Free Lizzie of Langley Street by Carol Rivers

Vinnie snapped. ‘Look, I just told her to mind her own business. Now I’m tellin’ you to do the same.’
    ‘No problem,’ Danny said evenly. ‘I don’t think any of us want to know what was in them crates, Vin.’ The two men stared at one another, dislike in their eyes.
    ‘Ain’t it about time you were leavin’?’ Vinnie muttered.
    Danny nodded. ‘I’m going all right. I don’t intend to wear out me welcome.’
    Lizzie caught his sleeve. ‘Come on, Danny. I’ll see you out.’
    ‘Just you keep what you heard tonight to yerself, Flowers,’ Vinnie yelled after them.
    Lizzie quietly opened the front door. She was worried that her parents would hear. Outside in the street, the fog had cleared. A deep blue sky was full of stars and a white frost touched the
windows and roofs of the houses in Langley Street. Danny put his hands gently on her arms. ‘He’s right, you know. What he gets up to is his own affair and no one else’s. He
ain’t a kid any longer.’
    ‘But what if he’d been caught tonight with all that drink?’
    ‘There ain’t nothing you can do, gel. You probably don’t know the half of what’s goin’ on, either. At least there wasn’t no life lost in the fire.’ He
tipped up her chin. ‘You gonna be all right? Vinnie ain’t likely to cause you trouble?’
    She shook her head. ‘I just hope no one wakes up.’
    ‘Well, if you need me, you know where I am.’
    It was wonderful to be cared about, Lizzie thought as he took her in his arms. Under the starry sky he kissed her. It was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to her – like the
wings of a butterfly softly touching her lips.
    He grinned. ‘You can slap me face if you want.’
    She didn’t want to slap his face, she wanted to be kissed again. When his lips had touched hers, all her troubles had melted away.
    ‘See you up the market on Saturday?’
    She nodded. ‘Danny, thanks for everything.’
    ‘Better get a move on, or Benji’ll be frozen stiff, poor bugger.’
    She watched him hurry across the road to where the scruffy old grey horse stood. Benji raised his head as he saw Danny approach. In the silence of the night, Danny clicked his tongue as he
jumped up on the cart. Only the sound of Benji’s horseshoes rang out in the early hours of the winter morning.
    ‘What time did you two roll in last night?’ Kate Allen bawled at her sons the following morning.
    Bert and Vinnie sat at the breakfast table with long faces. Neither was speaking to the other. Kate knew there was something going on. But this morning she felt so queasy she realized she
didn’t want to know what. She had slept deeply and only woken once when she thought she’d heard voices. It must have been the boys coming in, she realized. Thank the Lord Tom
hadn’t woken.
    ‘Lost yer tongues have you?’ She wagged the bread knife at her sons. ‘Well, from now on if you both want to live down the pub and drink yerselves to death then go ahead, but
don’t think yer coming home to this house afterwards. From tonight onwards, that front door’s locked after ten. The string’s coming off and you’ll have to kip on the
doorstep.’ She looked hard at them both. ‘Understood?’
    Bert and Vinnie stared at their bread and dripping as if hypnotized.
    ‘Understood?’ she said again, louder.
    Her sons nodded slowly. As they ate their bread in silence, Kate made a vow to herself. Things were going to be different from now on. If the rest of the household could keep decent hours, then
so could these two lazy buggers.
    Bert and Vinnie ate their bread and drank their tea. They left the kitchen in silence. Not one word between them. Kate turned to Lizzie as they cleared the dishes. ‘What’s up with
them two?’
    ‘Dunno, Ma.’
    Kate raised her eyebrows. ‘Something’s up.’
    ‘They’ll be as right as rain tonight. Don’t think early mornings suit them.’
    ‘Well, they’ll have to get used to it,’ Kate said firmly. ‘If Flo