The Seven Streets of Liverpool by Maureen Lee Read Free Book Online

says.’
    ‘Let’s hope it doesn’t come to haunt them a third time,’ Sheila said bluntly. ‘It must be dead lonely for you and Nicky being in this place on your own.’
    ‘I like it here, Sheila,’ her sister said quietly.
    Lena felt sure they would have had an argument about it – at least Sheila would – had there not been other people present. Then Nicky, Eileen’s son, came running into the room, and he was such an endearing little boy that Lena couldn’t stop herself from picking him up and giving him a hug. Being among these women, all younger than she was, all with children, made her own need rise like a ball of pain in her throat. But all she could do was blink back the tears.

    It was nearing Easter, and Eileen was hosting a garden party on Easter Saturday, as she had done since moving to the cottage. ‘You’re invited, of course,’ she said to Lena. ‘Are you any good at making stuff like gloves and embroidered things to sell? Mind you, food sells best – fairy cakes, scones, cheese straws – though you’ll only be getting rations for one, won’t you. You won’t have anything to spare.’
    ‘I can make dolls,’ Lena said eagerly. ‘I’m really good at making rag dolls. The place I worked in Birmingham used to have a summer fete. One year I made a really big doll and it was a raffle prize.’
    Eileen looked pleased. When she smiled, it was dazzling and made Lena feel that she would do anything on earth to please her. ‘That would be very helpful, Lena,’ she said. ‘I’ll make a note that you’re providing the raffle prize. Oh, and don’t forget to ask Brenda for some scraps of cloth.’

    The midday meal was eaten round a big wooden table that took up almost half of the long room that served as a living and dining room. There were beams on the ceiling, lace curtains at the windows, daffodils on the sills and bottles of preserved tomatoes and plums on the table. Sheila had brought half a pound of boiled ham, Brenda a small tin of corned beef and Lena a large bag of toffees and dolly mixtures. ‘I hardly ever use my sweet coupons,’ she explained, and Sheila said that would certainly make her popular with the children.
    There was a groan when Eileen placed a loaf in the centre of the table with a loud thump.
    ‘Oh no!’ Sheila said.
    ‘I don’t want any, Mam,’ Caitlin cried.
    Jack Doyle, who’d temporarily abandoned the garden for something to eat, said sternly, ‘It’s good for you, girl. In fact, it’s full of goodness. It’s called the National Loaf.’
    ‘But it’s dirty,’ Caitlin argued.
    ‘Of course it isn’t dirty,’ her grandad said indignantly. ‘It’s that colour because the husks are in there as well as the wheat. A slice of that, girl, will do your belly a load of good.’
    Caitlin regarded him disbelievingly. ‘Won’t it make me belly dirty too?’
    ‘Your belly will do somersaults when it sees that bread on its way down.’
    ‘Oh Dad!’ Sheila said, exasperated. ‘I don’t like that horrible stuff either.’
    Jack reached out, cut himself a huge chunk of the offending bread, covered it with margarine, added almost a tablespoon of home-made gooseberry jam and stuffed it in his mouth. ‘Mmm! It’s the gear,’ he mumbled.
    ‘I think I’ll just have the jam, Mam,’ said Caitlin.

    It had begun to grow dark when they left to go back to Bootle, not quite time for the start of the blackout. Jack had returned to the garden and Eileen, with Nicky in her arms, stood in the doorway waving goodbye.
    ‘She looks so lonely standing there,’ Sheila said sadly. ‘I’m worried about Nick. He’s had to stay in London a few times before, but never twice in a single month. I hope things are all right between them. Nick lost his arm when his plane crashed,’ she explained to Lena.
    ‘How awful,’ Lena gasped. But so romantic too; just like a film.

    That night, reluctant to stay in on her own, she went to the pictures to see Three Smart Girls with Ray