A Mother Forever by Elaine Everest (good novels to read txt) 📗

up to tonight?’ Cissie asked, linking arms with Ruby as they hurried along Manor Road. It had been a warm day, and both women felt exhausted after their hard day’s work.

‘I just want to kick my shoes off and have a rest,’ Ruby said. ‘I’d like to drag the tin bath in and have a soak as well, but I don’t know if I’ve got the energy. Mind you, the first thing I’m going to do when I get indoors is put the kettle on to make myself a cup of tea and read Frank’s letter. It came through the letter box just before I left this morning, and I didn’t have time to open it before I had to leave. Pat wouldn’t get out of her bed, and it made me late.’

‘You should’ve brought it with you and read it while we was eating our lunch,’ Cissie said.

‘No, I like to sit and read things like that privately,’ Ruby replied. As much as she enjoyed her new friend’s company, she knew there were things she wanted to keep to herself.

‘Are you sweet on him?’ Cissie asked. ‘I know you talk about him a lot, but you never mention your old man.’

Ruby gave a tired laugh. Each time she spoke of Frank, she felt as though she had to be careful what she said. What would people say if they knew the truth about him? ‘It’s not like that, Cissie. We are just very good friends.’

‘Is this Frank married?’

‘No. He used to be my lodger. Now he serves in the Ambulance Corps.’

Cissie cocked her head to one side. ‘Did he sell up the bookshop?’

‘No, his friend Stephen runs it now and still lives there above the shop.’ Ruby could have bitten her tongue. She knew she’d said too much, the way Cissie gave her an old-fashioned look.

‘Oh, it’s like that, is it?’ she said, raising her eyebrows. ‘Fancy you mixing with the likes of them.’

Ruby stopped on the spot and turned on her friend. She’s got to know Cissie quite well, even covering for her a few times when she was late for work; and once, when she had wanted to keep a secret about going out with her army officer friend, Ruby had pretended she’d gone to the picture house with her. She later found out that the officer, although very nice, was a married man. Since then, she’d always said she was busy if Cissie wanted her to cover for her. ‘Now look here, Cissie,’ she said, putting her hands on her hips, ‘I don’t know what you’re getting at, but Frank is a nice bloke. He’s been a good friend to me over the years, and a good friend to my children, and he wouldn’t hurt a fly. I happened to know him because his mother lives over the road from me. So stick that in your pipe and smoke it,’ she finished, starting to flounce ahead.

‘Oh I didn’t mean anything by it, Ruby. You know what I’m like, always making a joke about things.’

Ruby slowed down. She didn’t have the energy to fall out with anyone. The day had dragged on so, and she had to remind herself she wouldn’t have met her daily target when she first started at the munitions factory if the girls hadn’t stepped in to help her. She’d just felt so sluggish as for the past few nights she’d sat with Irene in her house next door. The girl was missing George terribly and now, in the late stages of pregnancy, she did nothing but whine and cry. Ruby had suggested Irene might like to move back in with her mother until after the birth, but Irene refused point-blank, stating that her mother fussed too much and would pack her off to one of those maternity homes. She wanted to be in her and George’s house when her baby came along, and she wanted Ruby to help her rather than her mother. Above all else, she wanted George home with her. As much as Ruby kept telling her she had to get up early for work and needed her sleep, Irene just didn’t understand. It meant late nights for Ruby, so she wasn’t quite herself when she did get down the munitions works for half past seven the next morning.

Tonight, although she felt guilty thinking about it, she knew she would creep in quietly in the hope Irene might not hear she was home. The day before, she’d gone in through the back gate to avoid being spotted. All she wanted was some time to herself – why, she had hardly sat and spoken to Pat for days now. At least the girl was able to go over and sit with her nanny Stella, as she still called her, until Ruby got home from work.

Stella had never really been the same since hearing of Donald’s death. Wilf had tried to talk to her about Derek, but still she would scream and shout, stating that he was dead to her – she simply couldn’t cope with the thought of her beautiful son being damaged. Occasionally Ruby tried her best to talk to Stella, but she was always ignored or sent packing. She did know that Frank would write to his mum; but, as he explained in his letters to Ruby, he kept it brief, as he just didn’t know what to say to her any more.

Ruby decided to try again and take Frank’s letter over to show Stella – after she’d read it herself, of course, in case there was any mention of Stephen. She prayed that one day Stella would be able to return to the person she’d known when Ruby first moved to Alexandra Road all those years ago. As friendly as she was with the girls from work, Ruby longed to be close to Stella once more.

‘I’ll say goodbye here,’ Cissie said. ‘I want to pop into the town. I’ll knock for you tomorrow on the way to work?’