Liz Applewhite smiles from the other side of the counter and tears off two perforated receipts from the account book. ‘Two weeks, this week, Jess, £4.80, I’m afraid’
‘Not to worry, I’ve got it here. I always put it by if I happen to miss.’ Jessie lays a five-pound note on the counter and tucks the small pink slips into her purse.
‘What happened to you last week then? I thought you always came in to pay for your papers after you picked up your pension?’ Liz rings in the money and hands Jessie twenty pence from the till in change.
‘I don’t quite remember. All out of sync last week….Ah, I know…I didn’t collect my pension until Wednesday.’
‘And we’re shut in the afternoon.’ The till drawer closes with a satisfied click.
‘That explains it then. I do hate not remembering.’ Jessie sighs, tucking her purse back into her handbag.
‘Jess, are you alright? You don’t seem your normal chirpy self today.’
‘I’m fine’
‘She's just had a run in with my friend and yours, Mrs. Knowles.’ A voice growls from the open door.
Jessie turns to find Kathleen Wishart standing behind her. ‘Oh, you needn’t have come after me, Kath. I’m okay.’
‘You were upset. I don’t like to see you upset, least of all by her.’
‘What’s she been saying now?’ Liz rolls her eyes.
‘Nothing much’ Jessie starts to say.
Kathleen puts a hand on her arm and directs her comment at Liz ‘Jealous as sin, that one, hates it when other people get attention.’
‘Oh, yes, I heard.’ Liz smiles gently, seeing Jessie is still distressed. She leans forward and winks, broadening her smile to a grin. ‘Always said you were a bit of a witch. Guess Mrs. Mossop agreed. I hope you’re still going to talk to us when you get on telly.’
Jessie practises a royal wave. ‘I shall expect my newspapers to be delivered in a Rolls Royce then’ she says quietly with a ghost of a smile. ‘Don’t think it’ll come to that do you?’ She starts to warm to the theme. ‘I don’t think I could hobnob with the likes of Michael Parkinson’
‘I think you’re safe’ Kath grins
‘I know….but wouldn’t it be one in the eye for Evelyn?’
‘She was more than nasty this time, that much is true. I could have died when you gave her the finger. I nearly wet myself. I’ve been wanting to do that for ages.’
‘That Evelyn wants to watch her mouth!’ Liz declares with a head-wagging purse of the lips. ‘Dissatisfied with everything, her. Always has been as long as I’ve known her. No wonder Ernie…’ her voice trails off.
‘No wonder Ernie what?’ Jessie prompts.
‘Doesn’t matter.’ Liz busies herself tidying the counter.
‘No, come on. You were going to say something. What do you know that I don’t know?’
‘We don’t know’ Kath chimes in, edging closer to Jessie.
‘Nothing at all.’
‘I’ll cancel my papers!’ Jessie threatens.
‘So will I!’
Liz looks at Kathleen and chortles. ‘You don’t have yours delivered!’
‘That’s beside the point. You know something about Ernie Knowles and we want to know. Don’t we Jess? ‘
‘I’ll stand outside with a placard!’
‘Saying what, pray?’
‘Liz Applewhite licks the sweets before you buy them’
‘I can’t say, honest I can’t.’
Jessie puts a gentle hand on that of the small boy who is choosing a bagful of penny sweets from the tubs at the front of the counter. ‘Don’t buy those, dear, she spits on them’
‘Jessie!’ Liz chuckles and waves the boy away, shaking her head and winking when he offers his money. The boy scampers excitedly outside to his mother. ‘Your George would know, I bet he does, you go ask him and leave me out of it.’
‘He’s not my George….but I’ll ask him anyway, come on Kath, we’ve got things to find out!’
‘Report back later. I’ve got to get to work.’ Kath smiles, happy that Jessie has something else to think about.
‘Wilco…Over and out!’ Jessie bustles out of the door.
Milliwick Newsagents
The High Street
Chapter Three
4 Pike Lane
‘Don’t you go letting on to other folk!’ George Harris wags a warning finger at Jessie Shepherd. ‘Ain’t no reason t’talk bout it now. She’s gone. Won’t affect nothing no more.’
‘I can’t believe you never told me! We’ve been friends as long as I can remember and you didn’t think I ought to know?’ She lifts the teapot from the tray on the table and takes the few steps to where George is sitting to top up his mug before filling her own cup and carrying it back to the chair opposite him
‘It weren’t no business of anybody’s but Ernie’s.’ He follows her with his eyes as she sits down. ‘It’d only want word to get to that missus of his and there’d a been ructions you wouldn’t have seen the like of. She’d a took ‘im fer every penny he’d got.’ George sips the tea.
‘That’s for certain.’ Jessie says, tinkling her spoon into her saucer. ‘So how did Liz get to find out? She knew, otherwise I wouldn’t be here asking’
‘Ain’t got a clue. Bet Ernie don’t know she knows. Fetch us another bit o’cake gal…please. Lovely bit o’cake, that.’
Jessie sets her cup on the hearth and stands up to cut him another slice from the fruitcake she has brought with her. ‘Was she local?’ she asks, carrying the slice to his plate on the knife.
George nods his thanks. ‘Does he look stupid?’
‘All that time’ Jessie murmurs her disbelief as she sits again.
‘Mmm’
‘He could only have been…what…early thirties?’
‘That gal on his were only a babby.’
‘That’s dreadful’
‘Ere…’ George retorts ‘don’t you go saying that. You don’t know what he had to put up with. A man needs things; ‘specially the age he were. And he weren’t getting what he needed at ‘ome!’
‘You’re not trying to tell me she shut up shop?’ She looks at him over the rim of her cup.
‘Not c’mpletely but there’s whole lotta diff’rence between having t’damn near beg an’ having someone love yer cos they wants to.’
‘Oh dear.’ Jessie grimaces.
‘Aye’
‘What a shame he didn’t meet this lady first’ she sighs
‘And she were a lady an’ all. Weren’t nothing cheap ‘bout er. Lovely lass.’
‘You met her?’ Jessie sounds surprised.
‘Coupla four times.’ George stares into the fire. ‘She were that dainty…an’ as sweet as Evelyn were vinegar. Pretty little thing she were what got more ‘andsome the older her was’ he says, smiling softly.
Jessie coughs to bring him back to the present. ‘She was married as well?’ she asks casually, sipping her tea.
‘Nah…she were Ernie’s’ he declares.
‘But…’
‘I knows what you going t’say. Why?’
‘So many whys to be truthful’
‘Well, Ernie weren’t going t’get no divorce, like I said afore, she’d’ve had im fer every thing he’d got…’sides, he worshipped them kids, he weren’t going t’leave them in hurry….and as fer her…she loved him, simple as that.’
‘But…’
‘She were happy wi’ what she had…’ George emphasises with a single nod of his head.
‘But what did she have?’ Jessie asks wryly.
‘A bloke what loved ‘er and what’d do anything for her, ‘cepting she di’nt ask fer nothing. I reckon he would a gone if she’d asked him despite what he says, but she never.’
‘That’s really quite sad’ she says wistfully.
‘They was happy ‘nuff. They ‘ad a nice little place…’
Her eyes widen. ‘He bought her a house?’
‘They was married in everything bar name. Tha’s why it hit im so bloomin hard when she went.’
‘A totally secret life, he was two people.’ Jessie whispers in amazement. ‘Two entirely different people.’
‘Ah…an’ it’s t’be kept secret an’ all! No point in upsetting the apple cart now.’
‘None at all.’
Rose Cottage, Albans Lane
Jessie is on the telephone:
‘……….Nothing worth talking about…………Nothing…George didn’t have any idea at all’
Jessie crosses her fingers and screws up her face, hoping the lie doesn’t sound in her voice.
‘The only thing we could think of was that Ernie likes a drink………………………’ She laughs. ‘She’d drive me to drink an' all!…………………That's the only thing that would involve George, isn’t it?………………Mmmm me too. Very disappointed. I thought I was going to get a nice juicy bit of gossip.............Never mind.....George? Still hobbling about, poor man…………Don’t all men make the most of it?…..Okay, Kath…..Bye for now….’
