Read A Promise Between Friends for Free Online Page B

laugh.’
    Kath pulled the tips of her hair as she always did when she was worried. ‘I don’t know, Ruby. You’d be better off going without me.’
    ‘Listen, you’ll love Larry and Stuart. They can’t wait to meet you.’
    Kath smiled hesitantly. ‘Well, all right, then. If you think—’
    ‘I do,’ Ruby decided. ‘We both need to get out more. Pete always used to tell me to give new experiences a go. This is the perfect opportunity.’
    Kath smiled wistfully. ‘Pete was very wise.’
    Ruby nodded. ‘Yes, he was.’ She looked at Kath. ‘I’m glad we were all best mates and have the same memories.’
    Kath’s gaze was far away. ‘Yes, though some I wish I could ditch. I still have nightmares about Dad.’
    Ruby’s heart squeezed in sympathy. Even though Kath had missed the East End while they lived in Devon and evacuation was the only peace she’d ever known, her dad had made up for lost
time when she’d come home. A violent drunk, he’d made Kath and Bernie’s lives hell. ‘He can’t hurt you now, Kath. He’s dead and gone. He’ll never touch you
again.’
    ‘I know that, but at the back of me mind, he’s there.’
    Ruby touched her friend’s arm. ‘All the more reason for you to see new people and go to new places. We can’t live at Fortuno’s forever.’
    ‘What about transport? I don’t want to be hanging round Soho, trying to catch a bus in the early hours.’
    ‘No, neither do I.’
    ‘I could ask my brother for a lift. But you’d better be nice to him and turn on the charm.’
    Ruby grinned. That wouldn’t be difficult at all.
    Making her way home from work on Saturday, Ruby paused to window shop. Normally she would bus up West, to Harrods and Selfridges, dreaming of buying their fashions. Often
she’d visit the HMV shop to listen to the records that were at the top of the hit parade. But mostly she’d seek out the smaller shops around the interchange with Regent Street.
    Today she was saving her money even though she was hungry and the smell of pies, muffins and bagels from the street traders’ stalls was tempting. But when she came to Patterson’s,
the small boutique where she had bought her new dress, she paused. She had been very lucky to see exactly what she wanted on the model.
    ‘Lovely shoes, those,’ a small voice said beside her. Ruby realized she had stopped by Patterson’s after all. A young girl was standing close by, a baby in her arms.
    ‘Yes,’ agreed Ruby, ‘they’re very nice.’
    ‘Make yer mouth water, don’t they?’
    Ruby stared at the footwear arranged attractively with a black handbag and floaty grey chiffon scarf. ‘Yes, I like the peep-toes.’
    The girl nodded her agreement. She was dressed in an unbelted brown mac that was far too thin, Ruby decided, for an autumn day. Suddenly the drooling infant’s dirty face crumpled into an
alarming scream.
    ‘You gonna buy ’em?’ the girl enquired as she rocked the baby.
    ‘No, I’m afraid not.’
    ‘You got kids?’
    ‘I’m not married.’
    ‘Well, I tell you this for nothing,’ the girl shouted above the screams of the child, ‘I’d give my right arm to be single again. My old man is as tight as a drum. Yet
he’s down the pub every night, boozing. Don’t reckon I’ll ever wear a nice bit of kit like those again.’
    Ruby stared at the girl’s once-pretty face. She was about the same age as herself. It was then Ruby noticed her large belly and the thick, ugly stockings that sagged around her swollen
ankles.
    ‘When is the baby due?’ Ruby asked.
    ‘Just before Christmas,’ the girl replied. ‘This will be me third.’
    ‘Christmas must be difficult for you,’ Ruby commiserated as the baby refused to be silenced.
    ‘Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids. But your life ain’t never your own after you have a family. Mustn’t grumble, I suppose. There’s people don’t have roofs
over their heads. At least my old man has put one over ours. Even if I have to climb four