Nothing is Forever (11 page)

‘And you? How d’you feel about going back home?’

‘Having two people telling me how useless I am? One was bad enough. No, I want to stay here, but I can’t, can I?’

‘You’re old enough to make you own decisions, Tabs.’

‘I can’t refuse. She won’t marry my father unless I go back. She didn’t expect to have to run the home without me there.’

‘I’ll come with you. You can explain that you want to stay here. He won’t upset you if I’m there. I promise not to say a word, mind. I’ll just be there.’ She crossed her fingers as she promised.

It took two days to persuade her, but with coaxing from Henry, as well as Megan and Mali adding their opinions, Tabs and Ruth eventually set off to confront Mr Bishop and his ‘intended’, Martha Howard.

Tabs gave in almost straight away, nodding and agreeing without saying a word. As she was whispering, ‘All right, I’ll come back’, and despite her promise to say nothing, Ruth overrode her submissive replies and insisted that she needed Tabs at Ty Gwyn.

‘Besides being my friend, she has a responsible job as an accountant at the newsagents.’

‘An accountant? Rubbish!’

An argument ensued during which Martha shouted, then cried, then started a fresh argument with Tabs’s red-faced father.

‘I’m your father and you’ll do what I say!’ he said, his face close to Tabs’s, his expression threatening.

‘No she won’t,’ Ruth replied for her. ‘And that’s an end to it.’

‘Get out of my house! This is nothing to do with you. She’s coming back home where she belongs.’

‘No, she is not!’ Ruth replied with irritating calm.

Wide eyed, Tabs looked from one to the other and began wailing in despair. Ruth shoved her back away from her father who was trying to wear her down by glaring at her.

‘Come on, Tabs, we’re going home.’

‘This is her home and this is where she’ll live!’ George Bishop shouted, while Martha’s large brown eyes swivelled from one to the other.

Ruth had always considered herself a placid person. She had never felt strongly about anything and her life had been trouble free, but listening to this man demanding that his daughter give up a life she was just beginning to build, to move back home to his domination, because her prospective stepmother was lazy, was too much.

‘Very clever she is, our Tabs. And I respect her brilliance with figures and so does the newsagent. She’s a valued friend and I won’t hear of her coming back to be an unpaid housekeeper. There! That’s the situation. Come on, Tabs, we have to get back or the casserole will be ruined.’

Tabs stood undecided, staring at her angry father and a tearful Martha Howard until Ruth grabbed her arm and pulled her from the house.

They didn’t go back to Ty Gwyn but instead went to the shop to find Henry. When they told him of what had occurred she and Tabs were laughing and soon all three were enjoying the surprising end to what had been intended as a polite discussion explaining why Tabs wasn’t going back home.

It was a changing point for Tabs, albeit a small one. She was still very unsure of herself in company, but together with the job she had found and the growing friendship of Ruth, she found a confidence which she would never have found at home.

‘D’you know,’ she said one evening, when Ruth and Henry were entering payments into Ruth’s weekly statement book, ‘I’m grateful to Martha Howard. If she hadn’t agreed to marry Dad, I’d have still been that frightened woman nicknamed the goose. Or mouse,’ she added, admitting she knew of Ruth’s nickname for her. ‘I’m still a bit of a mouse,’ she added as they smiled at her, ‘but a bit bolder, don’t you think?’

‘Is there still going to be a wedding?’ Henry asked.

‘I haven’t heard any different, but I don’t think Martha will want me there, do you?’

In her father’s house Martha reluctantly agreed to continuing with the wedding plans on condition she would have a cleaning woman twice a week.

‘Sorry Tabitha’s let you down,’ George Bishop said. ‘I don’t know what’s got into her. She’s been so difficult since she met up with that Ruth Thomas.’

‘I’ll remind Ruth of the part she played one day,’ Martha said. ‘I could tell a few tales about that family that Ruth wouldn’t like broadcast around the town. How that poor Ralph was treated, it was a disgrace.’

‘I’ve never heard of Ralph.’

‘Not many remember him now. But I do. Sent away he was, poor dab, hoping the shame of what he did would remain hidden, but my memory’s long and one day I’ll tell her what happened to her Uncle Ralph.’ She smiled, wondering what she could invent that would embarrass poor Tabitha the most.

George was hardly listening. ‘We’ll invite Tabs to the wedding, won’t we?’

‘Well, I did expect us to have a rather grand reception. She wouldn’t feel very comfortable, scared goose that she is. Capable she might be, but I can’t imagine her coping with a wedding like ours will be, can you, dear? Kinder if we don’t ask. Better we forget to post her invite, don’t you think?’

So relieved that the wedding was back on track he could only agree.

Tabs’s father turned up one day and at once, Ruth went to stand by her in a protective manner.

‘Hello, Dad. Arrangements going all right, are they?’ Tabs asked nervously.

‘No thanks to you!’

‘I expect you’ve brought the invitation to the wedding,’ Ruth said politely. ‘It’s next month, isn’t it?’

George Bishop ignored her.

‘I want you to reconsider,’ he said to his daughter. ‘Take no notice of Ruth. She
doesn’t know about family loyalties. Can’t help it, mind, her not having paren
ts to teach her. But you know how I rely on you and Mrs Howard expects the same.’

Ruth made a low growling sound in the back of her throat as Tabitha began to reply.

‘Sorry, Dad, but I’ve left home and I enjoy living here with Ruth. And I’m really enjoying my new job.’

He argued for a while, glaring at Ruth between attempts to persuade his daughter to return home, then he left.

An hour later, Mrs Howard knocked the door. As soon as Ruth opened it she pushed her way in and demanded to speak to her future stepdaughter. ‘Where is she? Tell her I want to speak to her.’

Ruth gave a tight smile and said, ‘I’ll see if she’s in and if she wants to talk to you.’

Instead of calling up the stairs as she usually would, Ruth went up the stairs and to her irritation, Mrs Howard followed.

‘Which is her room?’ she demanded when she stood on the landing. Wordlessly, Ruth pointed with a thumb to the relevant door, and Martha walked straight in.

‘Tabitha, my dear,’ she said, before slamming the door closed against Ruth’s attempt to follow. Shamelessly, Ruth put her ear to the door and listened. ‘I’m disappointed you won’t be sharing the home with your father and me. Friends I thought we’d be. I haven’t come to persuade you where your duty lies,’ she added with a hint of a sob. ‘I just wondered if there were any special things you’d like to take from the house now you’ve left home. Little things that have some sentimental value, you know what I mean. Come one afternoon while your father’s at work and we can look through the drawers and cupboard to see what there is.’

Ruth could imagine Tabs frowning as she thought about some of the treasures she had left behind.

‘No, there’s nothing, except one or two pieces of my mother’s jewellery. Not that there was anything of value, but I’d like a necklace she wore often, and one of her rings, just a few mementoes.’

‘That might be awkward, my dear. Your father offered some of the better items to me and, as I don’t want to start my marriage wearing things he’d bought for your mother – you understand I’m sure, dear – we sold them. There isn’t much left. In fact, we sold some of the pieces so he could buy me this beautiful engagement ring.’ She held out her hand for Tabs to admire.

‘Then there’s nothing I want, but thank you for offering,’ Tabs replied sadly. ‘I did love the opal ring that had once belonged to my grandmother. I’d have liked that.’

‘No, I couldn’t have let you wear that! I made sure that was sold.’ She gave an elegant shudder. ‘Unlucky things, opals.’

‘But so beautiful.’ Ruth heard the disappointment in Tabs’s voice.

‘Well, dear, I wish you’d change your mind about sharing our little home. If you do your father would be delighted. Loves you, he does. And he misses having you around. He was only saying last evening how lost he is without you to chat to. Even me moving in won’t change that,’ she said, with another hint of a sob.

‘Perhaps I should—’

Ruth opened the door and said, ‘Tea anyone?’

‘I was just telling Tabitha how much her father misses her,’ Martha said. ‘Loves her he does.’

‘But once you and he are married he won’t be lonely then, will he? And we all know what they say about two women in a kitchen,’ Ruth spoke breezily, as she coaxed Tabs out of the room. Martha tried to hide her fury as she followed them down the stairs.

In the kitchen she noticed the child’s painting. ‘Oh, you have Ralph’s picture on show. He would be pleased.’ She stepped closer to Ruth and whispered, ‘Better than anything Tabs can do, mind, even though he was only a child. She does have a false idea of her abilities.’ She leaned closer and waited until Tabs had moved away. Behind a hand she whispered, ‘Tell the truth, her father is worried about this job she’s so proud of. She isn’t capable of something like accounts. I mean, where would she have learned about something like that? The poor man will find out when she gets everything in a mess.’

‘How can you say such a thing? Tabs is clever and it’s taken all these years for anyone to realize it!’ She pushed the woman aside angrily and opened the door. She stood as Martha left without another word. She turned to where Tabs was beginning to set out cups and saucers, and forcing a smile, said, ‘Tabs, I’m proud of you for not giving in to that woman’s false affection. Come on, take the kettle off the gas, I’m treating you to tea in the café. Right?’

Jack saw Henry leave the antique shop and drive away. He opened the door and slipped inside. ‘Tabs, I had to see you. I saw Henry leave and I couldn’t resist coming in. I miss you and want you so much.’ He locked the shop door and pulled down the blind on which a notice said ‘Closed’. Between kisses he said, ‘Once I’ve found my family, nothing will keep us apart, my beautiful, wonderful Tabs.’

‘Jack, I have to open the shop! Someone might tell Henry I closed up!’ Her protests became less and less urgent as other concerns awoke in her body. He led her up the stairs and she guided him into Henry’s living-room, where she surrendered to a passion that engulfed her. They lay for a while, calm after the storm that had overwhelmed her and she marvelled at the realization that she was in love and this fascinating man loved her, something she had never imagined happening to her.

She went to tidy herself in the bathroom as Jack said a reluctant goodbye, promising to meet her the following day in the park. She went to the kitchen and made herself some tea, dawdling dreamily, almost unaware of what she was doing.

She was still glowing with happiness when Henry returned. He saw at once that several small and valuable pieces of silver were missing from the cabinet. She looked horrified when he showed her. Had she spent too long in the kitchen? Someone could easily have stepped inside and taken them. The cabinet wasn’t locked as Henry had never thought it was necessary. Foolishly, she helped his search, even though she knew exactly where they had stood.

Henry noticed the rosy cheeks and the glowing eyes and wondered about Tabs’s boyfriend. Could she have been day-dreaming and got careless? It wasn’t very likely, but love can do strange things, especially to someone as inexperienced as Tabs. She admitted being out of the shop for a while and he wondered if the boyfriend had distracted her. There had been a cushion out of place in his flat. Tabs being used as an accomplice to a thief? Surely not.

Tabs had a moment’s doubt about Jack. He was the only one who could have taken them, the shop bell would have told her if someone else had entered and there had been a delay before he left. But she brushed the disloyal thought aside. Not Jack; he wouldn’t have risked compromising her by taking anything from here.

Henry informed the police and explained that fortunately he had photographed the items that were missing. Something he did occasionally, taking a snap of a group of pieces in case there was a problem of ownership. He was able to check and assure an enquirer that the pieces hadn’t passed through his hands. Occasionally members of a family sold something without the agreement of others.

Tabs was afraid; the small doubt about Jack wouldn’t quite go away. He was in the park the next day, joining her as she sat eating her lunch, and she told him about the theft. He suggested possibilities: regular visitors who rarely made a purchase, someone slipping in while she was in the kitchen. ‘I know what you Welsh girls are like for your cups of tea,’ he teased.

‘You think it was my fault?’ She looked tearful.

‘You aren’t in the shop all the time, silly girl! Henry is there too. Why couldn’t it have been him? I bet you didn’t notice whether the things were there or not when you and I got together, did you?’

Ruth had been sad to see Megan, Mali and Mickie leave. They hadn’t been there long, but Ruth had been glad of their company, especially the lively little boy and she would miss them. Henry had helped them to transport their belongings to the flat they were renting and to everyone’s surprise their mother was waiting outside with a few cardboard boxes. ‘Food to fill your pantry,’ she told them, gruffly. ‘And a card to wish you good luck.’ She dropped the last of three boxes near the gate and pushed the card into Mickie’s hand, picked him up and hugged him, then hurried off before the girls were able to think of a word to say other than ‘Thanks, Mam.’ Mali called after her mother asking her to ‘Wait, don’t you want to see the flat?’ but their mother didn’t turn around.

Megan opened one of the boxes to see packets of basic dry stores. Another held tinned food and a third contained perishables like bread, cakes, pasties and pies, with some fresh salad items wrapped untidily in newspaper and sprinkling the rest with soil.

‘Fabulous!’ Megan said. ‘Kind, wasn’t it? We’ll go tomorrow and thank her.’

‘Kind? Maybe. Or making sure we didn’t go back home!’ Mali said. ‘She’s still ashamed of our Mickie and I’ll never forgive her for that.’

‘Yes, you will,’ Ruth said. ‘She’s your mum and that will always make her special.’

Mali picked up one of the boxes. ‘She could have carried them in for us,’ she said, ‘instead of dumping them on the pavement!’

On moving into the new flat, the complaints began in earnest. Their radio, early morning noises, the sounds of Mali and Megan playing lively games with Mickie, but mostly Mickie. Ruth called on the neighbours and explained that she had had them as lodgers for a few weeks without any problems.

‘You don’t have to get up early and go to work,’ one of them retorted. When she explained that she did in fact have a job, the reply was that it wasn’t an important one. She gave up and crossed her fingers, hoping the little boy would win them over and the complaints would die down.

‘Your father’s wedding is tomorrow, isn’t it Tabs? What time is the ceremony?’ Henry asked, when they were both at the shop sorting some new acquisitions. ‘Have you bought anything special?’

‘I haven’t had an invitation,’ she replied. ‘Dad doesn’t want me there.’

‘Nonsense. It must be an oversight. Of course you’ll be there.’

‘I asked once and they were both vague about the time and place, and evasive about the invitation. No, it’s Martha’s day and she doesn’t want me spoiling things for her.’

‘You don’t sound very upset?’

‘I’m not. You know how I hate formal occasions and dressing up and all that sort of thing. No, I’ve promised to go and help Ruth sort out some papers she brought down from the loft. She thinks her brothers might like some of it and the rest will be thrown in the ash bin.’

‘That sounds more boring than your father’s wedding!’

She laughed and pointed to the pile of plates she was unwrapping. ‘Talking about boring, if I unwrap many more of these I’ll throw them in the ash bin too!’

Tabs left the shop at five o’clock, but she didn’t go straight back to Ty Gwyn. Jack had promised to meet her at the café on the corner and she waited outside, too embarrassed to walk in alone. Standing on the street corner was difficult enough and she walked a little way and stood instead looking at the children playing in the little park.

The curtains were pulled down on the shop window and Henry had gone up to his flat. She hoped he wouldn’t see Jack arriving. She didn’t want to explain; that would almost certainly lead to teasing, something with which she found difficult to cope. To her relief Jack arrived quite soon and she didn’t see Henry watching them as he took her arm and led her out of sight around the corner to the café entrance.

Jack and Tabs both began to talk as soon as they were seated and had given their order to the waitress.

‘Have you got any further in your search for family?’ Tabs asked.

‘I still haven’t excluded Ruth’s family, even though they all seem to be called Thomas. I’m thinking of such a long time ago.’

‘I might be able to help you there, even if it’s only to take them off your list of possibilities. Ruth has a huge pile of papers, all stuff belonging to the family and she wants to sort it out, throw away anything useless and just keep a few things to pass to her brothers.’

‘How can I get to see it? I can hardly ask. There’ll be questions I’d rather not answer.’

‘I offered to help her look through them, so anything I think might be relevant I’ll hide and give it to you to look at. How’s that?’

He reached across the table and kissed her. ‘You are amazing. How lucky I am to have you in my corner.’

Her colour increased but she didn’t seem as unhappy about being seen as the first time. Encouraged, he did it again.

‘I don’t want to sound mysterious, Tabs, but don’t talk to anyone about me or the family I’m hoping to find. They might not want me to find them. After all, it would sound suspicious, me turning up out of nowhere and telling them I’m a long lost distant cousin twice removed or something.’

‘I don’t see why. Surely there isn’t really likely to be an inheritance? That only happens in fairy stories.’

He shared her laughter then he said, ‘Please, Tabs, love, I’d rather no one talked about why I’m here.’

Talking about Jack was the last thing she wanted to do; how embarrassing that would be! She assured him that their friendship would be a secret shared by only the two of them. ‘Not a word,’ she promised.

‘It’s unlikely Ruth and her brothers are part of my family, that’s too much to hope for, so best if we don’t get them involved. They might not like the intrusion, and who would blame them, having a stranger coming and asking questions and maybe unearthing some family secrets?’

The few people who knew Tabs and were aware of her father’s wedding asked about it: what she would wear, where the happy couple were going on honeymoon, what changes had been made in the house, and she evaded their questions hoping they wouldn’t guess that she didn’t know the answers. She felt sad about not taking part in the occasion and it was on her mind that day.