be a very strong heart indeed to get over the fact that the husband she loved had walked out on her. She never loved anyone else.
There hadnât been time, what with working hard to put good meals in front of the children. Not to mention paying for extra classes and betterclothes. There had been no family holidays over the years. Sometimes Jo, Bobby and Pat went to see their father on the train. They never said much about the visits. And Nan never asked them any questions.
Jo often brought her jackets or sweaters that she was finished with. Or unwanted Christmas presents. Bobby brought round his washing every week because he lived with Kay, this feminist girl, who said that men should look after their own clothes. Bobby often brought a cake or a packet of biscuits. He would eat these with his mother as she ironed his shirts for him. Pat came round often to fix door and window locks, or to re-set the burglar alarm. Mainly to warn her mother of all the evil there was in the world.
Nan Ryan had little to complain about. She never told her children thatsince she had given up work she often felt lonely. Nanâs family seemed so gloomy about the work that would be done on the house next door that she didnât want to tell them that she was quite looking forward to it. That she was waiting for the builders and looking out for them every day.
Chapter Two
The builders came on a sunny morning. Nan watched them from behind her curtain. Three men altogether in a red van. The van had âDerek Doyleâ on it in big white letters.
The two younger men let themselves into Number Twelve with a key. Nan heard them call out, âDerek! The bad news is that weâll be a week getting rid of all the rubbish thatâs here. The good news is that thereâs somewhere to plug in a kettle and it hasnât been turned off.â
A big smiling man came out of the red van.
âWell weâre made for life then, for the next couple of months anyway. Isnât this a lovely road?â
He looked around at the houses and Nan felt a surge of pride. She had always thought that Chestnut Road was a fine place. Nan wished that her children had been there to see this man admiring it all. And he was a builder, a man who knew about roads and houses.
Jo used to say it was poky. Bobby said it was old-fashioned. Pat said the place was an open invitation to burglars with its long low garden walls where they could make their escape. But this man who had never seen it before liked it.
Nan hid herself and watched.
She didnât want to go out and bethere on top of them from the very start.
She saw fussy Mr OâBrien from Number Twenty-eight coming along to inspect their arrival.
âTime something was done,â he said, peering inside, dying to be invited in.
Derek Doyle was firm with him.
âBetter not to let you in, sir. Donât want anything to fall on you.â
Nanâs children had told her not to get too involved. Jo had said that the new owners wouldnât thank her for wasting the buildersâ time. Bobby had said that his girlfriend Kay said that builders preyed on women, getting them to make tea. Pat said that a house next to a building site was fair game for burglars and that she must be very watchful and spend no time talking to the men next door.
But the real reason Nan stayed outof their way was that she didnât want to appear pushy. They would be working beside her for weeks. She didnât want them to think she was nosey. She decided she would wait until they had been there for a few days before she introduced herself. She might even keep a diary of their progress. The new owners might like it as a record of how the house had been done up for them.
Nan moved away from the front window and back to her kitchen. She ironed all Bobbyâs shirts. She wondered if Kay knew that Bobby brought his laundry bag over to his mother every week. But they seemed to be very happy together, so
There hadnât been time, what with working hard to put good meals in front of the children. Not to mention paying for extra classes and betterclothes. There had been no family holidays over the years. Sometimes Jo, Bobby and Pat went to see their father on the train. They never said much about the visits. And Nan never asked them any questions.
Jo often brought her jackets or sweaters that she was finished with. Or unwanted Christmas presents. Bobby brought round his washing every week because he lived with Kay, this feminist girl, who said that men should look after their own clothes. Bobby often brought a cake or a packet of biscuits. He would eat these with his mother as she ironed his shirts for him. Pat came round often to fix door and window locks, or to re-set the burglar alarm. Mainly to warn her mother of all the evil there was in the world.
Nan Ryan had little to complain about. She never told her children thatsince she had given up work she often felt lonely. Nanâs family seemed so gloomy about the work that would be done on the house next door that she didnât want to tell them that she was quite looking forward to it. That she was waiting for the builders and looking out for them every day.
Chapter Two
The builders came on a sunny morning. Nan watched them from behind her curtain. Three men altogether in a red van. The van had âDerek Doyleâ on it in big white letters.
The two younger men let themselves into Number Twelve with a key. Nan heard them call out, âDerek! The bad news is that weâll be a week getting rid of all the rubbish thatâs here. The good news is that thereâs somewhere to plug in a kettle and it hasnât been turned off.â
A big smiling man came out of the red van.
âWell weâre made for life then, for the next couple of months anyway. Isnât this a lovely road?â
He looked around at the houses and Nan felt a surge of pride. She had always thought that Chestnut Road was a fine place. Nan wished that her children had been there to see this man admiring it all. And he was a builder, a man who knew about roads and houses.
Jo used to say it was poky. Bobby said it was old-fashioned. Pat said the place was an open invitation to burglars with its long low garden walls where they could make their escape. But this man who had never seen it before liked it.
Nan hid herself and watched.
She didnât want to go out and bethere on top of them from the very start.
She saw fussy Mr OâBrien from Number Twenty-eight coming along to inspect their arrival.
âTime something was done,â he said, peering inside, dying to be invited in.
Derek Doyle was firm with him.
âBetter not to let you in, sir. Donât want anything to fall on you.â
Nanâs children had told her not to get too involved. Jo had said that the new owners wouldnât thank her for wasting the buildersâ time. Bobby had said that his girlfriend Kay said that builders preyed on women, getting them to make tea. Pat said that a house next to a building site was fair game for burglars and that she must be very watchful and spend no time talking to the men next door.
But the real reason Nan stayed outof their way was that she didnât want to appear pushy. They would be working beside her for weeks. She didnât want them to think she was nosey. She decided she would wait until they had been there for a few days before she introduced herself. She might even keep a diary of their progress. The new owners might like it as a record of how the house had been done up for them.
Nan moved away from the front window and back to her kitchen. She ironed all Bobbyâs shirts. She wondered if Kay knew that Bobby brought his laundry bag over to his mother every week. But they seemed to be very happy together, so
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