Catherine Cookson by The Man Who Cried

Author:The Man Who Cried
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2011-08-27T22:40:40+00:00

PART FOUR

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The Second Incident 1941

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1

”Where you going?” ’.

”You know fine well where I’m going, I’m going fire-watching.” ,;-

”Huh! fire-watching. Tell me, are you the only one that does fire-watching in this part of the town ? This must be the fourth time you’ve gone fire-watching this week.” Esther Burrows screwed up her white peevish face, turned on to her side in the bed and added,

”Fire-watching in that ? Why have a good frock on to go fire-watching? Now, who do you think you’re hoodwinking ? You’re off out, aren’t you, with some man or other? Or is it your little boy from next door? You should be ashamed of yourself ... a child like that ! I know what’s going on and I’m going to . . .”

”What are you going to do ?”

”I’m . . . I’m going to put a stop to it. I’m going to have her over here and tell her, or better still his father, and tell them that he’s never out of my kitchen. A boy still at school! You should be right down ashamed of your . . .”

”Shut up!”

”What! how dare you speak to me like that? It’s coming . . .”

”Yes, I dare; and it is coming to something, and it’s long overdue.” The tall young woman was leaning over the bottom rail of the bed, her arms spread wide gripping the rails, and the indignation that flooded her shook the whole bedstead as she cried, ”I’ve had enough! Do you hear? I’ve had enough. Now I’m going to give you an option. For the future you’ll leave me alone and let me lead some sort of a life of my own. I’ve waited on you hand and foot for years, the only freedom I’ve had has been during this last year when I was called upon to do part-time work. And you even tried

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to stop that, didn’t you ? You had to be looked after, hadn’t you ? Do you know what you are?” She leant still further over the rails. ”You’re nothing but a selfish bitch of a woman, you’re a parasite, and you’re a scheming crafty one into the bargain. Oh ... go on, hold your heart and have another one of your attacks but let me tell you before you decide to put on your act that you’ll lie there until morning because I’m not going to stay in to see to you. And I’ll tell you something else while I’m on, I’m carting no more jugs of hot water up those stairs for you. If you are able to get downstairs to the shelter, then you are able to come down to the bathroom. All these years I’ve trapesed up and down these stairs, washed you, dried you, powdered you. Oh Mother!” She ground out the word, then shook her head before going on, ”You wore my father out mentally and physically; well, it’s not too late to save myself, and so now I’m giving you an ultimatum.

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