Her at 98

Now you know, I'm not one to tittle-tattle, but have you seen that
woman who moved into Number 98, you know the house on the corner. Well,
the comings and goings in that household. It's lucky it's not rained
much since because they left half the furniture out front, and there
she sits like lady muck entertaining her men friends. You rarely see
the same one twice.

A few weeks after they moved in, one came and stayed. Viv, up the road,
you know the one with all the gossip, told me that he had just come out
of jail. Been in for drunken driving. Lost his licence. Well, I don't
know but he's been driving around here since in various old bangers.
There are two or three outside now, has them in the paper for sale. You
can't park round here no how, for their cars. She's always driving
different cars. She finds a parking space alright, parks in the
disabled. Says it's because she's got a bad back. Bad back be blowed,
we should all be so lucky. You ought to see the way she carries those
kids around.

Well, the kids, two little girls, one around two, the other four, as
pretty as a picture and always well dressed. Not my taste of course,
modern like. You know, tight jeans, skimpy tops, nail varnish. Kids
want all they see, don't they? Must cost some and h'is in jail. Didn't
I tell you, Viv says his back in. Police caught him driving. Oh, I was
telling you about the kids. She doesn't send them to playschool. She
just sits in the garden in the mornings with a cup of tea in her hand.
Resting she calls it. We would all like to rest in the sun, wouldn't
we, but by the time I've done me shopping and cleaning and got the kids
to and from school, I have precious time to rest. So there they are
larking and dancing about during the day but at night they're bawling
their eyes out. I thought it was cos they wouldn't go to bed. Well, you
know what kids are like these light evenings. I have trouble with mine.
The other night I went out the front and there they are leaning right
out the window. I was scared they would fall. I yelled at them to get
back in but they took no notice, just ignored me. One tried climbing
out, so I banged on the door for their mother. But no one came. She
must have been out. Some women shouldn't have kids. Fancy leaving them
all alone in the house, anything could happen.

Him, next door came out, said that she always left the girls alone at
night. He thought she locked them in their rooms. Poor little mites. He
said that he could hear the phone go. He had timed her, she could be
out the door in three minutes. I wonder where she goes at night. I was
talking to Viv about it and do you know what she said. She said the
woman was on the game. You could have knocked me down with a feather. I
didn't know she was a pro. Well, as I says to Viv, she can't be very
good at it seeing that she only drives an old banger.