Home Front Girls (9 page)

Annabelle was now actually enjoying her job, as Mrs Broadstairs had placed her permanently in the perfume and cosmetics department. She seemed to have a flair for knowing which perfume would suit a particular customer, and as she was allowed to sample the goods she sold, she was in her element. She never tired of gazing into the glass display cabinets at the lipsticks and the arrays of cosmetics, and she kept her own counter as neat as a new pin.

Dotty was now permanently placed in the fabric department, a job that she too thoroughly enjoyed. So much so that she had actually treated herself to a second-hand Singer sewing machine from a stall in Coventry market, and was teaching herself to sew. She was working on a nice tweed skirt that she hoped would be ready in time to give to Miss Timms for Christmas, and Mrs P had been marvellous, showing her all the basics of how to work the machine and cut out a pattern. She would have liked to buy some pretty cotton and attempt to make Miss Timms a blouse too, to go with it, but felt that this was a little adventurous yet. Even so, she loved handling the bolts of material. A long brass tape measure was fixed to the edge of her counter and after helping a customer to choose what they wanted, she would then carefully measure the material from the roll, cut it neatly and parcel it up for them.

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.