‘That’s the ne’er-do-well at number four. I’ve told him that it gets in the way, but he pays no attention,’ the old woman grumbled. ‘I can’t get to the backyard with my washing some days, but you can’t tell him. Ignorant he is.’
Ronnie knocked on Sarah’s door. She answered with Anthony clinging to her skirts.
‘Come in, please come in.’ She welcomed Ronnie with a smile. ‘I’m so glad you came. I wasn’t sure if you would.’
She stepped back and Ronnie entered a cosy, well-lit space, with a small sofa scattered with brightly coloured cushions, and an occasional table with three wooden chairs. There was a fire burning in the grate, which gave a warm glow, although Ronnie couldn’t help but notice there was very little coal in the scuttle to replenish it when it burned low.
‘Let me take your coat,’ Sarah said.
Ronnie took off his coat and handed it to her. She hung it behind the door, next to hers.
‘Please, make yourself comfortable,’ she continued, ‘while I get the tea. Anthony, you can show Mr Locock your box oftoy soldiers. I’m sure he’d love to see them, wouldn’t you, Mr Locock?’
‘I would indeed,’ Ronnie replied. ‘And please call me Ronnie.’
‘All right, Ronnie.’
When Anthony disappeared behind the curtain, Ronnie sat down and took in the rest of the room.
It was clear that Sarah had made every effort to make the small space homely. There was a painting on the wall of a seascape with a rather battered frame and there were a few pictures on the mantelpiece, which he assumed were Sarah’s family. The table was covered in a seersucker cloth in a checked pattern of pinks, green and blues, and was set with mismatched cups and saucers and a plate holding rock cakes. There was a bread board with a loaf, a glass butter dish and a jar of jam. The small kitchen area where Sarah was preparing the tea was at the back of the main living space. Beside it was a curtained-off area. The curtain was a heavy brocade material that Ronnie noticed must have been luxurious when new, but was showing signs of wear and was faded in places. He guessed that was where Sarah and Anthony slept.
Anthony reappeared with the box of soldiers and proceeded to set them out on the table.
‘Not there, Anthony,’ Sarah said. ‘There’s not room. Set them out on the floor.’
They’d only just got them into position when Sarah called them to the table.
‘This all looks very good,’ Ronnie said.
They sat in a companionable silence, occasionally meeting one another’s eye as they lifted their cups to their lips. Ronnie couldn’t help but notice a small cake crumb in the corner of Sarah’s mouth. Every time he looked at her, he found himself wanting to remove that crumb and touch her moist lips. Theytalked about how they had both arrived on the Isle of Wight, neither of them born there, not native islanders.
‘So, you came when you were a child,’ Sarah said. ‘I was a young woman. You have had time to get to know people, form friendships. I really don’t know many people at all, just my neighbours and the people I work with and most of them are so wrapped up in their own lives, they don’t even really notice me much. But tell me some more about you. You live with your aunt Dot, you say, a teacher, and a Miss Clarence. Who’s she?’
‘The headmistress of the school in Whippingham. We all live together in the School House. My sister, Tilly, lives there too, but she’s training to become a nurse in Ryde hospital and she’s there most of the time now. Technically she’s my aunt, but we’re the same age. My mother is Dot’s sister, so I’m really Tilly’s nephew. It’s confusing, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, very. I think I follow what you’re saying, though. Life can be complicated sometimes, can’t it?’
‘We came from a small village near Stoke — Micklewell, it’s called. My parents and my grandfather couldn’t look after us. They were finding it difficult to cope. Money was short, jobs were scarce and wages were low. I wasn’t aware of it at the time we left, of course. I was only six years old. I just knew that we had to go and live somewhere different. That I was to go on a long boat journey with Tilly and that we would live on an island with Aunty Dot and Miss Clarence,’ Ronnie explained.
‘You must have been upset at leaving your mum and dad,’ Sarah said. ‘And your parents must have been distraught at seeing you go. I can’t bear to think of having to let Anthony go far away from me.’
‘They had no choice,’ Ronnie replied, his eyes filling with tears. ‘I can see that now, but at the time I remember wondering why my baby sisters could stay and Tilly and I couldn’t. Now it’syour turn. So, you weren’t born on the Isle either. What brought you here, then?’
‘I came to find work. There was a lot of unemployment in Wales and I needed to find a job to support Anthony and myself. I wrote to my aunt Joan — she lives with her sister, May, not far from here. They told me that their neighbour works at the docks and there were always vacancies for women to work in the canteens and in the components factory. I didn’t fancy factory work, so I went for a job at one of the canteens and got it. When I got back on my feet, I found this place and Anthony and I moved in.’
‘Wouldn’t you have been better off staying with your aunties?’ Ronnie asked.
‘They are both so kind and wouldn’t ever have asked me to leave, but the house is small and a young child, even a reasonably quiet one like Anthony, can be quite exhausting. Aunt Joan is still fit, but May, is not in the best of health. So, as soon as I could I moved here. I couldn’t have managed it without a bit of financial help from them, though. I owe them a lot,’ Sarah replied.
‘Forgive me for asking, but Anthony’s father, what happened to him?’ Ronnie asked.
Sarah felt her heart leap. She couldn’t answer him right away. What would he think of her?
‘We’re separated. It’s a long story, Ronnie,’ she eventually said. ‘I will tell you sometime. We weren’t getting on. It was best for all of us, including Anthony.’
Ronnie decided not to press her any further. She would tell him in her own good time.
They talked on through the afternoon, gradually revealing a little more about themselves to each other. When they’d finished their tea, Sarah stood to remove the tea tray. She loaded it with the cups, saucers and plates, and bent to lift it.
