Short and Sweet (2 page)

Stan glared at him. ‘Sour grapes? About
her?
There’s enough trouble in this world without going looking for it. And Emily Baker’s trouble with a capital “T”. Even at school, when she was in the junior class and we were seniors, she’d snap your nose off as soon as look at you. Too smart for her own good, that one.’

‘I don’t blame her for snapping
your
nose off,’ said Tom. Most of the young blokes in the town were friendly sorts, but Stan was full of spiteful remarks about anything and everything. Tom had taken an instant dislike to him.

‘Oh, don’t you? Let’s see how well
you
do with her, then.’ He pulled a banknote out and brandished it in the air. ‘Five dollars says you don’t get a kiss out of her.’

Tom looked across at Emily, nodded and said quietly, ‘You’re on. Five dollars it is.’

Stan looked surprised by this ready acceptance, then said with a sneer, ‘You don’t look like a ladykiller, but you’re on. I’ll need to see the kiss myself before I pay up, mind.’ He folded his arms.

‘No trouble,’ said Tom airily. ‘I’ll get her to kiss me right here in this hall.’

Stan pounced. ‘Get
her
to kiss you?’

Realizing his error, Tom nearly choked but hid it with a cough. He wasn’t going to back down from a challenge. ‘Yeah. Make it a bit more interesting, eh?’

Stan’s expression said he felt the money was as good as his. ‘You’re on, mate.’

Tom tried to smile but there was a sinking feeling in his stomach.

‘When by?’ Stan pressed.

Tom thought rapidly. ‘Dunno. Couple of months. Got to get to know her first, haven’t I?’

‘One month.’

‘Two or the bet’s off.’

‘Oh, all right.’

By this time, all the unattached young men had gathered around them. There was a chorus of guffaws from the group.

‘Get to know her!’

‘Old Tight-knickers!’

‘You’ll be lucky.’

Bill Nutting took charge. ‘Now, let’s get the terms of this bet straight. Tom, you’re going to get Emily Baker to kiss you on the lips here in the hall, in front of everyone?’

‘Yeah.’

‘By the end of two months.’

‘Yeah.’

A few dances later, Tom saw Emily sitting in a corner on her own. He took a deep breath and marched across the floor. ‘May I have the pleasure again?’

She shrugged and stood up.

He realized suddenly that there were tears in her eyes. She’d been upset earlier on, too. ‘Is something wrong?’

‘No.’ Her voice was tight and false. ‘I’m fine really, just a bit tired.’ A tear spilled out of one eye and slid down her cheek before she could stop it.

He ached to hold her in his arms and comfort her, but didn’t dare touch her. ‘How . . .’ Nervousness made Tom’s voice come out a bit high, so he cleared his throat and started again. ‘How about taking a walk outside on the veranda? Bit of fresh air will do us both good. It’s far too hot in here. It’s the tin roof.’

She stared at the ground, trying to hide her tears. ‘Yeah, why not?’

He shepherded her out of the hall, staying between her and the gawking heads in the corner.

‘I’m not going past the end of the veranda,’ she warned as they walked out into the warm dusty night. ‘I don’t go down by the creek, not with anyone.’

‘Who asked you to?’ He made a great play of blowing his nose, while she wiped her eyes surreptitiously.

‘Bit childish, that lot.’ He jerked his head back at the hall to indicate the group of young men, who were all gawking in their direction.

She looked back listlessly. ‘They’re about the same age as you.’

‘I’m a year or two older, and anyway, I’ve been on me own since I was sixteen. Me parents died. Car crash. I had to go an’ live in a hostel.’

‘Oh. I’m sorry.’ Bad enough to lose your mum, as she had. Fancy losing both your parents at once. She frowned, not knowing what to make of him. ‘So you’re working in Beeniup now?’

He nodded. ‘Mmm. Like I said, I’m a brickie. Good trade.’

‘I’d have gone to work in Perth.’

‘I’ve worked there. I fancied a stay in the country. Easier to get to know people. I’m going back to Perth in a year or so, though. You can find some interesting jobs there if you’re a good brickie, and I am.’

She sighed. ‘I wish girls could have a trade like boys do. After Mum died, my dad found me a job at the Co-op an’ I had to leave school early. He didn’t care whether I wanted to work there or not. Any old job would have done as long as I was bringing in money. I wish
I
could be a carpenter or bricklayer.’

Tom guffawed. ‘Girls couldn’t lay bricks. They’re too heavy!’

‘And how heavy do you think the rolls of material are in the drapery section, then?’ Her eyes glittered at him and she tossed her head. ‘You fellows are all alike. Think you’re the only ones who can do anything.’

Silence fell. Moths fluttered around them, attracted by the lights. She didn’t even seem to notice.

Emily saw Tom open his mouth then shut it again. He was watching her out of the corner of his eye. She didn’t want to talk about her problems, least of all to a stranger, wished she could go home now. But she had to wait for her friend Vera. Her dad didn’t like her to walk home alone and Vera’s parents were the same. As if there was anything to be feared in a sleepy little town like Beeniup.

She turned back towards the hall. ‘I’ve cooled down now.’

He put one hand on her arm to stop her. ‘What were you crying for?’

‘I wasn’t crying.’

‘Yes, you were.’

She glared at him, daring him to contradict her. ‘I was just hot and tired. That was sweat I was wiping away.’

‘Oh, yeah? You’d swear that on a Bible, would you?’

‘It’s none of your business what I do,’ she repeated, tossing her head. ‘Now, are we going inside together or do I go back on my own?’

He gave up the struggle and followed her in, admiring her slender figure in the flowery skirt and pale-pink top. Prettiest girl he’d ever met. Never mind the bet, he wanted to get to know her. And he would, too. ‘Will you have the next dance with me, then?
Please?
’

She relented. ‘Yeah, OK.’ At least this one didn’t try to paw you or press against you when you danced with him. She hid a smile. Well, he wouldn’t. He was too busy counting his steps.

They danced together three more times, but she wouldn’t allow him to take her home afterwards. ‘No, thank you. I always walk back with my friend Vera. She lives in the next street.’ Besides, her dad would kill her if she came home with a strange man.

As the two girls strolled along, enjoying the coolness of the night air after the hot little church hall, Vera chuckled and nudged Emily. ‘He’s nice, isn’t he?’

‘Who is?’

‘That new lad. Whatisname.’

‘Tom Norris, you mean?’

‘Yes, him. I think he fancies you. He kept watching you all night. And he didn’t ask anyone else to dance.’

Emily shrugged. ‘So?’

‘Don’t you like him? I think he’s got a real nice smile. He can’t help the freckles.’

‘He’s all right. Politer than some others I could mention, anyway.’ And he’d helped her to hide her tears. That had been kind. It still hit her badly sometimes, the longing to confide in her mother, the feeling of grief.

‘We’ll have you courting yet, Emily Baker.’

Emily stopped dead in her tracks and glared at her best friend. ‘Look, how many times do I have to tell you, Vera Morton: I’m
not
interested in boys. And I’m never,
ever
going to get married. I’m moving to the city as soon as I’ve enough money saved. In Perth I can train as a secretary and find myself an interesting job.’

‘Well, I can’t wait to get married, have my own house and start a family. I intend to be well and truly married by the time I’m twenty, and I want to live in Beeniup near my family.’

‘If I had a family like yours, I’d want to live near them, too.’

There was silence. They both knew what Emily’s dad was like.

As they reached her gate, Vera said, ‘Well, I reckon you’ll be married by then, too. We’ll be able to bring up our children together and we’ll stay friends all our lives.’

‘I’d like to stay friends and I’ll come and visit you often, but I’m still moving to Perth.’ Emily was quite determined about that.

The next day her father announced that he was marrying Megs as soon as it could be arranged. ‘No reason to wait. She doesn’t like where she’s living and—’

Emily stared at him in horror. ‘How
can
you, so soon after Mum?’

‘Your mother’s dead and a man needs a wife. Now, I don’t want any trouble from you about this, young lady.’

‘You’ll do what you want to anyway. You don’t care about me.’

‘I care enough to give you a home.’

‘Give me a home! Who had to pay the electricity bill last month?’

‘I was a bit short. I’ll pay you back after the wedding.’

She knew he wouldn’t. Oh, what did it matter? She was moving to Perth as soon as she had enough money. This news only made her more determined. She wasn’t buying any new clothes, or spending money on make-up from now on, she would save even harder.

Emily was a bit nervous about going to live on her own in the capital city, which she’d only visited two or three times in her whole life, but if she had some money behind her, she’d be all right. She had to be.

Apart from her father’s sister, whom she didn’t like, the only relatives she had left that she knew about were her uncle and cousins in England. It had been up to Emily to phone and tell them that her mother had died. Her uncle’s wife was ill and he couldn’t come to the funeral, but he’d sent a lovely condolences card and letter saying he hoped Emily would come and visit them one day.

Diana had also written to say how sorry she was and to tell her cousin about the lad she was going steady with, who sounded very nice. But Emily wasn’t going down that path.

Marriage was not for her.

Part Two

T
he wedding wasn’t a fancy affair. Emily attended but didn’t join the happy couple and their friends at the pub afterwards. And when they got back home, clearly the worse for wear, she stayed in her bedroom.

Megs was friendly enough, but she wasn’t good around the house.

Two weeks later, Emily came home after a frustrating day at work, when everything had gone wrong, and lost her temper at the sight of the unwashed breakfast dishes in the kitchen. ‘It’s not fair, Dad, expecting me to skivvy for you two as well as go out to work. Why can’t
she
help clear up? Other people’s mothers look after the house.’

Her father smelled of beer already and was unsteady on his feet. ‘Don’t call your stepmother
she
like that! She has a name, and a pretty one too. Anyway, she didn’t marry the house, she married me.’ He sniggered at his own joke, he always did.

In fact, Megs had scorned the idea of stopping work. Emily had heard them arguing about the way she let Arthur pay all the bills while keeping her own wages for herself. Every now and then she treated him at the pub to keep him sweet. She was good at managing him, you had to give her that.

Emily sighed. ‘All right, then. Why can’t
Megs
help more around the house?’

‘Because she needs more rest than a young ’un like you, so shut up an’ get on with it!’

She knew by the gleam in his eye what kept tiring Megs out. Honestly, the pair of them were worse than Mrs Brown’s old tom cat. ‘It’s not fair,’ Emily persisted, determined to make a stand. ‘She doesn’t leave the house until ten and she hasn’t even washed the breakfast things. And she comes home for a rest in the afternoons. I’ve been working hard all day and there’s still the tea to cook for you and me. We were rushed off our feet with the sale and I’m tired out.’

He growled ominously, and when she opened her mouth to continue the argument, he thumped her, something he’d never done before. She stood there willing herself not to cry, but she wanted to. How could he think so little of her? He was her father, he should love her.

He stood there staring, his mouth open, then looked down at his hand and backed away. ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to  . . . You shouldn’t answer me back, though.’

She walked along to her bedroom and slammed the door.

That evening she went round to Vera’s and borrowed some make-up to cover the bruise on her cheek.

The following morning over breakfast Arthur took one look at her and complained, ‘You’re too young to wear that much make-up.’

‘I’ll wash it off, then.’

When she came back into the room, he swung her round to the light. ‘What’s that?’

‘It’s a bruise.
You
gave it to me last night.’

A pause, then he said sulkily, ‘You shouldn’t be so bloody cheeky. You’d – er – better put that make-up on again.’

‘No. I’m too young. You said so.’

Anger rumbled in his throat, but Megs, who had just come yawning in, leaned against him and jerked her head at her stepdaughter to indicate she should get out quickly.

Emily could hear them arguing as she got ready for work.

‘You shouldn’t have hit her!’ Megs said.

‘I didn’t mean to, but she’s always answering me back.’

‘That’s because she’s grown up now, not a child. Did you tell her you were sorry?’

‘Yes.’

‘Well, don’t do it again. I don’t like men who bash young girls.’

Megs came along to Emily’s bedroom. ‘You all right, darl’?’

‘Yes.’

‘I can lend you some make-up to hide that bruise.’

‘No, thank you. I’ve got to go to work now.’

When her workmates asked her how she’d got the bruise, she told them, ‘My dad hit me.’ Which caused a sensation.

Later that night, after the hotel closed, Arthur came and threw open her bedroom door without knocking. ‘What did you tell people I hit you for?’

‘Because you did.’

‘Once! I’ve never laid a finger on you before. And lately, you’d try the patience of a saint.’

She pulled the covers up to her chin and listened to him ranting. At last he went away. There were no embarrassing sounds from the next bedroom that night. She heard him trying to coax Megs and smiled at the sharp refusal.

Bill seemed to have made friends with the newcomer, so Emily had found herself walking behind him and Vera with Tom. He didn’t say much, but he smiled a lot. He had a nice, gentle smile, which lit up his face. She didn’t mind being with him, not in a group anyway. But she wasn’t going steady with anyone and she hoped she’d made that plain to him.