Holidays at Home Omnibus

by Wait Till Summer; Swingboats On the Sand; Waiting for Yesterday; Day Trippers; Unwise Promises; Street Parties (retail) (epub)

  Since the birth of their child, Ken had tried to persuade Eirlys not to go back to the job she loved, and this was a constant battle between them. Both were unable to forget the humiliation of Ken’s affair, and Eirlys needed to do something outside the home to fill the long days when Ken was travelling, afraid her thoughts would take her down unhappy roads unless she were happily occupied.

  Since January, Eirlys had been going into the office for a few hours three times a week to help out and had been promised that if she could return without much more delay, the job would be kept open for her. Her friends, Hannah and Alice Castle, supported her and looked after the baby for the hours she was away. She was pleased to be back in the busy office and impatient now to return to full employment, while Ken hoped that the strain of the part-time hours would convince her she would be unable to manage.

  Audrey stood, shivering in the cold garden listening unwillingly as the well worn arguments continued on the other side of the wall.

  ‘I’m telling you, you can’t go back to work!’

  ‘Ken, it’s what we agreed.’

  ‘Well I don’t agree now! Anthony and I need you at home.’

  Carefully, slowly, Audrey moved back from the gate. She was unhappy at overhearing things she didn’t want to know.

  The previous November, when their son was born, Ken had sworn to Eirlys that the affair with Janet Copp was over. Audrey knew this and believed the troubled marriage was now on firmer ground, so it was with some alarm that she heard their increasingly bitter argument.

  ‘So, in spite of my not agreeing, in fact begging you not to, you’re going back to work and you’re going to leave our son with strangers,’ she heard Ken say.

  ‘Don’t be so melodramatic, Ken! He won’t be with strangers. Hannah and Alice love him. They are capable and caring people, they’ll share the hours, and when you’re home he’ll be with you.’

  ‘I’d be afraid, Eirlys, to be honest. I might not know what to do,’ he confessed.

  ‘Then Hannah or Alice will manage. It isn’t as difficult as you try to make out.’

  ‘You can’t do this to me or to Anthony. Please Eirlys. What happened to love, honour and obey? Do as I ask and stay home.’

  ‘I can’t obey you on this, Ken. It’s for both of us and I’ll need your help. Please support me in this.’

  Audrey stood as close to the wall as she could, wondering whether to call out or stay still and hope she wasn’t discovered. The couple had obviously stopped walking to continue their discussion and she knew she had left it too late.

  Ken’s voice became louder and more emphatic as he said, ‘You don’t need to work. What will people think of me not being able to keep my wife and child? It’s humiliating, have you thought of that? And besides, there are plenty of people who can arrange the town’s summer entertainment, what makes you think you’re so indispensable?’

  Eirlys had admitted to Audrey that she didn’t have enough confidence in Ken — in their marriage — to place her future and that of her son in his hands. If he strayed again, she needed to know she would be able to earn enough for them to survive without him. Eirlys’s heart gave a sudden leap as these thoughts reoccurred. If Ken knew how her thoughts were running he would be hurt, and temptation sometimes only needed a bit of a nudge to tip it over the edge from dream into desire and then fulfilment.

  ‘Please, Ken. Don’t fight me on this,’ Eirlys pleaded. ‘I loved my job and you have to admit that I did it well. Besides all the routine tasks of running the office, I set in motion all the town’s summer entertainment. I was thrilled with the success, proud of what I had achieved and I want to do it again. This war can’t go on for ever, even though it feels as though it might. Once it’s over, everything will go back to how it was. Women will go back to running their homes and bringing up the children, and the jobs will be returned to the men.’

  ‘Not you!’ he retorted bitterly. ‘There’ll always be an excuse for you to do something different! I wouldn’t mind if I were based at home, but I’m away for days at a time and Anthony ought to have you there as a constant face, a reassurance.’

  ‘But he’ll have that. He already knows and loves Alice and Hannah. Dadda works shifts and he’s there for a part of every day. And I’ll be there every evening.’

  ‘No, Eirlys. I absolutely forbid it. If you really loved him you wouldn’t even consider it.’

  Pressed against the wall, the unwilling eavesdropper tried to move back the way she had come, through the garden and into the street. If only they would walk away. She didn’t want them to know they were overheard and it was too late now to show herself. She stepped sideways, testing with her feet for any unlikely object that might trip her, her hands feeling the wall in the darkness. But no, it was impossible to move so far in silence. There was an apple tree in the opposite corner of the garden. If she could hide in its shadows until they moved, she might prevent them knowing she had heard them.

  It was as she was feeling her way past the gate that a cobweb touched her face and startled her. She dropped a pen on to the concrete path and it sounded loud in the silence that she was desperately trying to preserve.

  ‘Someone’s coming,’ she heard Eirlys say.

  ‘Damn, now I’ll never find it!’ Audrey exclaimed loudly.

  The gate opened and Ken and Eirlys appeared, carrying the unmistakable smell of chips with them, and she explained about the lost pen. Using his own torch Ken bent down to search for it.

  Keeping the pretence, Audrey said, ‘There’s lucky I am to meet you two. My own torch has become too weak to find a thing.’

  The pen found, pleasantries were exchanged, Audrey went on her way. From what she had heard, she knew that the job at the council offices which had been kept open for Eirlys, was the bone of contention. It was an extremely demanding one with long hours and a great deal of overtime. Organizing the ‘Holidays At Home’ entertainment for the seaside town of St David’s Well had taken all of Eirlys’s time the previous year, and with the baby only four months old, no one had expected her to return to it. But it seemed they were wrong and Eirlys had intended to keep her promise to her bosses. Mr Gifford and Mr Johnston, to go back when the season began. Remembering the child she had lost so many years before, she wondered whether she would have done the same, and admitted that in the circumstances Eirlys found herself, she probably would. Although, being a part of the Castle family who ran the stalls and rides and cafés on the beach would have made a difference. Being involved in the family business wasn’t the same as working for the council. All the Castles worked on the sands or close by, sharing responsibility for the care of the children as they came; the children themselves being given jobs as soon as they were able. It wasn’t like a job, it was more a way of life.

  Feeling inexplicably saddened by the quarrel she had unintentionally overheard, she abandoned the rest of her collections and went home. She and Wilf lived in the house that had been her mother’s and she shared it with two girls, whom they had unofficially adopted, Maude and Myrtle. In the flat at the top of the house, Marged’s son, Ronnie, lived with his wife, Olive, and their child. She was glad of the feeling of activity in the place, thankful for having Wilf, thankful of not being alone. Being a part of a family like the Castles didn’t prepare you for being on your own. The shiver of apprehension passed over her and she hurried in to be reassured by Wilf, who stood up to greet her.

  ‘Everything all right?’ she asked.

  ‘Everything’s fine, my lovely girl. Maude has the cocoa mixed in the cups, the kettle’s singing on the hearth and the bread is ready to toast for supper. Myrtle is at the pictures with Alice.‘

  She hugged him, glad of his familiar body pressed against her own, breathing in the well known scent of him, his warmth making her realize how cold she had become walking around the streets.

  He whispered, ‘I love you, Audrey Thomas. So much, that you can warm your feet on me when we get to bed! How’s that for a declaration of
love. eh?’

  ‘You’re daft,’ she said with a chuckle.

  ‘Daft about you, Audrey Piper.’

  ‘Audrey Thomas and proud of it,’ she amended.

  * * *

  Eirlys took the newspaper-wrapped package of chips into the house for the three boys and wondered whether she was doing the right thing by insisting on returning to work. Determination and guilt took her on a regular switchback ride as she tried to do what was best for everyone, including herself. She wanted — needed — the challenges of work, and, she reminded herself, she had promised her bosses.

  She had tried to persuade Ken that her reason was to earn money for them to buy a house one day, but they both knew that she would never be able to leave her father or the three evacuees. No, she wanted this for herself, her peace of mind: her and Anthony’s security.

  Ken went to the phone box outside their house and spent half an hour arranging auditions and booking artistes for his forthcoming concert which was to take place in Cardiff. When he came in and started writing up his diaries and notebooks, she settled the boys, checked the baby and went to bed.

  When Ken came up she lay still, and when he touched her she shrugged his hand away. Then guilt overcame her and she turned, put an arm around him and said, ‘Sorry, Ken.’

  He raised himself up on an elbow and looked down at her, the light from the landing — insisted on by ten—year—old Percival — making her face a confusion of shadows. ‘Sorry? Does that mean you’ll listen to me and tell Mr Gifford you won’t be going back to full-time work?’

  ‘No. It just means I’m sorry I pushed you away, sorry you’re unable to understand. You know how much I want the job. I’ve made arrangements for Anthony to be looked after, so why do we have to quarrel about it?’

  ‘Because you should be here, at home, waiting for me. Whenever I can escape for a few precious days, I don’t want to sit in an empty house until you can spare a few moments of your valuable time. It isn’t fair.’ The quarrel, that had been interrupted in the lane by Audrey, went on. The fact that it was whispered didn’t make it any less bitter.

  They got up together the following morning, unrested after a night spent reliving their argument and thinking of fresh reasons to convince the other of the power of their opinion. Ken dealt with the ashes of the previous day’s fire and re-lit it, while Eirlys made a pot of tea and began to set the table for breakfast.

  As she stood to go and collect Anthony from his cot, Ken put an arm around her. ‘Eirlys, my darling. Remember that however much we argue, I still love you. I know that I couldn’t be happy without you and Anthony in my life. Whatever happens, there’s nothing in the world that we can’t sort out together.’

  She reassured him and tried to accept his declaration of love and commitment, although there was always the little niggle of doubt. It would be a long time before her confidence in him and their marriage was fully restored.

  While she bathed, changed and fed Anthony. Ken said, ‘It would be different if we were on our own, just you, me and Anthony, but living here with the house filled to bursting, never having a moment’s privacy, any time we have together should be special. With you out all day there’ll be precious little chance of that. I hate coming home to an empty house, knowing you could be here with me.‘

  ‘There’s no chance of us finding a place of our own for a long time. You know Dadda can’t cope with the boys on his own, but one day we’ll have our own home. I promise.‘

  ‘I admit I hated sharing with the three boys at first, but now I like the little beggars and I’d miss them if we moved away.’

  Suddenly, the three boys themselves tumbled down the stairs, Stanley, cuffing Harold and Percival as they argued about who was to sit where. In an aside, Ken ruefully said he’d like to take back his last remark, and he and Eirlys shared a smile that was free from dissension.

  ‘Shut yer eyes, brovers, they’re going to kiss,’ twelve-year-old Harold said with a groan of mock disapproval, slapping his hands over his eyes.

  ‘I likes kissin’,’ the solemn Percival said and was rewarded by a look of absolute horror from Harold and a wink from Stanley.

  Eirlys dealt with breakfast. There was very little fat left from the ration, but she managed to fry a few leftover boiled potatoes to fill their plates, sharing two poached eggs by giving them a half each. Sliding half of the softly cooked eggs from one plate to another, without giving one a greater share of the yolk than the other, called for a swift and confident movement, and Eirlys managed it with practised ease. Bread toasted in front of the now glowing fire on which they could have either butter or jam — not both — plus a cup of cocoa, filled them up and she put aside a round of toast for herself for later once the house was quiet and she could relax.

  The noisy early morning activity reached its peak as the three boys dashed out of the house followed slowly by Ken leaving for his first appointment. The pulse of frenetic movement, the panic as the boys searched for various things they would need during the morning, mercifully slowed, relaxing into the promise of mid-morning calm. For a moment Eirlys enjoyed the silence. She looked around her, at dishes needing her attention, the sewing box overflowing with shirts needing buttons and trousers needing mending, and knew that it would never be enough. Running a home and looking after six people was hard, but if she did this and nothing more, there would always be something missing. She couldn’t imagine ever not wanting to work.

  * * *

  Audrey wanted to give Wilf a surprise for his birthday. The chair be favoured was rather shabby — lace chair backs and cheerfully embroidered cushion covers could no longer disguise its dilapidated state. She would have liked him to have a new one, but it was almost impossible to buy from the limited display in the furniture shops of the town. Dockets were needed, to which few were entitled. Newly-weds were given priority, but even they weren’t allowed sufficient dockets to completely fill a house without resorting to second-hand, even if they could find the money.

  Furnishing a complete home was a problem for very few as most couples began their married life in either their parents’ houses or with a neighbour, people helping by giving items they no longer needed. There was a cot and a highchair that had gone up and down the street, passed on as one child outgrew the need, on to others and back again when another baby arrived.

  After discussing the problem with Maude, Myrtle and Marged, she decided to look around the sales rooms in the hope of finding a good second-hand chair.

  With only a week to go, she managed to find a solidly built leather-covered fireside chair that seemed perfect. There was a handicraft shop in the town run by Eirlys along with Hannah Castle and Beth Gregory, two of Audrey’s nieces. She went there to buy a couple of cushions and, carrying them, went to pay for the chair.

  She’d had to borrow the money off Marged, because when she’d called at the bank to raise the money, she’d been told that there weren’t sufficient funds. Alarmed at first, she’d argued, then decided that Wilf had probably sensibly taken any excess from the account and transferred it to their building society account.

  ‘You spent all that money on me?’ Wilf exclaimed when given his present. He didn’t sound as pleased as she had hoped. ‘Where did you get the money from? The bank?’

  ‘Well, not exactly.‘ She told him about the embarrassing moment and borrowing the money from Marged.

  ‘Sorry, I should have told you I transferred it. But I wish you hadn’t spent so much on me. I was quite happy with the old chair. It’s moulded itself around my body and it’s a perfect fit.’ He tried to laugh but Audrey was disappointed at his reaction.

  ‘What I want for my birthday is a holiday.’ she said lightly, hiding her face so he wouldn’t see her disappointment.

  ‘A good idea, lovely girl. Let’s go and see about it tomorrow. We could go to Cornwall or Devon — I’ve never seen that area and it’s supposed to be beautiful.’

  ‘It will have to wait until the autumn,’ she remi
nded him. ‘The summer season will be starting soon and I won’t be able to get away.’

  ‘Always the same, no time for anything once the season begins,’ he said softly. ‘The Castle family business is a greedy mistress.’

  ‘You aren’t happy being a part of it?’

  ‘I’m not a part of it and never will be, dear. But I’m happy as long as you’re doing what you really want to do, you know that.’

  ‘But you wish it could be different?’ She frowned and asked, ‘Is there something wrong, Wilf? You would tell me if something were bothering you, wouldn’t you?’

  ‘Nothing to worry about, but I do sometimes wish we could have the life we’d chosen instead of you having been born into this one. Don’t you?’

  ‘Sometimes. But being a member of the Castles isn’t a bad life. My only regret is that we haven’t spent the years together. Come on,’ she coaxed, ‘try out your new chair.’

  He pushed it near the fire where the other one had stood for so long and settled into its comforting cushions. ‘It’s perfect, lovely girl. Just like you.’

  ‘Marged and Huw are coming over later on. We have to try and work out rotas to cover all the stalls and café openings. And Huw and Bleddyn want to plan what questions they need to ask at the meeting of all those involved in ‘Holidays at Home’ next week, finding sufficient staff will be a problem once again. Won’t it be lovely when our boys are back, and Alice and Maude can leave the factory and things settle back to how they were in 1939?’

  ‘I don’t think it will ever be the same, Audrey.’

  ‘No. poor Bleddyn will never see his son Taff again. Our Ronnie’s wounds won’t let him do what he used to. All the young Castle boys loved working on the sands, didn’t they? It seems a lifetime since we were all there together.’

  ‘This war must end soon, the killing and the destruction can’t go on much longer.’ he comforted. ‘Your two nephews, Ronnie and Eynon, will be back and grateful for the way you and Marged, Huw and Bleddyn have kept everything going for them.’