The War Girls

by Rosie James

‘What do you think, Mummy?’ he said. ‘Don’t you feel that this would be a very good solution to your little problem?’

  Abigail lifted Emily from her lap and stood to leave. ‘It was kind of you to try and do your best for us,’ she said, ‘but I’m afraid my answer is the same as Emily’s.’ Abigail smiled sweetly. ‘No, thank you,’ she said.

  With Emily in charge of the pushchair, they left the building, Abigail admitting to feeling quite queasy at the slightest thought of Emily being deposited in a strange place, a strange situation, and knowing no one – and for an entire day. And so soon after she’d been brought away from the safety and security of Coopers.

  Abigail tightened her lips. Well, it was unthinkable, and it was never going to happen. She would go on looking for a job until someone gave her one.

  And it was going to be a very long time before Emily was thrown to the lions in the playground.

  Chapter 10

  Taking their time, and with Emily agreeing to have a lift in the pushchair, the two made their way slowly all the way up Park Street, glancing in the shop windows as they went. They hadn’t been this far before, and it was a long walk. And just then, the chimes of Great George rang out, the big clock on Bristol University tower which Luke had spoken about.

  And there it was. The university that his father had attended, and to which Luke himself had said he might go.

  Luke. Oh Luke. If only you knew what has happened to us.

  Admitting to herself that she was feeling insecure and vulnerable, Abigail stopped to catch her breath for a moment. Pausing, she allowed her imagination to run away with her, to believe that they might see each other again one day – and here in Bristol. Perhaps that’s why she’d chosen the city? What a miracle it would be if she and Luke were to come face to face! They would have so much to catch up with, and she would have so much to tell him!

  And he would hold her close, tenderly, lovingly, as only Luke Jordan knew how …

  Then she shook herself angrily. That was never going to happen now, and Abigail felt annoyed that she’d allowed her thoughts to drift back to that other life, the life they’d left behind them. That was then, and this was now – their present, and their future. Hers and Emily’s. There were just the two of them, and that was always as it was going to be. The past was the past.

  ‘Can we go across the road, Mummy?’ Emily asked eagerly, looking up from her pushchair. ‘That shop over there has got cakes in the window!’

  Abigail followed her daughter’s gaze. They were looking at The Berkeley Hotel and Restaurant, and it did look inviting. Abigail sighed briefly. She was going to push all her negative thoughts to one side, and she was sure she could afford to treat them both to a nice lunch for now.

  They had to wait quite a few moments to cross the busy road, and as they entered The Berkeley a waitress approached them.

  ‘Good afternoon,’ she said. ‘Are you here for coffee today – or for lunch?’

  ‘We would like lunch, please,’ Abigail said.

  ‘Then follow me,’ the waitress said, beginning to lead them further inside, and just then Emily cried out. ‘Look, Mummy – there’s Carrie!’ And without waiting for a response from her mother, Emily sprang out of the pushchair and ran across the entrance hall, flinging her arms right around the waist of the young woman who was just about to enter a door which stated ‘Staff Only’.

  ‘Oh – hello!’ Carrie exclaimed, turning to pick Emily up and hug her. ‘How lovely to see you again!’

  Her eyes lighting up, Abigail came to join them. It was so good to see that smiley face!

  ‘Hello, Carrie,’ she said. ‘Yes, we’ve had one or two things to do this morning, but as soon as Emily saw this restaurant, she insisted we come in and have some lunch,’ Abigail added. ‘For a treat.’

  ‘Oh, I’m so pleased you did!’ Carrie exclaimed. ‘Because Eileen and I have been wondering about you – though Janet did say you’d called in briefly and told her you’d accepted number fourteen. Is it any good – are you happy there?’

  Abigail nodded. ‘Yes, it’s a suitable room, and the arrangements are fairly simple to follow. And we have slept very well – haven’t we, Emily?’ Abigail glanced around her for a second. ‘So – this is where you work, Carrie?’

  Carrie nodded, setting Emily down gently. ‘Yes, upstairs in the Accounts department,’ she said, ‘where I’ve been since leaving school.’ She paused. ‘Look. I’ve got time to sit and have a coffee with you, if you would like me to – while you have lunch. We can have a bit of a chat – the details of which I shall have to recount to Eileen when I see her, of course! We’ve thought about you both so much.’

  ‘We’d love you to sit and talk to us – wouldn’t we, Emily?’ Abigail said as all three made their way towards the restaurant area.

  ‘And have your little knees fully recovered now, Emily?’ Carrie asked, automatically holding Emily’s hand. Emily nodded.

  ‘They’re fine,’ she said airily.

  Presently, seated at a corner table by the window enjoying their lunch, Abigail looked across at Carrie.

  ‘So, you and Eileen have been friends for a very long time?’

  Carrie nodded as she sipped at her coffee. ‘Yes – ever since we met at secondary school. And when we left – that was four years ago when we were sixteen – Eileen got a job at the Royal Insurance Company – just off the Centre – and I got this one. So we actually work fairly close to each other and can often meet up – especially at Janet’s place.’ Carrie shot a glance at Abigail. ‘I expect you left school at sixteen, too, didn’t you, Abigail? Most of us did, didn’t we? Which probably means that we three are all about the same age.’

  ‘Yes – I shall be twenty next birthday,’ Abigail said. ‘Do you and Eileen live near each other?’

  ‘Yes – as I think I mentioned, my father is a priest, and our church is All Saints in Knowle. I live in the vicarage with my parents. It’s less than a mile away from where Eileen lives with her mother in West Road, near Broad Walk, so it’s a short distance for us to meet up when we want to get together.’

  Abigail glanced at Carrie for a second. As a vicar’s daughter, was she expected to attend church every Sunday, and did the family always say Grace before meals? Abigail bit her lip, remembering her aunt’s strict religious views even though her behaviour had often been less than Christian. After all, shouldn’t Edna have wanted her great-niece to be baptised in the name of Jesus rather than insisting the innocent baby should be nameless and hidden away in disgrace? It hadn’t made any sense to Abigail then, and it still didn’t now.

  As if reading her thoughts, Carrie said, ‘Did you go to your village church, Abigail?’

  ‘I did go to Sunday school,’ Abigail said carefully, ‘but the aunt who I lived with was the religious one in the family. I know she used to kneel down every night to say her prayers and she used to enjoy the vicar coming to give her Holy Communion every so often. He used to arrive on his big black horse and he always looked so solemn, but after their little service he would stay for tea and homemade cake which used to cheer him up.’

  Carrie giggled. ‘Sometimes, when he’s done his parish rounds, my father has been given so many cups of tea he says he could nearly swim home! But people are very kind, and they mean well,’ she added.

  Carrie watched Emily scrape up the last of her lamb casserole before going on. ‘You see, luckily, Eileen and I have always enjoyed the same things. In the summer we sometimes play tennis on Saturday mornings if neither of us have to go to work – we use the local court near Eileen’s place. And we both love going to the cinema. When a new film comes out, we’re always first in the queue.’ Carrie smiled happily. ‘My boyfriend, Mark – he’s in the army – seems really fond of Eileen, and I know she likes him. They’re always teasing each other when he’s home on leave.’

  After a few moments, Carrie went on, ‘And do you know, Eileen and I have never fallen out. Not once. Because, as friends, we enjoy just getting
along together. And not looking for arguments!’

  Abigail smiled slowly. ‘I had a friend like that once,’ she said.

  Carrie looked at her quickly. ‘And you don’t now?’

  ‘No,’ Abigail replied. ‘It was a long time ago, and we don’t see each other anymore.’

  ‘That’s a shame,’ Carrie said lightly. ‘A good friend is better than money in the bank.’ She didn’t go on but couldn’t help being curious about Abigail and her little daughter. Why were they really here, and what made them choose Bristol of all places? Didn’t she realise that when war came – and it was going to be soon – Hitler’s bombers would aim for the city’s factories, the aeroplane company, the docks? The obvious, vulnerable targets in any warfare?

  And surely Abigail must be missing Emily’s father – who, Janet had said, Abigail had briefly implied was away on war work of some kind. Carrie looked away for a moment. If she was missing Mark, how much more must Abigail be missing her husband? But, it was Abigail’s business, no one else’s, and perhaps one day she would tell them a little more.

  Emily suddenly chirped up. ‘We’ve been looking for a job for Mummy today,’ she announced, ‘because we must have enough money to pay for everything.’

  Carrie immediately looked interested. ‘Oh?’ She turned to Abigail. ‘And did Mummy find a job?’

  ‘Not yet,’ Abigail said lightly, ‘but it’s early days. I expect something will come up.’

  ‘And the man wanted me to go to school,’ Emily went on conversationally, ‘but I didn’t want to and Mummy didn’t want me to, either.’

  Carrie raised her eyes and Abigail said, ‘Oh, it was the chap in the Labour Exchange, that’s all. He thought it would free me up but I said I wasn’t interested.’

  After a moment’s pause, Carrie said, ‘Well, I suppose I had better go back upstairs or they’ll give me the sack.’ She smiled down at Emily. ‘I hope we see you in Janet’s place again soon,’ she said.

  ‘We’re going there this afternoon,’ Emily announced, ‘aren’t we, Mummy?’

  Later, Abigail and Emily began wandering back down the street, and suddenly Abigail’s eyes lit up. She stopped abruptly. A bookshop! A bookshop with rows of beautiful volumes set out there in the window. And the auspicious sign above read ‘Blackwell’s’

  How she would love to work in a bookshop! From a very young age, she’d read all her books over and over again – when she’d been allowed. But would she – could she – find the courage to go inside this important-looking building and ask if they would take her on? Abigail shook her head quickly. Asking herself that question made her realise just how easily her self-belief had lessened. After all, so far she’d only been turned down once, but it was her experience at the Labour Exchange that had turned the screw.

  Well, tomorrow was another day, and it would be tomorrow that she’d find the courage to return to this spot and go into Blackwell’s.

  Looking up from the pushchair, Emily yawned. ‘Can we go to Janet’s now? Eileen might be there.’

  ‘No, she won’t,’ Abigail said, ‘because Eileen works in an office and that’s where she’ll be now.’

  ‘And when you go to work, I’m coming too, aren’t I, Mummy?’ Emily said.

  ‘I’m not sure where I’ll be working but of course you will come too,’ Abigail said. ‘I wouldn’t leave you by yourself, would I? But anyway, here we are at Janet’s! Have you got room for anything else to eat after our lunch – you finished everything on your plate, didn’t you?’

  ‘I’ve got room for an ice cream,’ Emily said.

  It was almost three o’clock and the café was quite crowded with customers coming in for tea. As before, Janet spotted them at once and came across.

  ‘Oh – what luck that you turned up!’ she exclaimed hurriedly. ‘Poor Fay has gone home with a terrible headache, and Pat seems to be developing a really bad cold so I’ve sent her home, too. I can’t risk infecting all my customers!’ Janet made a face. ‘Those two are never ill – certainly not at the same time! So, I would be really glad if you could stay and help me, just for an hour, Abigail?’ She hesitated, obviously feeling awkward. ‘You did mention – some time ago – that you might be looking for work – and it seems that this might be the day! If you have the time, of course,’ she added quickly. ‘You might be on your way to something else.’

  Warming at once to this new situation, Abigail shook her head. ‘No, we’re not,’ she said. She drew the pushchair and their belongings into a far corner out of the way, before following Janet into the kitchen.

  ‘There’s a fresh tray of cakes just ready to come out of the oven,’ Janet said, sounding unusually harassed, ‘and I was just about to rub up another batch of pastry.’ She glanced anxiously out towards the door where more customers were coming in, and Abigail immediately turned to wash her hands in the deep sink.

  ‘Leave the pastry to me, Janet,’ she said briskly, ‘then I’ll add jam onto those scones over there, shall I?’

  Obviously relieved, Janet touched Abigail briefly on the arm. ‘You are a visiting angel,’ she said. ‘And just look at your daughter. What a little treasure.’

  Having stood there listening to everything that was being said, Emily had caught on at once, and without being asked, was setting out rows of cups and putting teaspoons into every saucer. She called out to Janet. ‘Some of the sugar bowls are nearly empty, Janet, and there’s no milk in this big jug. Where can I get some more?’

  Working there in Janet’s neat and inviting kitchen, Abigail hummed a little tune under her breath. Only a few minutes earlier she’d felt so low about trying to find work, and here it was! Without even asking for it! And although this was obviously just for today, Abigail instinctively felt that she was going to be able to earn a little money here from time to time. Which was a start, wasn’t it? She could bake bread and cakes, she could bottle fruit, make jam – and the best bit was that Emily was welcome here, too.

  Before rolling out the pastry, Abigail glanced into the café, which was now humming with customers, and she smiled as she watched Emily busily clearing an empty table and reaching up to wipe it down vigorously with a damp cloth, then chatting happily to the people now sitting there as if she’d known them all her life. It was obvious from the expression on their upturned faces that these customers were enjoying the attention of this new little waitress.

  It was almost six o’clock before the last customer left, and as she began emptying the till and putting the day’s takings into a large bag, Janet looked across at Abigail and Emily who were setting out the chairs and tables neatly for tomorrow.

  ‘I do not know how I would have managed this afternoon without you two,’ Janet said. ‘I’ve never known it to be this busy on a Monday.’

  ‘We’ve enjoyed helping you out, Janet,’ Abigail said, ‘haven’t we, Emily? It’s been fun!’

  Emily nodded. ‘Can we come again tomorrow, Janet?’

  ‘Well, let me give you your wages for today, first,’ Janet said, coming across towards them, and Abigail stepped back uncertainly.

  ‘Oh … really … are you sure, Janet? We’ve been only too happy to help out. But … thank you very, very much.’

  Janet smiled gratefully. ‘I could not have managed here without both of you today!’

  Stopping to take her apron off, Abigail said, ‘Look, Janet, as you said, you remembered me mentioning on the first day we met that I shall soon be looking for regular work and if I could really be of use to you, perhaps we could arrange something? Say, a few hours now and again? At times which might suit both of us?’

  ‘That would be fantastic,’ Janet said at once. ‘How about next week – Wednesday and Thursday? From three o’clock to five? Wednesdays are Pat’s afternoon off, and Fay takes hers on Thursdays.’ Janet paused, before adding, ‘I usually employ standby help on those days,’ she said, ‘but people are not always reliable.’ She smiled. ‘But I feel I could really count on you, Abigail.’

 
‘And me!’ Emily had been listening to all this with great interest. ‘I can count up to a hundred, Janet!’

  ‘Well, I will never forget how you welcomed us to Bristol, Janet,’ Abigail said. ‘You were our first friend in the city and you gave me such good advice. So, Emily and I will be here on duty next week. Wednesday at 3 p.m. sharp, though I am quite sure we shall be here before that. Emily will make sure of it!’

  ‘And Eileen and Carrie will be really pleased to hear that they will be seeing lots of you from now on,’ Janet said, ‘because they were terribly worried that you and Emily were here by yourselves.’

  Chapter 11

  The following afternoon, Abigail stood for several moments outside Blackwell’s bookshop. She was going in now – and she would ask for a job. After all, they could only say no, and she’d made sure that she and Emily were both looking their best. Deciding not to put it off any longer and, with Emily in her pushchair, she went inside. An elderly lady approached.

  ‘Good afternoon,’ she said. ‘Can I help you? What are you looking for?’

  Fortunately, there were no customers present, and clearing her throat, Abigail decided to come straight to the point. ‘I am looking for a job,’ she said, ‘and I was wondering if you had any vacancies. My name is Abigail Wilson,’ she added politely.

  The woman was clearly surprised. ‘What sort of vacancies are you referring to?’ said.

  ‘Anything at all,’ Abigail replied promptly. ‘Serving behind the counter or cleaning shelves or making tea.’ Barely pausing for breath, she went on, ‘You see, my daughter and I are new to Bristol and have recently arrived here from the country. And I need to find work. Unfortunately, my husband has been called away,’ she added quickly. ‘But to spend my days in a bookshop would be my ultimate dream because I have always loved books, they have been a massive part of my life. I was always in charge of our school library,’ she added, hoping that didn’t sound too pathetic.