Free The Girl From Seaforth Sands by Katie Flynn

away from him as she spoke and Paddy, well used to putting two and two together where his mother was concerned, thought ruefully that it probably had something to do with the leg of mutton which Gran was even now slicing on to three tin plates. ‘Makes a nice change from fish,’ she remarked, as she saw her grandson looking at the meat. ‘Though fish like them you caught, what was swimmin’ in the briny an hour ago, are a rare treat an’ all,’ she ended hastily.
    Paddy carried his catch over to the sink and began to clean and gut them. ‘Shall you eat the fish now, Gran, and save the mutton for tomorrow?’ he asked tactfully. ‘Fish is best served fresh.’
    ‘No, its all right, I’ll wrap the fish in cabbage leaves and stick them on the cold slab; they’ll keep fine there until tomorrer,’ Gran said, continuing to slice mutton on to the plates. ‘The spuds is almost cooked and there’s a grand big cabbage steaming on the back of the fire, so the King ain’t the only one to be havin’ a coronation feast.’ She jerked her thumb at the door. ‘Go and tell your Aunt Dolly we’s about to eat. She’s rare fond of a bit of mutton, though she’ll have to cut it up terrible small to get it down, her not likin’ the new teeth they made for her up at the Brougham clinic. They cost her a pretty penny an’ all.’
    ‘What about me mam?’ Paddy asked, turning back as he reached the door. ‘Aren’t we waitin’ for her?’
    Gran, now draining the potatoes over the lowstone sink, shook her head. ‘You know what your mam is,’ she said resignedly. ‘She’ll be goin’ up and down the Scotty, poppin’ into all the pubs, tryin’ to get a bit of work. If she don’t get an offer she’ll be that down, she’ll mebbe take a drink or two to cheer her up, and if she does get a job she’ll take another drink or two to celebrate. I doubt she’ll be home before closing time.’
    Paddy, who knew very well how his mother would behave when either depressed or elated, nodded and went through to give a bang on Aunt Dolly’s door. ‘Grub up, Aunty Dot,’ he shouted cheerfully. ‘Me mam’s brought in a leg o’ mutton.’ There was an answering squeak from within the room and presently Aunt Dolly emerged and made a beeline for her place at table. She was a tiny, mouselike woman, bent into a ‘C’ by rheumatism, so that Paddy often thought that the heavy crucifix which hung on the rosary round her neck might easily trip her up. But despite her disabilities she liked her food. She watched keenly as Gran served potatoes and cabbage, then glanced round the room. ‘Where’s the gal?’ she demanded. ‘Ain’t she home yet?’
    ‘No, not yet, Aunty Dolly,’ Paddy said, since his gran was still serving the food. ‘She’s after a new job, Gran says.’
    Aunt Dolly gave a sniff and delved into the pocket of her shabby black skirt, producing a gleaming set of dentures, which she scrunched into her mouth before beginning to tackle the meal. ‘She’ll turn up again, like a bad penny,’ she mumbled through a mouthful of potato. ‘She’s no better than she should be, your mam.’
    ‘Mam’s all right,’ Paddy said defensively, beginning to eat his own food. The mutton was delicious. ‘She has to earn for all of us, Aunt Dolly, or we’d likely starve.’
    ‘Aye, but she thieved this ’ere mutton an’ well you know it,’ Aunt Dolly said. ‘She were never taught right from wrong. She was spoilt rotten as a kid.’
    Gran, beginning to eat her own meal, shot her older sister an accusing look. ‘If you’re so high and mighty, Dolly Pringle, you’d best not eat the mutton,’ she said. ‘Otherwise the sin’s on you as much as on our Suzie.’
    It was the right thing to say. Dolly gave her sister a malevolent glare, but she continued to eat the mutton, and presently Paddy told the old ladies about his day on the beach with the other kids and about Philip’s wonderful lunch basket. This turned the talk away