A Rare Ruby (27 page)

‘OK,’ said Tom, Harry and Ginger together.

‘Right, give the sign.’

All four boys put their hands on top of one another’s. ‘To us,’ they yelled.

They worked out a plan. Two of them would start fighting as a diversion when they saw a bag that was easy to run off with; one would keep guard and, if need be, barge into and trip up anyone who looked as if they might run after them; the other one would pinch the bag and they’d have a share out in the park round by the bandstand.

Tom was so excited, he was worried he might wet himself when the crucial moment came.

They ambled round looking as if they didn’t know each other, then Freddie gave Tom and Ginger a nod. They began pushing and shouting. Ginger threw Tom to the ground. He hurt his knee and he wanted to cry, but he knew he had to be brave.

‘Don’t hit me so hard,’ said Tom. But Ginger wasn’t listening. He was enjoying giving Tom a thumping.

‘’Ere, stop it, you two,’ yelled an old lady. She pulled Ginger off Tom. ‘What’s your game, young man, hitting this little lad? He’s half your size.’

‘He said my sister was stupid.’

‘Well, that don’t give you an excuse to bash him like that. Now say you’re sorry.’

‘Sorry.’ Ginger had his head down.

‘And you, young man, say you’re sorry for saying nasty things about his sister.’

Tears were welling in Tom’s eyes. ‘Sorry.’

‘Now run along, the pair of you.’

They both ran away as fast as their legs could carry them. They raced over to the bandstand where Harry and Freddie were sitting on the floor.

‘That was a good show you two put up,’ said Freddie.

‘He didn’t have to hit me so hard,’ said Tom. ‘Next time I’m gonner be the one that does the bashing.’

‘Yer too small,’ said Ginger, grinning. ‘What’d yer get, Fred?’

‘We did all right. Got two pounds.’

‘Two pounds,’ said Tom, his eyes wide with disbelief. ‘Does that mean we get ten bob each?’

‘No, it don’t. Yer quick with yer sums,’ said Freddie.

Tom smiled proudly.

‘What it does mean, my son, is that I get a pound, you get five bob and Ginge and ’Arry get seven and six each.’

‘But that ain’t fair. I was the one what got beaten up.’

‘I know. But you’re the last to join, so you get less. It’s called the name of the game.’

Tom would have liked to thump Freddie, but he knew the other two would be on him before he could run away. Besides, he had to stay; this was a good way of earning money. Five bob. It took Ruby all week to earn ten. Perhaps later on he could do it on his own, then he’d be able to keep all the money.

As soon as he got home he went into the bedroom and sat on the mattress. He took the money from his pocket. He had never seen so much. Very carefully he counted it out; this was the tenth time he’d done so. He couldn’t believe all this was his. What could he spend it on?

‘Tom. Tom,’ shouted his father.

He quickly stashed his loot under the mattress. He had to be very careful otherwise Ruby would guess, then he really would be in trouble.

‘Yes, Dad,’ he said when he went into the kitchen.

‘Did you manage to get any veg from the market?’

Tom shook his head. ‘No. It was a bit early, they ain’t started throwing stuff away.’

‘Well, you can go later on.’

‘All right.’ Tom wasn’t going to start moaning about it. All he hoped was that someone didn’t recognise him as one of Freddie’s gang.

That night Ruby didn’t feel like sitting in the cold bedroom sewing; besides, she had the ironing to finish.

‘Dad, do you think you’ll be able to help me bring the mattress in here tomorrow? It’s so cold in the bedroom I reckon me fingers’ll drop off if I have to sit in there for too long.’

‘Why don’t you leave it till Sunday, then you’ll have better light.’

‘I mustn’t sew on a Sunday, it ain’t right.’

Thomas Jenkins laughed. ‘That’s one of your mother’s ideas. She’d work herself to death all week—’ He stopped. ‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that, but you know what I mean?’

Ruby nodded. ‘It was just her way. It was the way she was brought up.’

‘I know, love.’ He sat back in his chair. ‘I should have helped her more. I’ll never ever forgive myself for being so selfish.’

Ruby noted that he quietly wiped his eyes with his sleeve. ‘That bit of liver I got from the butcher’s wasn’t too tough, was it?’

‘Would have been better if young Tom had managed to get some onions to go with it. I don’t know what he’s been doing with himself all day. I made him go back to the market as the first time he came back with nothing.’

Ruby was thoughtful. Tom
was
acting a bit strange. He was so eager to go to bed, which wasn’t like him at all. She gave a little smile. Perhaps he was trying to make something for Christmas and didn’t want them to see.

On Sunday Tom was filled with horror when Ruby told him why she was going to take the mattress into the kitchen to sew and cut it in half.

‘But I don’t want to sleep in Dad’s room.’

‘Well, I want you to. I don’t want you looking at me getting undressed.’

‘I don’t look at you - honest.’

‘Well, I’m sorry. I’m dividing it in half, so don’t start arguing.’

Fear was making Tom sweat. Where could he hide his money? Freddie had told him they would get plenty more money now that people were getting their Christmas clubs out. Yesterday he’d spent so much on sweets and cakes that he’d thought he was going to be sick. He had to be very wary where he spent his money. He couldn’t go into any of the shops where Ruby was known. Perhaps sometimes he could buy fresh veg at the market instead of scrabbling around the back like a lot of others, pushing and shoving them out of the way when there was anything worth having. Ruby was always pleased when he brought home decent stuff, but he had to be careful, she would soon guess it wasn’t all rubbish that had been thrown away.

Ruby smiled. ‘What you got hiding in that room?’

‘Nothing. Nothing,’ he shouted.

‘All right. Keep your hair on,’ said his father, laughing. ‘If it’s something you’ve got us for Christmas we don’t want to see it anyway.’

Tom almost breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Is it all right if I go and get it then?’

Ruby ruffled his hair. ‘Course.’

Tom ran into the bedroom. He quickly fished around for the money.

He jumped when Ruby knocked on the door. ‘D’you want a big bag to put it in?’ she called out.

‘No. Go away.’

When Tom came back into the kitchen he looked very guilty.

Ruby laughed. ‘Well, whatever you’ve got us, it can’t be very big. Where is it?’

‘I ain’t telling.’

‘Stop teasing the lad. Now come on. Let’s go and get this thing out of the bedroom.’

Tom watched them walk away. He ran into the lav. He had to find a hiding place. What about the yard? There wasn’t any earth he could dig up, but what about the pile of ashes? No, they were hot when Ruby threw them out and they might melt the money. He shut the door and sat on the lid of the pan. He looked around. Above the door was a ledge. Surely that would be one place nobody looked at. That would be the perfect hiding place. Could he reach it? He peered outside. There was one of his boxes waiting to be chopped up. He quickly dragged it into the lav and with a lot of difficulty managed to shut the door and stand on the box. He ran his hand along the shelf. It was very dirty and he shuddered as a big spider ran away from him. He would put the money up there for now, but he would have to find a bag to keep it in, and a stone to put on top, especially if he ever got a ten-bob or a pound note; they might blow away.

He looked out of the door again, just to make sure nobody was waiting and would wonder what he was doing taking a wooden box in the lav. The coast was clear and he walked back into the kitchen.

‘While I’m doing this,’ said Ruby to Tom, ‘you can make some tea. Dad’s seeing to the veg. They were certainly very nice this week. You’re a clever boy. I even wondered if they had been thrown away they look so good.’

‘Well, they was. D’you think I pinched them?’

‘No, course not. I only said they looked too good.’

Tom put the hot water in the teapot and went into the washhouse to empty it. ‘I’ll have to be careful,’ he said under his breath. ‘I don’t want her to get suspicious.’

All morning Ruby sewed and didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. It was hard work, her fingers were sore and in many ways she wished she hadn’t started.

‘What you doing there, girl?’ asked Mr Cox when he came down for his dinner. ‘There ain’t room to swing a cat round in here with that thing stuck in the middle of the room.’

She explained.

‘So you want to be on your own in the bedroom then?’

‘She is growing up,’ said her father. ‘And, after all, a girl needs a bit of privacy.’

‘Course she does. You never know who she’s gonner bring home.’

‘That ain’t the reason,’ said Ruby quickly.

‘I should hope not,’ said her father.

‘I’ll finish this another evening,’ she said, putting her needle and cotton away. How dare that man suggest that sort of thing. ‘Dad, give me a hand to drag it back into the bedroom.’

As the week went on Tom kept adding to his money in the lav, although the mattress was still in its original place in the bedroom. Every evening when Ruby got home from work, it was dark and she was too tired to sew.

Although deep down Tom knew it was wrong, he became more and more excited as his money grew. The boys stole handbags from women at the market or as they waited for a tram. Anywhere where a crowd gathered they’d push and shove people and at the right time one of them would run off with the goods. Sometimes they would peer into a pram when the woman went into a shop and see a bag just sitting there, waiting to be taken. Those were the ones Tom liked grabbing the most, as it didn’t cause so much fuss. They didn’t always strike lucky, as some of the bags were empty, but the excitement for Tom was exhilarating. At the end of every day he would spend a long while in the lav counting his money. He now had fifteen shillings. He was terrified when one afternoon Mr Cox knocked on the lav door and told him to hurry up. How could he get the wooden box out without him seeing it? Tears filled his eyes. He had to think quick. He was so frightened. ‘Mr Cox,’ he called through the door. ‘I ain’t got no newspaper. Could you ask Dad for some?’

‘I ain’t your bloody servant, you should have seen that before you started.’

Tom listened to Mr Cox coughing and spitting as he went back to the house. He quickly opened the door and threw the box out. He sat back down and took all the paper off the string and shoved it up his jumper. He heard Mr Cox coming back. A newspaper was pushed under the door. Tom tore off a piece, then pulled the chain.

‘I hope you ain’t made it stink in there?’ said Mr Cox.

‘It’s not too bad,’ said Tom, pulling his holey jumper down. He put his hand in his trouser pocket and let his fingers wrap round the coins that were nestling there. He gave a little smile as he walked back into the kitchen.

 

On Saturday Ruby was thrilled to see Elsie waiting for her outside the laundry.

‘I’ve got a frock for you to wear at my wedding.’ Elsie held out a paper bag. ‘Go on, have a look. You’re a bit thinner than our Jenny, but you’re clever with a needle and you can make it fit.’

‘Would she mind me altering it?’

‘No. She can’t get into it now anyway.’

Ruby took the frock out of the bag and held it up. She gasped. ‘It’s lovely.’ The green silk slipped through her fingers. ‘Are you sure she won’t mind me altering it?’

‘I told you, she said go ahead.’

Just then Florrie walked past.

‘What’s that you got there then?’ she asked, coming up to them.