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On Thursday, Mabel was on the look-out as usual when she saw a taxi pulling up next door. She shot outside in time to see Carol climbing out and hurried up to her, saying, ‘So you’re home. How are you? You still look a bit pasty.’

‘I’m fine,’ Carol replied tersely and almost throwing the fare at the driver she said no more before going indoors.

Mabel shook her head at the girl’s abrupt manner, but with a bit of news she went to pass it on to Phyllis. ‘Carol just turned up in a taxi. She said she’s fine, but I’m not so sure. She looked like death warmed up to me.’

‘Food poisoning can be nasty, but if they discharged Carol she must be all right. I’ll tell Amy when she comes home from work; no doubt she’ll be round there like a shot.’

‘Has Amy seen anything of Tommy?’

‘No, not yet, but she’s hoping to see him this evening.’

Mabel felt a bit sick. She’d promised to keep it quiet about Tommy’s dad and Rose, but now she’d spouted her mouth off and gossip was sure to have spread. The only thing she could do was bluff, insist that it hadn’t come from her, so keeping up the pretence she said, ‘It’s funny that he hasn’t been to see her since his father ran off. Maybe he and his mother have heard that he left with your Rose.’

‘With the story going round about her being re-housed, I don’t see how. Anyway, she isn’t my Rose and what she did has nothing to do with Amy.’

‘If she gets to hear the truth, I doubt Celia Frost will see it that way.’

‘Thanks, Mabel, you’re making me feel a lot better.’

‘Now then, I’m only warning you, that’s all. I’ve heard that Celia Frost can be a nasty piece of work.’

‘It’s not Celia Frost I’m worried about, it’s Tommy. Amy thinks the world of him, but this could break them up.’

Mabel pursed her lips in thought and then said, ‘If he blames Amy, then she’d be better off without him.’

‘Yes, I suppose you’re right,’ Phyllis agreed. ‘But she’s still going to be upset.’

‘Amy’s young, she’ll get over it – as the saying goes, there are plenty more fish in the sea.’

‘That may be, but I could still kill Rose, I really could.’

‘I should think you’ll be able to leave that to Celia Frost,’ Mabel said and after chatting for a while longer, she returned home to put a glass to the wall and pressed her ear against the end. It served to magnify the sound of voices through the thin walls. If Carol had got over the food poisoning, surely her mother was up and about by now.

Though she kept listening for some time, not a sound could be heard and Mabel was puzzled. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something odd was going on next door.

Amy missed Carol at work. She’d told Mrs Jones that Carol was ill and in hospital, but couldn’t say how long she’d be absent from the shop. Mrs Jones had been unsympathetic and said that in order to keep Carol’s job open she would need an official sick note.

With no one to cover for her, Amy had agreed to work her half day off. The time dragged and Amy was glad when it was time to go home. She was missing Tommy, but as she walked up Lavender Hill, a van pulled up beside her. ‘Amy, hop in and I’ll give you a lift.’

‘Tommy!’ she exclaimed, happy to see him and relieved that he looked equally pleased to see her.

‘I’m sorry I haven’t been able to take you out,’ he said after leaning across to kiss her. ‘With my mum in such a state, along with my father passing the business over to me, I’ve been up to my eyes in it.’

‘It’s all right. I understand,’ Amy replied, welcoming another kiss.

He smiled softly. ‘I’ve missed you.’

‘And I you,’ Amy told him.

‘I should be able to see you tonight, and as I’ve now got my dad’s van, we can go for a drive instead of a walk.’

‘I’d like that,’ Amy said.

‘It was a shock to be handed the unit, but now that I’ve got my head around it, I’ve got big plans to expand the business.’

Amy hardly took any of this in because now that she was with Tommy, she was beginning to feel the strain. When the gossips put it all together and Tommy heard about it, he would soon work out that she must have known that his dad had gone off with Rose. He’d realise that she had kept it from him and it would only make things worse. Though it might be the end of their relationship, Amy couldn’t keep silent any longer. ‘Tommy, can you pull over again? I … I need to tell you something.’

He glanced at her, a worried frown creasing his forehead, but he did as she asked, only then saying, ‘Amy, you aren’t going to give me the elbow are you?’

‘When you hear what I have to say, I think it might be the other way round.’

‘Unless you’re going to tell me that you’re seeing someone else, I can’t see that happening.’

‘Of course I’m not,’ Amy said, her mouth so dry that she ran her tongue over her lips before continuing. ‘Tommy, I … I don’t know if you’ve heard about my mum’s cousin, Rose?’

‘I know about her reputation,’ Tommy said when she hesitated, ‘but if that’s what’s worrying you, it doesn’t matter to me. It’s you I’m going out with, not your mum’s cousin.’

Amy had to tell him – had to get the words out, and in a rush she blurted, ‘But she’s the one your dad went off with.’

‘What!’ he exclaimed. ‘Rose?’

Amy could only nod, and when he said nothing else, her stomach churned. They sat in silence, until, unable to wait for the words she dreaded to hear she opened the van door, saying, ‘I … I’m sorry, Tommy.’

‘Don’t go, Amy,’ he said, taking hold of her arm. ‘I was a bit stunned for a while, but you can’t be held responsible for what your mum’s cousin does. There’s no need to

apologise.’

Amy felt a surge of relief, but her smile was tremulous and the next moment Tommy shuffled over to pull her into his arms as she said, ‘I … I thought you wouldn’t want to see me again.’

‘Don’t be daft. I love you, Amy.’

‘I love you too, but … but there’s your mother and when she hears about Rose …’

‘She won’t blame you either,’ he interrupted assuredly.

Amy wasn’t so sure that Celia Frost would see it like that, though for now she was content to be held in Tommy’s arms.

Frank arrived home to find Carol asleep on the sofa. She still looked pale, and so vulnerable that he cursed the two people who had nearly cost his daughter her life. There was the man who had raped her, and he’d like to get his hands on him, along with the crone who had performed a botched, back-street abortion.

He was hungry, but realised that there was little food in the house. Carol would want something to eat too, so with little choice Frank decided to pop along to the fish and chip shop. ‘Carol,’ he said, gently shaking her, ‘wake up, pet.’

Her eyelids fluttered, then lifted, and blinking the sleepiness away she sat up. ‘Dad, you’re home.’

‘Yes, but I’m just off to the chippie. What do you fancy?’

‘I’m not hungry,’ she said listlessly. ‘I’ll have something later.’

‘You’ll be lucky. The cupboards are practically bare.’

‘Maybe just a few chips then,’ she said as there was a knock on the door.

‘Whoever that is I’ll get rid of them,’ Frank said, finding it was Amy when he opened the door.

‘Hello, Mr Cole. My mum said that Carol’s home. Can I see her?’

‘Not now, Amy, she’s asleep.’

‘Oh, right, perhaps I could call back later?’

‘Yes, do that,’ Frank said, anxious to get rid of her. He wasn’t sure that Carol was up to answering any awkward questions at the moment, and though he’d put it around that Daphne had food poisoning too, he wasn’t sure they’d be able to keep that story going for much longer.

‘I don’t want to see anyone, not even Amy,’ Carol said as he closed the door.

‘I won’t be able to fend her off for long, but before you see her we need to work out what we’re going to say about your mother.’

‘She’s sure to come home soon.’

‘We’ll talk about it when I come back,’ Frank said.

Head down, he walked to the chippie, thinking that unlike Carol, he wasn’t so sure that Daphne would come home. Not that he wanted her to. He still felt bitter that she had walked out on him, with little explanation other than she wanted a new life.

As he joined the queue in the fish and chip shop, Frank began to realise that though he didn’t want Daphne back, he couldn’t go on like this. He wanted a proper meal when he came home from work, his clothes freshly washed and ironed, and the house looking like it used to, instead of every surface covered with dust. There was only one answer, he realised, whether Carol liked it or not.

As Phyllis expected, when Amy came home from work and heard that Carol was home, she had immediately dashed out again. However she’d soon returned, saying that Carol was asleep and she’d try again later.

They were now in the kitchen where Amy said, ‘Mum, I’ve got something to tell you. Tommy gave me a lift home in his dad’s van, well, it’s his now as he’s taken over the business.’

‘That’s a lot for him to take on.’

‘Yes, I suppose so, but … well … I told him about his dad and Rose.’

Phyllis almost dropped the saucepan she was holding and exclaimed, ‘Why on earth did you do that?’

‘Because it’s bound to come out eventually and I didn’t want Tommy to think I was keeping it from him.’

‘The gossip going round is that Rose has been re-housed, that’s all.’

‘Yes, but for how long?’

Phyllis sighed. ‘I suppose you’re right, but how did Tommy take it?’

‘Surprisingly well, but I doubt his mum will feel the same.’

‘If she’s got any sense, Celia Frost will realise that none of this is your fault.’

‘I hope so, Mum, but I dread facing her.’

‘Well if she’s funny with you, let’s hope Tommy puts her straight. If he doesn’t stand up for you now, he won’t in the future and you’d be better off without him.’

Amy said nothing in reply, but Phyllis hoped she had marked her words as she finished plating up the dinner.

Tommy had arrived home too, finding that though it was early days yet, his mother looked more like her old self. She was dressed, with her hair tidy and even managed a small smile as she said, ‘Hello, Thomas. How was your day?’

‘It was fine and I took on another glazier.’

‘Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Thomas? You’re inexperienced at running a business and there’s a lot to learn. You’ll have profit margins to deal with, overheads, and of course the accounts.’

‘I know all that, Mum,’ Tommy said; a little irritated that his mother was already questioning his abilities. He’d seen the mess his father had made of the books, and there’d been numerous cases of under-quoting which wouldn’t happen now that he was in charge.

‘I’m not criticising you, darling. It’s just that I’d like to help. If I take over most of the paperwork, such as the accounts, wages and invoicing, you won’t be tied up with office work.’

‘There’s no need. I can manage.’

‘Don’t be difficult, Thomas. You’re father is intelligent, but he could never grasp arithmetic and was treated like a dunce at school, so much so that he was ashamed and tried to hide his problem. I of course found out about it and had he accepted my help, the business would have been more successful.’

‘I haven’t got his problem and I’m perfectly capable of handling the office work.’

‘I’m sure you are. It’s just that I want to be involved with building up the business and I insist that you accept my help.’

‘No, Mum. Thanks for the offer, but it won’t be necessary,’ Thomas said firmly but then seeing her face suffuse with anger, he quickly back-pedalled, adding, ‘at least,

not at the moment. If my plans to expand are successful and I take on more staff, then yes, your help will be invaluable.’

She looked a little mollified and said, ‘Very well, we’ll leave it for now, but bring the account books home tomorrow and I’ll take a look at them.’

‘There’s no need for that. Everything is up to date.’

‘Don’t argue with me, Thomas. I said bring them home and I meant it. Now, no doubt you’re hungry so I’ll see to your dinner.’

Thomas wasn’t happy and felt that unless he stood up to his mother, she would end up trying to take over the business. He wasn’t going to put up with that, but at

the moment she was still too vulnerable for him to make a stand. Not only that, he still had to tell her about his father and Rose.

He ran both hands over his face and decided to leave it for a couple of days. It might be cowardly, but for now he was in no mood to put up with any more of his mother’s histrionics. At the moment she was calm, her old bossy self, but once told, it was sure to set her back – and that wasn’t something he was looking forward to.