‘It were a good thing you didn’t,’ she replied. ‘It’s been ’ard enough to cope without you and ’im getting under me feet.’
‘Don’t worry,’ said Sally. ‘I don’t expect you to look after either of us. We’ve managed very well without you.’
‘Oh, that’s nice, ain’t it?’ Florrie looked to Peggy and Anne for support, found she didn’t have it, and glared at Sally. ‘I’m still yer mother. You got no call to be rude.’
‘And you’ve no right to call yourself a mother,’ hissed Sally, her emotions finally getting the better of her. ‘You haven’t seen or written to us since we left, and yet you haven’t asked about Ernie’s health, or how I’ve been coping – you could hardly force yourself to give him a proper hug and kiss. So don’t you
dare
come down here and start pretending you care.’
Florrie slammed the glass on to the stool and sat forward in her chair. ‘You ain’t too big to get a good slap, my girl,’ she growled. ‘You wanna watch yer mouth, or I’ll shut it for yer.’
‘I wouldn’t if I were you,’ Sally retorted. ‘I’m bigger and stronger than I was a year ago, and not afraid to hit you back.’
‘I think it would be better if we discussed this once the boys are in bed and Jim is home,’ said Peggy calmly.
‘I’m off out tonight. Got a date at the Mermaid.’
‘Isn’t your children’s safety rather more important than a date with some man at the Mermaid?’ Peggy’s face was a mask of dislike.
‘Well, of course it is,’ Florrie blustered. ‘But ’e was ever so kind, giving me a lift and all, and I can ’ardly stand ’im up, now, can I? It would be rude.’
‘Rude or not, I think it’s your responsibility to be here when we discuss Sally and Ernie’s well-being.’
Florrie took a long drink of cordial as if stalling for time. ‘I don’t see that’s any of your business,’ she replied finally. ‘If Sal wants to go swanning off with Ernie to some countryside hell-hole, it’s up to ’er.’ She put down the glass, glanced at her watch and gathered her things. ‘I’d like to see me room now,’ she said. ‘Time’s getting on, and I need to change out of this frock. I don’t want to be late for that drink.’
‘I’ll show you the way,’ muttered Sally, her face red with shame as she caught Peggy’s eye.
Florrie hadn’t changed a bit, and in a matter of half an hour had managed to upset everyone that Sally held dear. As she led the way up to the top floor, she knew she had hardened her heart enough to withstand all Florrie could throw at her, but she resolved to safeguard innocent little Ernie, for she suspected his mother was about to break his heart all over again.
Sally was very quiet as she helped Anne and Peggy in the kitchen. She went into the dining room and laid the table, her gaze repeatedly returning to the sewing machine in the corner and the pile of sewing she had still to do. She was exhausted rather than being exhilarated from her trek across the hills, and all she really wanted to do was go to bed and shut out the world until morning. But there was the evening meal to get through first.
Florrie came downstairs almost an hour later in another tight-fitting frock. She had done her hair in a new style and had freshened her make-up. She cornered Sally in the dining room while the others were in the kitchen.
‘I don’t know what you got planned for Ernie, but let me tell you straight, Sal. I ain’t going nowhere with ’im. You understand?’
‘Oh, I understand perfectly,’ she replied.
Florrie raised a finely plucked eyebrow. ‘Don’t you get sarky with me, my girl. I got things planned so, as you seem to think you’re in charge of Ernie, then you can get on with it. I got a life to lead, and ’aving ’im on me tail all the time ain’t gunna help.’
‘I see. So it doesn’t matter about me and my life then?’
‘You ain’t old enough to ’ave the sort of life I’m aiming for,’ said Florrie in an angry hiss, ‘and I ain’t gunna let you and Ernie spoil it.’
Sally frowned. ‘How exactly could we spoil it?’
‘Solly’s promised to marry me once the war’s over and ’e can get a divorce, but ’e’s already warned me he won’t take on Ernie.’
‘Haven’t you forgotten you’re still married to Dad?’
‘Not for long,’ she said dismissively. ‘The divorce papers are already going through.’
Sally stared at her, numb with shock.
‘Don’t look at me like that,’ snapped Florrie. ‘Me and yer dad were over years ago. I only stayed with ’im cos ’e was earning good money.’
‘Does Dad know you’re divorcing him – or are you just going to present him with the papers the next time he comes home on leave?’
‘He knows right enough,’ she said bitterly. ‘He were the one to file the papers in the first place.’ She grabbed Sally’s arm, her long nails digging into her flesh. ‘But you keep that to yerself. I don’t want Solly finding out it weren’t me what started the divorce.’
‘But if he’s named on the petition, he’ll find out soon enough.’ She wrested her arm from her mother’s grip and massaged it.
Florrie’s gaze drifted. ‘He ain’t. It were another bloke altogether.’
‘Well, well, and who do we have here?’ Jim strolled into the dining room and looked appreciatively at Florrie from head to toes.
Florrie’s smile switched on like a light bulb. ‘I’m Sally’s mother,’ she simpered. ‘You must be Jim.’
‘Indeed I am,’ he said with a wink. ‘Sure, and you’re not old enough to be the mother of Sally. Why you’re far too young.’
‘I can tell you’re full of the Irish blarney, Jim,’ she said with a giggle. ‘You are a one.’
‘Well now, I’ve always found that a pretty woman likes to receive a compliment.’
‘Get away with you,’ she said, lightly tapping his arm.
‘When you’ve quite finished,’ snapped Peggy from the doorway. ‘Tea’s ready.’
‘I was just welcoming our new—’
‘I know exactly what you were doing, Jim Reilly. Go and help your father in the kitchen.’ She turned her furious gaze on Florrie. ‘Are you staying for tea?’
‘Why not? I am paying for it after all,’ replied Florrie, her gaze never wavering beneath Peggy’s glare.
‘Then you’ll respect my home and my family by not flirting with my husband, or bullying your daughter.’ Peggy folded her arms. ‘You can sit at the end of the table next to Ernie.’
Sally didn’t say much during the meal; the conversation round the table was stilted, the atmosphere charged. Jim and Ron ate in silence, Peggy glared down the table at Florrie, and even Mrs Finch was unusually quiet as the boys chattered to one another.
Cissy had no real idea of what was going on as she’d only just arrived home, but she’d clearly decided to try and lighten the mood by chattering on about her day and the show she was rehearsing that evening. ‘I like your hairstyle,’ she said to Florrie. ‘Is that the latest fashion in London?’
‘It’s called the Victory Roll,’ she replied. ‘It’s ever so easy to do. You just roll it back at the sides, and up at the back, ’olding it in place with pins or, if you ’ave one, a snood. A lot of girls stuff wadding in the rolls to make ’em look thicker.’
‘I’ll give it a try when I get back tonight,’ murmured Cissy.
Florrie smiled slyly as Peggy glowered at the other end of the table. ‘It sounds ever so glamorous being on the stage – someone told me once I should give it a go, cos I look like Dorothy Lamour.’
Peggy snorted and Sally bit her lip, not daring to catch her eye.
‘It’s not as easy as people think,’ replied Cissy. ‘We do revues in the theatre most nights, and of course there’re the shows for the forces. Any spare time is taken up with costume fittings and rehearsals. Sally’s been an absolute brick when it comes to the costumes. We don’t know what we’d do without her now our usual wardrobe lady has gone off to join the Wrens.’
‘Really?’ Florrie eyed Sally thoughtfully. ‘I didn’t realise you’d come on so much since yer gran taught yer.’
‘You weren’t interested, so I didn’t bother to tell you.’ Sally put her knife and fork together on her plate and helped Ernie scrape off the last bit of meat from the bones.
Cissy looked from Florrie to Sally with a frown, and decided to fill the awkward silence. ‘What I’d really like to do is join ENSA – but Dad won’t give his permission and I have to be twenty-one before I can join without it.’
‘You can’t blame ’im for that,’ laughed Florrie. ‘Some of them shows ain’t worth seeing – and I should know, I’ve been to plenty.’ She left most of the meal on the plate and pushed it to one side. ‘Do y’know what ENSA stands for in London?’
‘Entertainments National Service Association,’ said Cissy.
Florrie gave a shriek of laughter that made Sally cringe and Mrs Finch shudder. ‘Every Night Something Awful. And that about says it all when the fat lady can’t sing, the one on the piano can’t play, and the comic ain’t funny.’
‘That’s only the small shows,’ said Cissy defensively. ‘I want to be in the big ones with people like Gracie Fields, Arthur Askey, Tommy Trinder and George Formby.’
‘Only famous people get into them,’ said Florrie, careless of Cissy’s feelings. ‘I’d stick to what yer doing, luv. You’ll probably find a nice rich stage-door Johnny before too long, and won’t ’ave to bother with prancin’ about in some draughty town hall.’
Sally broke into the frosty silence before Peggy could give vent to the palpable rage that stormed in her eyes. ‘Aren’t you going to be late for your drink at the Mermaid?’
‘Gawd, yes, and I don’t even know where it is.’
‘Down the road, turn right into King Street. It’s the third pub on the left,’ muttered Ron. ‘Make sure you shut the door properly on your way out.’
Florrie shoved back her chair, picked up her cardigan and handbag and, with a cheery wave, left the dining room. The front door slammed with such force it rattled every window in the house.
‘I don’t usually speak ill of people,’ said Mrs Finch quietly into the ensuing silence, ‘and I’m sorry if it upsets you, Sally, but that woman is trouble.’
‘I’ve known that for years,’ Sally replied, ‘and I want to apologise to you all for her behaviour. You’ve all been so good to me and Ernie, and I can’t tell you how ashamed I am.’
‘It’s not you who should be apologising,’ said Peggy, as she gathered the plates together. ‘It’s unfortunate she’s your mother, but then we all have our crosses to bear.’ She shot an accusing glare at Jim.
‘You should keep an eye on that one,’ said Mrs Finch, with a sage nod of her head. ‘She’s up to no good.’
Once the dishes had been washed and put away, Sally carried Ernie upstairs. When he was in bed, she massaged his back and legs, and then opened one of the storybooks Anne had lent her and they both slowly and carefully read it together.
Ernie’s eyelids grew heavy and Sally gently tucked him in and kissed his soft cheek.
‘Is Mum coming back?’
‘Yes, love, but you won’t see her until tomorrow now.’
‘I dunno if I want ’er ’ere,’ he muttered sleepily. ‘I liked it before she came.’
‘You and me both,’ she muttered under her breath. ‘Well, we won’t let her spoil things, will we? Auntie Peg will still look after you when I’m at work, and Grandpa Ron will still take us for walks on the hills – and soon we’ll be moving in with Pearl. Won’t that be lovely?’
‘I love Grandpa Ron,’ he murmured, falling deeper towards sleep. ‘And I love you too, Sal. You won’t ever leave me, will you?’
‘Not if I can help it,’ she whispered as he finally fell asleep.
She sat beside the bed for a long while, her thoughts troubled. She had tough decisions to make but, as the silence filled the room and the sky darkened, she knew in her heart that she had no real choices at all. Ernie needed her and, no matter what, she would stick to her promise and not desert him.
As she reached the bottom of the stairs she heard Peggy talking in the kitchen.
‘It’s tough for all of us, but poor Sally has the worst of it. I heard that mother of hers flatly refusing to have anything to do with Ernie, let alone go with him to Wales or wherever they send our children. But I know Sally well enough to accept that she’d have changed her plans and gone with him, regardless of what that woman said.’
Her voice broke. ‘It breaks my heart, it really does. That poor little girl has made a good life for herself here, and she’d be leaving her work, her friends, and her little sewing business behind and having to start all over again. It’s just not fair.’
Sally bit her lip and blinked back the tears as she hurried into the room. ‘Please don’t worry about me, Peggy, I’m tougher than I look, really.’
‘But you’re only just seventeen,’ snapped Peggy, still thoroughly put out by everything. ‘Of
course
I worry about you.’
‘Oh, Peg,’ she sighed, putting her hand on her shoulder. ‘Please don’t make this harder than it already is. You see I can’t let Ernie go alone, I promised I’d never leave him.’
‘It’s an awkward situation for everyone,’ said Jim. ‘I don’t want me boys going off to strangers, but none of them are safe here any more. The bombing is getting more frequent and we’ve been lucky so far – I’m scared that if we leave it much longer, our luck will run out.’
Sally had to accept her plans to go and live with Pearl would have to be delayed. Ernie had to come first. ‘If Jim and I can persuade the billeting people to let us travel together, and perhaps get accommodation in the same town, then I can keep an eye on the boys for you. If there’s any trouble, I can sort it out straight away.’