In her efforts to see Maisie better herself, she had been responsible for the mess that was now unfolding before her

Sandra Savage

Chrissie whispered to Maisie: “I’ll come for you tomorrow, around 10 o’clock.” The girls crept to the front door, as Chrissie added: “By then, I’ll know how Kenny is and where you stand with him.” She took a deep breath: “And I just hope Tommy forgives me for leading him on.”

“I’m glad you’ve decided that Rab’s the man for you,” whispered Maisie, tearfully. “I just wish I’d realised Kenny was truly the only man for me.”

The girls hugged. “See you tomorrow,” Chrissie said softly, “and Maisie, don’t worry. Everything will be all right.”

It was almost 9 o’clock that same night when there was another knock at the Dalton’s door. “I’ll get it,” said Grace Dalton. “The news will be on in a minute and I know you won’t want to miss it.”

The tall figure of a soldier met her eyes. “Yes?” she asked. Kenny saluted her. “I’m Kenny Wilson,” he said briskly, “and I need to speak to you.”

Grace Dalton wasn’t sure if she wanted to speak to the young man. However, when he said that he was a friend of Chrissie and Maisie, she decided to let him come in.

Determination

Like Rab, this was the first time Kenny had been in Chrissie’s house and he too couldn’t help but notice how neat and well-kept everything was.

He followed Grace Dalton into the kitchen and waited until she’d put the kettle on and indicated for him to sit down. Kenny clenched his hands around his folded T.A. cap.

“It’s about a man called Ian Brown,” he began. “He says he knows you.”

Grace Dalton eyed Kenny questioningly. “He may do,” she said, trying to fit together the pieces of the jigsaw that was Maisie and Christmas Day.

“I’ll get right to the point,” Kenny continued. “Maisie’s my girl, you see, and this Ian Brown has been chasing after her while I was at the T.A. camp.”

“Your girl?” queried Grace, in surprise. “I’m sorry but I didn’t know Maisie had a boyfriend.”

“Well, she does,” Kenny said determination in his voice, “and that’s me.”

The electric kettle clicked off and Grace crossed to the worktop to make the tea, glad of the distraction.

Maisie had never mentioned a boyfriend to her or she would never have agreed to Ian Brown calling for her on Christmas Day.

She thought she was doing Maisie a favour and was quite hurt to discover that her daughter’s friend had another man all along.

Maisie was a “two-timer” Grace realised and in her efforts to see Maisie better herself, she had been responsible for the mess that was now unfolding before her.

She poured the tea and sipped it thoughtfully. Ian Brown would have given Maisie a better life, she could see that as clearly as she saw her own life, but now that this soldier was sitting in front of her, she wondered if she had been wrong to push Maisie towards Ian.

“I’m sorry, Kenny,” she said. “If I’d known you were Maisie’s boyfriend, I wouldn’t have interfered.”

Straightforward

It was time for Grace to lay her cards on the table. “Maisie’s been trying to build a better life for herself for a while now,” she began, “and she was managing quite well, but when Ian Brown came on the scene, it was me who saw a chance for her to really find a better way to live – like I’ve done with my marriage to Mr Dalton.”

Grace indicated the pristine kitchen bristling with chrome and red Formica surfaces.

“But it was all too much for Maisie and now that I’ve met you, I can see that arranging for Ian to come here on Christmas Day, to try to persuade her to fall for him, was wrong of me.

“So don’t blame Maisie for what happened. It was me who tried to be a ‘match-maker’ and...”

Kenny held his hand up. “Thanks for being honest, Mrs Dalton,” he said, returning his cap to his head. “You’ve cleared a few things up for me, so I won’t be troubling you again.”

“It’s no trouble,” Grace said, appreciating his straightforward manner.

No wonder Maisie loved him, she thought, he may not have had the privileges that Ian Brown had but he was his own man and proud of it.

At 10 o’clock on Hogmanay morning, Maisie and Chrissie set off to meet Tommy Murphy. It was plain that Chrissie was anxious about the meeting and Maisie didn’t want to upset her friend any further by asking about Kenny. It would have to wait until all this was over.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Maisie asked as the girls stood at the corner of Trades Lane and Dock Street.

Chrissie was tight-lipped and just shook her head. Maisie had never seen her so nervous and wondered if she was regretting her decision to settle for Rab.

“There he is,” Chrissie whispered, clutching Maisie’s arm. “I won’t be long,” she added, stepping off the pavement and making a beeline for Tommy.

Chrissie’s heart was thudding in her chest. Seeing Tommy again would confirm her decision to be with Rab, but what if all the desire she’d once felt for Tommy returned.

As he drew nearer, Chrissie felt a stab of confusion. He looked different, very different.

“Chrissie,” he called out running towards her, “you’ve come!”

Doubts

He threw his arms around her and went to kiss her, but she pulled back. “What’s happened to you?” Chrissie asked gazing at his head.

“Oh, this” Tommy said, running his fingers through his spiky blonde hair. “Me and the lads had a few things done when we docked in Thailand. “Don’t you like it?”

“And what’s this?” Chrissie asked, pointing to a gold ear ring looped through his left ear. Tommy fingered the ring. “It means I’m available,” he said, winking, “and there’s this,” he grinned, lifting his navy jumper to reveal the tattoo of an eagle on his chest.

If Chrissie had any doubts about choosing Rab Skelly, the sight of Tommy Murphy done up like a dog’s dinner put paid to them.

“I only came to give you this,” Chrissie said coolly, handing Tommy the silver bracelet “and to say we won’t be meeting again. Ever.”

Tommy took the bracelet and slipped it into his pocket. After he had written to Chrissie asking her to meet him, his ship had docked at a port in Thailand.

More tomorrow.