thought for a moment. ‘He’d rather stay with Mavis. Not being funny or anything but your mum will make him go to bed at seven o’clock and won’t let him watch telly. And now that James has got his own room, Mavis could have him easily …’
Stan brightened up. This was going better. ‘He’d really enjoy that, wouldn’t he? I know he still misses having James next door.’
Jenny nodded. ‘He does. And Mavis wouldn’t mind.’
‘We’ll do that, then, as soon as we can. When the weather gets a bit warmer.’ Stan gave her a smile. ‘I’ll have to do a few trips first and then I’ll get to know where the best places are. We haven’t been away just the two of us since our honeymoon, have we?’
Jenny giggled. ‘How could we? First we had no money then along came Greg and our lives were never the same after that.’ She looked up at him. ‘Maybe this new job won’t be so bad after all, Stan Bonner. We could have a second honeymoon.’
He gave her a look. ‘We could. We could have a whole series of them. Fancy a bit of practice, Mrs Bonner?’ He stroked her face and noticed how her eyes lit up.
She slapped his thigh. ‘Nice try, Stan, but you’ll have to wait. Like I said, I reckon Greg’s still awake. And I know he’s growing up fast but there are some things he shouldn’t know about just yet.’ She didn’t trust the soundproofing in this house, solid though the walls were. ‘Shall we see what’s on the telly?’
‘Suppose so,’ said Stan, releasing her. He stretched out. He could wait if he had to – he knew Jenny was as keen as he was. ‘Is Dixon of Dock Green on?’
‘That’ll have finished.’ Jenny waited for the set to warm up. ‘Or we could just listen to some music. Pass me the Radio Times.’
Stan got up and put his arms around her, nuzzling her neck. ‘I don’t care. I’m only waiting till I can get you upstairs.’
‘Shhh, what if Greg hears you saying that?’ But Jenny knew he wouldn’t. She hugged her husband. A second honeymoon in Devon – wait till she told Mavis.
Rhona turned on to her side and watched the patterns change on the unfamiliar curtains as the orange streetlights threw shadows from the tree branches outside the window. The light slowly changed to the dull grey of dawn. She raised her arms over her head and stretched luxuriously, savouring the memories of the night before. Gary had been everything she’d hoped for, passionate and considerate and the most exciting man she’d ever been with. They’d spent all Sunday afternoon in bed, then managed to go to a fish and chip shop round the corner for a quick bite to eat, before falling back into bed again and staying up half the night. She’d only had a few hours’ sleep but she felt wonderful. Idly she tried to work out just how long she’d slept … oh no.
It must be Monday morning. Slowly the cogs turned in her brain and she realised she was meant to be at the factory in Peckham in half an hour and she was still in Gary’s bed, in his flat near Finsbury Park, the other side of the city. She was going to be in deep trouble. Penny might cover for her for a short while but she wouldn’t be able to do so for long. Jean would notice at once, and the loathsome foreman Mr Forsyth had been making a point of turning up at the start of their shift and making sarky comments. She still hadn’t been forgiven for dumping creepy Andy.
Rhona swore under her breath and heaved herself out of bed. The bedroom was cold. There was a one-bar electric fire in the corner but she didn’t have time to switch it on. Blindly she groped around for her clothes and struggled into them. They’d raise a few eyebrows at the factory but there was no way she could waste more time by going home to change first. She’d just have to hope she could get her overall on before everyone noticed her low-cut top.
Gary stirred. ‘Morning, doll. Make us a cup of tea, will yer?’
Rhona groaned. What a romantic way to start the day. ‘I can’t,’ she hissed. ‘I’m late for work, I’ve got to run.’
‘Nah, babe, come back to bed and I’ll make you forget all that,’ said Gary, and she could just about make out in the gloom that he was opening his arms to her. It was very tempting. But she thought of her mother’s face if she got the sack and forced herself to zip up her boots.
‘Got to go.’ She kissed the top of his head. ‘Thanks for a fab weekend. See you Wednesday?’
Gary half-sat up and kissed her back. ‘Wednesday it is, babe. See you then.’
As she opened the bedroom door a shaft of light from the landing showed her that he’d already curled up to go back to sleep. She wished she could stay with him, spend the day with him, messing around in bed, playing his guitar and making the world go away. Reality was waiting for her in the shape of a freezing cold morning and crowded buses all along the Seven Sisters Road. Grimly she reached for her purse and forced herself to walk as far as the bus stop, where she shivered in her thin mac, designed for looking good, not keeping warm.
Finally she managed to get on a bus and wedge herself into a seat, next to a middle-aged man in a suit who looked at her with barely veiled contempt. She could feel the disapproval rising off him. Miserable old git, she thought. Then she smiled to herself. Bet I’ve had more fun this weekend than you’ve had in your entire life. Bet I’ve done things you didn’t even know were possible. She couldn’t help giggling and quickly smothered it, pretending to cough. The man edged away from her, an even more disdainful expression on his thin face. Rhona didn’t care. It gave her more room. Her thoughts drifted back to the night before and she sat daydreaming happily as the windows fogged up and the overcrowded bus made its slow way down the busy road.
‘What time do you call this?’ Jean hissed as, over an hour later, Rhona eventually made it to her shift. The only good thing was she’d got to her locker and into her overall before anyone could spot what she had on underneath – or, more like, what she didn’t have on.
‘I was delayed,’ said Rhona, trying to keep a straight face.
Jean stared at her. ‘Come on, you can do better than that.’
‘Well, it’s true, I was,’ said Rhona, unable to stop herself from smiling. ‘Oh, all right, I had further to come this morning and got the timing all wrong. I got here as fast as I could. Don’t take on.’
‘It’s not me you’ve got to worry about,’ said Jean, retying her scarf tightly. ‘And you smell of drink again. For God’s sake go to the ladies and tidy yourself up. A few more minutes won’t make any difference now, the damage has been done. Your absence has been noted. You’ll be on a warning, and it’ll be worse if Forsyth sees you in a mess like that.’
‘OK, thanks.’ Rhona dashed for the door to the ladies.
Sure enough Mr Forsyth strode over to her as the bell rang for the mid-morning tea break.
‘Miss Foster. My office, now, if you please.’ He strutted off, full of his own importance, which left Rhona little choice but to follow him. She pulled a face and smoothed down her overall.
‘Wish me luck,’ she said to Penny. Jean heard her.
‘He
