The Locksmith

time to make their way to the local pub, The Anchor, for Louie’s small wake. Ruby stood with what remained of her family and made small talk with her dad’s former co-workers, the kind that won’t ever be remembered but was essential nonetheless. They couldn’t offer food or a bar tab to their guests, which shamed them even more. Most of the few mourners drifted off after a drink. When the scrapyard boss Terry came over, Ruby thought it was just another set of pleasantries she’d have to endure, smiling and nodding while all she really wanted was to get home, away from people and the strange formalities of death.
‘Listen, I don’t want to upset ya any more than I ’ave to, but I thought you should know . . .’
‘Know what?’ Cathy said, frowning, turning to Ruby, who shrugged.
‘I was there in the yard that day, and I saw Louie. He didn’t look right. He had his head in his ’ands and was visibly shaken or upset about somethin’. I went over to speak to him but he walked off quickly, not lookin’ where he was goin’ and that’s when it ’appened.
‘Louie was one of my best men. He’d worked with me since he was sixteen, and he’d never have been so careless, steppin’ under that crane . . . He wasn’t himself, that’s all I’m sayin’. Look, I’m sorry for your loss. I ’ope I haven’t upset ya . . .’
Puzzled, Ruby turned to her mum, catching Bobby’s eye as she did so. He shrugged. What was Dad’s boss on about?
Cathy stood as still as if she’d been carved out of stone. She swallowed, and in a small voice, she said, ‘You’re right. There was a reason Louie was so upset that day, but . . . it’s a private family matter. I’m sorry . . . I can’t talk about any of this right now.’
Ruby’s eyes narrowed. None of this had made sense from the moment Cathy had told them their dad had been buried alive at work. She’d felt in her bones that something was amiss. Louie had been too experienced to have made such a drastic – and tragic – mistake. No one, except perhaps an inexperienced yard hand, would ever walk under a crane that was loading metal. They knew things could slip out of its grasp, it happened all the time. Louie’s mistake had cost him his life, and yet it was a mistake that she would have gambled anything to say could never happen. She looked at her mum, her face pinched and closed.
‘Mum?’ Ruby said.
Cathy shook her head. Her lips were shut. ‘Not now Rube,’ she said.
Fear mixed with anger rose in Ruby’s heart. She realised there were things her mum hadn’t told her, important things.
‘When, Mum?’ Ruby spat. She couldn’t remember the last time she argued with Cathy, but she was as close as she’d ever been right now. Bobby looked back and forth between them, not understanding what was going on.
‘I will tell you both later,’ their mum said at last, in a way that brooked no argument – at least for now.
Ruby couldn’t wait for the last mourner to leave. Eventually, the pub emptied, and the staff waved them off, saying they’d clear up. Back inside the house, Ruby ripped off her hat and veil and turned to face her mother. Bobby stood beside her, looking lost. ‘Tell us now. What ’ave you been hidin’?’
Cathy sighed and sank into a chair. ‘I wanted to tell ya in my own time, when things had calmed down, when it felt right.’
Ruby instantly felt ashamed for getting cross with her mum. She could see how much strain the last few months, and now this, had placed upon her.
‘I’m sorry, Mum,’ Ruby whispered.
‘It’s all right, Rube. I do ’ave somethin’ to tell you both, and it’s just so difficult. I never wanted to tell you like this.’ As she spoke, a single tear traced its way down Cathy’s gaunt cheek. Ruby reached for her hand.
‘Go on, Mum. Tell us. I can’t bear seeing you so sad.’ Ruby’s voice broke. She could see the pain her mum was suffering and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
‘Well, I know you noticed I wasn’t well when I was pregnant with George. I know you saw me losin’ weight and bein’ tired all the time. You asked me a few times if there was anythin’ wrong – and Rube – I kept lyin’ to ya both . . .’
Ruby’s face was anguished. What was going on? Her head was spinning but somewhere deep down she knew already, she knew the truth. She could see her mum’s condition plain as day, and she knew this wasn’t good news.
‘Will you ever forgive me, you two, for not tellin’ you both sooner?’
‘There’s nuthin’ to forgive, but you must tell us now, you must,’ Ruby soothed, her heart pounding in her chest. She stared into her mother’s eyes intently, trying to give her the courage to say what she had to say.
Bobby stood watching them both, his face pale with shock.
‘There’s no easy way to say this, but I’m dyin’, Ruby, Bobby. I’m dyin’ and there’s nuthin’ any of us can do about it.’
Cathy stopped talking as if her batteries had run out. She flopped back in the chair. They could see her exhaustion, the sheer strength of will that had kept her standing and walking and speaking during the day. That willpower had gone now, and all that was left was a husk of the woman their mum once was.
‘I’ve got ovarian cancer. I knew early on in my pregnancy and I chose to keep it a secret. It was that or get rid of George, and I could never do that. The doctors told me they could do nothing to treat the tumour until after your brother was born, but by then it was too late.
‘I knew the cancer had grown and spread but I couldn’t face tellin’ ya. I was so scared of leavin’ you