‘I know that, Ma. I hope you’re wrong about a lot of people, because I’m having enough trouble staying out of the way of just two.’ She went to stand up again but was waved back into her seat.

‘I ain’t finished yet. This is a real interesting set of leaves. You’ve got some hard times in front of you, but you ain’t gonna be alone all the time …’ She grinned broadly. ‘You’re going to meet a tall, dark, ’andsome man.’

‘Oh, Ma,’ Jenny laughed, ‘you read too many romantic stories.’

The old woman handed her the cup. ‘You can make fun all you like, but I feels much happier about you now I’ve seen your future.’

‘Well, I know your future.’ Jenny collected up the tea things, still chuckling. ‘I’m going to wash these up, and tomorrow you’ll have a nice apple pie.’

‘That would be lovely. Your pastry’s getting quite good now.’ Then she gave Jenny a suspicious look. ‘Where’d you get the apples from?’

‘I went scrumping with Ivy this morning.’

Ma roared with laughter and slapped her knee. ‘You’re learning, my girl. You might be posh, but you’re all right.’

With Ma’s infectious laugh ringing in her ears she went into the kitchen to cook her ill-gotten gains. They’d had a new job today, cleaning a firm of solicitors’ offices. It had been an old house, and the garden had two apple trees in it. The ground had been littered with apples, and Ivy had declared that it was a crying shame to let them rot, so they’d picked up some of the best and shared them out. There was a lot of bruising, but after she’d cut this away she still had enough for the pie.

After it was cooked she put it on the table to cool. Ma would enjoy that tomorrow. Jenny wished she could afford some cream to go with it, but that was out of the question. Ron, Ivy’s husband, had been laid off last week, and without his money coming in things were even harder. The number of unemployed was rising every week, and behind the jokes Jenny could see the worry in their eyes as they struggled to feed their families. The most amazing and touching thing was the way they all tried to help each other out. There was genuine concern for everyone in the street. She knew that Fred and Stan were bringing home any veg they hadn’t sold, and sharing it out amongst those most in need. She was aware that that act of kindness was depleting their income. They couldn’t afford to give produce away, but they still did. She was constantly astounded by their unselfishness.