The Cobbler's Kids (21 page)

Di’s moods were equally volatile. Whenever my dad doesn’t do what she asks then she sulks and takes her frustration out on me and Benny, Vera thought unhappily. One minute she’s all smarmy and joking, the next sulky and demanding, or else finding fault with everyone and everything.

Lately, Di had taken to disappearing for half a day or even longer whenever she was upset. Vera knew that this drove her dad to distraction. Each time she flounced out he was afraid that she had gone for good.

Secretly Vera wished she had, but she always came back. Often she was so drunk that the only thing to do was help her up to bed and leave her to sober up.

Vera wondered where she got the money for these binges since the rows between her father and Di were usually over money. Vera had her own theory, but she knew better than to let her father know what her suspicions were.

It was Joan Frith who confirmed what she was thinking.

‘That woman who lives with you, your dad’s fancy piece, do you know she’s on the game, Vee?’

‘On the game? What on earth do you mean?’ she parried.

Joan sniggered and raised her eyebrows. ‘You’ve heard the expression before, haven’t you?’

‘Yes, of course I have, but I mean she can’t be. She’s living at our place these days, and she’s out boozing with my dad every night, so how can she be on the game as you put it. Anyway she’s middle-aged.’

‘Yes, and she’s a brassy blonde that plies her trade down the Dock Road.’

‘I … I don’t believe you!’

This is what Vera had suspected, but she didn’t want to accept it. She dreaded what her father’s reaction would be if he ever found out. Yet how long could Di go on hiding such activities from him?

The next time Di disappeared Vera waited for her to come home, intending to find out if she really was leading a double life.

Di had been drinking and was in an expansive mood. She not only admitted to being ‘on the game’, but laughed raucously about it. Vera tried to persuade her to move out, promising, in return, that she would not reveal the truth to her dad about what she was doing.

‘You must be out of your tiny mind if you think I’m going to go back to the hovel where I was living before I took up with your dad,’ Di told her. ‘This place is paradise compared with that dump. I know I haven’t let you think that, but I’ve felt like a pig in clover since I’ve been living here.’

‘You’ve certainly managed to keep pretty quiet about it,’ Vera replied with some asperity. ‘You do nothing but find fault with all I do for you.’

‘Yeah! I’ve led you a dog’s life, but that’s just me! I think you’re a brick the way you run this place and look after your dad and young Benny. Your old man’s not easy to live with, I know that now, but it’s better being here than shacked up on my own.’

‘I do my best, but …’

‘I know and I haven’t made it easy for you, have I? Well, chook, things will be different in future.’

‘There is no future,’ Vera told her firmly. ‘I want you to leave. I don’t mind what excuse you make, I just want you out of our home and our lives.’

‘Don’t be like that!’ Di exclaimed indignantly. ‘I’m going to turn over a new leaf. I’ll even give you a hand around the place! I might even do the cooking now and again. Anything except the cleaning …’

‘Oh yes. You told me you never did cleaning.’

Di Deverill smirked. ‘I know, I’m a lazy slut, but I can change. I promise you, Vee.’

Vera shook her head, determined to stand her ground now that she had the upper hand.

‘Think what it will do to your dad if you tell him,’ Di wheedled. ‘I’ll deny it, if you do. He thinks the sun shines out of my arse so he’ll believe me, not you.’

‘I’ve got a witness. Someone saw you down on the Dock Road trying to pick up a sailor.’

‘Oh is that what you’re on about!’ Di Deverill looked at Vera in astonishment then she started to laugh again. A loud, hysterical laugh that set her double chins wobbling.

‘All? What did you think I was talking about?’

Di shrugged. ‘You may as well know the rest. I thought you were talking about my nicking things from C&A’s, Frisby Dyke’s and all the others.’

‘Stealing? You’ve been stealing from all those shops?’ Vera gasped.

‘Stealing. Helping myself. Call it what you like. How else do you think I manage to have all the smart clothes I wear?’

‘I thought my dad was buying them for you.’

‘Huh! He stopped doing that a long time ago. He’s as mean as sin these days, as you should know. He buys me booze when we’re out, but other than that he never coughs up a penny piece. He says all his money’s gone, but it doesn’t stop him buying new shirts and stuff for himself.’

She laughed bitterly. ‘You thought he was buying me clobber instead of giving you the money to put food on the table?’

Vera looked at her quizzically. ‘Are you telling me the truth?’

‘I most certainly am. In fact, it’s a laugh and a half. Mean old bugger! These days he wouldn’t part with a fart if he could sell it.’

‘Then why do you stay here with him?’

Di shrugged. ‘Because I like him, I suppose. He’s a kindred spirit. He enjoys being involved in a good fiddle. Anyway, as I said, I like the place.’

‘My dad’s not a thief like you,’ Vera defended hotly, her cheeks burning.

‘Don’t come that with me,’ Di sneered. ‘He’s the biggest fiddler I’ve ever met. That’s how I got involved with him in the first place! Remember? I found out about his fiddle with Tom Gray at Coombes’s, didn’t I …’

‘I know all about that,’ Vera told her dully.

‘Clever bastard, using that kid brother of yours as a go-between. Everything seemed to be so above board that no one would suspect there was any pilfering going on. Got to admire his nerve, and Benny’s, for that matter.’

‘Benny didn’t know,’ Vera said quickly, ‘he was only doing what he was told.’

‘The same as when he used to carry betting slips? Did you know about that? Poor little bugger, he’ll end up in an approved school if you’re not careful, you see if I’m not right. He’s been lucky up until now, but he’ll get caught! Young lads like him always do. The scuffers aren’t daft you know. They sniff out wrongdoers.’

‘You’ve been very lucky then,’ Vera told her scathingly. ‘How come you’ve not been caught?’

‘Because I’m a pro. Years of experience,’ Di told her confidently.

‘Pinching clothes, working as a prossy, what other tricks have you been up to then?’

Di tapped the side of her nose with her forefinger. ‘That would be telling. I’m not giving away all my secrets.’

‘I think you should go,’ Vera repeated. ‘I don’t want you living with us. We mightn’t have much, but we’ve always managed to keep on the right side of the law. I don’t want to be mixed up in any of your shady dealings.’

‘You might be poor, but you’re honest,’ Di sneered. ‘You’re forgetting about your father, though, aren’t you? If I told you about all the swindles he’s been mixed up in then it would make your hair curl.’

‘Go! Go now. I’ll pack up your clothes, and the rest of your belongings, and bring them to you tomorrow, or you can come back for them. I want you out of here now, though. This very minute.’

Di Deverill shook her head. ‘No, I don’t think so. You’ve opened a can of worms this time, luv. I know I’m a bad ’un, but I like it here. As I’ve already told you, in my own way I’m fond of your old man and he’s bloody besotted by me as you’ve probably noticed.’

‘My mam must be turning in her grave. She was worth twenty of you,’ Vera told her heatedly.

‘Your mam might have been a lovely woman, but I don’t reckon she gave poor old Mike anywhere near as good a time as I do,’ Di told her, lighting up a cigarette.

Vera turned away in disgust. ‘Please, I don’t want to hear any more! I want you to leave.’

‘I’ve already told you, I’m staying put whether you like it or not!’ She took a long pull on her cigarette and laughed smugly.

‘When I tell my dad what you’ve told me about you nicking clothes and going with other men he’ll chuck you out, bag and baggage.’

‘Tell your dad and I’ll deny every word of it. Keep your trap shut and I’ll give you a hand around the place, make your life easier.’

‘Trying to blackmail me the same as you did him, are you?’ Vera sneered.

‘I’ll even nick some decent clobber for you. Think about it. Smart skirts, snazzy blouses, silk stockings, a bit of flashy jewellery! All the things a girl of your age dreams of having, but can’t afford to buy for herself.’

‘Don’t you dare! I wouldn’t touch anything you gave me with a barge pole.’

‘Please yourself, but you’re not all that bad-looking, you know. Tarted up a bit, you might even find yourself another fella.’

‘I’d sooner dress in rags than take anything from you,’ Vera told her hotly.

Di shrugged resignedly. ‘That’s up to you!’ Casually, she stubbed out her cigarette. ‘Now, are we going to be friends? Are you going to keep your mouth shut? Or are you going to stir up a hornet’s nest by telling your dad what you’ve found out about me? If he doesn’t believe you, and I know he won’t, then you might be the one who finds herself out bag and baggage as you put it.’

‘He can’t turn me out, this is my home.’

‘He will if I ask him to,’ Di told her softly, lighting a fresh cigarette. ‘I have ways of persuading him, remember.’

‘You wouldn’t dare!’

‘I most certainly would.’ She breathed out a cloud of smoke. ‘Say one word about any of this and I’ll turn him against you. I’ll make sure that he sends you packing. Think what life will be like then for young Benny without you to stand up for him when your dad is in one of his foul tempers.’

‘I’ll take Benny with me,’ Vera declared hotly.

Di laughed. ‘And where would you go? You can’t afford to put a roof over your heads let alone feed him, not on the paltry wages you earn.’

‘I’ll find a way,’ Vera vowed.

‘There would only be one way, and that’s by going on the game,’ Di smirked. She drew hard on her cigarette before blowing out a long stream of blue smoke. ‘You didn’t seem to approve, though, when you heard about me doing that sort of thing!’

‘Of course I don’t approve, or of you stealing.’

‘Quite right,’ Di told her. ‘Given time you might see things differently, though …’

Vera buried her face in her hands. She knew she was defeated. This woman twisted everything she said. Di also knew too much about her dad and Vera didn’t doubt that she would use it against him if it suited her purpose.

Vera wished Eddy was still at home so that she could talk to him, but she didn’t even know where he was or when he would be in port again. He’d told her to go to Rita if she needed any help, but if she did that then she’d have to take Rita into her confidence. How could she tell her what had happened and why she wanted to move in with her. If she did that, it might even turn Rita against Eddy when she heard the whole story.

She was aware that Di had stubbed out her half-smoked cigarette and stood up. Di had won; she held all the trump cards. She was wicked and vindictive, but she had the power. Vera knew that for the moment, at any rate, all she could do was fall in with her plans.

‘Come on, you’d better accept the situation and start getting a meal ready. Your dad will be closing up at any minute and he likes to find his food ready on the table for him when he comes through from the shop, now doesn’t he,’ Di told her smugly.

Benny Quinn was bored. For the last three months he had been top of the class whenever they had tests in English, or arithmetic. He could reel off the names of all the kings and queens from William the Conqueror to their present king, George V. He knew the names of the ten most important cities and the six longest rivers in Britain. He liked school, he liked reading and he enjoyed lessons, but just lately he felt as if he knew everything there was to know.

When he’d taken the eleven-plus exam a few months back he’d found it so easy that he’d finished ages before the rest of the class. He’d even wondered if he’d missed some of the questions, but when he’d looked through the paper and checked again he found that he had done them all. He’d sat and daydreamed until the time was up, all the papers were gathered in and they were free to go out and play.

They hadn’t had the results yet, but that didn’t matter. Even if he passed his dad wouldn’t want him to go to a grammar school, he thought gloomily. He’d already said that he expected him to work in the shop when he finished school.

Benny couldn’t think of anything more boring. He hated the smell of leather, and the stink of the polish that his dad used to finish off the boots and shoes after he’d hammered on the new soles. Even worse was the stinky glue he used for the stick-on soles when people wanted a cheap job.

He’d been delivering boots and shoes ever since he could remember. Vera used to load them all into the pram beside him, or sometimes on top of him, when he was too small to walk. Now he delivered them on his own, as well as doing all sorts of other errands for his dad.

His dad always told him not to say anything about the messages he sent him on because he didn’t want Vera knowing all his business.

For some reason his dad didn’t seem to think he was capable of being able to work out how dodgy many of these errands were. First there’d been the betting slips. He’d only been about seven then and he’d been scared stiff when he knew he’d lost one and what could happen if it got into the wrong hands.

The trips to and from Coombes’s shop with bags of soles and heels had been another risky one. Di Deverill had caught him out over that! She’d never told his dad how she’d got wind of it, thank goodness.

It had all happened because he’d left a bag full of them lying on the pavement whilst he played footie with a crowd of boys from school. She’d come round the corner and tripped over it and threatened to skin him alive.

He’d never be able to forget what happened next. It still went through his brain over and over again, especially when he was in bed at night. It was like watching a newsreel at the flicks!

‘I nearly broke my bloody neck tripping over that bag,’ the brassy blonde screeched at him, clinging onto a lamppost for support. ‘Look at that!’ She pointed with a painted fingernail to her leg. ‘Laddered my sodding silk stockings. Have you any idea how much they cost a pair?’