A Wartime Christmas (33 page)

‘Because new shoes don’t need Blakies.’

‘I like Blakies,’ objected Alfie. ‘They make a loud noise.’ Alfie frowned down at his feet. ‘And these are too tight.’

‘No, they’re not. The man measured you.’

‘I ain’t ever been measured before.’

‘Well, now you have.’ Kay climbed to her feet, trying to decide what she would wear for tonight’s entertainment.

‘I don’t like me collar done up.’ Alfie wrestled with his shirt button. ‘I’m gonna get hot in this.’ He pulled at his jumper.

‘Alfie, your gran bought you all these nice clothes. She wants to see you wearing them tonight.’

‘Do I have to wear ’em when I get home?’

Kay resisted the urge to laugh as Alfie pulled a face.

‘Come on now, Alfie, cheer up.’

But Alfie’s shoulders slumped. ‘I’m gonna see Aunty Pops.’

‘All right. But don’t get dirty.’

Kay watched Alfie slope off, still pulling at his shirt. Over the past few days, he had bonded with Aunty Pops, whose idea of having fun was the same as Alfie’s. She would join him in the
back garden where she would sit on a chair and watch the noisy planes fly over. Alfie would sit beside her on an upturned pail and, with her encouragement, hurry off to tinker with the broken
water-pump or the wheel-less bicycle that leaned against the tumbledown shed. He had spent many hours with Pops, as together they investigated the mechanical wrecks hidden under long grass in the
yard.

Meanwhile, Kay had shopped in Monkton with Lil. She had been introduced to Lil’s whist friends and even invited to join in their club. But Kay was no whist player and had preferred to
enjoy the town with its rows of small shops and quaint cottages.

Kay studied her limited choice of two dresses hanging in the big wardrobe in hers and Alfie’s bedroom. ‘It’s either the flowery one,’ Kay pondered, ‘or the blue and
white dress from out of the arc.’

Kay settled for the blue and white dress and spent time on her hair, rolling each finger-bang to the top of her head. When all was in place, she added tiny imitation pearl earrings that Alan had
given her before Alfie was born.

She sat down on the bed with a long sigh as she thought of the evening ahead. What was the point in dressing-up if Alan wasn’t with her? If he was a prisoner somewhere, or injured or
starving, he might never come home again. And what of Dolly and Sean? Alan had once told her that in leaving behind their pasts, they could start afresh and make every day count. It upset her to
think that he might have been talking about Dolly when he said that.

‘You ready, love?’ Lil called from the bottom of the stairs.

‘Coming, Mum.’ Kay stood up quickly, pushing all her troubled thoughts away. She was determined to enjoy the evening with Alfie. She wanted him to have happy memories of his first
holiday and she was sure Alan would want that too.

‘Jeez, you can dance, li’l lady,’ grinned the young American who had asked Kay to be his partner. He’d introduced himself simply as Gene and had told
her he came from America. He was stationed at the local air force base.

The band had played some very lively music. The last tune had been a version of Glen Miller’s ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo’. Kay hadn’t had time to catch her breath. Yet she
seemed to have been able to keep up with the steps and not show how out of practice she felt.

‘I think I’d better sit down for a minute,’ Kay said as the music stopped and everyone applauded the band.

‘I’ll give you five minutes.’ The handsome serviceman grinned. ‘Then I’m coming back for more.’

Kay made her way to the table at which Lil and Bob were seated. Alfie and Aunty Pops were missing, but there were remnants of cake crumbs surrounding Alfie’s half-filled glass of
lemonade.

‘Just look at our Alfie,’ Bob told her proudly. ‘Up on the stage, see? Pops has taken him to get the band’s autographs.’

Kay laughed. ‘He’ll be showing them off at school, no doubt.’ She sat down on the hard wooden chair and peered through the thick cigarette smoke that hung like a blanket over
the cavernous wooden-floored room with its long glass windows criss-crossed by sticky tape. As there now appeared to be an interval, the bass and trumpet players and pianist were all enjoying a
drink. The drummer handed one of his drumsticks to Alfie and soon there was a loud crash and bang. Everyone looked up to the stage. There were cheers and laughter as Alfie enjoyed himself playing
on the instrument.

‘Reckon we’ve got a budding musician in the family,’ said Bob, taking a gulp of his beer and tucking into the remains of a sandwich. ‘He was enjoying the music so much he
couldn’t sit still.’

‘Takes after his mother,’ said Lil, nodding at Kay. ‘You’re still pretty fast on your pins.’

‘Oh, I was never that good at dancing.’

‘You did all right with Norman at the social club.’

Kay glanced at Lil and took a deep breath. Norman’s name had come up frequently that night. Bob had said how nice it was to be all together again, just like it used to be in the old days.
Lil had agreed and said the church hall reminded her of the social club they had all supported in Poplar. So when Alfie disappeared with Aunty Pops to the basement games room, Kay had accepted
Gene’s offer to dance. He had whisked her round the dance floor to music from Glenn Miller and Jimmy Dorsey’s big bands, and even showed her the Jitterbug which he told her was all the
rage back home.

‘Course, your Norman wasn’t into all this modern stuff. He liked a good old-fashioned waltz or quickstep,’ continued Lil.

‘Alan and me liked stepping out,’ Kay answered, determined not to be drawn on Norman. ‘Though we didn’t get much chance before Alfie came along.’

Lil gave a frown. ‘That’s what comes of rushing into a family, love. You don’t get the opportunity to let down your hair. Then before you know it you’ve got
responsibilities.’

‘I wouldn’t have had it any other way, Mum.’

‘Obviously not,’ returned Lil with a sniff. ‘As a matter of fact, I said the very same thing to Len and Doris when they last visited.’

‘You did?’

‘I was shocked when Len said they wanted to adopt.’

‘Why were you shocked?’ asked Kay in surprise. ‘Doris and Len would make wonderful parents.’

‘Yes, but to their own child, not a stranger’s.’

‘How do you know that?’

Lil’s heavily powdered cheeks blushed red. ‘It stands to reason. What if the child comes from – well, a common sort of person, not a decent type? It could follow in its
parents’ footsteps. After all, blood is thicker than water, so they say.’

Kay could hardly believe she’d just heard her mother express such an opinion. ‘I hope you didn’t tell Len and Doris that!’ she exclaimed. ‘Doris would have been
very upset.’

Lil folded her arms. ‘It’s not up to me to tell them their business.’

‘No, it certainly isn’t, Mum.’ Kay fought to smother her indignation as the pianist tapped the microphone, indicating the music was about to start. With a clench of her tummy
muscles, Kay realized her feelings of outrage at Lil’s remark ran deep. Having had Sean in her life clearly disproved Lil’s theory. Sean couldn’t be blamed for having Dolly as his
mother and was a loving, innocent little boy. It was true, when Doris had told her that she and Len were considering adoption, Kay had decided that such a measure didn’t appeal to her. But
only because she doubted her ability to love another child as much as Alfie, not realizing love could be formed in many different ways.

‘For our second half,’ the pianist announced, bringing Kay quickly back to the present, ‘we’re playing a firm favourite, “The Lambeth Walk”. So grab your
partners and let’s set the floor alight.’

Kay saw her dad nudge Lil’s arm. ‘Come on, love, we know this one. None of your acrobatic stuff, just a good old shoe-shuffle.’

As her parents left to dance, Aunty Pops returned, looping the handle of her walking stick over the chair. ‘Phew, I had to elbow me way back through the crowd. Left your Alfie with the
other kids. He’s palled up with a few of the boys and enjoying himself.’

Kay was glad of her company. ‘Oh, he’d like that. I think he misses his friends.’

‘Would they be Gill and Tim and the other lad, Sean?’

Kay looked quickly at Aunty Pops. ‘Yes, did Alfie tell you about them?’

‘That’s all he goes on about,’ said Aunty Pops with a smile. ‘They sound good kids. ’specially that Sean. Said he stayed at your place for a while.’

Kay nodded, feeling the tears sentimentally spring to her eyes. ‘Yes, he did.’ She didn’t add more, trying to swallow her emotion as the lost little boy filled her
thoughts.

Aunty Pops leaned close. Kay got a whiff of the fertilizer she’d been using on the garden that afternoon. ‘Don’t mind me saying, but you wanna take no notice of your mother.
She harps on a lot about the old days when I know your heart isn’t in them.’

Kay smiled, clearing her throat. ‘So you noticed?’

‘Oh, yes, love. But she’ll come round. You have to be careful you don’t live too much in the past as you get older.’

‘Mum was very fond of Norman.’

‘Yes, but the world’s moved on now.’ Aunty Pops leaned back in her chair. ‘I’d like to meet your Alan one day.’

‘I hope you will, Aunty Pops.’

Kay felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up at the tall young man standing at her side. ‘Join me in the next one, Miss Kay?’ he asked.

Kay saw that Lil and Bob were coming off the floor. She nodded to Gene and stood up. Even though she had no idea of how to dance the Lindy Hop, it was better than dwelling on the past. Common
sense told her there was no way she would ever see Sean again, yet he would always be there in her thoughts and her heart too.

At the evening drew to a close, Kay had enjoyed herself despite the crush on the dance floor. Gene had twirled her around so fast she’d literally been swept off her feet.
Now, the evening was almost over and Alfie was still enjoying himself with the other children in the games room.

‘Last waltz coming up,’ Lil said just as Gene walked up to the table.

‘May I have the honour?’ he asked Kay with a grin.

‘Yes, go on, Kay,’ Lil urged. ‘Enjoy yourself.’

‘You’ve got some real nice folks,’ the young man told her as he led her onto the floor. ‘And that youngster of yours is a cute kid.’

She nodded proudly as they stood waiting for the music to play. ‘Alfie’s never stayed up so late before.’

‘That’s a swell name.’

‘My husband and I think so.’

‘Is your husband in the services?’

‘Yes, but I don’t know where Alan’s fighting.’

‘It must be tough for you.’

As the band struck up a soft refrain, Gene held her close. Kay listened to him humming the tune and she recognized it as one that she and Alan had always loved. ‘When I Grow Too Old to
Dream’ had beautiful words and as they danced, she heard Alan singing them as he used to. Suddenly her throat filled with a painful ache. Salty tears stung on her lids. She thought of the
passion they had shared, a passion that had never died and only become stronger through the years. Despite Dolly entering her life and claiming to be married to the man Kay loved, Kay still refused
to believe that Alan would ever do anything to jeopardize their happiness.

‘Kay?’ Gene’s voice broke into her thoughts.

‘Oh, sorry, what did you say?’

‘I was wondering if you and Alfie would like a ride out in the jeep sometime.’

Kay didn’t want to hurt his feelings but she knew that these young servicemen could get very lonely away from home. ‘Thanks, Gene, but I’m afraid the answer must be
no.’

‘Are you sure?’

She nodded, laughing. ‘You should have danced the night away with a pretty unattached young female.’

He laughed too. ‘Don’t worry I’ve got – how do you English say it – strong skin?’

‘Thick skin, you mean.’

‘Jeez, I gotta lot to learn!’ He looked down at her with twinkling blue eyes and held her close. ‘It sure would be nice to have you teach me.’

When the dance was over, Gene took her back to the table. ‘There’s still time to change your mind,’ he whispered as he held up her coat.

Kay looked at him, amused. ‘You certainly don’t stop trying.’

‘For the prettiest girl in this room, it’s not difficult at all.’

As Kay took Alfie’s hand, she blushed. It was a long, long time since she had been flattered like this. And though Gene’s compliments had made her remember what it was like to be
viewed as a real woman again, the only whispered words she wanted to hear were from Alan. The only arms she longed to be dancing in were his.

Vi woke up on Saturday morning with a deep sense of unease. What was she worried about? This was the question she asked herself each morning as she roused from sleep. Ever
since her house had been bombed she’d not felt her old confident self. But this morning, as she climbed out of bed, she remembered Eddie coming home. Since then the kids had played in the
street as usual, but there was no Babs mooching about in the yard. And certainly no Eddie.

Vi began to dress, wondering if Kay and Alfie were enjoying themselves. Vi missed them. She didn’t like rattling around in the house on her own. But she knew Kay needed a holiday even if
she wouldn’t admit it.

When Vi had knotted her scarf on the top of her head and put on her apron, she went downstairs. She opened the back door and peered cautiously into Babs’s yard. Not a peep from anyone.

After deciding all must be well, she made herself a cup of tea. Perhaps nothing had been said about Paul. If that was the case then, depending on how long Eddie’s leave was, trouble might
be avoided.

Vi tried to concentrate on what she had planned for the day. A visit to Jenny and Alice, that was it! It was a long time since she’d seen them for a chat. She’d take her basket as
well and continue to the market. It was a bit of a haul these days, but the weather was nice. And if she stopped at Jenny and Alice’s for a gas, she’d break up the journey.

Five minutes later, with her basket over her arm, she was closing the front door behind her when she heard Babs’s voice. Then Eddie’s. Soft at first, but growing louder. The window
was open, with Babs’s lace curtain blowing out on the breeze.