The Woolworths Girls (11 page)

The world was going mad, but she’d ignore all of that and just concentrate on those who ventured under her roof. Time for everything else later.

9

‘Sit yourself down, Alan. She won’t be long. Would you like a cup of tea?’

‘Not for me, thanks, Mrs Caselton.’

Ruby wiped her hands on her pinny and sat down opposite Alan. Her cheery face for once had no trace of a smile. ‘Now, lad, I’ll ask you this before Sarah gets herself downstairs. I don’t want her thinking I’m fussing over nothing.’

Alan loosened the thick woollen scarf round his neck. He suddenly felt a little too warm. It was unusual to see Sarah’s nan so serious. The only sound in the room was that of coals settling in the grate and the ticking of the clock as he waited for Ruby to speak. He’d expected Sarah’s dad to ask about his intentions towards Sarah, not her nan.

‘Now, you might think me worrying when there’s no need, but it’s that contraption of yours out on the pavement. Is it safe?’

Alan relaxed. Early on a chilly March morning was not the time to have a conversation about his feelings towards Sarah. Anything else, he was more than happy to discuss. As his mother was always saying, there was a time and place for everything.

‘That’s no contraption, Mrs Caselton; that’s Bessie, the love of my life.’

‘Whatever you call it, lad, it looks none too safe to me, and there you are about to put my granddaughter on it and drive off God knows where.’

‘It’s as safe as houses. There’s no safer motorbike in the whole world,’ Alan said proudly. ‘I’ve tuned it to perfection and every part is tickety-boo.’

‘Well, you just make sure that you bring her back here in one piece. All I’ll say is you won’t get me on one of those contraptions. I’ll keep my feet firmly on the ground, thank you very much.’

‘There’s no need to worry. I’d not do anything to harm a hair on Sarah’s head. She’s too precious to me to put her in danger.’

Ruby’s stern face softened. She’d watched the young couple as they’d gradually got to know each other since Christmas. Alan’s mum, Maureen, had grown up with Sarah’s dad, George. The whole family were a hardworking, decent lot. ‘I know that, lad. It’s obvious to anyone who looks at the pair of you that you have something special. It makes my heart proud to know Sarah’s met a boy who’ll take care of her.’

Alan felt his face start to go red. Sarah’s nan was a good sort. Even so, he was embarrassed to talk about his feelings to someone when he’d not yet discussed them with Sarah. He cleared his throat. ‘Mum and Dad did their courting on Bessie. I remember Dad always polishing and tinkering with her when I was a small kid.’

‘He was a good man, your dad, and taken far too soon. You’re a lot like him.’

Alan grinned. ‘Do you think so? He died when I was ten and sometimes my memory isn’t that clear about him. I’m lucky so many people knew him.’

Ruby patted his knee before rising to her feet. ‘There’s many that do, Alan, so rest assured you’ll never be short of a person around here who can tell you about your dad. Now, let me go shake that granddaughter of mine or it’ll be teatime before you even leave the house.’

Ruby left Alan sitting by the coal fire and went to the foot of the steep staircase in the narrow hallway and bellowed up to a closed door, ‘Sarah, get yourself down here or I’m putting my coat on and going off with this boyfriend of yours for a jaunt. Freda, come down here as well before the teapot goes cold.’

She glanced back over her shoulder to where Alan was looking thoughtfully into the fire, nervously clutching a pair of leather gauntlets. He seemed to have something on his mind. Ruby liked the boy. Sarah could do much worse than settle down with Alan, but not just yet. She’d only known him a short while and it was best that youngsters enjoyed themselves and had some fun before they thought about settling down with babies and the like. Yes, time for such things in the future, and hopefully not for a few years. Ruby preferred to think of her great-grandchildren not coming along just yet.

‘So where are you off to today?’ Freda asked as she peered at her face in Sarah’s dressing-table mirror, dabbing a touch of scarlet lipstick to her lips before pulling a face and scrubbing it off with her handkerchief. ‘It can’t be dancing with all that clobber you’re wearing.’

Sarah pulled a second jumper over her head before leaning towards the mirror. ‘Budge up and pass me the lipstick. Alan’s taking me for a ride on his motorbike. I’m not sure I’m wearing the right clothes, but at least I’ll be warm.’ She pouted as she added a dab of red to her lips, pulling a couple of curls from the confines of a red beret that sat jauntily on her head. ‘That’ll have to do.’

Freda gave her a sideways look. ‘You look good in anything. I looked like I’d been dragged through a hedge backwards after five minutes on Alan’s bike, and he’d only given me a ride round the block. So where are you going?’

‘I’m not sure, but he’s been going on about taking me somewhere special for ages. Now the snow has cleared, he said it was time. It’s the wrong time of the year to go to the coast, although I’ve hinted like hell. Dad has always told me about the trips he made to Margate and on the paddle steamer to Southend when he was a kid. I’d love to go when the weather’s a bit warmer.’

Freda nodded. ‘Me too. Living in the Midlands, I’ve never been to the seaside. Let’s go when we have a day off in the summer, shall we?’

‘It’s a deal. We can take Nan with us for a treat. She’s been an absolute brick putting up with the pair of us.’

‘I wanted to talk to you about that.’ Freda suddenly seemed glum. ‘I’m going to look for new digs as soon as possible. Ruby’s been great taking me in since Christmas, but I don’t want to put on her too much. It’s best I move out and find somewhere else. Maisie said she’d ask around and find something for me.’

Sarah sat on the edge of her bed looking downcast. ‘There’s no need. You’re not putting anyone out. Dad still has somewhere to sleep when he comes up to Erith to stay, and Nan says you’re good company. No one wants you to move out. Please don’t. It’s like having a sister to live with.’

Freda almost gave in and agreed, but she knew that she couldn’t risk bringing trouble to Ruby’s doorstep. However much she had settled into day-to-day life in this riverside town, she had to remember she was here for a reason: she had to find her brother. Moving out was the best thing. ‘I won’t be that far away. After all, I’ve still got to get to work. Ay up, that’s your nan calling. You’d best get yourself downstairs or Alan won’t wait much longer and you won’t get to ride on his motorbike at all.’

‘I’m not sure I want to go now. I wasn’t much looking forward to it, and now you’ve sprung your news on me, I’d rather stay home.’

Freda grinned and nudged her in the ribs. ‘Don’t be daft. Just hang on to Alan for dear life – you’ll be OK. I’m sure you’ll enjoy that.’

Sarah nudged her back. ‘Less of that, please!’ However, secretly she couldn’t think of anything better than being close to Alan. Unless it was being held in his arms while he kissed her. Of late his kisses had been more passionate, more demanding. Sarah knew he held back, but there were times she wondered what would happen next. She increasingly wanted to find out but knew that they would be letting down their families if anything came of their closeness. She sighed. Oh, to be married and be able to stay with Alan as his wife. She felt her cheeks redden at her thoughts and stood up to leave the room in case Freda noticed.

‘What do you plan to do on your day off?’

Freda shrugged. ‘I might go and visit Maisie, see if she wants to go to the pictures. Her Joe’s working a long shift, so she’s stuck at home with her mother-in-law.’

‘Well, have a good time and tell Maisie I’ll see her at work tomorrow. I want to find out how she likes working in the china department.’ The three girls had been kept on at Woolworths after Christmas and the previous week had been given permanent duties in different parts of the store. Freda was kept busy on the household goods counter, while Sarah had been transferred to a counter selling books and stationery.

Freda agreed that she would and kept quiet that the real reason she was visiting Maisie was to go to see a room that was advertised on a card in the newsagent’s window. Maisie would be able to check things out and wouldn’t let Freda be browbeaten into paying too much. She’d miss her cosy room in Ruby’s house, but she had to stick to the plans that she’d made back in December when she’d moved to Erith.

‘Are you warm enough?’

Sarah nodded as she sipped the hot cocoa that Alan handed to her. She didn’t like to say that her cheeks were numb with cold and she didn’t think she’d ever be able to speak again. So much for the romantic notions she had of holding on to Alan as they drove through the Kent countryside. She felt as though every bone in her body ached from bumping over the stony roads, and her head buzzed from the roar of the bike engine. They’d stopped at a small roadside cafe and Alan had left Sarah sitting beside a rather sad coal fire while he fetched their drinks.

‘We’re nearly there, but I thought you’d like a bite to eat before we reach our destination.’ He looked around the cafe, which was empty apart from a young woman, cigarette hanging from the side of her mouth, frying eggs behind the counter. ‘It’s nice here, isn’t it?’

Sarah didn’t know what to say. It certainly wasn’t what she’d been expecting when Alan said he was taking her out for the day. She knew he was excited at showing her something of his life, but she still didn’t like this cafe. She decided not to answer just in case she said the wrong thing.

‘The place is usually buzzing with bike riders and cyclists, but I suppose it’s still a bit too cold for many of them to come out. I’m sure you’ll meet some of them another time,’ he grinned.

Sarah groaned inwardly. There would be another time? ‘That will be nice,’ she said, just to be polite.

The woman put a plate in front of them and Alan bit into his fried-egg sandwich with relish. ‘Tuck in. These are the best around. People ride miles for one of Milly’s egg sarnies.’

She nibbled the sandwich, feeling the greasy fried egg moving around her mouth. It was hard to swallow. She held her breath and forced it down. ‘I’m not very hungry, Alan. Nan made us a big breakfast this morning.’ She slid the plate across the cracked oilcloth table cover. ‘Here, you eat it. It’s a shame to waste good food.’

Alan took the plate and squirted brown sauce in between the slices of bread. ‘We’ll just have this and be on our way. We should be there by midday.’

It can’t be the coast, then, Sarah thought to herself, although she couldn’t face the time it would take to reach the Kent coastline on the bike. ‘Where are we going?’

Alan grinned. ‘All in good time. The only hints I’ll give you is that I’ve spent many a weekend there, and it was Dad who got me interested.’

Sarah didn’t know much about Alan’s dad apart from the fact that he had died fifteen years ago, when Alan was only ten years of age, from injuries sustained during the Great War. Ruby had mentioned that Burt Gilbert had never been a well man, but had provided for Maureen and his son by repairing motorbikes and bicycles from a small workshop behind their house in Crayford Road, where Maureen and Alan still lived. The house almost backed onto Ruby’s house in Alexandra Road, with just the small railway sidings in between their back gardens that led from Erith docks. When sleep eluded her, Sarah often looked out across the darkened railway line to Alan’s house and thought of him sleeping in his room.

‘Right, let’s get moving or we’ll never be there in time.’

‘In time for what?’ Sarah asked as she pulled on her coat and checked the clips securing her beret were in place.

Alan winked. ‘You’ll soon see.’

‘Are you sure we’re allowed to go in here?’ Sarah looked at the sign for the Royal Air Force, Gravesend, that stood proudly outside the entrance to the airfield. ‘There seems to be a lot of people in uniforms.’ She hung on to Alan’s arm as he pushed the motorbike towards a barrier across the narrow road, where an officer was checking names on a clipboard. She dared not let go, as not only was she frightened of entering such an official area, but she was also trying hard to keep the one mouthful of egg sandwich in her stomach. The bumpy ride and the greasy food had not made her first motorbike journey an enjoyable one.

‘It’ll be OK. They know me here,’ Alan said confidently as he waved to the airman with the clipboard.

‘Hello, Alan. We’ve not seen you for a while. Go straight through. You’ll find Syd out near the airfield.’ He nodded to Sarah. ‘I’ll just make a note of your name, miss. Security has tightened up of late,’ he added as Alan looked at him with a frown. ‘You can park your bike around the back of the hangar.’

‘Things have definitely tightened up,’ Alan said as he steered the bike towards a large, shed-like building.

Sarah could see a couple of aeroplanes inside, with others on the expanse of grass outside. Under normal circumstances she would have been interested in the scene unfolding in front of her, but the airman’s words about security and seeing so many men in RAF uniforms had her worried. ‘Why are we here, Alan?’