by Dilly Court
‘I booked into the Limes; it’s a small hotel, not too far from here. Laurence invited me to stay at his parents’ house in Monk Avenue but I thought it might be a bit much for his family to cope with and now I’m glad I decided to be independent. Anyway, don’t worry about me. I’ll see you home and then I’ll go and hammer on the hotel door. I expect someone will let me in. They’ll just think the party went on all night.’
Ginnie was awakened from a deep sleep by someone shaking her. ‘What’s going on?’ She dragged herself to a sitting position. ‘What’s up, Mum?’
‘There’s a man sleeping on the sofa in the front room. I went in to draw the curtains and there he was, curled up under a blanket. What’s going on?’
Rubbing her eyes, Ginnie stretched and yawned. ‘It’s only Steven, Mum. We didn’t get home until four thirty this morning and so I asked him to stay. Avril’s in my room and I was bunking up with Shirley, so the sofa was the only place left.’
Mildred rushed to the cot and swept Colin into her arms. ‘What on earth were you doing until that time? I never thought you’d be carrying on like your sister.’
‘We weren’t carrying on, Mum.’ Ginnie swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, reaching for her dressing gown. ‘It’s Laurence’s best man, Steven. I hope you didn’t wake him.’
‘I only saw the top of a man’s head and his trousers were hung over the chair. I didn’t know who it was.’
‘Well if you’d be a darling and put the kettle on I’ll come downstairs and tell you all about it, but try not to wake the poor chap. We had a hell of a night.’
‘What’s going on?’ Avril poked her head round the door. ‘What’s all the fuss about, Mildred? Are we on fire or something?’
‘I found a man sleeping on the sofa.’ Mildred pushed past her. ‘I want a full explanation, Ginnie. I’ve had enough problems with Shirley in that direction and I don’t want to start all over again with you. What will the neighbours think?’ She stalked out of the room, tossing her head so that the metal curlers rattled beneath her hairnet.
Avril threw back her head and laughed. ‘She’s just peeved because she didn’t get off with anyone at the wedding.’
‘Auntie Avril! How can you suggest such a thing?’
‘Your mother is human, Ginnie. She’s not in her dotage yet.’
‘You’re a wicked woman,’ Ginnie said, chuckling. ‘And nothing happened. It’s only Steven and we were up nearly all night trying to sort out the mess in the shop.’ She held up her hand. ‘Don’t ask me now. I can’t say anything until I’ve had a cup of tea and then I’ll tell you and Mum together. It’s bad, but I’ve got things under control.’
Avril’s hand flew to the scarf tied turban-fashion on her head. ‘It’ll have to wait until I’m fit to be seen. I’m going to get dressed.’ She flew from the room leaving a faint whiff of Nivea Creme and Shalimar perfume in her wake.
Following Avril’s example Ginnie had a quick wash and dressed before going downstairs. She found Steven sitting at the kitchen table drinking tea. He rose to his feet and pulled up a chair for her. ‘I’ve just been apologising for giving Mrs Travis such a fright.’
‘It wasn’t your fault, dear,’ Mildred said, offering him a slice of toast. ‘You should have woken me up, Ginnie. Steven’s been telling me what happened at the shop. It’s too awful to think about. That girl should be locked up.’
‘It’s all sorted, Mum.’ Ginnie gave Steven a grateful smile as she took her seat.
‘How is it sorted?’ Mildred demanded. ‘I call it criminal.’
‘Mr Mallory gave me a cheque that should cover the damage and allow me to get some more stock.’
‘That’s if you can get anything from the suppliers. I don’t hold with all this utility furniture; it’s not a patch on the quality items your father used to stock. And what about the clearing up? Spilled paint makes a terrible mess.’
‘I’d stay and help but I’ve got to get back to my ship,’ Steven said apologetically.
‘You did enough last night.’ Ginnie reached for the toast rack. ‘You were splendid, Steven. I don’t know what I’d have done if you hadn’t stepped in.’
‘Anyone would have done the same.’
‘I’m sure that’s not true,’ Mildred said, pouring tea. ‘I’m sure we’re all very grateful to you.’
Ginnie nodded enthusiastically. ‘He was magnificent, Mum. He stood up to old man Mallory and really put him in his place. Steven’s a lawyer too.’
‘Not a practising one at the moment, Mrs Travis,’ Steven said hastily. ‘I’d only done a year as a junior solicitor before I was called up. It was a foregone conclusion that I’d join the Navy because both my father and grandfather were naval officers.’
‘That’s nice, dear.’ Mildred turned to Ginnie with a worried frown. ‘Is the shop going to be closed for long? I’m not sure how we’ll manage if it is.’
‘Don’t worry, Mum. I’m going to pay the cheque in as soon as the bank opens today. We’ll be okay, and it might even work to our advantage.’
Mildred shook her head. ‘I don’t see how you come to that conclusion, love.’
‘The shop was dreadfully old-fashioned. The window was cracked when the V1 landed on the cricket field, and Dad couldn’t afford to replace it, so in a way having Mr Mallory’s money will give us a fresh start. I’ll be able to restock and modernise the shop floor. I’ve got plans for a big reopening and I’ll see if I can get it on the front page of the local rag.’
‘And you’ll make a go of it,’ Steven said, smiling. ‘Good for you, Ginnie.’
‘So your leave is over then?’ Mildred refilled his cup with tea. ‘Will it be long before your demob?’
‘Mum!’ Torn between laughter and embarrassment at her mother’s cross-examination tactics, Ginnie sent him an apologetic smile. ‘It’s none of our business.’
He shrugged his shoulders and his eyes twinkled. ‘No, I don’t mind, honestly. I’m in what’s affectionately known as the Wavy Navy. I’m in the Royal Naval Reserve which means that I’m not a career naval officer. I’m returning to duty, Mrs Travis, but when my demob papers come through I’ll be looking for a job.’
‘And you’re a solicitor?’ Unabashed, Mildred deposited the teapot on its stand and sat down in her usual chair. ‘Where will you have your practice?’
Ginnie squirmed in her seat but Steven did not seem at all put out by the interrogation. ‘I’d started working for a firm in Southampton before the war. My parents live in a village not far from there and I was able to commute quite easily. I’ll probably contact the senior partner and see if there’s any chance of having my old job back.’
‘Southampton, Ginnie,’ Mildred said pointedly. ‘That’s not too far away.’
Ginnie leapt to her feet. ‘I really have to go to the shop now, Mum.’
‘But it’s Sunday, dear.’ Mildred stared at her, eyebrows raised. ‘Aren’t you going to have a day off? I mean, if Steven has to return to his ship you ought to go to the station and see him off.’
Her mother’s blatant attempt at match-making was painful and embarrassing. ‘I’m going to do as much clearing up as I can, Mum.’
‘You need a break, dear. You’ve been working too hard.’ Mildred fixed Steven with a meaningful stare. ‘What do you think?’
‘I haven’t got the time, Mum,’ Ginnie said without giving him a chance to respond. ‘I intend to open up tomorrow, as usual. I’m going to show the Mallorys that I mean business.’
Steven rose to his feet. ‘Thank you for breakfast, Mrs Travis. I’d love to stay longer, but I really ought to get going too.’
Mildred’s mouth drooped at the corners. ‘What a shame. We were just getting to know you. I hope you’ll come again, Steven.’
‘What’s all this?’ Avril breezed into the room, looking elegant as usual in a pale blue linen costume with a fashionably short skirt. ‘What have I missed?’
‘We were just leaving,’ Ginnie said
hastily. ‘I’ll see you both later. Are you ready, Steven? I’ll walk to the station with you.’
Waiting on the platform Ginnie was reminded of the day a year ago when she had stood in the same spot, waving to Laurence as the train pulled out of the station. ‘It’s all goodbyes,’ she said half to herself.
‘Not for much longer.’
‘I suppose not, but it’s hard to believe that the war really is over.’
‘Not for everyone.’
‘No, but I’m just glad it’s over in Europe. It may be selfish but we’ve had enough tragedy to last a lifetime.’
‘Laurence told me that your father died in an air raid. I’m sorry, Ginnie.’
‘It was awful and I miss him terribly, but that’s why I’m so determined to make a go of the shop. Dad gave his whole life to building up the business and I owe it to him to carry on where he left off.’
‘As I said before, you’re a remarkable girl, Ginnie.’
She shrugged, shuffling her feet in embarrassment. ‘No I’m not. I’m very ordinary, but that makes me even more determined to make something of myself.’
He raised his hand as if to pat her on the shoulder but seemed to change his mind and straightened his cap instead. ‘That sounds like the train,’ he said abruptly. ‘Will I see you again, Ginnie?’
Taken off guard, she felt herself blushing. ‘I – I don’t know. I mean you’ll be very busy looking for a job when you leave the Navy.’
He grinned. ‘Wavy Navy – don’t forget.’
‘I won’t.’ She stood back as the engine rushed past them with a whoosh of steam and a screech of metal wheels on the iron track as it came to a halt further along the platform. ‘If you’re ever this way pop in and see us.’
He leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. ‘Do you mean that?’
‘Of course.’
‘I’ll keep in touch, Ginnie.’ He opened a carriage door and climbed inside. ‘Cheerio.’
She blew him a kiss. It seemed appropriate under the circumstances, but she had no intention of getting involved romantically. Once again she found herself standing alone on a railway station. The war years had been punctuated with goodbyes, some of them more painful than others.
The train disappeared into the distance and she set off for the shop. Business must come first. Tomorrow, as soon as the bank opened, she would be at the counter to present Colin Mallory’s cheque.
Her fears that it might bounce proved unfounded. Perhaps her threat of reporting Livvie’s act of vandalism to the local press had made him think twice, but Colin Mallory honoured his pledge. With the money in her bank account Ginnie was able to have a new window installed, and she hired workmen to finish the job of clearing up the mess. The pieces of furniture that had suffered paint damage were sent to be reupholstered and paint-soaked rugs had to go for specialist cleaning.
Leaving Jimmy in charge Ginnie chose a quiet day in the middle of the week to visit the warehouses in the East End. She had hoped to order new stock but there were long waiting lists and even then there were no guarantees of delivery. It would, she realised, be a long time before things returned to normal. At the end of the day she left the last warehouse feeling dispirited, and for the first time she doubted whether she could make a go of the business.
Staring gloomily out of the bus window on the homeward journey she was even more conscious of the vast craters where once there had been tall buildings, but even in the worst areas of devastation, plant life had already started to reclaim the territory. Rosebay willowherb had colonised the bomb sites, together with buddleia and dandelions. Blades of grass spiked through piles of rubble and somehow this determined attempt by nature to overcome the devastation created by man gave her the courage to fight on. If a tiny blade of grass could push its way through concrete then Virginia Travis could take on the world. She was not beaten yet.
Two weeks later Ginnie was in the newly glazed shop window rearranging the reupholstered three-piece suite around a coffee table that the French polisher had just delivered in mint condition. The wax fruit had sadly not survived and had been consigned to the dustbin, but she had borrowed a tea set from Fred Chinashop and this added the necessary homely touch.
She stood back, surveying her work with a nod of approval. It would be weeks before the utility bedroom furniture arrived, but the carpenter had just finished building a stand to display her newly acquired range of kitchen equipment. People setting up home for the first time or those who had lost their possessions in the bombing raids would be in need of everything from dusters to roasting pans. Ginnie was determined to supply all their requirements and she had used Colin Mallory’s money sparingly, but she hoped to good effect. She was about to move forward to adjust the cushions supplied by Ida when the shop door opened and Shirley rushed in.
Ginnie stared at her in amazement. ‘I thought you weren’t due until tomorrow. Where’s Laurence?’
Shirley dropped her suitcase on the floor and slumped down amongst the cushions on the sofa. ‘He’s left me,’ she said on a sob.
Chapter Eleven
‘What do you mean – left you?’
‘He’s gone back to his ship.’
Ginnie breathed a sigh of relief. She had not thought for a moment that Laurence would walk out on his bride, but even allowing for Shirley’s tendency to over-dramatise she did seem upset. ‘Calm down, and please get off the sofa. You’re ruining my window display.’
Shirley’s face crumpled and she burst into a fresh bout of tears. ‘You don’t understand.’
I must be patient, Ginnie thought, casting her eyes heavenwards. ‘Take a deep breath, and tell me exactly what happened.’
Shirley’s answer was muffled as she clamped her hands to her face, shaking her head. At a loss as to how to handle the situation, Ginnie glanced at her watch and saw that it was almost lunch time. She placed the closed sign on the shop door and locked it. ‘I can’t understand a word you’re saying.’ She helped Shirley to her feet. ‘Come through to the office and I’ll put the kettle on.’
When Shirley was settled in the desk chair with a cup of tea in her hands, Ginnie asked her again. ‘What’s wrong? You’re supposed to be radiant after your honeymoon.’
‘It was a disaster,’ Shirley said, hiccuping and sniffing. ‘I’ve made a dreadful mistake.’
Ginnie perched on the edge of the desk. ‘What happened? You were so happy on your wedding day.’
‘First of all it was the beastly hotel. It took ages to get there on the train and then we had to walk from the station because there weren’t any taxis, and I was tired. My shoes pinched and my feet hurt. Then when we got to the hotel it was just a horrible old-fashioned place and we were too late to get anything to eat or even a cup of tea. The room was hideous and the bed was lumpy and I’ll swear the sheets had been slept in because they smelled awful. We had our first row and I made Laurence sleep in the chair.’
‘I’m so sorry, Shirley. But it can’t all have been bad. It was your honeymoon.’
‘Think what you like, but it was even worse next day. I was so disappointed with everything that I couldn’t speak to him. I could barely look Laurence in the face and he went out soon after breakfast and didn’t return until lunch time. By then I was absolutely furious and so I went out and left him on his own.’
‘That might not have been the best move,’ Ginnie said tentatively. ‘But surely you made it up later.’
Shirley sipped her tea. ‘I suppose so, but it was too late. The honeymoon was ruined as far as I was concerned. It wasn’t at all romantic and the damned hotel was filled with old people who lived there permanently, and they stared at us every time we went in for a meal. I begged Laurence to find somewhere else for us to stay but the town was heaving with troops who’d just arrived on ships from goodness knows where. It was ghastly and I missed my baby. I hated leaving Colin and although Laurence was sympathetic I knew he didn’t really understand.’
‘It must have been difficult for hi
m too.’
‘Don’t take his side. He was supposed to make me feel that I was the only woman in the world for him. As it was I often caught him with a faraway look in his eyes and I’m sure he was thinking of someone else. You can always tell.’
Ginnie straightened up and went to look out of the window onto the desultory back yard. It was raining and Jimmy was struggling to heft a chest of drawers into the back of the furniture van. ‘He adores you, Shirley. You must have been imagining things.’
In between mopping her eyes, Shirley took sips of tea. ‘It wouldn’t have been like that with Tony. He understood me perfectly. I hardly had to speak and he knew what I was thinking.’
Ginnie turned to give her a searching look. ‘Doesn’t that tell you something? Maybe you were thinking of Tony and Laurence was feeling just as you are now.’
Shirley’s eyes widened. ‘That’s silly – I mean he couldn’t have known. I never told him about Tony.’
‘I did, remember, you told me to. Anyway, Laurence strikes me as a very sympathetic sort of chap. Perhaps he sensed that you weren’t all that enthusiastic.’
‘Oh, I don’t know. Anyway it was one disaster after another. Especially when he discovered what Livvie had done to the shop.’
‘Who told him? I didn’t want you to find out.’
‘He telephoned home to thank his dad for coming to the reception. I’m not sure if it was Livvie or their mother who spoke to him, but they gave him their version of events and he was absolutely furious. I’ve never seen him so angry.’
‘It wasn’t anything to do with him. I can understand he might be a bit upset but it’s all fixed now.’
‘He was worried about you, you idiot. I heard him telling whoever it was on the end of the line that he was ashamed to be a Mallory if that’s how his family behaved. He said you’d worked hard and you didn’t deserve to be treated that way. I think he fancies you more than he does me.’
‘That’s utter nonsense.’
‘I saw the way he looked at you at the wedding reception,’ Shirley said, frowning. ‘Have you been flirting with him behind my back?’
