggy really wanted a daughter selling clothes or perfume at
Lewis’s or Rackham’s. Cissy was working at Woolworth’s, but at least it was Woolworth’s in the Bull Ring and Peggy was sure it would lead to higher things.
Now she had left school, with a sigh and a flounce of relief, Cissy considered herself a Woman and Melly still to be a Child. Melly was fed up with her. Cissy used to come over to play with
her,
but she knew that these days, Alma Street was the main place where Cissy could meet boys. Cissy was full of new words these days. Everything was ‘cool’ or
‘hip’. She wore full, swinging skirts and hoiked her ginger hair into a high ponytail.
Freddie, the youngest of the five Morrison lads, was fifteen, only a few months older than Cissy. Cissy had previously had a crush on Jonny, his older brother, but that hadn’t lasted
long.
‘Jonny’s boring,’ she’d announced last year. Jonny, of all the Morrison boys, was the studious one. The others had left school and worked for various firms in the area,
but Jonny wanted to be a teacher. Now that there were enough wages coming into the house from all the others, Mo and Dolly had said he could stay on at school. Jonny, at seventeen, had his nose
constantly in a book and this was not good-time-girl Cissy’s cup of tea at all.
So she had set her sights on Freddie instead. He was a jolly, uncomplicated lad who worked for a firm turning out brass pressings and stampings. As soon as he was finished at work, he was
looking for fun and Cissy was eager to provide it. The two of them had lengthy, secretive chats in which Cissy did a lot of giggling. One of these chats was going on right now, by the wall of the
wire works. Freddie, blonde and muscular, though not much taller than Cissy, was leaning one elbow against the wall, one leg nonchalantly bent. Cissy was laughing at everything he said even if it
wasn’t funny
.
‘I don’t know why you bother coming any more if you don’t want to do anything,’ Melly had said to Cissy earlier. Cissy seemed to have no time for her these days. She just
rolled her eyes, looked superior and didn’t say anything back.
Melly was so fed up that she felt like hurting Cissy – slapping or scratching her. But it was the rejection she felt from Tommy that was the worst. He didn’t seem to want anything
from her now he was at school. Tommy had also told her that at school they had a proper frame to hold his paper, to stop it slipping. He was quite good with his right hand and his writing was
coming on. What he could not do was to hold the paper still with his left hand. But he was now on to something better than having the paper weighed down with a tin of marrowfat peas and a packet of
salt or whatever came to hand. Everything at Carlson House was marvellous and it seemed that none of the things she had done for him were good enough now.
Her throat ached with the need to cry. Earlier, she had wanted Tommy to see how near her tears were, to take pity on her. But he just kept staring at his comic.
Another outbreak of giggles came from along the yard and Melly turned her back on Cissy and Fred. The worst of it
It’s not as if she gets herself over here often these days.’
Peering out into the yard in Cissy’s direction, she added, to Gladys, ‘We’re gonna have to watch that one. She’s up there by the works with Dolly’s Fred
again.’
Tommy could feel Melly standing by his chair, looking down at him. He didn’t look up and after a minute she went to the door and slipped outside. No one called her back.
Melly stood at the side of the yard, in the dying light. She leaned against the wall, arms clenched across her chest. Cissy had come over after work to stay with them, but
Cissy’s idea of fun these days was hanging around with Freddie Morrison.
Cissy had left school now and was fulfilling Nanna Peggy’s dream of having a daughter working in a big store. Well, almost. Peggy really wanted a daughter selling clothes or perfume at
Lewis’s or Rackham’s. Cissy was working at Woolworth’s, but at least it was Woolworth’s in the Bull Ring and Peggy was sure it would lead to higher things.
Now she had left school, with a sigh and a flounce of relief, Cissy considered herself a Woman and Melly still to be a Child. Melly was fed up with her. Cissy used to come over to play with
her,
but she knew that these days, Alma Street was the main place where Cissy could meet boys. Cissy was full of new words these days. Everything was ‘cool’ or
‘hip’. She wore full, swinging skirts and hoiked her ginger hair into a high ponytail.
Freddie, the youngest of the five Morrison lads, was fifteen, only a few months older than Cissy. Cissy had previously had a crush on Jonny, his older brother, but that hadn’t lasted
long.
‘Jonny’s boring,’ she’d announced last year. Jonny, of all the Morrison boys, was the studious one. The others had left school and worked for various firms in the area,
but Jonny wanted to be a teacher. Now that there were enough wages coming into the house from all the others, Mo and Dolly had said he could stay on at school. Jonny, at seventeen, had his nose
constantly in a book and this was not good-time-girl Cissy’s cup of tea at all.
So she had set her sights on Freddie instead. He was a jolly, uncomplicated lad who worked for a firm turning out brass pressings and stampings. As soon as he was finished at work, he was
looking for fun and Cissy was eager to provide it. The two of them had lengthy, secretive chats in which Cissy did a lot of giggling. One of these chats was going on right now, by the wall of the
wire works. Freddie, blonde and muscular, though not much taller than Cissy, was leaning one elbow against the wall, one leg nonchalantly bent. Cissy was laughing at everything he said even if it
wasn’t funny
.
‘I don’t know why you bother coming any more if you don’t want to do anything,’ Melly had said to Cissy earlier. Cissy seemed to have no time for her these days. She just
rolled her eyes, looked superior and didn’t say anything back.
Melly was so fed up that she felt like hurting Cissy – slapping or scratching her. But it was the rejection she felt from Tommy that was the worst. He didn’t seem to want anything
from her now he was at school. Tommy had also told her that at school they had a proper frame to hold his paper, to stop it slipping. He was quite good with his right hand and his writing was
coming on. What he could not do was to hold the paper still with his left hand. But he was now on to something better than having the paper weighed down with a tin of marrowfat peas and a packet of
salt or whatever came to hand. Everything at Carlson House was marvellous and it seemed that none of the things she had done for him were good enough now.
Her throat ached with the need to cry. Earlier, she had wanted Tommy to see how near her tears were, to take pity on her. But he just kept staring at his comic.
Another outbreak of giggles came from along the yard and Melly turned her back on Cissy and Fred. The worst of it
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