Liverpool Annie (27 page)

'No,' said Daniel. He stared at his mother mutinously. It was the only word he knew. Lauri said it was typical; other children's first word was 'Mummy' or 'Daddy'. Daniel's was 'no'.

'What about that lovely big ball Auntie Dot sent?'

'No.'

'Or the telephone off your Uncle Mike?'

'No.'

She released him, and he immediately went for the broken doll. Annie grabbed it off him. Fortunately, the bead clicked back on. She gave it to Kelly and Daniel tried to get it back, so she picked him up and carried bim to the deckchair. He settled on her lap and watched Valerie feeding Zachary with genuine interest in his intelligent brown eyes.

Dark-haired, dark-eyed Daniel had been a handful since the day he was born. Unlike his sister, he scarcely slept and demanded constant attention. Annie was driven frantic, trying to keep the house nice, prepare Lauri's meals, and keep her small son occupied. He was far more advanced than Sara had been, sitting up unsupported at five months, walking at ten. Lauri had to build a gate at the bottom of the stairs after the day Annie couldn't find Daniel anywhere and he was discovered upstairs, trying to climb into the lavatory. Fortunately, Sara was no trouble and very self-contained. At the moment, she was playing house all by herself in the willow tree. Annie glimpsed her golden daughter crouched inside the leafy shade making an imaginary meal for a row of furry animals and dolls, a serious expression on her gentle little face.

Gary, Valerie's eldest, was playing with Daniel's new blue and white ball. He charged after it, without noticing his small sister crawling across the grass, and tripped and fell headlong. Tracy, more frightened than hurt, dropped her dummy and started to wail.

'GaryT Valerie screamed. 'Come here.'

The child came across, dragging his feet. Valerie delivered a stinging slap to his bare leg. 'Look where you're going in future,' she snapped. Gary's bottom lip quivered, but he didn't cry.

'I think it was an accident,' Annie said mildly. Gary was a nice little boy and she hated to see him punished unfairly.

'Accident or not, he should look where he's going.'

Valerie never hesitated to lash out at her children, but Annie had sworn never to lay a hand on hers. She wanted, more than anything in the world, for them to be happy, for them not to know a single moment of the misery she had suffered in her own childhood.

She wished Auntie Dot and Sylvia would come soon so they could have their tea and Valerie and her brood could go home. It had seemed only proper to invite them, because the Menins were always invited to tea at the Cunninghams when there was a birthday.

Valerie began to complain in a loud voice about Kevin. 'He's off to London next week, the lucky bastard. Some sort of conference.' She laughed unpleasantly. 'If I didn't know him better, I'd swear he was having an affair, he gets home later and later. He hasn't got the guts, though. He knows I'd kill him if he went with another woman.'

Chris Andrews had mentioned the other day that Lottie was staying with a friend in Brighton next week. Annie was wondering if there was a connection, when Auntie Dot and Sylvia came round the side of the house.

Dot beamed. 'Where's my Danny Boy? Come on, you lovely little lad, and give your ould auntie a nice big kiss.'

Daniel slid off his mother's knee and trotted into her arms. There was something about Dot, with her rough voice and exaggerated manner, that attracted children like moths to a flame. The little Cunninghams gathered round. Gary often asked for his Auntie Dot.

Annie noticed her daughter hanging back, as if unwilling to join the throng. Sylvia, Sara's Godmother, had also noticed. She sat on the grass and pulled the

little girl onto her knee and gave her a present, a blue leather shoulder bag. 'I didn't want her to feel left out,' she said. 'Daniel always seems to be the centre of attention.'

'It only seems like that. Lauri idolises Sara. Daniel isn't the centre of attention when Daddy's here.'

Sylvia looked casually elegant in jeans and a loose shell-pink blouse. She'd given up work when she got married and spent her leisurely days caring for her beautiful bungalow in Birkdale. She was learning to play bridge and spent a lot of time helping her mother-in-law with coffee mornings to raise money for charit)^ Almost every night, she and Eric went to a dinner party, usually with the same crowd of up-and-coming solicitors, accountants and businessmen. Once a week, they held a dinner of their own. Annie and Lauri had been invited, but declined. 'I wouldn't know which knife to hold,' Annie confessed. 'Anyroad, Syl, I'd feel out of place with those sort of people, and Lauri said if there's one profession he can't stand above all others, it's accountants.'

The birthday tea was served in the breakfast room. Instead of blowing out the single candle, Daniel made a grab for it and burnt his fingers. He didn't scream, but regarded the burnt fingers curiously, then looked to his mother for an explanation. Dot declared he was a marvel, a miracle of a child.

The Cunninghams left. 'I suppose I'd better tidy up a bit before Kevin comes home,' Valerie said sullenly.

'She's a mardy girl,' Dot remarked after Valerie had gone. 'She doesn't know which side her bread is buttered. Four lovely kids, yet she's always moaning. Mind you, I've never taken to women who leave their pegs on the line.'

Dot took the children into the garden and Annie cleared the table. Sylvia ran water into the sink. 'I'll

wash, you dry.' This had been the pattern when they lived in Upper PaHiament Street. Sylvia loathed drying dishes. She claimed it sent her into a trance.

'You'll get your lovely blouse all wet,' Annie warned.

Sylvia rolled up her sleeves before plunging her hands into the soapy water.

'What have you done to your arm?' Annie exclaimed. There was an ugly purple bruise on her left forearm, stretching from wrist to elbow.

'Oh!' Sylvia laughed and made a half-hearted attempt to pull the sleeve down. 'Oh, it looks much worse than it is. I fell upstairs! It doesn't hurt at all.' As soon as she'd finished, she rolled down her sleeves and buttoned the cuffs.

Annie put the kettle on so they could have a cup of tea in peace. 'I can't tell you how welcome silence is. Daniel's on the go all day.'

'But he's a super little boy, Annie.'

'Don't get me wrong,' Annie said quickly. 'I'm not complaining. Both my children are adorable and I'm entirely happy with my lot.' She looked sideways at her friend. 'Aren't you?' She wasn't quite sure why she asked the question that way, as if there was some doubt about it. Perhaps it was the bruise that made her feel uneasy.

'Eric and I are blissfully happy,' Sylvia gushed. 'Though we'd love a baby - the in-laws are for ever dropping hints. Eric is their only son, and there must always be a Church & Son in Liverpool.' She winked. 'Eric and I go at it hammer and tongs, but I don't seem able to conceive.'

'There's plenty of time. You've only been married fifteen months.'

'Yes, but I'll be twenty-five soon, we both will, and I want to be a young mother for my children when they grow up.'

Then Dot came in with Daniel wanting his potty, and the peace was shattered until he decided to go to sleep that night at half past ten.

Annie told Lauri about Sylvia's inability to conceive. 'Not like me. I must be very fertile.' It made her feel very feminine and fruitful.

'No, Annie,' Lauri said firmly. He knew straight away what she was leading up to, the same discussion they'd been having for months.

'Please, Lauri,' she implored. 'I'd love another baby. In fact, I'd like two. Four children is the perfect number, two boys and two girls.' She'd already chosen the names; Sophie and Joshua.

But Lauri's face had the stubborn expression that always came when she raised the subject. 'After Daniel, you made me promise that we'd never have another baby. How on earth can you have forgotten that time? It was sheer torture, love. I couldn't go through it again.'

'I haven't forgotten,' Annie said eagerly, 'but, looking back, I realise it was worth it. We ended up with Daniel, didn't we? I wouldn't care if it was twice that bad for another Daniel or Sara. It's what women do to have babies. Dot had an awful time with Alan, and Valerie did with Tracy, and the woman in the butcher's . . .'

Lauri broke in. 'I know all about Dot and Valerie and the woman in the butcher's, but it's you I'm married to, not them. I couldn't stand it, Annie. I'd be on tenterhooks - and what about the expense?'

'The expense?' Annie said, puzzled. 'We've already got a cot and a pram and all the things we need.'

'There'd be another mouth to feed - two, if you had your way.'

'I thought we had plenty of money.' They rarely talked about money. Lauri gave her housekeeping

every Friday, and never protested if she asked for more if there was an extra expense that week.

'All my savings went on the house because I wanted it to be perfect. We're not short, but we're not flush either. Interest rates have gone up which means mortgages have gone up with them. Now, if you don't mind, Annie, I'd sooner not discuss it any further.' He rattled the newspaper and started to read.

After a long silence, Annie said, 'What would happen if I forgot to take my pill?' She'd threatened this before and the reply was always more or less the same.

Behind the paper, Lauri said, 'I would consider you very deceitful.'

There was another silence, then Lauri lowered the paper. His eyes were twinkling. 'Are you sure this isn't a bit of one-upmanship on your part, Annie? The Cunninghams had a fireplace put in like the Menins. The Menins must have four children like the Cunninghams.'

She conceded he was probably right. She was jealous of Valerie.

'Come here,' Lauri lifted his arm and she cuddled beside him. 'Why risk our happiness by treading into the unknown? We already have two beautiful children. Be content, Annie. Be content.'

She was nearly asleep when she remembered the purple mark on Sylvia's arm. She'd done it falling upstairs! She also remembered that the Churches lived in a bungalow which had no stairs. She imagined Eric, a Regency buck with a cane twitching in his hand, and knew, as surely as she'd ever known anything, that incredible though it might seem, it was he who was responsible for the bruise on her friend's arm!

Sara looked tiny and lost in her yellow overalls and pink

T-shirt, with her favourite Teddy clutched to her chest. She looked at Annie trustingly. 'It's all right, sweetheart,' Annie whispered and gave her a little push, though she felt like a torturer. More than anything, she wanted to snatch her daughter up and take her home.

Then a helper swooped on them. 'Hello, Sara.' The woman took Sara's hand. 'What a good little girl you are! I think you're the only new one who's not crying.' She turned to Annie. 'She'll be fine, Mrs Menin. Say bye bye to Mummy, Sara. I'm sure you're going to just love playgroup.'

There was a lump in Annie's throat when she got home. She played with Daniel for a while, but what she really needed was someone to talk to, someone who would understand how she felt. Valerie would be no good. Valerie would think her an idiot getting upset over Sara. She was always looking for ways to get her children off her hands and would consider Annie lucky to have got rid of Sara for three mornings a week.

Perhaps Sylvia would come round? She hadn't seen her since Daniel's birthday, nearly three months ago. Though they spoke on the telephone frequently, it always seemed to be she who called. Lauri laughed like a drain when she said she thought Eric was responsible for the bruise. 'She could have fallen up someone else's stairs, my love. Really, Annie, your imagination knows no bounds.'

But Annie knew, she just knew! Sylvia hadn't been round because she was black and blue all over and had to stay indoors.

She dialled Sylvia's number, and it rang out for a long time. She was just about to replace the receiver when it was picked up. Sylvia answered, her voice muffled.

'Are you all right?' Annie enquired. 'You sound dead funny. Oh, I do hope it's morning sickness.'

'It's not, I'm afraid. I'm just a bit off-colour, otherwise I'm fine.' Eric was also fine. Everything was fine. 'How are Lauri and the children.^' she asked.

'Fine,' giggled Annie. 'I'd be fine, too, except I feel dead miserable. Sara started playgroup this morning.'

'I expect she'll love it there,' Sylvia said dully.

'Do you feel too off-colour to come and cheer me

up

'Sorry, Annie, but I think I'll go back to bed.'

'I'd come and see you, except I've got to pick Sara up at twelve.' Anyroad, the few occasions she'd gone to Birkdale by train, Daniel had shown an unhealthy interest in the Churches' valuable ornaments.

'I'm not really in the mood for visitors.'

Why not? Annie was immediately suspicious. 'You sound peculiar!'

'So do you!' Sylvia rang off with a curt 'goodbye'.

Annie immediately took her son next door, where Valerie was vacuuming the lounge. Tracy and Kelly were on the settee, pretending to be terrified. 'D'you mind looking after Daniel for a couple of hours? Sylvia's not well and I'd like to go and see her.' Daniel wasn't clinging like Sara and Annie didn't feel uncomfortable asking, because Valerie often requested the same favour. 'I'll be back in time to collect Sara.'

'Of course, it's Sara's first morning at playgroup, isn't it? I suppose you're feeling rather sad,' Valerie said surprisingly. 'Don't rush back for Sara. I'll pick her up with Gary. You'll have a job getting to and from Birkdale in time.' She said to give Sylvia her love and hoped she'd soon be better.

Annie took a last glance at Daniel. He had already thrown himself on the settee and was trying to get a doll off Kelly.

The Churches' bungalow was in a quiet tree-lined road

close to Birkdale golf course. It had a white pebble-dashed exterior and a distinctly Spanish look, with an arched porch and smaller arches each side leading to the rear. The Venetian blinds on the big front windows were closed so the sun wouldn't fade the expensive carpets. Sylvia's new car, another mini, this time red, was visible behind the half-raised garage door.