Maisie nodded to Freda and the pair crept from the hall, leaving Sarah and Alan alone.
Alan hugged his wife close, wishing he could stay like this forever. ‘Sarah, they’ve cancelled all leave.’
‘But you’ve not been on leave. You’ve been working really hard teaching those lads to fly. You’ve not even had time with us . . . I thought we might have been able to go away for a few days . . . Perhaps down to Whitstable, where we had our honeymoon,’ she added hopefully, looking up into his eyes. ‘Please, Alan, let’s at least have that.’ She kept talking as Alan shook his head in a silent no. ‘They can give us a few days, can’t they . . . please?’
‘Shh,’ he soothed her as she finally broke down and the tears came. ‘Do you remember how Betty once told you how you have to make memories and hold them close to your heart when times get hard?’
Sarah mumbled her agreement into the jacket of his RAF uniform as he stroked her back and ran his fingers through her hair. He never wanted to let her go. She smelt good: a mix of soap and rose water. Tipping her chin up so he could look at her flushed face, he whispered, ‘Remember this, my love,’ as his lips met hers.
Time stood still as the couple clung to each other until Sarah pulled away. ‘When . . . ?’
‘This evening. David pulled a few strings so I could be at the dance for a couple of hours and we can enjoy ourselves before I head off to . . .’
Sarah put her hand across his mouth. ‘Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.’ He took her hand and kissed each finger one by one. ‘Careless talk?’
‘No, I want to believe you are only ten miles away at Gravesend airfield and that you could walk through the door at any minute and we’d be a happy family without a care in the world. If I had to think of you hundreds of miles away and in constant danger, I wouldn’t be able to go on living. I couldn’t go through what happened last time. Not again, Alan.’
He smiled at his wife, wiping a stray tear from her cheek. ‘I promise I won’t leave you ever again. I’ll write as much as I can and, if you have any concerns, you are to speak to David. You have no idea how important a man he is in the RAF.’
‘I don’t care about anyone else but you, Alan. The King himself could walk through that door right now and I’d not take any notice. It wasn’t by chance that you were there at Woolworths the day I went for my interview. It was meant to be and it’s meant to be that you come home to me and our Georgina and we live happily ever after.’
‘Oh, Sarah,’ he groaned before kissing her gently until she could feel her knees buckle beneath her.
They both jumped as the doors crashed open and David walked in. ‘Christ, I’m so sorry,’ he apologized before turning to leave. ‘Please forgive me . . . pretend I’m not here.’
Sarah burst out laughing. ‘Oh, David, you are a tonic. Do come back in, and call the girls as well.’
David frowned. ‘It’s all right?’
‘Yes, Alan has told me. Thank you for managing to give him a few hours more. It means a lot to me.’
‘Anytime,’ he smiled. ‘And remember that if you have any problems, just ask. You are like a sister to my Maisie and I know you’d both do the same if the boot was on the other foot.’
Sarah stood on tiptoe and kissed David on the cheek. ‘I’m a lucky woman to have so many people who care.’
‘Hurry up, you two, or we’ll miss the first dance,’ Freda called upstairs to Maisie and Sarah.
It had been a rush with so many getting ready at number thirteen. Ruby and Maureen, who shared the front bedroom, had not taken so long with their preparations and had handed over their room for the younger women to put on their best dresses and do each other’s hair. In the weeks leading up to the Woolworths fundraising dance everyone had been busy selling tickets to customers and thinking about what to wear. Gwyneth had been a problem as she only had one best dress and Maisie deemed it not quite right for the dance. She rummaged through her own wardrobe as well as Sarah’s, and jointly they decided that they’d alter the bridesmaid dress that Sarah had worn at Maisie’s wedding. Gwyneth was delighted and with a pretty silver clip in her dark shiny hair and a little red lipstick on her lips she looked charming.
‘That’ll make Mike Jackson’s eyes light up,’ Maisie whispered to Sarah.
‘He’s certainly smitten with Gwyneth,’ Sarah agreed, ‘but is she free to be courted? We don’t really know much about her past, do we?’
‘P’raps we should ask her?’
Sarah chewed her lip as she thought of Maisie’s suggestion. ‘I’m not so sure. We don’t want her to think we are prying. It’s not as if she has confided in us, is it? The last thing we want to do is to make her think we are being nosy.’
‘But we are being nosy,’ Maisie laughed.
‘Shh, she will hear you,’ Sarah said, looking worriedly towards the closed bedroom door where their new friend was settling Myfi down for the night. ‘I must say you look lovely. No one would know you were carrying.’
‘That was my aim,’ Maisie said as she twirled around in a pale pink full-skirted dress with a sweetheart neckline and short puffed sleeves. ‘Do yer recognize the material?’
Sarah frowned. ‘I do, but for the life of me I can’t think where I’ve seen it before.’
Maisie laughed. ‘I was hoping you’d say that. It was that horrid off-white wedding dress we picked up at a jumble sale before the war. I unpicked the seams and washed the pieces of fabric and then put it away and forgot about it.’
‘But it’s pink. How did you—’
Maisie interrupted her friend. ‘Beetroot. Bob gave me a couple from the garden and I simmered the veg along with the fabric. Do you think anyone will know?’
‘Only if you get caught in the rain and the colour runs.’ Sarah grinned, remembering when they’d both used gravy browning on their legs when they didn’t have a pair of decent stockings between them and Maisie’s contact down the docks had been nicked.
‘Come on, you two. I’ve been ready for hours,’ Freda said, sticking her head round the bedroom door. ‘Sarah, you’ve not even done your hair yet. I’d have thought you’d have been the first at the dance considering it’s the last time in a while you’ll be able to do a quickstep with Alan.’
Sarah picked up her hairbrush and quickly ran it through the glossy chestnut waves. ‘I’m leaving it straight this evening. I have to pin it up so often under my ARP helmet that it’ll make a nice change to have it loose around my shoulders.’
‘I still like that dress. It’s the one you wore when Alan first kissed you, isn’t it?’
Sarah grinned. ‘Yes, I’m hoping he remembers. I’m surprised you do, Freda.’
‘I was peering through the letter box,’ she said with a giggle before running downstairs.
‘Gawd, yer wouldn’t believe that girl drives a motorbike for the Fire Service, would yer? She still acts like our little kid sister. If yer ready, let’s go dazzle our menfolk.’
The band started playing the first dance as the girls entered the hall. Ruby and Maureen waved to them from where they’d saved a couple of tables and beckoned them over. ‘Sit yourself down here, Maisie, and take the weight off your feet. You don’t want to be standing more than you have to in your condition.’
‘I’m not ill, Ruby, I’m just having a baby and it’s not coming along until Christmas. I’m fighting fit.’ Maisie said but sat down all the same.
‘You want to be careful,’ Vera chipped in from her seat in the corner, ‘I knew a woman who—’
‘Shut up, Vera. Maisie don’t want to know about these people you always go on about. She’s a sensible girl and will tell us if she’s not feeling well. You will, won’t you?’ she added, turning to Maisie, who was swaying along to the tune ‘In the Mood’ and gazing across to the bar looking for her husband, David.
‘Of course I will, but yer might want to go and boil some water to be on the safe side,’ she called across to Vera, before hooting with laughter.
‘Oh, you’re a right tonic,’ Ruby said, wiping her eyes after she stopped laughing. ‘What would we do without you?’
‘It’s more what I’d do without you,’ Maisie said without a hint of a smile. ‘You’re the family I’ve never really had.’
‘It’s the same band that used to play for the Woolworth staff parties,’ Maureen whispered to Sarah. ‘They’ve requested that I sing with them later. I’ve not done that for a while – in fact, not since Maisie’s wedding in this very hall.’
Sarah gave her mother-in-law a hug. ‘This place holds many memories for me too.’ There’ll be another this evening she thought to herself. Alan would be leaving before the last waltz was played in order to join his squadron. They’d agreed to say goodbye quietly and without any fuss. Maureen knew her son was leaving and had already said her goodbyes with more than a few tears. Fortunately Georgina was far too young to understand. ‘Now, tell me what you intend to sing?’
Maureen gave a secretive smile. ‘It’s a secret, you’ll know soon enough. Now, why don’t you go and find my son and have a dance. If you don’t, I’ll grab him for myself.’
Sarah needed no second bidding and headed to where Alan was talking to a couple of Woolworths colleagues who were home on leave. She took her husband’s arm and led him to the dance floor. ‘I’m not leaving your side this evening.’
‘That suits me fine,’ Alan said as he took her in his arms and moved to the mellow tones of the saxophonist, as the lights dimmed and he played ‘Red Sails in the Sunset’. ‘I’ll be home before you know it,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘Nothing will keep me away from you longer than is necessary and when I’m back we’ll look for our own home and perhaps plan a brother or sister for Georgie.’
Sarah felt her skin prickle with excitement as she thought of the future and of Alan. ‘First just stay safe for me,’ she whispered. ‘We can think about the rest when you are home for good.’
Alan spun her round as the music finished and the lights were turned full on. There were cheers as Betty stepped onto the small stage and the pianist played an intro to the popular Woolworths manager. She raised her hand to quiet the audience. ‘Ladies and gentlemen and employees past and present of F. W. Woolworths, thank you for purchasing a ticket to this wonderful fundraising dance. Like many people in Erith, we are doing our best to bring this war to a speedy end. By raising funds alongside other Woolworths stores we’ve so far been able to pay for two Spitfires, which help our brave lads fight the enemy. This evening’s fundraising event has been organized by three of our Woolworths Girls: Maisie Carlisle, Freda Smith and Sarah Gilbert, who, I have no need to remind many of you, is the wife of Alan, an RAF pilot who flies the very planes we are raising funds for this evening. Alan was, until war broke out, one of our trainee managers. He is leaving us this evening to rejoin his squadron.’
The room erupted in wild cheers for Alan and there was much backslapping and many wishes of good luck.
Betty waited for the room to quiet down before speaking again. ‘It just remains for me to remind you all that we have a bumper raffle as well as a prize bingo during the interval, with gift donations not only from F. W. Woolworths but some of the local traders in Erith, so please dig deep into your pockets to support our worthy cause. Oh, and in the event of an air-raid warning, please follow our ARP wardens to the public shelter.’
This final comment met with many good-natured boos and hisses by those present before the band struck up a lively dance number and Betty left the stage.
‘Well done, my dear,’ Douglas said as he gave her a hand to step from the stage.
‘Thank you, Douglas,’ Betty said and she reclaimed her hand. He looked so smart in a black tailored suit that wouldn’t look out of place in a posh London hotel. As she caught the citrus scent of his cologne she felt herself weaken. She was so attracted to him but was doing her utmost to be strong and not be swayed by the thoughts of his kiss. She was not a love-struck young woman. She was a responsible manager of a busy Woolworths store. There was no time for her to fall in love and act like a fool. She was far too old for such things. She must distance herself from Douglas Billington.
Douglas took her arm as they walked across the room towards the bar, stopping from time to time to speak to staff and friends. She wanted nothing more than to remove herself from his hold and move away, but it would be so churlish and besides, it was comforting. What harm would it do?
Douglas handed her a small sherry. ‘I thought we might reschedule that dinner with Clemmie and Dorothy. They’ve been asking when they will meet you. How about Sunday afternoon? If the weather is fine, we could take a walk over the heath at Dartford if you wish?’
‘I’m sorry, Douglas. It isn’t possible,’ she replied, knowing now was the time to step away from this handsome man before she got tangled up in his family and before he stole her heart completely. ‘I’m not so sure it’s a good idea for me to meet your family. Besides, I’m going away for a few days. It’s time I took a break from work. I’m looking forward to some time alone!’
Douglas looked confused. ‘I had no idea. Have you told me and I’ve forgotten? I do apologize if that is the case.’
Betty felt awful, but she couldn’t change her mind now. Douglas would soon get over her and perhaps even find a younger woman who might marry him and be able to give him another child. She knew he doted on his daughters from what he’d told her. ‘It’s only just been planned. I’m going to the Kent coast with Maisie for a few days. We leave tomorrow afternoon. I’ll also be having a meeting with the manager at Canterbury while I’m away. It will be good to meet a fellow colleague,’ she added, defiantly holding her chin a little higher. ‘I’m looking forward to it.’
Douglas stared at Betty without saying a word, his eyes scouring her face for a sign that she didn’t realize how harsh her words had been.
The seconds ticked past as she wondered whether she should say something but then he spoke. ‘I’m sure you deserve a trip away from Erith. I do hope you’ll have a good time. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to speak with Alan before he leaves.’
Betty watched as Douglas turned his back on her and walked over to the bar, where Alan was talking with David and Mike. She felt awful. Whatever had she done? The man didn’t deserve to be rejected like that. She would have to try to apologize but not now. Perhaps wait until they were alone – but would he want to speak to her after the way she had acted?
The evening was lively with staff and their friends forgetting the war for a few hours to enjoy themselves. Maureen introduced Gwyneth to staff she’d not had a chance to meet since starting work at the store and when the women heard about Myfi there were invitations to meet so the children could play together. Gwyneth thanked them all, but wondered how to explain that the child wasn’t able to speak so it was unlikely the other children would wish to play with her. She made her apologies and joined Ruby, who was uncovering the buffet table. As usual Woolworths head office had made a splendid contribution to the fare, supplying hard-to-come-by ingredients so that their staff canteen cook, Maureen, had been able to prepare a tasty spread.
Ruby gave Gwyneth a sympathetic look as she passed Spam sandwiches across the table to the hungry dancers. ‘Something bothering you, love?’
Gwyneth nodded. ‘Yes . . . but I don’t know where to start.’
‘Now’s not the time or place. Let’s have a little chat tomorrow before you head off to work, shall we?’
Gwyneth nodded, a small smile of relief spreading across her face. ‘That would be nice, thank you. I’m really fortunate to have met you and your family, Ruby.’
‘I’m glad to have met you and your lovely daughter as well,’ Ruby said as she slapped the hand of a young lad who was about to help himself to another dish of jelly. ‘Now, I do believe the band is about to start up again and there’s someone wanting to dance with you.’
Gwyneth turned to see Mike Jackson standing awkwardly close by. ‘I’m not much of a dancer, but I c
an manage a foxtrot of sorts if you’d care to, Gwyneth?’ he said.
‘You’re a good dancer, Mike, as you know very well. Why, you never left the dance floor when we went to that dance at Erith Dance Studio recently. You spun me around the floor more than once.’
Mike had the good grace to blush. He did enjoy dancing but never had much of a chance and the last thing he wished to do was to show off to Gwyneth. ‘You’ve caught me out, but I still don’t reckon I’m much of a dancer. I have flat feet from too many years walking the beat. Perhaps I should start again and just ask you to dance?’
‘There’s no need, Mike. I’d love to dance with you.’
Ruby nodded knowingly to herself as she watched the policeman escort the young Welsh woman to the edge of the floor before taking her into his arms and gliding off to the sound of a well-known Fred Astaire song.
With a roll of the drums the leader of the dance band stood to his feet. ‘We’ve now reached the time in the evening which has become quite a tradition at Woolworths staff dances. Please welcome Maureen Gilbert to the stage to sing a few of our favourite songs. Come on, Maureen, let’s be having you.’
Maureen waved to the happy crowd as she climbed up the three steps to the stage before whispering in the ear of the bandleader, who nodded and turned to his fellow musicians to tell them what Maureen intended to sing.
Maureen stood behind the microphone. ‘Thank you all for your wonderful welcome. Isn’t this a fantastic dance? I bet there’s nothing like this over in Germany.’
The room erupted with cheers and loud comments.
‘Settle down now. I see we have many service men and women here this evening. Let’s all join together and sing that well-known favourite “Bless ’Em All”.’
The band played the first notes and Maureen’s clear voice could be heard throughout the Prince of Wales pub and to the street beyond.
Alan put his arms around Sarah and Freda as they joined in with the singing. ‘. . . so cheer up my lads, bless ’em all.’
Maureen continued with ‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’, quickly followed by ‘Pack up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag’ before stopping to take a sip from a glass of shandy that was passed to her from the side of the stage. Fanning her hot face with her hand, she beamed at the audience. ‘More?’
Christmas at Woolworths Page 19