The Shop Girls of Lark Lane

by Pam Howes

  ‘Okay,’ Alice said. ‘But if she is, I don’t want her to catch sight of me or she’ll come running over and spoil the moment. Let’s walk the long way round past the bandstand. It’ll give them a bit longer. We can wave at Millie’s dad if he’s playing with the band this afternoon.’

  2

  ‘Why don’t you just bring her over here?’ Granny Lomax suggested when Alice answered her query about Terry and Cathy. Alice had told her that things were still a bit iffy. They were in the kitchen washing up after dinner with the door closed so that Cathy, who was out in the garden playing with her ball, couldn’t just walk in on them. Terry was sitting on the patio smoking a ciggie, watching as she threw the ball up into the air and tried to catch it. Young Brian was reading the Sunday papers in the lounge after clearing the table for them.

  ‘It’s very kind of you, but we don’t want to do that,’ Alice said. ‘She needs to learn that she can’t have things all her own way. Terry is trying really hard and today at the park she seemed more relaxed with him, although she wouldn’t hold his hand on the way here. But it’s a start.’

  ‘Well, you know where I am if he needs me. Ah, son,’ she said as he came inside. ‘I was just saying to Alice that you can bring Cathy here tomorrow if she’s being awkward.’

  ‘Thanks, Mum, I’ll bear it in mind. Er, I was wondering. Could she stay next Saturday night while we have a bit of a catch-up with old friends at the Legion? And perhaps Brian could stay as well?’

  ‘I don’t see why not.’ Granny Lomax wiped the last plate and hung the tea towel up to dry. ‘Brian will have to use a sleeping bag on the sofa as my spare beds are at your place now, but Cathy can share with me.’

  ‘Brian won’t mind that. Thanks, Mum.’ Terry caught Alice’s eye and winked. ‘Alice is working, but she gets breaks so will join us when she can and we’ll get time to have a dance, won’t we, gel?’

  ‘All being well.’ Alice smiled. A nice night, a dance and a bit of time to themselves, something to really look forward to.

  * * *

  On Monday morning Alice dashed out of the house leaving her daughter screaming blue murder in Terry’s strong arms. She waved at them from the corner and hurried to meet Sadie at the tram stop, Cathy’s cries still ringing in her ears. She smoothed her dark brown hair down; she hadn’t even had time to fashion it into her usual work style of a neat French pleat today. The tram was just coming into view as she puffed up to Sadie, and it pulled up beside them with a squeal of brakes.

  ‘Right, let’s go and see what delights await us today in haberdashery,’ Sadie said with a grin as they jumped on board. She led the way up the stairs. ‘Not as crowded up here,’ she said as they took seats near the back of the tram. ‘How did it go?’

  ‘I’m surprised you couldn’t hear her screams from Aigburth Road,’ Alice said. ‘God help Terry. She’s had her breakfast but I told him to make some toast and jam for her and her dollies as soon as he can. His mum’s agreed to have her Saturday night so he can come to the Legion.’

  ‘Oh, that’s good. Jenny’s coming over tonight,’ Sadie said. ‘I’ll invite her along.’

  ‘And I’ll pop in and see Millie on the way home from work,’ Alice said. ‘It will give Terry and Cathy a bit longer.’

  They travelled in companionable silence until the conductor called out, ‘Ranelagh Street.’

  ‘Here we go,’ Alice said, jumping up and following the rush of passengers down the stairs. They hurried up to the second floor of the Watson Building, the only part of Lewis’s that was still trading, amongst the noise and mess of the regeneration of the rest. People said it would take years before it was completed, but at least Alice and Sadie still had jobs while work went on around them.

  The haberdashery department close to the top of the stairs was always busy. Wool was their biggest customer demand, as people bought it to knit new garments as well as darn and repair old ones. Rationing remained in force on many items and the make-do-and-mend attitude had been adopted by most Liverpool women. Clothing coupons were still in use, but a lot of ladies came to buy threads and trims to adapt garments picked up second-hand, mainly from Paddy’s Market. Alice and Sadie did their best to make the counter and surrounding area as attractive as they could, displaying their wares in glass-topped and glass-fronted cabinets. Keeping the dust down was a particular problem; with demolition and rebuilding work going on left, right and centre, it was a never-ending task. The store had taken several direct hits during the Blitz. To have even one small part of it still standing was a miracle in itself.

  Alice ran a cloth over the ever-dusty glass counters as Sadie looked through a fresh batch of Simplicity sewing patterns that had just arrived. She pulled one out of the box to show to Alice. ‘This dress is lovely. Nice neckline too. It would suit you, Alice.’

  Alice looked at the sketch of the full-skirted dress with its button-through front, and stylish sweetheart neckline. She smiled. ‘Very nice, but I couldn’t even afford the buttons right now, never mind the fabric to make it. One day, maybe.’

  ‘You’ll be fine once Terry gets fixed up with a job again. Won’t be long now.’

  Alice sighed. ‘Let’s hope not.’ She brushed some white lint that had come off the duster and attached itself to the full skirt of her dark blue uniform dress, and adjusted her name badge pinned just below the neat white collar. At least she didn’t need to worry about clothes for work as the Legion also provided her with a uniform: a nice fitted black skirt and white top. It was things to go out in that she struggled to afford. But as long as she could dress Cathy nicely and keep Brian smart in his school uniform, they’d manage for now. Terry had his navy pinstripe demob suit to wear for his interviews and his mother had bought him a white shirt and navy tie recently, so he’d do. She became aware of Sadie waving something at her and looked up from her daydreams.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Name tape,’ Sadie said, holding up a roll of white cotton tape. ‘I bought some of this for Gianni’s clothes when he started school and so far he hasn’t lost anything. You just write their name on with a special pen and the ink doesn’t wash off. They have the pens in the stationery department. I know it’s a while off yet, but you should get some in ready for when Cathy starts school after Christmas.’

  Alice nodded. ‘I think I’ve still got some left from when I labelled Brian’s uniform when he started grammar school, but put me a yard to one side in case I need it. I know it goes quickly once the uniforms start to come in stock.’

  * * *

  Alice’s feet were killing her by the time she’d got off the tram and walked to Millie’s house. Millie lived on Bickerton Street, just off Lark Lane and adjacent to Lucerne Street where Alice lived. Standing all day in her black patent high heels was perhaps not the best way to treat her feet, but Alice couldn’t afford to buy any new shoes right now and her only other pair were her white peep-toe summer sandals, which just wouldn’t look right with her smart uniform. Still, having achy feet was better than the bad shoulders and neck she used to get on the production bench at Rootes, riveting the wings for the Halifax bombers. She knocked on the front door and when it opened blonde-haired Millie flung her arms around her in a welcoming hug.

  ‘Come on in, we’ve just brewed up.’ She held the door wide, beaming.

  ‘You look happy. Are you just pleased to see me or have you won the pools?’ Alice teased, stepping into the narrow hallway and following Millie into the back sitting room, where Mr Markham, Millie’s dad, was reading his paper. She could smell perming solution and hear the soft murmur of female voices behind the closed front parlour door, and guessed that Millie’s mam was seeing to a client.

  ‘How do, chuck,’ Millie’s dad greeted her. ‘Come and sit yourself down.’ He gestured to a chair the other side of the hearth from where he was seated. ‘Wife’s busy in there.’ He inclined his head to the adjoining wall and raised his eyebrows. ‘God knows why women want that muck on their hair. Stinks of rotten eggs if
you ask me.’ He shook his head as Millie handed him a mug of tea and gave one to Alice.

  ‘Does pong a bit. But if they get the desired effect then I suppose it’s worth it,’ Millie said, winking at Alice, who grinned. ‘Have a slice of cake while we’ve got some left.’ She held the plate out and Alice helped herself to a piece of Victoria sponge.

  ‘Thank you. What a nice treat.’

  ‘So to what do we owe this pleasure on a Monday afternoon?’ Millie asked. ‘Thought you’d be dashing home to see how Terry got on with Cathy.’

  ‘Well I am, sort of, but I thought I’d give them a bit longer and come and catch up with you. And to ask if you’d like to join us on Saturday night at the Legion, maybe sing a couple of songs.’

  Millie’s blue eyes twinkled. ‘Terry beat you to it. Asked me to come along, I mean. He was in the bakery when I popped in to get the cake. Getting a meat pie for his dinner and a jam tart for Cathy. We had a cuppa in the café.’

  ‘Did they seem okay?’ Alice asked, holding her breath.

  ‘Absolutely fine. Best of friends. She was dragging him off for sweeties when we left.’

  ‘Phew. Well that’s good to know. But he can’t give in to her with sweeties all the time. We’ve no spare money for treats – and I’d left something in for their dinner.’

  ‘It’s only the first day, so give him his due for trying. I’m sure he was doing what he thought was right. A few sweeties won’t hurt, even if they’re bribery ones.’

  Alice took a sip of tea. ‘I suppose so. So she wasn’t crying or anything?’

  ‘Nope. Looked happy as Larry as she pulled him into the newsagents.’

  Alice laughed. ‘Crafty little monkey.’ She finished her tea and cake and got to her feet. ‘Right, I’d better go and see how he’s doing. So we’ll see you on Saturday night then?’

  ‘You will. Jimmy’s over here this weekend. We’ll look forward to it. Good luck to Terry with his interviews this week as well. He was telling me about them. Fingers crossed.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Alice said her goodbyes and dashed home. She let herself into an unusually quiet house and walked to the back sitting room, where father and daughter were fast asleep in the armchair, Cathy curled up on Terry’s knee. Brian was home and at the table quietly reading the Boy’s Own comic. He smiled and put his finger to his lips.

  Alice shook her head and whispered, ‘She won’t sleep tonight now.’

  ‘She might,’ Brian whispered back. ‘They’ve been to the park and he said she’d run him ragged. A quick nap now before tea won’t hurt her. What is for tea, Alice?’ He grinned, his blue eyes hopeful. ‘I’m starving.’

  ‘You always are.’ Alice laughed. ‘Anyway it’s egg and chips as usual on a Monday night. I’ll just get changed out of my uniform and make a start.’

  * * *

  Alice curled up next to Terry, relishing the peace and quiet as they relaxed in the front room and listened to the wireless.

  ‘You did really well today, love,’ Alice said. ‘I hope she’s as good for you tomorrow.’ Cathy was now in bed, a little later than usual, but Brian had been right, she’d been tired again after tea. Following a quick bath, she’d gone out like a light. Brian was upstairs finishing his homework before getting into bed.

  ‘She wasn’t too bad at all considering the racket she made as you left this morning,’ said Terry. ‘Bet the neighbours thought she was being murdered.’

  Alice laughed. ‘Why don’t you come down on the tram tomorrow and meet me from work? Just for a little ride out. You could take her to see if there are any big ships in down the docks first. She could at least look at the ferries if there’s nothing else. Bet she’d love that. The only boats she’s ever seen are the ones on Seffy Park boating lake.’

  Terry rooted in his trouser pocket. He pulled out a squashed packet of Woodbines and sighed as he retrieved a slightly bent-looking ciggie.

  ‘Last one,’ he said, looking at it sadly, ‘so best make the most of it. Let’s hope I get one or other of those jobs this week. I’d love to go back and finish my engineering apprenticeship, but we need a proper wage coming in for a year or two to get us on our feet so I’ll take anything within reason. But yeah, we’ll come and meet you from work; it’ll be a change for her. Pity we’ve no spare money to take her out for tea to Lyons’s. Mum used to take me after school and they always had chocolate cake. One day though, eh?’

  Alice nodded. ‘The Tate and Lyle’s job sounds okay, doesn’t it? Foreman position should earn you a decent wage.’

  ‘Probably the better of the two,’ Terry said, getting up to reach for a box of Swan Vestas off the mantelpiece. He lit his ciggie and took a long drag, his eyes closed with pleasure as he exhaled slowly. ‘I’ll have half now and save the rest for tomorrow,’ he said.

  ‘I’ll go and see if Brian’s finished his homework and then I’ll make us a brew,’ Alice said. ‘Fancy a slice of toast? I’m sure Brian will want one when the smell reaches his nose.’

  ‘Go on then. Put a scrape of jam on it. Let’s live dangerously.’

  * * *

  Cathy didn’t like the noise and smells down at the docks. She whimpered and pulled on Terry’s hand.

  ‘Okay, gel; let’s go up and meet Mammy from work, eh? Bit noisy, isn’t it?’ He hoisted her onto his shoulders and set off. He felt shocked at the sorry state of everywhere they passed. Down near the Dock Road and the immediate areas it was like one huge demolition site. Row upon row of bombed-out terraced houses and tenement buildings, like blackened teeth in a gaping mouth, no roofs or windows. Gangs of workmen were in the throes of pulling them down and clearing the land of rubble, ready for the rebuilding of new homes and flats as promised by the local authority. Terry and Cathy hurried past boarded-up shops, schools, churches and pubs, all gone or nearly gone.

  What a mess. Apart from Lime Street and his own home, this was the first time Terry had ventured further than the Lark Lane area since his demob. He couldn’t begin to imagine how terrifying it must have been for the wives and vulnerable children left at home. How terrifying it must have been for Alice, Cathy and Brian. It made him realise how lucky he was to still have a wife and child to come home to. Alice hadn’t told him too much bad news in her letters as she’d always tried to keep things cheerful, and had written mainly about Cathy and how she was growing up into a proper little girl. She’d really gone through the mill, giving birth to Cathy in a shelter during the middle of an air raid and surrounded by her workmates. It had been no picnic.

  He’d make it up to her though, as soon as he could. He’d work hard and show her how grateful he was that she’d held the fort so well, in spite of her losing her mam and her older brother Rodney while Terry was away. She and Brian had inherited the family home and Alice had made it nice for them all the best she could with the little money she had. And hopefully, once they’d got a few bob behind them, they could think about extending the family. Have another baby together that he could be there for, to see it grow up, and to support Alice right from the start. A little brother or sister for Cathy.

  * * *

  Alice put the finishing touches to the cottage pie she was making. She popped it into the oven to brown the mashed potato topping, and turned the light up under a pan of sliced carrots. Brian had taken Cathy down to the bakers for a loaf, and Alice was waiting on tenterhooks for Terry to return home from today’s interview. She went into the back sitting room to set the dining table under the window. As she laid out knives and forks she thought about Terry’s disappointed face when he’d come back yesterday. That job interview hadn’t gone well. Unbeknown to him when he’d applied for the job, it involved driving a van, and Terry didn’t drive, although it was something he planned to learn to do when he could afford it. He’d told her there were ten other people being interviewed so he’d come straight home; there was no point in hanging about, as someone who could drive would be given the job no doubt. Today he’d gone to the Tate and Lyle’s refinery on Love Lane
in Vauxhall, to interview for the foreman job.

  The front door flew open and Cathy rushed in followed by Brian and Terry. ‘We found Daddy,’ Cathy shrieked excitedly. ‘He came home on a tram.’

  Alice smiled and looked at Terry, who was beaming. ‘Did you…?’ She hardly dared to say it.

  ‘I did, gel.’ Terry grabbed hold of her and dropped a kiss on her lips. ‘And I start on Monday. So I’m afraid my days of being chief baby-minder are over.’

  Alice laughed and hugged him. ‘Oh, I’m so glad.’

  ‘Can Granny mind me again?’ Cathy asked, jigging from foot to foot.

  ‘Yes, love,’ Alice said, feeling relief wash over her at the thought of another wage coming in at last.

  ‘Oh goody. Daddy can’t make cakes. Granny can.’

  Terry laughed. ‘I don’t measure up, do I? But I think me and Cathy are on the way to becoming good pals, even though I can’t make a cake.’

  Cathy nodded. ‘Read me a story after tea then,’ she demanded, thrusting a book at him. ‘I like this one. Three little pigs.’

  Terry laughed and gave her a cuddle. ‘Bit of a trek on the tram to Love Lane though,’ he said to Alice. ‘I need to get my motorbike roadworthy again. I’ll take a look at it on Sunday when we go to my mum’s. See what needs doing.’

  Brian’s face lit up. ‘Can I help you with it? I love motorbikes. Our Alice hates them. She wouldn’t even let me sit on it while you were away.’

  ‘I know she does, lad, and so does my mum, but until we can afford a car it’s better than nothing. And yes, you can help me.’

  Alice chewed her lip. The thought of Terry riding that flipping bike filled her with dread, but he was right. It was a fair trek across to Love Lane, so needs must.