Free Dream a Little Dream by Joan Jonker Page A

– his clothes, fobwatch, cuff links, tie-pin and the huge black saloon car standing outside her house which the neighbours must wonder about but never mentioned. She couldn’t buy him anything that would compare with what he already had. ‘Don’t think I’m feeling sorry for myself, Robert, but any gift I gave you would have to come from Woolworth’s.’
    ‘I’ve told you many tales about our housekeeper, Agnes, so as you seem to think I’m a snob, I’ll answer you as she would. “I don’t care if it’s a bleedin’ penny whistle, sunshine, it’s still a gift. And if it’s not good enough for yer – well, that’s too bleedin’ bad. Yer can sod off and yer’ll get bugger all in future”.’
    Maureen’s head fell back and she roared with laughter. ‘How I would love to meet Agnes, she sounds a treasure.’
    ‘She is that! Dead funny and as straight as they come. Her and Abbie are the two people who make life worth living. Anyway, back to the subject in hand. I know what I would like from you, my dear. It wouldn’t be too expensive and it’s something I would use every day.’
    ‘And that is?’
    ‘A cigar clipper.’
    ‘But you’ve already got one. You don’t need two, surely?’
    ‘I want one that has been given to me by your fair hand. It will go with me everywhere and you will be constantly in my thoughts.’
    ‘If that is what you want, but I warn you it will not be as good as the one you have. And for that reason I don’t want you buying me anything expensive, otherwise you will embarrass me.’
    ‘That is one thing I will not go along with, Maureen. And before you argue, please listen to my side. Every time I come here you have a meal ready for me. I have offered to bring groceries with me to help out, but you stubbornly refuse. So while it is all right for you to give to me, I am not allowed to give to you. Is that fair?’
    ‘Good heavens, Robert, I’d be a poor one if I couldn’t give you a meal. I’d be cooking for myself anyway, so a little extra makes hardly any difference.’
    ‘I wonder why I don’t believe you? Can you honestly say you would buy gammon for yourself, rather than streaky bacon?’
    Maureen tried to keep her face straight but it didn’t come off. ‘Oh, all right, you win. But don’t you dare buy me anything too expensive.’
    ‘We’ll see, my dear, we’ll see. Now how about you making our cup of tea, then we can sit holding hands while we have a cosy chat. You can tell me everything you’ve been up to since I last saw you.’
    ‘That should take all of two minutes, Robert, because as you well know, I lead a very uneventful life. Of course I could invent something to keep you amused, but I’d need time to do that and there isn’t enough now. However, if I put my mind to it in the next four weeks, I’m sure my imagination can come up with a few incidents to keep you happy.’ She smiled and pinched his cheek then went to pick up the kettle. ‘I’ll leave the washing-up until you’ve gone; it’ll give me something to do.’
    When Maureen came through carrying two steaming cups of tea, Robert was sitting on the couch looking very much at home. He patted the space beside him and said, ‘Leave the cups on the table and come and sit next to me. We only have a little time left, let’s not waste it.’ When she was seated, he put an arm across her shoulders and pulled her close. ‘Now I am happy. You chase away my cares, my darling Maureen, and if I had one wish, it would be for you to play a bigger part in my life.’
    Her head resting on his shoulder, Maureen looked up at him. ‘It isn’t possible, so let’s be grateful for what we have.’
    ‘If it were possible, would you come to me?’
    ‘Yes, I would. But wishes and dreams are not going to make it happen, Robert. You have a wife, even if it is in name only. And I am not a marriage-breaker, although there are many who would see me as a scarlet woman. But I honestly believe we are doing no