The District Nurses of Victory Walk

by Annie Groves

  The woman bridled. ‘Of course. What sort of mother do you think I am? We got everything the government said – two pairs of socks and knickers, spares of everything, enough food for a day.’ She held up her bag. ‘And we didn’t drink much this morning specially, on account of not knowing when we can go to the you-know-what.’

  ‘Very wise,’ said Janet. ‘Now I must move on, but, Nurse Lake, can you make a note that Mrs Barnes is to accompany her daughter?’

  Alice watched as her friend made good her escape from the desperate mother. She straightened up so that she could speak to the woman face to face. ‘It’s all in hand, Mrs Barnes. We’ve been preparing for this eventuality for weeks. I hope you packed your toothbrush, Dotty?’

  Dotty beamed up at her. ‘Of course, Nurse. I been practising with it just like you said, and using that powder stuff.’

  ‘Glad to hear it,’ said Alice, and blessed Fiona Dewar’s foresight in placing her at the school. Now the little ones accepted what she said and trusted her – even if their mothers didn’t. ‘We had better stand further away from the platform edge as that looks like our train about to pull in.’

  Mrs Barnes immediately picked Dotty up and hurried to the far side of the platform, and Alice followed, as she still had to note down the mother’s details.

  ‘Where’s Pauline?’ the little girl suddenly asked.

  Alice ran her eyes over her lists. ‘I’m afraid I don’t know, Dotty. I haven’t seen her this morning.’

  For the first time, the little girl was uneasy. ‘She’s got to come. She’s my best friend.’

  Alice sighed. ‘I know, Dotty. You always sit next to each other, don’t you? Don’t worry, though. One of the teachers might have ticked her off on another list instead. She might be here but there are so many people we just can’t see her.’

  ‘You don’t want to worry about that girl; she’ll take care of herself,’ sniffed Mrs Barnes dismissively. ‘Her mother’s no better than she should be, and the girl’s a bad influence. I don’t like you sitting next to her, Dotty, and you know that very well.’

  Dotty was now looking upset. ‘She’s not a bad inf … inf … what you said. She’s funny and kind. I don’t want to go without her.’

  Alice frowned. This was exactly the sort of thing she dreaded – families and friends being separated, either by choice or by accident. From what she had heard of Pauline’s mother and gran, it seemed unlikely either would turn up with the little girl. However, it was not her place to say so.

  She knew she had to keep both mother and daughter as calm as possible. Given the press of people all around, she knew it would be all too easy to start a mass panic. It was a wonder that things had gone so smoothly so far. ‘Look, why don’t you two take a seat in one of the carriages,’ she suggested. ‘I’ll mark down that’s what you’ve done and then if I see Pauline I can tell her where you are. How about that, Dotty?’

  The little girl nodded dubiously, twisting her hair around her finger in the way she always did when she was nervous. ‘Yes, Nurse.’

  ‘That’s a good girl. Chin up,’ said Alice boldly. ‘I know you’ll be sensible, Dotty, because you’re a big girl now. You can look after Mummy, can’t you?’

  ‘Yes, Nurse,’ Dotty agreed quietly. ‘Please find her though.’

  ‘I’ll do what I can,’ Alice promised, but couldn’t help thinking that it would be a futile quest. The platform was getting more crowded by the minute, and now people were beginning to jostle to get onto the train. She couldn’t spend any more time with these two; she had to ensure everyone who needed it got a seat and that there were no accidents.

  Steadily and methodically, she opened doors, helped struggling young mothers into the train, gently restrained two small boys from fighting and retrieved a lost gas mask for one of the very confused toddlers, who wanted to stand still sucking his thumb while chaos reigned all around. Alice recorded the last of the names, tallying them against the class sizes, adding in older or younger siblings, noting who had accompanying adults with the family group or any particularly young children travelling alone. Finally, just in time before the train was due to depart, she was confident that nobody had slipped through the net.

  Despite her best efforts, though, there was no sign of Pauline.

  Edith returned from her shift that afternoon and immediately went to look for Alice. It had been an unsettling day, with every family on edge, trying to decide whether to evacuate their children or not. An anxious mother with four children under ten had asked Edith for advice and she felt very under-qualified to offer any. How could she order a parent to send their children into the unknown? She had tried to be logical. Was there a safe place to act as a refuge room in case of a gas attack? Where would the family go if there was a bombing raid? She had helped the woman weigh up the odds, without pushing her either way, but had been relieved when the decision to evacuate all four was finally made. The house they lived in, just off Kingsland Road, looked barely strong enough to withstand a high wind, let alone a Nazi bomber. Even so, that wasn’t what was uppermost in Edith’s mind.

  ‘There you are.’ She found Alice getting changed out of her uniform and into a cotton frock with bias binding edging around the collar and cuffs. ‘That’s nice, is it new? When did you find the time to go shopping?’

  Alice laughed as she hung up her uniform, pulling out the creases so it would look fresh for her next shift. ‘My mother sent it. She included two cardigans as well, one for summer and a heavier one for autumn. Wasn’t that kind?’

  ‘Lucky you.’ Edith knew her own mother wouldn’t have had the money for such a gift, nor would she have ever considered it necessary. She fingered the lighter cardigan, in a soft grey. ‘Al, are you busy? I mean, after you’ve put this away? Do you want to come for a walk?’

  Alice shrugged. ‘I could do. Why, is something up?’

  ‘I could do with a bit of a chinwag,’ said Edith. ‘We don’t have to go far. Maybe over to the Downs via the back road.’

  Alice picked up the grey cardigan and put it on. ‘Might as well try this out for its first airing, then. As it happens I’ve spent most of the day over there, at the station.’

  ‘How did it go?’

  ‘I’ll tell you about it as we walk,’ said Alice, who had spent the last half-hour recounting all the details to Fiona Dewar. The superintendent had made notes all the while, so that if they ever had to do such a thing again, they would be able to improve.

  Edith sighed as they descended the front steps. ‘Do you want an apple?’ she said, reaching into her bag. ‘Here, have the red one.’

  ‘Thanks, I was so busy I missed lunch.’ Alice took a grateful bite. ‘So, what’s happened? Did you have a bad visit or something?’

  Edith stared ahead, taking in the trees along the road, their leaves just beginning to lose their colour, without really seeing them. The street was unusually quiet – there were very few children around. Often there would be a group of schoolboys kicking a football about, or some girls skipping with ropes, inventing complicated games on the pavement. Now it was nearly empty.

  ‘No, or nothing really horrible,’ she said. ‘Lots of parents asked me if they’d done the right thing sending their children away or, in some cases, keeping them behind. One family was particularly tricky. But that’s not it – well, it’s not why I wanted to speak to you. I managed to meet Harry in a café for lunch. He’s gone and done it. He’s signed up.’

  Alice nodded slowly. ‘You did say he was seriously thinking about it.’

  Edith tipped her head back and stared at the clouds scudding by. ‘I know. After the fight he talked about nothing else. It’s not that it’s a surprise – I don’t blame him at all. It’s just … well, it’s real now. He’s going to be leaving, and everything will change.’

  Alice slipped her arm through her friend’s. ‘He’s doing the right thing though. You said yourself, this way he can serve his country and carry on boxing.’

  Edith slowed
down, practically to a halt. ‘Yes, if it’s got to happen then this is the best way. I just don’t want him to go. Or part of me does. The other part feels … as if I’ve had a limb cut off. I know I’m being selfish, and I’ve only known him a short time, but all the same …’ She paused and swallowed hard. ‘I want him to stay here, and not get hurt, and look after me. But I also want him to fight and be a hero. Does that sound daft?’

  Alice squeezed her friend’s arm. ‘No, not at all. It was the same for some of the parents today – they knew it made sense to send their children away and yet they couldn’t bear to part with them. There were lots of tears on the platform. It was terribly sad, and yet some of the children were so brave, not breaking down, the older ones trying to look after the little ones. I tell you what, Edie, I’m exhausted.’

  ‘No wonder.’ Edith gave a small smile. ‘I bet you were good, though, Al. You’d have kept a level head and reassured them all.’

  ‘I tried,’ said Alice ruefully. ‘Not sure how well I succeeded. They all got safely on the train, though. Then there were all the parents left behind after they’d waved their children goodbye – that was hard to watch.’

  ‘Must have been.’ Edith looked sadly ahead. ‘It’s no fun being separated from those you love.’

  ‘No.’ Alice threw the apple core onto the grass as the Downs opened out before them. ‘It isn’t.’

  ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to dig all that up again,’ Edith said, kicking at the long grass.

  ‘Think nothing of it. I don’t any longer, it was all ages ago,’ Alice said stoutly, making sure her friend couldn’t see her face.

  ‘Good.’ Edith began to wander across the grass, her hands now firmly wedged into her skirt pockets. ‘Oh, and another thing. Joe’s thinking of joining up too.’

  Alice cocked her head. ‘Is he? I haven’t seen him since the boxing match so I hadn’t heard.’

  ‘Yes, but I don’t know when, or to what branch of the Forces or anything. Now I come to think of it, Harry mentioned his brother wanted to see you – some other library thing I expect.’ Edith turned back to her friend. ‘He’ll be in Percy’s café tomorrow lunchtime; he often goes there on a Saturday. You’re free, aren’t you? You should go down there, it’s only along Kingsland Road, find out what his plans are.’

  ‘Thanks,’ said Alice. ‘I might.’

  ‘Good,’ said Edith, ‘cos I said you would.’

  Alice groaned. ‘Thanks a bunch.’ She walked alongside her friend for a few paces. ‘So … does that mean you love Harry, then? Is that what you just said?’

  Edith blushed. ‘I suppose so. I haven’t said so to him. It’s all too soon, isn’t it? But in my heart I’m sure I do. I know I’ve changed since I met him, I feel totally different about everything. Oh, Alice.’ She stopped and gazed at her friend. ‘Yes, he’s the one for me all right. I’ve never felt like this before, and I’m pretty certain he feels the same about me. It’s the way he looks at me and the way we laugh at the same things, or know what the other one is thinking. That’s love, isn’t it?’

  Alice shrugged. ‘I suppose so. Edie, I’m really happy for you. He’s a good man. And he’s brought out the best in you, anyone can see it. You aren’t wild like when I first met you. That must mean something, mustn’t it? But he’s a lucky man.’

  Edith broke into a huge grin. ‘He is, isn’t he? He should be bloody grateful, that’s what.’ Suddenly she threw her hands wide and turned around on the spot, gazing up at the sky. ‘You know what, I could shout it out loud.’

  Then, as Alice started to laugh too, and protest that people would be watching, Edith twirled even faster.

  ‘I don’t care if they stare! Edith Gillespie loves Harry Banham!’ she shouted as loudly as she could, scaring the birds in the top branches and making several people on their way home from work glance their way. ‘Edie loves Harry! And she doesn’t care who knows it!’

  Alice woke later than usual the next day, safe in the knowledge that she wasn’t on shift. She still felt worn out from the day before, and thought not for the first time that while their work was often physically demanding, it was the emotional toll that was the worst aspect. Now that she’d mastered the boneshaker, her daily round was not so bad, but the responsibility often weighed heavily on her shoulders. On the other hand, she now had to factor in a few extra minutes each day for stopping to chat to people around the district who she’d got to know over the past three months, whether patients, members of their families, or just those she bumped into regularly.

  It was hard to be downcast on a sunny day, with no shifts to do, and the sight of the trees opposite throwing their shadows on the curtains. She shoved back the bed covers and went to the window, pulling the curtains wide open and throwing the sash up as far as it would go. Peering out she could see Gwen on the pavement beneath, talking to a woman with dark wavy hair in a beautiful smart charcoal suit. They were deep in what looked like a very earnest conversation. Gwen indicated that they should move and the pair of them began walking along Victory Walk towards the main road.

  Alice slipped down from the windowsill and turned to her wardrobe. She might as well take advantage of her mother’s presents and wear her new cardigan again, maybe this time with a skirt and blouse. Her dark green skirt would show off her figure, and she was sure she looked trimmer than when she’d first arrived here. Then again, she wasn’t dressing for a date, she reminded herself sternly. It was meeting a friend for lunch, nothing more.

  Down in the canteen, as she poured herself a cup of tea, she noticed Edith and Mary sitting at a table in the corner. Mary was done up to the nines considering it was Saturday morning. Her hair was swept up and held in place with a tortoiseshell clasp. Her blouse was tightly fitted, with a plunging neckline, and she wore a gold locket around her neck. Alice could see she had on smart high heels.

  ‘Goodness, what’s the special occasion?’ she asked, sitting down to join them.

  Mary glanced demurely down at her breakfast, her hands clasped in front of her. ‘I’m only going out for lunch.’

  Edith made a face. ‘Now, Mary, we know it’s a bit more than that.’

  ‘Must be a very special lunch,’ Alice observed, thinking her own preparations paled in comparison.

  ‘Go on, you tell her,’ Edith urged.

  Mary pursed her lips, which Alice now noticed bore a trace of pale pink lipstick. ‘You know when Harry won his big match,’ she said, ‘and he met Major Ingham? Well, do you remember that the major brought along one of his fellow officers, and we got along like a house on fire? Now he’s got in touch to ask me to lunch. Isn’t that nice?’ She looked up and it was clear from her eyes that she thought it was more than nice.

  ‘I say, that’s rather good,’ exclaimed Alice. ‘And does he have a name, this fellow officer? I don’t know if he told us, or if he did I don’t recall it.’

  ‘He does,’ said Mary. ‘Charles Paynter. Captain Charles Paynter.’

  ‘Oooh, a captain!’ said Edith. ‘You’ve done well there, Mary. I must admit I was too busy listening to what Major Ingham had to say to take much notice, but I do remember he seemed very polite, very smart. Didn’t he have blond hair?’

  ‘Yes, and very blue eyes,’ said Mary, pleased with herself. ‘He’s quite a bit taller than me, though not as much as Harry. He seemed like a real gent.’

  ‘Where are you going?’ Alice asked, intrigued.

  ‘Oh, to a restaurant he knows in the West End. He’s meeting me at Fortnum’s and we’ll go on from there. So I thought I should dress up and look the part.’ She brushed down her skirt, to get rid of the crumbs.

  ‘Very nice,’ said Edith, who had never been to Fortnum & Mason, despite living in London all her life.

  ‘What are you doing today, Edith?’ Mary asked.

  ‘I’m helping Fiona sort out the district room,’ she said. ‘Lots of new supplies arrived this week and she couldn’t spare anyone to help unpack them. So I said I’d do it. Might as wel
l take advantage of the fact I know every nook and cranny of the place from when I had to clean it.’

  Alice privately thought that the old Edith would never have volunteered to do any such thing.

  ‘I think that’s very noble of you,’ said Mary warmly. ‘Well, I’d best be off – I don’t want to keep Charles waiting. Toodle pip.’ She pushed back her chair and headed out of the room, pausing at the door to turn and give them a little wave.

  Alice and Edith exchanged a look.

  ‘She didn’t even ask why we had such a big delivery of fresh supplies,’ Edith remarked. ‘She’s in a world of her own, that one. She still thinks nothing’s going to happen.’

  Alice sighed. ‘Ah, let her go. What one nurse thinks won’t change anything.’

  Percy’s café was already nearly full when Alice pushed her way in through the glass door. She glanced around the tiled room, heavy with tobacco smoke, the air full of the smell of frying eggs and bacon. For a moment she couldn’t see him, but then she caught sight of the distinctive Banham hair, thick and wavy, and Joe was standing up at his table to wave her over. He pulled out her chair for her, which made her smile.

  ‘Thank you,’ she laughed.

  ‘Welcome to the best café in Dalston,’ said Joe, mock-seriously. ‘If you like bacon sandwiches, that is.’

  ‘As it happens, I do,’ said Alice. ‘I can never make them so that they taste the same as in a good café.’

  ‘You probably cut the bread too thin,’ suggested Joe. ‘That’s a cardinal sin around here. Your HP Sauce will soak right through.’

  ‘HP Sauce? I like mine with mustard,’ Alice told him without a trace of a smile.

  Joe threw up his hands in horror. ‘If I’d have known that, I’d never have asked you to meet me. I had you down as a lady of good taste, but now I see I’m mistaken.’

  Alice pulled a face. ‘Edith is worse. She likes both.’

  ‘What, both at the same time?’

  ‘Believe it or not, yes.’

  Joe shook his head. ‘I’d better tell Harry. My brother goes round mooning over your friend but he doesn’t know this vital fact about her, does he? The sooner I tell him the better, or else he’ll have his heart broken. So you got the message, then? I wasn’t sure he’d remember to pass it on, to be honest.’