The Girl from the Corner Shop
Page 31
She sat on the bed a while with her memories of Jim. That last evening together they thought they had their whole lives in front of them: a house of their own and the promise of children. It wasn’t to be, but she was so glad for the happy memories and grateful that he had left her that letter in his locker. She had read it so many times over the past year and taken comfort from it, but only today did she fully understand the depth of his love.
…make a life for yourself without me… in the quiet moments, you’ll feel that love again… She closed her eyes and brought his smiling face to mind. ‘Oh, Jim, you know I’ll always love you,’ she whispered.
Moments later, Pearl was calling to her. ‘Helen, Laurence is here with the car. Time to leave for the register office.’
She came downstairs, to where her mother was waiting to give her the posy of violets. ‘You look lovely, Helen,’ she said. ‘I’m proud of you.’
She went through to the parlour and there was Laurence, handsome and smiling, waiting for her.
‘You take my breath away,’ he said and he took her hand.
At the open door, she paused and breathed the air. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought there might have been a trace of smoky fires in the wind.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the staff of the Greater Manchester Police Museum and Archives and the Greater Manchester Fire Service Museum. Their extensive knowledge of policing and fire fighting in WWII was invaluable, so too was their enthusiasm in bringing to life anecdotes and characters.
Thanks also to Jeff Easton, Helen Finbow, Beryl Jason for their contributions and, once again, I must mention Graham Phythian for his comprehensive book Blitz Britain: Manchester and Salford.
My heartfelt thanks to my agent, Judith Murdoch, also my editor Rosie de Courcy, Lauren Atherton and all the team at Head of Zeus. Above all, thanks to my family for their love and support.
About the Author
Alrene Hughes grew up in Belfast and has lived in Manchester for most of her adult life. She worked for British Telecom and the BBC before training as an English teacher. After teaching for twenty years, she retired and now writes full-time.
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