Slur: The Riverhill Trilogy: Book 1 Read Free

women out till all hours of the night up to God knows what, and
with all these dubious characters hanging about.’
    ‘Yes, I know your feelings
Bill, you have mentioned it once or twice.’
    ‘Well, she’s twenty years of
age for God’s sake! She should be married with a family now, not stuck in some
nightclub getting drunk, with a load of riffraff!’
    Julie held up her hand for
Rita to see as she formed the shape of a mouth opening and shutting, in
imitation of her father’s familiar complaining.
    ‘She’ll have plenty of time
for settling down when she’s had a bit of fun and built up a career for
herself,’ Betty replied. ‘A lot of women don’t even think about having children
until they are in their thirties these days. Anyway, she’s got her head screwed
on the right way. She won’t do anything daft.’
    ‘Huh,’ was Bill’s response,
followed by silence.
    Julie and Rita backed away.
Julie then opened the front door and they stepped out into the street, shutting
the door as quietly as possible so that Julie’s parents would be unaware of
their eavesdropping. As soon as they were outside, they gave in to uncontrolled
laughter.
    ‘I bet your mam was a right
one in her day!’ giggled Rita.
    ‘She might have been, given
half a chance.’
    Julie
thought about her mother and the tale she had told her many times about her
married life. Times had been hard for Betty when she got wed and their finances
were fully stretched after Julie’s birth. Therefore, they decided to postpone
extending their family until they could afford it.
    When Julie
was in school, Betty found herself a job in a store in order to bring in some
extra income. After a few years of being stuck at home, Betty was a bit
apprehensive at first, but she soon settled in and made lots of new friends.
This in turn improved her social life and she began to relish her newfound
freedom. After that, there never seemed to be an appropriate time to have more
children.
    However, as Betty reached
her thirties and sensed her biological clock ticking away, the desire grew to
extend her family before her time ran out. This resulted in the birth of Clare,
twelve years Julie’s junior, and now a likeable, sweet girl of eight.
    Although Betty was immensely
proud of both her daughters, at times she regretted not doing more with her
life, and every time Julie thought about her mother’s lack of achievements, she
was determined not to make the same mistakes.
    As Julie and Rita made their
way up the street, on the way to their friend Debby’s house, the familiar
clickety clack of high heels reverberated on the pavements.
    Julie’s home was in a street
full of three bedroom semis in a Manchester suburb. Many of the houses looked
dreary and run down, a result of the poverty in the area. The home of Bill and
Betty Quinley, however, was one of the more presentable houses in the street.
The front garden was well tended and baskets of bright blooms hung at either
side of the front door.
    Julie’s sister, Clare, and
her friends, who were playing further up the street, paused in their play as
Julie and Rita approached. For a group of eight year olds, the image of Julie
and Rita dressed to go out was a sight to behold, and they gazed in awe as the
two older girls walked by.
    ‘Bye our Julie,’ shouted Clare.
    ‘Bye sweetheart. I’ll see
you in the morning and don’t forget to be a good girl for Mam and be in at
eight o’clock.’
    ‘I won’t,’ said Clare, full
of respect for Julie who she saw as a role model.
    Julie couldn’t help but
swell with pride as she sensed the idolising glances of the young girls, and
caught snippets of their conversation on passing.
    ‘Wow Clare, I wish I could
go out all dressed up like your Julie, wearing make-up and everything!’
    ‘Our Julie lets me wear her
make-up sometimes.’
    Julie turned to Rita and
they smiled at each other on hearing these childish comments. They looked an oddly
matched pair: Julie, tall and