Brighter Days Ahead

by Mary Wood

  David’s next question surprised her, as she’d thought he would try to press the point of her going to his house. ‘Will your dad be a barrier to us marrying?’

  ‘Yes, he will. But I will run away. I’m old enough to make any legal decisions myself, so there won’t be any problems, but we have to plan it. We’ll have to move to another area. Oh, there’s so much to talk about. To plan. And I can only get out of the house for a few minutes a day, or for the odd evening.’

  ‘Meet me tomorrow, as usual, and I will have worked something out. I don’t understand why your father has such a hold on you, but I can see you are afraid, my darling. I will put our marriage plans into action as soon as I can. At least a civil wedding. The Jewish one can come later, when you are ready. Oh, my Molly. I bless the day that brought us together, even though it was one of the most horrible days in our lives. I love you beyond anything.’

  His lips were on hers again. His tongue probed gently until she opened her mouth. The sensation awoke urges she didn’t want to deny, and she knew she wouldn’t, the next time they were alone in his house or wherever they went together.

  In that moment she also knew that whatever it took, she would follow her David. She would always be his. It took all her strength to leave him, when the time came. Her heart wanted to go with him, right there and then.

  As Molly lay later that night in the dank cellar of her home, the silence surrounding her was fraught with fear. Her own fear eclipsed that of the other four occupants of the cellar, whose alcohol-fuelled breath putrefied the air as they lounged around her, sleeping at intervals and swigging drink at others. The presence of Eva, Gus and Lofty in the cellar terrified Molly. The stench of them had her swallowing down the bile that rose to her throat, causing her to release an involuntary cough as the stinging aftermath threatened to choke her.

  The candle they kept lit had extinguished itself. The blackness clawed at and disorientated Molly.

  She felt for the box of matches she kept nearby, hating being unable to see the others. While she had her eyes on them, she could be ready if they tried anything.

  The air raid that had caused them all to descend into the cellar had ended. The bombing had started earlier than usual and had been close by. Too much so for the three people Molly despised most in the world to have made their way home in safety. Her dad had insisted they took shelter with them.

  The sound of the match scraping on the flint strip grated on her tense nerves. Its light showed her dad asleep on a makeshift bed.

  Lifting the match higher, she saw Gus. The bottle in his hand had very little whisky left in it. His eyes travelled along her body. The knot that held her chest so tight she could hardly breathe threatened to strangle her. It was the burning of her fingers that at last helped her to gasp air into her lungs, and shaking the match vigorously left them in darkness again. The sound of a movement had her scrambling for another match and striking it. Gus was closer to her than he had been. He stopped his progress as the lit match took away his element of surprise.

  This time Molly reached for a candle from the shelf above her and lit it. Its flame gave her sight of the smirk on Gus’s face. Her fear intensified.

  She kicked out at her dad, hoping to rouse him. His body wobbled and his snore rattled around the cold, dank cellar. ‘Dad, Dad, come on. It’s over. DAD!’

  ‘He’s dead to the world, girl. So it’s just you and me. And I intend to have some fun.’

  ‘Leave it out, Gus.’

  This, from Eva, brought Molly instant relief. When trying to arouse her dad she’d been afraid of waking Eva and Lofty, too, in case this time they might help Gus, rather than deter him.

  ‘What’s up, Eva – it’s our plan, ain’t it? She’s wasted here. We need her ready and put to work where she can bring in good money.’

  Eva nudged him and gestured towards her dad.

  Molly opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Her eyes fixed on the bottle. As Gus raised it above his head, beams of light danced around it, glinting off the remaining golden liquid.

  Gus’s movement was swift, and the bottle smashed down on her dad’s head, his moan releasing a breath she thought he would never draw in again.

  ‘Bleedin’ ’ell, Gus. I didn’t mean that hard. Yer could have killed him.’ Eva scrambled over to Alf, pawing at him in her distress. Molly felt disgust as she thought of the growing relationship between her dad and Eva. It had repulsed her to see them fawning over each other these last few weeks. More than once she’d met them coming out of his bedroom.

  Aunty Bet had moved up to the Midlands and was working in a munitions factory. Her last words before leaving had been to tell Molly to get out. ‘Come with me, me little darling,’ she’d said. ‘We can be happy together. I don’t like leaving you here with him and those new cronies of his, what with these air raids going on.’

  If it hadn’t been for David, Molly knew she would have gone, and willingly.

  Eva was feeling for her dad’s pulse. Molly held her breath and could only stare at the trickle of blood seeping from his forehead.

  ‘He’ll be all right, Eva. If I’d wanted to kill him, I would have. He’ll be useless for a couple of days, but he’ll survive.’

  ‘You can count your lucky stars that his pulse is still strong, mate – that blow were too bleedin’ heavy. As it is, he’s sleeping like a bleedin’ baby. Come on, get her out of here, but you can forget having your fun. I’ve got a good customer who’s looking for a virgin. He pays high, if I get him one.’

  ‘No, Eva, I’m having her. I’ve wanted a piece of her since we first saw her.’

  ‘You can bleedin’ want on. Yer not going near her.’ Eva’s voice held authority before she sneered, ‘Besides, the size of you, no virgin can take you. On top of which, you’ve caused me to put more of our girls through abortions than I like to think of. You’ve got no control, and she’s got no protection in place. I promise you can have some fun with her, once she’s broken and she’s fixed up with a Dutch cap.’

  ‘And me, Eva. I wanna do her, too.’

  ‘None of you are touching me.’ Molly had been searching for and found the bread knife that she’d hidden beneath her sack-bedding. Wielding it, she rose to her feet and backed towards the stairs. Climbing them backwards, she kept her eyes darting from one to the other of their shocked faces, swishing the knife in front of her as she went.

  When she reached the cellar door, she groped behind her with her free hand and found the latch. Every limb shook as she turned to open it, but the door didn’t give when she pressed the latch and pushed. She tried again, shoving with all her might. Anguished tears ran down her face and a screeching noise came from her as she drew in a fearful breath. Her body became weak; her arm fell to her side. The knife slipped from her grasp, echoing as it hit the step. Hands grabbed at her. Her legs scraped on the stone steps as Gus dragged her back down. At the bottom, he lifted her onto her feet, then twisted both of her arms behind her.

  ‘Get up there and open that bleedin’ door, Lofty.’

  Forced upstairs now, Molly tried to struggle free, but the pain of twisting against the strength of Gus’s grip was too much to bear. She begged them to let her go. Spittle ran down her chin and her tears of despair mingled with her snot.

  ‘Take a look outside, Lofty – see if the bleedin’ car’s still in one piece.’ Eva rummaged through the kitchen drawers as she said this. Finding some string, she held it aloft. ‘Help me to tie her up, Gus.’

  Molly kicked out. ‘No . . . no. Leave me alone. Me dad’ll kill you all.’

  ‘Ha, he might not see the light of day again, let alone come to your aid.’ Gus tightened his grip on her. Terror seared Molly more deeply than the burning feeling that rasped the muscles of her shoulders.

  Lofty came back in. ‘We’re good to go, but there’s a lot of folk milling around. Looks like there’s been a hit in the street. Someone shouted about me taking a bloke to hospital in me car.’

 
‘Bleedin’ ’ell. Right, we’ve got to make it look as if me and her are injured and need to be taken to the hospital. Otherwise they could come at us like a bleedin’ lynch mob. Lofty, you’ll have to carry me out. Gus, make her unconscious and then carry her out. Right, let’s go.’

  Molly fought for all she was worth, but made no impact. Nothing she could do would stop Gus. She felt the pressure of his fingers on her neck. Saw the room go into a shadowy place, as the voices and all noise around her faded. She tried to hang onto the thought that had brought David into her head, but she couldn’t. The last things she saw were the licking flames where a bomb had struck, and the last things she smelt were the smoke and dust that enveloped her street.

  8

  Flo

  Pulled Both Ways

  ‘What did it feel like when your dad died, Flo?’ Kathy sat on Flo’s bed, watching her putting on her make-up. Her own bed was on the other side of this large bedroom, which housed three beds in all, in readiness for any child needing a place to lay her head.

  Whilst Flo had been living here there’d only been one other, a girl of sixteen. Eunice, her name was. By, she’d been a handful when she arrived. She was a hair’s breadth from being sent to an approved school, but Mrs Leary’s love and understanding turned her around and she was now living in a nurses’ hostel in London, training to be a nurse. Flo had the occasional letter from her. Thinking of this, she decided that she would look Eunice up, if she did get the position at Bletchley.

  ‘I don’t remember, me little lass. I was just a babby. But, eeh, I can imagine it’s a deep pain as you’re feeling.’

  ‘It is. Sometimes it stops me from swallowing, it’s that tight.’

  ‘By, Kathy love, you shouldn’t have been put through this at your age. I don’t know what to say. I reckon that no matter what anyone says, it don’t make it any better.’

  ‘Naw, sometimes it makes it worse, as if they think I should get over it, but I can’t. Me dad were a-all I – I had.’

  Flo gathered the sobbing child to her.

  ‘W-will you always be here, Flo?’

  Flo hesitated, but couldn’t be less than honest. ‘I’m not likely to be here for long, but I’ll allus be your friend. This war is taking loved ones away all the time, and I’m no different. I have to do me bit. It’s possible I will go very soon, but I’ll write to you. I promise. And you write back, an’ all, or I’ll be upset.’

  Kathy’s arms tightened around her. Flo stroked the mass of soft, dark curls. An overwhelming feeling of love swamped her for this lost little ten-year-old.

  ‘Would you like to come with me, eh? I’m off to the shops. I’ve a few things I need. Then we could see if there’s a suitable matinee on at the flicks. What d’yer reckon, eh?’

  ‘Oh, yes please.’

  ‘Reet, go and get yourself changed. Put that nice red frock on that you were wearing when you arrived, there’s a good lass.’

  Kathy’s head dropped.

  Flo used her forefinger to gently tickle under her chin. ‘Eeh, what’s that look for? Have I said sommat wrong?’

  ‘I hate that dress. The welfare bought it for me to wear to me dad’s funeral.’

  ‘Well then, I bet he looks down on you with pride every time you wear it. If I were you, I’d wear it specially for him as often as you can, afore you grow out of it.’

  Kathy brightened. ‘D’yer really thinks as he looks down on me?’

  ‘Course he does. He’s not going to stop watching over you, and you can talk to him, an’ all. I do, to me mam and dad. It makes me feel better, even though I didn’t know them. Have you a picture of your dad?’

  ‘Aye, but it hurts to look at it.’

  ‘To my mind, you wouldn’t be any kind of a daughter if it didn’t. But that’s no reason to hide him away as if he were never here, is it? Get it out from wherever you keep it and give it pride of place on that dresser there. Then I can get to know him, an’ all.’

  ‘I wish you’d known me dad, Flo, and I wish you were me mam, an’ all.’

  This touched Flo. She had to swallow hard to compose herself. Fussing over applying her lipstick helped. You couldn’t cry with your mouth wide open. Once that was done, she felt more composed. ‘I can be your big sister, lass. Will that do?’

  ‘Aye, that’ll be grand. Can I tell folk?’

  ‘I don’t see why not. It’s none of their business anyroad. Reet, get dressed afore I go without you. Now, where’s your dad’s special dress?’

  ‘I like it being called that. I’ll get it.’

  ‘Good. Once you have it on, I’ll try to sort out that mop of yours. You look like you’ve been pulled through a hedge backwards.’

  This had Kathy giggling. Then she became serious again. ‘Why don’t you have a picture up of your mam and dad, Flo?’

  ‘I haven’t got one, lass. By, if I did, it would be up there like a shot. Folk have told me about how they looked, and it appears I take after me dad. I have his nose anyroad.’

  ‘I like your nose. It makes you special.’

  ‘Ta, lass. Now, are you going to talk all morning, eh?’ Flo threw a pillow at Kathy. She dodged it, but her squeals of delight warmed Flo’s heart.

  Coming out of Timothy White’s on New Market Street, where Flo had bought a suitcase and had handed in Mr Leary’s prescription, she saw Roland. On spotting her, he waved his arms. ‘There’s a friend of mine, Kathy. I won’t be a minute. You wait here for me. But don’t move, there’s a good lass.’

  ‘Hello there. I’ve been to Mrs Leary’s and she said you were in town. I thought I’d come in on the off-chance of finding you, but I didn’t think I’d be this lucky.’ Roland caught hold of Flo and kissed her cheek. ‘You look lovely. Going somewhere special?’

  ‘Ta, I do me best. Naw, nowhere special, just shopping and maybe to the flicks, if there’s a suitable film on for me little friend over there.’

  ‘Oh? I might join you. But first, I have news. There’s an interview arranged. Simon telephoned me. Shall we go for a cup of tea?’

  ‘Yes, I’d like that. I’ll just pop over and get Kathy. I don’t know if I mentioned her to you before, but she lives at Mrs Leary’s with me.’

  ‘I see you are preparing for leaving.’ Roland nodded at the suitcase Flo had bought. The three of them were sitting at a table in a teashop next to the Odeon.

  ‘It was on offer. A real bargain, so I snatched it up. I wanted to be prepared. Thou knaws, even if this doesn’t come off, I’ll still have to think of moving. I’ll look for some kind of work to help with the war effort.’

  A little hand came into hers. She squeezed it and wiped a crumb from Kathy’s cheek, smiling down at her. ‘By the way, Roland, Kathy don’t just live with me, she’s me new sister now.’

  ‘Lucky Kathy, I say.’

  Kathy grinned. It didn’t take much to lift the little lass’s spirits.

  ‘Really though, Flo, I do think this is going to come off. As I said, I’ve heard from Simon, and the interview is a week on Wednesday. Is that all right?’

  ‘Aye, it’s grand. Eeh, I can’t wait, and yet I’m scared out of me wits.’

  ‘You’ll be fine. Simon will brief you. Though I’m worried about him. He insists he’s all right, but he sounded funny. He put it down to a couple of visits he’s made to the dentist, said he’s had to have a tooth out and a new one put in on a denture, and he can’t talk properly at the moment. But there was something else. I can’t put my finger on it. Anyway, I’m going down to London at the weekend. He can get a little time off, but said he doesn’t feel like travelling up here, so I’ll stay in his apartment with him. We wondered if you would come?’

  ‘Oh, I don’t knaw what to say. Where would I stay? Eeh, London – by, I’d be lost down there. And what about the air raids, won’t you be scared?’

  ‘Lucinda has an apartment above Simon’s and she’ll put you up. She’s happy for you to stay until after the interview. Simon’s staying at home until Tuesday,
and he’d like to spend some time with you, help you to prepare. As for the bombing, Simon’s area has been badly hit, but his street, Guildford Road, has mostly been untouched. Life has to go on, and he has a great air-raid shelter. And if we are in the local pub, there’s always Vauxhall Underground, which is under a mile from there. It’s super-fun getting around in the dark during the blackout, and there’s plenty of warning if there is an air raid.’

  ‘If you’re sure, then I’d love to come and it would settle me some, to spend time with Simon afore the interview.’

  ‘Jolly good. Simon will be thrilled. I’ll pick you up at eleven on Saturday. The train leaves at eleven-thirty. We have to change a couple of times, so won’t get down to London till about three in the afternoon. It’ll be a good experience for you. Especially on the Underground, as you will no doubt use that quite a bit if you work at Bletchley.’

  Two days had been and gone since she and Roland had met in Leeds, and now Flo couldn’t believe how quickly the four hours it had taken to get to London had passed. Roland was good company. They did a crossword together on the journey – something she’d never done before, but she found the cryptic clues easy to solve. The moment they met up with Simon, Roland was full of her talent. ‘Simon, you just have to swing it for Flo. She has a brain that can cope with everything that yours can. I bet even you won’t beat her in solving crosswords.’ His jolly greeting landed like a heavy brick as they both took in Simon’s appearance. ‘Whatever’s the matter? My dear fellow, you look . . . Hey, is that – have you had a black eye? What happened?’

  ‘It’s a long story.’ Simon shook Roland’s hand, holding it longer than was necessary, then he hugged Flo to him. Her concern for him stopped her feeling embarrassed as she hugged him back. As they came out of the hug, he said, ‘Let’s go to the pub, and we can go back to mine after. I have something to tell you.’

  Flo could feel her temper rising as she listened to what had happened to Simon, and how he thought a girl in his office and her lover were responsible. ‘Eeh, Simon, how can folk act like that towards another? It beggars belief.’