A Wartime Christmas (16 page)

‘Do you need any bedclothes?’ Babs asked Kay as they all filed out into the cold winter’s day.

‘No, Mum and Dad can sleep in my bed. I’ve brought the mattress in from the Anderson for me. It’s been airing beside the fire. I’ve got a couple of extra blankets in the
cupboard.’

Babs’s eyes twinkled. ‘Well, shout if you need anything.’

Kay hugged Babs. ‘Thanks for a lovely afternoon. Happy Christmas, love.’

‘You too.’

As Kay was about to leave, Babs caught her arm. ‘What do you think our men are doing this Christmas?’

‘Thinking of us, I hope.’

‘I wonder,’ sighed her friend doubtfully. ‘Eddie didn’t seem upset in his last letter. He just said to have a good time. And gave me the weather report.’

‘They can’t say much else, can they?’

‘No, s’pose not. Anyway, we got a Christmas kiss from Paul. That’s as much romance as I’m likely to get this year.’

Kay thought it wasn’t like Babs to sound so down in the dumps. But it was Christmas after all and she must be missing Eddie.

Kay shivered as she hurried in. A few flakes of snow drifted down. The pavement was icy beneath her feet. As she went indoors, even the cold passage felt warm. She could hear Alfie’s
laughter and her dad’s teasing. Bob seemed to have mellowed. He had actually talked about Alan once or twice in a nice way. Perhaps Alfie’s presence would ensure this would be a happy
Christmas and, with luck, bridges could be built with her mother over the problems of the past.

‘I never make me puddings without a drop of beer,’ said Lil to Vi on Christmas morning. ‘Gives a nip to the taste. And this pudding’s no
exception.’

Kay and Vi looked at the Christmas pudding in the white basin that had been stowed at the bottom of the raffia bag. It smelled delicious as it steamed on the stove.

‘I’ll give you a hand with the potatoes, Mrs B,’ offered Vi, starting to tie on her apron.

‘No need, dear,’ said Lil firmly, shooing them from the kitchen. ‘Too many cooks and all that. Leave the cooking to me. Though I ain’t so sure I can make this canary go
round for all five of us.’

Kay grinned. ‘I queued a long time for that chicken, Mum.’

Lil cast her daughter a rueful glance. ‘You don’t have to skimp when you live in the country. The butcher down the road from us in Berkshire had some real heavyweights hanging in his
window. I’d have brought a bird along if I’d known the state of your larder.’

‘Your mum does have a point,’ said Vi in a whisper as she and Kay walked into the passage. ‘The thought of them big blighters hanging from the butcher’s window has made
me mouth water.’

Kay chuckled. ‘There’s enough meat on that canary to go round, don’t worry.’

In the front room, Bob had pulled out the dining table and extended its sides. Alfie was already seated on one of the chairs, banging a fork on the table’s surface. His granddad was
playing the spoons beside him and after much laughter, the four of them began to sing ‘Any Old Iron’. Soon Bob had enticed Vi into the small space beside the fire and linking arms, they
danced around.

Kay found herself laughing so much that her eyes were watering. They hadn’t had such a good time since Alan had come home on his brief twenty-four-hour November leave. Then they had
celebrated Alfie’s third birthday on the twelfth and done a lot of clowning around. As neither she nor Alan had known how long it would be before they saw one another again, they’d
filled every minute with love and laughter.

As if Alfie had picked up her thoughts, he gave her the biggest of smiles – Alan’s smile – as though Alan was saying that he was here in spirit with them on Christmas Day.

It was half past six on Christmas night and Bob was snoring in his chair. They were all recovering from Lil’s mountainous dinner. Kay thought that if the canary had not
seemed enough, then the vegetables and roast spuds had made up for it. The table’s sides had been dropped again and the heavy lump of wood pushed back to the wall. The smell of Christmas
cooking lingered in the air and Alfie was playing with his present from Lil and Bob: a train set that Bob had helped him piece together earlier.

‘He’s never had anything so special, Mum,’ said Kay who sat beside Vi on the fireside chairs. Kay looked at the cheap toys she and Vi had bought. All second-hand from the
market. Shabby but colourful building bricks, a handmade soft toy in the shape of a giraffe and a dog-eared colouring book, together with some used crayons.

‘We spare no expense when it comes to our family,’ said Lil as she sat beside her sleeping husband on the couch. ‘And as we ain’t seen Alfie in a while it’s nice to
spoil him a bit.’ Kay guessed what might be coming next and she was right. ‘Your brother invited us for Christmas, but we said we was staying with you.’

‘I hope he didn’t mind.’

‘It would have been better if all four of us had gone to Hertfordshire.’

‘I couldn’t have managed that, Mum.’

‘I don’t see why not. You wasn’t doing anything else.’ Lil bent to replace the toy carriage that had come off the tracks.

‘Didn’t know whether Alan was coming home,’ Kay shrugged.

Lil sat forward. ‘There’s something else I want to talk to you about. We’d like you to visit us next year. After all, Aunty Pops ain’t never seen Alfie. Last she saw of
you was when her other half Tommy was alive, when they both came down to stay for Norman’s funeral. She’d just got over her stroke then, remember? And was cussing the stick they gave
her.’

‘I’ll have to see,’ replied Kay, not wanting to make any rash decisions. ‘Depends on Alan and his leaves.’

Lil threw her a hard stare. ‘You could wait for ever, Kay, whilst it’s you that needs a break from the East End. You’ve got to admit that London is a shambles. It’s dirty
and dangerous. We saw kids as young as Alfie running over the bombed sites as though they was animals.’ When Kay tried to protest, Lil held her hand up. ‘Agreed the city was a good
place to live before the war. But it was different then. Respectable, like. Before the bloody Germans decided to invade.’

‘They haven’t yet,’ Kay argued. ‘And Alan don’t believe we’ll ever let them.’

‘That’s just his opinion, dear,’ Lil said tartly. ‘What’s going to happen if the bombing starts again?’

Bob gave a loud snore and woke himself up. Blinking his sleepy eyes he asked, ‘What was that? Did someone say something?’

‘Yes,’ answered Lil irritably, ‘but you missed it. Kay, switch the wireless on. Let’s catch up with the news.’

Reluctantly, Kay turned on the set. It was Christmas, the season of goodwill. It was miserable enough without Alan. She didn’t want to hear all the tragic events told over yet again. But
sure enough, the commentator was soon describing the sinking of Britain’s formidable aircraft carrier, the HMS Ark Royal, back in November, and went on to give vivid descriptions of the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour which had drawn America into the war. Kay glanced restlessly over at Vi who also seemed to be fidgeting in her seat.

‘Time for supper!’ Kay deliberately interrupted the voice. ‘Who fancies cheese and pickled onions?’

‘No thank you,’ said Lil shortly. ‘Me indigestion is playing up.’

‘Well, mine ain’t,’ said Bob, giving Kay a smirk. ‘I reckon I could do justice to a bite to eat. Now, Alfie, young man, where did we get to in our game?’ Bob hauled
himself from the couch and went down on all fours. ‘Granddad will be the blue carriage and you can be the red.’

Kay grinned at Vi as they left the room together, eager to reach the safety of the kitchen.

‘I’ll go mad if I have to listen to one more miserable news broadcast,’ said Kay as she and Vi stood in the kitchen about to prepare supper. ‘Mum
can’t seem to get enough of them. Then, if she had her way, we’d be sitting there for hours after, picking the war to pieces.’

‘Your mum ain’t one to hold back,’ agreed Vi as they began to spread the slim slices of stodgy wholemeal bread with the farm-made butter that Lil had brought. ‘But as for
your Aunty Pops, there’s no harm in agreeing to go and visit her, is there? That’d put a smile on your mum’s face.’

‘Yes, but if I go without Alan, it will only turn into a battle of wits,’ Kay answered as she placed the plates on a tray. ‘On my own I’ll be forced to fight my corner
again. It was the same after Norman died when I made the mistake of moving back home.’

‘How did your Norman get on with your folks?’

‘He’d known them all his life. Like I had known Mr Williams and his wife when they were alive. When me and Norman got married we went to live with Bernard, his dad, just round the
corner to Mum’s. So Mum popped in most days and did a few jobs around the house whilst I was at work. She’d make a cup of tea and the occasional meal for my father-in-law and Norman
appreciated that.’

‘He must have been a good bloke.’

‘He was. But when that bus knocked him down at the depot, I knew I should have felt sort of different. I mean, I was grieving, but it was like . . . as if me best friend had
died.’

‘That’s no sin, flower.’

Kay looked into Vi’s gaze. ‘Norman was a trustworthy husband. I always knew where he’d be as he gave me his working timetable at the beginning of each week and I’d know
the very second he was coming home for his dinner. He liked to do everything by the book. He was a stickler for routine. He never missed a day at work and when we were courting, if Norman said
he’d call for me at five, he’d be there at three minutes to. I liked that then and was attracted to it.’ Kay smiled. ‘Norman was the kind of man Mum approved of and wanted
me to find again.’

Vi chuckled. ‘But Alan came along.’

Kay nodded. ‘Yes, and it was then I forgot all about working to schedule. Everything I’d known before went out of the window. What counted was . . .’ Kay felt herself blushing,
‘. . . just being with each other any moment we could get. Nothing mattered except . . .’ She gave a little shiver at the thrill even the memory caused inside her, ‘. . . and that
was how we got Alfie a bit earlier than we should have done.’

‘Good on yer, ducks,’ said Vi. ‘I liked me moment of passion too.’

At this, they burst into laughter. As the sandwiches took shape, Vi said reflectively, ‘If I was you, I’d be tempted to take the easy route this Christmas and just nod your
head.’

‘Yes, I’d come to that conclusion too.’

‘Mind you,’ said Vi with a cheeky grin as she turned the pickled onions into a dish, ‘there’ll be many a household in Britain that don’t suffer in silence to keep
the peace.’ They both laughed again until, with difficulty, Vi lifted the overflowing plates. ‘Your dad’s got an appetite like a starved ’orse. Let’s see if he can do
justice to these.’

Kay followed with the tray of tea and a bottle of milk stout for her father. She was determined to remember Vi’s advice and make sure that this was one household in the East End that
didn’t fall out over Christmas.

Unfortunately, Kay’s resolve weakened on Boxing Day. Lil had risen early to cook breakfast and she summoned the adults downstairs. Kay had left Alfie sleeping after his
exhausting day yesterday. Placing four generous portions of fried vegetables on the kitchen table together with accompanying rounds of fried bread, Lil turned the discussion to the subject she
favoured most. One which Kay had been hoping and praying would not be aired again.

‘You never met Kay’s first husband, Norman Williams, did you, Vi?’ Lil asked after a sip of tea.

Kay’s heart sank. She knew what was coming next.

‘No, Lil, I didn’t,’ Vi said politely.

‘He was the perfect gentleman.’

‘I’m glad to hear it,’ replied Vi, ‘as your girl is the perfect lady. And has luckily found herself a good match in Alan.’

Lil said nothing. Kay looked at her father whose eyes were glued to the bubble-and-squeak in front of him.

‘Norman was a bus driver, and he loved his work,’ continued Lil enthusiastically. ‘He used to take Kay and me all over the city. He knew all the routes and the shortcuts and
was a mine of information on London transport. You could always rely on Norman for advice on getting to wherever you wanted. He knew the timetables backwards. In fact, you could set your watch by
Norman himself. He was a man of good habits and kept to them.’

Kay pushed away her half-eaten breakfast. ‘Would you like some more tea, Mum?’

‘No thanks, dear. You poured me a cup already.’ Lil took another gulp. ‘As you can imagine, it was handy having my daughter live just round the corner,’ she continued.
‘There wasn’t much we didn’t know about each other’s lives.’ Lil slid a long glance at Kay. ‘Norman and Kay were childhood sweethearts, you know. Everyone used
to say they were made for one another. When they got married me and Bob were the proudest—’

Kay stood up, scraping her chair noisily. Lil stopped in the middle of her sentence. ‘What’s the matter, Kay?’

‘I think I can hear Alfie.’

‘That’s funny, I didn’t hear nothing.’

Kay hurried into the freezing passage. Her heart was beating so fast that when she got to the top of the stairs, she could hardly breathe.

She hadn’t heard Alfie at all. But it was the best excuse she could think of to leave the breakfast table. Kay sat on the top stair and pulled her cardigan round her. She leaned her head
against the wooden banister and turned the slim golden band on the finger of her left hand. If only Alan was here now!

Her mother’s voice drifted up from downstairs. Lil loved to live in her memories of the past. Sadly, they were very different to Kay’s.

Lil and Bob decided they must get back to Berkshire in time for the new year. But Kay guessed that Lil wasn’t keen to stay longer. The house was too cold for her.

‘It’s been very nice, but the weather’s on the turn for the worse. We want to make sure we get home without being stranded,’ said her mother politely as they prepared to
take a taxi on Monday morning. Lil hesitated as she fitted her arms into the sleeves of the coat that Bob was holding up. ‘And anyway, with you going to work tomorrow, Kay, and Vi taking care
of Alfie, it don’t seem we can be much use.’