by Howes, Pam
Alice chewed her lip. She hadn’t thought this out very well and she would need the money from both jobs still, as there would be bills to pay and food to put on the table. Saving wasn’t as important any more as she had used up all her carefully saved post office money to buy things for here – she now had the home she’d been planning on having – but the day-to-day living costs would take every penny she earned.
‘Of course,’ Granny Lomax continued, ‘I can still look after Cathy while you work at Rootes.’
Alice nodded, relieved. ‘Thank you. I’ll think of something. Brian is sensible enough to leave alone with Cathy on Friday and Saturday nights and I’m sure Bessie next door will keep an eye on them both. I’ll just have to see how it goes.’
She was determined to make this work now she’d come this far. Standing on her own two feet and being independent was important to her. If the unthinkable happened and Terry didn’t come home she would have had to do it anyway. They couldn’t have stayed at the bungalow forever.
‘But Brian is only twelve,’ Granny protested. ‘He’s far too young for that sort of responsibility.’
‘He’s thirteen in October and he’s a very sensible boy for his age,’ Alice said. ‘Besides which, I really have no choice. It’s not my fault I’ve got all this responsibility on my shoulders. Blame the war for that one, robbing me of my big brother’s life, my husband’s time and my mother too, in a way.’
Alice choked back a sob. She didn’t want to argue with her mother-in-law, who had shown her nothing but kindness so far, but she’d expected a bit more support from her with this. She’d always had the feeling that Granny Lomax was a bit on the possessive side, first with Terry and then taking over looking after Cathy and Brian, making Alice feel a bit redundant at times. She’d pushed any uncharitable thoughts to the back of her mind as she’d been really grateful for all the help she’d received from her. But it couldn’t go on forever. The children would miss having her around all the time, but rules could be relaxed slightly now they were under their own roof, and they could invite Granny over for tea as Alice would be at home in the afternoon to cook for them all. They would still see a lot of her, but not be living in one another’s pockets all the time. Hopefully it would all work out eventually.
Granny Lomax nodded. ‘I can see how much this means to you, Alice. I still think you’ve rushed into it, but I’ll do what I can to help, when I can.’ She patted Alice’s arm and picked up her handbag, ready to leave.
‘If you need a sitter any time I could always nip round to ’elp out for a couple of hours,’ Marlene offered when Alice told her how she was fixed while they were having their morning break in the canteen at work. ‘I can bring a book with me to read an’ a bottle of milk stout to sup. Me an’ young Brian can ’ave a game of cards an’ listen to the wireless, an’ Cathy will be asleep most likely. I don’t usually go out on a Saturday night unless the Legion’s got a special do on. But it’d be good to get away from me own responsibilities now an’ again. Me dad’s taken to grinding ’is bloody teeth non-stop and it drives me mad. It doesn’t bother me mam – she can’t ’ear him on account of ’er being deaf as a post.’
‘Oh that would be great, Marlene, thank you. I’m sure Jack would offer to walk home with you after he drops me off.’
‘No need. I won’t stop all night, ’cos I’m up early an’ needs me kip, but a couple of hours will keep them company an’ make sure they’re safe. You tell your Brian to knock on for Bessie next door if ’e’s worried about anything after I’m gone. An’ if there ’appens to be an air raid warning you’ve got the shelter in the back yard. You’ll just ’ave to make sure they know what to do.’
Alice nodded, feeling better about the situation already. ‘Yes, we have a shelter, and Bessie and Bert next door share it with us so they will look after the children for me, I’m sure.’
‘Course they will. Everybody likes to ’elp out in times of need. It’s what we do around Lark Lane area. An’ youse doing a good job taking on the mother role for your young brother, Alice. Brian’s a smashing kid an’ a credit to you.’
‘He is, and that’s why it’s important I work as much as I can so that he can stay at school and not have to leave early like a lot of lads do. I want to do all I can for him to make sure he gets a good education and the best life possible. He’s lost so much, poor little soul, he’s an orphan now.’
Marlene nodded. ‘So are a lot of kids with this bloody war, an’ not many are lucky enough to ’ave a good sister to look out for them either.’
Alice took a sip of her rapidly cooling tea. ‘Surely to God it can’t go on much longer now? What do you reckon, Freddie?’ she asked as he came to join them. ‘I mean, it’s been five years. Five years! It’s ridiculous. My Terry hasn’t even had any leave since our wedding day. But then I don’t suppose anybody else has either since they’ve been sent abroad.’
Freddie tapped the side of his nose. ‘Well, summat’s afoot, but I’m not sure what. We’ve been asked to keep up production and so has shells. The powers that be have got summat big planned, I think. But Mr Churchill isn’t likely to call me up and keep me in the loop; we’ll just have to see what happens next.’
Alice chewed her lip. ‘So you think it might soon be over?’
‘Oh I’m not saying that, chuck, but Hitler’s losing out from what I can make of it all. Like I say, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens in the next few weeks.’
Marlene frowned. ‘But then we’ll all be out of a job.’
‘Aye, we will, but the country will need to rebuild itself and there’ll be plenty of work. If the war does end soon all the lads will be coming home and they’ll want their jobs back anyway. You ladies will be second in line for anything going once they get home.’
‘I don’t like the sound of that,’ Marlene said, pulling a face. ‘We women ’ave kept this country going an’ we’ll still expect to be able to earn a few bob of our own. I don’t want to go back to relying on my Stan for ’andouts.’
‘Well I won’t mind just being a mother who stays at home and looks after the family, for a change,’ Alice said. ‘But I see where you’re coming from, Marlene. Your kids are grown up and you had the time spare to spend with them while they were little and before they were evacuated. So it’s quite right that you want to work now they’re older.’
If Alice was honest with herself, she’d give her right arm to not have to come to work at all. The only thing she’d miss would be working with Jack at the weekends. He was good company and he made her laugh. But he might still stay in touch with them both as he was Terry’s friend from the past, well, acquaintance anyway, and in his letter Terry had said he’d buy him a pint for looking after her on the walks home in the blackout. He’d said nothing else that would make her wary of Jack; the stories that had been bandied around earlier about his handy fists seemed to have faded away and the tale Maisie had spun about the bruises on her arm had never been mentioned again. The only thing Alice wasn’t sure about was his drinking, but it didn’t stop him from working hard and he seemed to be in control. It wasn’t her business what he did in his spare time anyway. He was sometimes in a lot of pain from his injured foot, or so he said, and maybe the drink took the edge off. Everyone at the Legion seemed to hold him in high regard, and so did she after the way he’d supported her over her mam’s illness and subsequent death. She felt the occasional spark between them when he pretended to tease her or caught hold of her and she knew that, if she wasn’t already married, they might have taken up with one another. But her vows had meant the world to her and she’d never be unfaithful to her Terry, even though she felt distanced from him most of the time.
True to Freddie’s warnings, things were heating up in Europe and with the news that Hitler had now placed Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in command, in anticipation of an Allied invasion, everyone was glued to their wireless sets for regular updates. Rumours abounded that the war was almost over, but on the 6th of June
the Allied operation to liberate German-occupied north-western Europe from Nazi control began. Twenty-four thousand troops from the UK, Canada and America were deployed on amphibian crafts to target a fifty-mile stretch of the Normandy coastline. Many would never return.
The wireless was switched on all the time in the factory as the workers listened anxiously to reports of attacks and drowning. The weather was bad and caused delays and accidents. Strong winds were reported to have blown several craft east of their intended positions and the men landed under heavy fire from gun placements overlooking the beaches. Alice listened with her heart in her mouth and a sick feeling in her guts at the thought of all those brave young men who were being killed just because of one ‘out-of-control lunatic’, as Freddie called Hitler. All those innocent boys, like her brother, who would never see their home and family again. She prayed that Terry was safe, wherever he may be, and willed him to come home soon.
By some miracle – and, Alice thought, the prayers and good wishes coming from the people at home may have helped – over the next few weeks the Allies eventually gained a foothold. By the 21st of July the casualties from D-Day, as the invasion was now being called in all the news bulletins, were high, with an estimated nine thousand German fatalities and an even higher ten thousand Allies killed.
‘Does this mean the war is over now, Freddie?’ Alice asked as they all sat, riveting guns in hand, on a hot summer’s day in July, listening to the updates on the wireless.
‘Not quite, chuck, but we’re winning,’ Freddie told her. ‘Let’s hope it stays that way, girls.’
26
October 1944
On a Saturday afternoon in mid-October, Alice wrapped a couple of plates of neatly cut egg sarnies with greaseproof paper and did the same with the sausage rolls she’d made that morning. Not that there was much meat in them, but she’d done her best. There was a bowl of salad on the table from their own produce-growing venture, as well as some fruitless scones and a pot of apple and blackberry jam. She and Brian were throwing a small party for his thirteenth birthday and a bit of a house-warming, and had invited Millie, who was home for the weekend, and Sadie and Gianni, as well as Freddie and his wife and Marlene. It was a way of saying thank you to the friends who had been there for them at the hardest of times. Granny Lomax had also been invited and said she might pop in for an hour later as she had things to do in the city centre that afternoon. She’d given Brian a card and present yesterday.
Alice knew her mother-in-law was still unhappy that they had all moved out of the bungalow, but looking around her spotless little back sitting room she knew she had made the right decision, and Granny was welcome any time she liked. Life was so short and unpredictable, and although it had been a bit of a struggle financially while she got used to juggling her wages around, having her little family under their own roof was the most important thing to Alice. It was what her mam would have wanted. Alice was determined that they would manage, no matter how hard it was.
She plumped up the floral-patterned cushions on the sofa and fireside chair and straightened the clock on the mantelpiece. Rodney smiled at her from his framed photo to the right of the clock and she blew him a kiss. She still found it hard to believe that he would never walk through the front door again. Her wedding photo was at the other side of the clock and the two black poodle ornaments with red collars that she’d received as wedding presents from Rootes were out of their wrappings for the first time and sat either end of the mantelshelf. The rag rug Mam had proudly made for Cathy to sit on had been salvaged from the house renovations and given a good beating over the washing line in the back garden, and now sat in pride of place in front of the hearth.
The front door opened and Brian came in holding Cathy by the hand. They’d been down to the shops on Lark Lane to get a sponge cake from the bakery. Alice had ordered it on Thursday, knowing she didn’t have enough ingredients in of her own to make a birthday cake, and had been hoping the order would be fulfilled as the bakery was awaiting a delivery of flour and sugar, both still in short supply.
‘Any luck?’ she asked hopefully as Brian handed her a small brown paper carrier bag. She peeped inside, beamed and lifted out a perfect sponge cake sandwiched together with red jam, a fine white icing sugar dusting on the top. Icing sugar was in short supply, so fancy iced cakes were hard to get.
‘Oh, that looks and smells lovely. I’ve found a box of white cake candles in the cupboard; they’re used, but we can at least light them while we sing to you.’ She got her mam’s best glass cake stand from out of the sideboard cupboard and a white doily from the drawer. The cake looked lovely on the stand and Alice put it on the table towards the back and brought the small wax candles through from the kitchen. She inserted thirteen of them around the edge of the cake and smiled. ‘There we are. Better than no cake at all.’
Brian nodded. ‘Can’t wait to have a slice.’
‘Me too,’ Cathy said, hopping from foot to foot. ‘It looks luvverly, Mammy.’
Alice laughed. ‘Let’s get you upstairs and ready for the party, Madam. We’ll put you a pretty dress on and a ribbon in your hair. Brian, you can go and put a clean shirt on. There’s a white one freshly ironed hanging from the picture rail in your bedroom.’
‘Do I need to wear a tie?’ He pulled a face.
‘No, love. It’s Saturday. You can leave the top button undone. But that shirt you’re wearing is a bit grubby round the collar. Don’t want people thinking I’m neglecting you, do we?’
Pretty as a picture in a red woollen dress with her dark hair fastened up into ringlets with red ribbons, Cathy laughed with delight as Sadie and Gianni arrived. She quickly led her little friend into the front room to play with her crayons and colouring book.
‘That’s them two sorted,’ Alice said. ‘Brian, take Sadie’s coat upstairs and put it on my bed. How are you?’ she asked, turning to Sadie and giving her a hug and a peck on the cheek.
‘Okay, thanks. Well, sort of.’ She glanced over her shoulder to make sure the little ones weren’t eavesdropping and whispered, ‘I got a letter from Luca yesterday. It came from Italy. He says as soon as the war is over he’s coming to find me and wants to see his son. I might have to move away in case he wants to take him.’
‘Oh, Sadie. Surely that won’t happen. He can’t take him without your permission.’
Sadie shook her head. ‘Just let him try. I may go away to my auntie’s for a few days when I know he’s coming.’
‘Play it by ear. But don’t worry. I’m sure it won’t happen. He can’t look after Gianni while he’s working on the rides. Anyway, have a seat while I brew up. And can you get the door if anyone comes while I’m in the kitchen? Brian, will you keep an eye on the little ones, love?’ she said as he came back down the stairs. ‘Read them a story or something.’
‘Oh, Brian. Happy birthday. Here you are, chuck,’ Sadie said and handed him a parcel. ‘A bit of something from me and his little lordship.’
‘Thank you,’ Brian said. ‘I’ll go and open it with them two.’ He smiled and went into the front room, closing the door behind him.
Sadie sat down on the back sitting room sofa and eyed the laden table. ‘This looks good. You’ve been busy.’
‘Just a bit,’ Alice said, going into the adjacent kitchen. ‘The cake’s from down the bakery though, not one of my own.’
‘You look quite the little housewife with your frilly pinny on.’ Sadie laughed. ‘Are you enjoying being in your own home?’
‘I am,’ Alice called through. ‘I’m loving it.’
‘Well you’ve got it very nice.’ Sadie looked around at the fresh, clean room. ‘It’s really lovely and homely.’
Alice smiled with pride as she came back into the sitting room. ‘I could do with replacing the sofa and chair, but I can’t afford to do that just yet. I’ll have to wait until Terry comes home and starts working again. Bessie next door knitted those two stripy blankets that are covering them. Brightens them up a bi
t, all them rainbow colours, and with the cushions Mam made a while ago, they’ll do for now.’
‘Well I think they look very nice,’ said Sadie. ‘I wish I could find somewhere for me and Gianni to call our own. I’ve been putting a bit away each week and when this war’s over I’m hoping to get a better job or at least my old job back at Lewis’s. Might even be able to buy a little house somewhere one day. I bet a lot of people will want to sell up and leave the city eventually. I may find a bargain. We’ll have to see.’ She stopped as someone rapped on the front door. ‘More guests. I’ll let them in.’
As Freddie, his wife Rose, Marlene and Millie, who’d all arrived together filled the hall, Cathy squealed and flew out of the front room, flinging herself at Freddie’s legs. He picked her up and gave her a cuddle.
‘Come through, everyone,’ Alice said, bringing the tea pot to the table.
‘Where’s the birthday boy?’ Freddie asked. Brian popped his head around the door of the front room. ‘Ah, there he is.’ He handed Brian a parcel and card and Millie and Marlene did likewise. Brian flushed with pleasure as he thanked them all.
Freddie’s wife handed Alice a large and colourful bunch of sweet william flowers and Millie produced a tin of iced buns made by her mam, who’d found half a packet of icing sugar up the pantry when she was having a root for something. Marlene had brought a half-bottle of sherry that she’d been saving for a special occasion.
‘Them flowers are hand-grown by yours truly,’ Freddie said. ‘We’ve turned some of the garden over to regulation veg and stuff, but I likes me flowers.’
‘So do I, and they are beautiful, thank you so much,’ Alice said. ‘Oh this is lovely, It’s like Christmas, isn’t it, Brian? Thank you, everyone. I’ll just put the flowers in water and then we’ll get stuck in.’ She found a vase under the sink, arranged the flowers and put them on the sideboard. ‘There, those look gorgeous and they brighten up the room. Right, hope you’re all hungry, let’s eat.’