Private Sorrow, A Read Free Page A

the new flat and, indeed, had been looking forward to it, she now realised how lonely she might be living all alone. She was going to miss her parents very much and for one brief moment she wished they weren’t going away but were staying to look after her and protect her. Feeling childish and silly, she put these thoughts out of her mind as they went in to have their dinner. Sabby was sitting on the window seat in the sunshine but she turned her back and swished her tail as Molly passed by. ‘Hello, Sabby,’ said Molly sweetly. ‘Still as snobby as usual.’

4
    Molly was pleased to see the three new cleaners were all on time and waiting for their instructions. Deanna looked a bit sleepy and Molly hoped she would be a good timekeeper. Standing beside her, Alice still had the raw looking face and in the early morning light she looked years older than her age. Molly saw Deanna glance at Alice then quickly look away in case she noticed the scrutiny. Alice was going to do some housework for a family in Blackness Road. It was just for the morning and then she had another assignment for the afternoon. Molly had said she would give them all their tram fares in order to move around the different jobs. Deanna was going to a Professor Lyon, who lived in Windsor Street, and Maisie had drawn the short straw with Mrs Jankowski, who lived above the ice cream shop on Constitution Street. Before Molly had decided on starting this new venture, Mrs Jankowski’s neighbour had been in the shop almost every day looking for some help for her. Molly got the impression the woman was run off her feet by her neighbour.
    They all looked so smart in their new blue overalls with the agency crest on the breast pocket and Molly was amused to see that Deanna had customised hers with a thin silver belt. It looked very fetching, but Maisie just glowered at it.
    Deanna and Alice made their way to the tramcar stop at the top of the Wellgate steps as they were both going in the same direction. A few men who were seated in the tram turned round to admire Deanna as she climbed the stairs, followed by Alice who would rather have sat downstairs.
    Deanna took out her cigarettes and offered Alice one. ‘I don’t smoke,’ Alice said, then turned to look out of the window. Deanna shrugged her slim shoulders and lit her cigarette. ‘I really should give up as well and I’m going to make it my new year’s resolution to stop.’
    Deanna glanced at the woman beside her. She had never seen such a plain looking woman, she thought, but she could improve herself if she wore some powder and lipstick and got her hair cut and styled. Alice’s straight brown hair looked clean but it was limp and dull looking.
    Deanna said, ‘Did you start at the agency this morning as well?’ Alice nodded and Deanna smoked her cigarette in silence until the tram reached the stop on Blackness Road. Alice looked at her slip of paper with her address and Deanna set off for Windsor Street. The house lay at the bottom of the road and she discovered that Professor Lyon lived in the top floor flat.
    When he opened the door, Deanna was surprised to see a very old man. He was smoking a pipe. ‘Ah, come in, come in,’ he said, looking quite astounded at the pretty young woman standing on his doorstep.
    ‘I’m from McQueen’s Agency,’ said Deanna, in her sweetest voice.
    The flat felt stuffy with the smoke from the man’s pipe. Professor Lyon led the way into the living room. ‘I’m just finishing my coffee. Sit down and have a cup before you start work,’ he said, leading the way to a table by the big window.
    When they were both sitting down on the comfy sofa, he said, ‘What’s a pretty young girl like you doing in a cleaning job like this?’
    ‘I’m really an actress but I’m resting at the moment. Still, I’m hoping to get an audition soon.’
    ‘Well, I hope you do,’ he said. Deanna asked him what work needed done. ‘Oh, just a general tidy up. The kitchen needs some