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