East End Jubilee (31 page)

‘When?’ both girls asked at once.

‘Soon as I get me marching orders.’

‘When’s that?’

‘Next year.’

He saw Marlene wasn’t impressed. ‘That’s a long time off. Anyway, I bet he ain’t got a castle!’

‘If you don’t believe me, Toots, go and ask him.’

‘We don’t speak to strangers,’ Donnie said before her sister could reply. ‘Mummy says so.’

As Matthew whimpered in his arms, Eddie turned to Rose. She raised her eyebrows and nodded. ‘It’s me new rule, Eddie.’

‘And a fine one it is too,’ he agreed vehemently. He looked back at his daughters. ‘Your mother’s right, Princess. No speaking to strangers, unless you know them!’
He chuckled at his joke.

‘Especially,’ Marlene added with emphasis, ‘strange men in brown cars.’

‘Yes, Toots, especially strange men in—’ Eddie stopped as he realized what he was saying. ‘
What
brown car?’ he asked, puzzled.

‘The one Mummy saw in the street the other day.’

Eddie turned to his wife. ‘What’s she talking about, love?’

‘Oh nothing much,’ Rose dismissed. ‘It was a car that was parked outside the Dixons’.’

‘Mummy’s seen it there before, though,’ Donnie continued. ‘Haven’t you, Mummy?’

Rose nodded. ‘Yes, yes, I have.’

‘Mummy told us not to go near it and we’re to run and tell her if it parks in the street again.’

Eddie looked at his wife. ‘What’s all this about, Rose?’

‘I . . . I didn’t like the look of the driver, that’s all.’

‘Why not?’ Eddie felt a coldness building inside him, an icy fear that he had pushed to the back of his mind ever since the beatings at Brixton.

‘It’s just me being fussy. You know what I’m like with the children.’

Matthew wailed loudly and Eddie looked down at his son. With a rush of protectiveness he stroked his finger across the furrowed brow now turning pink with annoyance. A tiny fist clenched,
followed by a bellow that made Eddie’s heart contract with love.

‘He probably needs changing,’ Rose said as she bent to lift the wriggling bundle into her arms. ‘Em, would you take him out to the car? I’ve left a bag with clean nappies
in and filled a bottle with water. A drop or two will settle him till the next feed.’ Eddie watched in silence as his sister-in-law carefully wrapped his son against her chest, adjusting the
shawl to his body. Eddie felt full of regret as he watched the activity around him. Matthew would be walking on two sturdy legs by the time he was home.

‘Come along, children,’ Em called.

‘I don’t want to go,’ Marlene said sullenly. ‘We only just got here.’

‘Do as your Aunt says,’ Eddie said gently, reaching out to draw his two daughters into his arms. He wanted to hold his children close, to protect them, but how could he in here?
‘Send me some nice pictures, girls and Will, you tell the bloke that brought you here – what’s his name?’

‘Bobby,’ Will replied eagerly.

‘Tell him to drive carefully on the way back. He’s carrying a precious load.’ It was all he could think of to say. He didn’t know the man, but Rose had written saying he
fancied Em and was a real gent. Eddie had decided that he had no option but to believe that his intentions were honourable. But as he looked up at his family, a feeling of utter powerlessness
gripped him. He could do nothing to help his family in any way, shape or form. He just had to grin and bear it.

The little group departed. Eddie watched them go. His heart felt as though a dagger pierced it as the children waved. He plastered on a big smile, waving back.

When they’d gone, he gave a shuddering sigh. Slowly he reached to hold Rose’s hand. She gripped his fingers tightly. ‘Oh Eddie, you don’t know how much we miss
you,’ she murmured and again his heart felt as though a knife was going through it.

As usual, he applied humour to pain. ‘You’d better make the most of it. I’ll soon be under your feet again.’

‘You’ve never been under me feet as much as I wished you was, sometimes.’

He would never be able to tell her how much he regretted his absenteeism. If he was back in Ruby Street right now, he’d prove to her that his family came first and foremost.
‘I’d forgotten how beautiful you are,’ he said bleakly.

Rose lifted her hand to his cheek. ‘It was awful watching you at the Old Bailey, up in that dock, a prisoner. It didn’t seem real.’

‘I didn’t want you to come to court, not in your state.’

‘I had to, even if it was only one day.’

‘Are you all right after the baby?’ he asked in concern.

She nodded. ‘I’m fine.’

‘Benny was a good sort to come to me trial.’ Eddie was emotional, close to tears. ‘Matthew’s a cracker, ain’t he?’ he said with a big effort.
‘He’s the spit of you.’ She laughed then and it even hurt him to hear her laugh. He missed the sound so much. ‘Oh God, Rose, I just want to be home and with you and the
kids.’

‘I know.’ She sniffed, holding back the tears too.

‘I’m in the workshop making baskets.’ He changed the subject quickly. ‘You know, them raffia things. I’ll make you one, if you like.’

‘That’d be nice.’ She opened her shopping bag. ‘I brought a packet of Woodbines.’

‘We ain’t allowed to take anything in with us. But I’ll smoke one in a minute. Trouble is, I don’t want to stop holding your hand.’

‘Oh, Eddie, I don’t know what to say.’ She smiled into his eyes. Her smile was so innocent, so childlike, that again he was overwhelmed by how vulnerable his family was.

‘So tell me about this bloke in the brown car,’ he tried to ask lightly. ‘It ain’t like you to worry about strangers. It’s usually the neighbours that get you in a
tizzy.’

‘I know, I’m just being silly I expect.’ She looked away from his gaze.

‘What did this geezer look like?’

‘Can’t really remember. I’m sure I’m fussing about nothing.’

‘When was it you first saw him?’ Her eyes flickered at the harshness of his voice.

‘I told you, ages ago, last year sometime.’

Eddie leaned closer. ‘Look, love, it’s important you tell me everything.’

She looked at him nervously. ‘Why is it so important, Eddie?’

‘Because it just is.’ He waited, willing her to understand the urgency in his eyes.

‘Oh, Eddie, I don’t want to worry you.’

‘You won’t. Come on, spit it out.’ His mouth was dry as a bone. He knew for certain now that he’d remember this day for the rest of his life.

‘It was . . . last July I saw the car. It was parked at the top of the road near the Dixons’.’

Eddie swallowed. ‘July – are you sure?’

‘Yes. I was going out one morning and I noticed it because, as you know, we don’t get many cars parked in our road. It was just waiting there, as if it was waiting for
someone.’

‘Did you get a look at the driver?’

‘Not that I thought about it then, but I did remember him when I saw him again the next time. You see, this was the day when . . . well, when someone broke into the house.’ He stared
at her trembling lips and poor, pale face. His past life flashed before him. It was as if he had been living another life altogether, justifying his actions by telling himself he was doing it all
for his family. And now that other life was coming back to haunt him.

‘Eddie – did you hear what I said?’

He nodded slowly and found the courage from somewhere. ‘They found the money, didn’t they?’ he said flatly.

Astonishment filled her eyes. ‘How do you know?’

‘It’s what they were looking for. It’s what they came after.’

She grasped his hands. ‘Eddie, what’s going on? Who are these people?’

‘Bastards, love, that’s who.’

She was frightened now. ‘You know them?’

He wished with all his heart he didn’t. He would trade his right arm now for a truth-sized slice of ignorance. He wished above all he was Eddie Weaver, street trader, small fry, making a
pittance but enough to get by. Just as he had been five years ago when he’d been in his element flogging a few bits of cheap junk to his punters and bringing home the profit.

Those days were long gone, Eddie realized woefully. He would never have them back. Not after what he was going to tell Rose. He looked into his wife’s eyes and wondered where he should
begin.

Rose was wondering where to go next. It was the Easter holidays and she had left the children with Em and taken Matthew out in his pram. He’d been awake off and on all
night, unable to settle. Rose knew it was only a matter of time before her milk dried up.

To soothe him she had pushed the pram from Ruby Street into Westferry Road, not stopping at the road works on the corner of Gavrick Street as he appeared to be dropping off. She’d wriggled
the big pram wheels over the lumpy, broken pavement and emerged unscathed on the other side and for the next half hour had continued to push, trying to recall, as she had done a hundred times in
the past week, what Eddie had said on their last meeting.

It hadn’t helped much having to tell Anita, Benny and Em who’d all asked her enough questions to fill an encyclopaedia. She had been forced to reveal the news that Eddie was what was
known in street parlance as a
floater, s
omeone who worked the streets on behalf of the bookies, collecting and placing illegal bets. But Eddie had instructed her to tell them immediately she
got home. He had really put the wind up her as she had listened to his unbelievable tale.

Unfortunately, the tale turned out to be the truth. She was still reeling from it. Not only was Eddie in debt to a notorious loan shark but he feared the theft of the shoebox was a consequence
of his debt. What was worse, he was convinced the danger wasn’t over. Her blood had turned cold as she listened to him warning her to tell the Mendozas and Em and the children to always be on
their guard in case of reprisals.

‘Rose – Rose Weaver!’

Rose jumped, wondering who had called her. She found herself standing outside Hawkin’s and Tipson’s ropeworks. Two women stood inside the gates. One was tall and imposing, the other
short and slender. Gwen House, the canteen supervisor from Kirkwood’s, had a big smile on her round face as she arrived breathlessly beside the pram.

‘Hello Rose, love. Oh, I’m so glad I’ve seen you.’ She clamped a red, hardworking hand on Rose’s arm. ‘Hold on, I’ll just wave goodbye to our
Suzie.’ Swivelling on her heel, Gwen made the thumbs up sign. The girl smiled under her white turban, drew up the rope-cutting knife that was tied to a string around her waist and slid it in
her pocket. With that she disappeared back into the ropeworks.

‘I hate those bloody knives they have to carry,’ Gwen said exasperatedly. ‘But they’re necessary I suppose. I’ve heard of quite horrible accidents happening when
the rope kinks. Any amount of fingers and thumbs have been lost. I don’t see the attraction in the place meself, but our Suzie seems to like it.’

‘Is Suzie related to you?’ Rose asked politely. The last thing she felt like doing was talking, but she hadn’t seen Gwen since she’d left Kirkwood’s last year.

‘She’s my sister’s girl,’ Gwen explained. ‘It’s her tea break and I just managed to catch her.’ The buxom supervisor gazed under the hood. Matthew was
fast asleep. ‘Oh, he’s a darling, Rose!’

‘Yes, most of the time.’ Rose was relieved Matthew had finally fallen asleep and looked like an angel snuggled under the cover. ‘How are you, Gwen?’

‘Fine, thanks, love. More to the point how are you? We wondered if you was all right. I always meant to pop round your house but you know how it is. I’ve been on overtime since
Christmas. We’re ever so busy.’

‘That’s nice to hear.’

‘We miss you.’

‘Do you?’ Rose was surprised. She didn’t think she’d made much of an impression at Kirkwood’s, although she had enjoyed her brief time there. The work had been hard
and she always seemed to have her hands in water up to the elbows but she’d made a friend of Gwen, a very fair supervisor.

‘Yes, you were a reliable worker, Rose. I’d have you back at the drop of a hat. Did you know the girl who you stood in for has left? Without any notice too. That’s why I was
speaking to Suzie. I wondered if she’d like the job, but she doesn’t fancy working in a hot kitchen.’

Rose glanced down at her sleeping infant. ‘Well, I’m sorry you lost your girl but Matthew’s only ten weeks old. I couldn’t leave him yet. Not till he’s on the
bottle at least.’

‘I expect you miss the money though?’ Gwen asked hopefully.

Rose nodded. ‘Yes, to be honest we do.’

‘Well, you know where to come when you’re ready, love.’

Rose smiled gratefully. ‘I will.’

The large lady opened her bag and dived into it. She trickled some coins under the cover of the pram. ‘That’s for Matthew. Sorry I never sent a card or called round. Get him
something nice from Kirkwood’s.’

‘Thanks, Gwen. I will.’

‘How’s your old man doing?’

Rose gave a swift shrug. ‘As well as can be expected.’ She hoped Gwen wouldn’t ask any more questions. She didn’t.

‘Take care of yourself, girl.’

Rose watched her old supervisor walk off with long, purposeful strides. Despite her forbidding appearance, she was salt of the earth and Rose was flattered she’d wanted her back in the
canteen. It might not be long before she accepted, considering Matthew’s appetite that Rose couldn’t satisfy. Em had offered to look after him, and after Eddie’s revelations, Rose
knew there was no way she would ever be a lady of leisure again. But a full-time job at Kirkwood’s would safeguard their future.

What would Eddie do when he came home? Rose asked herself yet again. His floating days were over, she’d already made him promise her that. He wouldn’t find a job so easily now he had
a criminal record. And since he’d always maintained he wasn’t cut out for factory life and had had enough of the docks, what else was left? She wondered if he would return to street
trading as he had done before Marlene came along. Would she ever trust him to keep on the straight and narrow?

A river breeze lifted off the water as Rose pushed the pram through the gates of Island Gardens. Nutty odours of wood, tar and oil swept over from the docks, mixing with the chemicals from the
factories. With your eyes closed you could identify where you stood – in the workhorse heart of a great big city.