Bia's War (4 page)

‘I need to ask you a favour, Mr
Vine.’ I said when his secretary showed me into his inner
sanctum.

‘Anything I can do, dear lady,’
he said as he pulled a chair up to his desk for me. ‘I understand
your husband has enlisted?’

“He made it sound like a
question, although I knew he was well-aware of the names and
numbers of those who had gone in that first wave of volunteers. He
was an extremely patriotic man and it was that patriotism that I
wanted to milk to get my own way in that meeting. I pretended to be
as enthusiastic about his enlisting as William was, because I knew
this would sway Mr Vine to look on my plans favourably and I was
prepared to use any lever I could.”

‘He has, Mr Vine.’ I murmured,
looking suitably downcast. ‘He’s gone to do his duty for King and
Country, as all decent men should.’

“He dipped his head as though he
was in the presence of the King himself and then looked me in the
eye.”

‘So, how can I help you, dear
lady? We must look after the families of our brave boys until they
return home, victorious.’

‘William has promised to send
his Army pay home to Simon and I when he gets paid in France, but I
am worried that in the turmoil of war, that money won’t get through
to us. I’ve promised William that while he is in France doing his
duty, I will support him in every way that I can, taking the worry
of mine and Simon’s welfare off his shoulders.’

“I could see this approach was
working on Mr Vine and I didn’t care how many lies I had to tell to
get my own way. Simon and I were going to survive this war,
whatever happened to William and if I had to lie my way to Hades in
order to carry out my plans, the end result was well worth it. I
had Mr Vine on the end of my fishing line and I reeled him in as
adroitly as I could.”

‘I would like to open a little
shop, so that I can support my child and myself without William
having to worry about us and I would like your permission to use
the parlour of my house as the shop premises. I know that you
kindly rent us the house to live in,’ I added hastily as Mr Vine
drew back a little at my direct demand. ‘But there’s space in the
parlour to put up a few shelves to carry the stock and Simon and I
can live in the kitchen. With William away fighting at the Front,
we don’t really need a best room.’

Mr Vine’s face changed again at
my mention of the Front, as I had known it would. I pressed home
this advantage quickly, before he had chance to think about it
anymore.

‘Of course, I would pay extra
rent, Mr Vine. After all, I can’t expect to pay domestic rent on
business premises. I wouldn’t expect you to have to help support a
soldier’s family if I can do it myself.’

‘I wouldn’t expect you to pay
extra rent, my dear, not until you had got your little business
going. After all, we’ve all got to rally round our brave boys and
that includes giving them peace of mind about their families’
welfare. But are you sure you want the responsibility of running a
business on your own? Couldn’t you get some sort of paid employment
that could keep you and your little one until your brave husband
returns home?’

“I was ready for that question
as well.” Nana said.

‘No, Mr Vine. If I went out to
work I would have to find someone willing to look after Simon for
me and I think the poor child will need his mummy with him when
he’s not going to see his daddy for a long time.’

“I left a gap of a few seconds
and then added the clincher to my argument.”

‘If he ever sees his daddy
again, of course. None of us know what is going to happen to our
brave boys over there.’

“And I lowered my head and
dabbed my dry eyes with the frilly white handkerchief I had brought
with me for just this purpose.”

‘My dear Mrs Drinkwater, I will
give you every assistance I can.’ said Mr Vine, coming out from
behind his desk and helping me to rise. ‘You decide what shelves
and other things you need and I’ll send Old Davy round first thing
tomorrow to put them up for you. Tell me, what are you planning to
sell in your shop?’

‘I’m going to sell food, Mr
Vine, all types of food, from vegetables to bread to tea. No matter
what is happening in the world, people will always need to eat and
therefore will always need a shop to buy food from.

‘I agree with you, Mrs
Drinkwater, people will always need to eat and, therefore, they
will always need somewhere to buy that food. But from where are you
going to get your stock?’

“I was ready for that question
as well. It had been part of my planning process.”

‘We are right next to the
railway station here Mr Vine and I have already been to see the
warehouseman who deals with the goods trains. I have also arranged
to buy goods from the ships as they dock here. I have my supplies
set up and ready to start. I hope I have thought of
everything.’

‘It sounds to me as though you
have, my dear Mrs Drinkwater, and I wish you every success in your
venture. But how about capital? Do you have funds in place to
purchase these items that you need?’

‘I have some savings which I
hope will be sufficient for my needs.’ I said. I had no wish to
start my new business on capital borrowed from someone else. The
profits were going to be for me and Simon, not for paying back
loans at huge rates of interest.

‘You have thought of
everything.’ Mr Vine said, sounding almost disappointed. ‘I wish
you good luck and I hope your William returns home to you by
Christmas, as all the politicians are promising.’

“So I’d taken the first step.”
Nana Lymer continued. “I’d climbed the first hill in my new life
and I was standing on the summit, pleased with myself and very,
very determined to succeed. I looked ahead at the vista of hard
work and possible success which was laid out in front of me and I
swore an oath to myself that I would not only keep Simon and I in
comfort, I would end up keeping us in luxury. William had abrogated
any feelings I had had for him when he had decided he was going off
to war and this abandonment of us had made me lose any respect I
may have had for him as my husband and as the father of my child.
He was no longer part of my plans for the future. When, or if, he
came home, he would find he was married to a different person.”

Nana paused at this point and
Victoria took the opportunity to ask if the old lady needed another
drink.

“I think I would like another
cup of tea and could you see if there are any biscuits going spare?
This story-telling is making me hungry as well as thirsty.”

“I’ll make you a cup of tea and
I’m sure I’ll be able to find some biscuits.” Victoria said. “Do
you think we should stop for today? Do you think you are getting
too tired to carry on?” Victoria was concerned that she was forcing
her Nana to do more than was good for her, just to satisfy
Victoria’s curiosity, but she had to admit that Nana was much
brighter than she had been over the last few months. Her eyes were
bright and sparkling and there was a healthy pink glow to her
cheeks that Victoria hadn’t seen for a while. Perhaps she shouldn’t
feel guilty about this at all. Was it possible that she had given
Nana a new lease of life? Should she feel guilty that she hadn’t
encouraged Nana to talk more before now? Had the old lady been
missing out on meaningful communication? Whatever the truth was,
Victoria made herself a promise that she would spend more time
having proper conversations with her Nana.

While she was making the tea in
the kitchen, her mother came through from the shop to take a break
herself.

“Are you still sitting with
Nana?” she asked, when she noticed that Victoria was making more
tea and putting a plate of biscuits on a tray. “You don’t have to
stay with her now. She’s unlikely to get out of bed and escape
without someone seeing her during the day while we’re in the shop.
Don’t let her blackmail you into staying with her all the time.
She’s good at manipulating people and you would be a walk-over for
her.”

“No, it’s okay, Mam.” Victoria
smiled. “Nana’s telling me what it was like when she was young and
I’m enjoying listening to her. And I think it’s doing her good to
think back to her youth. She seems to be really enjoying it.”

“That’s as may be, but you’ve
got revision to do for your exams, don’t forget. You won’t get
decent marks if you don’t do the work.”

“I will get my revision done,
Mam, but I’ve got all the Christmas holidays to do it in, so a
couple of hours spent with Nana won’t make me fail any of them.
We’re both having a good time and it means you don’t have to worry
about her. Winners all round!”

“We’ll find that out when we get
your exam results, won’t we? Don’t get too clever for your own
good, my girl. You go and sit with her, but make sure you are in
this kitchen at 5 o’clock for your tea. I’m not having it spoilt
because you forgot what time it was.”

“Yes, ma’am, I mean no, ma’am, I
mean I’ll be here for my tea, I promise!”

Victoria grabbed the tray and
sashayed past her mother as she aimed the tea towel at Victoria’s
legs, then climbed the stairs with the ease of youth. Nana was
waiting for her as she entered the room, a huge smile on her face
and a sparkle in her eyes. Victoria realised for the first time
just how expressive Nana’s face was. When she was happy and smiling
her eyes lit up and she seemed to brighten any room.

“Tea is served, madam.” She
said, as she placed the tray across Nana’s knees. “And I found some
custard creams; do they meet madam’s requirements?”

“They’ll do I suppose.” Nana
answered, joining in with the role playing. “I hope that tea is in
a silver teapot.”

“Not likely, Nana. It’s a brown
pot and as plain as can be. But I poured the tea into a pretty
china cup.”

“You did, lass. You’re a good
girl. Now, do you want to hear any more of my life story today or
are you bored with it?”

“I’m not bored at all, but you
must stop when you get tired. I’ve got two weeks off school for
Christmas, so I’ve got plenty of time to sit with you. We don’t
have to get through the whole story today.”

“That’s good, cos this story is
going to take at least a couple of days to get through. I’ve never
been one for using one word when I could use ten! So, where had we
got to, pet?”

“You’d been to see Mr Vine, if
he would let you use the house he owned but you were living in, to
set up a shop to sell food from the parlour.” Victoria looked very
pleased with herself for remembering every detail of what Nana had
told her. “You said his office was in Station Road. There’s a
solicitor’s office still there, but it’s called ‘Vine and Miller’
now.”

“Yes, he’ll be my Mr Vine’s
grandson, I would think.” Nana mused. “My Mr Vine was a good deal
older than me and I can remember his son taking over, but that
would be just before the Second War. This one must be his grandson
or even his great-grandson. It’s a proper family firm, just how
things should be, passed down from one generation to the next. It’s
the same here, with your mam and dad working in the shop
downstairs, this was where I moved to, after my first shop on
Albion Street.”

“You owned this house and shop
before Mam and Dad had it?” Victoria said. “I always thought they’d
bought it after they got married, because wasn’t Dad a joiner and
working down the docks? I’m sure that was what he was doing.”

“That’s right.” Nana agreed.
“Your Dad was a joiner when your Mam met him, but after they were
married the shop got so busy your Mam couldn’t manage on her own.
And then, of course, you came along, Bia needed the help in the
shop and so Jack gave up working on the ships and worked in the
shop full time. But we’re getting ahead of the story, talking about
that. If I’m going to tell you what happened, I need to do it in
order, so that I don’t get confused. But I must admit, I’ve got a
better memory for what happened years ago than I have for what
happened yesterday. Old age isn’t being very kind to me, I’m
afraid.”

Victoria took hold of Nana’s
hand again. “Don’t worry about it, Nana,” she said. “Shall we carry
on with the story? You’d been to see Mr Vine and he gave you his
permission to open a shop in the parlour of your house. How long
did it take for you to get set up and ready to start trading?”

“Not long at all, pet.” Nana
settled herself comfortably with her back resting against the
pillow and took up the story from when she had visited Mr Vine.

“He was as good as his word, Mr
Vine, I’ll give that for him, and he sent Old Davy round at 7
o’clock sharp the next morning, ready to start putting up shelves
for me. He had an old handcart that he’d pushed from Station Road
and it was laden with wooden shelving, a couple of old tables and a
pile of tools.”

‘Mr Vine said I had to come and
put these here shelves where you want ‘em, Missis.’ he said, as I
ushered him into the parlour which I had stripped of all furniture
and fittings the night before. “And he wants to know if you can use
these old tables. He seems to think you might want them as some
sort of counter to serve from.’

“That was such a good idea and I
felt stupid that I had congratulated myself on thinking of
everything, but I’d never even considered what I was going to use
as a counter! But Mr Vine had thought of something else.”

‘The boss said you can keep the
cart as well, like.’ Davy added, when he’d finished carrying
everything into the parlour and he’d taken the cart round the back
alley and put it in the back yard. ‘He thought you might need it
for collecting supplies, like.’

“That was another thing I’d not
considered, just how was I going to carry goods from the railway
station and the docks to my shop? I’d definitely not done the
excellent planning I’d thought I had, but I wasn’t above getting
help from wherever it was offered, so I accepted the hand cart as
well and resolved that, in future, I would try to look at a problem
from every angle before I decided that I’d thought of
everything!”