The Liberty Girls

by Fiona Ford

  By the time dawn broke, Alice was done in, and when a lady from the WVS offered her and Jack a cup of tea and a blanket each, she wanted to kiss her.

  ‘Quite the night huh?’ Jack said, leaning his head against the pillars of the Argyle Street church.

  ‘You could say that,’ Alice replied wearily, the early morning breeze whipping around her neck. ‘It’s not what I was expecting.’

  ‘Me either.’ Jack winced as he took a sip of his tea. ‘How the hell do you Brits drink this stuff?’

  ‘Very easily.’ Alice gulped down the warm liquid, enjoying the instant relief.

  ‘I guess it’s an acquired taste.’

  ‘You never did make it back to the Assembly Rooms,’ Alice said suddenly. ‘Will you be in trouble?’

  Jack shook his head. ‘There was a raid on and I did my part. What about you? We don’t even know if your digs were bombed out.’

  Alice pointed towards a house across the street. ‘It’s still there. I ought to go and get my things, try and work out how I’m getting back to London. Someone told me the station had been hit so I can’t imagine it’ll be easy to get a train home.’

  ‘Husband waiting for you?’

  ‘No, but my son will be.’ Alice replied sadly, tugging the blanket tightly around her. ‘My husband’s in the RAF and is missing. He’s never met our baby son,’ she found herself blurting.

  ‘Jeez. That’s terrible. Alice, I’m so sorry,’ Jack said, his face earnest. ‘Does that mean you’re raising your boy all alone?’

  Alice nodded, her face grim. ‘Just like thousands of other women across the country whose men are away serving.’

  Jack eyed her carefully. ‘Not quite the same though, is it?’ he offered, painfully aware that the words regarding Alice’s missing husband were better left unsaid.

  ‘No, not quite,’ she answered, allowing herself to look into this man’s eyes for the first time since they had left the dance hall. She hadn’t meant to tell him her life story, but there was something about Jack that made her feel relaxed and Alice felt strangely drawn to him. She had seen the way he worked all night, never once stopping to rest or take a break. He had been full of kind words for the children who had been bombed out of their homes or become separated from their mothers. He had even taken care to round up all the stray cats and dogs roaming the streets, before handing them to a vet manning a temporary pet rescue centre. For some reason Alice felt she could tell Jack almost anything, and what’s more she wanted to know everything about him too.

  ‘What’s your life back home like?’ she asked.

  Jack raised an eyebrow. ‘Quiet. Nothing like this.’

  ‘I’d hope not for your sake,’ Alice quipped.

  Offering the rest of his tea to Alice, she gratefully accepted and wrapped her hands around the tin mug for warmth as Jack settled back against the pillar. ‘I’m a farmer back in Montana, a state in the north-west of America.’

  ‘What kind of farming do you do? I’m born and bred in London, I don’t know one end of a blade of grass from the other!’

  Jack laughed. ‘That wouldn’t necessarily be a problem. I’m a cattle farmer. My daddy was a cattle farmer, and before that my daddy’s daddy.’

  ‘A family farm,’ Alice said brightly. ‘Must be nice seeing all those open fields and breathing in the fresh air every day. I often wonder if me and Arthur – that’s my son – wouldn’t be better off in the countryside somewhere. A city’s no place to bring up a kid, is it?’

  ‘I don’t think so.’ Jack shook his head before gratefully accepting a slice of bread and butter from a WVS volunteer. ‘I couldn’t imagine raising my boy anywhere else.’

  Alice raised her eyebrows in surprise. ‘You never said you have a family.’

  ‘I don’t,’ Jack said gruffly. ‘I have a son – Jack Junior. He’s five.’

  ‘I’m sorry. It must be hard for you and your wife to be apart.’

  ‘My wife and I have been apart for too long as it is,’ he replied sadly, his eyes downcast. ‘My Marilyn died in a farming accident when Jack just turned one, and since that day I’ve been both mama and papa to that boy.’

  Alice’s mouth fell open. ‘Oh Jack, I’m so sorry. I swear I’m always putting my filthy great feet where I shouldn’t.’

  ‘How could you have known?’ Jack said, his warm chocolate eyes meeting hers. ‘But I like to talk about her, it keeps her memory alive for me.’

  ‘I know what you mean. I’m the same with my Luke. A lot of my friends are too frightened to mention him in case it upsets me, but I would rather talk about him; that way I can believe he’s coming home.’

  ‘Do you think he will come back then?’ Jack asked bluntly.

  Alice paused. For so long she had been convinced that he would return, but lately she had to admit there was a part of her that was starting to believe he wouldn’t and that actually he was dead. ‘I hope he will,’ she said eventually. ‘Sometimes in this war, all you can do is hope.’

  ‘That’s what I told my boy before I left,’ Jack replied, rubbing a grimy hand across his face. ‘He was so upset about me leaving, he thought England was on the other side of the world.’

  ‘It almost is,’ Alice said over the rumble of another WVS truck bringing in urgent supplies. ‘Where is your son now?’

  Jack’s face lit up at the chance to talk about his boy. ‘He’s with my sister, Gracie, on the farm. She’s got twin boys of her own that are a little older than Jack Junior so she knows what she’s doing.’

  ‘I can imagine,’ Alice said drily. ‘Has her own husband joined up too?’

  Jack nodded. ‘Eric’s serving in the US Navy, scaring poor Gracie senseless, of course, but it’s like I said, we’re all in this thing together now. The sooner we all step up, do what’s right, the sooner we can all get back to normality.’

  Alice took another sip of her tea and said nothing. She wasn’t sure she knew what normal looked like any more, but here in this moment she felt a strange connection to this handsome foreigner who knew a little of her pain.

  ‘It must be strange for you being so far from home in a strange country,’ she said eventually.

  ‘It’s nice here.’ Jack smiled. ‘You Brits are very hospitable.’

  ‘So I’ve heard.’ Alice smirked. ‘You GIs are finding a girl on every corner.’

  Jack blushed. ‘Not all of us are like that. I’ve always been a one-woman kind of guy. Me and Marilyn were childhood sweethearts.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she replied softly.

  Then before she could change her mind, Alice leaned over and clasped Jack’s cool hand in her own to offer comfort. If he seemed surprised he didn’t show it, as he placed his other hand on top of Alice’s and squeezed. ‘Thank you,’ he replied.

  Alice was about to reply when an ARP warden tapped her on the shoulder. ‘Sorry to interrupt but just thought you should know there’s a mobile canteen now offering breakfast. You two look like you could use a meal.’

  Removing his hand from Alice’s, Jack got to his feet. ‘That’s the best offer I’ve had all day. Will you join me, ma’am?’

  As he gallantly stretched his hand out towards Alice to help her up, she gratefully accepted. Walking beside him across the street towards the van, the steam from the tea urn clearly visible in the early morning air, Alice tried to remember the last time she had enjoyed breakfast with a man who wasn’t her four-month-old son.

  Chapter Fourteen

  By the time Alice returned home on Sunday night, she was exhausted. Following her breakfast she had collected her belongings from her lodgings, and then with Jack’s help, and after saying a hurried and emotional goodbye to him, had begun the long journey home. Sadly, Alice had been right. There had been no trains, following the brutal explosions on the railway line and nearby gas works, so she had gratefully accepted a lift from one of Jack’s colleagues who was driving back to London that day.

  Many people from the city had been terrified Hitler would s
trike again that Sunday night and so had fled to the country the moment dawn broke. Alice couldn’t honestly say she blamed them. Having survived a year of almost nightly bombings in London she could understand their fear only too well. However, that meant the roads out of Bath were busier than usual with extra cars and buses in search of sanctuary.

  As the car rumbled slowly along the roads, Alice found herself reflecting on the previous night and how stupid she had been to put her own life in jeopardy when she had Arthur to think about. How could she, as a mother, have been daft enough to roar insults at those Nazis when they were just yards away? They could so easily have killed her with just one of the bullets from the machine guns. Alice didn’t know what had possessed her. She had been so consumed by rage, so filled with a desire to let these people know just what they were destroying, that all sense and reason had vanished from her mind. By the time she got back, she was ready to sink straight into bed, but as Dot was waiting up for her with Arthur she had been forced to tell her all about the devastating attack on Bath. Naturally Dot had been shocked at all she had been through and offered to gather the Liberty girls together. Alice smiled appreciatively at the gesture, but all she wanted to do was hold her son close, which is just what she did all night and most of the next day too.

  Now, it was Tuesday evening and as the carriage clock on the mantel struck six thirty precisely Alice heard the sound of the key in the door.

  ‘Only me,’ Dot called.

  ‘Hello, only you,’ Alice replied, simultaneously kissing Arthur who was snoozing on her lap and feeling pleased her landlady was home. She was tired of her own company, finding her mind had been filled with thoughts of the weekend. Not only had she been continually cursing herself for placing herself in danger, she had been plagued by thoughts of Jack. He had been so easy to talk to, and the fact they were both bringing up their children alone had made her feel close to him in a way she hadn’t felt close to anyone in a long time. But with Dot home she was grateful for the distraction and wanted nothing more than a natter about her landlady’s day at the WVS and an early night.

  Only as Dot walked into the kitchen with a smile as wide as her face, Alice could see that was the last thing that was likely to happen. Not only was the scent of vinegar-soaked fish and chips filling the room, but behind her, all wearing grins equally as large, were Flo, Aggie, Mary, Rose and Joy.

  ‘Impromptu Liberty Girls and Friends Night,’ Dot said, dumping the bag on the table. ‘We thought it might be nice for you to have a bit of company after all you’ve been through.’

  Mary sighed. ‘Yes, it sounds as though you had a bugger of a time.’

  ‘Dot says you worked through the night, sweetheart,’ Aggie ventured, taking a seat.

  ‘You must be shattered,’ Flo added.

  ‘Just a bit,’ Alice replied, feeling weary at the girls’ questions, yet oddly touched they had come all the way over to see her.

  Inhaling her son’s sweet, soft scent she felt a pang of sorrow. To think there had been a possibility she would never see her gorgeous boy again. As if reading her mind, Arthur shuffled himself in his mother’s arms and threw his pudgy arms around her neck, earning a collective gasp of delight from the Liberty girls and a fresh round of tears from Alice.

  ‘Where did you get the money for the chipper?’ Alice asked, wiping the tears from her face and turning to Dot.

  The landlady tapped her nose knowingly. ‘Ask no questions and all that. Thought you deserved a treat so I had a word with my mate Mickey Dennis who runs the chippy on Walworth Road. Let’s just say he was happy to oblige.’

  ‘I’m not asking.’ Alice chuckled, the aroma of the chips already making her tummy rumble.

  Joy sat on the other side of her and gazed at her sister, her eyes filled with concern. ‘Do you want to talk about what happened in Bath? Dot says you barely said two words about it,’ she asked kindly, before adding worriedly: ‘But not if you don’t want to. I don’t want to pressure you.’

  Alice smiled. There were times Joy completely took her breath away. On impulse she leaned over to kiss her sister’s cheek and was surprised when Joy caught her by the wrist and turned to whisper in her ear: ‘I’m so glad you’re all right. Despite everything between us, I would be lost without you.’

  Joy let go and turned away to stare at the floor, and for a moment Alice wondered if she had dreamed the exchange. Only glancing down at her wrist and spotting a small fingernail indentation, she knew it was true, and Alice couldn’t have been more touched.

  She went to open her mouth to reply, to tell everyone what had happened, but then an image of the pilot in her sightline flashed into her mind. Letting out a small shudder, Alice realised the last thing she wanted was to relive the events of Saturday night. ‘Thanks for the concern, girls, but I’m tired. And if I’m honest, no, I don’t want to talk about it. You remember what every night of the Blitz was like? Well, it was like that, only for the first time I didn’t make it to a shelter and I helped clear up the wreckage.’

  ‘I don’t know how you did it,’ Aggie persisted. ‘I mean, you must have been terrified. I don’t know what I would have done. I’d have given up, I think.’

  Rose nodded, clutching her cane. ‘Me too. But then, being blind ’n’ all, Hitler’s band of merry men could have wiped me right out.’

  Aggie agreed. ‘Oh Rose, you poor thing, I don’t know how you get through the days. I find it hard enough. I’m sick of this war and all the trouble it brings.’

  ‘I don’t know myself sometimes.’ Rose shrugged. ‘Sometimes I think a bomb would be a blessing – put me out of my misery.’

  ‘For goodness’ sake, you two,’ Flo sighed impatiently. ‘Alice is fine – she survived, didn’t she? And you two going on about how you think you wouldn’t cope isn’t helping. I’ve got news for you all: we none of us like our lives at the moment. War’s horrible, but we’re surviving and that should be celebrated.’

  Dot smiled and got to her feet. ‘Well said, Flo. Come on you lot, this is a celebration. We’re meant to be cheering Alice up not bringing her down. Now, Joy, how about you come and help me dish these chips out. And no nicking the scraps either when my back’s turned.’

  Grumbling under her breath, Joy did as Dot asked, leaving Alice alone with her friends.

  ‘So what shall we talk about?’ Mary asked brightly. ‘The weather?’

  Alice laughed. ‘It has been quite warm for April. But I think I’d rather hear about Liberty. Why don’t you tell me how Mrs Claremont has been?’

  ‘Angry,’ Flo remarked directly. ‘She went into Mr Button’s office on Saturday afternoon and said it should have been her that went to Bath instead of you.’

  ‘Silly woman.’ Aggie sniffed. ‘She should be grateful she didn’t have to deal with those bombs. What a thing to say.’

  Flo shrugged. ‘I think Alice will be waiting a long time for praise. Mrs Claremont’s moods seem to go from bad to worse. I don’t know what’s wrong with her. She’s always upset about something at the moment.’

  ‘But she never said a word to me. In fact in that meeting she said she wanted me to go!’ Alice gasped incredulously.

  ‘Well, something must have changed her mind as she went in all guns blazing and said that as the manager—’

  ‘Temporary manager,’ Alice corrected, cutting Flo off.

  ‘As temporary manager, she should be making relationships,’ Flo clarified with a nod, her chestnut curls working their way loose from the chignon she had been wearing all day.

  ‘Oh, let’s talk about something else,’ Dot said, her arms now laden with plates of fish and chips.

  ‘Gladly,’ Joy added from behind her. ‘I’m sick of hearing about the bleedin’ woman.’

  ‘All right, Joy,’ Alice said sharply, covering her son’s ears before helping herself to a plate from Dot’s hand. ‘There’s no need for language.’

  Joy said nothing as she took a seat opposite Mary and helped herself to some chips. �
��Has anyone got anything else they want to talk about?’ Alice tried again. ‘Rose, any news from Tommy?’

  Rose gave a sharp nod of her head. ‘He wrote last week. Still going on about trying to get compassionate leave.’

  Alice put down her fork and stared at her friend. ‘Why don’t you say yes? I’m sure he’d love to see you, and it would do you good too. You haven’t seen him since …’

  ‘Since I went blind,’ Rose replied bluntly.

  To Alice’s surprise, Joy leaned over and rubbed Rose’s back comfortingly. ‘Alice was just trying to be kind,’ she pointed out. ‘There’s no need to snap.’

  Rose turned to Joy and gave her a watery smile before lifting her chin, her eyes searching for Alice. ‘Sorry, Alice.’

  ‘That’s all right,’ Alice said hesitantly. ‘I was just trying to say that it might give you comfort. Heaven knows I’d love to hear from my Luke.’

  Flo looked up from her own plate, a chip halfway to her mouth. ‘I feel the same. Sometimes I can go weeks without hearing from my Neil, never mind imagine when I’m going to see him again.’

  ‘I had a sweetheart at sea once,’ Joy piped up. ‘I’m still waiting for him to write to me.’

  ‘When was the last time you saw or heard from him?’ Alice asked, her tone disbelieving.

  ‘Erm, last August?’ Joy said.

  The girls roared with laughter, not altogether unkindly. ‘I think that’s code for “This is finished, Joy”,’ Alice said as the laughter subsided.

  ‘What a swine,’ Joy gasped, seemingly not in the least bit offended. ‘I bet you’re right. Well, that’s the last time I sit with anyone in the back row of the pictures.’

  Dot rolled her eyes. ‘Anyone else?’ she asked, looking pleadingly. ‘OK, my turn then. Edwin’s asked me if I’ll go with him to Margate for the weekend when the weather picks up.’

  ‘Ooh, that sounds nice,’ Alice said. ‘Are you going?’

  Dot winked. ‘’Course I am! He’s paying. I’ve told him separate beds though, no funny business – I’m too old for all that carry-on.’