Colleen had recently missed a period and was beside herself with worry that she could be expecting her fourth child, an unaffordable addition to the family.
Colleen’s widowed mother’s arthritic hands were already full looking after her three boisterous under-school age kids while she was at work, let alone a baby on top of that. Colleen had no choice but to work as her husband didn’t earn much from his semi-skilled job for an engineering company, and there were rumours going around already that due to the dreadful recession the order books were about empty, no new ones in the offing, and very soon it looked as if workers would be laid off there. Colleen lay awake at night praying her husband wouldn’t be one of them and that she herself wasn’t pregnant.
Now Aidy shook her head. ‘I don’t want the news about me and Arch becoming common knowledge yet, Col. I just couldn’t cope with the gossip. You haven’t told anyone, have you?’
‘No, ’course not. You know your secrets are safe with me. Always have been, ever since we’ve known each other. You’re lucky to have kept it quiet this long, though, Aidy. I’m surprised no one who knows you both has asked why you’re living in separate houses.’
‘I can’t speak for Arch, of course, but in my case it’s because I’ve fobbed off busybodies who’ve asked me by saying that it’s just a temporary situation, while we sort out matters after my mam’s death.’
Colleen looked genuinely aggrieved when she said, ‘It’s such a shame about you and Arch. If ever I thought a couple would last forever, it was you two. Never argued like me and my old man do, constantly, about anything. Got no kids driving yer both crazy, and the worry of … well, you know … what I’m worrying about might be on the way, and that yer old man might be in line for losing his job.’
Aidy sighed. ‘Could you forget and forgive Bernie for wanting to hand your defenceless family over to the care of their bastard of a father, subject them to lives of purgatory, just to save himself the bother?’
‘Listen here, gel. I could forgive anything from my old man sooner than him put me in the position you’re in. Having the worries you’re having to cope with …’
‘Well, I’d sooner have those worries, Col, and know my family are happy. And I’ll have more to worry about if I don’t get back to work! Hardwick has just given me my last warning and I know she meant business.’
Try as she might, though, after the mention of him, Aidy couldn’t get Arch from her mind. Their marriage was over and she had been the one to end it because she had discovered traits in his character she could not live with, but that didn’t mean she was over the man she had known before that side of him had shown itself to her. It would all take time. In a way, it was a good thing she had so much else to keep her mind occupied or the loss of him would have overwhelmed her.
The time until dinner hour seemed to drag on, and by the time it came Aidy still hadn’t caught up with her quota. It was a hot August day, a relentless sun blazing down from a cloudless sky, and the stuffy, airless atmosphere inside the factory had done nothing to boost her energy levels. In fact, it did the opposite, made her more tired and listless. She prayed the fresh air she’d get while she raced around completing her dinner-hour tasks would help to blow away at least some of her fatigue and she’d manage to put in a better performance this afternoon. She would try and get to bed earlier tonight, hope for once she had a good sleep, wake refreshed, and for the first time since she had returned to work after her mother died, achieve what was expected of her. She had to. Her forewoman had left her in no doubt what would happen to her if she didn’t.
Aidy had no grocery shopping to do today as Betty was under instructions to collect fresh milk from the local shop on returning home from school. For dinner that evening they were having vegetable soup and bread. The soup just needed heating. Making her own bread each evening for next day was hard work and time-consuming, but cheaper than buying shop-bought. But having no shopping to do