Where Memories Are Made (3 page)

What had started out as a friendship between Drina and Artie had developed into deep love, which would have remained unrequited on both sides had Joe not died. After her husband's death, though, having been deprived of love for so long, Drina hadn't wanted to risk losing this chance of happiness. Not caring what others thought of her, she did nothing to hide how much Artie meant to her, and he'd been only too happy to go along with her wishes, barely able to believe that after his recent disappointment with Mavis, this wonderful woman was his.

Drina was astute enough to know that once Artie was legally free from his marriage to Mavis, he would not necessarily ask Drina herself to marry him. He would consider it a comedown for the widow of a successful businessman to attach herself to an odd job man. But Artie's love for her had boosted Drina's low self-esteem, and her newfound self-confidence gave her the courage to tackle him about the situation. She left him in no doubt that she was perfectly willing to give up all she owned and live in a shed with him. This gave Artie the courage to return to his home town of Leicester. With the help of a solicitor he got Mavis and her latest man out of his house there and sold it, enabling him to buy this cottage. The merciless Mavis, though, would not agree to a divorce unless he settled a sizeable amount of money on her. She wasn't entitled to it and Archie did not have it, but pride would not allow him to accept Drina's offer to pay his ex-wife off, so until either he had the money or Mavis relented Artie and Drina were content just to live together, not caring that some considered it a sin.

Drina happily sold the huge house that held so many miserable memories for her, and the money from the sale was put towards the building of an indoor swimming pool for the campers to enjoy when the weather wasn't being kind. Providing a roof over her head, paying the bills and putting food on the table was enough to satisfy Artie's pride. He wasn't averse to Drina using money she earned from her job heading up Jolly's to pay for extras for them. This enabled the two of them to live together in perfect harmony, outsiders remaining unaware of their turbulent background and assuming they'd been together several decades.

Having made the tea, Drina put the pot and cups, milk and sugar, on the table. As she poured, she told Artie how she planned to aid his daughter.

After she had, he looked at her askance. ‘Getting Rhonnie back in the land of the living is the most important thing to me, but can we just go swanning off on this so-called holiday like you're proposing? After all, you're the boss of a very busy holiday camp. Without Dan and now Rhonnie to fall back on, who will look after the business while we're away? I'm in charge of maintenance and we're coming up to our busiest time with the start of the summer holidays just around the corner.'

She petted his hand. ‘We're lucky enough to have good staff working for us. I'm sure the main day-to-day running of the business won't suffer in the slightest while we're away … not with the likes of Jackie in charge of the office. Nothing gets past that young girl. If she sets her mind to something, she sees it through to the bitter end. She can be impulsive at times, she can forget to keep her thoughts to herself, but I have great faith in her. As for someone to stand in as figurehead for me … well, as he's the next in seniority, I have no choice but to put Harold Rose in temporary charge. He's got his faults but he's honest and reliable. At least the company's finances will be in safe hands while we're away.'

Artie's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Harold Rose was the very last person he would consider putting in charge of a firm like Jolly's, but as Drina had said the man had been there a long time. Artie just hoped she didn't live to regret her decision.

Drina was asking him, ‘Have you any idea who you will put in charge of maintenance while we're away, dear?'

He thought for a moment. ‘Sid Harper is the obvious choice. He's been on the team the longest and he has the men's respect. This ought to make up to him for having his nose put out of joint when Dan made me his second-in-command last year. Sid always thought I was given the job out of favouritism. He thought he should have had it because he'd been employed by Jolly's for longer.'

Drina said with conviction, ‘Dan gave you that job because you were the best man for it. Favouritism or family connections never came into it.'

‘Well, I could see why Sid might think so. Dan was married to my daughter and it was public knowledge then about my relationship with the boss,' said Artie, winking cheekily at Drina before carrying on, ‘but thankfully, over time, Sid's accepted I got the job on my own merits and we've a good working relationship now.' He then eyed her keenly. ‘So now we've sorted out who will step up in our absence, are you going to let me in on this miraculous plan you've come up with to get Rhonnie to come away with us?'

Drina heaved a sigh. ‘Well, it's obvious desperate measures are called for. We'll make sure we're ready for the off, then go and see Rhonnie like it's just a normal visit. I'll make her a cup of tea and something to eat, like I usually do, while you chat away to her whether she's listening or not. When she drops off to sleep, you carry her out to the car and I'll make her comfortable in the back with a pillow and blanket. Hopefully she'll stay asleep for a good while, at least until we're well on our way to … well, I actually have a fancy for somewhere in Devon. I'm sure we'll have no trouble finding a place to rent in a little village somewhere for a couple of weeks. But hopefully, with the two of us to hand, coaxing her along … like she did with you when her mother died … she'll get sick and tired of being nagged into going for a walk or whatever and do what we're encouraging her to, just to shut us up. Once she's taken that first step, she'll soon be back to her old self again.'

Artie looked impressed. ‘Well, as you said, it worked with me. It's certainly worth a try.' Then he eyed her quizzically. ‘But how can you guarantee that Rhonnie will fall into a deep sleep?'

Drina grinned mischievously. ‘With a couple of crushed sleeping tablets in her tea, I can! Come on, you wash and I'll dry. Then we'll go and see to our packing so we're ready to leave about mid-morning tomorrow.'

J
olly's Holiday Camp was situated on what had once been farmland about six miles from Mablethorpe, edging a wide beach of golden sand. Holidaymakers came there from every corner of Great Britain, travelling by coach, train, car, some even on pushbikes, excited at the prospect of escaping their regimented lives in the concrete-and-brick jungles of England's towns and cities, to spend their well-earned, painstakingly-saved for two weeks of freedom breathing in the fresh air of the countryside. They enjoyed taking advantage of the fun-packed programme of events Jolly's offered or else just relaxing in the warm sunshine. The choice was theirs. The camp could accommodate up to ten thousand people in its colourfully painted wooden chalets edged with beds of summer flowers and shrubs. An army of four hundred or so staff were kept busy from morning until night, their mission to ensure that the campers went home after their stay having had a holiday to remember. Foremost among the staff were the Stripeys, named for the striped blazers they wore. They organised all the entertainment in the camp.

Among its array of facilities were an outdoor and a heated indoor pool, plus a huge dance hall called the Paradise. This had three bars, one of them a carousel, and its own resident band, the Paradise Boys, catering for the older campers. In the basement was a separate discotheque, Groovy's, catering for teenagers and people in their early twenties. It had its own resident DJ and pop group. There was also a cinema styled in the fashion of an old theatre, which had three showings a day. There was a session for children in the morning, an afternoon matinee of vintage films for the older generation, and a recent release in the evening. Adjoining the ballroom were two quiet lounges with their own separate bars, also offering coffee and tea; a games room with pool tables, dartboard and table-tennis tables, and a television room. Sports contests were held on a large playing field, and nearby were several tennis courts, bowling and putting greens, and a roller-skating rink. Dotted around the camp were several children's play areas with swings and slides. Down by the beach was a funfair with an assortment of stalls and fairground rides. A team of ten donkeys provided rides on the sand, while a miniature railway skirted the perimeters of the camp.

A nursery gave hard-pressed mothers a break from their youngsters for up to four hours a day, and two qualified nurses provided a twenty-four-hour medical service for the camp, soothing fevered brows and dressing cuts and grazes. Anyone needing hospital treatment was quickly despatched there. A camp photographer captured special moments, the prints being displayed for sale from a small kiosk. There was a hairdresser and a barber; gift, sweet and ice-cream shop, a cigarette kiosk, further kiosks for fish and chips and hamburgers, and a launderette.

The flat-roofed administration building adjoined the Paradise. Downstairs was the reception area where staff checked campers in and out and dealt with any problems they encountered during their stay. A booth held the Radio Jolly equipment and several times a day forthcoming events would be announced. On the floor above were the offices, which were accessed through a door inside reception. The general office was a large light room which held two desks, one for the office manager, the other for the junior and switchboard operator. There was a row of filing cabinets and a large metal stationery cupboard, plus a table with a printing machine on it. A door at the back of the room led into a corridor from which two further offices could be reached: a side room for the accounts manager, and one off it for his two assistants and the toilet facilities. At the end of the corridor another door led out on to the fire escape up to the roof. In warm weather the reception and office staff would sometimes sit up there during their dinner break.

Jackie Sims was a pretty, bright and bubbly twenty-one year old. Today she was dressed in a colourful thigh-length print shift dress, with a matching band in her thick, dark shoulder-length hair. She wore lime green sling-back shoes on her dainty feet. Jackie had started working as an office junior at Jolly's on leaving school at fifteen and was now Rhonnie's assistant.

A capable and ambitious girl, Jackie had often daydreamed of one day being in charge in the office, but would never have wanted it to come about in the way it had. Dan's death had deeply affected her. She felt that if she ever landed herself a man with half Dan's physical attributes, personality and integrity, then she would have won the jackpot. But it was Rhonnie's reaction to her husband's death that was affecting Jackie the most. It deeply distressed her not to be able to comfort her. They had worked together for three years and Jackie was very fond of her.

Several times since that dreadful night, despite Drina's telling her that she was wasting her time, Jackie had gone to the cottage, hoping Rhonnie would let her in, even just for a minute, but the door had remained firmly closed. Only Drina and Artie saw her now. How on earth they had managed to persuade Rhonnie to go away with them, considering she refused even to get dressed and poke her head out of the door, Jackie had no idea, but all credit to them they had. She prayed that Rhonnie would return well on her way to recovery. Jackie believed she could best help by keeping the camp running as efficiently as it had done when Drina and Rhonnie were at the helm. In order to do that, though, she needed someone she could rely on to work alongside her.

As there was a tap on the door of the general office, Jackie took a deep breath and crossed her fingers, praying that this would be third time lucky.

The first person sent by the agency at eight-thirty that morning had been a middle-aged, matronly type, dressed in a staid brown tweed suit, high-necked blouse, thick stockings and stout flat brogues, her iron-grey hair pulled into a tight knot at the base of her neck. The moment it became clear to the woman that she was to work for a slip of a girl less than half her age, and not be in charge herself, the candidate marched out in extreme indignation. Jackie had been relieved, not having taken to the austere woman nor having fancied working alongside her.

The person who had turned up at ten-thirty had been as totally different from the first as it was possible to get: a plump sixteen-year-old girl wearing a skirt that barely covered her ample backside, with a top stretching perilously tight across big breasts. Her moon-shaped face was plastered in a thick layer of pale panstick; white eye shadow and thick black eyeliner plus spidery false lashes did nothing to enhance her beady grey eyes, and pearly white lipstick covered her thick lips. Jackie felt positive she had copied her look from a Hammer House of Horror film. She seemed a nice girl and willing enough, but typed using only two fingers and had never clapped eyes on a PBX switchboard before.

Jackie hadn't time to waste teaching someone the basics. She needed someone skilled enough to get down to what was required of them straight away, so that she herself could get on with the more important tasks involved in running a busy general office for a thriving company. And all that besides the extra work she suspected Harold Rose was going to push her way, judging by what he had already done this morning. And he'd only been in his role of temporary manager half a day! Therefore the unskilled girl went the same way as the older woman … back to the agency. Jackie had wasted no time in telephoning them to give them a piece of her mind for sending two such unsuitable candidates that morning, wasting their time and hers. They promised they would send her someone suitable the next time, if she'd give them another chance. She really had no choice as this agency was the only one to operate in their vicinity.

A while later the agency informed her that another temp would be with her shortly. When there was a tap on the door Jackie thought this must be them arriving. Expecting a woman to walk in, Jackie's eyes widened in surprise to see a tall, slim young man in his early twenties, boyishly good-looking with shoulder-length thick, wavy fair hair. He was smartly but fashionably dressed in maroon coloured trousers and matching jacket, plus a pink shirt with a frill running down the front, a long pointed collar and wide frilled cuffs.