Christmas to Come: a heartbreaking coming of age saga set in London's East End by Carol Rivers (first e reader txt) 📕

'I was going to bring the bride a cup of tea in bed.'

Joyce sat down beside her. She nodded to the album. 'That's what I call a lovely wedding.' The photograph was of Bella waving from the window of the car as it drove away. 'You looked so happy.'

Bella nodded as she closed the book. 'You'll be happy too, Joyce. Ronnie is a wonderful man and he'll take good care of you.'

'Yes, I know that.'

'No last minute butterflies?'

Joyce looked amused. 'Nothing that a strong cup of tea won't cure. Of course, I can't guarantee what I'll be like when I walk into that registry office and sign on the dotted line. I still can't believe we're doing it. Feels like it's happening to someone else.'

'I can't wait to see you in your dress.'

'Do you think cream is the right colour?'

'Perfect for the occasion.'

Joyce smiled wistfully. 'It did cost a few bob.'

'You don't get married every day.'

Joyce laughed. 'No, thank God.'

Hanging in the bedroom was Joyce's gorgeous cream satin calf-length dress. It had been made by the same seamstress who had sewn Bella's. On the dresser beside it was an exquisite hat to match and a whisper of a veil. Her spray was made up of tiny white rosebuds hidden in fern with a big satin bow.

'I'll put the kettle on,' she told Joyce who had picked up the album again and was browsing through it.

As Bella went to the kitchen, she felt very excited. Micky had taken the Friday off and she would have his company all day long. To mark the occasion she had bought herself a slim-fitting two-piece suit in soft apple green. The colour complimented her coppery waves which she would pin up under the brim of her hat. Micky had invested in a fashionable dark suit made of Italian cloth and young Michael was wearing a white shirt, navy blue short trousers and a little bow tie. He wasn't exactly a pageboy, but much to Michael's embarrassment, Joyce and Ronnie had called him that.

When Bella brought the tea into the front room, Joyce was gazing into space. She had applied no make-up and looked pale and youthful. Bella knew from Ron that she had no family to represent her side. She wondered if Joyce was thinking about that now, but she was surprised when Joyce suddenly turned to her and said unexpectedly, 'I don't know if Ron's ever told you, but I had a child once.'

Bella sat down quickly on the chair. 'No, he never said.'

'I was fifteen when he was born. He was two months early and only lived a couple of hours. I suppose he must have been too small to survive. My mum was a widow as Dad died when I was young. She sent me away to this home in the next town because it was seen as a big disgrace then. They took him away and I never knew what they did with him.' Joyce paused, her eyes far away.

'Oh, Joyce how sad.'

'Mum and me never saw eye to eye afterwards. She died of cancer a year later. I wished we could have put things right before she went. Forgive and forget and all that.'

'Did you come straight to London, then?'

Joyce nodded. 'Caught a train with the few bob I had and ended up in the East End. Bumped into this woman who offered me lodgings. I didn't know a pig's trotter from a cow's udder then. She was the one who turned me into a working girl.'

'Weren't you scared of getting pregnant again?'

'She showed me ways to stop that happening,' Joyce said quietly. 'Probably old wives tales, like putting sponges soaked in vinegar inside you, and using pessaries and gels, that kind of thing. But I'm not convinced I'll conceive easy now, what with my track record and all.'

'You should talk to the doctor,' Bella advised.

'Ronnie says we can go to Harley Street and see a specialist if nothing happens.'

'I don't think you'll need to,' Bella said with a confident smile. 'I've heard that it's very romantic in Italy. Very romantic indeed.'

They both looked at one another and laughed. Very soon they were talking about the forthcoming honeymoon in Italy that Ronnie had booked. Bella was certain that with Ron to romance her in such magical surroundings, she would relax and all her worries about having a baby would be forgotten.

'This is very nice,' Dolly remarked as they sat on the comfortable chairs in the reception room of the New Inn. 'Have you been here before?'

'Only once,' Bella replied as she watched the other guests file in. 'To help Joyce confirm all the details for today.'

'A reception like this costs a lot of money, I expect.' Dolly sighed softly as she gazed around the hotel's impressive interior. All was polished wooden floors, thick floral rugs and long Georgian style windows. The beautiful golden curtains on either side were gathered by heavy cords and tassels and guests were talking in a discreet manner as the waiters hovered with trays of champagne.

Micky and Percy, Terry, Sean and Ashley and all the other men were grouped at the bar. Even though there was champagne to drink, some preferred their pint glasses of ale. To one side of the room a long table was spread with delicious looking food. Michael and another little boy, one of the other guests' children, were playing outside in the garden where there were swings.

Apprehensively, Dolly fiddled with the buttons of her staid grey costume. The feathers in her hat caught the breeze from the open window. Bella noted it was the same saucer shaped feathered hat that she'd worn to Bella's wedding, with a few more feathers stuck in here and there. Dolly's brown eyes looked tired and her colourful taste in clothes had apparently disappeared.

'Are they really going to Italy for their honeymoon?' she asked wistfully.

'Yes, it was Ronnie's suggestion as Joyce has never been abroad before.'

Dolly sighed as