‘I can’t see, Mom,’ Robbie said, jumping at the wall and scuffing his shoes. He held up his arms, little again suddenly. ‘Lift us up.’

With an effort she hoisted him up in time to see a filthy joey boat containing coal slide out of sight under the bridge.

‘There – gone,’ she said, and kissed the soft skin at the back of Robbie’s neck.

‘Mom, don’t!’ he cried, wriggling. ‘That’s sissy, that is! Put me down!’

As she bent to let him down to the ground Em felt tears start in her eyes. Here she was, twenty-five years old and she felt like an old matron, stuck in her ways. There was nothing to look forward to. And she knew deep down that her resentment and anger towards Norm stemmed from the fact that she had still not caught for another baby. And so far as she was concerned, it was all his fault.

‘D’you fancy going up the park?’ Cynthia said when she arrived. ‘It’s quite a nice day – I’d like a bit of a breather.’

‘All right,’ Em said listlessly. She knew it was a good idea, but she could really have done with a sit down.

‘Just give me a minute.’ Cynthia said. ‘Come on, Robbie, you can come up with me while I change my shoes.

Bob was in the back room, and Violet was sitting at the table, peering at the newspaper. She looked up, squinting at Em.

‘Oh, hello,’ she said smiling.

Bob, who had been snoozing, opened his eyes long enough to say, ‘All right, wench?’ and slid back into sleep again, snoring gently. Even though she saw him nearly every day, Em was aware that her father was ageing fast.

‘You coming up the park with us, Vi?’ Em asked, hoping she would. Violet was good with Robbie and took some of the pressure off her.

‘Can’t – I’m going out with Sue and Peggy.’

‘Oh.’ Em was disappointed. But she knew there must be more exciting ways for her seventeen-year-old sister to spend the afternoon. ‘Anywhere nice?’

Violet shrugged. ‘Dunno really – we might go into town.’

‘Vi, you’ve nearly got your nose on that newspaper . . .’

Violet straightened her back for a moment, then sunk down again. ‘I can’t see unless I sit close.’

‘Well, that’s no good, is it? You need glasses. You can get them free now, you know that, don’t you?’

Violet looked round. ‘Can I?’

‘So they say. Norm’s mom’s talking about getting glasses.’ Edna was full of the new National Health Service. Some of her friends were going to see a doctor for the first time in years, after suffering in silence. ‘You ought to go and see.’

Cynthia came back down again. ‘Come on then,’ she said. ‘There’s a chance Dot might come an’ all. We can meet her up there.’

‘All right,’ Em said. She was fond of Dot, her mom’s old friend, but the thought of going all the way to Aston Park to listen to the two of them canting didn’t fill her with enthusiasm. Still, she had to get through the day somehow.