Digital ISBNs
EPUB 9780228607106
Kindle 9780228607601
WEB 9780228607113
Print ISBN
Amazon Print 9780228607625
LSI Print 9780228607632
B&N Print 9780228607649
Copyright 2019 by Tricia McGill
Cover art by Michelle Lee
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.
For my beloved sister Vi, who will always remain close to my heart. One of the strongest and bravest women I have known or will ever know.
I wrote Remnants of Dreams years ago, well before I knew I would be documenting my sister’s life. If you read that book and notice similarities between that and this one, please be aware that Remnants of Dreams was mostly fictional. Where certain occurrences are similar or the same as in this story, please bear in mind that it was based on our mother’s life, whereas Crying is for Babies is a factual account of my sister’s life. Everything documented here happened to her. The only part where I strayed away from fact is a few changes of names and the addition of certain characters to, as they say in the movies, add dramatic effect. For obvious reasons I could not name the hospital where surgeons ruined a young girl’s childhood but believe me the treatment my sister received from these callous surgeons actually happened. I can only hope and pray that along the line they sought repentance for their sins. Bear in mind that those were the days of surgical experimentation and learning, so presumably they had a reason for their butchery. All I can add is that what my sister endured in her childhood made her the magnificent, talented women she became, loved by all who knew her. A few people must be mentioned. The nursing sister that I have called Janet really looked after a frightened girl and spent many hours reading to her or combing her hair in the days where painkillers were unknown. Sister Witty continued to write to my sister until her death. Last but by no means least, Mr. Horace Sneddon, the renowned orthopaedic surgeon who ensured she regain her strength to enable her to walk again.
The wind blustered along the street as I plonked my wellie clad feet on the pavement and pouted. I was being my usual obstinate self, refusing to go to school.
“Mum, Vi won’t come with us to school again, we’re leaving her here on the step,” Dolly, my big sister shouted as she turned and wagged a finger my way, warning, “You’ll cop it one day you little blighter. Mum’s too busy with the baby and little Davy to have to drag you to school every day.”
I crossed my arms across my skinny chest where my Mum had pinned a fresh bit of rag earlier. Our Mum didn’t have a lot of rules that had to be obeyed but having a clean hankie to take to school was very important. She reckoned no one liked a kid with a snotty nose. “Don’t care. I want to stay home,” I argued. “Ain’t feeling well.”
“There’s not a thing wrong with you. You’re a big girl now and you have to go to school. How you going to learn things?” Dolly sighed.
I stuck out my bottom lip. “You can teach me what you learned. And I ain’t big, you’re big, you’re nine but I’m only…” I counted off fingers on my right hand, deciding, “I’m three.”
“How do you think I learned to read and write, you little so and so.” Dolly turned as our Mum appeared, pushing the pram. “Mum, Jeany has already gone across, and I’m off now. You can deal with her.” Dolly waved over a shoulder, waited as the rag and bone man steered his tired old pony past, and then dashed across the road.
Looking up at our Mum I knew full well I was about to get a good telling off. “I’ll go if I get a biscuit, Mum. I’m hungry.”
“Violet Marsh, you’ll be the death of me, my girl!” Mum wagged a finger, then reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a paper bag. “Here, there’s some broken bits in there. Come on, give me your hand and I’ll come over with you. I thought I could trust you to go with Dolly and Jeany now. I don’t have time for this every day. I thought you was keen to learn your ABC.”
I crammed the bits of biscuit into my mouth, swiped my hands together, stood and took hold of Mum’s hand. “I was hungry, Mum.” We were often hungry and deep down I knew I was a nuisance, but something always made me misbehave.
“I’ll fetch you a bun at lunch time, how does that sound? Hang on.” Mum nodded at the side of the pram, where baby Elly lay at the top end sucking her thumb. Little Davy sat at the other end with his legs dangling over the edge. As he giggled, I patted his knee and then grabbed the side of the pram.
“Ta Mum.” I loved my Mum, perhaps even more than our Dad and Dolly. “Dolly and Jeany are in with the big kids, and Jimmy wants to play with the boys all the time. Don’t like the boys—they’re rough,” I complained.
“Well, you do your reading and writing like we taught you and you’ll be in with the big girls before you know it.” As we crossed the street, Mum looked down and grumbled, “Why you insist on wearing those blessed boots I don’t know. “It’s too hot. Aren’t your feet sweaty in them?”
“Nah, Mum. I ain’t taking them off—ever.” I loved my wellies far too much. “One of the other kids might pinch them if I don’t wear them.” I even kept them close by at night so I could hop straight into them in the morning.
“What did I tell you about saying that word?” Mum sighed. “There’s no such word in the English language.”
“What word’s that, Mum?”
“You know full well what I mean. I don’t care if all the other kids round here want to talk like gutters snipes, you were taught differently. Hear me?”
“Yes Mum, sorry I forgot. I are not taking them off. Is that right?”
“Almost, right, off you go now, and behave yourself. No cheeking to the teacher or she will give you the cane.”
I was sure my teacher would never use the cane, almost as certain that our Mum would not actually use the cane kept on the mantelpiece at home. “Bye Mum.” Giving little Davy another quick pat, I ran across the schoolyard, where the other kids were making their way in through the door. Mum was right, I did want to learn reading and writing, but I liked to play a whole lot more.
* * *
The sun was warm on my head as I sat on one of the benches in the playground munching on the promised bun Mum brought across at lunchtime. Well it was really only half a bun but it had a few currents in it. I liked picking out the currants.
“What you got?” Maisie Green asked, swinging her legs back and forth. Maisie was my best friend at school and we always sat with each other at playtime.
“A bun with currants. What you got.”
“A crust with lard.” Maisie shrugged. “Why d’you always wear them old boots? Ain’t yer feet hot in them?”
“Nah.” I wiggled my feet as I looked down at the prized boots. My feet were really sweaty, but I wasn’t about to admit that to anyone, especially Maisie, who sometimes came to school with no shoes at all on her feet.
“My Mum says your Mum has too many kids. Is that why you have two flats? How many are there?”
“It’s good having a lot of brothers and sisters. There’s always someone to play with or to take you out. Dolly and Jeany take me to the park. They are my big sisters, and the other sister is still a baby, that’s Elly.” I wrinkled my nose as I counted them off on my fingers. “Teddy is my biggest brother, and goes to work every day now because he’s nearly as old as our Dad. Then there’s Danny and Stevie who are in with the big boys class now and that’s Jimmy over there playing conkers with his mate. Oh, and Davy just learnt how to walk.”
“So, how come you live in two places? There’s a lot of us because our Gran and Granddad live with us, and our Auntie, but we only have one flat. I sleep in with my two sisters.”
“Well.” I wasn’t really sure why the boys went next door to sleep, but thought I heard Dad say how lucky they were they all didn’t have to be squashed in one bedroom. I shared the big bed with Dolly and Jeany and sometimes little Davy who always wet and made the bed all soggy. He was supposed to sleep in the old cot, but he grizzled, so Dolly brought him in bed with us to keep him quiet. Dolly said this was so our Mum could get some sleep, but this meant Mum had to wash the sheet, which meant more work for her.
I was glad I was big now and never wet the bed, because Mum always had a lot of washing to do every day, and complained her hands were red. The tin tub was always filled with washing, except on Fridays when we all took turns for a bath. Sometimes one of the boys helped Mum put the sheets through the wringer. Baby Elly still slept in the pram at the bottom of Mum and Dad’s bed.
“I think our Dad was allowed two houses because he works hard.” I had no idea if that was true or not but did know he was always at work so it must be right.
The bell sounded the end of the break and we filed in with the rest of the kids, the boys all pushing and shoving. I liked my teacher. I heard Mum say that the poor woman was overworked with forty kids in her class. I wasn’t sure how many that was as I could only count up to ten, but they certainly made a lot of noise. So far, I’d never been given the cane. Jimmy probably got caned every day as he was always in a fight with someone. Dad was always putting his hands on his belt and telling the boys they would get a belting if they did something wrong, but I was sure he would never really hit them—he was too kind. Anyway, his trousers would fall down if he took his belt off. Stevie told me that.
* * *
“Come on, let’s go to the park.” Dolly sat Elly in the pram, and then lifted Davy up and put him on the end with his legs dangling. He could walk all right on his own now but it was a long way to the park and he was a slow walker, not like me. I loved the swings so much I sometimes ran ahead in my rush to get there before the others. Elly could walk now too, but she was still only small and because she was always sick Mum liked her to be pushed.
Jeany pulled her own coat on and then did up the buttons on mine. I loved my new coat. Mum was really clever. She went to the market every Saturday and got big clothes then brought them home and cut them down for all of us so we always had something new, even the boy’s trousers. Often we only had something for a little while before it went away. Someone told me the things went to the pawnbroker’s shop. I wasn’t sure what that was, except I knew it had something to do with getting money, which Mum was always short of, or so she said.
Maisie told me that her Mum took a lot of their things to this pawnbroker’s shop too and came back with enough money to buy them some meat for a stew. This pawn man must have a lot of money, I decided, as he gave it out in exchange for old clothes, and I wondered what he did with them. One of the shops in the High street had big balls hanging outside the door and Stevie told me that was where Mum took the clothes and got money. I didn’t like the look of that shop—it was dingy and dark and smelled funny, a bit like the ironmonger’s where one of the boys had to go once to get a new cane because he broke the old one playing with it. Mum was very upset and that’s why she made him go to the shop himself. I hoped I never had to go to that horrible shop to buy a new cane.
I was really annoyed because my feet had grown since Christmas and I finally had to own up that the old boots were getting so tight they hurt my feet. Davy wore them for a while but then they went, perhaps to this pawn man or to the rag and bone man who came along every week. I liked the rag and bone man and his old pony. He gave away fish in exchange for old stuff and I decided that one day I would get a goldfish. I would have liked a puppy, but we didn’t have a garden so Dad said I would have to wait until we got a nice house with a garden behind it. I didn’t think we would ever be rich enough for that, but Dad said it was always a good idea to have dreams and hopes. You never knew what was around the next corner, he said.
The swings were all full when we got to the park, so Jeany said, “Come on Vi, we’ll go on the seesaw.” Dolly helped Davy onto the roundabout and sat nursing Elly who had started to cry. She cried a lot. Davy never cried. He liked to laugh, Dad called him a clown.
As we headed home, I asked, “Can we go for a dance, Dolly, eh?” It began to drizzle, so Dolly pulled the shade up on the pram. Elly was asleep and Davy kept yawning so he must have been tired too.
“All right, but only for a little while. Mum will start getting worried when it begins to get dark. You know she doesn’t like us to be out at night, Vi.”
“Why not? What happens after it gets dark?” I’d never been outside once it got dark, except sometimes I went next door to tell the boys that Mum said to stop making so much noise and to come in for tea. Teddy never made a noise though. Now that he was working he was a man, and men didn’t shout and punch each other like Danny, Stevie and Jimmy did. Our Mum always said the boys were more nuisance than they were worth. I hoped I wasn’t a nuisance, although sometimes I misbehaved—I couldn’t seem to help it. Dad said I was a scamp, whatever that was.
“Bogeymen roam about and frighten little girls at night,” Jeany said, making a funny noise and waving her arms about. That didn’t frighten me—well not a lot. But the thought of bogeymen did scare me a bit, so I decided never to go out on my own once it got dark outside. Problem was that in wintertime it got dark almost as soon as school finished, so that meant no visits to the park then except on Saturday. That was my favourite day. The stars in the sky were nice though, we looked at them through the kitchen window up there twinkling. Dad said they were fairies dancing up there among the clouds.
Dolly put the pram in front of the shop next door to the pub, and pulled the brake on. I knew it was the pub because when I asked Dolly what the funny smell was that came up from the cellar she told me it was from the beer that the pub man kept down there. She also told me that men liked beer and the pub was where they went at night to spend their hard-earned money. I wasn’t really sure what that meant and didn’t think Dolly did either, but when I heard Mum say it too I knew it must be true. Mum also said that beer was the stuff that made some men fight and some fall over on the street. I was glad our Dad didn’t go to the pub but stayed home with us at night.
One day we passed the pub when this beer was being delivered in big wooden barrels. The tubs were all on the back of a huge cart pulled by the loveliest and biggest animals I had ever seen. The carthorses were gentle even though they were bigger than the milkman’s horse, and let me rub their noses while they stood waiting for the men to finish unloading. Their breath was warm on my face and smelt of the dinner the man put in the bags for them to munch on while they stood there.
The barrels went down into the cellar through these huge doors in the pavement. It was a big job, and lots of shouting went on between the man at the top and the one in the cellar. The doors were made of wood and this is where Dolly and Jeany loved to come to dance when the doors were shut. I couldn’t wait until I was big enough to dance with them.
Their feet made a lovely banging noise. Jeany pretended she was on the stage and pulled her skirt out at each side like we saw on a poster outside the music hall. Jeany was always pretending she was a posh lady. Sometimes she posed in front of the shop windows where she could see herself in the glass. This annoyed Dolly who nagged her because she didn’t take her turn at caring for the little ones.
“Can I have a go? Promise not to fall over this time,” I begged.
“Come on then, but mind you don’t trip, Mum won’t be pleased if I take you home with a bloody nose.” Dolly held out a hand. I banged my feet and did a couple of turns, and we all got the giggles.
When Elly started to grizzle, Davy shouted at her to be quiet, so Dolly said, “Come on, let’s get home. These two are getting hungry.”
Some of the boys from the flats were playing a game in the street when we reached home. Sometimes I joined in if they let me, but it was starting to get dark so I wanted to get inside to play with my rag doll, named Poppy. I named her that after seeing a lovely red flower in a shop window. My tummy started to rumble. “I hope Mum made our favourite rabbit stew,” I shouted as we went into the passage.
* * *
My ears pricked up when I heard the rag and bone man doing his funny old call. I could never make out what he was yelling but thought it had something to do with his swapping things. Mum was in the scullery doing the washing and Dolly had gone to the corner shop to fetch something for Mum. I didn’t go with her because I had a plan. Today was the day I would get my goldfish. Tiptoeing so I didn’t make a noise, I crept out and closed the door after me. The street was quiet as not many kids played out today, because it was icy cold. Dad said it smelt like snow was on the way.
The man was just getting off his seat to serve a lady who held up a pair of trousers for him to see. “Hey mister, can I have a fish,” I called to him.
“Hang on a minute,” he said as he swung down. He stood chatting to the lady about her trousers. It sounded like she wanted money not a fish. After a bit he took it from her and reached into his pocket. I heard the clink of the money he gave her. When she walked away, he looked down at me and asked, “What you selling, girlie?” Taking off his old cap, he scratched at his dirty looking hair. I think I saw a flea hop off him so stepped back a bit.
I chewed on my lip. Now what should I do, I hadn’t realised I had to give him something for the fish, and thought he just wanted to get rid of them.
“I don’t have anything,” I muttered, moving from one foot to the other.
He tutted. “Goodness me, I have to have something in exchange you see. You don’t get anything for nothing in this world. Now you run along home and ask yer Mum for something to sell to me and you’ll get your fish. Hurry up and I’ll wait.” He plonked his cap back on.
This was getting a bit too much. “I won’t be a minute,” I called over my shoulder as I ran off.
As I ran through the front door, I bumped into Dolly. “Where you going in such a rush,” she asked.
I mumbled, “I’m in a hurry.” Dolly shook her head and went on through to the scullery where Mum was still busy with the washing.
What was I going to give the man? That goldfish was almost in my hands, so I had to think of something, and quick. Looking up at the hallstand, where everyone left their coats and scarves when they were home, the first thing I saw was a coat Mum made for one of the boys. It had been hanging there a long time so probably no one wore it anymore. It was a bit of a struggle to get it off the hook but I managed.
As I turned to run out with it under my arm, Dolly came out of the scullery. “Now where you off to,” she called, but I took no notice of her. It was a matter of importance, if I didn’t hurry the man would go and this might be my last chance to get my goldfish.
By the time I reached the cart, puffing and out of breath, the man was about to climb up onto his seat. “Hey mister, here you are,” I yelled.
He came over and took the coat from me, and without looking at it said, “So, you just want a fish, eh?”
“Yes, Mister.” I jumped up and down.
He reached over into his cart and gave me a jam jar with a little red fish inside. The lid had a couple of holes in it. “Here you go, then. That’s the last one. You’re lucky you caught me today,” he said, grinning. He didn’t have many teeth and the ones he did have were brown. He must smoke a lot. Mum was always telling the boys their teeth would go brown and probably fall out if they smoked. “You’ll have to find something bigger to put it in, you know that don’t you.”
“Oh yes, ta mister.” I took my precious jar and walked very slowly back. The last thing I wanted to do was drop it and lose my fish. By the time I got to the front door the cart was already at the corner.
“What you got there?” Dolly asked when she saw the jar.
I grinned as I proudly held it up. “Look, Dolly, I got a goldfish. I’m gonna call him Peter.”
“You what?” Just then, Mum came along the passage drying her hands on her apron, followed by Jeany.
“The rag and bone man gave it to me. Isn’t he beautiful?”
Mum did not look pleased. I couldn’t understand why none of them were as happy as me. Jeany’s mouth was open as she stood staring at the jar.
“He gave it to you? I don’t believe that. He wouldn’t give you the drippings off his nose. You must have given him something for it.” Mum wagged a finger. “What did you give him?” she asked, opening the door Dolly had just closed, and looking out.
“I saw a lady give him a pair of trousers and so I thought it would be all right to give him that old coat that was hanging up there.” I pointed at the hallstand. “No one was wearing it.”
Mum didn’t answer, but ran out of the door and stood looking up and down the street which was now quiet, except for some kids further down playing hopscotch. The cart had gone.
“I don’t believe it,” Mum said, coming back in and closing the door after her. “You’ll be the death of me, madam, if the boys don’t do me in first.”
“Do you like my fish though, Mum, can I have something bigger to put him in please?” I held the jar aloft. “This has holes in the top, but I don’t think he can swim much in here.” I thought it might be a good idea not to mention the coat again for Mum did not look happy at all. She went back to the scullery with her hands over her face.
“You do know how naughty that was, don’t you?” Dolly said. “Dad works very hard and we don’t have a lot of money.”
“But it was only an old coat.” I wasn’t sure what money had to do with it. I knew that was why Dad went off to work every day—to bring home wages at the end of the week, and Mum went to the shops and came home with stuff for their dinner. I thought it best not to say much more, so asked instead, “Can you help me find a bigger jar for Peter.”
“Why is she crying so much, Mum,” I asked. Mum was walking up and down, nursing Elly, who screamed now and then. Poor Mum was up half the night with her and looked ever so tired. Elly had been crying since I came in from school.
Elly was sick a lot and lately did nothing but cry. She was the only one who wouldn’t play with us. Even when Dolly took us all to the park yesterday, Elly did nothing but yell and toss about in the pram.
Mum patted Elly on the back. “She’s not well, Vi, as soon as your Dad gets home from work we’ll have to go to the hospital. I can’t take much more of this.” She carried on walking up and down the room. “Dolly, you and Jeany can get the kids something to eat. You just need to boil the spuds. There’s some stew left in the pot, all right?”
“All right, Mum. You leave it to me, we’ll manage.” Dolly always took care of things, and Mum always said she knew she could depend on her.
I went to look at Peter swimming around in the big jar that was now his home. I loved watching him and wondered what it must be like to be able to swim under water like that. In the summer, we all went to the paddling pool in the park, but the water only came up to the top of my legs. Davy’s legs were no longer than mine, but the water reached Dolly and Jeany’s knees. I had to tuck my frock into my knickers so it wouldn’t get wet. Danny, who was fourteen now and working, promised to take us to the big swimming pool next summer so I could learn to swim like Peter.
Stevie and Jimmy came in from outside, followed by little Davy who was yelling rude words at them. Mum shouted at them to be quiet or she would get down the cane and whack someone. Mum didn’t shout very often so they all knew it was best to go somewhere else and keep out of her way. “And if you carry on using those naughty words I’ll get Dad to wash your mouth out with carbolic, d’you hear me, Davy?”
I knew Mum was more worried that usual, for she didn’t say things like that very often. The last time I got told off was when I swapped Peter for the old coat, so I tried my best to be good. It was hard at times though.
When Dad called out that he was home, Davy and me raced each other to be the first to meet him at the door. I flung my arms about his legs and he patted the top of my head and then reached down to pick up little Davy.
“Have you been good for your Mum today?” Dad asked as we all went back to the living room.
“Course I have, Dad,” I assured him, as he wiggled Davy about to make him giggle and then put him down on the floor.
He went over to Mum, and they whispered to each other so I couldn’t hear what he said. Then he went over to Dolly and said, “Keep your eye on them, girl, we shouldn’t be gone for long. I don’t think it’s too serious.”
“Course I will Dad.” I often wondered why he never asked Jeany to look after them, but was glad it was Dolly’s job. “I’ll keep your dinner hot.”
“Good girl. Teddy and Danny will be home from work soon, so they’ll help you.” Dad pulled his overcoat back on and took Elly from Mum’s arms while she put her coat on.
As they went out and closed the door after them, I asked Dolly, “Elly’s not going to die, is she?” Missus Brown who used to live two doors up went into hospital a while back and never came home. Mum said she went to a better place, and I thought she meant a nicer house but Jeany told me she heard that the old lady died in hospital. I wasn’t sure what happened when people died but it seemed they never came back home, and I didn’t want that to happen to Elly.
Davy and me were in bed when Mum and Dad came home. He was still asleep when I rubbed my eyes and sat up. It was dark outside. I got out of bed and went into the living room. Mum and Dad were both sitting in chairs, and Mum had her hands over her face like she did when she was tired.
I looked across at the old pram, and my insides turned over, the way they did when I was upset. It was empty. “Where’s baby Elly?” I asked as my lips trembled. “She ain’t dead is she?”
“Oh no,” Mum looked up and held out her arms. I went to sit on her lap, and she pushed my hair back behind my ear. “She’s very sick though, and we have to go back tomorrow to see the nice doctor who is going to look after her.” Mum hadn’t told me off about using the wrong word, and that worried me even more.
“What is it, Dad?” Danny asked from his chair by the fire. Everyone was looking at them waiting to hear the news. Even Stevie and Jimmy had stopped larking about.
“As far as they can tell without examining Elly further, it’s something to do with her head. That’s why she has been so miserable. The poor little blighter must have been getting real bad headaches.” I’d never seen our Dad this troubled. He was always laughing and telling us silly jokes about his day at work. He worked for the gas company, and went round to everyone’s houses, so was very important and saw lots of people. I never got fed up listening to his stories.
Mum stood up and rubbed my back, saying, “Come on Vi, back to bed with you. And you others can get to bed now. Not much we can do until we go back tomorrow.”
Davy was still asleep when Mum tucked me in. “She is going to come back, isn’t she?” I asked as Mum went to the door.
“Of course she is, silly. Don’t you worry yourself, and get to sleep now.” She closed the door after her and I lay there staring into the darkness. I was still awake when Dolly and Jeany came in and climbed into bed. They whispered to each other for a long time as we all snuggled up to keep warm.
Mum didn’t bring Elly home for two days, and when she did she told them that they would all have to be very careful with her as she was a sick little girl.
“What’s wrong with her, Mum?” I asked, but still wasn’t sure exactly what it was, even after Mum said it was very serious.
The next day as we went across the road to school, I asked Dolly the same thing. Since our Mum was so worried about Elly, I’d decided not to play up and beg for a halfpenny before I would go to school. I did this before now and Mum had to push me across the road when Dolly and Jeany got tired of trying to get me to walk. Dolly called me a little madam and told me I would get what was coming to me one day. I had no idea what was coming to me, so wasn’t bothered.
“It’s a horrible thing called…” Dolly looked to Jeany, asking, “What did Dad say?”
Jeany had to stop and think, and then said. “Meningitis, I think. Dad said it is something that squeezes something in her head and that’s what makes her cry because it hurts.”
“But she will get better, won’t she, as she gets bigger like us.”
Dolly and Jeany looked at each other, and something about the way they shrugged their shoulders, made me very scared. Nobody in our family had been sick like this before.
Dolly finally said, “It will always be there, I think.”
Danny went off camping one weekend with his mates and when he came home he was sick as well, which frightened me even more when I heard that he had to go into hospital and have his leg fixed up. Elly still hadn’t got over her funny sickness and it looked like Dolly was right, it would never go away. There was something wrong with her ears too, and Mum had a fight with her every day trying to put what she said was eardrops into them.
I heard Mum tell a lady along the street that she was at the end of her tether, whatever that meant, and it had been a terrible year, what with Elly and now Danny.
“What did you do?” I asked Danny. He sat in the chair with his leg propped up on another chair, as he hadn’t gone to work today. He was learning how to paint walls in houses so would probably have trouble climbing up the ladder to reach the high spots.
“I was climbing a tree, and slipped. Silly sod.” He looked about and whispered, “Don’t tell Mum I said that word will you.”
“Course not.” I didn’t want Danny to get his mouth cleaned out with carbolic so licked my finger and crossed my heart. “Does it hurt much?”
“Now and then.” He eased himself off the chair, and limped over to the window. Rain splattered down. I hoped it stopped by the morning or else we wouldn’t be able to go to the park or to tap dance at the pub on the way home.