‘I know.’ He took her hand. ‘I saw it when you were missing. That Chris was going spare. Such a state he was in. I saw how he felt about you.’
Daisy nodded. ‘But Bob, I promised...’
He squeezed her hand. ‘And you will keep your promise, I know. That’s the sort of girl you are. That’s what I love about you.’ He let her hand go and stood up, pacing a few steps away and back again. ‘You feel the same way as him, don’t you?’ he said abruptly.
Before she could reply he sat down again and took both her hands. ‘It’s all right, Daisy, love. You’re right. We are different people now. We were childhood sweethearts but we’ve both grown up. I won’t hold you to your promise.’
Daisy should have felt relief. No row, no recriminations. Instead an overwhelming sadness swept over her and tears rolled down her cheeks. Dear Bob, she would always love him in a way, but it was Chris who held her heart.
Bob saw her tears and attempted to wipe them away. ‘Don’t cry, sweetheart. It’s what you want isn’t it?’
She nodded and attempted a smile. ‘I hope one day you find the same sort of love that I have,’ she said.
‘Maybe.’ He shrugged his shoulders and stood up abruptly. ‘Time to go. Gotta say goodbye to Mum. Not looking forward to that. You know what my mum’s like.’
He took her hand and they walked in companionable silence the rest of the way home, parting at their respective back gates. Daisy watched him turn and wave as he entered the back door of number 41. She waved back and went indoors with a heavy heart. She might never see him again and she was saddened. He would always be her childhood sweetheart, the boy next door.
***
As usual the wireless was on when Daisy went indoors. After hastily splashing her face with cold water from the tap in the scullery she planted a smile on her face and went into the kitchen. They were listening to a play and Dora motioned her to be quiet, pointing to Stan who was sitting forward in his chair absorbed in the dialogue.
‘It’s nearly finished. I’ll make a cuppa in a minute,’ she whispered.
‘I’ll do it,’ Daisy said, returning to the scullery to fill the kettle. By the time she’d filled the teapot and brought the tray through the play had finished.
‘Had a good day, love?’ Stan asked, taking the cup she handed to him.
‘I’ve just said goodbye to Bob,’ she said. ‘He’s next door breaking the news to Mrs Gardner.’
‘Poor woman. All that worry to go through again,’ Dora said. ‘Will he pop in to see us before he goes?’
‘I doubt it. We’ve broken up,’ Daisy said.
‘Really? I thought – we all thought...’
‘I know Mum, but it hasn’t worked out. As we’ve both agreed, we’ve grown up, we’re different people now – the war, everything...’
‘And that Chris bloke,’ Stan said. ‘I knew it. Poor old Bob.’
‘Stan, leave the girl alone,’ Dora protested. ‘Anyone could see how they feel about each other – and he seems a nice lad.’
‘I don’t want to talk about it. He’s going away too, and God knows if I’ll ever see either of them again so please, just...’ Daisy burst into tears and fled the room.
Upstairs she dried her eyes and got ready for bed. She must be up early tomorrow although she wasn’t on duty till later in the day. She had to be at the garrison early, though, just in case the regiment was moving off. She remembered the day Bob left for France, waving from the back of a lorry. She hoped that wouldn’t be her last glimpse of Chris, too.
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chris should have been feeling on top of the world. Daisy had said the magic words. She loved him. He hadn’t really dared to hope. A few trips to the pictures, holding hands, a few kisses – sometimes he had been sure he was just a substitute, someone to dally with until Bob came home. However hard he tried to convince himself she wasn’t the sort to toy with him, he couldn’t help wondering how she really felt.
When Bob turned up out of the blue after months on the missing list, Chris had been devastated. Daisy was lost to him now. But then she’d gone missing and when she was found, he was the one she’d turned to. He recalled those ecstatic moments on the sofa in her front room. He couldn’t stop himself from blurting it out. He loved her and then, incredibly she’d said she loved him in return.
Now, though, as he prepared for service overseas – any day now, they said – he wondered if he had a right to feel happy. Could he ask her to wait for him, put her through months, if not years, of uncertainty and worry?
The thought of leaving her was tearing him apart. More so, the thought of not seeing her before he went. Suppose she had changed her mind? When she saw Bob, would he persuade her that she was still his girl, that she should honour her promise to him?
He decided to go over to the NAAFI and try to speak to her. But as he opened the door to his billet, the sergeant major nabbed him.
‘Where you off to, Corporal?’ he demanded. ‘I’ve got a job for you. Take this message up to Barton’s Point – and no stopping on the way.’
‘Very good, Sergeant Major.’ Chris took the despatch case and went back in for his motorcycle gear. Fetching his bike, he put on his goggles and rode towards the main gate.
As he stopped briefly to acknowledge the guards, he caught a glimpse of one of the NAAFI girls going into the stores. From this distance it could have been any one of them, but he would know Daisy anywhere – her confident walk, undaunted by her experiences yesterday, the way she swung her arms. He was tempted to stop and speak to her but, mindful of his orders, he changed gear and swept out of the garrison onto the main road.
Was this the last time he would see her?
***
On her way to the stores, Daisy heard the motorcycle engine and paused. Was it Chris? When it didn’t stop, she swallowed her disappointment and walked on, telling herself Chris wasn’t the only motor cyclist on the camp. She had arrived at the garrison several hours before her duty time this morning but there had been no exodus of lorries so far. Bob and Chris must still be here – that is, unless they had left during the night.
When she went into the NAAFI, arriving earlier than usual there were several of their regular customers already in, eating the hearty breakfast the cook sergeant was known for. So, they hadn’t left yet.
She didn’t like to ask anyone when they were going, knowing that they shouldn’t really talk about it. June had no such qualms and quizzed everyone who came in as she poured their tea and handed them their cigarettes.
‘No news,’ she whispered to Daisy. ‘But I think it will be soon. They all look a bit on edge, although they’re trying to hide it.’
‘I said goodbye to Bob last night,’ Daisy told her.
‘Goodbye for good?’
Daisy nodded.
‘How did he take it?’
‘All right. He wasn’t surprised, said we’d both changed since he’d been away.’
‘So you’re a free woman now.’ June nudged her, so that she almost dropped the plate she was holding. ‘So, what about Chris then?’ she said.
Daisy just shrugged. It was all too new to talk about. Besides, who knew if Chris’s declaration had just been relief at finding her safe? Feelings had run high during those few minutes in her front room. And he didn’t yet know that she had rejected Bob.
She got on with her work, ears tuned for the sound of the door, forcing herself not to turn round in anticipation every time someone came in. Although she longed to see him, she hoped in a way that their next meeting wouldn’t be while she was at work. How could she say what was in her heart, kiss him goodbye in front of her friends and all his pals?
She wanted their last meeting to be somewhere romantic, a memory she could treasure in the uncertain years ahead. She pictured him picking her up from work, climbing on to the pillion and clinging to him as he rode the motorbike into the countryside, up towards the cliffs.
She was startled out of her daydream when,
towards the end of her shift, Mrs Green called her into the office. What now? she thought. Was she in for another telling-off for not concentrating?
‘Close the door, Daisy, and sit down,’ the supervisor said. She paused for a moment, lacing her fingers together as her hands rested on the desk. ‘Well, you’ve certainly made a name for yourself, haven’t you?’
Daisy looked up, about to protest, but she saw that Mrs Green was smiling. ‘Quite the little detective. I knew you were bright, and I should have taken notice of your concerns. I suppose I didn’t want to admit that there were such goings on in my NAAFI.’
‘I wasn’t sure myself, but things started to add up,’ Daisy said.
‘Well, thanks to you, most of our missing stores have been recovered. I hear several people have been arrested.’ She tightened her lips. ‘Such wickedness when we’re all struggling.’ She sighed. ‘Well, something good has come out of it and I hope you’ll agree it is good news for you. I’ve been promoted to manager.’
Before Daisy could take it in, the supervisor continued. ‘Which means, Miss Bishop, that you will now take my place as supervisor.’
Daisy gasped. Promotion. She couldn’t believe it. It was good news in a way, but she wondered how it would affect her relationship with her colleagues. She stammered her thanks and rose to leave.
‘Congratulations,’ Mrs Green said. ‘You’d better be off now. We’ll talk over the details in the morning.’
‘Congratulations to you too,’ Daisy said.
She left the office in a daze. June was getting ready to leave and looked at her curiously. ‘What did she want?’
‘I’ve been promoted.’
‘Really? Well good luck. You deserve it,’ June said.
Mavis added her congratulations and said, ‘You don’t seem very thrilled.’
‘It’s too much to take in. I’ve got so much on my mind.’
‘Chris.’ June said.
‘Has he been in?’
‘Sorry, no.’
Disappointed, Daisy said goodnight to Mavis who was working late, and walked out with June. They reached the Clock Tower where they usually went their separate ways.
‘Coming to the pictures tonight?’ June asked. ‘It’ll take your mind off things.’
‘I don’t know. I thought I’d stay in.’
‘Just in case Chris turns up, I suppose?’ June said. ‘Come on, it’s no use sitting at home moping.’
‘All right. I’ll meet you outside the Rio. I don’t know what’s on, but I don’t really care.’
Only Jimmy was at home when she got in and she was disappointed not to be able to tell her parents her news. They would be thrilled for her. Jimmy as usual was hungry and she made him cheese on toast, giving him the rest of her cheese ration. She didn’t feel like eating anyway.
He was still excited by her kidnap and rescue and kept asking questions. ‘You’re a hero,’ he said through a mouthful of toast. ‘You should get a medal. I’ve told all my pals about it.’
‘Oh, Jimmy, you shouldn’t have. Anyway, it’s heroine, not hero – and I’m not one. It was Dad and Mr Rowe who caught the baddy.’ She left him to his supper and went upstairs to get ready for the cinema.
‘Where you going?’ Jimmy asked when she came down.
‘Pictures.’
‘With that despatch rider, I bet. I can tell you’re all moony over him.’
‘Well, you’re wrong. I’m meeting June.’
When she reached the end the road, she almost changed her mind and went back. She wasn’t in the mood for a film or June’s company. She forced down the thought – the hope –that Chris might call while she was out.
A few people were waiting outside the Rio Cinema when she got there, but no June. She’d checked the time as she passed the Clock Tower, so she knew she wasn’t late. Should she go in on her own and hope her friend turned up later?
She took a couple of steps into the building and looked around for her friend. Still no sign of her. Oh, well, I’ll get my ticket, she thought, going up to box office in the centre of the foyer.
As she reached into her bag for her purse, she felt a hand on her shoulder. ‘I’ve already got our tickets.’
She gasped and looked up into Chris’s laughing eyes. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘A surprise,’ he said.
‘How did you know I’d be here?’
‘I got one of my mates to give a note to your friend asking her to arrange for you to be here.’
‘June! The sly little thing. She never said a word.’
Chris laughed and took her arm. ‘Shall we go in?’
‘Oh, Chris, I was beginning to think I’d never see you again.’
‘I couldn’t go away without saying goodbye. We’re off in the morning. I was lucky to get permission to come out this evening.’
The usherette showed them into the back row and they settled into the plush seats, Daisy looking around before the lights went down. She hoped they wouldn’t see anyone she knew.
They sat in silence through the advertisements, the newsreel and a cartoon and at last the main film started. Daisy had no idea what it was or who starred in it for, as soon as credits rolled and the music swelled, Chris pulled her into his arms. She lost herself in his kisses which grew ever more passionate and as his hands caressed her, she completely forgot her surroundings. It wasn’t her imagined walk along the cliffs and a lie down in the long grass, but this was better in a way. She had been afraid of getting carried away and later finding herself in the same position as Lily. Much as she would have loved to, she was relieved that here they could indulge their feelings but keep a rein on their passion.
It seemed no time before the film came to an end. They broke apart at the sound of seats tipping up and people standing for ‘God Save the King.’
Outside, Chris led her round the side of the building to where he had parked his motor bike. ‘Your carriage awaits, Madam,’ he said, gesturing to her to climb on.
She clung to him, leaning forward to rest her face against the rough serge of his army battle dress. They reached her house in minutes and she reluctantly got off the bike. Chris followed her into the porch and took her in his arms again.
‘Oh, God, Daisy, love, I don’t want to go. But I must.’
Her tears brushed his cheek as she kissed him. ‘I don’t want you to go.’
He gently wiped the tears away with his thumb. ‘Don’t cry, Daisy, love. I want to remember you smiling, that lovely smile, the first thing I noticed about you.’
Daisy managed to smile through her tears, and he kissed her again.
‘God knows how long I’ll be gone.’ He hesitated ‘I want to ask you to wait for me, but I know what you went through when Bob was missing. It wouldn’t be fair.’
‘Chris, darling, I’ll wait forever. I promise.’
‘If you’re sure.’
‘I’m sure.’ They kissed again, a long, lingering kiss. ‘I’m very sure,’ This time, she added silently.
It was time to go and Chris got on his motorcycle, leaning down for one last embrace before riding off into the night.
Daisy stood at the gate, watching until he turned the corner. They had only been at war for just over a year but so much had happened in that short time. Who knew how long it would go on, how long before they’d see each other again?
She sighed and wiped away a tear. She had made another promise, but this was one she knew she would keep.
The End
After 22 years of handling other people’s books while working as a library assistant Roberta Grieve decided it was time to fulfil a long-held ambition and start writing her own. Her first novel, ‘Abigail’s secret’ was published in 2008 and since then she has had many more books published.
Roberta lives in a small village near Chichester, Sussex, and when not writing enjoys walking her son’s dog.
Website: www.robertagrieve.co.uk
Roberta Grieve, Daisy's War
Daisy's War Page 24