Valerie stood by the door of the outside toilet, almost doubled over with her legs crossed tight, banging, shouting and screaming at her brother, who wouldn't come out.

"If ya don't come out now, I'm gonna go 'n pee all over yer bed...I mean it ya stupid idjit...MUM," she yelled. "He won't come out, an' I wanna go bad. Aaahh!"

Audrey came out into the garden, angrily flapping her apron about. "For Pete's sake, Reggie, wotcha doing in there? 'urry up before yer sister 'as an accident!"

Valerie gave the door a vicious kick just as it swung open. "If ya think I'm gonna say thanks, I'm not!" Her face was all scrunched up and had turned deep purple with rage and pain. She gave her brother a hefty push, shoving him out of the way and went in, slamming the door behind her. "Fer cryin' out loud, wotcha do in 'ere! Yer must 'ave a rat up yer..."

"Enuff!" Audrey shouted, before Valerie could finish. Then turning to her son, "For goodness sake, Reggie, 'ow old are you?" Audrey went stalking back into the house, muttering away to herself and flicking her pinafore angrily.

Reggie watched his mum disappear into the house, then taking some string from the pocket that was full of 'can't throw that away' things, tied the handle of the toilet door to the handle of the coal bunker shed next to it. Then with a big grin, swaggered off to get his bike. He had no intention of being there when she tried to get out.

He just managed to get his bike into the lane when he heard the screaming and cussing from his younger sister. Satisfied, he pedalled as fast as his old, second-hand bike could go, laughing hysterically as he shot off down the lane.

Reggie stopped off at his best mate's house. He leant his bike against the fence, and went up to the door and knocked. "Hi Missus Jenkins, is Trev' around?"

Mrs Jenkins wiped her hands on her apron and looked up the stairs. "TREVOR! Yer mate's 'ere."

She looked back at Reggie then walked off down the corridor, leaving him standing on the doorstep.

"Wotcha," Trevor said, as he bounded down the stairs, "What's up?"

"Nothin', just gotta stay out the way for a bit. Fancy goin' to the orchard? Do some scrumpin'? There's loads on the trees."

"Yeah! ... Goin' out for a bit, Ma," he hollered over his shoulder, "Won't be long." Then without waiting for an answer he slammed the door and picked his bike up off the grass in the front garden.

"If I get enough for Ma to make a pie, she might forget to clip me round the ear." Reggie giggled as a picture of his sister blowing a fuse in the outhouse came into his mind.

The two mates cycled on down the lane till they came to the orchard, and dropped their bikes down onto the overgrown bank running alongside the lane. They had scrumped here many times, and knew just where and how to get in. They'd made a nice neat hole through the hedge, just big enough to crawl through without anyone seeing.

*****

Mrs Coombes lay on the long grass, convinced this was it. No one came to see her anymore. Since Albert's death she'd become a bit of a recluse. The pain in her ankle was excruciating, she couldn't move without almost passing out with the pain. She tried to sit up again, but the way her foot was twisted, any movement caused her to cry out.

A simple thing like collecting a bucket of apples had caused her fall; the grass was too long to reveal any potential hazard, and of course, if there was anything there, she would find it. It was the sound first, that distinct, crack, followed immediately by excruciating pain. Her ankle had snapped.

"Perhaps it's for the best. What use am I now, anyway? Everything has gone wrong, Albert. Why did you have to die and leave me alone?" Mrs Coombes continued rambling away to herself. The sound of her own voice was comforting.

The orchard belonged to Mrs Coombes. Her husband had died a few years ago, and now she lived on her own. At first, she'd tried to keep the orchard together, but it was too big a task for an elderly lady on her own, and pride had stopped her asking for help. She'd heard talk that she might have to sell up. All nonsense, of course. Gossip also had it that all her money had gone, and now had nothing left but the house and orchard to her name. Trouble was, according to those same gossipers, houses weren't selling, and those like this one, run down and needing lots doing to it, wouldn't sell at all.

Suddenly, for the first time since her Albert had died, she felt an overwhelming feeling of loss and self-pity; loneliness now enveloped her, she felt so tired. The tears came, and once they started there was no stopping them. Her frail body shook with convulsions, realising she'd never allowed herself to grieve for her beloved husband. Now, with tears flowing unheeded, the feelings of relief surged through her. Anger, sadness and grief, all the outpourings of her emotions, all finally released in her anguished tears.

*****

"I ain't got nothin' to put 'em in," Reggie groaned. "Never thought of it."

"Take yer t-shirt off 'n' tie it under the sleeves. It'll make a good bag."

"Clever!" Reggie grinned. He looked around, then started going towards a well loaded tree. "This'll do." He took his t-shirt off, and did what Trevor had suggested with more of the string he kept in his pocket. Without another word, he climbed up, and started shaking the apples from the branches.

"Oiy! Careful! That hurt." Trevor scowled as he rubbed his head.

"Well, move out the way then. Didn't tell ya to stand underneath it, did I?"

"Could 'ave told us when ya were gonna shake 'em off though!" Trevor was quite miffed. "I'm not a bleedin' mind reader."

"Ow many 'ave we got?" Reggie asked, ignoring what his mate had said. "Enough for our mums to make a pie?"

Trevor looked at all the apples on the ground, "Yeh, an' some."

Reggie jumped down from the branch he had been standing on, and started piling the apples into his improvised bag.

"That should let me off the hook," he grinned, thinking of Valerie stuck in the lav. "Let's go. Ain't got room fer anymore."

The two lads began to make their way to their bikes when a piercing scream, from somewhere behind them, stopped them in their tracks.

"Shit! What was that?" Trevor looked at Reggie, fear clouded his eyes.

"Dunno." Reggie whispered. "D'ya think we should take a peek?"

"No." Trevor backed away. "Didn't sound human; more like a wild animal ... tiger even!"

"Don't be so stupid, ain't no tigers round 'ere. I think someone's hurt."

*****

 

Mrs Coombes stopped crying, suddenly not wanting her life to end this way. "What is wrong with you? What would Albert think? He'd be mad as hell with me, that's what!"

She looked around, hoping to see something close by to help her stand up. She spied a rake that had been left down under the first tree. "If I could just make it that far, I could use it as a crutch."

She looked at the way her foot was twisted. She needed to straighten it before she could move. "Well, this is going to hurt you, Mavis Coombes. Are you ready?" Still talking to herself, she answered with a determined, 'Yes!"

Gritting her teeth, she took her leg from just below her knee and tried very gently to move it. The intensity of the pain shooting through her was totally unexpected; there was no way she could have stopped the scream that escaped her lips before she mercifully passed out.

"I knew someone was hurt." Reggie ran up to Mrs Coombes. "She's out of it. We need some 'elp. Get on yer bike, Trev, and go and fetch someone. Tell 'em we need a doctor. I'll stay 'ere in case she comes round again."

*****

Mrs Coombes woke up in the hospital. A nurse came over to her and checked her pulse, and smiled. "Well, you were a lucky lady, weren't you?"

"How did I get here?" Mrs Coombes asked.

The nurse walked over to the door and beckoned. Reggie and Trevor walked in.

"These lads found you and called for help. It was lucky they were passing by when you screamed."

The boys blushed and looked sheepishly at the floor. The nurse didn't know they'd been scrumping Mrs Coombes' apples.

Both the boys' mothers came in then, and went up to Mrs Coombes. "You gave us quite a scare, you know. How are you feeling now?"

"I'm much better, thanks to your lads." Mrs Coombes looked across at the boys and smiled. "It was a good thing for me that you happened by when you did." She winked. "I haven't got much to give you for a reward, but you are very welcome to come and get some apples whenever you like."

Reggie and Trevor both smiled. "We don't want a reward, Missus Coombes. A few apples would be good, though. Our mums make good apple pies."

"Well, you won't be doin' much fer a spell," Audrey told her, "So Hazel and me thought you might not mind us comin' an givin you a hand?"

Hazel, Trevor's mother, came closer. "It'd be no bovver. You must be lonely in that big 'ouse of yours."

Mrs Coombes looked at them all, and tears welled in her eyes. Strange how misfortune can bring about nice things in the end.

Reggie was happy too; he didn't get a thick ear for trapping his sister in the outside lav.