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Mam came in. "They stand talking in that shop as if they got nothing else to do-oh!" She stopped short. "Oh, my heavens, is that our Eth?" S
he burst into tears.
Ethel hugged her.
Gramper said: "Look, Cara, here's your grandson, Lloyd. "
Mam wiped her eyes and picked him up. "Isn't he beautiful?" she said. "Such curly hair! He looks just like Billy at that age. " Lloyd stared fearfully at Mam for a long moment, then cried.
Ethel took him. "He's turned into a real Mummy's boy lately," she said apologetically.
"They all do at that age," Mam said. "Make the most of it, he'll soon change. "
"Where's Da?" Ethel said, trying not to sound too anxious.
Ma looked tense. "Gone to Caerphilly for a union meeting. " She checked the clock. "He'll be home for his tea now in a minute, unless he's missed his train. "
Ethel guessed Mam was hoping he would be late. She felt the same. She wanted more time with her mother before the crisis came.
Mam made tea and put a plate of sugary Welsh cakes on the table. Ethel took one. "I haven't had these for two years," she said. "They're lovely. "
Gramper said happily: "Now, I call this nice. I got my daughter, my granddaughter, and my great-grandson, all in the same room. What more could a man ask of life?" He took a Welsh cake.
Ethel reflected that some people would think it was not much of a life Gramper led, sitting in a smoky kitchen all day in his only suit. But he was grateful for his lot, and she had made him happy today, at least.
Then her father came in.
Mam was halfway through a sentence. "I had a chance to go to London once, when I was your age, but your gramper said-" The door opened and she stopped dead. They all looked as Da came in from the street, wearing his meeting suit and a flat miner's cap, perspiring from the walk up the hill. He took a step into the room, then stopped, staring.
"Look who's here," Mam said with forced brightness. "Ethel, and your grandson. " Her face was white with strain.
He said nothing. He did not take off his cap.
Ethel said: "Hello, Da. This is Lloyd. "
He did not look at her.
Gramper said: "The little one resembles you, Dai boy-around the mouth, see what I mean?"
Lloyd sensed the hostility in the room and began to cry.
Still Da said nothing. Ethel knew then that she had made a mistake springing this on him. She had not wanted to give him the chance to forbid her to come. But now she saw that the surprise had put him on the defensive. He had a cornered look. It was always a mistake to back Da up against the wall, she remembered.
His face became stubborn. He looked at his wife and said: "I have no grandson. "
"Oh, now," said Mam appealingly.
His expression remained rigid. He stood still, staring at Mam, not speaking. He was waiting for something, and he would not move until Ethel left. She began to cry.
Gramper said: "Oh, dammo. "
Ethel picked up Lloyd. "I'm sorry, Mam," she sobbed. "I thought perhaps. . . " She choked up and could not finish the sentence. With Lloyd in her arms she pushed past her father. He did not meet her eye.
Ethel went out and slammed the door.
{II}
In the morning, after the men had gone to work down the pit and the children had been sent to school, the women usually did jobs outside. They washed the pavement, polished the doorstep, or cleaned the windows. Some went to the shop or ran other errands. They needed to see the world beyond their small houses, Ethel thought, something to remind them that life was not bound within four jerry-built walls.
