the costermongers shouting out their wares, and as Derek looked for somewhere to park he said, ‘While you’re visiting Bessie, I’ll go to see my gran.’
‘All right,’ she agreed. Derek had lost his mother when he was still a child and it had been his gran, Connie Lewis, who raised him. Connie didn’t like her, but Pearl felt she deserved the old woman’s anger. She had been going out with Derek, had agreed to marry him, but then been mad enough to fall for Kevin Dolby. She’d been such an innocent at the time, unworldly, and had been helpless to stop what happened. When she had found that she was pregnant she had married Kevin and they had moved in with his parents, but Pearl had been so ashamed of herself for breaking Derek’s heart.
When Kevin went to prison, it took several years before her divorce was granted, and during that time Derek came back into her life. Then, when he’d asked her to marry him, she had gladly agreed.
‘I’ll stop off to buy Gran some of her favourite sweets,’ Derek said.
‘I still can’t believe she agreed to go into an old people’s home.’
‘Even my gran had the sense to see that with her hands and knees riddled with arthritis, she was no longer capable of looking after herself.’
‘We’ve been married for nearly ten years, but she’s never softened towards me. I don’t suppose it helped that you gave up the tenancy on her house.’
‘I knew you wouldn’t agree to live in Battersea again and, anyway, it’s just as small as your mother’s cottage.’
‘I don’t want John to hear the truth about Kevin, but he’d soon find out if we moved back here,’ Pearl pointed out, thankful that Derek had been happy to move to Winchester.
‘Here we are,’ Derek said as he found a space and pulled into the kerb.
Pearl smiled at him fondly. Derek was nine years older than her, with fair hair, pale blue eyes and a face battered by years of boxing. The antithesis of Kevin, he couldn’t be described as handsome, but with his innate kindness and the love he showered on both her and John, Pearl thanked God for the day she had become his wife.
With the engine still running, Derek said, ‘Right, love, I’ll see you later.’
‘To give us time to prepare my mother’s birthday treat, we’ve got to get back to Winchester by three at the latest,’ Pearl pointed out.
‘I know, but that gives us about an hour and a half.’
‘Don’t leave it any longer than that before you pick me up again,’ Pearl urged, leaning across to kiss Derek on the cheek.
‘I won’t,’ he replied.
As Derek drove off, Pearl walked the short distance to Bessie’s shop, which was set in a tall, terraced building, the two floors above providing ample living accommodation.
When Pearl entered the shop she saw that it had hardly altered from when she had lived with Bessie and worked there, making improvements that had increased trade. There were racks of second-hand clothes, and a few long trestle tables almost buckling under the weight of old china and other stuff. There were a few pieces of battered furniture for sale too, and every spare surface was piled with old books. Pearl wrinkled her nose at the musty smell, but at least everything looked as tidy as possible.
Lucy Sanderson was standing behind the counter, a lovely young woman who had been through hell. She had lost both parents in a fire, but had somehow managed to get on with her life. Then more tragedy followed when her husband died in a traffic accident before Clive, their only child, was born. It had almost broken Lucy, but for her baby’s sake she had somehow battled on. Clive was seven years old now, and as far as Pearl knew there had never been another man in Lucy’s life. She took in sewing alterations to make ends meet, along with her earnings when working part time for Bessie.
‘Hello, Lucy,’ Pearl said. ‘How is Bessie?’
‘Her chest seems really bad and she insisted that I ring you.’
‘She’s probably got bronchitis again,’ Pearl said, thinking that despite it looking a bit washed out and home made, Lucy looked nice in a floor-length, high-necked, Laura-Ashley-style floral dress. Her hair was a halo of frizzy blonde Afro curls, the result of a home perm, yet they framed her pretty, delicate features and the style suited her.
‘I sent Nora along to the chemist to pick up Bessie’s medicine,’ Lucy said. ‘I think she can manage that.’
‘Yes, of course she can,’ Pearl assured. Bessie had taken Nora in many years ago, and though mentally slow, there were things she could cope with. ‘I’d best go up, Lucy, but I’ll have a chat with you again before I leave.’
As a customer came in Pearl went through to the back of the shop and climbed the stairs. She passed the first floor where there was a living room, kitchen, bathroom and Nora’s bedroom, going on up to the top floor where she walked into Bessie’s room.
It was dim with the heavy, dark blue curtains partially drawn, but Pearl could just about make out that Bessie was propped up in bed on a pile of pillows. Her grey hair, though short, was untidy and her face lined with wrinkles. ‘Are you awake?’ Pearl asked softly.
‘Yes, and it’s about time you got here,’ Bessie croaked. ‘I’ve got to be dying before you come to see me.’
Pearl felt a twinge of guilt. Though she hadn’t lived with her for long, they had grown close and Bessie would always hold a special place in Pearl’s heart. When she had moved away from London, Pearl kept in touch with frequent phone calls, and Derek would sometimes pick Bessie and Nora up after visiting his gran and he’d bring them back to Winchester for the afternoon. ‘Bessie, you know why I don’t like coming to Battersea,’ she said. ‘Now tell me, how are you feeling?’
‘Rough, but open the curtains so I can get a better look at you,’ Bessie said then coughed painfully.
Pearl let in some light before drawing a rickety chair close to the bed. ‘You shouldn’t be up here on your own at night. I don’t know why you won’t let Nora sleep in the room next door.’
‘Leave it out. She snores like a trooper. Even with the door shut, I’d hear her.’
‘Oh, and you don’t?’ Pearl said wryly while rearranging the blankets. ‘Have you seen the doctor?’
‘Yes, but a fat lot of good that’s gonna do,’ Bessie croaked when another fit of coughing ended. ‘I think me number’s up this time.’
‘Don’t be silly. You’re going to be fine.’
Despite the reassurance, Nora suddenly gripped Pearl’s hand, saying urgently, ‘I want you to promise that if I don’t pull through, you’ll take care of Nora. Don’t worry, you won’t lose out financially, I’ve seen to that.’
‘Of course I’ll look after her, but this is just another bout of bronchitis and it won’t be necessary.’
‘Promise me, Pearl. You’ve got to promise me,’ Bessie pleaded.
‘All right, I promise,’ Pearl said, thinking that though Bessie was being overdramatic, it might be best to placate her.
‘Thanks, love,’ Bessie said, releasing Pearl’s hand and sinking back on her pillows. ‘I can rest easy now.’
‘Is this why you wanted to see me?’
‘Yes. I don’t suppose John’s with you? The only time I get to see him is when we come to Winchester.’
‘You know why I don’t bring him to Battersea.’
‘No matter how much you try to hide it, the truth has a way of coming out,’ Bessie warned.
‘John is too young to cope with it yet. Maybe when he’s older, but even then it’s going to be an awful shock.’
‘I know you regret the day you married Kevin