The Button Girls by Patricia McBride

Author:Patricia McBride [McBride, Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Boldwood Books

13

AFTERNOON TEA

‘Can I help you, sir? Miss?’ The nippy stood next to our table, her notebook at the ready, her uniform starched and correct. It was a good job she was slim, she had very little room to move between the crowded tables.

‘What do you fancy, Lily? Have anything you want,’ Dad said with a smile.

The J. Lyons cafe was crowded and the noise of so many people chatting and moving chairs was like a blanket blurring our voices. The air was full of the smell of coffee and food.

While we looked at the menu, he asked me about my work. I didn’t want to speak to him, but determined to try to be polite in case I was condemning him unfairly.

‘The shirt factory is pretty routine, although I’ve made friends there. I love the Dream Palace even if we do have to see the films in small segments.’

He nodded. ‘I thought you looked happy there… at least until you saw me. What else are you doing?’

‘I’m enjoying my studying. The Prof has been really helpful.’ I was reluctant to tell him anything else about my life. What right did he have to know when he’d never taken the least interest in me my whole life?

‘What have you been doing?’ I asked to get a change of subject.

He paused and looked away. ‘Well, you know I’ve moved here…’

‘But before that, what was happening in Coventry?’

‘Do you remember that supervisor, George Stebbings, I used to moan about?’

I nodded, we got a rant at least once a week about the man.

Dad’s jaw jutted. ‘He set me up.’

‘What do you mean, “set you up”?’

A pulse started to show in his forehead and he thumped his fist on the table. ‘He made it look like I’d been nicking stuff. Bastard!’

‘How did he do that then? What stuff? Were the police involved?’

He let out a long breath. ‘One question at a time, ay. It was some spare stuff at work, bits and pieces no one wanted, that would have ended up on the scrap heap.’

‘So you decided to save them the trouble.’

A broad smile made his eyes brighten. ‘That’s exactly it. If I hadn’t removed the unwanted stuff, they’d have had to have it carted away. Did them a favour.’

‘So you stole it?’

The smile vanished in a split second. ‘How can it be stealing if it was going to the scrapyard, anyway.’

I thought for a minute about all I’d heard about his workplace. ‘Don’t they get paid for their scrap?’

‘Pennies,’ he said, snorting at their stupidity. ‘Not worth the bother. And they didn’t need to get the police involved either.’

‘So you’re a convicted criminal, now?’

‘Nah, they dropped it, didn’t they? Not worth bothering with. Gave me the choice, leave or be charged. I was ready to get away from that George Stebbings, anyway. Move on to greater things.’

‘So you thought you’d try your luck here.’

Before he could answer, we saw the nippy approaching. ‘We’d better choose what we want.’

I decided to have the most expensive thing on the menu.

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