Facing the World (18 page)

‘I’m glad she wasn’t harmed. We always act when a child is in danger and are relieved that this time it was a false alarm. But my colleagues are questioning him about that. I came to make sure you and Sadie are all right.’

‘All right? I don’t think I’ll ever be all right ever again! I’m thankful I have my daughter safe but it’s been a very difficult time. Her father, Rhys Martin, has been away, you see, and, well, that’s a long story. Then there was the unfortunate choice of childminder for her when I decided to go back to work, and now this.’

‘I’ll go but I’ll come back later to discuss what happened and make sure you and Sadie are all right,’ the WPC said.

There was a continuous stream of visitors from then on. Valmai came, and Eric. Amy and Rick came when they heard what had happened, then to her surprise, David.

‘David. We haven’t seen you for ages. Where have you been?’

‘Nowhere, just keeping out of your way. You have so many friends and you didn’t need me.’

‘Of course we need you. You’re a friend too.’

‘I wanted to be your only friend. The one you turn to whenever things go wrong,’ he said.

‘We can’t have too many friends, David.’

She began to feel uncomfortable, wondering what he was about to say but to her relief, before he could say any more, there was a knock at the door and she smiled, ‘Here’s another. I wonder who this will be?’

It was the policewoman back and Sally invited her in as David waved goodbye to Sadie, and left.

‘There is another matter you might be able to help with,’ the policewoman said after being offered a seat. ‘Can you tell us why Rhys ran away two and a half years ago?’

‘He thought he was suspected of a series of robberies and was afraid an investigation might prevent him from studying to become
a teacher. It sounds far fetched even as I say it,’ Sally said, making Sadie more comfortable as the little girl relaxed into her arms.

‘If he didn’t carry out these robberies, why—’

‘He didn’t do them! Someone else did! He was afraid he’d be suspected, and I don’t know why!’ Sally wondered why she was so defensive about the man who had let her down so badly and recently given her such a fright.

‘You must know what happened, Sally. Anything you can tell us will help us to find the truth. If he didn’t do it.’

‘He didn’t!’

‘Then persuade him to help us, tell us all he knows, or just suspects, then we can clear it up and he needn’t be afraid any more.’

Sally looked down at the child in her arms, deeply asleep, her face still covered with jam and strands of coconut. ‘Rhys is nothing to do with us any more.’ She looked at the policewoman and asked, ‘How am I going to clean her up enough to put her to bed without waking her?’

The policewoman took Sadie into her arms while Sally gently undressed her and washed her grubby face and hands, then watched as Sally put her into her cot. Both women stood for a few minutes just looking down at the sleeping child, then the policewoman tiptoed out. She had scribbled her name and the telephone number of the station on a scrap of paper and pointed to it as she quietly went out of the door.

David watched with disappointment as Rhys left the police station and walked towards the railway station. His long strides revealed an anger and he was soon lost to David’s sight. He had called the police anonymously, reporting a child abducted from the nursery school. He gave details but refused to give his name. The call box would be of little help, specially as he had run fast past it, up through the narrow lane close by and had been innocently wandering towards it when the police arrived. They stopped him and asked if he’d seen anyone using the phone box but he assured them he was just on his way back from the local farmer’s barn where he had been looking at a repair job and had only just arrived in sight of it.

He had always hated Rhys Martin. When they were at school, his friends and Rhys’s friends were never together. Scrumping apples and
playing rat-tat ginger, knocking doors and running away, and helping themselves to an occasional pint of milk from a doorstep were the things in which both groups indulged but never together. And the unforgivable thing was, David’s group were often accused, frequently caught, and Rhys’s friends were always believed when they gave their word they were innocent.

When the doors of a small factory were left open by mistake, both groups went inside to explore. No damage was done and they came out feeling daring, almost heroic at their bravery in going inside the dark building, each carrying a small item as a keepsake. David had picked up a fountain pen which he hid in his school satchel.

Rhys was questioned as he lived near and he gave the police David’s name together with the rest of the rival group. The pen was found and the five children appeared in the juvenile court. They were given a caution but the incident increased his dislike of Rhys to strong hatred.

There had been a certain notoriety in the events; other pupils nudged one another when he passed and looked at him with awe when the stories were repeated and exaggerated. David enjoyed it and began to dream of becoming someone to whom people looked up to with respect. He broke into a small shop and stole some
cigarettes
, which he sold to some of the older boys. This, he had explained to his followers, was because she wouldn’t let him have some sweets off-ration. He was caught and again appeared in court. This time he was told that if he offended again, he would be sent to borstal. He could still picture Rhys’s face as he had laughed.

When he risked taking a purse from the post office counter, he told the police he had seen Rhys do it but Rhys had an alibi.

He hadn’t achieved much at school, failing at most subjects except woodwork, at which he was better than average. Rhys excelled at academic subjects and sport so reasons to hate him increased. It was only Eric’s patient teaching at the furniture factory that had changed his life. The rivalry between Rhys and himself had begun so long ago, when they were little more than children, but the feeling of
resentment
towards him hadn’t faded with time. Now he knew that when the time was right and Rhys felt safe, with what was hidden in his mother’s loft he’d be able to knock him off his pedestal for good.

Before that, he wanted to find out what Rhys was doing in Bristol
and who the mysterious woman and child were. Was he planning to have two families, one with Sally and one with the woman in Bristol? At the moment he seemed to have chosen the Bristol woman, and he wondered if Sadie was the sole reason for his occasional visits and not Sally. Now if Sally could consider himself as a suitable stepfather to his daughter, Sadie, wouldn’t that be a perfect arrow to shoot? It was worth getting a job to see Rhys’s reaction to that! 

SALLY BECAME INVOLVED
with the final preparations for Amy and Rick to move into their new home. The wedding had been rearranged and the second issue of invitations had been sent and acknowledged. The house was finished and there was only its contents to be transformed into a home.

Sally went with Amy on shopping trips to fill the larder and store cupboards. Cleaning materials were chosen, although Amy swore she would have as little to do with them as possible. ‘Rick paid someone to clean the house after the workmen had finished,’ she said airily. ‘I have to admit she did a good job. He couldn’t remember her name – she was recommended by someone I believe. Pity, I’d like her to come each week and clean through for me.’

Sally smiled and said nothing, remembering the generous payment she had received, which paid for the extras she needed to furnish her own new home. The experience helped her to guide Amy, who seemed vague about what she needed to do.

‘Have you arranged deliveries of bread and milk and coal and groceries?’ she asked, and Amy gasped.

‘None of those. Oh, thank goodness I’ve got you as a friend. I’ll deal with them today. Won’t Rick be impressed at how well I’ve dealt with it all?’ She grinned. ‘Not that he’ll believe me. He’ll see an expert guiding hand in all of this.’

‘Come on, let’s get the bedding sorted and we need to place the small table ready for that television that’s arriving tomorrow. By the window, d’you think?’

‘And cushions. We need to throw a few cushions around.’

The place was beginning to look like a home. ‘All it needs are a
couple of full coffee cups on that table and a magazine or two and it’ll look lived in,’ Sally said.

‘All right, coffee it is and perhaps a few biscuit crumbs?’ The two friends sat looking out into the formal garden, glancing about them occasionally, and leaning over to tweak a cushion or adjust the
tablecloth
on what would be the television table. Everything was ready for the second attempt at marrying, ‘Nothing can go wrong this time, can it?’ Amy asked.

‘With your mother in charge? Nothing would dare!’

Amy smiled and said, ‘She might be difficult at times, but she has the money and background to make everything perfect.’ Superstitiously she crossed her fingers.

The wedding of Amy and Rick eventually took place on Saturday 15th July.

The weather was doubtful at first but everyone in Mill Road and beyond went to see the couple married. The guests were brought by a variety of cars, most of which were expensive and brought shouts of approval from the young boys who had gathered to enjoy the spectacle. The clothes of the arrivals were discussed in murmurs that were punctuated by the occasional burst of laughter when one of the women guests had trouble with an extra large hat, or tripped when alighting from one of the splendid vehicles.

Amy’s mother stepped somewhat unsteadily out of an elegant Bentley with someone they later learned was a distant cousin, called Godfrey. The small church was full, with onlookers crowding around the doorway, ‘Like beggars at a feast,’ Amy’s mother declared loudly. ‘It’s so common to stand and satisfy their curiosity.’

‘I think they’ve come to wish her well, Dorothy,’ her cousin Godfrey replied.

‘As long as they don’t dirty the cars by leaning on them.’ She hardly looked at Rick, who was standing in the porch talking to people in the crowd, but as she passed, she muttered from the side of her mouth, ‘Can’t you make them go away? They’re ruining the effect.’

‘Hardly!’ he replied, but she had walked on, nose in the air, ignoring the greetings from those already seated.

Dorothy Seaton-Jones wasn’t the build to be haughty – she
seriously
lacked the height besides being well rounded and wearing a
dress with too many frills in a bright pink. She wore gold shoes, carried a gold handbag and struggled to control a wide-brimmed hat. Her face was rosy, her hair was blonde and even in the extra high heels – the reason for her ungainly exit from the car – she was below the level of her partner’s shoulder.

Ushers showed her to her place and she looked around as though wondering who to remove from her presence. Sally smiled as she found a place halfway down beside Valmai and Netta, and settled with a chattering Sadie on her lap. David entered and, seeing her, he moved someone along the row and sat beside her. He spoke to Sadie, whispering something in her ear that made the little girl smile, then showed her a packet of chocolate buttons ‘For after, mind,’ he said, winking at Sally.

Amy looked lovely in a white dress with a fitted bodice and a skirt that flowed around her slim figure like molten satin. She carried a bouquet of flowers in a pale honey colour that matched the dresses of the bridesmaids. She looked quite at ease, smiling at those in the pews that caught her eye, giving a little wave to Sally and Sadie, who called, ‘There’s Amy and she’s pretty!’ to the amusement of the congregation.

Despite earlier fears, the train was held capably by six small bridesmaids who followed her obediently to the altar, where it was quickly arranged around her feet. Amy smiled and reached for Rick’s hand. The chief bridesmaid, dressed in a slightly deeper shade of honey, took the bouquet and stepped back. The service could begin.

At once Sally began to feel weepy. The dream, so long held, that she would one day walk down the aisle with Rhys, surrounded by well-wishers, was gone for ever. She hugged Sadie as the little girl watched the proceedings in rapt attention, whispering a question sometimes and waving to people she knew.

David, aware she was upset, handed her a handkerchief. When they stood to sing, he put an arm around her shoulder and for once she was glad he was there.

Coming out of the church, everyone smiling, the photographer dashing around trying to organize people into the groups he needed, there was a sudden hush as Milly Sewell’s loud voice said, ‘Wearing white? Never! There’s no shaming some people.’

Dorothy was just behind her and she gave her an unladylike dig in
the back. ‘What are you talking about? How dare you suggest that my daughter isn’t entitled to marry in white!’

Amy tried in vain to hush her mother, but to no avail. ‘I want you to leave this gathering at once,’ Dorothy demanded.

‘Well, if you don’t see anything wrong about having a honeymoon before being churched, then why should I?’

‘Talking rubbish you are.’ Dorothy pushed the woman again.

Milly laughed. ‘You pretending you don’t know?’

Every effort was made to stop the argument but convinced she was in the right, and outraged at the interruption on her daughter’s big day, Dorothy refused to ignore Milly, now joined by a few others who were enjoying the unexpected interlude.

‘There’s nothing
to
know! Respectable family we are, not like you, Milly Sewell. Where’s your son now? Pretending he doesn’t exist like always, are you?’

‘What are you talking about?’ Milly demanded. ‘Talking rubbish you are!’ She twiddled a finger in the area of her temple suggesting crazy talk, but Sally, watching her, recognized a hint of fear in those hard, dark eyes that she had never seen before. Surely a woman who took such pleasure in hurting people with criticism couldn’t have a secret of her own, could she?

Speculation was forgotten as Amy’s little mother suddenly ran at Milly and gave her a push that sent her running tip-tilt. To avoid falling over, her feet were moving faster and faster as she tried to regain balance. A man coming around the corner caught her. Breathless but determined, she turned and shouted back, ‘Don’t believe me? Where were you on the weekend of their original wedding date, eh?’

‘In hospital, which is where you’ll be if I get hold of you!’

The photographer finally took control and everyone smiled easily for him while he shuffled people here and there, getting his pictures. The unexpected interlude certainly made the crowd look happy. When the job was done there was no sign of Milly. Sally felt a tinge of pity for the woman. If there was any truth in Dorothy
Seaton-Jones’s
accusations, then she must have suffered, and she knew all about that. Taking opportunities to hurt others might be the only way Milly could hide her own pain. She knew that if a child was involved, the pain never leaves. She still grieved for little Samuel, born and lost to her so soon.

Amy and Rick were embarrassed by the outburst, aware the
accusation
was true, but more so by Dorothy’s behaviour. In the Rolls-Royce on the way to their reception, Amy said, ‘When I think about how she’s always disapproved of practically everyone, reminding those who cared that she was born to better things. Then to charge at Milly like a demented terrier.’

Rick started to laugh and soon they were both helpless. They were still laughing as they reached their destination and throughout the meal, Rick only had to repeat Amy’s description of Dorothy as a demented terrier for them to start all over again.

Dorothy just glared.

With exaggerated politeness, Dorothy asked Rick if he had ever been to Paris before. Struggling not to laugh, avoiding Amy’s eyes, he shook his head and said, ‘No, Mother-in-law, but I can’t wait to see it with my lovely wife. The best way to see Paris is with someone you love, isn’t it?’

‘Never been? No naughty weekend with a previous girlfriend?’ someone asked and Amy’s laughter was impossible to contain. Sally, aware of their first, unofficial honeymoon, laughed with them.

Amy’s mother went on to say that Paris was too far away, too foreign and had an odd attitude to fidelity and free love. Bournemouth, she insisted, would have been a better choice. Rick and Amy clung together and their laughter was contagious although no one really understood the joke. It set the happy mood for the rest of the day.

Sally had left Sadie with Valmai and shared a car with some
relations
of Rick as the official guests made their way to the hotel where the reception was being held. The odd events had confused her. It made her wonder whether everyone had a secret or two tucked away, hopefully never to be revealed. Milly Sewell with a son? Dorothy with the temper of a fish wife? Where in her fine education and upbringing had she developed that? Were all her fine ideals and
attitude
lies too?

David hadn’t been invited to the reception but, to her surprise, Eric had. She sat next to him as they helped themselves to a huge selection of food from a large, semi-circular buffet in one corner of a
well-appointed
room with plenty of small tables and comfortable chairs.

‘Can it be true – about Milly Sewell having a son?’ she asked as they tackled a plateful of delicious pastries.

Eric smiled. ‘It’s true. Poor Milly. Her mother refused to allow her to keep him. She’s lost touch, of course, but it ruined her life. So bitter and angry. The memories of that time must still be fresh and raw.’ He looked at her and smiled. ‘I have a daughter, you know.’  

‘A daughter? Where is she? What happened?’  

‘My wife thought someone else would make her happier than I could so she left and took my little girl with her.’  

‘I’m so sorry, Eric. That’s another pain that never goes away, like poor Milly’s. Losing Samuel was only a short while ago but I’ll never forget him, and I sometimes wake up having dreamt he was here and growing up. The shock when the dream fades is indescribable.’  

He nodded agreement. I haven’t seen my child since she was at school.’  

‘What is your daughter’s name?’ she asked.  

‘Julia. She’d be twenty-six now, twenty-seven at Christmas time. Born when I was thirty-eight.’  

He didn’t seem to want to say more so Sally changed the sad subject and talked instead about the secret honeymoon that was a secret no longer.  

The official honeymoon was a few days in London and soon after they returned, Sally saw Rick as he was driving home from work to where Amy was waiting for him in the house locals still called the Waterstones’ house.  

‘Sally! I’m glad I’ve met you. Amy would like you to come for Sunday lunch one day soon,’ he said. ‘She says she needs practice first and would rather try out her skills on a friend!’  

She thanked him but refused. ‘I can’t leave Sadie with Valmai and Gwilym; they give her so much of their time.’  

‘Oh, it won’t be for a few weeks yet, and Sadie will be welcome. In fact it’s Sadie who’s invited and as a favour is allowed to bring you!’ he joked. ‘Amy would like Valmai and Gwilym as well. D’you think they’ll come?’  

Sally shook her head. ‘Valmai would love to come but Gwilym never leaves the house, or at least, doesn’t go any further than his workshop.’  

‘I understand he refuses to be fitted with an artificial leg, but why doesn’t he use the wheelchair? And surely he can manage crutches? Ask him. We’d be so pleased for them both to be our first guests.’

‘The trouble is pride, according to Valmai and Eric. Gwilym used to be a popular sportsman and he can’t face anyone in his disabled state.’

‘Surely someone can persuade him? The first few times would be embarrassing maybe, but people quickly start to notice the person, not the disability, don’t they?’

‘Ask him, or better still, persuade Amy to ask him. You never know your luck.’

Of course Gwilym refused. Amy pleaded and Valmai lost patience. Sally waited for the invitation but it was a very long time coming. Amy wasn’t brave enough to cook for a large number and having promised so many people an invitation she couldn’t just ask a few, so she gave up the idea completely.

Valmai was increasingly upset at Gwilym’s refusal to leave the house.

‘With young Jimmy desperate for a friend to help him succeed at something at school, you’re needed, Gwilym. All that knowledge and you’re unwilling to help someone like Jimmy. Then there’s our granddaughter. Can’t you make an effort for Sadie?’

‘Not yet,’ he replied. ‘Soon, maybe, but not yet.’

‘Always the same answer. When is
soon
, for heaven’s sake?’

‘It’s a bit late to start cricket practice. Perhaps next year.’ He pushed himself out of the house and into his shed.