‘Well, thank you. I’m very pleased to hear it.’ And he was. ‘Coming back to Uncle Mac and other women,’ Nancy went on, ‘I reckon he might well have had a fling or two in his time.’
‘Really? What makes you say that?’
‘Well, let me ask you something.’ She herself had noticed it time and again. ‘I don’t believe I’ve ever seen the two of them
holding hands, or showing any signs of affection to each other. In fact, I don’t think I’ve even seen them share a joke or laugh out loud with each other. Have you?’
Unlike Nancy, Brian had not really taken much notice, but now he was sure of it. ‘Come to think of it, you’re absolutely right,’ he gave a naughty little chuckle, ‘Ooh!’ He said it again: ‘Ooh!’
The smile on his face was positively
wicked; until Nancy told him to grow up, and ‘Get rid of that smug little grin!’
The conversation finished right there and a silence descended. All that could be heard was Brian slurping his tea while Nancy ate her cake, reflecting on the possibility of Uncle Mac, the ‘cheat’. It was a curious observation. Cheating on Aunt Rita with another woman.
Whatever next!
I
T WAS GONE
teatime when Mac and his wife arrived.
Ushering Rita into the house before him, Mac greeted everyone in sight, which did not include the youngsters, as they and Patsy were all three upstairs in Judy’s room. ‘I’ve heard Elvis Pelsey that often, I’m beginning to think it’s
me
that’s headed for “Heartbreak Hotel”.’ Don was at the end of his tether.
‘It’s Presley!’
Nancy corrected him for the umpteenth time. ‘Not Pelsey.’
Tutting and mumbling, Don made his way to the foot of the stairs. ‘I don’t know how many times I’ve asked them to turn that racket down! What with that and “Jailhouse Rock” … Thoughtless, that’s what they are.’ He turned to address Rita and Mac. ‘Kids today, eh?’
‘Aw, they’re all right.’ Mac could recall his own youth. ‘When kids start
playing their music, they’re in a world of their own.’
A bit riled, Don yelled up the stairs, ‘
David! Sammie! Your Uncle Mac and Aunt Rita are here! Are you coming down or what?
’
A moment later the music fell silent, then came the clattering of feet running down the stairs. David arrived with the hint of a smile on his face and his girlfriend on his arm. ‘For us it’s hello and goodbye, I’m afraid.
We’re just off out,’ he told everyone. ‘We promised to meet up with some friends and we’re already half an hour late.’
‘Hello, my love.’ Rita gave him a hug. ‘So, aren’t you going to introduce us to this pretty girl then?’
Visibly embarrassed, David introduced Patsy to Rita, but when Mac stepped forward, the introduction was conducted more swiftly as David ushered his girlfriend towards the
door. ‘Sorry, but we’ll have to rush or we’ll be late.’ A moment later they were hurrying down the garden path.
‘Well, he’s in a bit of a hurry, isn’t he?’ Mac said, rather put out.
‘His girl seems a sweet young thing,’ Rita commented.
From the kitchen window, Mac monitored David and the girl until they were out of sight. ‘You’re right,’ he told Rita, ‘Looks like young David’s done all right
for himself.’
As he turned, Sammie came into the kitchen; dressed in a swirly brown skirt and fitting white top, she had a ready smile on her face and a definite spring to her step. ‘Hello again, you two,’ she said, and hurried towards them.
Mac’s face lit up at the sight of her. ‘Ah, now here’s the prettiest of them all.’ Rushing forward, he gave her a long, affectionate bear-hug, at the same
time vigorously rocking her from side to side and tousling her hair. ‘How’s my favourite girl then, eh?’
‘I’m fine, thank you, Uncle Mac.’ Sammie did not particularly care for those long bear-hugs, but then that was Uncle Mac’s way. Over the years she had learned to live with it.
Rita was much more gentle. ‘Oh Sammie, you look lovely, as always,’ she said, offering a little kiss. ‘We’re only
here for a couple of days – staying at the Swan in Leighton Buzzard. Mac’s had a really busy time of it lately; he desperately needed this break.’
Sammie gladly returned the kiss. ‘It’s good to see you, Aunt Rita.’
‘Oh, but I was so glad when Mac suggested coming here.’ Rita glanced about. ‘Where’s your mum?’
‘She’s right here!’ Bouncing in, Nancy explained how she and Brian had been out the
back. ‘Discussing a complete reorganisation of the vegetable patch. Anyway, enough about that, it’s good to see you.’ After throwing herself into Mac’s open arms, she then gave Rita a firm cuddle.
Brian shook hands with Mac and thanked him again for the use of his house while they were away. Mac told him enough said, and so Brian then gave Rita an energetic cuddle and the softest of kisses on
the cheek, making her blush to her roots.
‘Dad said you were coming to see us,’ Brian addressed Mac. ‘So – you decided to escape the rat-run for a while, did you?’
‘Got it in one,’ Mac answered. ‘You either stay one foot ahead of it, or you go under. So, I decided to opt out for a couple of days … catch my breath, so to speak.’
Rita gave a kind of snort. ‘Huh! In that case, why have you brought
all that paperwork with you then? And what were those two long phone-calls you made at the hotel, the minute we got through the door?’
Mac seemed embarrassed. ‘Ah, well now, I didn’t say I was about
to abandon my responsibilities altogether, love. Because if I did that, the sharks will have stripped me bare by the time I get back.’
‘Come through into the sitting room,’ Brian invited. ‘If we
ask Nancy nicely, she’ll make us a pot of tea and perhaps rustle up a few little fancies.’
Nancy’s voice cut in. ‘Yes, you four kindly clear off into the sitting room, and I’ll be along shortly.’
Mac felt a pang of disappointment. ‘What about Sammie? Isn’t she joining us?’ Looking around, he realised she had gone.
‘’Fraid not. She’s off to the village hall. The Parish Committee are putting
a dance on and Sammie’s been driving me crazy, wanting new shoes, a haircut and make-up. I told her, she doesn’t need all that fanciness, because she’s pretty enough as it is.’
‘Quite right.’ Mac had never thought Sammie would be a beauty in the traditional sense of the word, but there was something about her, with that wild blonde hair and a temperament to go with it. He, for one, thought she
was very special.
‘You don’t mind, do you?’ Sammie returned to say cheerio. ‘Only it’s gonna be great. Good music and plenty of dancing; I’ve been really looking forward to it.’ Brought up by the sight of Mac’s disappointed expression, she promised, ‘Oh look, I’ll go and tell them I’m not coming, if you like?’
‘No, you can’t do that,’ Rita interrupted. ‘Your mates want you there, so get off
and enjoy yourself, my darling. After all, you’re only young once.’ She turned to Mac. ‘Isn’t that right?’
‘Of course it is.’ He winked at Sammie. ‘Besides, how can you not go now, when you’ll be the prettiest girl in the room? Rita’s right. You get off and enjoy yourself.’
‘Thank you, Uncle Mac. See you both soon. Bye!’
‘Right then.’ Brian began ushering them along. ‘Let’s go to the sitting
room, shall we?’
Everyone agreed, and the two women set the table in there with tea, cakes and chunky ham sandwiches. Everyone was completely at ease – with maybe the exception of Rita – who always found it difficult to relax in other people’s houses; even with relatives.
‘You know what?’ Don glanced about. ‘How about breaking open those two bottles of wine I hid in the kitchen cabinet?’
‘Yes!’
everyone yelled in unison – even Rita – and so the wine was dutifully produced, with five best glasses, and a corkscrew.
A few minutes later, warmed by their first glass of a rich Bordeaux, they chatted about this and that, yet beneath the surface was the same old question that always arose whenever they got together.
Rita raised the subject now. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve heard from Judy, have
you?’ she asked nervously, her cheeks rosy from the wine. ‘I mean … has she been in touch at all?’
Nancy positively bristled. ‘We’ve heard nothing,’ she answered with a stiff smile.
‘Which is just as well, in the light of recent circumstances,’ Don added.
‘What circumstances?’ Mac wanted to know.
‘Best forgotten!’ That was Don.
‘Really?’ When Mac caught Nancy giving her father a curious glance,
he would not be silenced. ‘What’s happened? Have you heard something? Is she all right?’
In a quiet, aching voice and knowing that once Mac had the bit between his teeth, he would not let it go, Don told him a half-truth. ‘We heard she’d gone completely off the rails – boozing, keeping company with men of a certain kind – that sort of thing.’
Rita was shocked. ‘Oh, dearie me. Poor Judy.’
‘Poor
Judy nothing!’ Nancy exclaimed. ‘We all knew which way she was headed.’
‘It’s best if we don’t discuss her,’ Don said wisely. ‘Water under the bridge and all that.’
Very slightly intoxicated, Rita could not accept that – and when she now voiced her opinion, it was totally out of character. ‘Judy was never really a bad girl. I always thought she was such a lovely little thing … so kind and considerate.’
‘Well, you were wrong, weren’t you?’ Mac patted her on the back of the hand. ‘She may have been a sweet little girl once, but not any more. People change,’ he said forcefully. ‘They change, and often there is nothing anyone can do.’
Close to tears and made more emotional by the wine, Rita went on to make matters a good deal worse. ‘Don’t you ever regret throwing her out?’ she asked of Don. ‘If
you had let her stay and helped her through that terrible time, don’t you think it might have all turned out better?’
‘Rita!’ Mac shook his head, furious. ‘Don’t interfere! It’s none of our business.’
‘Oh dear, I am so sorry!’ His wife was mortified. ‘Mac’s right. I am interfering … please, just forget what I said.’
Don, however, decided to lay the ghost of his lost daughter once and for all.
‘You’ve no need to apologise,’ he said gently. ‘The truth is, it was not just rumours we heard about Judy. I actually saw her with my own eyes, drunk on the streets, and actually engaged in a
vicious fight. She was with another drunken person – a man who, according to certain quarters, is a brute of questionable reputation.’
‘Good Lord!’ Mac was shocked. ‘And she was actually fighting, was she?
I mean, it wasn’t just him attacking her, was it?’
‘No, I saw the whole thing. She was every bit as aggressive as he was.’ Don gave a sad little smile. ‘From my understanding of the situation and a certain remark I overheard, it was more than likely that the two of them were man and wife.’
‘Well, I never.’ Looking from one to the other, Mac shook his head. ‘I swear, I would never have believed
it of her.’
‘Well, you should believe it,’ Nancy announced cynically, ‘because it’s all true, every word of it. My father didn’t want to tell me at first, but I knew something was wrong and I got it out of him. Like you, I was shocked – though of course, we never mentioned it to the children. As far as their Aunt Judy is concerned, they know little or nothing about her. As for myself, I had a
sister once, long, long ago but now she might as well be dead.’
Reaching out, she took hold of Don’s hand. ‘This family has gone through hell and back because of her; my father particularly. As you can imagine, it was not easy for him to turn her out onto the streets all those years ago, and now he’s having to deal with this new information, which only serves to remind us of her true character.
Judy was born bad, or she would have got herself together and be living a decent life. Instead, she chooses to live like some crazed animal in the cesspits.’
Mac was shocked. ‘That’s a bit strong, isn’t it?’
Straightening her back, Nancy looked him in the eye, telling him earnestly, ‘Judy was my sister once, but for what she’s done to this family, I will hate her for the rest of my life.’
Following Nancy’s outburst the silence in the room was thick and ominous, with Brian remaining quiet, mainly because he had not been as close to Judy’s untimely exit as were Nancy and Don; though he had been made aware of it soon after, and he acknowledged the shame and upset which had fallen on the family. Now, the very last thing he wanted was to be drawn into the fracas.
‘I should never have
asked about her.’ In the wake of Nancy’s outburst, poor Rita was truly devastated.
Don now spoke quietly. ‘You asked if I regretted throwing Judy out on the streets.’
‘Oh, but I didn’t mean it … I should never …’ She faltered when Don put up a staying hand. ‘It’s all right, Rita,’ he assured her. ‘You are still family, and you have a right to ask questions.’
He went on, ‘The answer is yes,
I did feel regret – of course I did, and pain, and guilt; and in a way I still do, even after I’ve seen for myself what she’s become. For a long time, I fought with my conscience about Judy. Where was she? What kind of life was our little girl leading? Was she safe and happy? Was the child all right? Day and night the questions riddled my brain until I thought I might go crazy.’
He paused, before
resoundly concluding, ‘In fact, my conscience troubled me so much, that when the family recently went to stay at your house, I used the time they were away to go looking for her.’
The memory of what he saw that day was still hard to take in. He thought of the girl he had put out of her house; that small lonely schoolgirl going away down the street, looking back at him with disbelief in her eyes;
that child he had so cherished, and yet when she needed him, he had joined with her mother, to close the door in her face.
For what was left of his life, he would never be able to think about that, without his heart breaking.
When the emotion threatened to overwhelm him, he bowed his head and cleared his throat, before looking up to see them all waiting. ‘Like I say, I went out searching for
her. But I was not prepared for what I found.’
In his mind he could see the woman Judy had become; unkempt, so drunk she could hardly stand, and physically fighting with that man in the street. ‘The thing is, what I saw convinced me I had done the right thing in turning Judy away. As Nancy so aptly put it, Judy must have been born bad, because there has been nothing of this kind in our family
before or since.’
Mac was the first to speak. ‘I’m sorry you had to find her in that way.’
Don nodded. ‘So am I, but at least it became apparent to me that Judy was living the life she wanted; that she could never have found contentment in living an ordinary life, within an ordinary family.’
He sighed heavily. ‘She’s chosen her way, and we don’t need to worry about her any more. In fact, after
what I witnessed, from this day on, I do not want her name mentioned in this house.’
He looked across at Brian, who had been unusually quiet. ‘If that’s all right with the man of the house, of course. Brian, what do you say?’
His son-in-law nodded. ‘I was never as close to the situation as you and Nancy,’ he claimed, ‘but I understand how you must both
feel about Judy. I realise the pain she’s
caused, and to tell you the truth, I don’t think I would ever want our children to know the true history of their Aunt Judy. So yes, I’m happy to go along with you and Nancy on this.’