The Cobbler's Kids (19 page)

‘Your girl’s a right bloody caution, isn’t she, Mike,’ she cackled. ‘Are you going to tell me you’ve never brought any women back here since your Annie died?’

‘Of course he hasn’t!’ Vera told her emphatically, her eyes wide with shock.

‘Well it’s high time he did then, isn’t it!’

‘I can’t believe that you mean to sleep in his bed with him … my mam’s bed,’ Vera repeated incredulously.

‘It’s not her bloody bed now, it’s his, so stop making such a fuss,’ Di told her caustically.

‘Yes, but …’

‘If he wants me in it then what sodding business is it of yours?’ Di snapped.

Vera shook her head and looked at her dad for confirmation.

She felt her insides turn to water as Michael nodded his head. ‘Yes, Di is moving in, so from now on I want you to do what she asks. Understand? And make sure that Eddy and Benny do whatever she tells them as well,’ he added darkly.

‘I can’t make Eddy do anything he doesn’t want to do,’ Vera told him stubbornly.

‘Well, you can explain to him what’s happening and tell him what I’ve said,’ her father insisted.

Vera shook her head. ‘He’d never believe me. You’d better tell him yourself.’

‘You’ll do as you’re bloody well told,’ her father thundered. ‘Di and I are off for a bevvy so when Eddy comes home you can break the news to him. Tell him to make sure he keeps a civil tongue in his head and treats Di as he should.’

‘Treat her as I should,’ Eddy muttered in disgust when Vera relayed the news to him. ‘If I did that I’d kick her out into the street, and him with her.’

‘Well, since you can’t do that how are we going to handle things?’

‘Do you think if we ignore her she might clear off?’ he asked gloomily.

‘I doubt it, she knows she’s on to a good thing. She’s got something on Dad and she’s making him pay her to keep quiet.’

‘Something on Dad? What’re you on about?’

Eddy listened in amusement as Vera told him the details.

‘It’s nothing to laugh about,’ Vera told him. ‘If she goes to the police and Dad is arrested, heaven knows what might happen.’

‘He’ll probably get a good stretch at the Waldorf Astoria,’ Eddy grinned.

‘It’s more than likely that he will,’ Vera agreed worriedly.

‘So what is the problem? If he’s sent to prison we’ll get him off our backs!’

‘And what about Benny?’

‘What has he got to do with it?’ Eddy frowned.

‘Well he’s been involved hasn’t he? Dad’s been using him to deliver and collect the soles and heels from Coombes’s shop.’

‘Yes, but Benny doesn’t realise what he’s doing. He’s only a kid who is being sent on messages by his old man. He hasn’t had anything to do with the money side. Dad did all the graft down the boozer.’

‘True, but the authorities are bound to think that Benny has been in danger. They’ll take him away, probably send him to a reform school.’

‘At eight years old?’

‘If they don’t do that they’ll certainly take him into care and put him in a Home if Dad is sent down because they’ll say I’m not old enough to look after him.’

‘I could undertake to be responsible for him, with you to help me, of course,’ Eddy told her.

Vera shook her head. ‘I’m not sure they would agree to that. We can’t risk it. No, I think we are going to have to accept that Di Deverill is moving in and make the best of it.’

The effects of Diverill living in their home were devastating for all of them. From the very first moment, Vera hated the arrangement since she found she was the one who had to bear the brunt of the newcomer’s moods.

Di was quite affable to all of them when Michael was in the room. But when he was working in the shop, she was surly and treated Vera like a skivvy. Nothing Vera did was good enough. There was no way she could please Di, no matter how hard she tried. She had never felt so lonely in her life; she couldn’t talk to Joan or Rita about it and Benny was too young to understand. Eddy hated Di so much that he wanted to walk out, but that was out of the question while Benny was so young.

They were all used to Michael demanding the first pick of everything they had to eat, but now they found that Di was equally selfish. As a result, the food left on their own plates became more and more meagre.

‘I can’t work on scraps in this cold weather, Vee,’ Eddy protested. ‘You’ll have to buy more food, make allowances for the fact that there’s an extra mouth to feed.’

‘Great idea! And what do you suggest I use for money?’ she asked sarcastically.

Eddy shrugged. ‘You’ll have to ask Dad for more housekeeping, I suppose. He’s the one who invited her to live here, isn’t he!’

‘I’ve tried doing that, but he takes no notice. He says you and me ought to put more money in the pot.’

‘Buggered if I’m going to do that,’ Eddy exclaimed hotly, ‘not when that old harridan takes the best of everything. I’d sooner stop putting anything in the pot and buy my meals down at Cammell Laird’s canteen, or somewhere like that.’

‘If you do that then Benny and me will starve,’ Vera said desperately.

‘I’m sorry, Vee. I know it’s not your fault, but I can’t live like this. These days, every time I go round to Rita’s all I can think about is what sort of scoff she’s going to offer me.’

‘At least you can go there and get a snack,’ she said with a humourless smile.

‘I’m given a feed, not a snack! Her mam is a good cook and likes to see someone appreciate her handiwork. Rita gets a bit fed up with me always wanting a nosh before we go out, though.’

Vera sympathised with Eddy, but as far as she was concerned the matter of food was only one of many other irritations that she had to contend with each day.

Di’s influence on Benny was worrying, too. He didn’t like her, but he responded to her bribes when she wanted him to run messages for her. Most days when he came in from school she’d send him out for cigarettes. He never refused because there was always the lingering hope that he would be told he could spend a penny on toffee or gob-stoppers.

Vera didn’t approve. She’d never been able to afford to buy him many sweets, but now he always seemed to be sucking or chewing them.

When she warned him that they weren’t good for him he denied having any, but his pockets were always full of sticky papers and often there was a grubby ring around his mouth that told its own story.

Di complained about absolutely everything. She didn’t lift a finger around the house, and she demanded that before she went to work Vera should bring her breakfast up to her in bed.

What irritated Vera even more was that when she came home at night there was always a pile of dirty cups and dishes in the sink waiting to be washed up.

Di wouldn’t even do the shopping. ‘You managed to do it before I came so you can go on doing it,’ she would say vehemently.

When finally, in desperation because she had so much to do, Vera asked if she could lend a hand around the house and help with the day-to-day cleaning, Di simply laughed.

‘I’ve never done any cleaning in my life and I don’t intend to start now. You get on with it, girl, and make sure you do a good job, I can’t stand dirty floors. I like the sheets on the bed to be changed every week, as well. You only seem to do it once a fortnight. That might do for you and the boys, but the bed your Dad and me sleeps in needs to be done every week. Understand?’

On top of all the extra cleaning there was always a pile of Di’s clothes to be laundered, and most of them needed to be hand-washed.

‘Surely you could do those yourself, you’re here all day doing nothing and I have to go out to work,’ Vera protested.

The slap across the face not only took Vera by surprise, but the sharp edge of one of Di’s rings caused a deep weal that bled profusely.

‘You wicked bitch!’ The words were out before Vera could stop them.

Di grabbed her by the forearms, her fingers digging painfully into the soft flesh as she thrust her face close to Vera’s. ‘Let that be a lesson to you and don’t go complaining to your Dad about me or there will be far worse to come,’ she warned.

Vera could only feel comfortable at home when her father and Di set off for their nightly pub crawl. She would watch them go with a sense of relief. Di was always dressed up in her gaudy finery. Her dad would wear his best suit, freshly laundered shirt, and shoes that she had to polish until they reflected the lamplight.

But even once they’d gone there was a mountain of work to get through. Although Eddy helped with some of the heavy jobs, for the most part it was Vera who was left to cope with the cleaning, ironing, washing and preparing the lunch boxes and food for the next day.

It was an endless stream of drudgery. She wouldn’t have minded quite so much if they were a happy, united family, but that was far from the case.

Her father’s moods were worse than they’d ever been. It seemed that he saved all his smiles and patience for Di Deverill. When dealing with his own children he was brusque and critical. Benny was again the butt of his temper. He would thump his small son over the head with his clenched knuckles, bringing up lumps that were so tender that often Benny couldn’t even put his head down on the pillow when he went to bed.

Eddy fumed about what was happening and time and again Vera had to restrain him from speaking his mind and telling their father that things had to change.

‘It won’t do any good, Eddy. It will only make things worse. He’s besotted by Di Deverill, even though she’s no better than a shawlie. A right Judy! One word against her to Dad and you’ll be facing a thrashing.’

‘He’ll get as good as he gets if he tries anything like that with me,’ Eddy vowed.

The row, when it finally came, was caused by Di. Afterwards, when she had calmed down and thought it through coolly, Vera was sure that she had instigated it deliberately.

It was a storm in a teacup, all because of the way Di had screwed up her nose at the meal Vera had dished up. It was a Thursday night and Vera had run out of housekeeping money, so the scouse she’d prepared had been thin because it even lacked the assortment of vegetables that normally disguised the poor quality of the meat.

‘Christ, this is tasteless!’ Di complained. ‘Pass the salt, Mike, it tastes like dishwater.’

Michael Quinn stared across the table at his daughter, his face dark with anger. ‘Is this the best you could do?’ he demanded.

‘There was no money left …’

‘No money left! What the hell do you do with all the housekeeping I give you?’

‘Spend it on food, of course. You don’t give me enough,’ she added nervously. ‘You only give me the same amount as you did before Di came to live with us.’

‘Blaming me for your bad management, are you?’ Di said angrily. ‘You’re a mess, Vera Quinn. Look at yourself. You don’t care how you look, the house is dirty and shabby, and the meals you serve aren’t fit for a pig.’

‘Hold on!’ Eddy pushed back his chair from the table and glared at Di. ‘Who the hell are you to criticise my sister. If you don’t like it here then get out. We don’t like you being here, anyway.’

Mike stood up without pushing his chair away from the table. It fell to the floor with a resounding crash as he leaned forward to grab hold of Eddy. But Eddy side-stepped and Michael lost his balance and stumbled forward onto the table. His hand smashed down onto Benny’s plate and the hot scouse splashed all over the boy.

Benny was not hurt, but screamed with fright at what was happening around him.

Incensed, Michael slapped him hard across the side of his face. ‘Now you have something to cry about,’ he muttered.

Pushing Benny to one side he lunged towards Eddy. This time he managed to grab hold of him and pin him against the wall. As his fist came up, Eddy twisted and threw a jab that caught his father full on the nose. As blood spurted, Di rushed to Michael’s side, pushing Vera away when she tried to help.

There was pandemonium. Michael was swearing, Benny was howling, and Eddy was intent on getting out of the house before his father recovered enough to retaliate. Vera, shaking with fright, was trying to calm and comfort Benny.

‘Get a cold flannel to go on your dad’s nose, Vee,’ Di ordered. ‘Quick, girl, he’s bleeding all over the place.’

By the time they had stemmed the flow of blood from his nose and Vera had restored some sort of order in the room, she realised Eddy had gone.

Weary and unhappy, she cuddled Benny who was still sobbing, and tried to soothe him.

‘Can’t you shut him up?’ Di complained. ‘Send him up to his room, out of the way,’ she ordered.

‘Go on, do as you’re told,’ her father bellowed. ‘The last thing I want is to hear him squalling. My head is aching enough as it is.’

His threats about what he intended to do once he laid his hands on Eddy went on all evening. His nose was so swollen that he couldn’t face going for a bevvy, even though Di tried to nag him into doing so. In the end, she told Vera to go and get some beer in.

‘Why can’t you go?’ Vera asked. ‘I’ve still got housework to finish.’

‘Do as you’re bloody well told,’ her father snarled.

‘It’s no good me going, I’ve no money,’ she told him defiantly.

Reluctantly, he dug into his trouser pocket and brought out a handful of small change. ‘Count that out and take enough for a couple of bottles of beer,’ he told her.

‘I’ll do it!’ Di snatched the money from him and spread it out on the corner of the table. She counted out two shillings, which she handed to Vera.

‘I thought you meant you were going to fetch the beer,’ Vera commented.

Di’s eyes narrowed. ‘One more crack like that and you’ll have a nose to match your dad’s,’ she told her.

Vera was on her way back from the off-licence when she saw Eddy coming out of their house carrying a sack.

‘What’s going on now?’ she asked in astonishment. ‘What have you got in there?’

‘All my clobber. I’m sorry, Vee, but I don’t trust myself to stay another night under the same roof as those two.’

‘Eddy, don’t say that. Everything will have cooled down by morning. You know what he’s like.’

‘I thought I did, but since that woman’s moved in he’s been a bigger swine than ever. No, I’m not staying.’