The Boy I Love by Marion Husband

Author:Marion Husband
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Accent Press
Published: 2012-08-19T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

‘YOU GOING OUT, HETTY?’

Adjusting her hat in front of the hall mirror, Hetty turned to her father. ‘I’m going for a walk.’

‘Oh?’ Joe smiled. ‘Who with?’

‘No one.’

‘No one called Morgan?’

She turned back to the mirror, the ratty little face under the ugly cloche hat. Harshly she said, ‘I’m going for a walk, that’s all.’

Joe sat down on the stairs and took a bag of sherbet lemons from his pocket. Holding out the bag to her he said, ‘Here. Save me from eating all these myself.’

‘No, thanks.’

‘No?’ He returned the sweets to his pocket. ‘I’ll keep them for later then, when you get back.’ Looking at her he said, ‘Your Mam said you had to see to the major the other day?’

‘I didn’t see to him.’

‘Then what did you do?’

Talked, Hetty thought. Laughed and talked. She had never laughed so much with anyone. Sighing she said, ‘I sat with him, that’s all.’

‘And then you went for a walk in the park.’

She frowned at him. ‘How did you know?’

‘Mrs Carter saw you.’

‘Nosy old bag. What did she say?’

‘What was there to say?’

‘Nothing. We went for a walk, that’s all.’

‘I’ll tell you what she said.’ He took a sweet from its bag, contemplating it for a moment before popping it into his mouth.

‘She said you were laughing and joking and carrying on like bairns.’

‘We were feeding the ducks.’

‘Well, there’s no harm in that.’

‘Why shouldn’t he laugh and joke, anyway?’

‘No one’s saying he shouldn’t.’

‘I can just imagine her tut-tutting, all disapproving, thinking he should be in a home, out of sight so he doesn’t offend …’ She drew breath and Joe smiled at her.

‘Who does he offend?’

‘You know what I mean.’

Joe took the sweets out again. Shaking the bag a little he peered into it, selecting carefully. ‘He’s a handsome lad, though. What happened doesn’t stop him being a handsome lad.’ He looked up at her. ‘Are you going to see him now?’ She coloured and Joe exclaimed. ‘Oh, Hetty, don’t. Don’t. Don’t get involved. It’s all right your Mam doing her bit and helping out, she can take it.’

‘Take what?’

‘I don’t blame him for getting frustrated, any man would. But it’s bad enough your Mam having to put up with it. I don’t want him taking it out on you an’ all.’

‘He’s lonely.’

‘Is he? Well, that’s not your worry. And what about his brother? What does he have to say about it?’

She looked at her reflection. ‘He doesn’t say anything.’

Carefully Joe said, ‘Are you trying to make him jealous?’

‘No!’ She turned on him. ‘That would be a terrible thing to do.’

‘Yes. It would.’

Hetty laughed bleakly. ‘Nothing would make him jealous anyway. He looks right through me.’

‘Hetty …’ He sighed. ‘Have you thought about going back to Marshall’s? You liked it there.’

‘I like it where I am.’ She took her coat from the hook. ‘I’ll see you later.’

In the shop Patrick had said, ‘Mick enjoyed going to the park yesterday. Thank you for taking him out.’

‘It was no trouble.’

‘It was very kind of you.

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