Christmas with the Bomb Girls

by Daisy Styles

  ‘He’s had his comeuppance,’ Gladys said with real satisfaction. ‘I pray to God he never lives it down.’

  Recalling that shameful, degrading time, Gladys turned her deep, dark-blue eyes on the man beside her. ‘I’m sorry, Reggie. I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye, but I just couldn’t face you. I thought you might have heard what he’d done – as you say, Miles was a bragger. I couldn’t bear even to look you in the face for fear of what you might think of me.’

  ‘I knew there had to be an explanation as to why you slunk away like a thief in the night,’ Reggie declared.

  Taking a shuddering breath, she blurted out the truth. ‘I … I thought you’d be disgusted by me.’

  ‘Darling!’ he exclaimed, catching her in his arms. ‘My poor precious darling. How could you ever think you’d disgust me?’

  ‘I was raped – I was tainted,’ she sobbed as she leant against him.

  ‘But it wasn’t your fault,’ Reggie protested. ‘You were the innocent victim of an accomplished predator. Miles was a past master at persecuting women.’

  Warm in the circle of his arms, Gladys raised her beautiful, tear-stained face to his and whispered uncertainly, ‘You were happy with me in Naples, weren’t you, Reggie?’

  ‘Happier than I’ve ever been in my entire life,’ he whispered back, then kissed her soft, trembling lips.

  The same giddy sensation she remembered from his first kiss under the Italian stars drenched Gladys, and she felt weightless, as if she was floating into a new world bursting with exploding stars. Worried that they might get thrown out of the pub by the landlord, who was looking at them suspiciously, Reggie pulled Gladys to her feet and led her outside. In the cold, wintry, inky darkness, they fell into each other’s arms and kissed until they had to stop to draw breath.

  ‘Oh, my God, I remember those kisses, Nurse Johnson.’

  Clinging to him, Gladys had to be assured one more time that this was really happening. ‘Tell me again that you really don’t think that I’m a … a whore?’ she blurted out the word that had haunted her for months and months.

  ‘Darling, it’s the very last thing I would ever think about you. The first time I laid eyes on you, I was struck by your sweet freshness, your love of life, not to mention your gorgeous legs!’ he teased. ‘But then when you opened your mouth and sang on stage, I literally went weak at the knees!’ he confessed. ‘What happened to you was unpardonable – I hope the bastard rots in hell for it, but it doesn’t take away from you, my dearest girl.’

  After kissing her hard on the lips, Reggie murmured into her ear, ‘I really, really don’t have a girlfriend in London,’ then he added as he gazed into her radiant face, ‘unless you would agree to take up that vacant position?’

  Gladys couldn’t stop smiling. ‘If only we’d talked sooner,’ she groaned as she snuggled closer to Reggie, who smelt of hospital disinfectant and tangy soap.

  Reggie smiled ruefully. ‘God only knows I tried, but it was like courting a jack rabbit: you were off and running every time I broached the subject. Mind you, at the time, I didn’t know any more than rumours about Miles,’ he reminded himself. ‘It’s only recently that his dirty deeds have come to light.’

  ‘He should face the firing squad,’ Gladys said through gritted teeth.

  ‘I’d happily fire the first bullet,’ Reggie said. ‘Anyway, let’s forget about him,’ he continued as he tenderly swept his fingers across her high cheekbones. ‘So now, my darling, now that we have an understanding, please, dearest Gladys, can we pick up where we left off?’

  Gladys couldn’t stop herself from bursting out laughing. ‘Not quite! I’m in Manchester and you’re in London,’ she pointed out. ‘It’ll be a very different courtship from the one we enjoyed in sunny Naples.’

  ‘So what?’ he said robustly. ‘There’s a war on – most young lovers are separated by distance these days; lucky I’ve not been posted to the Middle East.’

  Gladys smiled – compared with the Middle East, London was no distance away. ‘We can write,’ she said eagerly.

  ‘Often!’ he teased.

  ‘Maybe even speak on the phone if I can sneak into Sister’s office and use her phone when she’s not there,’ Gladys giggled.

  ‘And we can meet!’ Reggie cried as he picked her up in his arms and swung her round in the air before he safely deposited her back on the ground and kissed her long and lingeringly. ‘My sweetest, darling girl,’ he said in a rush of emotion as he buried his lips one more time in her glorious hair. ‘We can’t be parted for long, otherwise I’ll lose my mind!’

  ‘Oh, Reggie,’ Gladys said in a rush of guilt. ‘I’m so, so sorry for all the misunderstandings.’

  ‘The misunderstandings I now understand!’ he said jovially. ‘They’re all gone!’ he said, as if by magic he was throwing them away. ‘They’ve disappeared on the breeze – along with the girlfriend,’ he chuckled.

  Even though he was teasing her, Gladys couldn’t stop herself from asking, ‘When did you really stop seeing her?’

  ‘I told you, sweetheart, it was over the minute I saw you in theatre,’ he replied with a grin. ‘I decided I preferred brunettes to blondes.’

  As Gladys’s bus loomed into sight, Gladys threw her arms around Reggie and kissed him passionately. ‘Write my darling, please write to me.’

  Clinging to her, Reggie kissed her for the last time. ‘I promise,’ he said. ‘Oh, God, this is so hard,’ he sighed.

  ‘Now we’ve found each other we’ve got to say goodbye,’ she whispered, in tears again.

  The bus conductor’s gruff voice startled them from their caresses. ‘Are yer gettin’ the buzz or not?’ he snapped.

  Gladys reluctantly tore herself away from Reggie.

  ‘Bye, my darling,’ he said as he ushered her on to the bus’s platform, then stepped back as it pulled away.

  ‘Goodnight, my love,’ Gladys called out as darkness engulfed Reggie and he disappeared from sight.

  ‘Goodnight, my one true love,’ she said to herself, taking a seat and travelling home in a dream of incredulous happiness.

  27. The Best News

  It proved difficult to work out a subtle plan that would bring Flora and Edna together.

  ‘I don’t think it’s right to say straight out, “We’ve found your daughter,” ’ Kit fretted. ‘The shock would be too much; it might even kill Edna!’

  ‘I think that’s highly unlikely, darling,’ Ian said as they smoked their final cigarette before retiring to bed for the night. ‘She’s as strong as a horse!’

  ‘How do you think we should play it?’ Kit asked anxiously. ‘All Edna knows is we’re going into Manchester tomorrow to do a bit of extra shopping for her wedding.’

  ‘Well,’ said Ian, ‘I suggest that as soon as you get off the bus in Manchester you tell her you have to pop into my office to pick something up. Our meeting with Flora is at noon, so plan to get a bus that will get you into Piccadilly around then.’

  Kit nodded and started to breathe more easily. ‘I can do that,’ she said confidently.

  ‘And the rest is between them,’ Ian concluded.

  As Kit brushed her waist-length, lustrous, raven black hair in their bedroom, Ian came up behind her and put his hands gently on her tummy. ‘How’s my little baby?’ he asked softly.

  ‘Quiet for now,’ she answered, laying her small hands over his. ‘But that will change in the New Year, when the baby starts kicking,’ she told him.

  ‘Will I be able to feel it?’ he asked incredulously.

  ‘Yes, of course,’ she assured him. ‘You’ll be able to see him turning too as he gets older,’ she added.

  Ian’s eyes widened. ‘Do you think we’re having a boy?’ he gasped.

  ‘I haven’t a clue!’ Kit laughed. ‘I only say “he” because of Billy. One thing’s for sure,’ she joked. ‘It’ll be one or the other.’

  ‘What would you really like, Catherine?’ Ian asked. ‘Go on, be honest.’


  ‘As long as it’s healthy, I really don’t mind,’ Kit started, then blurted out, ‘I’d love a little girl.’

  ‘A daughter,’ Ian said with a dreamy look in his eyes.

  ‘You’re getting all soppy, Mr McIvor,’ she teased.

  ‘I’m so happy, darling,’ he said as he pulled her into his arms. ‘With all the tragedies surrounding us these days, I realize more than ever how precious life is and how lucky I am to have you.’

  Taking Ian’s hand, Kit led her husband to bed. As they fell into each other’s arms, Kit reached up to kiss her husband’s lips. ‘I love you so much,’ she murmured as she abandoned herself to his caresses.

  The next day, Edna chatted merrily on the bus all the way into Manchester. ‘I can’t think of anything else I need, apart from a pair of nylons and maybe some soft leather gloves,’ she said with a smile. ‘I only wish Malc would let on where we’re going for our honeymoon. I don’t know whether to pack for a hike up Scafell mountain or a fishing trip up the Nile!’ she joked.

  ‘You can’t go far – you’ve only got a few days off, like the rest of us,’ Kit reminded her.

  ‘I feel sorry for all those poor buggers working at the Phoenix over Christmas,’ Edna remarked. ‘Mr Churchill can’t stop production just for festive fun – though thank God it’s not me that’s working,’ she said with relief.

  ‘I feel sorry for all the troops serving their country who can’t be home with their families this Christmas,’ Kit said with a sad sigh. ‘Imagine how they must feel? Stuck in muddy trenches, or on freezing-cold U-boats, or flying night-raids over Germany – there can’t be much to celebrate in those conditions.’

  ‘I can never take in the sacrifices them lads are making for all of us here at home,’ Edna said with a catch in her throat. ‘We’ll never really know how much they’ve gone through, or have yet to go through,’ she said emotionally.

  As the bus rumbled past Victoria Station, Edna made a positive attempt to change the mood. ‘What do you think your Billy would like for Christmas?’ she asked.

  ‘A reindeer!’ Kit laughed. ‘Or an elephant – that’s what he said the other day.’

  When the bus pulled up at Piccadilly, Edna turned towards the Lyons Corner House. ‘Let’s start the day’s shopping with a pot of tea,’ she said eagerly.

  Kit took a deep breath, then she said as lightly as she could manage, ‘Do you mind if we pop into Ian’s office first?’

  ‘No,’ Edna replied cheerily. ‘Mebbe he’ll offer us a cuppa!’

  As they accompanied Ian’s secretary to his office, Kit felt light-headed. What if Flora didn’t turn up? What if Edna thought she and Ian had overstepped the mark, interfering in her private life? Before she could think of another problem, the door swung open and there was Flora, sitting upright on a chair beside Ian’s desk. Kit held back so Edna could walk in first. She stopped short when she saw the young woman with the curly red hair and trembling smile.

  Ian came from behind his desk. ‘Edna,’ he said gently, ‘I’d like to introduce you to your daughter, Flora Forester.’

  Edna’s stout legs literally went from underneath her. Before she crumpled to the floor, Ian grabbed her under the arms and guided her to a chair. Kit handed her a glass of water, but Edna pushed it away in order to gaze at Flora sitting opposite her. Time stood still as Edna drank in every detail of the lovely young woman … Here was the baby that had been taken from her, now an adult. What years had she missed? How many events in a young girl’s unfolding life had she not witnessed? As both women tried to contain their teeming emotions, Kit remained discreetly in the background, moved beyond words.

  Ian continued in a formal voice, ‘Mrs Forester placed an ad in the Manchester Evening News – that was how we found her.’ He turned towards Flora, who explained further.

  ‘I found my birth certificate after my mother had died. I had no idea I was adopted.’

  Leaning forward in her chair, Edna grasped her hands and asked curiously, ‘Did you grow up in Penrith?’

  ‘Yes, I did,’ Flora answered. ‘My parents were good to me. They were both old, which is why I think they adopted me, because it was too late for them to have children.’ She gazed into Edna’s brimming green eyes. ‘I always wondered where I got my green eyes from, and now I know,’ she blurted out.

  In a blink Edna was on her feet. All self-control gone, she rushed to her daughter, who was taller than her, and, weeping, gathered her into her arms. ‘Oh, my little Flora, my little girl!’

  As the women fell on each other with tears coursing down their cheeks, Ian nodded towards the door. Taking his cue, Kit slipped out of the office, followed by Ian, who quickly wiped tears from his own eyes. ‘I thought we should give them a moment together,’ he said.

  ‘I’m going to put the kettle on,’ Kit said firmly as she headed towards the tiny office kitchen.

  ‘I wish there were something a little stronger than tea,’ Ian said as he helped Kit lay the tray.

  ‘When I think of my joy at finding Billy when he was still a baby, I just wonder how Edna is feeling after twenty-seven years of separation,’ Kit said with more tears in her eyes.

  ‘Knowing Edna, one thing’s for sure: she’ll be desperately in need of a brew and a cigarette,’ Ian said.

  When they returned to the office, Edna and Flora were sitting side by side, holding hands and smiling. ‘I’ve just been telling our Flora,’ Edna started then stopped as she added, ‘Listen to me! I only met the child ten minutes ago and she’s already one of the family!’ she laughed.

  ‘You were telling me about my father, Edward Pilkington,’ Flora reminded her.

  ‘Oh, aye,’ said Edna as she gratefully took the cup of tea and cigarette that Ian offered her. ‘A proper bonny lad, though you must remember you got your looks from me,’ she joked. ‘We, you know, got carried away just before he went away, and you were the result.’ Edna laid down the cup and saucer as memories overwhelmed her. ‘I never wanted to part with you, sweetheart. I loved you more than I can ever describe, but it wasn’t to be,’ she said with a long sigh. ‘I was sixteen years old and I had no sway over my parents, who were strict Methodists; they insisted that you were put up for adoption. It just about broke my heart, but there was nothing I could do about it. I had you for six weeks, then you were gone; I cried for months.’

  Flora gave Edna’s hand a firm squeeze. ‘I always knew there was something not quite right. My parents looked after me well. I had a good education too, passed my Eleven-plus and went to the local grammar school.’

  ‘The first brainy one in a long line of numbskulls!’ Edna chuckled.

  ‘But when I found my birth certificate whilst I was clearing out the house, something just clicked in my brain. I knew that, come what may, I had to find you. I had to know who I really was,’ Flora explained.

  After nearly an hour of non-stop talking, Ian said apologetically, ‘I’m going to have to ask you ladies to leave – I have a client due any minute.’

  ‘Of course,’ cried Edna, leaping to her feet. ‘We could carry on talking at the Lyons Corner House over the road?’ she suggested to Flora, who reluctantly shook her head.

  ‘I can’t tell you how much I’d love that, but I’ve got to get the train home,’ she said mournfully.

  ‘You’re going back to Penrith?’ Edna gasped, as if she was frightened of losing her daughter all over again.

  ‘I’m afraid I have to,’ Flora explained. ‘I’ve been staying in digs whilst I’ve been in Manchester, but now I really have to go home to my little girls, who my husband has been taking care of.’

  Edna’s eyes opened wide in wonder. ‘You have children?’ she cried.

  ‘Catherine and Marilyn,’ Flora told her proudly.

  ‘Now I’ve got even more family to meet!’ she cried joyfully. ‘Just imagine,’ she laughed as she turned to a smiling Kit. ‘I’m a grandmother!’

  Outside the office, waiting for the taxi that Ian had called to take
Flora to Victoria Station, Edna clung to her daughter. ‘Please, will you come back soon?’ she begged.

  ‘Yes,’ Flora promised. ‘Next time I come to see you, may I bring my daughters to meet you?’

  ‘Yes, oh, yes, please!’ Edna cried. ‘Bring anything that’s yours, cat, dog, goldfish, hubby – I’ll welcome all with wide-open arms,’ she enthused.

  ‘What would you like me to call you?’ Flora asked solemnly.

  ‘What did you call the woman who adopted you?’ Edna asked.

  ‘Mother.’

  A slow smile spread across Edna’s radiant face, ‘Then you can call me Mum,’ she said with tears of happiness in her eyes. ‘Mum will do for me.’

  With promises to meet up soon, mother and daughter waved each other goodbye, then Edna quite literally slumped against the nearest wall. ‘Oh, my God, did I just dream all of that, Kit?’ she asked in a dazed voice.

  ‘No, sweetheart, it really happened,’ said Kit, linking her arm through Edna’s and supporting her as they walked into Piccadilly. ‘You have a daughter who’s finally found her mum!’

  Edna wrote to her daughter almost as soon as she got home, urging her to come and visit. ‘We’ve got to make up for lost time,’ she wrote with tears in her eyes. ‘Bring the whole family and stay as long as you like.’

  Flora quickly wrote back, promising to bring her little girls at the weekend, but not her husband, who’d been on a short leave from the army and had unfortunately returned to his regiment.

  Malc had never seen his fiancée so radiant nor so energetic. ‘Oh, lovie,’ she said as she hugged him with excitement. ‘There’s so much I want to share with them.’

  Malc squeezed her tight, ‘Don’t rush it, sweetheart, one thing at a time, eh?’ he cautioned.

  ‘You’re right,’ she agreed. ‘Mustn’t overwhelm the poor child, but just imagine, Malc, I have my daughter back after all these years.’

  ‘I hope she likes me,’ Malc said cautiously. ‘Did you tell her you were getting wed?’