Lucy still tended to be sent to whichever department she was needed in, although whenever possible Mrs Broadstairs would place her in the children’s department, which was the girl’s favourite. From her wages she had bought Mary a smart red wool coat with a matching bonnet for Christmas as well as a dear little blue velvet dress and a pair of white tights to go under it. She knew that she had been rather extravagant – but then, who could tell what the following year might hold for them? And so she spent her money and smiled, as many other people were doing, intent on enjoying themselves whilst they still could.
A strong friendship had formed among the three girls now, and without even thinking about it they would head for what had become known as their table each break and lunchtime.
It was during a morning break two weeks before Christmas that Annabelle joined Lucy and Dotty with a face as long as a fiddle.
‘You’ll never believe what happened to me last night,’ she grumped as she took a seat and lit up her first cigarette of the day. ‘I was going to see my friend, Jessica, when this ARP warden appeared out of nowhere and asked me where I was going after dark! I mean, what business was it of his? Why shouldn’t we go out after dark if we wish to?’
‘I suppose he was only doing his job,’ Dotty said cautiously. She was actually longing to move the conversation on because only the night before she had finally allowed Lucy to take one of her short stories home to read, and she was waiting to hear what she thought of it.
‘Did you get time to look at my story?’ she questioned her when Annabelle eventually stopped complaining long enough to draw breath and take a puff of her cigarette.
Lucy beamed from ear to ear. ‘I most certainly did – and I don’t mind telling you, Dotty, I thought it was brilliant. So good, in fact, that I think you should send it away to a magazine. I’m sure they’d want to publish it.’
Dotty looked delighted and embarrassed all at the same time. Up until now, the only person she had ever allowed to look at her work was Miss Timms, who had always said much what Lucy was saying now.
Her brush with the ARP warden forgotten, Annabelle leaned forward, her curiosity aroused. ‘I wouldn’t mind reading it too,’ she said. ‘I hardly ever go out any more and I get so bored in the evenings. Half of the dance halls have shut down and even when they’re open it’s mainly girls there, which isn’t much fun. All the decent chaps are away fighting this bloody war. Do you think you might let me see it too?’
Lucy looked at Dotty questioningly and when she nodded she took the story out of her bag and handed it to Annabelle. ‘You’re in for a treat,’ she told her, and Annabelle quickly tucked it safely away.
‘So why don’t you both come round to my house after work this evening for supper?’ Lucy suggested now. Annabelle had visited Dotty’s flat, but up to now she had never been to Lucy’s house. ‘I got four lovely pork chops from the butcher’s on my way home last night and I need you girls to come and help me eat them.’
Annabelle considered the invitation for a moment. Her mother was going out that evening to some voluntary thing she had got herself involved in, so she would be in on her own again with only the wireless for company. Miranda had kept herself busy since her husband had gone off for training some weeks previously, and even when she was in, she wasn’t much company, Annabelle thought. She was too busy worrying about Richard.
‘I suppose I could if you’re sure you don’t mind,’ she said. ‘But what about your little sister?’
Dotty and Lucy chuckled. Annabelle had made no secret of the fact that she wasn’t that keen on children, and Lucy had a sneaky suspicion that was why she had turned down her invitations before.
‘Believe it or not, she doesn’t bite,’ she told Annabelle and the girl had the good grace to flush.
Lucy had explained that Mary was ’special’ as she termed it, and Annabelle was envisaging some little monster with two heads or something equally as horrible.
‘Actually, Mary is a little sweetheart,’ Dotty chipped in. She had become very fond of the little girl during the time she had known Lucy, and was now a regular visitor to the house, as much to see Mary as Lucy, if truth be known. She had bought her a lovely rag doll, with yellow woollen plaits, for Christmas from the toy department, and could hardly wait to give it to her.
And so it was decided, and after their break the girls went back to their departments with smiles on their faces.
By the time the shop was due to close, all three of them were exhausted. Dotty had been measuring and cutting material all day for people who hoped to make themselves or a family member a new outfit in time for Christmas. She had also spent ages helping customers to choose patterns that would be compatible with the fabric they had bought, and her feet felt as if they were about ready to drop off. Her arms ached too from lugging the heavy bolts of material to the counter.
Lucy had been equally busy as people rushed in to get their children new outfits to wear on Christmas Day and the sound of the big brass till opening and closing became like background noise by mid-afternoon. But it was Annabelle who made them giggle when she met them outside on the chilly pavement.
‘Good grief, I could smell you the minute you stepped out of the door,’ Lucy said, wrinkling her nose.
‘I suppose I do smell a bit strong,’ Annabelle admitted, sniffing each wrist in turn. ‘But the men are the worst customers to serve. They come in wanting to buy their wives some perfume for Christmas but can’t choose which one, so I have to spray some on myself for them to choose.’
‘Then all I can say is you must have been busy too,’ Lucy joked. ‘You must have a whole bottle-full sprayed up and down your arms.’
They set off through the chilly streets for the bus station, which as usual was in darkness. They were getting used to it now though.
‘So what are you two planning on doing over Christmas then?’ Dotty asked once they were on the bus.
‘Well, I wanted to go to London and see a show in the West End,’ Annabelle sighed, ‘but Mummy isn’t keen on me going. She’s such a worrier, especially since Daddy went away. I would have liked to see Ivor Novello’s The Dancing Years but I doubt it will happen. I was hoping my friend, Jessica, would come with me and we could have a couple of nights in a hotel, but she informed me last night that her mother is sending her to stay in Devon with her grandparents next week until this damn war is over. All I can hope for now is that the man of my dreams – tall, dark, handsome and extremely rich – will appear from nowhere and take me away from all this. And of course, I’ll settle for nothing less!’
She looked so glum that Lucy squeezed her arm and grinned. ‘Well, if it’s any consolation, I shan’t be doing anything special either,’ she remarked. ‘With Joel being away it will be just me and Mary this year.’ In actual fact, she was dreading the holiday and beginning to really worry about her brother now. It was weeks since she had heard from him and she didn’t even know if he had been shipped out to the front yet. But then she tried to console herself that no news was good news. The best Christmas present in the world at that moment in time would have been to arrive home to find a letter on the doormat from him.
Soon they were tripping towards Mrs P’s house, but when they entered, Lucy’s face fell as she saw that there was no sign of Mary.
Mrs P herself seemed to be in a high state of excitement.
‘Where’s Mary?’ Lucy’s voice was edged with fear but Mrs P only giggled like a schoolgirl. ‘Never you mind about Mary fer now. Get yerself round home an’ happen you’ll find a nice surprise waitin’ for you there.’
‘But Mary is all right, isn’t she?’
‘Right as ninepence, but now be off wi’ yer. Go on . . . shoo!’
With her heart pounding, Lucy turned and hurried through Mrs P’s back door as Dotty and Annabelle exchanged a concerned glance and hurried after her.
Seconds later, Lucy was fiddling with the back-door key, but her hands were shaking so badly that she struggled to get it
in the lock. Whatever could Mrs P have meant by ’a nice surprise’? And where was Mary?
After flashing an apologetic smile at Dotty and Annabelle, she stepped into the scullery then hurried towards the kitchen and flung the door open. The light was on, and as her eyes settled on a large kitbag to the side of the door her heart began to pound even harder and she dashed into the room, praying that what she was hoping for was right.
Joel was sitting in the fireside chair with Mary snuggling contentedly on his lap and Lucy suddenly felt as if her Christmas had come early as her heart threatened to explode with joy.
‘Joel!’ She was across the room in a second and her arms went tightly around his neck, threatening to choke him as he chuckled.
‘Calm down, sis, I can’t breathe.’ But then the laughter died away as he caught sight of Dotty and Annabelle.
Following his eyes, Lucy hastily told him, ‘Oh sorry, Joel. These are my friends from work, Dotty and Annabelle. They’ve come for tea. I didn’t know you’d be here, you see. But how long are you home for? Why didn’t you let me know you were coming? And are you all right?’
‘Whoa with the questions, eh?’ he said, very conscious of the two strangers. ‘I got two days’ leave but I didn’t know about it until this morning.’
‘Only two days? But that means you won’t be here for Christmas. Why couldn’t they have given you longer?’ Lucy could not keep the disappointment from her voice.
‘Because we’re being shipped out the same day I go back to camp,’ he told her calmly. ‘And before you ask, I have no idea where we’re going.’
His eyes moved back to the two girls standing uncomfortably in the doorway then, and without even realising he was doing it, he sniffed at the air.
‘Oh, that’s Annabelle you can smell.’ Lucy giggled now. ‘She works in the cosmetic department and she has to spray herself so that the customers can decide which perfume they want to buy.’
But Annabelle didn’t hear a word she said because her eyes were glued to the flame-haired young man sitting by the fire; the weirdest sensations were coursing through her. He looked at her and suddenly he too felt colour flood into his cheeks. She was undoubtedly the most beautiful girl he had ever set eyes on, and for no reason that he could explain, his stomach flipped. They both seemed to realise that they were staring at each other at the same time, and both hastily averted their eyes, wondering what the hell was going on. It was as if an unspoken message had passed between them and they were both confused and bewildered – a rare experience for Annabelle at least, who had had more boyfriends than she cared to remember. Yet none of them had ever made her heart dance as this Joel did. It was all very strange. He certainly wasn’t the best-looking young man she had ever seen, but there was something about his shorn red hair and the intense green eyes that she found mesmerising.
‘Look, you two have an awful lot of catching up to do. Annabelle can come to my flat for tea,’ Dotty said tactfully.
‘Oh no, there’s no need for you to go, is there, Joel?’ Lucy asked as she stared up at her brother. He had placed Mary in the chair and was standing now, and Annabelle saw that he was tall; so tall that he towered over her.
‘No, of course there isn’t. You’re very welcome to stay,’ Joel said immediately, but Dotty would not be swayed. She could see how thrilled Lucy was to see her brother and thought they deserved some time alone. She and Annabelle could always come for tea another day and it wouldn’t take very long to get back to her flat, although she couldn’t offer pork chops. In fact, they might have to stop at the local chippie on the way and take their meal home with them. Taking Annabelle’s elbow in a firm grip, she was surprised to find that the girl was shaking. Annabelle was staring at Mary now and was relieved to see that she was actually a very pretty little girl. Nothing at all like the freakish monster she had imagined her to be.
‘No, really. We’ll do this another time,’ Dotty said decisively, turning Annabelle about and giving her a little nudge in the back. ‘Goodbye, Joel. It was nice to meet you.’ And then without another word she steered Annabelle out through the front door. It was not until they were out on the pavement that Annabelle began to breathe again.
Dotty stared at her curiously. ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked with concern. Even in the dim light she could see that Annabelle was as white as a bleached sheet.
‘I er . . . nothing,’ Annabelle stammered as she struggled to regain her composure. ‘I just felt a bit faint, that’s all. I didn’t have any lunch, that’s probably what did it. Come on, let’s go and find something to eat. I’m sure I’ll be all right then.’
Dotty peered at her from the corner of her eye. She had seen the look that had passed between Joel and Annabelle, and had the strangest feeling that she might just have witnessed the start of something beautiful.
Back inside, Lucy was clinging to Joel with tears streaming down her cheeks as he absently stroked her hair, his thoughts fixed on the gorgeous blonde-haired girl who had just left. Joel had never had the time or inclination for girlfriends – he had been far too busy for the last few years caring for Mary and Lucy and keeping them safe. But if he were to look for a girlfriend . . . he stopped his thoughts from going any further. As if a girl like her would ever look at the likes of him! Joel was under no illusions. He knew he wasn’t ugly, admittedly, but he was also aware that he wasn’t the most handsome chap in the world. He was tall and muscular, but he considered his nose to be a little too long and his eyes a little too far apart for him to be classed as handsome in the conventional sense. His hair didn’t help either. Red curly hair might be considered attractive on a female – Mary and Lucy were proof of that – but he had always hated it on himself, although it did look slightly better now that it had been chopped off for the Army. Then he gave himself a mental shake, thinking what a soppy devil he was, and asked Lucy, ‘Who were they then? I thought we agreed to keep ourselves to ourselves. You haven’t told them anything, have you?’
Lucy pulled away from him, her expression hurt. ‘Look, as I said, they’re friends from work. And of course I haven’t told them anything! I’m not an idiot, you know. But you can’t expect me not to speak to anyone now that I’m working.’
Joel was instantly contrite. ‘Sorry, love,’ he mumbled. ‘Of course you have to have a life, especially now that I’m gone. It’s just that I worry, that’s all. We’ve worked so hard to put the past behind us.’
She reached up to stroke his cheek, promising, ‘It’s all right, I understand, and never fear – I’m not about to blab to anyone.’
They stared at each other for an instant and then she asked, ‘Are you quite sure you don’t know where they will be sending you when you get back to camp?’ It was hard to keep the edge of fear from her voice.
‘I honestly don’t know.’ He spread his hands in a helpless gesture. ‘It seems to be a closely guarded secret at present, but I’d put my money on France.’
She nodded. She now read the newspapers avidly, something she had never done before, and was aware of how bad things were out there, although up until now the war did not seem to have touched the people of Coventry. She could only pray that it would end before it did, or better still before Mary reached the age where she would have no choice but to let her be evacuated.
Joel seemed to pick up on her gloomy thoughts. Glancing at the child, he said, ‘She looks well, Lucy. You’re doing a fine job with her and I do realise how hard it must be for you, what with having to work now too.’
She shrugged. ‘It’s not so bad now that I’m getting into a routine, although I’d never manage without Mrs P. She’s been absolutely marvellous.’
His head dipped in agreement as he took a Park Drive out of a packet and lit it. ‘She is a real pal,’ he readily agreed. ‘And when this is all over, we’ll try and make it up to her. But now, how about a bit of home cooking, eh? The Army food is diabolical, I don’t mind telling you, and I could eat a scabby horse.’
‘In that case it’s
a good job I just happen to have four nice juicy pork chops going begging,’ she grinned, her eyes twinkling, and leaving him to watch over Mary she sped away to start the evening meal, thinking how wonderful it was to have her brother back, if only for a short time.
It was quite late when Annabelle eventually got home after spending time with Dotty at her flat, but the house was still in darkness. It felt as if she scarcely ever saw her mother any more. She was always off somewhere or other doing voluntary work.
After letting herself in, the girl made for the kitchen, and once she had ensured that the curtains were firmly drawn, she put the kettle on. She had just spent a pleasant couple of hours with Dotty and had only left because a visitor had arrived. The woman was called Miss Timms; she was a quiet, unassuming sort, but it was clear she thought a great deal of Dotty. Dotty had been delighted to see her, but then she had admitted to Annabelle a while back that Miss Timms was the nearest thing to a mother she had ever known. Annabelle actually felt quite sorry for Dotty. She couldn’t begin to imagine what it must have been like, being brought up in an orphanage. There were times when her own mother and father had driven her to distraction, but she loved them both dearly all the same, although she wasn’t always good at showing it.
Kicking off her shoes, she bent to massage her aching ankles. She had actually treated herself to a new pair of shoes with slightly lower heels, but her feet still throbbed at the end of each day and the icy pavements didn’t help. Her mother had tried to persuade her to get a pair of the fur-lined flat boots that were so popular at the moment, but Annabelle had drawn the line there. The shoes she had purchased were as low as she was prepared to go.
Now as she watched the kettle gently steaming, her thoughts returned to Lucy’s brother and once again her heart did a funny little flip. Joel was certainly not the bestlooking bloke she had ever seen, and nothing like the sort she was normally attracted to, but all the same there was something about him . . . The kettle began to whistle and she jumped up to make herself a pot of tea. She was just getting a cup from the smart oak dresser that took up almost the whole of one wall when she heard the front door open and seconds later her mother appeared huddled up in a thick coat, a warm scarf and a pair of woolly gloves.
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