in her mind. Yes, it should work, but Lily didn’t want to count her chickens before they were hatched. Of course, if Ron would stop gambling they’d be in clover, but that was a pipe dream. However, if her future plans for Mavis worked out, she’d be able to take it easy—have a bit of time to put her feet up for a change.
By the end of another hour, Lily’s arms were aching, but at last she had a pile of now shiny, if dented, saucepans to flog, not that she’d get much for them. Her sigh was heavy as she washed the muck off her hands, but then the door swung open and Lily spun around, her eyes widening. ‘Bloody hell, Ron! What are you doing home?’
‘We got laid off.’
‘Why? What did you do this time?’ Lily asked in exasperation as she hastily dried her hands.
‘I fell out with the foreman, but before you do your nut, don’t worry. Pete’s already found us another job and the pay’s a lot better.’
‘Is it now? Knowing you, I doubt I’ll see any of it.’
Ron moved closer, pulling her into his arms. ‘Yes you will, love. Things are going to change, you’ll see.’
Lily stiffened at first as Ron’s lips caressed her neck, but sixteen years of marriage hadn’t dimmed her passion for this man. He might be a gambler, his wages gone most weeks before she saw a penny, but his body never failed to thrill her. She moved her hands over him, felt his muscles ripple, and melted. It was always the same. She would threaten to leave him, but then be left helpless with desire at his touch. Not this time, she thought, fighting her emotions and pulling away. ‘No, Ron.’
‘Come on, Lily, you know you don’t mean it,’ he urged, pulling her close again, the hardness of his desire obvious as he pressed against her.
It was almost her undoing, but once again she fought her feelings. ‘I said no!’
‘Lily … Lily, we should make the most of this. When I’m working away we won’t see each other for months.’
Ron’s words were like a dash of cold water. ‘Working away! What do you mean?’
‘Oh, shit, I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that. I’d planned to tell you when you were feeling all warm and cosy after a bit of slap and tickle.’
‘Oh, I see, soften me up first and then break the news. Well, forget it. You can tell me now.’
Ron released her. ‘All right, but you ain’t gonna like it,’ he said, taking a seat before going on to tell her about the job in Bracknell.
Lily sat down to hear him out, only speaking when he came to an end. ‘So let me get this straight. You’re saying that if you take this job you’ll be able to give up gambling, and, not only that, you and Pete are going to pool your money, saving up enough to go into partnership?’
‘You’ve got it in one. I know being apart is gonna be rotten, but I’ll send you money every week.’
‘That’ll be a change. I get sod all off you now.’
‘I know, love, I know, but I really am going to give up gambling this time. And don’t forget, without me to keep, you’ll be quids in.’
‘Why can’t you come home at weekends?’
‘’Cos we’re going to put in as much overtime as we can. The more hours we work, the more we’ll earn, and by the end of the contract Pete thinks we’ll have enough to buy a van and all the stuff we’ll need, mixers and such, to start up our own firm.’
Lily’s mind was racing. If Ron really did mean it this time, their lives would be transformed. He’d be able to go into partnership with Pete, and the money would come rolling in … Oh, what was the matter with her? It was a silly dream. Ron would never give up gambling—years of broken promises were enough to prove that. ‘It’s all pie in the sky,’ she snapped. ‘As soon as you get your first pay packet you’ll be down the dog track.’
‘Ah, that’s just it. I won’t be able to. There’s no greyhound racing in Bracknell.’
For a moment, Lily dared to believe that Ron could change, but then common sense prevailed. ‘You’d find a track somewhere, or something else to gamble on. It’s a sickness with you, Ron, and you know it.’
‘Yes, but this time I really do want the cure. Pete and me will be in the same accommodation and if I’m tempted he’ll keep me on the straight and narrow, you’ll see.’
‘So you say, but I won’t be there to see it. You could be up to anything and I wouldn’t know.’
‘All right, you don’t trust me and I can understand that, but surely you trust Pete?’
‘Yes, he’s a good bloke, but he ain’t your keeper. If you really want to give up gambling, it’s down to you.’
‘Lily, I promise you, cross my heart and hope to die, I really am going to make it this time,’ Ron said as he stood up to pull her into his arms again. ‘I don’t deserve you, I know that, but I’ll make you proud this time.’
Once again his lips caressed her neck, and this time Lily didn’t pull away. Ron lifted her up with ease, cupping her legs in his arms as he carried her upstairs.
Mavis was so tired, her feet throbbing and the pram three-quarters full as she knocked on the last door in the street. The houses were large, with several steps leading up to the front doors, but she’d had many shut in her face. She’d also narrowly avoided a copper on his beat by diving out of sight. If she got a few things from this last house, with any luck she could make her way home. Mavis waited, fingers crossed, and when the door opened, she found herself confronted by a wizened old woman bundled up in what looked like several jumpers and a cardigan.
Blimey, Mavis thought, she looks scruffier than me but, taking a deep breath, she said politely, ‘I’m sorry to bother you, but have you got any household items or clothes that you want to get rid of?’
‘Get rid of! Do you mean sell them to you?’
Mavis told the usual lie, the one her mother had advised. ‘Oh, no, I don’t want to buy anything. I’m collecting for charity, stuff to pass on to the Salvation Army.’
‘I see,’ the tiny woman said. ‘In that case, you’d better come in and I’ll see what I can find.’
It was unusual to be invited in, but Mavis followed her into the house, along a hall and into a living room. There was no fire burning in the huge grate; the room was freezing, and she saw an old quilt draped over a chair that had been pushed to one side. Was that all she had for warmth? The room was huge, but with wallpaper peeling and an absence of any pictures or ornaments, it felt bleak.
‘I haven’t got much, my dear, but perhaps these candlesticks,’ the woman said as she reached up to remove them from the mantelpiece, handing them to Mavis.
They weren’t very large, blackened, and it was no wonder she hadn’t noticed them, Mavis thought, as she took them from the woman’s hands. She saw
