A Reunion at Mulberry Lane. Rosie Clarke

up. Maureen and her husband owned the grocer’s shop on the corner and since the end of the war it had become busier and busier, because a lot of people made it their local these days. ‘How are you?’

      ‘I’m fine,’ Rose said cheerfully, hiding her inner doubts and anxiety. ‘Except, poor Jackie has the runs. I’ve just fetched some medicine for him, so hopefully it will clear up now…’

      ‘I expect it will,’ Maureen said reassuringly. ‘Children go through phases when they’re little. Upset tummies and sickness can be awful for a few days and then over in an instant, at least I’ve found it so. Did you take him to the doctor?’

      ‘Yes, but I saw a nurse. She prescribed something, so I went to the chemist on my way home.’ She showed Maureen the milky white liquid in the thick glass bottle and Maureen nodded.

      ‘Yes, that’s a soothing mixture and I give my children a spoonful if it’s just an upset tummy and a bit of looseness, but if Jackie gets hot or a rash develops take him straight to the doctor, Rose. It’s always best…’

      Rose nodded her agreement. ‘Yes, I shall,’ she said. ‘I’ve let Sheila know I’m not available for a couple of days. I’ve had extra washing and I need to be around for Jackie. Tom works hard and he doesn’t need to cope with a crying child when he gets home.’

      ‘No, I agree.’ Maureen smiled ruefully. ‘We can only do what we can, Rose. Children are up and down at the best of times, but we wouldn’t be without them.’

      ‘No, I suppose not,’ Rose said and smothered a sigh. ‘I’m thinking of taking Jackie to a nursery school for a couple of hours in the mornings next year. I suppose I shall have more time to myself then. At the moment he follows me about the house and wants to help all the time, but he gets in the way…’

      ‘Bless him.’ Maureen laughed. ‘Gordy was just the same until he started school and then he was suddenly independent and more interested in his dad than me…’

      ‘Jenny adores Tom, she always has,’ Rose replied. ‘He has been wonderful with her, Maureen. He couldn’t have been better if…’ She bit back the words, though she had no need to because Maureen knew the truth about Jenny’s birth. However, they hadn’t told Jenny, though Rose agonised over the decision to withhold the truth because she knew that it was likely someone could discover their secret, and another child might tell Jenny that Tom wasn’t her real daddy. Rose had asked him if he wanted her told the truth, but Tom was dead against it.

      ‘She is my daughter in every way but one,’ he’d said and there was a hurt look in his eyes that made Rose feel like hell. ‘If it happens, Rose, I’ll just tell her whoever said it is jealous and that I am her daddy.’

      Rose had let him have his way. She was grateful for the manner in which he showered love on her and the children and would never willingly hurt him.

      ‘Are you coming to the church bazaar on Friday afternoon?’ Maureen asked, interrupting her thoughts. ‘I gave them some of Gran’s old things when they came collecting – if I don’t see anything else, I’ll buy her glass dressing table pots back again…’

      ‘Oh, I love the church sales,’ Rose said. ‘I’ve found lots of bargains there. Last time, I bought a set of silver spoons for a shilling!’ She made a wry face. ‘Not sure I can go, though – unless Jackie is better…’

      ‘I’m sure he will be,’ Maureen said, then: ‘those spoons were a bargain; I love a bit of silver to use for special occasions. I know it needs cleaning, but Gordon bought me a beautiful tea set for our wedding anniversary and I enjoy keeping it bright and clean.’

      ‘Have you used it?’

      ‘Yes, on Sundays, and when I have guests…’ Maureen hesitated. ‘Speaking of which, I’ve written to Peggy asking her if she can come up to town this Christmas. I know how busy she is, but it would be lovely to see her here – and she has so many friends who ask after her.’

      ‘All the time,’ Rose agreed. ‘I like Peggy. She was good to me when I first arrived in London. If she hadn’t given me a job, I might not be here now.’

      They chatted for a few minutes and then Maureen walked off in the direction of the pub.

      Rose took Jackie home to the small terrace house they rented across the road from Tom’s office and workshop. She went straight upstairs to change her son, because a dirty nappy could cause a sore bottom and she was a good mother, even if she had a few failings as a wife.

      Rose thought about her marriage. She couldn’t grumble really, because she was better off than many wives in the lanes. Tom always gave her money for whatever she needed for the housekeeping and the children, and Rose was able to spend the few pounds she earned with her part-time work on whatever she wanted. He also spent time and money on making their home nice. At first, they’d lived over the office, but then he’d decided they needed a house and when one had come up for rent, he’d applied and taken it on.

      ‘I suppose I might just manage to buy a house,’ he’d told Rose when they moved into their rented property. He’d decorated and spruced it up for her and she was content enough living there. ‘I want to wait a bit, though, because if anything happened to affect trade, I might not be able to afford to repay the loan…’

      ‘This is fine for me, Tom,’ Rose had assured him. She’d been feeling content that day and she did like her house. Tom had made it really smart for them and she appreciated what he did. Even though at times the doubts came to her mind, she had to be grateful for what she had now.

      It took her a few minutes to clean Jackie up, dress him in fresh things and give him some of the medicine. He cried until she’d finished and then laughed up at her from his playpen. He looked better lying on his blanket playing with a toy car and Rose knew that once he was over the upset tummy, he would soon be out of nappies altogether, running everywhere and getting into mischief. He’d taken a little longer to train to the potty than Jenny, but until he got the runs he had nearly been there. Rose was pretty sure it was just a case of an upset tummy and not something worse. He was already looking better after just one dose of his medicine. The nurse had told her he might. So, it wasn’t the measles or chicken pox and she could stop worrying, just as the nurse had told her.

      ‘Sometimes you need a few doses to settle them down, but others are soon over the worst,’ she’d said. Rose hadn’t believed her, but now she saw that she’d known what she was talking about.

      Perhaps she would be able to go to the church sale on Friday after all.

      Tom entered the house at a quarter to six and heard the sound of Jenny crying. In the background was the hit comedy radio show from Richard Murdoch and Kenneth Horne, Much Binding in the Marsh, but the child’s crying drowned out the sound of the witty jokes. Rose must be trying to get Jenny to bed, and if he knew his Jenny, she wouldn’t go quietly, not if her daddy hadn’t been home to kiss her and wish her sweet dreams. Nearly five years old and with a will of her own, she wasn’t an easy child to control and sometimes got overtired at her preparatory school, but he adored her whatever she did.

      As he went into the kitchen, Tom saw Jenny was in one of her tantrums. She was stamping her feet and pulling at her mother’s skirts as Rose attempted to wash her face and hands with a wet flannel.

      ‘No! Don’t want to go,’ Jenny screamed and then caught sight of Tom. Giving a shriek of delight, she avoided her mother’s clutches and rushed at him, clinging to his legs and sobbing. ‘Daddy…’

      ‘Yes, Daddy is home,’ Tom said and bent down to sweep her up in his arms. He smiled and kissed her wet cheeks and, as if by magic, the tears stopped and she flung her arms about his neck, her wet jam-sticky mouth kissing his face. ‘What is wrong with my little princess?’ His eyes moved to Rose over her head and she shook hers at him.

      ‘I was just trying to get her to bed,’ Rose said. ‘She didn’t