rich, coming from you,’ Gloria sneered. ‘You and Craig are living together too.’
‘That’s different and you know it. Craig and I don’t share a bed.’
‘No, you’re too bloody prudish for anything like that!’
Jenny heard Dennis snigger. ‘You can’t stay,’ Jenny insisted, ‘Anyway, Thelma doesn’t want you living here.’
‘Well I do, so tough,’ Dennis said as he came to stand next to Gloria.
Jenny ignored him. ‘Please, Gloria, come home. You can help me to find a nice house and Dennis can start courting you properly.’
Gloria laughed. ‘Listen to yourself. Courting! Next you’ll expect to be our chaperone.’
‘Don’t be silly. It’s a bit late for that.’
‘Yeah, it is, and I’m staying put, so see ya!’ Gloria snapped as she slammed the door in their faces.
Jenny banged on it again and again, but Dennis just shouted for them to bugger off. She felt Craig’s hand on her arm and then he said, ‘Come on, love. She’s not going to come back with us, so we might as well go home.’
As Craig led her along the hallway, Thelma appeared, leaning against a doorway. ‘Waste of time then?’ she asked.
‘Yes, but I had to try. I’ll see you at work tomorrow, Thelma.’
‘Yeah, whatever.’
Once they were back outside, Jenny found herself having to fight back tears. She felt she’d failed her sister and worried about the girl’s future. Her own reputation was probably ruined, and now Gloria’s would be too. She had to do something. ‘Gloria won’t listen to me, but maybe she’ll take notice of my mum,’ she said.
Craig looked surprised, then asked, ‘Do you know where she is?’
‘No, but if she went round my dad’s to see the boys, he’d have told her we’ve all left home. You’d have thought she’d look for us, maybe wait for me outside the factory to find out where we’re living.’
‘Perhaps she hasn’t been round to your dad’s.’
‘It’s possible. When she gets a new boyfriend my mother becomes too wrapped up in him to bother about us. She’s probably shacking up with one now, but I’ll find her,’ Jenny told him, determined to do just that and keep her family together.
Timmy came running from the bedroom with one of Jenny’s stockings over his head and a bag over his shoulder. He began creeping around the front room and putting ornaments in the bag. Jenny watched, wondering what her brother was up to. Next came Peter, running in from the kitchen, and she saw with amusement that he had a saucepan on his head, and his hand clutched a rolling pin.
‘Stop, you’re under arrest,’ Peter shouted, trying to make his voice sound very deep.
Timmy giggled, and dashed to hide behind the curtains.
‘We’re playing cops and robbers,’ Peter announced, smiling at Jenny with a big toothless grin.
‘Yes, I can see that,’ she said, stifling a chortle. Timmy’s face looked funny with a stocking over it, his nose flattened, and Peter looked more like something from outer space than a policeman. But they were enjoying themselves, and as far as Jenny was concerned, that was all that mattered. The boys didn’t seem to mind the cramped living conditions, she mused. In fact, they were thriving. Timmy’s nightmares had stopped, and Peter no longer cried for their mum. Even Pamela hadn’t had one of her nightly accidents for two weeks and was beginning to come out of her shell. Everyone was happy … except Gloria.
‘Listen up, boys. Pam is downstairs cooking dinner with your gran. You’ll be eating down there today, but I want you to promise me you’ll be very good. Your gran has a sore knee, so no getting her running around after you, OK?’
‘OK,’ Peter agreed.
‘Is you and Craig eating downstairs too?’ Timmy asked.
‘Are you and Craig,’ Jenny corrected him. ‘No, love, we’ve got some things to do today. We’ll be back before your bedtime and Craig will finish that story he’s been reading to you.’
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