Winter on the Mersey(60)

‘I bet you are,’ said Alfie approvingly. ‘Tell you what, I’d love to hear more about it. Why don’t you get in? We could go somewhere and you can tell me what you get up to. How about that?’

Tommy hesitated. He wasn’t at all sure spending time with Alfie would be a good idea. On the other hand, Kitty wouldn’t be back yet and he’d be kicking his heels around the house on his own, now that Danny had gone on his course down south. Alfie’s car would be warmer than the street as well. ‘All right,’ he said and climbed in.

‘I reckon that you’re a proper man now you’ve got a full-time job,’ Alfie said, slipping into gear. ‘We should go to the pub, celebrate you not being a boy any longer.’

‘What, the Sailor’s Rest?’ asked Tommy, his voice rising in alarm. He’d never been in a pub and knew Kitty would have a fit if she found out – and if they went to the pub at the end of Empire Street, it was a one hundred per cent certainty that she would.

‘No, no, we can do better than that,’ said Alfie, not mentioning the real reason he didn’t want to go there – he’d been banned ages ago, after the poisonous meat episode.

‘Bent Nose Jake’s, then?’ Tommy asked. That was the second-nearest pub, and he knew Danny used to go there, but he’d said it was a bit rough. When Danny said somewhere was a bit rough, it was definitely true. It took a lot to shock Danny. Tommy wasn’t sure it was a place he particularly wanted to go to.

‘Trust me, Tommy,’ said Alfie easily. ‘No, you don’t want to go down there. I know a new place so we can have a nice private word. No chance of anyone from Empire Street seeing you – that’s what’s on your mind, isn’t it?’

Tommy muttered but didn’t want to admit it out loud. He’d sound like a boy, no matter what Alfie said. He gazed out of the window as the ruined streets of Bootle went by, so many of the houses damaged or destroyed by the raids of the blitz.

Alfie pulled off the dock road and on to a side street, coming to a halt by a brick building with a newly painted sign outside. Tommy squinted at it but the breeze had got up and the sign swung too much for him to pick out what was on it. Alfie didn’t want to wait around. ‘Come on, Tom. Get your skates on. Sooner we get inside, the sooner we can have something to warm us up good and proper.’

Tommy leapt out and Alfie urged him inside. It was a dimly lit room, with a wooden counter in the corner, and a couple of mirrors that hung behind it over some shelves which held a few bottles. Tommy thought that for his first pub, it was a bit miserable. Still, Alfie was buying.

‘What’s your poison?’

Tommy hesitated. He knew he should say lemonade, but he could get that from Kitty. ‘I’ll have a beer,’ he said boldly.

‘Pint of your finest,’ said Alfie to the barman with a broad wink. The barman glared at him but made no comment about Tommy’s age. ‘Come to think of it, make it two.’

The barman grunted and slowly pulled two pints. Alfie picked up the glasses and carried them over to a table on the far side of the room, away from the big window at the front.

‘There you go, Tom. Get stuck in to that.’

Tommy sipped at the drink and had to stop himself from pulling a face. He’d snatched swigs of beer before, whenever there had been parties at home – the last time had been for little Ellen’s christening. He didn’t mind the stuff Danny got in bottles. This wasn’t as nice, it was bitter and smelt odd, but Alfie seemed to like it. He was smiling broadly, though Tommy couldn’t make out what he was so happy about.

Alfie began by cross-examining Tommy about every aspect of the job – the bike, the PT beforehand, the bosses, the other telegraph boys, what it was like to be the bearer of bad news. He seemed sympathetic enough, and Tommy began to grow more at ease. The beer was slipping down nicely. ‘Tom, what a thirst you have on you,’ Alfie observed. ‘Must be all that cycling around. I’ll get you another.’ He was back at the bar before Tommy could object. Never mind, it was warm in here, even if the floor was a bit sticky.

Alfie put the fresh pint in front of him and carried on with his questions. Tommy’s answers grew longer and more rambling. Alfie didn’t seem to mind. ‘And how are things at home now?’ he wondered. ‘Settled back in, have you?’

‘It’s nice,’ said Tommy. ‘A bit quiet. Kitty’s always at work.’

‘And what about Danny?’ asked Alfie innocently.

‘Oh, he’s on some course thing,’ said Tommy. Didn’t Alfie already know that? Half of Bootle seemed to. ‘He’s off staying in an old house somewhere down south. So it’s even quieter.’

‘Must be a bit on the slow side for a young fellow like you,’ Alfie sympathised.

Tommy shrugged.

‘It’s just you and Kitty there, then. I’d be bored if I were you.’ Alfie took a swig of his drink, which didn’t seem to be going down very quickly.

‘S’all right,’ Tommy said, and burped loudly. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Good job Kitty wasn’t here to see him.

‘Her boyfriend doesn’t come round often, then?’ Alfie asked.

‘Boyfriend?’ Tommy looked at him, puzzled. ‘No, you got that wrong. Kitty hasn’t got a boyfriend.’