Chapter 9

A very apologetic Mary Witherspoon rang at half past seven the next morning.

"I'm sorry, Becca. It wasn't as though I hadn't done the work. It was just that after supper Kim badgered me into playing the piano with her for the rest of the family and I completely forgot to ring you."

"Don't worry, Mary. I haven't got to ring the agent until this afternoon. What's your verdict?"

"Go for it. We can afford to make up the balance of the mortgage from company funds as the new girls trickle in."

"Wonderful. I was considering putting our prices up by ten per cent in the New Year. We'll still be competitive."

"Good idea. We ought to think about putting the girls' wages up by the same amount. There would still be added income from the profit margin which we ought to start to think about investing. Would you mind if I talked to Frank Edwards about it?"

"Not at all but do include Nell, won't you?"

"Of course. We went through the mortgage figures together. In fact it was she who said, 'We've started investing in property. We ought to start investing a proportion of the rest in something else.'"

"Good for her. I must go, Mary, or I'll get stick from Jane for being late for work."

Mary chuckled. "Can't have that. Goodbye, Becca dear." She rang off.

At lunch time, Becca pedalled furiously home to telephone the estate agent and confirm the offer on the house. She handed over the arrangements for meeting to sign the contract and arrange the mortgage to Steven and then bicycled back to work again.

When they finished work Becca gathered together Jane, Penny and Anita. Molly was at a different worksite.

"Penny and Anita," she said, "your house is full and we've got four more girls joining us over the next year so we've bought a new house, almost the same, a couple of hundred yards further down the road. Molly, Jane and I talked about it and we'd like you two to move into it and become the head girls there like Molly and Jane are in the present house. What do you say?"

Penny and Anita looked at each other and smiled delightedly. "Yes, please," said Penny.

"We'll need to do it up a bit before you move but we can do that between Christmas and the New Year. I suggest you take another couple of girls with you and then Jean will join you later in the month when she comes out of the home. OK everyone?"

The other three all agreed with the proposal.

The following afternoon Becca was a touch judge at the children's home. Garry did a solo run from the half way line, up the wing to start with, beating one defender by speed alone, then boring in towards the goal, beating another defender with a deft swerve and scoring. As usual, he showed no emotion or any response to the congratulations of his team mates. After the game Becca decided it was time for her opening gambit. She waited for Garry as he trailed off the field way behind the others.

"Well played, Garry," she said as he approached where she was standing. "That was a brilliant goal."

He glanced at her, nodded and walked silently on. Becca let him. She decided not to push him yet even though that had been her initial reaction. She made no further approach for over a week.

The next occasion that he merited special congratulation he raced back to catch and tackle an opponent who had broken through the defenders. This time though, when Becca congratulated him and he again merely nodded silently, she called him back. He turned reluctantly.

"I meant what I said," said Becca. "Don't I get a thank you?"

"Thank you," he said flatly, turned and walked away.

Once again Becca did nothing more. "I guess this is going to take a long, long time," she said to herself.

Fate intervened though. Four days later Garry was tackled moving at full speed. He tried to stand up again but his right leg buckled and he fell again clutching his ankle, his face in a grimace of pain. He was on Becca's side of the field and she ran to him. So did the rest of his team and Rob Garthwaite, the policeman who was refereeing.

"We need to get him to the infirmary," said Becca as she took his hand. "Is there a stretcher?"

Rob sprang into action. He detailed two of the boys to go and get it from the shed. He sent another boy to Mrs Yates to tell her what had happened and to ask her to ring for an ambulance.

"Is it agony?" Becca asked Garry gently. He nodded.

"Has anyone got a clean handkerchief?" she asked. Rob produced one.

"Fold it as small as you can," she ordered and then took it from him.

"Thanks," she said and then to Garry, "Bite on this."

He did so. "Well done," she said. "That may help a bit."

The stretcher arrived at that moment and, under Rob's supervision, Garry was lifted gently on to it. Becca never let go of his hand. She did not have much option. He was holding it in a vice-like grip. He was taken to the hall.

Edna Yates met them there.

"Bear up, love," she said to Garry stroking his forehead. "The ambulance will be here soon."

"Can we get his boot off?" asked Becca, "and get some ice on his ankle."

Edna grabbed one of the stretcher bearers and vanished into the kitchen. She came back with a bread knife. She untied the laces on Garry's boot. Even that made him cringe from the pain.

"Doug!" she said to one of the boys who had helped with the stretcher, "Hold his ankle gently inside his boot while I cut it off."

She cut forward of the ankle so that the boot was loose and she was able to slide it off without putting any strain on Garry's ankle. The boy she had detailed off came back with a bowlful of ice cubes and a tea towel. She wrapped the ice round Garry's ankle with the tea towel.

"There!" she said. "That should help. It won't be long, Garry dear, before the ambulance gets here and they'll be able to help the pain."

Garry was still clutching Becca's hand. He looked up at her. His eyes were no longer hard. She smiled at him and timidly he smiled back.

Shortly after that the ambulance arrived and Garry was carried to it still clinging to Becca's hand.

"It looks as though you're coming with us," said one of the ambulance men with a kind smile.

"Is that all right?"

"Yes, love."

"Thank you very much." She smiled again at Garry and then asked Edna to give Steven a ring and tell him what she was doing.