The Woolworths Girls (40 page)

‘I certainly am, Mrs Caselton, and thank you again. In fact, I have something for you in the boot of my car.’

‘But, David, you’ve already treated us all to a trip to the cinema.’ Ruby was still humming the tune to
Strike Up the Band
the day after the trip to Erith Odeon, while young Freda was more than a little in love with the American movie star Mickey Rooney. Even with the worry that the Luftwaffe could have spoilt the evening with another bombing raid, they had enjoyed themselves. As it was, the film wasn’t broken by an announcement to head for the public shelter, so there was even more cause to celebrate.

All in all, Ruby thought, the lead-up to Christmas 1940 had been a festive affair, considering that it was the second since the country had gone to war with Germany. She was still enjoying her part-time job in the staff kitchen at Woolworths. Her Eddie would have chuckled to see her working at her age, but she knew he would have approved. He’d never been one of those men who thought a woman’s place was just to be at the beck and call of her husband. No doubt if he had still been with them, he’d have been helping out as an air-raid warden or doing his bit defending the town as a home guard. No, the Caseltons were not a family to shirk their responsibilities. He’d also have been proud of their Sarah getting back to work so soon after giving birth to Georgina, and of everyone who’d mucked in to help care for the baby. Why, even Georgina played her part in the war effort by being the most delightful child that ever had the grace to be placed on this earth. Vera from up the road agreed the child was a little angel, and she never usually voiced such positive opinions. She’d even looked after the baby when they all went to the cinema with David.

Ruby snapped out of her thoughts as David staggered back into the house carrying a large wicker hamper.

‘My goodness, David. Whatever have you got there?’

‘Just a few things from my mother, Mrs Caselton. She doesn’t like to think of me eating you out of house and home when so much is rationed.’

‘But where would she get all this when we have so much rationing?’ Ruby asked. ‘So sorry if I sound nosy, but I wouldn’t like to think anyone was going without, like.’

‘You’re all right there, Mrs C. David’s family won’t go short – they’ve got acres of land,’ Maisie announced, diving into the hamper and pulling out a large pork pie with a whoop. ‘I haven’t seen one of these for a while. A slice of pie and some of the pickle you put by before the war will go down a treat for Christmas night tea.’

‘Oh my,’ Ruby said as she spotted a goose wrapped in muslin nestling in straw at the bottom, surrounded by what looked like a plum pudding, a bottle of port and an iced cake. Apart from being overwhelmed by the thought of such a wonderful gift from people she’d never met, she was already worrying about how to cook the goose. It was a bird she’d never encountered before, apart from the gaggle that wandered in the yard of the farm where her daughter, Pat, lived with her farmhand husband. That’s it, she thought with relief, I’ll ask Pat when I pop down with the kids’ Christmas boxes later. She must have cooked a few of the vicious buggers since she’s lived there. ‘Remind me, how are the pair of you related?’ she asked Maisie and David.

‘We’re not blood relatives as such,’ Maisie explained. ‘David’s mum and my Joe’s dad were cousins.’

‘Joe used to come to stay with us when we were kids and we kept in touch over the years. I looked him up again when I was based over this way and met Maisie just after they were married. When I heard about Joe, I searched out Maisie to offer my condolences. You could say the rest was history.’ He glanced at Sarah and gave her a warm smile.

Ruby raised her eyebrows at what was explained to her and Maisie noticed. ‘David and my Joe were like chalk and cheese. However, David’s family are the cream of the crop,’ she said.

And Joe’s mother, Doreen, was three-day-old sour milk, Ruby thought to herself.

Sarah and Maisie packed away the food and bottles, and tried to insist that David return the wicker hamper to his mother. He refused, saying that she had plenty and Sarah was delighted to be given it to store away some of Georgina’s baby clothes. Space was at a premium at number thirteen with so many under the roof. Maureen, Sarah’s mother-in-law, had insisted that Sarah use her house in nearby Crayford Road while she stayed with her sister, but Sarah preferred to live in Alexandra Road with her nan, so it had been rented to a local family whose own home was uninhabitable after the bombings.

David had to return to Biggin Hill. Sarah knew that his job didn’t involve flying anymore, but as Ruby kept reminding them all that ‘careless talk costs lives’, she thought better than to ask him too much, even though she would have loved to know more about an RAF pilot’s life so she could tell Georgina when she was older.

When Ruby went to visit her daughter, Pat, in nearby Slade Green, Sarah took the opportunity to speak to Maisie about something that had been playing on her mind since she’d met David. ‘Maisie, do you mind awfully if I ask you something personal?’

Maisie could see that Sarah looked serious and sat down on the sofa, tucking her long legs beneath her. ‘Ask away.’

‘It’s David. I feel such a fool for wondering but think it best we clear the air. I’d hate to fall out with you.’

‘Blimey, this sounds serious. What do you want to know? I couldn’t tell you exactly how much they’ve got in the coffers, but it’s a fair amount,’ Maisie laughed.

Sarah blushed. ‘Goodness, no. It’s nothing like that. I wouldn’t dream of asking such a thing,’ she stammered.

Maisie hooted with laughter. ‘Don’t look so worried, you daft thing. I was ’aving a laugh with you.’

‘Thank goodness for that.’ Sarah smiled and took a deep breath before spilling out her thoughts. ‘I’ve got myself so worked up about this I didn’t realize you were joshing. The thing is . . . well, I wondered if there was a chance that you and David would ever get together. I know you are good friends and I didn’t want to tread on your toes.’ At last she had said what had been on her mind for the past few weeks since she’d met David. There had been some warmth between them, and although he had yet to kiss her, she knew she wouldn’t mind at all if he did. He’d reached for her hand in the cinema and his touch had thrilled her so much. However, if there was any chance at all that Maisie had designs on David, then she would back off and try not to feel disappointed. Her friendship with Maisie was worth too much to fall out over a man.

The smile had left Maisie’s face as she listened to Sarah’s question. ‘David is a friend. Nothing more. I’m surprised you even felt the need to ask. It’s not a year since I lost Joe. I’m not sure I’ll ever love another person like I loved my Joe. Perhaps you should be asking yourself the same question, Sarah. Your Alan may not even be dead and you seem to have erased any memories you ’ave of him.’ She gave Sarah a withering look. ‘Don’t play games with David just because you’re unhappy. He means a lot to me and I don’t want to see him hurt.’

‘But it’s different for me. Your Joe loved you. Alan didn’t love me. Not in the end.’ Sarah was saddened that Maisie had been so sharp with her. Surely her friend knew how upset she had been that Alan had changed so much on his last visit home. It was still painful for her to think about last Christmas. Did Maisie expect her to be alone and never love again, just like Betty?

Maisie picked up a magazine and opened it. ‘If you think that, then you’re a fool, Sarah Gilbert.’ She started to read her magazine. The conversation was at an end.

‘It’s lovely to see you back at work, Betty, even if it is for just a few days.’ Sarah beamed at her boss as she leant against the door frame of Betty’s old office. ‘You’ll see I’ve kept everything as it was before the accident.’

‘It wasn’t an accident, Sarah; it was enemy action that ended with many civilian deaths.’

Sarah closed the door quickly, looking behind her to make sure no one was in the corridor and had heard Betty’s words. What happened at the Woolworths store was still shrouded in secrecy. No one spoke about it due to national security. ‘I know that, Betty, but don’t forget we have to be careful what we say,’ she said kindly.

Two months on from the incident, Betty was still quite frail and having nightmares about what happened. Irene was taking good care of their friend, which had speeded up her recovery, but it would be a long time before she was the efficient Woolworths manager they all knew and loved. George and Irene had travelled up to Erith to join the family for Christmas and brought Betty with them. However much Betty insisted that she would prefer to move back into her own home, Irene intended to take her back to the West Country for another month of recovery. ‘You’re right, Sarah – I didn’t think about the consequences. I must really get myself back to work before I forget everything.’ She looked at the paperwork in front of her and ran her fingers through her hair distractedly. ‘I just don’t know where to start.’

Sarah, who’d had her own nightmares about her boss turning up and finding her staff had been slacking, had made sure that everything that needed doing in Betty’s office was up to date and rubber-stamped. She realized that Betty was not yet ready to return to her full-time job but would humour her for now.

Sarah looked at her watch. ‘Why don’t you come down to the shop floor for a while? There are bound to be customers who want to say hello, and we still have staff from the Bexleyheath branch working here. I’m sure they’d like a word with you. We are closing on time tonight, as it’s the tea party for the old soldiers. You know how much you enjoy playing the piano when we have a sing-song.’

Betty visibly brightened. ‘I’d forgotten about the party. How strange it will be not to have Mr Benfield and so many of the old staff with us. Will Maureen Gilbert be joining us?’

Sarah shook her head. ‘No, she’s staying with her sister for now. She can’t face Erith at the moment.’ Sarah didn’t add that she was relieved Maureen would be absent, as it reminded her so much of Alan and that was a part of her life she wished to forget. ‘Let’s get down to the shop floor, shall we? I’d also like your opinion on the window display.’ Sarah led Betty from the office and towards the stairs. ‘Do you recall the tinned snoek from last Christmas and how it tasted like rubber?’

Betty laughed. ‘That wasn’t one of our best window displays, but it sold well. I didn’t stop to look when I came in, as the fog is starting to thicken.’

‘Let’s take a quick look now before it gets any worse. I hope we aren’t in for a pea-souper.’

‘At least it will keep the Luftwaffe away,’ Betty shuddered.

‘I don’t know about that. Vera from up the road was saying how sometimes the crane drivers at the docks work above the fog. Seems it sits like a blanket and above it the skies are clear.’

‘That’s as may be, but the pilots still need to know where they are going, and if they can only see fog, they could be heading in the wrong direction,’ Betty pointed out.

Sarah wasn’t so sure it was as simple as that, but wasn’t prepared to argue. Besides, she liked to think of the Luftwaffe heading in the wrong direction and not being able to drop their bombs. This would at least allow them to sleep in their own beds over Christmas, rather than spend the festivities in the Anderson shelter. The Caseltons would need a second shelter to accommodate everyone at number thirteen.

‘This is delightful, Sarah. Well done. I particularly like the patriotic theme of red, white and blue on the little Christmas tree. Is it real?’

‘Yes. It’s Maureen’s, and as she wasn’t using it this year, we dug it up and planted it in a pot for the window,’ Sarah replied, delighted that her boss liked their Christmas display. ‘Can you see the chestnuts in the basket by the pretend open fire? We collected them from Frank’s Park in the autumn. Freda made the cardboard fireplace with help from the Girl Guide troop.’

‘It’s magical,’ Betty declared. ‘The stockings hanging above the fire – are they Maisie’s handiwork?’

‘Yes. We are going to donate them to the cottage hospital on Christmas Eve for the children who can’t go home for Christmas Day.’

‘Magnificent. I shall write to head office and let them know how creative the staff of the Erith branch have been. Now, tell me, is there any chance that Freda will be returning to work for us anytime soon?’

Sarah opened the door for Betty and they returned inside the store. ‘I don’t think so. She sees it as her duty to the war effort.’

‘My goodness. That girl never stops doing war work. She’s an inspiration, what with the Girl Guides and the knitting she does to send out to the services. Look how she has shared her skills with all of us as well.’

‘Freda still pops in to help when I’m on fire-watch duty, and she will be with us tonight for the old soldiers’ party,’ Sarah added. She too was constantly amazed at her young friend’s stamina. She wasn’t even fazed recently when a Christmas card had arrived from her brother, Lenny. Although Lenny didn’t say where he was, both girls felt in their bones that he wasn’t far away, and Freda at least knew he was safe, even though he was still hiding from the gang he had lied for.

Betty beamed as a customer recognized her and waved back across the store before adding, ‘Freda is truly a Woolworths girl.’

The evening turned out to be a wonderful event. Even with the constant fear of bombing and thoughts of loved ones overseas, everyone pulled out all the stops to make it a memorable evening for the retired old soldiers. Sarah recognized many faces from the previous Woolies parties, and the men recognized her too. Some asked whether she was enjoying married life and she found a smile was easier than explaining about Alan. Irene and George were on babysitting duties and Ruby arrived accompanied by Maisie and David. All three rolled up their sleeves and joined in as a fish and chip supper was distributed. It had been Sarah’s idea not to have the usual sandwiches and cakes. Due to rationing, they would not have been able to put on the usual grand spread, but fish and chips were not only plentiful but easier to prepare by staff members, leaving others to continue with fire watch and entertaining the guests.