A Family Christmas (47 page)

Lucy and John carried on regardless, helping and advising the women whose men were away, and comforting Mary, who didn’t know if Jacob was living or dead, having heard nothing since his last leave.

After a long shift at the pit John would be up all night fire-watching. Even so he realised how fortunate he and Lucy were, with a family who never seemed to cause them much trouble and he being at home rather than in some godforsaken war zone. The kids were thriving and doing well at school, so it came as a shock one day when Rosie came home from school and said Bernard had been caned. Lucy had noticed how he had slunk away upstairs and went to investigate.

‘All right, what have you been up to?’

‘Nothing.’

‘Come on, you don’t get the cane for nothing.’

‘Our Rosie’s a tell-tale.’

‘So?’

Bernard knew it would come out sooner or later. ‘It was Fatty Green’s fault. He’s so greedy he makes me sick. He pinched my pop, after I’d taken all the
bottles
back to pay for it. He pinched it and drank the lot.’

‘Well if it was him, why did you get the cane?’

‘Because I got me own back.’

‘So I suppose you were fighting.’

‘No.’ Bernard didn’t want to say any more but there was no escaping his mother’s probing. ‘He wouldn’t ’ave been worth fighting. Ee’s a cry baby.’

‘So how did you get your own back?’

‘I peed in the bottle and left it for ’im to pinch again. And ee did. Then ee was sick all over Miss Mason’s shoes and all over Auntie Jane’s clean floor. When Fatty told on me she gave me the cane and made me clean it up. But it was worth it,’ Bernard added defiantly. Lucy almost laughed, but knew she mustn’t. ‘Well, it was an awful thing to do, so you got what you deserved. Did he get the cane too?’

‘No.’

Lucy made a point to have a word with Miss Mason. In her opinion taking something that belonged to someone else was just as bad as what Bernard had done. ‘Well, we’d better not tell your dad or he’ll probably give you another walloping.’ Lucy knew John would never lay a finger on any of his children, but it wouldn’t harm Bernard to think he might. She couldn’t wait to hear what Jane had to say about the incident. She had an idea it might have given her a great deal of pleasure. Lucy knew for a fact that neither the spoilt, pampered
Frank
Green nor Miss Mason were thought very highly of by Jane. She was right. Jane thought even a vomit-splattered floor was worth it just to think of Frank Green’s face when he swallowed Bernard’s urine.

Chapter Thirty-two

WHEN JANE MET
James off the train at Sheffield she was shocked at the sight of him and the men who were with him. Some had to be helped off the train and though James was uninjured he looked only half the man who had gone away. However, with Jane’s loving care and assistance and encouragement from Herbert and Louisa he was soon able to return to his job. He never discussed the horrors he had witnessed; perhaps it would have been better if he had done so. James would never forget, but knew he was one of the fortunate ones, to be home and in one piece. They never did have children; they seemed to be content with each other and if they did feel a need to spoil their nephews and nieces there were plenty of them to choose from. They would set off at the weekends on their beloved motorbike, just Jane and James and the wide open spaces of the countryside, and they were content.

Will had kept the lads of the Royal Signals from becoming too despondent. He had formed a concert party with a group of lads from Wales – who had voices like angels and a magician who attracted
more
cat calls than applause. Will’s jokes and banter sometimes seemed to be fighting a losing battle as more and more of his comrades lost their lives or suffered appalling injuries, but even on the worst days he forced a smile to his face in an effort to keep up the lads’ spirits. Despite a leg wound Will managed to return to Betty in one piece. His wife had grown to love the market life and apart from the years she stayed home to bring up her two boys, she remained by her husband’s side working the stalls. Like she said, she and Will had been apart long enough.

It was much later when Jacob came back. Like James, his appearance shocked Mary to the core, but Jacob hadn’t only his wife as an incentive to get well. On his last leave the wishing mirror had worked its magic once again.

Lucy had been listening to
Two Way Family Favourites
on the wireless, singing away to the music, ‘With a Song in My Heart’. She hadn’t heard Mary come in. She could tell by Mary’s flushed face that she was excited about something. ‘Are you all right? Has something happened? Have you heard from Jacob?’

‘No, I’ve heard nothing since his last leave.’ Her face had clouded momentarily, but Mary smiled again as she said, ‘But yes I’m all right. I’m pregnant, Lucy.’ Mary was trembling by now as she spoke the words for the first time. ‘After all the waiting it
had
to happen in the few days he was home. Oh Lucy, I can’t believe it. If only I could let him know, but I don’t think he’s getting my letters. Well, if he is he isn’t answering them.’

‘But just imagine the surprise he’ll get when he does come home!’

‘If he comes home. He might be dead now for all I know. But at least I shall have our child, a part of him.’

‘He will come home, Mary. The wishing mirror has worked again and if I keep on wishing for Jacob to come home he will.’ She took Mary by the waist and danced round the table singing to the wireless until Mary asked ‘Is something burning?’

‘Oh, it’s the joint. There wasn’t much to start with, what with the blinking rationing, and then I have to go and burn it.’ She lifted the small, dried-up piece of beef out of the oven. ‘Never mind, we’ve plenty of vegetables. There’ll be no dripping this week though.’

‘I’m sorry, I should never have come just at dinnertime.’

‘Don’t be daft. It’s the best news I’ve had for years.’

They went to tell Mrs Slater. ‘Eeh, lass, what a surprise. What will Jacob say? Now if that news doesn’t buck ’im up nowt will.’

The trouble was that Jacob didn’t hear the news; the letters had never reached him. It was only when he saw Mary standing on the platform on his return some years later that he caught the first sight of
his
son. The little boy was clinging to Mary’s skirt and he thought it must be one of Lucy’s lot. Mary, dressed in a smart blue costume, looked more beautiful than he could remember and he forgot about the child when she drew him into her arms and kissed him long and hungrily.

Then she drew apart and lifted the small boy up into her arms. ‘Luke,’ she said, fighting back the tears. ‘Say hello to your daddy.’

Jacob felt faint for a moment, then he held out his arms to the child he had longed for for so long. It had been worth all the suffering just to come home to the wonderful news that he was a father.

Ben Gabbitas eventually became a wealthy man, and when a few years after the war he and Emma had a son to carry on the Gabbitas name their life seemed complete. Lucy’s heart would miss a beat sometimes when she looked at her brother. He was the image of the father she had so adored. At those times she wished John would leave the muck and danger of the coal mine behind and find a more healthy occupation. She got her wish when Mr Grundy asked Robbie one day ‘Does tha think your John’d be interested in coming to work for us?’

‘Our John? Well I don’t know. I shouldn’t think he’s ever thought about leaving the pit.’

‘I shouldn’t think ee’ll ’ave any option if the rumours I’ve ’eard turn out to be true.’

‘What rumours?’

‘That the Sheepdip might be closing in’t next few years. Course it might prove to be nowt else but rumours, but as I think we should be setting somebody on, I thought ee might be interested.’

‘Don’t yer think we’re managing all right between the two of us?’

‘Aye, lad, and I dare say we could go on managing, but I’m ready for a rest. Me missis wants to travel a bit and I don’t blame ’er. I’ve never taken ’er anywhere, always been too busy, so I’m thinking of becoming semi-retired. Oh I’ll never leave altogether, can’t. This workshop’s more of a home to me than me house is. But we’re going to be busier. We’re going to need to expand to deal with all the new building that’s planned for the future. And what with ’im being an ’ard-working sort I just wondered if he’d be interested.’

‘Well, I don’t know. If he came we should have to train him up. But you’re right, he’s a good worker is our John. So shall I mention it?’

‘Aye, lad. let’s give him a try.’

John was alarmed at the thought of learning a trade at his age. But he was even more alarmed when Robbie mentioned the rumour about the pit closure. When Robbie told him how much he would be paid he knew Lucy would never let him turn down the offer of leaving the place she had always believed killed her father. Besides, with Bernard and Rosie both at grammar school he couldn’t afford to be out of work.

Lucy reassured him that he could tackle anything
once
he made his mind up and sighed with relief when he handed in his notice at the pit. She turned out to be right, and John had never been more content. The two brothers worked together well. Being of the same temperament they could work for long periods in companiable silence, both lost in the pleasure of their work. Sometimes Robbie would think of Prudence with sadness, but he resolved to put the past behind him and look to the future with hope that his children would never see another war.

John, on the other hand, would sometimes think about the men he had worked with at the pit, missing the banter and camaraderie they had shared, but most of all he missed Lewis. He had taken over Lewis’s plot at the allotments and found a measure of consolation from working the same earth as his friend had once worked. Sometimes on Sunday mornings the boys would come and give him a hand and the girls had taken over the care of the chickens, for which they all received spending money on a Friday. It was Lucy and the girls who decided to accompany him one lovely sunny day. ‘I can bring the peas back and you can stay here whilst I cook the dinner,’ Lucy said.

When they reached the plot John couldn’t believe his eyes. There, peeping through the rich dark soil were row upon row of beautiful scarlet radishes. The seeds John had scattered on the ground – without any hope of them making anything – had taken root and were a treat to behold.

‘It’s a bloody miracle,’ John spluttered.

A butterfly fluttered about among the radishes, then came to settle on Violet’s cheek. Rosie danced with excitement. ‘It’s Uncle Lewis; he’s grown the radishes for my mum. Now he’s sent the butterfly to give us a sign. Look, he’s giving her a butterfly kiss, just the way he did before he died.’ The butterfly came to settle on Rosie’s hand, fluttering its wings before flying away down the bank where the wild flowers grew. Lucy felt the tears gather and roll down her cheeks.

‘Why are you crying, Mum?’ Rosie asked, taking hold of Lucy’s hand.

‘Because she’s sad that Uncle Lew died,’ Violet answered.

‘No, not because I’m sad. I’m crying because he’s still here amongst us. I’m sure you’re right. The radishes and the butterfly really are signs that he’s here. I’m sure of it.’

Lucy expected John to laugh at such nonsense, but he was standing there staring unbelievingly at the scarlet globes, as if they were liable to disappear if he turned away. He blinked his eyes, but the radishes were still there in all their glory. ‘Well, Lew,’ John whispered. ‘Between us, we’ve managed to grow the bloody things at last.’

Chapter Thirty-three

PETER AND BERNARD
had been to Longfield for a Christmas tree and trimmed it with baubles and tinsel. It stood in the corner of the front room and glittered in the firelight’s glow. Andrew had been to the Donkey Wood for holly and ivy and had decorated the pictures and the wishing mirror. Rosie and Violet had spent the morning making a mound of sandwiches using a fowl and a leg of pork – courtesy of Little Arthur. The aroma of spice from the hot mince pies filled the house with the scent of Christmas.

There were far too many now for a sit-down meal and Lucy had decided it would be a help-yourself do. John had shoved the three-piece suite back to the wall, making more room for the youngsters, who had claimed the front room as their own. Shrieks of laughter and cries of ‘I got a six, I go first’ filtered through to the kitchen. Due to the war it was the first time all the cousins had been together. This year it seemed even more important than before to celebrate Christ’s birthday.

In the kitchen a couple of Nut Brown Ale crates were serving as extra seats and Will had even brought
in
the wash tub and perched himself on that. Nellie, Tom and Henry had arrived in time for lunch. Sadly Duke had passed away a few months ago following a stroke. Cyril and Sydney were dining out with friends. Mary had invited Tom, Nellie and Henry to stay at their house for the night. After the trifles had been devoured and cups of tea – or something stronger – had been handed round, Ben asked if he could fetch down the old melodion. Once the children heard the sound of carols they left their games behind and came to join in the singing. When the warblers finally paused for breath Will kept them entertained with stories about the market.

On the row parties were taking place at most of the houses. The Murphys’ was overflowing with all the married ones visiting on this special day. The Marshalls and Slaters were having a combined do with not only Mable’s young man and Kitty’s husband present but also Lily. With a bit of conniving from Molly and Larry – who were now engaged – Lily and Ernie had now been reunited. Mrs Slater was delighted. It wasn’t right, according to her, for a man of Ernie’s age not to have a wife. At the Holmeses’ the old harmonium sounded as if it was being strangled and further on the row a couple of teenagers were locked in an embrace, regardless of the cold.

Ben had just struck up with ‘I’ve Got Sixpence’ when a knock came on the door. Joyce – who was nearest – went to open it.

‘Aunty Lucy, it’s a lady in a fur coat, with a fur hat and fur boots.’