We Are the Beaker Girls Page 3

  Mum stared at me. ‘No, it wasn’t!’ she said.

  I knew Mum well enough to see that she was telling the truth. I felt limp with relief. ‘So who was it then?’ I asked as we got into bed.

  ‘If you must know, I was just having a quick catch-up with Cam,’ said Mum, and switched off the light.

  Cam! I was the one who used to phone Cam when we were living with Sean Godfrey. I still wanted to phone her now, but Mum said we should give her a bit of space and not keep pestering her now that Mary was round her place most of the time.

  ‘How come you get to phone Cam and I can’t?’ I asked.

  ‘Because I wanted to have a little chat, OK?’

  ‘What about? Me?’

  ‘Yes, you. And me. And whether we’ve done the right thing coming here. I just wish she was here so we could have a hug, that’s all,’ said Mum. ‘I miss her.’

  ‘Oh, I miss her too, Mum! Here, I’ll give you a hug!’

  We had a great big hug, and it was lovely being friends again. Then we settled down to sleep, curled up together. I felt for Woofer because I still liked to snuffle into his soft fur in the night. I felt the pillow. I felt under the pillow. I felt under the blankets. I leaned out and felt the floor.

  ‘What are you doing, Jess?’ Mum murmured.

  ‘I can’t find Woofer!’

  ‘Oh, for pity’s sake!’ She snapped on the light. We both looked. And looked some more.

  ‘He’s not here!’ I said.

  ‘Well, he’s hardly taken himself off for a walk down to the beach,’ said Mum. ‘Think where you had him last.’

  ‘It was just now, when I was at the window,’ I said. Then, ‘Oh no!’

  I jumped out of bed, ran to the window and peered out. I could just make out a pale crumpled heap on the pavement.

  ‘Woofer!’ I wailed. ‘Oh, Mum, he must have fallen out when I opened the window.’

  ‘There! I told you not to lean out like that,’ she said. ‘What are you doing?’

  I was scuttling around trying to find my jeans and T-shirt. ‘I’ve got to go and rescue him!’

  ‘He’ll be all right till morning. No one in their right mind would want to take him. He looks very scruffy and old,’ said Mum, but she’d already swung her legs out of bed. ‘OK, get back into bed, Jess. I’m not having you blundering about in the dark. You know how raucous some of the lads get when they come out the pub and head off for a curry. I’ll go and get him.’

  ‘What if they’re raucous with you?’ I asked.

  ‘I’d like to see any of them try it on with me,’ said Mum, practising one of her kick-boxing moves to demonstrate how she’d deal with them. ‘Now, don’t open the window again to watch, or you’ll end up on the pavement.’

  I lay obediently in bed. I heard Mum unbolt the shop door and open it. All she had to do was dash out, grab Woofer and come back. It should have taken ten seconds tops. I waited, counting. I got to a minute, and I still hadn’t heard the door shut downstairs.

  Couldn’t Mum find Woofer in the dark? Had someone already taken him? I thought of the big boy in the baseball cap and how quickly he’d snatched my ice cream. He could be off with him in a trice – and then he’d chuck him in a wheelie bin or even throw him in the sea. Maybe he was with a group of other silly louts who’d use him as a football just for a laugh. I wasn’t a baby any more. I knew perfectly well that Woofer wasn’t real. There was no brain inside his balding head, no nerves in his floppy arms and legs, no heart inside his small chest.

  Yet I could picture him crying in the bottom of a dark bin, bobbing desperately in the choppy sea, or flying through the air, ears flapping wildly.

  I shot out of bed and ran to the window. I couldn’t see him! I couldn’t see Mum either – but I could hear the buzz of her voice. She must have been standing in the shop doorway – and I could just about make out the shape of someone standing close to her, talking too.

  Sean Godfrey had tracked us down! I opened the window just a crack to hear better. It was a man’s voice – but not Sean’s. This was a gentler voice, cheery, and somehow vaguely familiar. Then I heard a little bark. Alfie heard it too and lifted his head, woofing back in a friendly fashion as if he knew who it was.

  I was so tempted to open the window further and lean out so I could see properly, but I didn’t quite dare. Then I heard Mum say goodbye, and the shop door opened and closed again, and her light steps were coming up the stairs. I shut the window quickly and jumped back into bed.

  ‘Mum? Did you find him?’

  ‘Shh! And you shh too, Alfie. Go to sleep, both of you!’ Mum said. ‘I’ve got Woofer safe, Jess.’

  ‘Can I have him?’

  ‘No, I’d better pop him in the washing machine tomorrow. He might be all germy from the pavement.’

  ‘I don’t mind,’ I said. ‘Alfie sometimes lies on the pavement but I still cuddle him.’

  ‘Woofer’s being washed and that’s final,’ said Mum, getting back into bed. ‘It’s nippy out there, even though it’s summer. Come here and give me a cuddle to warm me up.’

  ‘Who were you talking to? He didn’t sound raucous,’ I said.

  ‘Bill couldn’t be raucous if he tried,’ said Mum.

  ‘Bill the bacon-roll man? Oh, so it was Gladys barking outside! Was he going for a curry?’

  ‘Just collecting a takeaway on his way home from taking Gladys for a walk,’ said Mum. ‘He hadn’t bothered with supper earlier.’

  ‘Why didn’t he make himself a yummy bacon roll?’

  ‘I expect he gets a bit fed up with rolls, selling them every day.’

  ‘Doesn’t he have a Mrs Bill to make him a proper supper?’

  ‘I don’t know. I don’t think so.’

  ‘I think Bill sounds a bit lonely,’ I said.

  ‘He’s got Gladys for company.’

  ‘Yes, and she’s lovely, but she’s hardly going to put her apron on, stand on her hind legs on a chair, make Bill spaghetti bolognese and then watch a box set with him, is she?’ I said, giggling as I pictured it.

  ‘Shh! Settle down now and go to sleep,’ said Mum.

  ‘But I’m wide awake now. Poor Bill. You should have invited him in for a coffee, Mum,’ I suggested.

  ‘In my pyjamas? Oh my God, I’ve been chatting to him for ten minutes in my pyjamas!’

  ‘But they cover you up just as much as a tracksuit.’

  ‘Even so! I shall feel such a fool when I next see him,’ said Mum. ‘I hope he won’t tell all his mates.’

  ‘He isn’t that sort of guy,’ I told her.

  ‘Oh yeah, Miss Jess Beaker the world authority on men?’ said Mum.

  ‘Well, I knew Sean Godfrey couldn’t be trusted,’ I said, and then immediately regretted it. ‘Oh, Mum, I’m sorry.’

  ‘It’s OK,’ she said, but she turned over and curled up tight.

  ‘You don’t … miss him, do you?’ I asked in a tiny voice.

  ‘Not at all,’ she said, but she didn’t sound very sure.

  We stopped chatting then, though I don’t think either of us got to sleep for ages. I tried to console myself by thinking that at least we’d never have to see Sean Godfrey again. Mum would soon forget all about him.

  However, it turned out we were going to see him the very next week. Sean Godfrey really did phone Mum. We were all in the shop, Flo and Mum and Alfie and me, singing along to this funny old Elvis song Mum was playing on the Dansette record player. Alfie truly was singing too, yowling happily, which was very appropriate because the song was all about a ‘hound dog’.

  Mum’s mobile rang and she took it out of her jeans pocket, still dancing. She checked the caller number, looked puzzled, and answered a little warily.

  ‘Hi, who’s this?’ she asked. Then her face screwed up as he answered. ‘Oh, very clever. So you’ve got another new phone. Well, you can buy all the phones in the Apple Store, I’m still not talking. Bye.’

  But then he was saying something else and Mum was still
listening.

  ‘Mum! Switch him off!’ I said, and I went up and tried to grab the phone out of her hand. ‘I’ll do it!’

  She stepped backwards, waving me away. ‘No, wait a minute, Jess,’ she said.

  I had to wait. I sat down on the sofa beside Flo. She took up all the space, but I have a very small bottom so I could just about perch.

  She reached out and held my hand. ‘It’s him, isn’t it? The footballer chappie, your mum’s ex?’ she whispered.

  I nodded.

  Flo’s hand tightened on mine. Elvis and his hound dog blared from the Dansette, bizarrely jolly. We sat watching Mum. She turned her back on both of us, concentrating on what Sean Godfrey was saying.

  ‘Do you think she’ll go back to him?’ Flo whispered. She sounded as worried as me. We’d made such a difference to her life, and she said the shop was doing really well. She’d be devastated if we walked out on her now. She wouldn’t be able to manage on her own.

  I wouldn’t be able to manage, full stop. I loved my new life. I didn’t miss anything about living with Sean Godfrey. I didn’t even care about not having the swimming pool, not when I had the whole sea to wade into any time I fancied.

  Alfie didn’t know what was going on. He’d never understood mobile phones and didn’t get it when people suddenly became absorbed and talked to someone who wasn’t there – but he sensed that Flo and I were worried. He trotted over and jumped up onto my lap, licking me lovingly. I realized I had tears rolling down my cheeks.

  Mum suddenly turned round and held out the phone.

  ‘No! I don’t want to talk to Sean Godfrey!’ I gabbled.

  ‘It’s not him,’ she said.

  ‘Of course it is!’ I was shocked that Mum would tell such a stupid fib.

  But when she forced the phone to my ear I realized she was telling the truth.

  ‘Hi, Jess. It’s me. Tyrone. Your mate,’ said the voice.

  ‘Oh goodness! I thought you were Sean Godfrey!’ I said.

  ‘Yeah, well, he’s here, and he was talking to your mum, but now he’s put me on the phone. I wanted to talk to you.’

  ‘Yes?’ I said.

  ‘Yes,’ he said, but he didn’t say anything else.

  I waited several seconds. I could hear him breathing. ‘Are you OK, Tyrone?’ I asked.

  ‘No, I’m not,’ he said. ‘I thought you was going to invite me over to your new place.’

  ‘Yes, well, you must come,’ I said awkwardly. I felt bad. Our friend Marina and her girls Ava and Alice had visited us a couple of Saturdays ago. I’d been so looking forward to seeing Alice – she’d been my best friend once – but she’d spent the whole time chatting about her new school friend, Natasha. Natasha was even visiting their house in France during the summer holidays. Mum and I had never been invited, though we’d have jumped at the chance.

  Ava was just the same, showing off her brand-new hairstyle and her brand-new jacket and her brand-new boots. She had a brand-new phone too, and kept messaging her friends on it, even when we were talking.

  Marina was ultra polite and kept saying everything was marvellous, and she made a great fuss of Flo and said privately to Mum and me that she thought she was a total darling – but it was obvious she didn’t really think that at all. She insisted that the shop was amazing, but from the way she looked around you could tell she thought it was a load of old junk, even with Mum’s brilliant displays.

  Mum had made a special cake and they all said it was delicious, and it was, and then we left Flo in charge of the shop while we took them for a walk round Cooksea. It was a drab, drizzly sort of day, and somehow our lovely seaside seemed drab too, the pier falling to bits and the amusement arcade tacky and some of the shops boarded up.

  ‘Well, I think we’d better be making tracks now. Don’t want to get caught up in the rush hour! It’s been absolutely lovely,’ said Marina. ‘Promise we’ll stay in touch.’

  She wasn’t acting like she wanted to stay in touch at all. I didn’t want to stay in touch with her either, or Ava, or even Alice. They belonged in our old life.

  I suppose I’d wanted Tyrone to stay in our old life too. But now here he was, breathing in my ear, wondering why I hadn’t invited him down.

  ‘You should come and visit, Tyrone,’ I said lamely.

  ‘Yeah, but how?’

  ‘Well, could you get the train?’

  ‘I don’t know where to go. I’ve never actually been on a train before. My mum won’t take me. And catch her coughing up the fare even if she had it,’ said Tyrone. ‘But Sean Godfrey says he’ll bring me. In the Porsche! Please say yes, Jess.’

  ‘No! We don’t want Sean Godfrey back in our lives,’ I said loudly, hoping he could hear me. ‘We’re doing just fine without him.’

  ‘Please,’ said Tyrone, and his voice cracked. He was the toughest boy at Duke Primary but it sounded almost as if he was crying.

  It was awful. I felt so sorry for him. He had a horrid mean mum and never had any fun – at home or anywhere else. The only person who showed an interest in him now was actually Sean Godfrey. But we never wanted to see him again. Never ever ever.

  MUM GAVE IN. I couldn’t believe it.

  ‘You’re mad, Mum! I bet Sean Godfrey put Tyrone up to it! Look, we could have found someone else to bring him down. Cam and Mary would give him a lift next time they come to see us.’

  ‘Yes, well, I didn’t think of it. And I didn’t give Sean our address. I’ve said we’ll meet them at the ice-cream van on the esplanade. Sean can clear off and do his own thing while Tyrone comes to our place,’ said Mum.

  ‘That’s just plain daft! He’ll follow us!’ I said.

  ‘Well, what if he does? For goodness’ sake, Jess, we can’t hide from him for ever.’

  ‘Yes we can.’

  ‘You’re such an unforgiving little kid. People think it’s cool to stay friends with your ex nowadays.’

  ‘That’s plain stupid! Are you going to be friends with Justine Littlewood too?’

  That shut her up. Justine Littlewood has always been Mum’s worst enemy, from the days when they both lived in the children’s home. She came slithering back into our lives when she heard that Mum had Sean Godfrey for her boyfriend. I was the one who found all her lovey-dovey messages on his phone. Mum wasn’t putting up with that. She wasn’t going to be two-timed by anyone, especially not Justine. We walked out. She didn’t love him any more. So what was she playing at now, saying that he could bring Tyrone here? Mum didn’t even like Tyrone because he’d once bullied me.

  Mum turned her back on me and put another old record on the Dansette. Elvis sang a song about a guy who always remembered his old sweetheart. Mum stopped the record abruptly, probably scratching it, and marched out of the shop.

  ‘Mum?’ I called.

  ‘I’d let her have a little walk by herself, Jess,’ said Flo. ‘She needs to get her head straight.’

  ‘You’re telling me. She’s so silly. How can she do this, Flo?’

  ‘Oh well. We can all be a little bit batty at times. Your mum’s clearly still got a soft spot for this footballer chap. Is he good looking? Does he have lovely eyes like Georgie Best? He was the football pin-up in my day. I’d have made a fool of myself over him if I’d ever had the opportunity!’

  ‘Did you ever make a fool of yourself over anyone else, Flo?’ I asked.

  ‘Course I did! I was forever falling in love, and always with the wrong sort of guy who let me down. And there was my old pal Arty in the background all the time, but I just took him for granted, treating him like a comfy old slipper. Then, when I was on my beam ends, he took me in and left me the shop in his will, bless him!’ Flo looked up and waved wistfully, as if Arty was on the ceiling, peering down at her.

  If Mum had to have any kind of boyfriend, I wished he could be a comfy old slipper. I thought about Bill, the bacon-roll guy. He’d be perfect. We could all live happily with Flo. Alfie already adored Gladys. I just had to get Mum to fall for Bil
l.

  Meanwhile I had to stop her falling back in love with Sean Godfrey. On Saturday she spent a suspiciously long time getting ready. She didn’t wear her red dress or anything obvious, but she spent ages trying on her three different pairs of jeans to see which was the most flattering. She tried nearly all her tops too, before fishing her stripy one out of the laundry basket.

  ‘Mum!’

  ‘It’s not really grubby. And it’s my favourite top,’ she said defensively.

  I wondered if Sean Godfrey had ever told her it was his favourite top.

  She wore her sparkly red canvas boots, with matching red lipstick, even though she hardly ever bothered with make-up nowadays.

  She’d told Sean Godfrey to be at the ice-cream van on the front around eleven. We were waiting there by quarter to, just in case. Mum kept peering this way and that, looking out for him and Tyrone. I peered too, wondering if the boy in the baseball cap was lurking nearby. I very much hoped he’d just been a day tripper – then I’d never see him again. My mouth watered as I stood beside the van. I longed for a cone with rainbow sprinkles.

  The ice-cream man saw me staring. He gestured at the cones and the ice-cream machine, his head on one side.

  ‘Mum, can I have an ice cream?’ I asked.

  ‘I suppose. And then we’ll buy one for Tyrone when he gets here,’ she said.

  ‘Great!’ I said, and ordered my sprinkly ice cream. ‘And are you having your strawberry-sauce special, Mum?’

  ‘No, I feel a bit sick,’ she said. ‘Like I’m going down with something.’

  She was very pale, and her red lipstick looked much too bright. She was shivering, though it was warm with just a light breeze. Perhaps she was lovesick.

  ‘Are you looking forward to seeing Sean Godfrey?’ I asked sternly.

  ‘No! I’m beginning to think I was a fool to go along with this mad idea. Oh, Jess, you don’t think he’ll bring Justine too, do you?’ Mum asked, giving me the money for my ice cream.