The Shop Girls of Lark Lane

by Pam Howes

  Cathy came running in out of the garden, where she’d been playing ball with Brian. ‘Need a wee-wee,’ she said, jiggling from foot to foot.

  ‘Well off you go then,’ Alice said. ‘And don’t forget to wash your hands. You can help me ice the buns when you’ve finished. Shall we have pink or white icing?’

  ‘Both,’ Cathy said. ‘And cherries on top.’

  ‘We haven’t got any cherries. Pink and white will have to do.’

  Brian popped his head around the door. ‘Want me to run round to Granny Lomax’s and see if she’s got any cherries?’

  Alice shook her head. ‘We’ll manage, Brian. We can’t keep running round there every time we run out of something and you’ve still got a bit of homework to finish before they arrive. Go and do it now, then you’ll be finished in time for tea.’ She’d made a pink blancmange, and with sandwiches and the iced buns, they’d have plenty.

  Sadie and Gianni arrived at three and a giddy Cathy pulled Gianni into the front room to play tiddlywinks while their mothers set the table.

  Alice had relied heavily on Sadie’s support over the last few months, both in and out of work, and was always glad of her company. She poured two mugs of tea and they sat down at the table and waited until the heated game of tiddlywinks was finished.

  ‘Is Brian doing his homework?’ Sadie asked.

  ‘Yes. He’ll be nearly finished now.’

  Sadie nodded. ‘There was a letter waiting for me when I got home from work yesterday. I didn’t get the library job I had the recent interview for, so you’re stuck with me at Lewis’s for a bit longer, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Oh, I’m sorry you didn’t get it. But I’m not sorry you’ll be staying on at Lewis’s, for now, anyway.’

  ‘Well, there were ten applicants for the job. They’re as rare as hen’s teeth, so I won’t be holding my breath. I’ll probably still be with you for years.’

  Alice was secretly glad to hear that. She’d feel lonely without Sadie when she moved on. Hopefully it wouldn’t be for ages yet, especially now that Millie and Jimmy had settled in Blackpool. Millie’s latest letter said that they were going to apply for their emigration later this year. Time was moving on for everybody apart from Alice, and some days were better than others. She kept busy by continuing to focus on making sure that Cathy and Brian had everything they needed, as best she could. Jack was being as supportive as ever, but after the accusations from Granny Lomax he seemed a bit withdrawn and not as relaxed with Alice as he had been before Terry’s accident.

  ‘Anybody would think I’d done something to the bike on purpose,’ he’d said to her when he brought round an envelope of money that had been collected by the fund-raising event he’d organised. ‘Your mother-in-law won’t even look at me now. Not that she ever liked me anyway, but it’s like I’m shit on her shoe these days.’

  ‘I’m sure she doesn’t really think badly of you, Jack,’ Alice said, handing him a cup of tea. ‘She didn’t want Terry to do the bike up and because you were as enthusiastic as he was, and he isn’t here any more, and you are, she needs someone to blame.’

  ‘The police did a proper check and they said there was nothing wrong with the brakes,’ Jack said. ‘The bike was pretty mangled up when they recovered it, but from what they could tell it had been roadworthy prior to the crash. It was the wrong time, wrong place, just simple bad luck. A patch of ice and that was it.’

  Alice nodded her agreement. ‘Sadly, yes. That was all it took.’ Just one patch of ice and Terry was taken from her forever.

  6

  September 1946

  Alice hurried an excited Cathy and Brian along to the corner of Aigburth Road. They were meeting Sadie and Gianni there to walk to Dingle station to catch the Dockers Umbrella, the overhead train, which would take them to the Pier Head. From there they would take a ferry across to New Brighton for the day. The long summer holidays were coming to an end and school was due to restart next week. Alice would have loved to take the kids on a short trip to Blackpool, like she and Terry had planned to do, but she didn’t have the spare money now there was only one wage coming in. Granny Lomax had given her a few shillings towards their day out, and a three-bob rebate from the gas man when he’d come to empty her meter last week had been a nice bonus. Even though she knew she should have put it away for the winter months, when the meter gobbled up more than its fair share of her hard-earned money, it had gone into the pot to help towards the ferry fares. She’d worry about winter when it arrived.

  She’d packed a flask of tea, a bottle of orange juice she’d ordered from the milkman, some beef paste sarnies, slices of sponge cake that Granny had dropped off and some apples Brian had picked from the tree in the garden. They wouldn’t starve, and all being well she’d have enough left over after paying their fares for an ice-cream treat later. She smiled proudly at Cathy, who looked fresh and pretty in the blue and white gingham sundress and matching hat that Granny had made her. Brian had on shorts cut down from a pair of beige trousers he’d outgrown and a red and white striped T-shirt she’d bought him in the July sales. Alice’s one and only pink cotton sundress was faded slightly now, but she’d whitened her peep-toe sandals, so at least they looked half decent. They all looked nice and summery, she thought, and the day was already bright and warm. Hopefully it would stay fine and they could all get a bit of colour in their cheeks. It had been a few months of ups and downs as they’d adjusted to life without Terry again. Making ends meet was a struggle that seemed never-ending. It was all work and no play at the moment, so this day off and going out on the trip was much needed.

  Cathy squealed and let go of Brian’s hand as she spotted Gianni standing by his mother. She hurtled towards him and flung her arms around him, nearly knocking him flying. She planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek and he grimaced and wiped his hand over his face.

  Sadie and Alice laughed at his horrified expression.

  ‘Gianni didn’t like my kiss,’ Cathy said, pouting.

  Brian shook his head. ‘Little boys don’t like being kissed in the street, Cathy. A hug would have done.’ He grabbed her hand and pulled her close. ‘Come on, don’t start bawling. Let’s have a nice day with no falling out between the two of you.’

  Gianni proudly stuck out his chest and pointed to a badge pinned on the brown sleeveless sweater he wore over his white cotton shirt.

  ‘Oh, Gianni,’ Alice said. ‘Your badge came then? Your mammy told me you’d joined the Ovaltineys and were waiting for it to arrive.’

  Gianni nodded, his brown eyes sparkling. ‘I got a book too,’ he said. ‘I’ll show you when we get on the train.’

  ‘We’ll have to join you up, Cathy,’ Brian said, taking both children by the hand and leading them down the road.

  Alice breathed a sigh of relief and linked her arm through Sadie’s as they followed the trio.

  ‘Thank God for Brian and his diplomacy,’ Sadie said, laughing. ‘Pity he’s not older. He could have taken over from Mr Churchill.’

  Alice smiled. ‘He’ll make a good politician, in time. It’s something he’s interested in as well, more so since Attlee got in. To be honest I don’t take much notice, but Brian says he’s rebuilding the country slowly but surely and promising all sorts of social reforms. Whatever that means. He talks about it with Granny Lomax, but she’s a staunch Conservative. Brian says we have to give Mr Attlee a chance to prove himself. Since the Beveridge Report things have got better and there’s that new national health service he’s supposed to be sorting out where we can all get free care at the doctor’s surgery and hospital. It won’t be for a while but it sounds like a good idea to me and it’ll save having to pay that few bob each month into the Lloyd George insurance scheme.’

  ‘My dad was talking about it the other night,’ Sadie said. ‘He said nothing comes free and they’ll find a way of making us pay for it somehow, through extra taxes or what-have-you. There was something on the news and he was shouting at the wireless. Mam told him to shut
up because the newsman couldn’t hear him.’

  Alice laughed. ‘My dad used to do that. Mam always rolled her eyes and ignored him. She said if it made him feel better about things then let him be. Right, here we are,’ she said as they approached Dingle station on Park Road. ‘Come and stand over here with Brian while we queue for the tickets, kids.’ The station was busy with dock workers going on shift and families taking final summer days out.

  Cathy’s eyes grew round as the train rumbled into the dark underground station, creating a draught around their legs.

  ‘Do we go in a tunnel all the way, Mammy?’ she asked, shrinking back against Alice’s legs.

  ‘No, just for a short distance and then we’re outside again.’

  They found seats in a carriage near the middle of the train and sank down as it let out a belch of steam and chugged away from the platform. Gianni pulled out his Ovaltineys book and he and Cathy, heads bent low, studied the pages, laughing at things Gianni pointed out.

  ‘Peace,’ Brian muttered, relaxing back in his seat next to them and stretching out his long legs as the train emerged into bright sunshine and ran along the overhead railway track on its short journey to the bustling docks.

  Alice stared out of the window at ships in the distance either approaching or leaving the dockside. She watched the Queen Mary, with its three red funnels belching steam up to the cloudless blue sky, making its slow passage down the Mersey towards the Irish Sea, from where it would head for America. She wondered what ship Millie and Jimmy would take when they eventually left England for Canadian shores, and blinked rapidly at the thought of her lovely friend moving so far away for good.

  * * *

  As they settled on the top-deck wooden seats of the Royal Daffodil ferry, Sadie pointed out to Alice the destruction of their once bustling city, stretching as far as the eye could see. Bombed and blackened buildings and flat areas where crowded tenements had once stood, the land now cleared for new housing stock. But the one thing they both remarked on was the amazing fact that, amongst some of the waterfront buildings that were intact, the Liver Building, with its mythical Liver Birds standing atop the clock towers, was undamaged and still stood as proud as it had ever done. A symbol of the freedom of Liverpool and treasured by all.

  ‘Glad the Germans missed it,’ Brian said, pointing to the building. ‘All three of the Graces in fact. Imagine sailing into Liverpool and not seeing them any more. That would have finished us off for sure. See those big birds up there,’ he said to Cathy as she squinted skywards at the Liver Birds. ‘The day they fly away, Liverpool will be no more because the Mersey will burst its banks and flood the city and we’ll all be drowned.’

  ‘Oh, Brian,’ Alice said as Cathy’s lip quivered. ‘Don’t tell her things like that. She’ll have nightmares. Rodney used to say it to me and it worried me to death for years. They can’t fly anywhere, love,’ she said to Cathy. ‘They’re only pretend birds.’ She raised an eyebrow at Sadie, who was struggling to suppress a giggle.

  At the pier docking point the ferry pulled in and Gianni and Brian helped Cathy down the steps. They ran along the length of the pier, Cathy in between them, racing to keep up, followed by Alice and Sadie.

  ‘I’m surprised how busy it is,’ Alice said as they made their way onto the already crowded sands. Couples were hurrying past, pushing trolleys piled up with babies and baggage, and dragging toddlers by the hand.

  ‘Probably all like us. This is the nearest they’ll get to a holiday, money being as tight as it is. And it’s the last week before they all go back to school.’ The unspoken ‘thank God’ hung in the air as Alice and Sadie laughed. ‘I’m going to ask for more hours when we go in tomorrow,’ Sadie said. ‘I’m sure they’ll give them to me as we’ll be getting busy for Christmas and, with not getting the library job the other week, I could do with earning a bit more. I wonder where they’ll put the grotto this year, if we even have one.’

  ‘I might ask for a few extra hours as well,’ Alice said. ‘I need the money badly. I miss my Terry’s wages, but not half as much as I miss him. Christmas will be so hard this year, remembering the last one, the only one we ever had. It’s so unfair. But, come on,’ she blinked away a tear. ‘I’m not going to get all maudlin. I do enough of that when I’m sitting on my own at night. Let’s enjoy our day.’ She looked up as Cathy and Gianni came running back, panting and pointing to something going on down on the promenade to the left of the pier.

  ‘It’s Punch and Judy,’ Gianni said excitedly. ‘Can we watch it please?’

  ‘Yes, of course you can,’ said Sadie. ‘Let’s go and get some deckchairs for me and Alice and we’ll have our dinner first and then you can watch this afternoon’s show. If I remember rightly it starts again at two o’clock, so you can be first in the queue while we have a little sunbathe.’

  Deckchairs in position facing the sea, Alice and Sadie set out the picnic on a cloth Sadie produced from her bag.

  After every last crumb had been eaten, Alice tided away the cloth and empty flask and bottles and packed them away. Brian took the little ones up onto the prom to watch Punch and Judy and Alice and Sadie lifted their sundress skirts up slightly and stretched out their legs, loving the feel of the sun baking into their flesh.

  ‘Get a bit of colour now and I won’t need to wear stockings at work,’ Alice said. ‘I can save them for Saturday night at the Legion.’

  ‘Are you going to keep both jobs on while you can?’ Sadie asked. ‘It’s not just about the money; it’s a bit of social life for you as well.’

  Alice nodded. ‘I will while I can. Brian’s old enough to look after Cathy now and when he wants to start going out on a Saturday night with his mates, I’ll have to think again. She can go to Granny’s any time so I’m not looking to give it up just yet. I like the company and I like working with Jack. He makes me laugh.’

  ‘I like Jack,’ Sadie said. ‘Not sure I’d trust him as anything other than a friend though. He’s got too much of a roving eye.’

  Alice grinned. ‘He has. But he’s a single man, so why not.’

  * * *

  Alice saw Brian out, all smart in his almost-new grammar school uniform. She felt proud as she watched him hitch his new satchel onto his back, a gift from Granny Lomax, and stroll confidently down Lucerne Street. This was an important year for him; the year he would take his School Certificate exams, which would ensure his future in further education. She closed the front door and went back into the kitchen to see to Cathy’s breakfast.

  Her daughter came trundling down the stairs, partially dressed and carrying the rest of her clothes with her.

  ‘I can’t do up my buttons,’ she wailed. ‘They keep going in the wrong holes.’

  Alice smiled and fastened the shirt and then slipped a gymslip over Cathy’s head.

  ‘Go and sit down and I’ll bring your breakfast through. No chucky eggs this morning until I do my shopping. Toast and jam will have to do.’

  Cathy dragged her feet on the walk to St Michael’s, but as soon as she spotted Debbie waiting for her by the gate, she perked up and ran to meet her best friend.

  Clara Jones, Debbie’s mum, smiled as Alice came to stand by her side. ‘Thank the lord for that. I’m ready for a bit of peace – until the next holidays, that is,’ she said. ‘Here’s your friend Sadie. No doubt you two are off to work? I sometimes wish I had a job, something for myself, but Arthur doesn’t want me to work. He likes me to stay at home.’

  Alice sighed. ‘We have no choice in the matter. You enjoy it while you can, Clara. That’s what I say.’

  ‘But you two always seem to have much more fun. Ah well, I’d better get back to my chores. See you tomorrow.’

  Alice raised an eyebrow after Clara’s departing back. ‘Much more fun? Who is she kidding? I wish I had her comfortable life.’

  ‘Not sure about that,’ Sadie said as they hurried towards the tram stop. ‘Her hubby sounds a bit old-fashioned. He sounds like the sort who wants his
tea on the table as soon as he comes in from work. Expects everything to be shipshape and Bristol fashion and his shirts ironed a certain way. We women have learned to be independent with the war years. We shouldn’t have to go back to that old way of life just because men expect it. It’s time we took a stand.’

  Alice laughed. Sadie’s face was alight and her expression one of determination. ‘Maybe you should join the politics brigade as well. Fight to make life easier for women. Get it sorted for us all. A modern-day Emmeline Pankhurst.’

  Sadie smiled as they jumped on board the tram. ‘Well, let’s see if I can persuade Lewis’s to give me some extra hours first. I’ll assert myself in store.’

  7

  Alice was crouched on the floor behind the counter, trying to entice a large spider away from making a web near the knitting needles. She wasn’t a lover of the eight-legged creatures but didn’t want to kill it. Wafting it with a sheet of paper wasn’t making much difference as it was running up and down, weaving a new home to its heart’s content. Sadie was terrified of spiders and wouldn’t come back behind the counter until it was gone. The customer Sadie was serving from afar wanted size eight knitting needles and they were shelved right below the delicate web, which meant either destroying it and maybe having the spider leap at her in anger, or… well there wasn’t an or. Alice tried to catch Sadie’s eye to signal that she couldn’t get to a size eight needle, but Sadie was looking in the opposite direction as she talked to her customer. Alice got to her feet and sidled past the web to the far end of the counter.

  ‘I’m really sorry,’ she began, ‘but we appear to be out of size eights. We have an order due later today. Would you like to reserve a pair?’