Christmas for the District Nurses

by Annie Groves

  Billy listened and exclaimed at the end. ‘Those useless brats. I know who those two lads are. I’ll give them a talking-to next time I see them. Sooner they join up and have some sense knocked into them, the better.’

  Harry shook his head. ‘No, don’t do that, Bill. They’re just being stupid – they’ll grow out of it soon enough. It’s just … I wasn’t expecting it. Wasn’t ready for it. You’ve all been so kind about what happened, never made me feel bad—’

  ‘I should hope not!’ Billy interrupted forcefully.

  ‘… but the fact remains I look different now. People who don’t know me will point. I’ll be like something from the circus. I feel … I don’t know. Less of a man, I suppose.’

  Billy looked quizzically at his old friend. ‘Less of a man? You? Don’t talk daft.’ Then he paused to reflect what his old friend might mean. ‘You talking about your wedding night, are you? Afraid it won’t go right?’

  Harry cleared his throat, unwilling to admit even to Billy what he was worried about.

  ‘Not exactly,’ he said carefully. ‘It’s more like … it’s hard to put into words. But if I’m not like I used to be, will she think less of me? I know she says she won’t. But if I’m honest I know I’ll be different – only one arm works properly, my face moves differently either side, and … I don’t know what else will be affected if you get my drift. Then the way those kids behaved … I’m not the same as I was, no getting away from it.’

  Billy frowned. This was a new side to Harry. ‘I was worried when I got hurt in that car accident,’ he said. ‘I know it doesn’t compare, but for a while I didn’t know if I’d walk again or, if I could, if I’d walk proper or not. Made me feel very low, I don’t mind telling you.’ He bit his lip. He hadn’t admitted that to anyone, not his mother, not Kath. He had had some very dark thoughts for a time. Yet he had recovered and scarcely recognised those feelings now. What would he have been like if he had been left permanently marked though?

  Harry nodded. ‘Thanks, Billy. Yes, it gets like that sometimes. I don’t like to complain, cos really I’m one of the lucky ones. Just now and then, I feel really miserable about it. There, now I’ve told you. So cheers, bottoms up, it’s good to be back.’

  ‘Cheers.’ Billy watched his friend carefully. ‘You should tell Edie, you know.’

  Harry shrugged. ‘Maybe. I’m meant to be the strong one, protecting her from all that sort of thing.’

  ‘Perhaps. But all I know is, if I have any worries or anything, I talk to Kath and then they don’t seem so bad. That’s what marriage is for, really. I couldn’t have imagined it a year ago, but it’s one of the best bits. Sharing everything, good and bad.’

  Harry nodded slowly. ‘We’ll see. I reckon not everyone is as well suited as you and Kath. She’s special.’

  ‘She is.’ Billy’s eyes glistened. ‘No doubt about it. But so is Edie. You got a good one there, Harry Banham.’

  ‘I know.’ Harry sensed the mood shifting and went along with Billy’s attempts to bolster his confidence. ‘Anyway, I’ve got to get cracking on sorting out my uniform for the wedding. Can’t turn up looking like something the cat dragged in. I dare say Edie will have words about that. Not that she’ll tell me what she’s wearing.’

  Billy grinned easily. ‘As it happens I know more about that than you do.’ Kathleen had told him about the shoes, and then that Belinda had stepped in to help with the dress, by introducing Edith to Miriam’s collection of fabric that she had amassed over many years. There, among the bolts of material, was one in the perfect shade of powder blue. Belinda was going to help sew the dress itself and all would be ready by the twenty-third.

  ‘I’m better off not knowing,’ Harry said. ‘You can tell Kath that her secret is safe.’ He drained his glass. ‘How about another? Seeing as we haven’t been for a drink together for so long.’

  Billy nodded. ‘Why not? But don’t be surprised if they don’t let you pay. Cos no matter what some idiot boys might think, everyone else knows you’re a hero.’

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  ‘Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Reckon you’ve got the lot, Edith.’ Kathleen angled her dressing-table mirror up so that Edith could see herself, dressed and ready for her ceremony. It had been her idea to invite Edith to dress at her house. It would have been pandemonium at the nurses’ home. And of course she couldn’t prepare at Jeeves Street, because it would be terribly bad luck if Harry saw her.

  ‘Reckon I have,’ said Edith, her dark eyes bright as she ran her fingers along the pearl necklace that Mary had insisted she wore. She had protested, saying the piece was far too valuable and what if one of the children broke it? Mary had insisted, asking what was the point of having such fine things if they only ever stayed in her bedside drawer?

  Besides, the pearls were perfect with the headband that kept the veil in place. They were the borrowed element; the veil was old, even though it didn’t feel it; the shoes were new; the dress was the exact shade of blue she had dreamed of. It simply could not have been better.

  Alice came in from where she had been changing into her own outfit in Brian’s little bedroom, Brian having been left with Mattie. ‘Oh, Edie.’ She stopped in her tracks to admire her friend.

  ‘Will I do?’ Edith kept her voice casual but Alice could detect the shake of emotion in it.

  ‘Yes, you’ll do,’ she said with a grin. ‘Kath, you’ve done a grand job there.’

  ‘Glad you think so,’ said Kathleen happily. ‘Helps to have such lovely clothes to dress the bride in, though. Belinda’s done her proud.’ For a second she let herself remember how jealous she had been last year when she had mistakenly believed Billy preferred Belinda to herself. That was now all water under the bridge, thank God.

  Alice smoothed the sleeves of her pewter-grey jacket, teamed with a grey-blue frock which had been revamped from another of Miriam’s finds. She felt she looked suitably elegant and toned with the bride’s colours, without remotely threatening to overshadow her. Not that anybody could. Joy was radiating from Edith like beams of light from the sun.

  ‘Are you sure you want to walk?’ Alice asked now. ‘It’s cold out there. I know you’ve got that lovely cream wrap but all the same …’

  Kathleen chuckled. ‘We could get Brendan’s van. He’d be happy to lend it. You might have to brush off the cabbage leaves though.’

  ‘Or what about the back of Geraldine’s motorbike?’ Alice teased. ‘Your veil would trail behind you in the wind – it would look spectacular.’

  Edith fixed them both with a glare. ‘No, thank you very much. I want to walk. It’s not far. It’s not as if my dress is long enough to drag along the ground. I love this part of London and I want to walk through it to my wedding, if you please. It’s my big day and so I’m allowed to choose.’

  Alice nodded, having expected nothing else. ‘Then let’s go. Stan is waiting downstairs.’

  Edith nodded, happy that Stan had agreed to give her away. She hadn’t really expected anyone from her own family to turn up and perform that role. She wouldn’t have trusted any of them to do it properly anyway. Stan had done it before; besides, he was more of a father to her than her own one had ever been.

  ‘Yes,’ she said, rising to her full diminutive height. ‘Let’s go.’

  The entrance to the register office was sandbagged, as were the doors to all the municipal buildings. The windows were covered in tape. There were only a few artificial flowers and most of the guests were wearing clothes that had seen many winters already. Yet Edith could not have been happier had she and Harry been exchanging their vows in St Paul’s Cathedral.

  As she stood with him in front of the registrar, her heart was full of joy, pride and overwhelming relief that he had survived to see this day. So what if his smile was one-sided and one arm hung awkwardly in its army uniform jacket. He was the most handsome man in the world, and he was hers.

  Alice held her cream wool wrap, and cast s
upportive glances as the pair of them turned to face their guests after pledging to stay together for better or worse. Edith knew that the worst had already happened. The despair she had felt when Harry had been reported to have been killed at Dunkirk was as low as anybody could ever sink. Everything now was a bonus. She looked up at him and she thought she would burst from the sheer wonder of the moment. Nobody and nothing could take that from her.

  ‘Happy now, Mrs Banham?’ Harry tenderly kissed his bride on the tip of her nose. They were safely back in the welcoming house on Jeeves Street, having got through the ceremony without fluffing any lines or other embarrassments, much to his relief.

  Edith giggled. ‘I can’t believe I’m Mrs Banham. That’s your ma’s name. Doesn’t seem right that it’s me as well now.’

  ‘Better get used to it,’ he said, looking at her with amusement. ‘It’s got to last you a lifetime, after all.’

  Edith nodded. ‘Yes, no more Gillespie for me. I’m so pleased to be part of your family, Harry.’

  Flo came up to where they were standing near the front door and caught the last words. ‘Almost as pleased as we are to have you as one of us,’ she said, giving Edith’s arm a squeeze. ‘Now don’t hang around here in the draughts. I know we want to keep the door on the latch so that when your colleagues finish their shift they can come in and join us, but come through to where all the food and drink is. Let me hang up that wrap – oh, it’s very fine material. Where did you get it?’

  Edith stroked the beautiful fabric as Flo moved to loop it onto a coat hook. ‘Mary lent it to me, as well as the necklace. She’s about the only one of us who has such gorgeous things. It’s very warm, even though it’s so light.’

  ‘Merino wool I dare say.’ Flo took a step back to admire Edith’s frock. ‘You look a proper picture. I do hope that photographer fellow got some good shots. It was so cold, I was afraid he’d shiver too much and all the photos would be shaky.’

  Joe came up behind her and laughed. ‘Ma, he’s a professional, he’ll know better than to shiver all the way through the pictures. I’ll see to it that you get nothing but the best.’

  ‘Thanks, Joe.’ Edith smiled up at her new brother-in-law, conscious that this was his present to them: hiring a proper photographer, who had met them on the steps of the register office. She would have been quite happy with a few snaps from Billy’s new Brownie, but it was extra special to have the real thing. Anyway, it meant Billy could be in the photos, holding his new daughter in his arms while Brian shyly held Kathleen’s hand; he’d never had his picture taken before.

  Joe smiled back, and she couldn’t help but notice the dark rings under his eyes, despite his cheerful expression. She knew why. Harry had reported that he had arrived home late last night, just when they were all thinking Billy would have to step in as best man after all. He’d been travelling since before first light, the long journey from Plymouth taking the entire day, with many delays and not many chances to sit down.

  No wonder he looked tired – and yet he was clearly pleased to have made it back, delighted to have been best man. If there was ever anybody to entrust with the responsibility of guarding the ring, Joe was the one. She flashed a look downwards at the golden band on her finger. Not a flashy one – but another Banham family heirloom. It had once belonged to Flo’s own mother, and had been altered to fit Edith’s small hand.

  ‘Why are you all out here in the hallway when we have a perfectly good parlour and kitchen, where it’s warm?’ Flo scolded. ‘In you go, the lot of you.’

  Edith grinned to herself. Flo’s children might be fully grown and two out of the three of them married, but it didn’t stop her fussing over them and telling them off.

  The Christmas wedding feast was in full swing, with a big bowl of glossy tangerines in the centre of the groaning kitchen table, an extra present from Brendan. Around it Flo and Mattie had arranged more treats: the cake with rice paper for icing, parsnip and carrot buns, meat paste sandwiches, a platter of corned beef with Mattie’s carefully preserved home-grown vegetables as accompaniments.

  All around were boughs of holly, on the top of the pictures, along the edges of shelves, hanging from the window and doorframes. Candles burned brightly, some in metal lanterns and some in old jam jars, which Mattie had made more festive by tying coloured ribbons around them. She had made sure to place them where Gillian and Brian couldn’t reach.

  Edith and Harry were surrounded by well-wishers, not only the immediate family and friends who’d come to the ceremony itself, but more and more who had finished their shifts or, in the case of some of the nurses, got off early for once. Peggy and Clarrie had just arrived, having taken the early morning rota in order to leave the factory mid-afternoon. Even so, the dusk had fallen by the time they made it as far as Jeeves Street.

  ‘No fire-watching tonight then?’ Harry teased his old school friend. ‘I heard you were up on the roof every night now.’

  Clarrie tutted. ‘What, and miss this? I had to make sure you were actually married good and proper. About time someone made an honest man out of you.’ Her red hair caught the light of the many bright candle flames. ‘Never thought I’d see the day that you settled down, Harry Banham.’

  Edith recalled how when she’d first met Clarrie, she had felt immediately on her guard, assuming her chatter was flirting, before realising that she and Harry went back so far that it was almost like a reflex action, with nothing behind it. Now Clarrie tucked her arm through Edith’s. ‘You keep him on a short lead,’ she advised. ‘Dreadful man that he is.’

  ‘He’ll toe the line from now on,’ Edith assured her. ‘What will you have to drink, Clarrie? I think Joe’s managed to get hold of some port, if you’d like some of that.’

  ‘Maybe I will.’ Clarrie brightened up. ‘Beats being stuck on the roof of the factory with a lukewarm thermos of tea. Peggy will have one too – she says she’s gone off it but she really hasn’t.’

  Edith broke free to fetch their drinks, only to be told off by Mattie who said she shouldn’t have to wait on her guests at her own wedding. She was only too happy to organise the refreshments, while Edith stood centre stage, beaming from ear to ear.

  Alice helped herself to a small slice of the wedding cake, quietly relieved that they had been able to provide one at all. She knew how much it meant to Flo to put on a big spread in celebration. She herself had been too on edge to eat much at their early breakfast over at the nurses’ home, and somehow the rest of the day had flown by without her having anything else. She was still full of nervous energy; perhaps it was the sight of her dearest friend finally having her deepest wish come true. Looking at Harry from this angle, you’d never know there was anything different about him; but the big mirror over the fireplace reflected his other side, with the hair swept forward and down but the scars beneath still visible, and the arm on that side at not quite the right angle. Yet he was so very much better than they had ever thought possible and, perhaps more importantly, seemed to be back to his old self, laughing and perfectly comfortable at the centre of the crowd.

  The room was warm, and she shrugged out of her smart new jacket, carefully putting it over the back of a chair. Several people had commented on how elegant it looked and she was pleased not to have let Edith down. Everyone said that dressing up boosted morale; all the more important to make sure that they looked the part for the wedding, wartime or not.

  ‘Isn’t the best man meant to be looking after the bridesmaid?’ Joe appeared beside her, a quizzical grin on his tired face.

  ‘Maybe it should be the other way around,’ she said, observing with concern, as she had since he’d first brought Harry to the register office, quite how exhausted he seemed. ‘I can see you’re not limping any more, but seriously, Joe, how much sleep have you had these past few days?’

  Joe shrugged. He too had taken off his uniform jacket and was in his best white shirt, which had started off immaculately starched and pressed by Flo this morning, but now bore a few c
reases and a smear of jam courtesy of Gillian. ‘Not much, if I’m honest. You know I had to get up in the middle of the night to catch the train. Then it seemed unfair to ask Harry to share our old room on his last night as a single man, so I bedded down on the sofa in the parlour. But Ma needed to get everything ready in there this morning and was up before dawn herself. Still, I can always sleep when it’s all over.’

  ‘Yes, you’ll have your old bedroom to yourself tonight,’ Alice said, keen to reassure him.

  Joe looked at her. ‘What do you mean? I thought Harry and Edith would have it.’

  Alice clapped her hand over her mouth. ‘Forget I said anything. I assumed you’d have heard.’

  ‘Heard what?’

  Alice cocked an ear at a voice drifting through from the hallway. ‘That’s Mary arriving now. You’ll find out any minute.’ Then, despite Joe’s stern and direct glance, she refused to say anything more until her colleague, who had drawn the short straw and worked all afternoon, emerged into the living room, with Charles behind her.

  Edith hurried across to her friend, who gave her a big hug and then presented her with a smart cream envelope. The bride carefully drew out a sheet of heavy paper with an embossed heading, and then gasped. ‘Mary! You shouldn’t have! That’s too much – and after you lent me such beautiful things as well.’

  ‘What does it say?’ asked Harry, too far behind her to see.

  ‘It’s two nights at the Savoy hotel. I can’t believe it. I’ve only ever looked in through the window,’ breathed Edith. Harry looked just as stunned.

  ‘Blame Charles,’ beamed Mary. ‘He has connections there, don’t ask me what.’

  Charles looked rather embarrassed as all eyes in the room turned on him. ‘That’s putting it a bit strongly,’ he said. ‘Still, might as well make use of such things. Besides, if it wasn’t for Harry and Edith, I would never have met Mary. So I do rather feel I owe them something.’ He glanced lovingly at Mary, and again Alice was struck by the thought that Mary’s fears about him were baseless. He obviously thought the world of her.