The Postmistress

by Maggie Sullivan

  ‘It will only be until you get married,’ her mother said when Ruby finally tried to explain.

  But that was not what Ruby wanted to hear.

  ‘Get married?’ she scoffed. ‘Do you seriously think someone would want to marry me?’ She had hoped to avoid such a scene and she began to cry. ‘Who will want me with a thing like this attached to my leg all my life?’ she sobbed, and she picked up her calliper that she had rested against the chair and threw it to the other side of the room. ‘Maybe an old man who’s a cripple himself from the Great War.’

  The doorbell rang at that moment and, thinking it must be the doctor, Ruby quickly rubbed away her tears and insisted on opening the door herself. She was eager to show off that she could take some steps on her own thanks to his suggestions about undertaking daily exercises to prevent her leg wasting any further. ‘See how I’m getting stronger every day.’ The words bubbled forth and were on her lips as she opened the door but she was surprised, not to say disappointed, to find Vicky Parrott standing on the step.

  ‘Is it the doctor?’ Marie Bowdon shouted from the back room. ‘Ask him to come in.’

  Ruby invited Vicky in. ‘Mum’s in the back,’ she said.

  Vicky hesitated. ‘Actually, Ruby, it’s you I’ve come to see,’ she said.

  ‘Me?’ Ruby laughed. ‘No one ever comes to see me – except of course the doctor – so you’d better come in.’

  Vicky had never been behind the greengrocer’s shopfront before though she wasn’t surprised to find the layout exactly the same as in her own home. Marie was getting up from the kitchen table and had started gathering the tea dishes, ready for washing.

  ‘Not often we see you here, Vicky. Is everything all right?’ Marie said.

  Vicky pulled a chair up to the table and sat down without waiting to be asked. ‘Everything’s fine, thanks.’

  ‘What can we do for you, then?’ Marie said, putting the dishes down. ‘Can I get you a cup of something?’

  ‘Actually, it’s more about what I might be able to do for you,’ Vicky said, ‘and a drink won’t be necessary, thanks all the same.’

  ‘I’m all ears,’ Marie said, looking interested. ‘But perhaps Ruby might want to go to—’

  ‘No.’ Vicky put a restraining hand on Ruby’s arm. ‘Ruby needs to hear this,’ and she outlined the conversation she had had with Roger Buckley. She was gratified to see Ruby’s eyes light up, even if Marie looked wary.

  ‘I realise it might not be what you were planning for Ruby,’ Vicky said quickly when she saw the look on Marie’s face.

  ‘To be honest, we hadn’t talked much about it,’ Marie said. ‘We only want whatever’s best for her.’ She turned to face Vicky. ‘And if she doesn’t want to work in our shop then that’s fine,’ she said, though the stiff smile on her face said something different. ‘I’ll have to discuss it with Billy, of course, as we were relying on her coming to give us a hand. But I’ll get back to you by the end of the week. If that’ll be all right?’

  ‘That’s fine,’ Vicky said. ‘Sorry to land it on you like this. But one quick question before I go because you’ve not had a chance to say anything, Ruby.’ Vicky stood up and turned to Ruby. ‘How would you feel about working in the Post Office with me?’

  Ruby’s whole face was filled with excitement. ‘I would love it,’ she said. ‘I think it’s a great idea. Please can I, Mum?’

  But all Marie would say was, ‘We’ll see.’

  Chapter 14

  Rosie twisted in Trevor’s arms, straining to see in the moonlight, and it took several moments for her to register who it was that had stopped a few feet away. But she could see Claire quite clearly now that the moon had finally emerged. Claire was usually in bed by the time Rosie got home and she wondered where her cousin had been that she was still out.

  ‘Is that you, Claire?’ she called out.

  Claire took a tentative step forwards and was facing the couple directly.

  ‘Are you all right?’ Rosie asked.

  ‘I’m fine, thanks,’ Claire said. ‘I’ve been at Penny’s. We went to the funfair.’

  They stood awkwardly for a few moments. Rosie wasn’t sure if it was the effects of the alcohol she’d drunk earlier wearing off, but she suddenly felt foolish. ‘I’d like you to meet Trevor,’ she said, managing to smother the giggle that had risen into her throat. ‘He works at the factory. Trevor, this is Claire.’

  Trevor gave an embarrassed laugh and to Rosie’s surprise he put out his hand to Claire. ‘Pleased to meet you,’ he said formally. Claire muttered something, though Rosie couldn’t make out the words and before Rosie could say anything further Claire had hurried down the alley between the shops that led to the Barkers’ back door.

  ‘Who was that?’ Trevor scratched his head when she’d gone.

  ‘She’s just someone from London who’s living with us right now,’ she said quickly, not wanting to explain the family connection.

  ‘Was she spying on us?’

  Now Rosie did laugh. ‘No, you’ve no need to worry,’ Rosie said. ‘She’s no trouble but I am surprised my mother’s not got a search party out looking for her.’

  ‘How come she’s not got one out looking for you?’

  ‘Because I told her I might be a bit late as I was going out with friends.’

  ‘A friend? Is that what I am, then?’ Trevor said and he nuzzled his face into her cheek.

  ‘Well, you are, aren’t you?’ she said.

  ‘But I want to be more than that. You do know that, don’t you?’ Trevor rubbed his body against hers and Rosie felt a mixture of alarm and excitement. She giggled but didn’t answer.

  ‘So will your mother not worry about you?’ Trevor persisted.

  ‘Of course she will. Now that Claire’s home I expect she’ll be out on the doorstep any minute.’

  ‘Then you can introduce us and I promise to be charm itself,’ he said, his voice suddenly smooth.

  ‘I don’t doubt that,’ Rosie said, offering her lips to be kissed, but then his lips clamped down on hers.

  ‘What would she say if she saw what her daughter was up to?’

  He pressed himself against her again and put his hand inside her jacket, squeezing her nipple through her blouse.

  ‘I don’t know what she’d do …’ Rosie’s voice suddenly had a catch in it and her breathing was uneven. ‘D-don’t do that.’ Rosie didn’t sound as if she meant it. ‘I’m telling you, my mum’s going to appear any minute.’

  ‘But there’s no sign of your mum yet,’ Trevor murmured. ‘And what about your old man? He’s not one of those keeps a shotgun under his bed, is he?’

  Rosie laughed. ‘Hardly. But you don’t have to worry about him. I doubt he’ll be home tonight. All the same, I think you’d better go now,’ Rosie said, reluctantly pulling away. But it was too late, for at that moment there was a dainty pinging sound that seemed at odds with the force with which the front door was flung open and Sylvia appeared in the shop doorway.

  ‘Rosie, is that you?’ she shouted. ‘Claire’s home and I think it’s high time you came in as well. I don’t know how you can see a thing out there.’

  ‘I’m coming,’ Rosie answered. ‘We were talking about work tomorrow.’ And she had to smother another giggle as she felt Trevor’s fingers prod her ribs. ‘Can I introduce you to Trevor before he goes?’ Rosie called after her mother as she saw her turn away. Sylvia stopped and looked surprised.

  ‘This is Trevor from work,’ Rosie said, emphasising the last word. ‘Trev, this is my mum.’

  Chapter 15

  Ruby was excited to be working in the Post Office and could hardly believe that her parents had finally agreed to let her try selling something other than fresh fruit and vegetables. It was all down to Dr Buckley, or so Vicky Parrott had said when she’d come round to discuss with the Bowdons the possibility of taking on Ruby as her assistant.

  ‘He thought you would make a very good trainee Postmistress,’ Vicky had tol
d her. It was the main reason Ruby had jumped at the chance and begged her parents to let her do it, particularly when she realised it meant working behind the counter where no one could see her bad leg.

  ‘Fortunately, there’s no climbing of ladders required or running up and down stairs,’ Vicky had said. ‘And I would make sure my dad kept out of your hair; he can talk the hind leg off a donkey when he’s a mind.’

  ‘Oh, that’s OK,’ Ruby said, ‘I’d love to hear his stories.’ She added quickly, ‘So long as there was no one waiting to be served in the shop, of course.’

  That had made Vicky smile.

  Ruby hadn’t thought that she would enjoy the work as much as she did. Vicky had strict rules and made her work hard but she had been very patient while explaining all the different tasks the job entailed. More importantly, Vicky seemed to understand what it meant to Ruby that she had been forced to leave school earlier than she’d intended and hadn’t been able to follow the career she had dreamed of.

  ‘I wanted to be a teacher too,’ Vicky admitted to Ruby with a sigh. ‘Somehow, when I was at school it seemed like a very glamorous job to have.’

  ‘That’s how I felt,’ Ruby said, ‘although maybe it was Miss Pegg that made it seem that way. I always wanted to be like her.’

  Vicky laughed. ‘I know what you mean. She and I were at school at the same time.’

  ‘Looking after people’s post and parcels can be fun too,’ Ruby said quickly.

  ‘It can indeed,’ Vicky agreed. ‘You wait till it’s the birthday of someone in the village and there are cards and mysterious-looking parcels, not to mention telegrams flying about. And it’s the same at Christmas.’

  Ruby couldn’t wait to see the doctor again so that she could thank him in person for his helpful intervention and for putting in a good word with Vicky – or Miss Parrott as she had been told to call her at work. To Ruby’s delight, she was rewarded at the end of the week when he appeared with his pile of letters and packages to be weighed and posted.

  ‘Glad to see you settling in so well, Ruby,’ the doctor said beaming, ‘even serving on your own.’

  ‘Miss Parrott’s only behind that door if I need her,’ Ruby confided, ‘but she’s shown me what to do and she thinks I’ll learn best by doing it myself.’

  ‘I thought you would get along with Vicky – pardon me, Miss Parrott,’ he said. ‘I trust everything’s working out all right?’ Vicky still hadn’t made an appearance so he had lowered his voice and Ruby beamed at him with delight. ‘I’m loving it,’ she said softly, ‘so thank you again for thinking of me. I really do appreciate it.’

  ‘Then I think we should celebrate your first week at work,’ he said. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve had much of a chance to get out in the fresh air this week.’

  ‘Not really. I’ve only had to walk the few yards from our shop to this.’ Ruby laughed.

  ‘Then how about joining me and Julie for an outing to the park on Saturday?’

  ‘What, to the funfair?’ Ruby said without thinking, her face flushing with excitement.

  Now it was Roger’s turn to laugh. ‘No, not the fair, I’m afraid. I’ve been promising for ages and now I’m finally taking my little daughter fishing for tiddlers in the big pond over by the bandstand and you’d be very welcome to come with us.’

  Ruby’s cheeks reddened. ‘That sounds lovely,’ she said, but then she frowned. ‘Oh, but I’ll be working, so I can’t.’

  ‘You only work in the morning on a Saturday, surely?’ the doctor said. ‘You’ll be free by dinnertime, won’t you? We won’t be going till then so we can stop off to collect you at closing time. That’s providing it doesn’t rain, of course.’

  ‘Yes, that would be fine,’ Ruby said.

  ‘You’d better check with your parents and if they say you can come, bring a sandwich and we’ll have a little picnic. I think it would do you a lot of good to spend some time in the open air, get some pink back into your cheeks permanently.’

  Now Ruby nodded with some enthusiasm. ‘Thank you. That does sound like fun,’ she said. ‘Are you sure Julie won’t mind?’

  ‘She’s very sociable, my daughter,’ Dr Buckley said. ‘I’m sure she’ll be delighted. She likes having people join us.’

  Roger paid the bill and Ruby gave him his change, proudly marking it up on the till roll. ‘Is – is Miss Parrott available?’ he said as he prepared to leave. ‘Perhaps I could have a word with her before I go.’

  Ruby glanced behind her where the door to the living quarters remained firmly shut. ‘She’s actually busy at the moment and she said not to disturb her unless I had a problem,’ she said hesitantly. ‘But I can go and check if you like, in case she’s finished.’ She slid off the stool she had been perching on but Roger stopped her.

  ‘No, don’t bother,’ he said. ‘I’ll get in touch later. It’s not urgent. I’ll see you tomorrow.’ He tipped his felt trilby hat and left.

  It took Roger some time to come to, on Saturday morning, even though Julie was bouncing on the end of his bed in an effort to wake him up.

  ‘Come on, Daddy, or we’ll be late,’ she chanted over and over and though he tried to close his ears, Julie meant business and refused to let him go back to sleep.

  ‘We don’t need to be ready so early, you know,’ he said struggling to sit up. He finally opened his eyes and was not surprised to see that Julie was already dressed, although her jumper was inside out and she had different coloured socks on each foot. ‘Ruby’s coming with us today, remember I told you?’ he said. ‘And she’s working until dinnertime.’

  Julie’s face fell. ‘I thought we were going to have a picnic,’ she said.

  ‘We are. I’ve asked Grandma if she could rustle up some sandwiches for us and I’ve told Ruby to bring some too. Let’s hope it doesn’t rain, that’s all.’

  At that, Julie jumped off the bed and clapped her hands. Then she ran to the window.

  ‘It’s not raining!’ she announced, ‘but the sun’s not shining.’ She sounded disappointed.

  ‘That’s because it’s too early,’ Roger said, and he pulled the blankets up to his chin. Julie giggled and Roger took a deep breath. ‘Is that coffee I can smell?’ He gave an exaggerated sniff.

  ‘Grandma’s making breakfast,’ Julie confirmed, ‘so you’d better hurry up or you’ll miss it and then you’ll have to wait till dinner.’

  Roger checked off his list as he packed up the car with the equipment that would be required for the gathering of frogspawn and whatever else might be swimming about in the pond. The small fishing nets were years old but somehow they’d survived and he tucked the long poles out of harm’s way in the boot, wedging them in with jam jars that had string through their lids to carry home their catch.

  It was funny, he reflected as he added a thermos flask, egg sandwiches, and slices of his mother’s best parkin, that nothing much had changed since his own father had taken him fishing when he was not much older than Julie was now. But this was not the time to get lost under a heap of sentimental memories.

  ‘I think you’ll need a warmer jumper than that,’ he said as Julie ran out into the yard. ‘It’s nice and sunny now but a bit cool still, I’m afraid. Why not put on that new one Grandma knitted for you? We can’t afford for you to get a cold.’

  ‘If I do, you can always make me better,’ Julie said with an impish grin and she turned her face towards him for a kiss.

  Roger caught his breath as he bent to oblige though he tried to smile. But such remarks would catch him unawares and stab him in the heart. He still suffered agonies of guilt over the fact that he couldn’t always make people better, such as the time when he hadn’t been able to save the life of his beloved wife …

  Julie grabbed his hands and pulled him upright, trying to make him turn in a circle. When he didn’t respond immediately, she ran up and down the yard, jumping into the puddles that had formed overnight, then complained that the water had dripped over the top of her shiny black we
llington boots and had wet her socks. She ran back to take his hand again, trying to encourage him to jump with her.

  ‘What are you thinking about Daddy?’

  Roger shook his head. ‘That’s a very good question, my darling, to which I have no answer. I will have to give it some serious thought.’

  ‘Oh, Daddy, you are so silly,’ Julie chastised him. ‘You must know what you were thinking about.’

  ‘Not necessarily,’ he said, frowning and looking down into his daughter’s trusting face. Her dark brown eyes, not unlike his own, blinked back at him. Then he squeezed her hand and guided her into the back seat of the car.

  ‘Now, let’s go and pick up Ruby at the Post Office,’ he said.

  ‘Is Vicky coming too?’ Julie asked innocently.

  ‘Well, no,’ Roger said. ‘I thought it would just be Ruby, you and me.’

  ‘But I want Vicky to come!’ Julie bounced up and down and sounded so eager that Roger smiled at her.

  ‘That sounds like a good idea, though it might be too late,’ he said, ‘but I suppose we could ask her.’

  Chapter 16

  The machines in the munitions factory had been running all night as they always did but when Rosie clocked in for work she was surprised to find hers was idle and a girl she didn’t know was standing by the bench, looking anxious. She was biting her nails which looked as if they were already down to the quick. A man in work overalls was lying on his back under all the heavy metal and she thought she recognised the boots that were sticking out from underneath.