Coming Home to the Four Streets by Nadine Dorries (books that read to you .txt) 📗

‘What in God’s name is wrong with you? Do you think the stork has a particular fancy for the four streets, given how many babies are dropped here? Do you think it favours Shelagh and Seamus because it gets a cup of tea and a couple of lemon puffs for its trouble? There’s no shame in what I said. Seamus and Shelagh make their babies the same way as everyone else and she’s getting too old to be carrying on so they need to cut it out. It’s only for Shelagh’s own good. I don’t care what they get up to, but they have more than enough mouths to feed. Jerry, you agree with me, don’t you?’

Jerry played it safe. ‘Mam, don’t involve me. What do I know?’

Kathleen huffed and gave her son a look that had turned his blood cold when he was just a boy. She continued, unperturbed, ‘Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted, Alice…’

Now it was Alice’s turn to roll her eyes towards Jerry, who, sensing an escalation in the banter between the two women, glanced at the clock to see how long it was until he would be able to escape. There was a slap of card on paper as Nellie slammed her book shut and, looking up, grinned at her da. They were very much on each other’s side, himself and the child he shared with his first wife, Bernadette, who had died shortly after giving birth to Nellie.

Kathleen carried on undeterred, ‘I definitely saw it in there, in Shelagh’s leaves, a very dark cloud, right in the middle of the bottom of the teacup. And if I see it, I say it. That’s why the women from around here come to me and not Mrs King on Upper Parliament Street. I give them the facts, facts that are true,’ she finished with a flourish as she removed her handkerchief from her apron pocket and began to wipe furiously at her steamed-up glasses.

‘Isn’t that the whole point of a fact, that it’s true?’ said Alice with more than a hint of sarcasm.

But Kathleen was on one of her rants and no longer in the mood for interruptions. ‘Be quiet, Alice. I don’t see that cloud very often, so I don’t.’ She pushed her spectacles back up her nose and peered down at Jerry as she walked closer to him, her brow furrowed. Round and matronly, Irish eyes often twinkling, tonight, Kathleen looked concerned.

‘Oh, Mam, don’t be doing that to me,’ said Jerry, digging into his pudding. ‘Could you take a look into the leaves and tell me about the ship that’s berthed down on the docks that everyone seems to be so secretive about? No one batted an eyelid tonight at Captain Conor’s ship docking – the police were marking the one already in but it hasn’t yet unloaded and nor do we know when it will be. It’s very odd.’

Kathleen leant towards her son. ‘I saw that ship and the police at the bottom. I said to you, didn’t I, Alice, we’ve not seen that one here before.’

They all stopped as they heard the click of the backyard gate. Seconds later little Paddy stood framed in the doorway.

‘Paddy, what are you doing here?’ asked Jerry. ‘Your da is in the pub with Seamus and Eugene.’ His immediate thought was that big Paddy had failed to tell Peggy where he was going and little Paddy was looking for him.

‘Kathleen, have you seen our mam?’ Little Paddy asked Kathleen. ‘Only she went out ages ago to take Shelagh’s pram back and she hasn’t come home yet. Shelagh says she will have gone to the bingo, but I don’t think she has.’

Kathleen looked at little Paddy as though he had grown two heads. ‘What are you talking about, gone to the bingo on her own? Never. I would have known about it if she had. Had she done her hair?’

Little Paddy shook his head.

‘Where are the kids?’ asked Kathleen. ‘Are they at home?’

Little Paddy lowered his head. ‘They are, but they have no shoes so they can’t go anywhere.’

Kathleen thought little Paddy looked extraordinarily pale, and in a kind voice asked him, ‘Paddy, have you had your tea? Have you had anything today?’

His voice perked up. ‘We had a biscuit from Shelagh and Mam brought us chips and saveloys before she went out.’

‘What, for all of you?’ Then to Jerry Kathleen said, ‘She borrowed one and six from me to buy in for the kids’ tea and that lot would have cost at least five shillings for all of them. Paddy, why have the kids got no shoes? Sure, they are running around in the finest shoes they ever owned that Maura bought for you all?’

The boy said nothing. He could not say the words, ‘She took them to the pawnshop.’ He was old enough to know the meaning, to feel the shame his mother felt and hated himself for feeling relieved that he was still wearing his.

‘Where’s Scamp?’ asked Peggy. ‘Is he with her? Sometimes he follows her when she goes out.’

He shook his head. Scamp had been lying by the side of his bed when he left, refusing to move, and little Paddy knew why. He and Max had become great friends and Scamp was probably impatient for Paddy to get him out of his box.

Jerry said to his mother, ‘Try the bingo, Mam.’ The tone of his voice was enough. Jerry didn’t want any more to be said in front of little Paddy or Nellie, and the look he gave Alice said as much. ‘Tell the kids Nana Kathleen is on her way, little Paddy.’

The boy retreated from the kitchen but as he reached the door, he turned and ran back in. ‘Kathleen, can I have those carrot tops and the cabbage scraps please?’ He pointed to the vegetable scrapings on the newspaper.

Kathleen gave him a half-smile. ‘Have you still got that pet rat in your