by Rosie Clarke
‘Yes, that’s what Maureen says…’ Rose smiled. ‘I got a letter from Jimmy Morgan this morning. He says they’re embarking for somewhere warm. He doesn’t think it’s the desert this time, but the kit they’ve been given is lightweight so that has to be somewhere warm, doesn’t it?’
‘Might be Egypt or Malaysia, or anywhere come to that. We’ve got men serving all over the place now,’ Peggy said. ‘They can’t tell us where they are in their letters, but when they come home they have plenty to say…’
‘Well, I’m going to join one of the volunteer services and then I can tell Jimmy I’m doing my bit, can’t I?’
‘Yes, you can,’ Peggy agreed and handed both her and Nellie a glass of sherry. ‘Let’s drink to the new baby – and to victory for the Allies…’
‘And let’s hope the war is soon over,’ Nellie added.
‘Yes, let’s hope they all come home soon…’ Rose said and sipped her sherry just as they heard a wail from upstairs. ‘That’s Fay. I’ll go, Peggy – it must be nearly time for you to open the bar…’
‘Goodness me, you’re right,’ Peggy said and looked at the clock on the wall. ‘In all the excitement I’d forgotten. I’d better get through there right now.’
Chapter 7
‘Are you desperate for anything?’ Maureen asked when she popped into the shop that afternoon and found Tom rearranging his shelves. She’d just finished one of her two mornings at the hospital. Maureen considered she was lucky to get even two shifts a week, because a married woman with a child was very seldom taken back. However, Sister Morrison had put in a good word for her, telling her privately that the latest batch of new recruits were the worst they’d had. Maureen took this with a pinch of salt, remembering that she too had been considered useless when she first started in the hospital at Portsmouth, but she was grateful for the shifts she was given. As yet her pregnancy was in its early stages and she wasn’t suffering any of the aches and pains that she’d had with Robin towards the end of her term with him.
Her various jobs meant that she was constantly busy, and that Gran was asked to look after Robin while she worked. Maureen usually took him with her in the pushchair when she visited friends or the shop, but not when she went to the wholesaler, because she needed to seem efficient and business-like there. Gran never minded babysitting at night, and when Shirley was home from school no one was allowed to do much for her brother; she ran after him, spoiling him as if he were a little king and he only had to point at something and she would give it to him.
Tom looked at his list, then, ‘No, we’re just short of the things you couldn’t get last time, but we need all the usual stuff. I’ve made a list, but if there’s anything going just bring it – we need to fill the shelves.’
‘Did you order some more toys and trinkets? Anything that helps to keep trade goin’ at the moment is a good thing.’
‘Yes, but Ben has been into hospital for treatment on his back and it made him very sore so he hasn’t been able to do much recently.’
‘Oh, poor Ben,’ Maureen said sympathetically. ‘I know he suffers but he’s always so cheerful you forget what he has to put up with…’
‘He’s only twenty-two,’ Tom said. ‘The injuries he suffered have aged him and he looks older, but that’s all he is…’
‘Well, tell him we love his toys and will keep stocking them for as long as the war lasts…’
‘Yeah, I shall,’ Tom said and pulled a face as he saw a customer coming. ‘It’s Irene from the hairdresser’s. She’s always popping in for a few sweets or some biscuits these days. I took her to the flicks and she never stopped chattering the whole time. I think she considers herself my girl now – but we’re just friends.’
Maureen laughed and then said, ‘Make it clear to her now, Tom, or she will claim you’ve broken her heart.’
‘I’ve tried to,’ Tom said ruefully, ‘but— Hello, Irene. What can I do for you?’
‘I’ll get off then,’ Maureen said. ‘Don’t forget you have a double driving lesson this evening…’
‘Oh… no, I won’t…’ he shot her a grateful smile, because his driving lessons weren’t until the weekend, but it would serve as an excuse if Irene asked him out again.
‘I wish I could learn to drive,’ she said wistfully as the door closed behind Maureen. ‘I could never afford lessons on my wages…’
‘Nor can I,’ Tom said. ‘Maureen is paying because she wants me to drive the van she’s bought. She’s going to use it for ferrying her kids about – and I’m going to deliver groceries with it sometimes.’
‘You could take us to the sea next summer,’ Irene said, giving him a hopeful look, but Tom shook his head.
‘It’s not my van, it’s Maureen’s. I wouldn’t ask her if I could use it just for a pleasure trip. Besides, you’ll have a proper boyfriend by then, Irene. A girl like you will be courtin’ in no time… and I hope to be in the Army.’
Irene frowned, because it wasn’t what she wanted to hear. She asked for biscuits and Tom told her they had some plain ones or some ginger snaps.
‘No chocolate biscuits,’ he said. ‘We’ve got some penny bars of milk chocolate though. Maureen got a box last week and I’ve kept them under the counter for those that ask…’
Irene bought a packet of ginger snaps and two penny bars of chocolate. She took them and the ration book and went out, giving him a look that accused him of breaking her heart, but he steadfastly ignored it. Irene was only fifteen and she would get a crush on a lot of men before she found the right one – and Tom certainly wasn’t it. He’d only taken her to the pictures as a friend on an impulse, but she’d clung to his arm and tried everything she knew to get him to kiss her, but he’d simply taken her home, thanked her and said goodnight. Irene was still a little girl to Tom, even if she thought differently.
His thoughts were suspended as the girl he most admired walked into the shop. Rose looked lovely. She was wearing a pink jumper and a grey pleated skirt, and her hair was brushed back off her face showing her ears in which she wore tiny silver earrings.
‘Hello, Tom,’ she said and smiled at him. ‘Peggy wants you to call round this evening if you can. She needs a room redecorating… it’s for Janet when she comes home. I’m having her old room and Pip is bringing his girl home for a week – and Mr Ashley is coming back too…’
‘Mr Ashley is coming back – is that for good?’ Tom asked, a little surprised.
‘Peggy just said he was coming back.’ Rose looked at some magazines and picked one. ‘I’d like to buy this – and a quarter pound of fruit sweets, please.’
‘We’ve got raspberry drops, barley sugar or Tom Thumb drops,’ he said. ‘Which would you prefer?’
‘I think the Tom Thumb drops,’ she said. ‘I like to suck several different flavours in one go…’
Tom laughed, because he liked that too. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Nothing else tastes like them… A quarter pound then?’
‘Please…’ Rose said and hesitated. ‘What can I send to a soldier? I’d like to send small gifts every now and then – what is easy to post and would keep?’
Tom’s heart sank, but he’d always known she would think he was too young for her. ‘Well, you could send a few cigarettes – but we’ve got some small tins of mint humbugs in at the moment. You could send ten ciggies and a tin of the humbugs. It makes a nice parcel… Oh, there are some toffees as well in rolls…’
‘I’ve got all my sweet coupons,’ Rose said. ‘I’ll take the humbugs, two of those toffee rolls – and twenty Players. Jimmy smoked those when he took me out to tea.’
Obviously Rose thought a lot of her friend, if she was prepared to sacrifice her sweet coupons and buy him twenty cigarettes. She couldn’t earn much at the pub helping Peggy.
He grinned as he put the various things on the counter in front of her, because Tom liked her too much to hold a grudge just because she had a boyfriend. ‘Your boyfriend will be pleased to get these…’
�
�Jimmy is just a friend,’ Rose said. ‘I like him and he took me out to tea – but he only wants to be friends, because he isn’t sure he’ll come back.’
‘Of course he will,’ Tom said. ‘Any man would come back for a girl like you, Rose. I’d make sure I didn’t get myself killed if I was out there and had you waiting for me.’
Rose went into a peal of delighted laughter, making Tom colour up again. ‘Oh Tom, you are lovely,’ she said as she paid for her goods and scooped them into her pocket. ‘If you were a bit older, I’d let you take me dancing…’
It was on the tip of Tom’s tongue to say he would take her dancing that Saturday, but before he could build up the courage to say it she had gone, throwing a mischievous look at him as she closed the door.
Tom knew she was teasing him. Rose was a bit of a flirt, he thought, but it didn’t stop him liking her and wishing he was older. If he was in the Army, perhaps she would take him seriously. It was the wrong time in his life for Tom to fall in love with a girl, especially a girl who already had a soldier friend she was keen on. Yet he couldn’t help himself wanting to take her in his arms and kiss her.
‘Daft lad,’ he told himself and laughed. Rose was too beautiful, too intelligent and wonderful to be interested in a bloke like him, but one day he would be older. He just had to hope that by the time he was old enough to go courting, she wasn’t already married with children of her own.
Tom returned to rearranging the shelves. He thought it best if everything wasn’t in the same place all the time. There was nothing he could do to fill empty shelves, but most shopkeepers were in the same boat these days. He wasn’t sure this life would suit him forever, but he had to be patient. The recruiting officer had hinted that if he kept going down there to pester them about taking him in the Army, he’d find himself down the mines.
Maureen was right about him learning to drive. If he had a skill like that the Army would have more use for him and be less inclined to send him off to a job he knew he would hate.
*
Maureen was walking home from the wholesalers. She was hurrying because she’d spent a long time looking round the large warehouse; they’d had a lot of stock come in that morning and Maureen had been lucky. The boss liked her and told her it was a case of first come first served these days.
‘You all get your share of the rationed stuff,’ Malcolm had told her. ‘But you’re a regular, Maureen, and have been for years – all that stuff over there is fresh in, so pick whatever you need.’ He’d pointed to a large trolley that they used to move stuff round the warehouse.
Maureen had found things they hadn’t been able to get for ages, including a box of knicker elastic, pins, needles, cottons, writing paper and envelopes and – joy of joys! – a box of fully fashioned silk stockings containing two dozen pairs in cellophane packets. She’d bought an assortment of bits, knowing that Tom worried about his empty shelves and making use of Malcolm’s generosity to stock up on everything she could, including tins of black treacle, condensed milk, tinned fruit cocktail, packets of custard powder, some fresh eggs and a side of bacon, also several large tins of corned beef, which Tom would slice for the customers as needed. She was smiling as she thought of his pleasure when the delivery van unloaded that little lot tomorrow. It would keep him busy for a while and stop him thinking of running off to be a soldier for a few months longer.
So, as she walked briskly home through the lanes, Maureen was smiling, content with a good day’s work and the prospect of getting home to her children and Gran. There might even be a letter from Gordon…
‘Hello, Maureen – did you think I’d forgotten all about you?’
A shock ran through Maureen as she heard the voice – a voice she’d once dreamed of with longing but now dreaded. ‘What do you want, Rory?’ she said warily and looked at him. He looked tanned and healthy, which probably meant he’d been abroad for a while. Rory no longer served with the fighting forces, but the last thing she’d heard, he was working with the Army logistics, moving equipment for the troops.
Rory’s eyes were hard as he met hers. ‘I told you I should want to see my son – and I’ve come to London for that purpose…’
‘Robin isn’t your son,’ Maureen lied. ‘I don’t care what you say, Rory. He’s mine – and Gordon’s. Nothing to do with you at all…’
‘I’m not a bloody fool,’ Rory said and grabbed her arm, looking down at her fiercely. His fingers bit into her arm but she didn’t cry out. ‘I’ll be round tomorrow and I want to see him – there will be trouble if you try to stop me. I’m warnin’ you…’
‘Leave me alone…’ Maureen pulled back from him, but he held her tightly and she gave a little yelp of alarm.
‘What do yer think yer doin’, mate?’ a man’s voice startled Rory and he relaxed his hold on her arm. ‘The lady wants to go – let her or yer might find it’s you getting’ a taste of yer own medicine… I don’t like bullies.’
‘You and whose bloody army?’ Rory grunted, but as the man came nearer, his face paled as the large shadow loomed over him and he let go of her arm. ‘I ain’t hurtin’ her – I’ll be round tomorrow, Maureen, so be there…’
Rory turned and walked off abruptly and Maureen glanced up at the man-mountain that was her rescuer. He was wearing the uniform of a sergeant in the Army but she didn’t know him.
‘Thank you so much…’
‘I can’t stand bullies,’ the soldier said. ‘I’m lookin’ for Mulberry Lane – can you show me the way please, Mrs… sorry, I don’t know yer name?’
‘I’m Maureen Hart. I live just round the corner of Mulberry Lane. It’s on my way home. Walk with me and I’ll show you…’
‘Right, thanks,’ the soldier said. ‘My name is Sid Coleman. I’m looking for a pub by the name of…’
‘The Pig & Whistle?’ Maureen said and the soldier nodded. ‘My friend Peggy runs it… Do you know her?’
‘No, but I’ve met her son; he told me to call in and have a drink, when I was in town.’ He looked thoughtful. ‘I was in hospital for some months and I’ve been convalescing – they were finding me a job because my spine was damaged and I can’t go back to the front line…’
‘You should tell Peggy you know Pip,’ Maureen said. ‘If she knows you’re a friend of her son’s, she’ll be pleased to see you.’
‘We know each other, but we’re not exactly mates. We meet at the same pub now and then and play darts. I’m the leader of the Army team and Pip is the best man on the RAF side – so it’s a sort of friendly rivalry, but you could say we get on all right.’
‘Well, Peggy will be delighted to meet you, I’m sure,’ Maureen said, ‘and it was lucky for me that you happened along…’
‘Who was the bully threatening you?’
‘A previous boyfriend,’ Maureen said, flushing. ‘He doesn’t like it that I found someone else…’
‘Everyone has the right to change their mind,’ the soldier said. ‘Ah, I can see the pub… Are you all right to get home now?’
‘Yes, I’m fine,’ Maureen lied. ‘I’m not frightened of Rory – he just won’t take no for an answer.’
‘You should be wary of him,’ the soldier said. ‘I’ve seen plenty of his type – and they can be nasty. You take care, Maureen…’
‘Yes, I shall, thanks again…’
Maureen turned away to her home in Gun Street, leaving him to cross the road and enter The Pig & Whistle through the front door. She quickened her step because Gran would be getting worried.
*
‘The bed ain’t been used for a while, mate,’ Tom said to the soldier he’d met at Peggy’s that evening. His name was Sid Coleman and he was looking for somewhere to stay for a few days. Pip had told him that Peggy would put him up, but she had everyone descending on her at once and couldn’t manage it, so Tom had offered him somewhere to sleep. ‘I can give yer toast and stuff in the morning – but you’ll have to eat out somewhere…’
‘I’ll eat at the pub,’
Sid said and grinned. ‘Don’t worry about changing sheets for me, Tom. If you’d been sleepin’ where I have recently, you’d know this bed was sheer luxury.’
‘It was my brother’s…’ Tom said. ‘I’ve changed the sheets recently and I don’t think they’re damp…’ He shook his head. ‘Well, you’re welcome to stay for as long as you like.’
‘Thanks.’ Sid looked appreciative. ‘It’s just a few days this time, half business, half on leave – but if I’m seconded to the general, I may want to come back again on a more permanent basis.’ Seeing Tom’s curiosity, he grinned. ‘I’ve been recommended as a driver for a general; his name’s confidential, but they think he needs a bodyguard-cum-dogsbody and I’m it. It means driving him wherever he wants to go and lookin’ after him twenty-four seven. Still, it’s a picnic compared to where we’ve been…’
‘Where have you been – were you at El Alamein?’ Tom asked eagerly.
Sid laughed good-naturedly. ‘I was certainly at Tobruk and a few other places in Africa,’ he said. ‘Keen on joinin’ up are yer?’
Grinning, Tom said, ‘I’ve been down the recruitin’ office so many times they practically threatened to send me down the mines if I didn’t stop botherin’ them.’
Sid threw back his head and laughed so hard his whole body shook. He was dark-haired with a square chin and a big nose but had the kind of looks that people trusted and liked.
‘I wish I’d had you in my troop,’ he told Tom and clapped him on the shoulder. ‘I think you’ll make a fine soldier, Tom. How old are you?’
‘Seventeen, eighteen in April…’ Tom sighed. ‘I know it’s goin’ to be all over by the time I get in – and I’m itchin’ to give the Germans a whacking.’
‘You’ll get yer chance,’ Sid said. ‘I reckon we could get you into the cadets – hasn’t anyone spoken to you about joining the reserves? They’re blokes could be called up quick if needed, and they give yer all the regular trainin’.’
‘I’ll join anythin’ if it helps me to be a soldier…’ Tom was all eagerness.
