Christmas Past (37 page)

‘Oh, Bill, look – there’s our daughter.’ Marjory almost choked over the words, and Bill was too overcome to answer.

Una and the other two girls were dressed in skintight sequined dresses which sent myriad shimmering stars darting round the stage. The trio harmonised perfectly and enhanced the singer to
perfection.

After each number Billy Flame turned and acknowledged the band and the trio, then at the end of his performance he gave each a small solo spot announcing each by name. Una was introduced as a
new and glamorous addition to the Fireflies. Then he said that as tonight was a very special one for Una, because her parents and grandmother were in the audience, she would sing one of her own
compositions.

The spotlight suddenly came down on Marjory and Bill and then settled on Grandma Holmes, who wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry when the crowd applauded.

Una was led forward to centre stage by Billy Flame and the band began to play. Una’s voice suddenly filled the theatre.

Suddenly Billy Flame came towards the microphone and Una. He placed an arm round Una’s waist, and as they looked deep into each other’s eyes he joined her in another verse.

The audience went wild, and hysterical Billy Flame fans rushed to the stage, waving their arms in an effort to touch their idol. Older, staider members of the crowd clapped, and gave a standing
ovation to the lovely girl who had sung so well, in words easily understood, after all the deafening, undecipherable lyrics performed previously by Billy Flame.

Marjory Bacon couldn’t control the tears of pride and happiness at her daughter’s success. Only Grandma Holmes was slightly uneasy, having noticed the look which had passed between
Una and that Billy Flame character. Not that she judged people on their appearance, but what with all the make-up and the garish outfit he was wearing, she didn’t think he was suitable at all
for her granddaughter. Besides, she didn’t trust pop singers, or whatever their name was. She didn’t trust show business folk at all.

It never occurred to her that Una was now part of that scene. In fact, if she could only have seen into the future, her granddaughter was destined to become one of the greatest of them all.

And when the recording of ‘Night After Night’ hit the music shops in time for Christmas, it was not Billy Flame whose name was on the label, but Una Gayle. She had made the big time,
just as she always promised herself she would. And nobody, according to the people of Millington, was more deserving of her success.

By the time Mr Whitaker retired, both Jack and Sally Holmes had been given the benefit of his whole working life’s experience. They had been taught how to do the books,
how to take stock, and where the finest-quality footwear and sundries could be obtained.

‘I know you can buy cheaper,’ he said. ‘But I haven’t built up my reputation by selling shoes which fall apart after a couple of wearings, or socks which shrink in the
first washing. No, Jack lad, you buy from the reputable firms I’ve recommended and you won’t go far wrong.’

Mr Whitaker was quite overcome when the day came for him to leave, especially when Jack presented him with a book on house plants, and a beautiful
Camellia japonica
in a white china pot,
specially chosen from Gardener’s Rest. Jack had thought long and hard about a leaving gift, realising the old gentleman would need an interest to keep him occupied during his well-earned
leisure time. He hoped the book would encourage him to develop an interest in plants. He also gave Mr Whitaker an open invitation to return to the shop at any time, knowing how he would miss the
company, and Mary invited him to tea on the following Sunday.

Jack also received quite a few tips from Sally, which she had picked up during her years at the Co-op, and immediately Mr Whitaker had left she set about re-arranging the shelves, so that the
style numbers and sizes were in order, and the colours in their own sections. This meant that she could see at a glance which size and colour of each style had been sold. Before long Sally was
fully competent at running the shop, leaving Jack to concentrate on the repairs. After a few weeks he decided to begin a home delivery service, so that repairs left at the shop would be returned
the following day. He also began replacing zips in bags and boots, and was even requested to reupholster an office chair, surprising himself when he made an excellent job of it. Only once had he
almost relapsed into ill health, when the sum the bank repayments would amount to was revealed. But Mary had calmed him down again and after a few weeks the shop takings convinced him he had
absolutely no reason to worry.

Jack was now putting on his lost weight and had never looked better. He enjoyed working with a cheerful girl like Sally and was so pleased with her efforts that he gave her an increase in salary
after the first month. Sally accepted it gratefully, intending to spend it on guitar lessons for Barry, who was doing his best to make some kind of sense out of Harry’s Christmas present. The
money Sally earned was helping to get them back on their feet again, for Harry’s new job as a crane driver in the steel works had meant a cut in wages and they hadn’t quite recovered
from the weeks he had been between jobs. Now they were starting to be able to afford a few luxuries again, and Sally intended to work hard at the job she enjoyed so much.

Owning two shops also meant that hosiery, gloves and leather goods could be bought in larger quantities at a bigger discount, so bringing in more profit for Jack and Mary, and by the time Easter
arrived a well-organised routine was in progress.

It was Easter when Jacqueline managed to persuade Avril to unburden herself of her worries.

‘You must see a doctor,’ she told her friend. ‘If you aren’t pregnant then there’s something seriously wrong with you. You’ve been sick now for
months.’

‘All right,’ Avril revealed in desperation, ‘I admit I’m pregnant, so now what happens?’

‘Oh, Avril, I know it’s too late now, but I did warn you when we went home for Christmas to be careful.’

‘We were. I know you won’t believe me, but we did use something. It wasn’t our fault the bloody thing leaked.’ Avril burst into tears, partly out of frustration and
partly from relief that she had at last confided in her friend.

‘So,’ Jacqueline said, her mind struggling to puzzle out what needed to be done. ‘The first thing to do is see a doctor.’

‘I can’t. I don’t want anyone to find out. I’ve worked out that I can at least finish my training, but I couldn’t if the news got out.’

‘The news needn’t get out, but you must see a doctor, make sure everything’s OK. What did our Alan say?’

‘He doesn’t know and he isn’t about to find out.

He isn’t going to be forced into marriage just because I’m pregnant.’

‘I can’t believe this. You mean you’ve known for three months and you haven’t told him? Oh, but you’re so wrong, Avril. He’s the father: he’s a right to
know. Besides, he loves you – you must marry him. I don’t want to be auntie to an illegitimate child.’

‘No, I’ve made up my mind. I’ll go to the doctor for my baby’s sake, but I won’t tell Alan.’

Jacqueline argued all day and well into the early hours of the next, but it was like throwing dandelion seeds to the wind, and she finally gave up and slept fitfully, no nearer a solution to the
problem. It was only after Avril had had the pregnancy confirmed by a doctor some distance away that Jacqueline wrote to her brother with the news. She only hoped she was doing the right thing.

Two days later she came home to find him waiting on the step, pale and heavy-eyed with anguish. Jacqueline knew she had made the right decision the moment his eyes met Avril’s and they
ended up in each other’s arms, Avril sobbing uncontrollably and Alan strong and gentle as ever.

Jacqueline disappeared inside to make tea. She had done her bit; now it was up to them. But she wouldn’t like to be in Alan’s shoes when Mary was told.

Alan told his mother as soon as he returned home. He had tried to persuade Avril to come home with him and arrange the wedding, but knew it made sense for her to stay on at college until her
training was finished.

Mary was like someone demented, accusing Alan of bringing shame to the Holmes family, and the O’Connors, not to mention Avril’s parents. Once she thought fleetingly of her friend
Joyce Bailey, and how her mother had looked down on the girl, but that was different. This was her son, who had been brought up in a respectable household, and now she wouldn’t be able to
hold her head up in the shop. She wouldn’t be at all surprised if the news didn’t turn away some of the customers. And what did they intend to live on, and where?

Alan waited until his mother had finished her outburst. ‘Mother, I love Avril. Surely you’ve noticed?’

‘But not enough to respect her until you were married.’

‘Of course I respect her, otherwise I wouldn’t love her. It was an accident; we didn’t mean it to happen.’

Mary was uncharacteristically in tears, which made Alan feel even worse.

Jack reacted in an altogether different manner. ‘So. You’re not the first, son, and you won’t be the last, and so long as you love each other, and I think you do, what are yer
going to do about it?’

‘We’ll get married, of course. I’m going down to arrange things for Whit week. After that she’ll finish her training and come home.’

‘Can’t you get married up here, have a proper wedding with all the family and everything?’

Alan was prevented from answering by his mother’s breaking into another torrent of anger. ‘Oh, that’ll be lovely, won’t it, everyone in Millington turning up to look at
the bride, only for her to disappear again. I can just imagine them saying it’s a marriage of convenience and nothing else.’

Alan paled. ‘I don’t care what people say. It’s up to Avril and me, nobody else.’

‘We’ll remind you of that when you’ve nowhere to live. I suppose it will be up to your father and me then to provide you and a wife and child with a home.’

Alan said calmly, ‘No, Mother, I wouldn’t expect any favours. I don’t think you could bear the shame of it. We’ll manage somehow.’ Then he went upstairs, found a
suitcase and opened his wardrobe, calmly packed his clothes, went to the bathroom, collected his toiletries and fastened the case, men walked silently downstairs. He looked round the sitting room
and lifted down the picture Jacqueline had painted for him.

‘Where do you think you’re going?’ Mary snapped.

‘To someone I know who won’t be ashamed of me.’ Alan looked at his father, afraid of what the shock might do to him. ‘Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll be OK. I’m
sorry. I wouldn’t have upset you for the world.’

‘Don’t go, son,’ Jack pleaded. ‘Your mother didn’t mean half the things she said. You know what she’s like.’

‘Oh, I know what she’s like all right: she who can do no wrong. Well, I’m sorry, I’m no paragon. I can’t live up to her expectations.’

His eyes swept the room, then he turned and walked out. He wanted to cry, but he was a grown man, soon to be a father. Besides, he would feel better when he reached Grandma Holmes’s. He
knew she would understand. Alan had no doubt she would welcome him with open arms, and his wife and child too when the time came.

He had climbed the hill and passed the clock before he remembered he had left the car parked near the shoe shop. He couldn’t go back now; it would only upset his father again. Better to
wait until after dark. He continued up to the top row and past the well-scrubbed doorsteps of the lowly terraced houses. He had the feeling that after a long time away he was finally coming
home.

Grandma Holmes was in her normal place near the fire, with her swollen feet soaking in a bowl of salt water, and Alan couldn’t help smiling as she almost tipped it over
in her eagerness to towel them dry and hobble on her bare feet to fill the kettle and make tea.

‘So what have I done to deserve a visit from my favourite grandson?’ she enquired, uneasy at the sight of a suitcase and a pale haggard face.

‘You say that to all of us. You call us all your favourite.’ He pulled out a chair and sat at the table. ‘I’ve come to ask you a favour, Gran. Do you think I could stay
with you for a while? It doesn’t matter if you say no, I’m sure Uncle Harry’ll have me. I can pay my way.’

‘I’ve told you before and I’ll say it again, so long as my house has a door on it’ll be open to my own flesh and blood, or to many another if needs be. Though I’d
like to know what’s been going on for you to leave your own home, before I say yes.’

‘Avril’s having a baby, my mother’s going mad, and we’ve both said things we shouldn’t, so I’ve walked out.’

Grandma Holmes stared into the fire and continued rocking for what seemed ages before asking Alan, ‘And what does your father have to say?’

‘My dad’s on my side, says I mustn’t take any notice, but I won’t give her the satisfaction of going back. It’ll look as though I’m grovelling. Oh, Gran, you
know what my mother is like. She’s set such high standards for us all. It was the same when I went to the garage – she thought it wasn’t good enough. She seems to have forgotten
how poor they were in Newcastle.’