Читать книгу Nobody’s Girl - Kitty Neale - Страница 13

During the next couple of weeks Pearl made a point of chatting to Derek Lewis whenever she got the chance, and this had certainly done the trick. The other costermongers still ribbed her, but in a friendly way, and their jokes were no longer smutty. On the whole she enjoyed the waitressing job. As long as she kept her head down and showed Mrs Dolby respect, the woman wasn’t too bad.

Pearl still felt like an outsider, but had learned a lot. There seemed to be unwritten rules in this little community. There was a strict code that no matter what you saw, or heard, you didn’t speak to the police. People round here took care of any problems in their own special way, but how they did it was still a mystery to Pearl. She had heard snippets of conversation – talk of keeping to your own patch and not treading on anyone’s toes – but had no idea what it meant.

It was a busy morning, about a month after Pearl had started working at the café. She wiped a hand across her forehead. ‘Can I have my break now, Bernie?’

He was about to answer when a tall, buxom woman walked into the café. As she approached the counter Pearl’s ears pricked up.

‘Are you still looking for a waitress?’

‘Yes, we are. Take a seat and I’ll get my wife.’

Bernie winked as he passed her, but Pearl frowned. It was hard work managing all the tables on her own, but if Mrs Dolby took this woman on, she’d miss the extra ten shillings a week in her wage packet.

When Dolly came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her large white apron, Bernie followed behind. ‘Right,’ she said brusquely, as she sat opposite the woman, ‘my husband tells me you’ve come about the job.’

‘That’s right.’

‘Have you had any experience?’

‘I’ve been a waitress in the Trafalgar Café at Clapham Junction for three years, but now they’ve sold the place to Greeks and they’re turning it into an omelette bar.’

‘An omelette bar? That’s a new one on me.’

‘Me too. I could stay on, but don’t fancy it somehow.’

‘I can’t believe the old Trafalgar Café has been sold. It’s been in the same family for years.’

‘I know, but old Mrs Watson wanted to retire and none of her lads would take it on.’

‘Tell me a bit about yourself.’

‘My name is Alice Freeman. I’m thirty-two and live just off Falcon Road. I’m married, with one daughter.’

‘How old is she?’

‘Yvonne’s eleven.’

Dolly pursed her lips. ‘The hours are six thirty to three thirty. How are you going to manage that with a kid of eleven?’

‘It isn’t a problem. My mother lives next door and already looks after Yvonne while I’m at work.’

‘Right, so I suppose it’s down to pay. What are you earning now?’

‘I’m on three pounds a week.’

Once again Dolly pursed her lips. ‘All right, we can match that. When can you start?’

‘On Monday.’

‘Right then, the job’s yours.’

‘Thank you,’ Alice said, smiling widely.

Pearl picked up the plates, her thoughts racing as she took them through to the kitchen. It didn’t seem fair that Dolly had offered Alice three pounds a week when she, Pearl, was earning only two. They’d be doing the same hours, the same amount of work, but because the woman was older, she’d be paid more.

Gertie turned to give Pearl a grin. ‘If someone’s applied for the waitress job, things will be a lot easier for you. You’ve been running around like a blue-arsed fly since you started and must be fair worn out.’

‘I don’t mind.’

‘What’s she like?’

Before Pearl could answer, the door swung open, Mrs Dolby walking in with Alice Freeman behind her. ‘Gertie, Mo, this is Alice. She’s starting work with us on Monday.’

‘Hello,’ Gertie said, Mo following suit, both looking at the woman appraisingly. Alice was a strong-looking young woman, with fair hair pulled back in one long plait that hung down her back.

‘And this is Pearl, our other waitress.’

‘Hello,’ Alice said. ‘Have you been managing the tables on your own?’

‘Yes, but I’ve coped.’

‘She has,’ Dolly agreed, ‘for a new girl she’s done remarkably well. Mind you, a lot of our customers ain’t got time to hang about and they’ve been getting a bit impatient at the slow service.’

Pearl flushed. She’d heard the complaints, and on occasions a few costermongers walked out, saying they’d go across the road to the pie-and-mash shop. She hadn’t realised that Mrs Dolby knew, and hung her head.

‘Now then, girl, I ain’t criticising. As I said, you’ve done well. Now go on back to the dining room and fetch us all a cup of tea.’

‘Yes, Mrs Dolby.’

‘Well, Pearl,’ Bernie said as she walked up to the counter, ‘we’ve got another waitress at last, and an experienced one at that. Things will be easier all round now.’

Pearl managed a small smile, watching as Bernie poured the tea. She took the cups through to the kitchen, finding Alice chatting to Mrs Dolby, the two women obviously getting on well.

‘Don’t worry, Mrs Dolby,’ Alice was saying, ‘I’ll be able to show Pearl the ropes and her speed will pick up in no time.’

‘Did you hear that, Pearl? You’ll learn a lot from Alice, so take note of what she tells you.’

With a small nod, Pearl placed the tray on the table. Alice was looking at her, a strange look in her eyes, one almost of triumph. But why?

Pearl found out on Monday. When she arrived at the café, Alice was already there, standing behind the counter and making a pot of tea.

‘Right, Pearl, once I’ve poured this you can take one through to Mrs Dolby. I’ve sorted out our tables. You can have the ones at this end, and I’ll take the others.’

Alice had chosen the easiest tables to work, those nearest the kitchen, and Pearl looked at Bernie for his reaction.

He was emptying bags of coins into the till, and just smiled, saying, ‘Good morning, love. It’s good that you won’t have to manage on your own now. There’ll be no complaints about the service today.’

Pearl had a bad feeling about Alice. She was already asserting herself, but since her days in the orphanage Pearl had never had the courage to speak up for herself. Now, taking a cup of tea through to Mrs Dolby, she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her tummy.

‘Good morning, Pearl,’ Dolly said. ‘Now that Alice has started, watch and learn from her. It was rough on you starting with no one to show you the ropes, but you ain’t done bad.’

‘Thank you, Mrs Dolby.’

Dolly’s broad, flat face broke into a smile, her voice unusually soft. ‘Go on, get on with your work.’

As Pearl went back to the dining room she saw both Bernie and Alice chatting as they drank their tea.

‘Come on, Pearl, I’ve poured a cup for you too,’ Alice called.

It was a friendly gesture and Pearl responded, chatting to the woman whilst Bernie popped out to the kitchen.

Alice glanced around the café. ‘I expect it’s the same routine as the Trafalgar and I’ll soon settle in.’

‘I’m sure you will, but I think there must be an easier way to take the orders.’

‘What do you mean, love?’

‘We have to write out a separate chit for each customer, and sometimes if there are four on a table it takes ages.’

‘That sounds a bit daft to me and not very efficient.’

‘I think it would be easier to write out one slip per table, listing the order with the customers initial beside it. Most come from the market, they know each other, and nine times out of ten sit with the same crowd each day. Of course, if strangers sit at the same table it wouldn’t work, but that doesn’t happen very often.’

‘It sounds like a good idea to me.’ The bell pinged, and as customers came in, Alice said, ‘Right, Pearl, shake a leg.’

Pearl frowned. Alice made it sound like a command, but the first four men took a seat at one of her tables so she went to take their order. ‘Good morning, and what can I get you?’

‘Morning, love,’ Frank said. ‘I’ll ’ave me usual.’

‘Me too,’ another man said, adding, ‘Is that another new waitress?’

‘Yes, she’s starting today.’

‘She looks like a battle-axe, Frank.’

‘Yeah, a bit of a Boadicea, if you ask me.’

Pearl was smiling as she wrote out their chit. It was obvious these men liked to find nicknames for people. During her first week, Frank had started to call her Minnie Mouse, but she didn’t mind. It was just their way, and she was getting used to them now.

The smile left her face when she went into the kitchen. The new waitress was talking to Mrs Dolby and she looked as pleased as punch at what she was hearing.

‘Blimey, Alice, that’s a great idea and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it myself. My old gran set up the present system, and as it worked we just carried on. Now though, if we do things your way, not only will it speed up service, it’ll also save us a fortune on order pads. Well done, Alice, and it’s lovely to have someone who takes an interest in the business.’

‘Thanks, Mrs Dolby,’ Alice said.

‘Pearl, our new waitress has just come up with a marvellous idea for taking orders and we’ll start using it straight away. I’d best get these breakfasts on so I’ll leave Alice to put you in the picture.’

With a smile of satisfaction, Alice beckoned Pearl to the dining room. ‘Mrs Dolby was dead chuffed when I suggested writing out one order chit for each table and it’s certainly got me into her good books.’

‘But … but it was my idea.’

‘Well, yes, but does it matter who came up with it? As long as it makes things easier for us, that’s all that matters. Oops, better get a move on, customers are waiting.’

Pearl stood rooted to the spot for a moment, unable to believe that Alice had pinched her idea. It was her own fault, she should have plucked up the courage to speak to Dolly herself, but now it was too late. She heaved a sigh. Maybe Alice was right – after all, it would make things easier for them – but she still had a bad feeling about the woman.

By eight thirty the café was heaving, and when Derek Lewis came in he took a table at the far end of the café, surprised when Alice came to serve him.

‘Hello, where’s Pearl? She hasn’t left, has she?’

‘No, she’s in the kitchen. I’m doing the tables down this end. Now then, what can I get you?’

‘Just a couple of eggs on toast.’

Carrying two plates, Pearl came backwards through the swing door, and as she rushed past she didn’t see Derek. He watched her, his face showing his disappointment. He’d decided to pluck up the courage to ask her out today, and now felt deflated. He’d been rehearsing what he was going to say, his stomach knotted as he came in the café, but now he wouldn’t have the chance. Maybe he’d be able to catch her on her way home.

Derek kept his eyes on Pearl as she worked, and when Alice put his breakfast in front of him he hardly looked at it as he picked up his knife and fork. Would Pearl say yes? Christ, he hoped so. She always seemed pleased to see him, and sometimes stopped for a chat. He’d never had attention from a girl before, and hoped he hadn’t misread the signs.

Pearl was rushing to the kitchen again, but this time she saw him. Her elfin face broke into a smile. ‘Hello, Derek,’ she called, but sailed on past.

Derek finished his breakfast, drank his tea, and then went to pay at the counter, pleased when Pearl came to his side.

‘Hello, how are you?’ he asked.

‘I’m fine thanks. How’s your gran?’

‘She’s back to normal, and bossing me around as usual.’

‘That’s good.’

‘Er … Pearl, I was wondering …’

As Bernie filled two cups of tea, Pearl grabbed them, and Derek was left staring at her back as she hurried away. His heart sank. She hadn’t even let him finish his sentence. Maybe he’d imagined it and she didn’t like him after all. Sadly he watched her running around for a moment. Then, with his shoulders slumped, he left the café.

It was eleven o’clock when Derek saw Kevin Dolby strolling through the market, and he lifted his arm to catch his attention.

‘Watcha, Derek, how’s things?’

‘Fine, but I wanted to ask your advice.’

‘Fire away.’

‘It’s that waitress, Pearl. She seems to like me, but how can I know for sure?’

‘You can’t, mate. Sometimes you just have to take a chance. Anyway, I don’t know what you’re worried about. She can only say no, and there’s plenty more fish in the sea.’

‘Yeah, I suppose so,’ Derek murmured as Kevin walked away. It was all right for him – he was a good-looking bloke and obviously had no trouble finding women. Derek thought back to the one time he’d asked a girl out, and she’d made her distaste plain. Would Pearl be the same? Would she tell him to bugger off too?

A customer came to the stall and, pushing his worries to one side, Derek went to serve her, pleased when she purchased a tea set.

Pearl was relieved when her shift finished and was just preparing to leave when Dolly came out of the kitchen. As she walked the length of the café, her eyes inspected each and every table, but thankfully they were all clean and tidy.

Pearl’s ears pricked up when Alice said, ‘Mrs Dolby, can I have a word about our tips?’

‘What about them?’

‘It’s a bit frantic in here, both for the breakfast and lunch servings, and I’ve noticed that Pearl ain’t quite got the hang of it yet. To help out I’ve cleared a few of her tables, but some customers leave tips and in the rush I might have put hers in with mine by mistake. I wonder if it might be better if we have a jar on the counter to pool them in, sharing the money out at the end of the week.’

‘Surely mixing Pearl’s tips with your own won’t happen very often?’

‘That’s just it. I don’t know. As I said, there’ll be time when I’ll have to clear Pearl’s tables, and it’s easy to get in a muddle.’

‘What do you think about this, Pearl?’

‘I … I’m not sure. Maybe it would be better to keep them separate.’

‘You should think yourself lucky that Alice has helped you out, and by clearing your tables she takes on extra work. If you ask me she should keep any tips she finds.’

‘Oh, no, Mrs Dolby,’ Alice protested. ‘That wouldn’t be right. I’d rather we share them.’

‘Very well then, until Pearl gets up to speed you can put a jar on the counter. If and when she improves, we’ll discuss it again.’

Pearl wanted to protest, to tell Mrs Dolby that she didn’t need Alice’s help. With only half the tables to do now she could easily manage, but seeing impatience on her employer’s face, she was held back by fear.

Both she and Alice took their handbags out from under the counter, saying goodbye as the left together, but when the door closed behind them, Alice turned to Pearl, her smile ingratiating. ‘I hope you don’t mind my suggestion, love. After all, we don’t want to get our tips mixed up, do we? See you tomorrow.’ With this she walked off in the opposite direction to Pearl.

For a moment Pearl watched her, unhappy but helpless. Alice had made her look bad in front of Mrs Dolby, and she should have had the courage to speak up for herself. Yet both women were dominant, assertive and she just didn’t have the nerve. Kevin was walking towards her, heading for the café, and once again her heart skipped. It wasn’t often that he spoke to her, but just a rare smile in her direction was enough to bring the colour flooding to her cheeks. Would he speak to her now?

‘Watcha, Pearl.’

‘Er … hello,’ she stuttered, but he walked straight into the café without breaking his stride. Disconsolately she started to stroll along the market, berating herself for being silly. Kevin Dolby would never look at her twice. He had the pick of the girls and she could never compete.

Derek was looking out for Pearl and at three forty-five he saw her meandering down the market. Fingers crossed, he went to the front of his stall, smiling when she drew near.

‘Hello, love. Off home, are you?’

‘Yes, I’ve finished my shift.’

‘Er … Pearl. I … I was wondering if you fancy going to the pictures one night?’

Her huge eyes rose to meet his and he gulped. Christ, she was such a lovely little thing. She looked so innocent, so frail, and he held his breath for her answer.

‘The pictures? Well, yes, I suppose so.’

‘That’s great. How about tonight?’

‘Yes, all right. Can we go to the Granada? There’s a Marlene Dietrich film on that I’d love to see.’

‘Fine with me. How about I pick you up at seven?’

‘Yes, do that.’ And smiling shyly, Pearl walked away.

Bloody hell, he’d done it! With a little skip, Derek was grinning as he returned to the back of his stall, and was busy for the rest of the afternoon.

As Derek walked in the door that evening, Connie Lewis assessed him shrewdly. ‘What are you looking so happy about?’

‘I’ve got a date, Gran.’

‘Have you now? And who with? I hope she’s a nice girl and not one of these painted tarts you see nowadays. Does she live around here?’

‘Now then, Gran, I’m twenty-six, not sixteen, and don’t need an inquisition. But yes, she’s a nice girl and I think you’d like her. Now, I’m off upstairs to have a bath.’

Connie frowned as her grandson left the room. Derek wasn’t one for the girls so she was surprised to hear he had a date. She was under no illusions. Derek couldn’t be described as handsome. He’d been a plain little boy when he’d come to live with her, and was plain now, but of course boxing hadn’t helped.

Yet he was a lovely lad, kind and caring, in fact, sometimes too caring. She smiled, remembering all the lost and wounded animals he’d brought home over the years, from wild birds to cats. In fact they still had one of the cats now, a fat and lazy creature that spent all day asleep on a chair.

As if knowing she was thinking about him, Marmalade opened one eye, yawned and stretched, rousing himself enough to settle in another position before closing his eye again. Connie smiled. Yes, Marmalade was a good name for the ginger cat, and she was quite fond of the old thing really.

She rose to her feet, walking across the kitchen to feed cabbage into the pan of boiling water on the stove. Unbidden, Connie found herself thinking about her daughter, an expression of sadness crossing her face. Mary had got herself pregnant and had never revealed the name of Derek’s father, but she didn’t deserve to die that way – trapped under the rubble of a pub when it had been bombed during the war.

‘What’s for dinner, Gran?’ Derek asked as he returned downstairs, towelling his hair dry.

‘Stewed steak.’

‘Smashing.’

‘Where are you taking this girl tonight?’

‘We’re going to the flicks.’

‘Well, just make sure you behave yourself!’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘Oh, sorry, love. Take no notice of me. I know you’ll be a perfect gentleman.’

‘What’s up, Gran? You not only sound snappy, you look a bit down too.’

‘I was just thinking about your mother. It’s her birthday tomorrow.’

‘We’ll take some flowers up to the cemetery as usual.’

‘She seems to fill my mind more than ever around this time. I don’t know why. It’s almost as though she draws close to me on her birthday. I know she wasn’t much of a mother to you, but I’ll never forgive myself for the way I treated her.’

‘Gran, it was a long time ago and about time you forgave yourself. And, well, to be honest, I can hardly remember her now.’

Connie checked the vegetables and, seeing they were ready, she drained them before dishing up their dinner. As she placed the plates on the table and sat opposite Derek, her eyes flicked to an old black-and-white photograph of her daughter on the mantelpiece. Mary had been such a pretty girl, with dark hair and eyes, and Connie couldn’t help the comparison. Derek bore no resemblance to his mother at all. In fact he didn’t look like anyone in the family. He was big, lumbering, with wide shoulders and a large head. There was something Slavic-looking about his features – Polish, maybe? She heaved a sigh, knowing full well that Derek’s origins were something they would never know. And now as she began to eat, she was just praying that this girl he was taking out wouldn’t hurt him.