Far From Home (9 page)

‘I don't think we could get on better,' Kate said, looking into David's deep brown eyes. ‘We get on very well now, but that isn't the same as loving someone.'

‘I know that,' David said. ‘But I have enough love for both of us.'

Kate smiled a grim smile and shook her head. ‘I don't think it works like that.'

‘Look,' David said, deciding to lay his cards on the table. ‘Tomorrow night, Nick is taking Susie with him to see the pantomime of
Sleeping Beauty
at the Hippodrome in the town.'

‘Oh,' Kate said – she loved pantomimes. They were such fun and very Christmassy. Susie had taken Kate to see
Cinderella
the first Christmas she had been in England, and she had been amazed because she had never seen anything like it. Plays of any sort were sparse in Donegal, but plays where the Prince Charming that Cinderella falls in love with is actually a girl and the old stepmother really a man was out of her understanding. When she found that the audiences were encouraged to boo the baddies and cheer the goodies, she had been
astounded. She had soon got into the spirit of it, however, and had been as vocal as everybody else. She had a sudden longing to do it again.

‘Point is,' David continued, ‘I will be at a loose end and so will you, and it is Christmas Eve, so I was wondering if you wanted to see the pantomime as well. As friends,' he said, holding up his hand. ‘Scout's honour.'

A smile dimpled Kate's cheek and David felt as if his heart had stopped beating. ‘You are a fool, David, and I'd love to go with you, but I'd better say no,' she said, but had to bend her head so that she couldn't see the disappointment that flooded his face.

‘Kate,' David said, ‘I've never asked you this before, but is there someone else?'

Kate thought of Tim, the man she had given her heart to but who would soon belong to Maggie Mulligan, and she shook her head. ‘No,' she said quietly.

‘Then, why not come out with me?'

Why not indeed?
said the little inner voice inside her head.
I'm not agreeing to marry him just because we watch a pantomime together.
‘All right then,' she said. She saw relief light up his eyes as she added, ‘Though I doubt we'll get tickets for tomorrow night's performance at this late stage.'

‘No,' David said. ‘So it's a good job that Nick and I bought the tickets a fortnight ago.'

Kate stared at him in shocked surprise. ‘You were very sure of yourself,' she remarked

‘Oh, no,' David said with a heartfelt sigh. ‘I wasn't sure at all. I just hoped you'd agree.'

‘What if I'd refused?'

‘Then I would have given them away,' David said. ‘I mean, I could hardly go and sit beside Nick and Susie on my own. I'd have felt right awkward.'

Kate knew he would and she thought she had made the right decision. She was even more certain of this when David took her hand and led her on to the floor for the Last Waltz. She went willingly and felt they fitted beautifully together, but when David held her close and she felt his heart banging in his chest, she felt quite protective towards him and didn't fully understand why.

It was when she went to retrieve her coat at the end of the night that she saw Susie again, and then she took in her friend's slightly dishevelled appearance and she knew what she had been doing with Nick. Susie, however, was more interested to learn that Kate had eventually agreed to go out with David. ‘At last you realize that the man hasn't got three heads.'

Kate laughed. ‘I never thought he had,' she said.

‘And maybe when you go out with David you will find yourself bowled off your feet,' Susie continued.

‘And maybe I won't.'

‘Well, you do as you please,' Susie said, ‘for I intend to enjoy myself; and, so far, this Christmas is shaping up to be one of the best I have ever had.'

 

Kate had never actually been on a date before and she dressed with care. She seldom bought much for herself, but she had seen another snip of a bargain in the Rag Market earlier that day when she had gone in with Susie, who urged her to buy it. And so she was wearing a calf-length dress in muted shades of blue when she opened the door. The dipped neckline was edged in lace,
the skirt was full from the nipped-in waist and the butterfly sleeves were the height of fashion; again David thought she looked stunning and knew he would be proud to be seen walking out with her.

He had also made an effort, and he too looked incredibly smart. Kate noticed the cuffs of the pure white shirt peeping from the sleeves of his tailored overcoat and the smart tie at his neck. She also saw his light brown and rather unruly hair had been tamed and darkened with Brylcreem. His smile was so wide it lit up his whole face and made his eyes sparkle for he was hardly able to believe that Kate had at last agreed to go out with him and he held out the flowers with hands that shook slightly.

Kate blushed as she took the flowers from him and that just made her ever prettier. ‘Oh, David,' she said, ‘what a lovely surprise!' and she asked him in while she found water. When she disappeared into the little kitchenette, he took the opportunity to look around the room. ‘You have it nice,' he said when she returned with the flowers in a vase.

Kate wrinkled her nose. ‘Bit small now,' she said. ‘Though it was all right for one, it's cramped now my sister lives here too.'

‘She must be company for you, though.'

‘Not really,' Kate said. ‘She's seldom here in the evenings because she works as an usherette in the Plaza. And to be honest, I never envisaged her living here at all.'

‘Oh?' David said, his eyebrows arched in enquiry.

‘Oh, I'll tell you the whole tale as we go,' Kate said. ‘We're meeting Susie and Nick at Stockland Green and we had best be off now or we'll be late.'

So, as they walked together that cold, frosty night, Kate didn't object when David linked her arm and pulled her tight against him as she told him of Sally's flight from their farmhouse in Donegal. ‘And she had told you nothing about what she intended?' David asked.

‘No, not a hint of it,' Kate said. ‘She was waiting for me when I came home from work. I thought our parents would have her back because she wrote and said how sorry she was, but they won't.'

‘So you're stuck with her?'

‘That's about the strength of it,' Kate said.

‘You must get on all right,' David said. ‘I do nothing but fight with my brother, Lawrence. There would often be wigs on the green if we shared a place.'

‘We don't argue much,' Kate said. ‘But then with different work patterns we don't see that much of each other.'

‘And does she like Birmingham?'

Kate nodded. ‘She loves it,' she said. ‘She loves her job and the fact she has money in her pocket, which in itself is quite a novel experience, and she can't get over all the entertainment there is for her to enjoy when she does have time off. But I think, most important of all, she's become very friendly with the trainee projectionist at the cinema, and I definitely don't think she would like leaving him.'

‘Isn't she rather young for that?'

‘Probably,' Kate said. ‘But what can I do about that?'

‘Not a lot,' David agreed. ‘What about her elder sister?'

‘What do you mean?' Kate said, though she knew full well what David was getting at. And then, with
relief, she saw Susie and Nick waiting at the tram stop and she said, ‘Come on, let's hurry. It's too cold to stand for long in this weather,' and the opportunity to talk further was lost.

 

In the interval, Susie and Kate headed off to the Ladies', and Susie barely waited till the door shut behind them before saying, ‘Well?'

‘Well what?'

‘Come on, Kate. I‘ve been dying to ask you.'

‘Ask me what?

‘Don't be stupid,' Susie snapped. ‘You and David, of course.'

‘What about me and David?'

‘You know,' Susie said. ‘You looked ever so lovey-dovey to me when you arrived at the tram station earlier.'

‘It seemed sensible. It was cold, that was all.'

‘And was it sensible of him to buy you a whole box of chocolates?'

‘No,' Kate said. ‘That was far from sensible. I didn't expect him to do that and he is very generous, but I know what it is to truly love someone.'

‘D'you know?' said Susie. ‘I'm not sure that you do. It might not be love that you feel for Tim Munroe at all, but infatuation, probably made all the sweeter because you knew from the start he was unobtainable.'

Kate stared at Susie and Susie knew she had hit home. For the first time she saw doubt flit across Kate's face as she digested Susie's words and wondered if there was an element of truth in them.

‘I mean, you have never been courted by Tim – walked out together or anything, have you?' Susie asked,
knowing they hadn't. ‘The most you two have done is gaze at each other. You don't know anything about him really.'

‘Don't be daft, we nearly grew up together.'

‘I know that. So you know Tim the child, the boy, but nothing at all about Tim the man. I bet when you got to a certain age, your mother at least made quite sure you were never left alone together.'

Kate nodded, because that had been true.

‘Well, here there's a man that you have admitted you like and who more than likes you. I mean, you've really enjoyed yourself tonight, haven't you?'

‘Oh, yes,' Kate said. ‘And the pantomime is great, but we should really be getting back because the first bell has just gone.'

‘I know,' Susie said. ‘We'll go now, but you will think about what I said?'

Kate nodded. ‘I will,' she promised, and she would because – quite apart from anything else – she felt she owed her friend a favour, and knew it would make life easier for the budding relationship between Susie and Nick if she agreed to go out with David.

The next morning, Kate got up in a really good mood, remembering how much she had enjoyed the previous evening. The day before, as well as getting the dress for herself, she had bought Sally a lovely Fair Isle-patterned hat, gloves and scarf set for Christmas. They had never got much in the way of presents in Donegal, and any they did have they left until after Mass to open, but the weather was so raw that morning that Kate decided to give Sally her presents before they left for church because she knew it would keep her a lot warmer, especially as they couldn't have a warming cup of tea or a bite to eat as they were both taking communion.

Sally had really sad eyes that morning and Kate thought she was probably thinking of their home. She knew that her younger sister had really hoped that her mother would write to say she had forgiven her, especially as she had paid back nearly all the money she had taken, but she had received nothing. When Kate gave her the present, Sally was so overwhelmed with sudden love and gratitude for her sister that tears stood out in her eyes. Kate was so moved by Sally's response
that she said, ‘You might as well have the other things as well,' and gave her the set of lace hankies and a little bottle of California Poppy perfume.

‘Oh, Kate, you are so lovely,' Sally said, dabbing the perfume behind her ears immediately. ‘I have things for you too.'

‘You shouldn't have spent money on me,' Kate said. ‘I told you not to. You don't earn that much.'

‘I know I don't,' Sally said. ‘But I owe you so much that I would buy for you if I couldn't afford even a card for anyone else. And ooh, I can't really wait until after Mass to give them to you either, so you must have them now.'

Kate was thrilled because the silk stockings were of the best quality and the slippers were fur lined, and she exclaimed in delight, ‘My feet will be as warm as toast in these.'

‘Yeah, well, I saw your others were thin and very raggedy looking.'

‘It was one of the first things I bought when I came to Birmingham three years ago,' Kate said. ‘Because my feet used to ache so much after standing all day on the factory floor and I have never thought to replace them. In fact, I like these new ones so much I will take them with me to Susie's house and wear them all afternoon.'

‘Good,' Sally said with a large grin on her face. ‘But hadn't we better be making our way to Mass now, or we'll be late.'

‘Oh, yes,' Kate said. ‘You're right, and it might be hard to hurry because I think it's quite icy out there.'

It was. The cold was the sort that almost burnt the
back of the throat and the frost sparkled and crunched underfoot, and they linked arms for greater warmth. The streets were quiet and the only ones out were people like themselves making their way to a church of some kind. Many of them greeted the two girls as they walked past.

When they had gone a little way, Sally, her voice slightly muffled because of the scarf wrapped around her mouth, said to Kate, ‘So, who were the flowers from?'

‘Tell you later; too cold now,' Kate said, puffs of white spilling from her mouth as she spoke.

‘That's not fair,' Sally protested. ‘When I got in last night, they were sitting there in the vase and there was no sign of you. And when you did come in you said you were too tired to discuss it. Then this morning when I asked again you said we haven't time. So, what's the big mystery?'

Kate looked down at her younger sister and decided she might as well know. It wasn't as if she was doing anything wrong. ‘They were from a friend,' she said.

‘I guessed that much,' Sally said with a grin. ‘Not many enemies would give you a bunch of flowers.' And then she put her head on one side and asked in mock innocence, ‘Was he male, this friend?' Then she exclaimed, ‘Oh, Kate, he must have been because you've gone all red.'

‘No, I haven't,' Kate protested. ‘That's just the cold reddening my cheeks, and, yes, Sally, a male friend gave me the flowers. His name is David Burton, and last night he took me to the pantomime.'

‘Thank heaven for that,' Sally said. ‘I thought you were turning into a right old maid.'

‘Whatever gave you that idea?'

‘Well,' said Sally, ‘in your letters home you told us of all the things you and Susie got up to and all the places you went to. Never once did you mention any men you might have met, never mind go out with. And since I have been here it's been the same.'

‘Maybe I'm choosy,' Kate said. ‘And don't go out with the first man who asks me.'

‘Is that a jibe at me and Phil?'

‘Not especially, no.'

‘Because I do like him, you know,' Sally said. ‘I didn't just go out with him because he asked me. Anyway, what's this David like?'

Kate shrugged, ‘He's just ordinary, I suppose.'

‘Oh, Kate,' Sally cried in exasperation. ‘Talking to you is like pulling teeth. Is he short or tall? Fat or thin? And what colour are his eyes, his hair? Go on,' she demanded. ‘Describe him to me.'

‘Don't see why I should,' Kate said with a smile, ‘or why you are so interested; but I suppose he is quite tall, certainly a head taller than me and on the lean side. His hair is sort of, almost light brown, though he said that it was pure blond when he was a boy and it has darkened since he grew up.'

‘And his eyes?'

‘Oh, they are really deep brown.'

‘And is he a good kisser?' Sally asked. ‘What are his lips like?'

‘Sally, what a question to ask!' Kate said, clearly shocked.

‘Why?' Sally asked. ‘You did kiss him I suppose?'

Kate wondered if the chaste peck on the cheek that
she allowed David counted and thought not, and so her answer to Sally was, ‘That is none of your business and something we shouldn't be talking about on our way to Mass on Christmas morning.'

Sally smiled to herself, but said nothing more. She didn't want to risk Kate being in a bad mood, because after they'd eaten dinner with Susie and her family she had agreed to meet Phil. And then, after spending the afternoon together, she was having tea at his mother's house. She wasn't at all sure how Kate would react to the news.

 

Kate wasn't at all impressed with Sally's plans and told her so as they walked to Susie's later. ‘I don't see what's the matter with it.' Sally said, genuinely puzzled. ‘Or why you should be in such a tizzy.'

‘I think it is most incredibly rude and I don't understand why you can't see that for yourself.'

‘Well, I can't,' Sally said. ‘And I don't think Susie will. Or her parents, if they are anything like her. It's all right for you and Susie. You will have two more days to spend with your boyfriends if you want to. Both Phillip and I are back at work tomorrow.'

Kate knew that Sally had a point. Because Christmas Eve and Christmas Day had fallen on a Saturday and Sunday, and as they were days they wouldn't have been at work anyway, they had Monday and Tuesday off in lieu. However, the cinemas were opening again the following day, so Sally was only off work on Christmas Day itself. Ignoring the reference to David being her boyfriend, Kate said, ‘All right, I see that you have a point there. But do you think it sensible to go to Phillip's
for tea and meet his parents and everything? I mean, you don't know him that well and isn't it quite a formal thing to do, as if you had some sort of understanding.'

‘Phillip wants me to meet his mother,' Sally said. ‘They only live in Bleak Hill and that leads off Marsh Hill, so it's no distance from the Masons'.'

‘What about Phil's father?' Kate snapped. ‘Doesn't he want to meet you too?'

‘Well, he might,' Sally said with a slight shrug, ‘but that would be difficult because he died when Phillip was only small. Apparently, he had two brothers and a sister and they all died of TB as children – and then his father died of the same thing. It was only Phil, the baby, who survived.'

‘Sorry, Sally,' Kate said. ‘Phil's mother must have suffered greatly.'

‘I'm sure she did,' Sally said. ‘And Phil is very protective of her because it has been just the two of them for years and he doesn't want to leave his mother alone all Christmas Day. He has told her all about me and she says she'd like to meet me, so he thought Christmas afternoon might be a good time.'

‘Yes, I see all that,' Kate said. ‘And it is a nice thought, but in a way it does put things on a more formal footing. Surely you can see that? You are really too young for that kind of commitment.'

Sally shook her head. ‘I don't think either of them sees any more significance in it than me just going for tea on Christmas Day,' she said. ‘Maybe it's different in Birmingham. I mean, Dulcie, who is only a year older than me, is dating a boy from the next street, and the families have known each other for ever. She was in
and out of the house all the time anyway as she was best friends with the daughter long before she was of an age to date her older brother.'

‘Yes, but it isn't the same for you, is it?' Kate said. ‘And his mother could well be possessive with Phillip being her only son and that.'

Sally nodded. ‘I worked that out too and in a way it's understandable,' she said. ‘And it will still be nice to meet her because Phillip talks about her a lot. Anyway, I've told Phil I would go and so I am going, Kate, whether you approve or not, and regardless too of how Susie feels about it.' She hesitated for a moment and then added, ‘I bet she won't mind, though, but to tell you the truth I am a bit nervous of having dinner with the Masons because I don't know any of them except Susie. I know she has two brothers, but I've never seen them – not that I know of, anyway.'

‘Yes, she has,' Kate said. ‘They're called Derek and Martin and they came to Ireland when they were young, but you'd not remember that. I only have vague recollections of them then. In fact, I only took more notice of Susie when she came home to live, the time her mother was so sick.'

‘So what are they like?'

Kate smiled, ‘Oh, all right, you know. They tease a bit, like most lads seem to. There'll probably leave you alone, but I am considered fair game now they know me so well. And Susie's parents, Frank and Mary, are just great – so kind and generous and just … well, just lovely. Tell you, Sally, it would have been far harder for me to settle down in Birmingham if I hadn't had the Masons to rely on.'

‘Do you call them Frank and Mary?'

Kate nodded her head. ‘They insisted on it,' she said. ‘Wouldn't have any truck with Mr and Mrs Mason. Anyway, we're nearly here now, so you will see the set-up for yourself.'

Kate turned into a drive from the tree-lined road as she spoke and Sally looked at the semi-detached house with bay windows set behind a neat hedge. Susie was in the doorway waiting to welcome them.

The whole family made much of Sally, particularly Mary and Frank, and Kate guessed that Susie had told them about the circumstances that had led to Sally arriving in Birmingham in the first place, and their mother's reaction to it. This was their way of making Christmas slightly better for her, and Kate warmed to them even more as she saw Sally relax.

 

As usual, the dinner at the Masons' house was sumptuous, and the talk and banter around the table as much fun and as riotous as ever. As they were tucking into the plum pudding and brandy sauce, Sally told the Mason family of her plans for that afternoon. No one seemed to mind.

‘Christmas afternoon is getting more flexible as we all get older,' Susie said later as she and Kate washed the dishes in the kitchen. ‘My brothers are doing their own thing too, and, as my mother said, she would never like it said that she got in the way of true love.'

‘It's hardly that at Sally's age,' Kate said.

‘Can't tell with matters of the heart,' Susie said. ‘Just how old were you when you found that you loved Tim Munroe?'

‘That was totally different,' Kate protested. ‘I had known Tim all my life.'

‘I don't see that that has got anything to do with it,' Susie said. ‘All I know is that, whether it was the real thing or imagined, that love was strong enough to stop you looking for anyone else. Look how you were with David Burton.'

‘What do you mean?' Kate demanded. ‘I was very nice to him.'

‘Not nice enough to agree to go to the New Year's Eve Ball with him, though?'

‘Well, no.'

‘Yeah, well, that has put me in a very delicate position,' Susie said.

Kate raised her eyebrows. ‘I can't see how it could have done.'

‘Well, because I thought you would agree. I mean, you seemed to be getting on very well at the pantomime,' Susie said. ‘Anyway, when Nick asked me to go with him, I said yes.'

A cold feeling of loneliness stole over Kate suddenly. ‘Is it serious between you?' she asked in a bleak-sounding tone.

Susie shrugged. ‘Serious enough, I suppose. We are meeting up tomorrow as a matter of fact.' And then she caught sight of Kate's face and said quite sharply, ‘It isn't a crime, Kate, and I do like him well enough. Anyway, I was just telling you about the ball because we have always gone together. I mean, there's nothing to stop you walking up with us, but you'll have to be sort of prepared that we might not be coming back the same time.'

Kate looked at her friend's shining face and saw that, though she was a little embarrassed telling Kate  this, she was as determined as Sally had been. She faced the prospect that someone was becoming more important in Susie's life than her; there was someone she would rather spend time with. It was Nick now, but if not him it would be someone else. Kate found that it was with little enthusiasm that she looked forward to 1939.

 

The next day, after Sally had left for work, sporting the beautiful brooch Phillip had bought her for Christmas, Kate found that she was at a loose end. Normally, she would have wandered up to the Masons', but she couldn't do that when Susie had told her that she was meeting Nick.