by Dilly Court
Ginnie recoiled angrily. ‘That’s a rotten thing to say. I wouldn’t do that, and anyway I’m not interested in Laurence. I think he’s a great guy but he’s not my type.’
‘I seem to remember that Nick was engaged to a girl back home. It didn’t stop you then so why should I believe you now?’
‘That’s so damned unfair. For a start I didn’t know that Nick was engaged in the beginning, and when I did find out I backed down. I put a stop to it. Stop being a bitch, Shirley. Don’t take it out on me.’
Shirley’s lips trembled ominously. ‘I’m really sorry, Ginnie. I’m so tired. I don’t know what I’m saying.’
‘It can’t all have been bad then,’ Ginnie said, grinning. ‘I mean if you didn’t get much sleep . . .’
‘Not because of that, stupid. I was too upset and emotional to get a wink, but Laurence snored away all night in the wretched armchair.’
‘You mean you never . . .’
‘That’s right. I’d still be a virgin bride, if I’d been a virgin in the first place.’ Shirley reached for her handbag and took out a packet of Woodbines. She lit one and puffed smoke into the air.
‘Since when did you start smoking?’
‘I had to do something to calm my nerves. Sometimes I used to have a drag on Charlie’s cigarette, although I didn’t like it much. Anyway I decided to have another go and it gave me an excuse to go for a walk on my own because Laurence doesn’t approve of women smoking. He made that quite clear too.’
‘I am so sorry. You really have had a miserable time, but he must be feeling awful too.’
Shirley took another lungful of smoke and coughed. ‘I don’t really enjoy this, and I can’t say whether or not it makes me feel calmer because I’m not. My nerves are all jangly and I keep bursting into tears for no reason.’
Ginnie did some quick mental arithmetic. ‘How long ago was it when you spent the weekend with Laurence? Did you . . . you know what I’m saying?’
Shirley shrugged her shoulders. ‘Of course we did. How else would we know that we were in love?’
‘You slept together. Am I right?’
‘Yes, of course we did. Do you want me to spell it out?’
‘And were you careful?’ Ginnie threw up her hands. ‘Stop being dim, Shirley. If you didn’t take precautions you might very well be pregnant again.’
‘But I was breast-feeding the baby. I couldn’t be – could I?’
‘You’d put him on the bottle, and anyway I think that’s probably an old wives’ tale. Didn’t you wonder why you were in such an emotional state? Don’t you ever learn?’
Shirley clapped her hand to her mouth. ‘Oh, my God. I’m up the spout again.’
‘At least you know for certain who the father is this time,’ Ginnie said drily and was immediately sorry as Shirley uttered a throaty sob.
‘You are cruel.’
‘No, I’m just being practical.’ Ginnie helped her to her feet. ‘Now stop bawling and I’ll take you home. You want to see Colin, don’t you?’
‘Of course I do, but another baby so soon. What will Mum say?’
‘Don’t imagine that I’m going to look after two nippers,’ Mildred said, shaking her head. ‘You’re a silly girl to let it happen again.’
Shirley stared at her in horror. ‘But, Mum, I thought you’d be sympathetic. I’ll get a job and pay my way.’
‘You’ve got a husband to support you, Shirley. You’re a married woman now.’
‘He’s gone back to sea, Mum. I made a terrible mistake marrying Laurence. It’s over as far as I’m concerned.’
‘Stuff and nonsense. You can’t walk away from your husband because the honeymoon wasn’t perfect. Real life isn’t like the movies, my girl. Ask any married woman and they’ll tell you it’s always a matter of adjustment.’
‘But he’s going to be away for months or even longer. I can’t live like that.’ Shirley cuddled her baby son, rubbing her cheek against his mop of blond hair.
‘You should have thought about that before you chased after him and got yourself in the family way again.’ Mildred folded her arms and glared at Shirley, as if daring her to argue.
Ginnie could see that this conversation was going nowhere. ‘He’s probably feeling as bad as you are, Shirley. I bet he’ll be on the blower tonight, begging you to forgive him for being a pain in the neck.’
Mildred stabbed a paring knife into the potato she had been peeling. ‘He’d better or I’ll want to know the reason why, my girl.’
Ginnie noted the telltale wobble of her sister’s bottom lip, which was a sure sign of fresh tears, and she moved towards the door. ‘I’d better get back to the shop. I’ll see you this evening, and don’t worry, Shirley. I’m sure it will all work out in the end.’ She made a hasty exit and left the house running.
‘You don’t normally close at lunch time.’ The irate woman who had been waiting outside followed Ginnie into the shop and marched over to the display of household goods. ‘My old man’s just been demobbed and he expects to have his dinner on the table when he gets home from the labour exchange,’ she said, picking up a saucepan. ‘He’s got to find hisself a job and it ain’t going to be easy.’ She weighed the pan in her hand. ‘This isn’t a patch on my old stew pan. It had some weight to it.’
‘I’m sorry if I kept you waiting,’ Ginnie said, making a determined effort to sound calm and courteous. ‘I agree, of course, about the quality but it’s all we can get nowadays.’
The customer peered at the price tag. ‘Too bloody expensive. I can’t pay that sort of money for a cooking pot.’
Ginnie forced her lips into a smile. ‘Well, we can’t allow a returning hero to go without his dinner. Would it help if I knocked sixpence off the price?’
‘I ain’t asking for charity, young lady.’ The woman took her purse from her handbag. ‘It’s bloody daylight robbery, but I’ll take it.’ She counted out the coins. ‘But I’ll take advantage of the sale price,’ she said smugly, thrusting the money into Ginnie’s outstretched hand. ‘That’s what it says on the label, less sixpence.’
‘Thank you for your custom, madam.’ Ginnie handed her the saucepan wrapped in brown paper.
‘Cheeky cow. You’re glad to see the back of me.’
‘Not at all. Every customer is important to me,’ Ginnie said with feeling. ‘It’s hard for everyone these days, but I did hear a rumour that they’re taking on men at the Ford factory. Maybe your husband could try there.’
‘Ta, love. I’ll pass it on. They’re not much cop at the labour exchange. A chap could die of starvation waiting in the queue and then there’s all them forms to fill in. What a welcome home for heroes.’ She stomped out of the shop.
Ginnie counted the morning’s takings. She could ill afford the price reduction, but she had made a sale and a satisfied customer was one who might return at a later date and make further purchases. She closed the till and was heading for the office when the telephone shrilled and she quickened her pace. ‘Hello.’
‘Hold the line, please. I have a trunk call for you. Press button A, caller.’
Ginnie waited, listening to the metallic clink of the coins tumbling into the box.
‘Hello. Ginnie, is that you?’
‘Laurence?’
‘Yes. I haven’t got much change so I’ll have to be quick. Has Shirley arrived home?’
‘Yes, she turned up at lunch time. Where are you?’
‘I’m at Gosport. I expect she’s told you that things didn’t go too well.’
‘She’s upset, naturally.’
‘Oh hell. Sorry, but I know I handled things badly. I just wanted everything to be perfect for her and it all went wrong.’
‘Why didn’t you ring her at home?’
‘If she hadn’t arrived it would have been awkward. I didn’t want to upset your mother.’
‘Well you need to phone her now. It’s up to you to sort things out with your wife, Laurence.’
‘I know, and I
will. I’ll have to get some more change and I’ll call Shirley at your house.’
‘You haven’t left her, have you?’
‘Of course not. Whatever gave you that idea?’
‘Shirley thought . . .’
‘I tried to explain that I didn’t want to go away so soon, but I had to have a medical check-up before I was allowed to return to my ship.’
‘Are you okay?’
‘No, unfortunately the X-rays revealed a shadow on one of my lungs and I’m being discharged on medical grounds.’
‘Oh, Laurence. I’m so sorry. Is it serious?’
‘I’ll have to have further tests, but a career with the Navy is out of the question. I’ll have to break it to Shirley that I’m out of work, and we’ve nowhere to live. I was banking on getting married quarters. It’s all a bit of a mess, I’m afraid.’
More than you know, Ginnie thought, biting her lip. ‘You must tell her what you’ve just told me, but first of all tell her that you love her, Laurence. She’s very emotional and she’s got it into her head that you’re more interested in me, which is utter nonsense.’
There was a brief silence and then the pips went. ‘Sorry, Ginnie. I’ll ring—’ The line went dead and then the dialling tone cut in.
She replaced the receiver in its cradle and sat down to sort through the paperwork on the desk. The bell on the street door would alert her if anyone entered the shop, and Jimmy would return soon from fitting a particularly sickly shade of pink linoleum in a customer’s bedroom. He was still a bit nervous when dealing with the public, but she was always ready to step in if he was dealing with an awkward customer.
Jimmy returned but Ginnie was still finding it hard to concentrate on balancing the books. She was desperately sorry for Laurence and concerned for his health. She had very little medical knowledge but tuberculosis was a common and often fatal disease. She could only hope that the so-called shadow on his lung might have had something to do with the pneumonia he had suffered after being in a life raft for hours, and would prove to be benign. Even so, that would not be the end to his problems and she kept thinking about Shirley and wondering how she was going to break the news to Laurence that they had carelessly created another new life.
Trade was brisk in the early part of the afternoon but slowed down to almost nothing as tea time approached. There were a few window shoppers, pausing on their way home from work, but Ginnie decided that it was not worth staying open and wasting electricity and she sent Jimmy home early. She put the closed sign on the door ten minutes earlier than she would have done on a normal day and set off for home.
The house was oddly silent when she arrived. There was no evidence of food preparation in the kitchen and no sign of her mother or Shirley, but the back door was open and she stepped outside. Rounding the corner she saw Shirley sitting in a deckchair with one hand on Colin’s pram, which she was rocking absent-mindedly.
‘Where’s Mum?’ Ginnie asked anxiously.
‘She’s having a lie-down. She said she had a headache but I think she’s cross with me.’
‘Have you told her everything?’
‘I’ve been trying to pluck up the courage to admit that I might be up the duff. It might go down better if it came from you.’
‘Why me? It’s your problem, Shirley, not mine. I refuse to be piggy in the middle.’
‘Oh, please.’ Shirley raised her head to give her a pleading look. ‘Do this little thing for me and I’ll work in the shop for nothing. I can’t face being sent away in disgrace for a second time.’
‘Don’t be daft,’ Ginnie said, losing patience. ‘You’re a married woman and this sort of thing happens.’
‘I know, and Laurence will be here later, but I don’t want another row. If Mum makes him feel unwelcome he’ll have every reason to walk out on me.’
‘Did he tell you everything, Shirley?’
Shielding her eyes from the sun, Shirley stopped rocking the pram and Colin began to murmur. ‘Like what?’
‘Like the fact that he’s been discharged on medical grounds. That he’s got a shadow on his lung, which could mean that there’s something seriously wrong.’
Shirley paled beneath her tan. ‘He said he’d lost his job and he’d tell me about it this evening.’
‘Well, now you know and I suggest that you stop thinking about how you feel and put yourself in his place. He’s out of work and he’s ill. I think he deserves a bit of support and understanding.’
Shirley glared at her and then dropped her gaze. ‘You’re right, of course. I wish he’d told me that in the first place.’
‘He was probably afraid to. Grow up, Shirley. You’d better start taking responsibility for your own actions and stop blaming everyone else when things go wrong.’ Ginnie leaned over the pram and picked Colin up. She thrust him into his mother’s arms. ‘There you are, Colin my lad. Mummy’s home now and she’s going to look after you from now on. Auntie Ginnie is going upstairs to have a chat with your grandma. Although why it’s always left to me to sort your mummy’s problems out, I really don’t know.’
‘He’s coming.’ Shirley let the curtain fall back into place. ‘I don’t know what to say to him.’
Ginnie leapt up from the sofa where she had been attempting to read one of her mother’s library books, Hervey Allen’s epic historical romance, Anthony Adverse. ‘I’ll make myself scarce.’
‘No you won’t.’ Shirley rushed to the door. ‘Please stay for a while. It’ll be easier if there’s someone else in the room.’
‘That’s crazy. He’s your husband.’
‘I know and it will be fine once we get over the awkward bit. I really don’t know what to say to him, Ginnie. I don’t know whether to apologise or to wait for him to make the first move. I feel such a fool.’
Ginnie put the book on the coffee table. ‘All right. I’ll say hello and then I’m going to bed. It’s up to you then.’ She went to stand by the empty grate, attempting to look casual as she waited for Shirley to open the front door. There was a murmur of conversation before she ushered Laurence into the front room.
‘Welcome home.’ Ginnie crossed the floor to kiss him on the cheek. ‘You must be worn out, Laurence. Would you like a drink? Tea, coffee, cocoa or something stronger? I think we’ve got some beer in the cupboard.’
He smiled tiredly. ‘A cup of tea would be just the thing.’ He sank down on the sofa. ‘It’s been a long day.’
‘And you’re not feeling very well.’ Shirley gazed at him anxiously. ‘Do they know what’s wrong with you?’
‘Doctors never tell you anything,’ Ginnie said hastily. ‘Anyway, I’ll go and make the tea. I expect you two have a lot to talk about.’ With a meaningful glance in Shirley’s direction she hurried from the room.
She took her time and laid the tray with her mother’s best china tea set, two cups and saucers and a plate of digestive biscuits which was the last of their ration for the week. She waited for the tea to brew, giving the newly-weds a little longer to kiss and make up.
They were seated side by side on the sofa, barely touching each other and Shirley had her hands folded tightly in her lap. Ginnie could tell by the whiteness of her sister’s knuckles that things were still tense. She placed the tray on the table in front of them. ‘Here you are. I’m off to bed so I’ll see you in the morning, Laurence.’
She was about to leave them but Shirley reached out and caught her by the sleeve. ‘Aren’t you having any tea?’
Ginnie snatched her arm away. ‘What’s the matter with you?’ she hissed. ‘Tell him and get it over with.’
‘I’m tired but I’m not deaf,’ Laurence said with a hint of a smile. ‘Why don’t you sit down for a few minutes, Ginnie? Shirley might feel a bit less uncomfortable if you’re here.’
Reluctantly, Ginnie took a seat in their father’s old chair by the fireplace. ‘I don’t think this is right. You two have a kid and another on the way.’ She held her hand up as Shirley uttered a squeak of prot
est. ‘I’m sorry, but someone had to tell him. You can’t hide a fact like that forever.’
Laurence seized Shirley’s hand. ‘Is this true?’
‘I didn’t know how to tell you. It must have happened that weekend when I came down to Gosport.’
‘I’m so sorry. I should have been more careful, but I thought . . .’
‘I know. So did I. But apparently it’s an old wives’ tale. So Ginnie said.’
They both turned to stare at Ginnie and she held her hands up. ‘Don’t look at me.’ She leapt to her feet. ‘I’m going to bed. Goodnight.’
Next morning Ginnie was up early as usual and ready for work. She went down to breakfast and to her surprise found her mother and Laurence in the kitchen chatting amicably. Mildred rose from the table to put a slice of bread under the grill. ‘There’s tea in the pot, dear.’
Ginnie shot a questioning glace at Laurence. ‘Is everything all right?’
‘I was just thanking Mrs Travis for looking after Colin while we were away and I want to thank you too, Ginnie.’
She stared from one to the other. The dramas of the previous day seemed to have been forgotten, and her mother appeared to be happy with the situation. ‘Colin’s a good little boy, but Mum did all the hard work. I only helped out sometimes.’
‘And another one on the way, so Laurence tells me.’ Mildred took the toast from the grill pan and placing it neatly on a plate she passed it to Ginnie. ‘Why the silly girl didn’t tell me yesterday I’ll never know. But then that’s Shirley all over. Dizzy – that’s what her father always called her. We’ll have to say it’s a honeymoon baby that arrives early. That should keep the gossips quiet.’
‘Mrs Travis has been very understanding,’ Laurence said softly.
‘Mildred, please. You can’t go on calling me Mrs Travis, you make me sound like a boarding-house landlady, and I don’t want to be called Mum or Mother – that’s very working class. No, Mildred will do nicely. You and I are going to be friends, Laurence.’ She glanced out of the window and uttered a shriek of annoyance. ‘That blooming cat from next door but one is after the birds again. Poor little things, there’s not much food left to throw out for them these days, and I’m not feeding them up to provide a dinner for next door but one’s moggy.’ She slammed out of the kitchen and Ginnie could just see the top of her turban as she raced down the path waving her arms.
