‘I’m all right, thanks. Living with my in-laws, which is a mixed blessing – I was just telling Dot.’

Dot gave a comical, ‘Oh well, can’t be helped’ sort of grimace. ‘I’ll be off, Em, she said. ‘I’m popping in to see your mother. Take care of yerself, bab – don’t do anything I wouldn’t do! See you soon.’ She nodded at Marek, with a curious air, and departed with her shopping.

‘What about you, Katie?’ Em asked. ‘You’re not living round here, are you? And is that your . . . ?’ Em nodded towards Marek and Michael.

‘Marek,’ Katie said, ‘come and meet my friend Em – Emma . . . not Brown any more then?’

‘No – Stapleton.’

Marek smiled and shook her hand and they both said nice-to-meet-yous. Katie saw that Em was intrigued by Marek.

‘My friend,’ Katie added. There would be a chance, she hoped, to explain about Marek – about everything – some other time. She told Em that they were lodging over in Handsworth.

‘And this is my little boy, Michael.’

‘Oh, isn’t he lovely!’ Em made much of Michael, and Mr Perry came out and said hello as well and handed Michael an orange. ‘Don’t tell anyone.’ He winked. Em told Katie about her own boy, Robbie.

Katie knew it was up to her, if she wanted Em’s friendship, to do something about it now. She owed Em. And she did want it – she was full of need for the friendship, and felt happiness at the prospect. And now she felt able to reach out.

‘It’d be nice to see you properly sometime, Em,’ she said, nervously. ‘That’s if you’ve got time, and everything. Maybe on a Sunday?’

Em’s kindly face lit up. ‘That’d be lovely,’ she said. ‘Of course I’ve got time. And you can bring Michael round to meet Robbie. Robbie’s a bit older of course, but we’ll find something they can do.’

She wrote her address down for Katie. Saltley. ‘It’s a long way for you to come,’ Em said. ‘You could come here instead – to our mom’s.’ She too was eager, joyful. ‘We’ll have to come and see you one day.’

‘Come and play in the park,’ Katie said. ‘It’s very nice over there. But I’ll come first – you’ve got enough on your plate.’

They said their goodbyes. Michael walked along proudly holding his orange, the brightest thing in the street.

‘An old friend?’ Marek said.

‘Yes.’ Katie felt like skipping, she was so happy. Already something felt healed, as if a load had fallen off her. ‘An old friend.’

Fifty-Four

‘Penny for them – you look full of the joys!’ one of the other shorthand typists said one morning the next week at work. ‘Are you here with us?’

Katie, who had sunk into a daydream in front of her typewriter and was gazing out at the clouds, jolted back to reality. Everyone seemed more friendly at work suddenly.

‘Yes, I’m here, just about,’ she laughed