Alice's Long Road Home

by Rosie James

  ‘So – what do you do with yourself all the time?’ Eve said curiously.

  ‘Oh well, I clean the house every morning, and do our washing,’ Alice said slowly. ‘And I go shopping for our everyday needs. And recently I’ve been sitting outside on our tiny patio reading…or writing one or two letters.’

  Hearing herself say all this made Alice feel slightly ashamed. Surely she should be doing something more profitable? Everyone should work, pay their way in the world, shouldn’t they? But apparently, now that she was someone’s wife, that was not expected of her. And Alice was not going to say a word about her novel. She had never mentioned the subject to the others before, and she was not going to now. It was a sort of secret that only Sam knew about, and it was wise to keep it a secret. If ever, ever, ever she did see her name on that red-bound book, then would be the time to reveal all – to the whole world. But if the way she’d been feeling about it recently was anything to go by, publication seemed a very unlikely prospect.

  ‘So – you’re a real lady of leisure now then,’ Eve said. ‘Lucky you!’

  But she didn’t mean that. Evie adored her job at the Bath music shop where she’d met her beloved Max, and having to get up each morning to go to work was something she really looked forward to. Apart from that, now that her parents had accepted that their daughter was going to marry a divorcee, and appeared to approve of it, Evie had nothing else to wish for.

  Suddenly, ‘Yer – I’m dying for a coffee and a fag,’ Fay said. ‘Look – this place looks OK. Shall we try it?’

  The others readily agreed, and since it was now midday they decided to have lunch rather than just coffee. Inside the restaurant, a waiter took them over to a table in the window, and Fay had hardly sat down before lighting a cigarette and inhaling deeply. Eve looked across at her through the smoke.

  ‘I still haven’t got the hang of that,’ she said, ‘though I’ve tried, because all Max’s friends smoke – though funnily enough, he doesn’t,’ she added.

  They ordered their meal – all choosing the same thing – tomato soup, followed by ham and salad, and presently Alice said as she shook some Heinz salad cream onto her plate, ‘I hope you aren’t going home too early tonight, because I’ve booked us a table at our little Italian restaurant along the road.’ She dipped a lettuce leaf into the salad cream and put it into her mouth. ‘Sam and I go there fairly often because it’s so convenient – and the food’s lovely.’ She smiled. ‘Giovanni is the owner, and he knows us now. Makes a great fuss of us when we go in.’

  ‘Is Sam going to be coming with us as well?’ Fay asked, and Alice shook her head.

  ‘No, sorry – you won’t be seeing Sam because he’s on duty until tomorrow evening. He’s often on duty,’ she added, ‘but he can’t help that.’

  After a moment, Eve said – ‘Do you go back much to Clifton, Alice? You know, to see the professor? That huge house must seem very empty after the wedding, and Christmas, and everything,’ she added.

  ‘We’ve been back twice for flying visits,’ Alice replied, picking up her glass of water and taking a sip. ‘And Rose and Margaret put in an appearance from time to time, so we’ve heard. Of course, Sam’s father is often away from the house – his hours seem to be about the same as Sam’s – and during the war when the rest of the family evacuated from Bristol, he had the place to himself when he was there.’ Alice paused. ‘Being alone is nothing new to him…sadly,’ she said slowly.

  They ate in silence, then Eve said – ‘How long do you expect to be in London, Alice? Do you think this is where you’re going to end up permanently?’

  Alice shrugged. ‘I’ve no idea – and neither does Sam. He could be sent anywhere, but he’s got more exams here, later in the year, so we’ll be in London until Christmas. We’ve just extended the lease on our cottage for another six months,’ she added.

  They spent the rest of the day in all the usual haunts – Harrods being one of the essentials, where Evie bought herself a beautiful flimsy scarf in multicolour shades of green, cream and peach – but when the others saw the price on the ticket they both gasped at once.

  ‘Have you won the pools?’ Fay demanded. ‘And how on earth can they charge that much – for a scarf?’

  Eve was unrepentant as she put the beautifully wrapped item into her handbag. ‘I don’t care,’ she said – rather smugly. ‘Max gave me money to buy myself something nice while I was in London – and that’s what I’ve done. I know he’ll like it.’

  After that, they wandered through Liberty’s and Dickins & Jones – Alice quietly amazed at some of the outfits displayed on the headless models dotted around. Despite the rationing, there seemed little shortage of decent stuff to buy – if you could afford it.

  ‘Thank heavens we don’t have to go up to the bridal wear department,’ Fay said – ‘at least – not for you, Alice,’ and Alice smiled quickly. She wasn’t likely to forget their pointless trailing around the shops last year.

  Interrupted by one or two stops for a cup of tea, they carried on down the length of Oxford and Regent Streets, and into Trafalgar Square to feed the pigeons, eventually coming to stand in front of Buckingham Palace alongside countless other visitors – many taking photographs of the auspicious building – above which the union flag was flying indicating that the King was at home.

  Finally, Eve, who was the first to complain that she couldn’t walk another step, dropped down onto a nearby bench and looked up at the others.

  ‘Can we go home now please?’ she said plaintively, and the others sat down beside her, Fay immediately lighting another cigarette.

  ‘Honestly, you’re such a weed, Evie Miles,’ Fay said. ‘Remember the hours we all put in on the farm before giving up? I never remember you complaining that you were too tired to go on. Civvy street has made you feeble,’ she said, wagging her finger.

  ‘Oh – come on – everyone knows how tiring London is,’ Alice said, leaning back and staring up at the sky. ‘Sam and I have come into town several times together – he’s taken me everywhere… the British Museum, the Natural History Museum, the National Gallery – and of course we spent longest at the Science Museum…’ She shrugged. ‘He knows his way around because he’s been in London for a long time and knows it so well. And he does have an interesting way of explaining things,’ she added.

  It was time to go home, and Alice stood up and looked at the others. ‘Come on – I’ll treat us to a cab ride back,’ she said. ‘Then I’ll show you around our little cottage – it’ll take about thirty seconds to do that – then we’ll get ready to go out later.’ She smiled. ‘Giovanni is a typical Italian. Prepare yourselves to be worshipped and adored.’

  Later, after Alice had given Fay and Eve a whistle-stop tour of their small cottage, and had made a pot of tea to revive them after their marathon walking, they left the cottage and strolled along to the restaurant. And as Alice had predicted, the owner came forward straightaway, his arms outstretched to greet them.

  ‘Signora,’ he breathed, taking Alice’s hand and pressing it to his lips, ‘and signorini…please…please…to.come in!’ The man’s sharp eyes had noticed that the others were not wearing wedding rings.

  Alice glanced at her watch. They didn’t have all that much time because it was already 7.30 and the last train back to Bath and Bristol was 11 o’clock. She picked up the menu, running her finger down the list for a moment.

  ‘We often just choose the menu for the day,’ she said, looking across at the others, ‘but of course the pizza and lasagne are always wonderful…and last time we had this one,’ she added, pointing to No.3 on the long list. ‘“Saltimbocca alla Romana,”– which is escalope of veal braised in Marsala wine, with ham and eggs. Do you fancy that?’

  They did, and presently the three sat and tucked into the glorious food, Giovanni hovering to give them his usual personal attention. Eve looked over at Alice. ‘This must be such a different way of life for you, Alice,’ she said, and Alice agreed.

&nb
sp; ‘Yes – but I’m getting used to it,’ she said. She paused. ‘I’d never been to an Italian restaurant before – have either of you?’

  ‘Well, there is a small one in Bath,’ Eve said, ‘but I’ve never been there – and my parents certainly haven’t. They always stick to traditional food.’

  Fay was mopping up the delicious sauce with a piece of the crusty bread they’d been served – she had almost finished her meal – and she looked across at the others. ‘I’ve tried pasta a few times,’ she said between mouthfuls, ‘and haven’t really thought much of it…but this is…this is smashing!’

  They all chose ice cream for dessert – well, what else would you choose in an Italian restaurant! And as they scraped up the last of their portions from the small silver dishes, Alice said –

  ‘So – do you and Max have a date yet, Evie…for the divorce? And much more importantly…any idea when you might be getting married?’ She smiled. ‘Fay and I are already starting to worry about what we’ll wear.’

  ‘It could come through by Christmas,’ Eve said, carefully licking her spoon, back and front, ‘so mother and I think that Easter would be a lovely time to tie the knot.’ Eve put her spoon down and sat back for a moment. ‘I still find it hard to believe,’ she said slowly, ‘that it all came right for me…for us…in the end. It really is almost too good to be true.’

  Fay smiled at her fondly. ‘Well, we’re thrilled for you, aren’t we, Alice?’ she said. ‘And Max is a lovely bloke…we’ve both decided that, after due consideration, he’s good enough for our Evie.’ Fay reached into her handbag for her cigarettes, lighting one, and sitting back. ‘So there you are, see, that’s two of you safely accounted for, while I am very thankfully not accountable to anyone. Always the way I intended, and nothing’s changed in that direction.’

  There was a brief silence, then – ‘How’s your gran now, Fay?’ Alice asked. ‘No more heart scares I hope?’

  Fay inhaled deeply and blew out a long plume of smoke. ‘No, thank heavens,’ she said. She paused. ‘I was going to say something earlier, and then I forgot… I’ve promised to take her and mum to the farm in early September.’ She looked across at the others. ‘Why don’t you two come as well? It would be a really nice day out for us all. It’ll be on a Saturday, obviously, and then afterwards you could stay overnight with me at Miss Downs’s place, Alice. I’d take us all in the car – it’ll hold five of us, no problem – especially as neither of you carry much weight.’ Fay paused, glancing at Alice. ‘D’you think Sam could let you out of his sight for a weekend?’

  Alice hardly paused before answering. ‘Oh – I’m sure he won’t mind at all – and anyway, his next round of exams are about then, so he’ll be studying…either at the hospital, or at home.’ She smiled quickly. ‘He won’t miss me for one night.’

  ‘What about Max?’ Fay enquired, and Eve nodded her head.

  ‘I know it won’t bother Max,’ she said, ‘because he and his friends like to spend every spare minute practising and they get together at every possible opportunity. It’s like a religion – or a disease! So Max will be quite happy if I’m not around for once,’ she said.

  ‘That’s settled then,’ Fay said, pleased. ‘I was speaking to Roger on the phone recently, and it was his suggestion that we all come to the farm.’ She smiled. ‘I think he really misses us, you know. Even after all this time.’

  It was nearly time for them to leave, and as they were waiting for the bill, Fay said – ‘Did you hear the news this morning? About the forthcoming royal baby?’

  The others nodded, and Eve said, looking over at Alice – ‘Have you started knitting little bootees, yet, Alice? Or shouldn’t I ask?’

  ‘Oh, you can ask,’ Alice said, ‘but the answer’s no. I haven’t. No baby in waiting for me yet. I’m sad to inform you,’ she added slowly.

  She spoke with such obvious regret that the others glanced at each other quickly. ‘Well – these things take time – so I’m led to believe,’ Fay began, and Eve cut in–

  ‘Just look at the time it took my parents to bring me into the world!’ she said brightly.

  ‘Anyway, you’re married to a doctor,’ Fay pointed out. ‘He knows his way around in these matters, surely?’

  Alice half-smiled. ‘Do you know…we don’t really talk about it. That’s odd, isn’t it? But…you see, I feel…sort of guilty about it…as if I’m lacking in some sort of way.’

  Fay snorted. ‘For cripe’s sake, Alice! Don’t be so utterly bloomin’ daft!’ she said crossly. ‘You’ve been married for less than a year, and just because you’re not up the spout you feel guilty? Why do women always feel they’ve got to take the blame for things! There are two of you in this, remember…’

  ‘Oh, it would never be Sam’s fault,’ Alice said quickly. ‘The Carmichaels are very successful at producing children…’

  ‘Hmmm,’ Fay said, determined to win this argument. ‘Let’s be realistic for a moment.’ She reached for the ashtray and stubbed out her cigarette vigorously. ‘You tell us that Sam is often away at night, and that you spend quite a few of them alone…that’s right, isn’t it?’

  Alice looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening. Fay was warming to her subject, and Alice didn’t particularly want her personal problems aired in public. ‘Well, yes – of course that’s right,’ she said, lowering her tone. ‘But he is there a lot of the time – I mean, far more nights than he’s away.’

  Fay leaned forward. ‘But is he there at the important time?’ she said mysteriously.

  Alice frowned. ‘What do you mean? What’s the important time?’

  Fay heaved a sigh of exasperation. ‘Honestly…don’t you realize that there is actually a very short time in the month when it’s possible to conceive a brat? Apart from that, it’s all rather a waste of time I’m afraid.’

  Alice looked completely baffled, and Eve said – ‘Well, I didn’t know anything about that, Fay. So…how do you know when that…short…time is?’

  Fay folded her arms and looked across at the others, her eyes softening. Those two were such innocents. ‘It is apparently about the middle of each month,’ she declared, ‘so you see, Alice, dear heart, if Samuel the Great is away when he shouldn’t be, then it’s not likely to happen. Ever.’ Fay’s eyes twinkled mischievously. ‘Tell him to have a word with a doctor and find out the necessary information.’ She patted Alice’s hand. ‘So don’t worry, me old dear. When you’re about halfway through your month, just make sure you’re not sleeping alone!’

  There was no point Alice going to Paddington to see the girls off, so when they got back to the cottage she ordered them a taxi. It arrived almost at once, and the three hugged each other goodbye, promising to ring and write and keep in touch. And to make a definite date in their diaries for the proposed trip to the farm in September.

  ‘Give my love to your mum and your gran, Fay,’ Alice said, going to the door – ‘and to your parents as well, Evie,’ she added. ‘I will never forget what Mrs. Miles did for me on my wedding day…’

  Eve gave Alice another hug. ‘I can promise you that it meant as much to her as it must have done for you,’ she said. ‘She was very happy at the way all the dresses looked…how we all looked…and it gave her such a kick to really tackle something special.’ Eve smiled happily. ‘She’s looking forward to making my dress next!’

  Alice opened the front door for them to go out to the taxi, and Fay pulled Alice back for a second. ‘Now, don’t forget…work out your dates, then make sure lover boy’s around to do his duty,’ she said, ‘and I bet that this time next year, there’ll be another “royal” baby on the way!’

  Eve joined in. ‘And Mum will love making a christening gown,’ she said earnestly. ‘She said only the other day that she’d found some more beautiful white material in the chest of drawers.’

  After they’d gone, Alice went back inside and put the kettle on for a last cup of tea before bed. She smiled to herself. It had been such fun t
o be together again…would they ever get tired of each other, she wondered? Alice knew the answer to that! Then she remembered Fay’s remarks concerning a baby…or a non-baby… If what Fay had said was right, it was quite possible that Sam had not been at home at the right time…so whose fault was it anyway?

  Presently, she got into bed, snuggled down and switched off the light. She felt happy and upbeat. Sam would be home tomorrow night.

  And she was exactly halfway through her month…

  Chapter Nineteen

  ‘Oh, isn’t this ever lovely, our Fay!’

  Fay’s grandmother, safely settled in the passenger seat, looked across at her granddaughter, then glanced back at the others. Alice, Eve, and Fay’s mother, were somewhat tightly packed in the back seat, but no one was complaining. It was a balmy September afternoon, and they were off to the farm. A day out.

  ‘I am looking forward to seeing Mr. and Mrs. Foulkes again, I must say,’ Fay’s mother said, ‘they were such nice, friendly people. And it’ll be very interesting to see where you three were during the war.’ She shook her head. ‘I cannot believe you milked the cows, Fay,’ she added. ‘Shouldn’t have thought that was up your street at all!’ She threw a quick glance at Alice and Eve, both so nicely dressed …so tidy. Whatever must it have been like for them, too?

  ‘Oh, it was nothing – not when you got used to it. In fact,’ Fay glanced over her shoulder, ‘I suggest we have another go at it this afternoon – if we’re allowed, and if we’re not too late. Just to see if we can still do it! Are you game, you two?’

  Alice and Eve exchanged glances, and Eve said, ‘Well…d’you think Mrs. Foulkes will still have overalls…and…those over-boots…for us to wear?’ She paused. ‘My mother only made this dress for me last week – I wouldn’t like to ruin it.’

  ‘Oh you know Mrs. Foulkes,’ Fay said. ‘She’ll find us something, don’t you worry.’

  They had left the outskirts of Bristol and were heading into the countryside, when suddenly Alice leaned forward, staring out of the window. ‘Who are those girls over there?’ she said curiously, and the others followed her gaze.