The Woolworths Girls (36 page)

‘What’s that noise? I hope it isn’t a rat. There’s no knowing what can get in here, being below ground.’ Ruby started to stamp on the wooden floor to frighten off whatever was making the scraping, scratching noise.

Sarah held her baby close. It was over an hour since the all-clear had sounded and it was getting increasingly chilly in the Anderson shelter. Would anyone realize they were trapped? Her dad would be home later that evening, and Betty was due round for her tea. Surely one of them would find them in the shelter.

‘Ssh. The noise is coming from outside,’ Maisie hissed. ‘Hello? We are trapped in here. Can you help us? It’s Mrs Caselton and her family. Help!’

They all held their breath and listened. Sure enough they could hear something close to the small opening in the door.

Freda crept forward. ‘Hello. Can you hear me? It’s Freda.’

An excited yelp, followed by loud barking.

‘It’s Nelson. Thank goodness he’s safe,’ Ruby said. ‘I was a bit worried when he didn’t come into the shelter with us.’

‘He won’t be much use. I can’t see him digging us out, and he’s not likely to go get help, is he?’ Maisie sniffed.

‘No, but his barking might alert someone. Vera from up the road reckons she can hear him a mile off and he wakes her up at night,’ Freda said.

Ruby snorted. ‘She’d say black was white if it meant she got some attention.’

‘I have an idea. Maisie, can you tear off a strip of that blanket and tie some knots in it?’

Maisie did as Freda asked, although the look on her face showed that she thought Freda was bonkers.

Freda poked the end of the rag through the gap in the door and teased Nelson, who was soon playing tug with the girl. Freda pulled the rag inside the door and encouraged Nelson to bark. ‘That’s it, boy, ask for it. Good boy!’

‘Gawd, it’s been ten minutes. I’m not sure I can stand that dog barking much more. He’ll have the neighbours complaining that I’ve got a wild dog in the garden. Look, he’s woken the baby now,’ Ruby sighed.

Suddenly Nelson stopped barking and ran off. Freda could hear him excitedly yapping and a human voice talking to him. ‘Help, help! We’re trapped in the Anderson shelter. Can you hear me?’

‘Well, blow me down. Thank goodness I came round the back way when I couldn’t get a reply at the front door. I thought you girls was playing with that mutt in the garden. I told you he was a bit on the noisy side, Ruby,’ Vera called loudly.

‘Do you think you can get us out, Vera?’ Ruby shouted. ‘Only, the baby will freeze to death in here if we aren’t careful.’

‘Baby? Oh my! I’ll go get some help. It’s only next door’s tree blocking the doorway. It’s too heavy for me.’

‘Vera, is the house still standing?’ Ruby called.

‘Some slates off the roof and a few broken windows. Nothing to write home about. A landmine dropped on the sidings up the road a bit. No one’s been hurt.’

‘That’s not so bad, then. Hurry up, Vera. I could do with me dinner.’

Two hours later they were sat round the wireless listening to the evening news. The East End had taken another battering and many lives were lost.

‘It seems strange to think that while so many people were being killed, we welcomed a new life into the world,’ Freda said.

While Maisie and Ruby had set to covering the broken windowpanes and arranging for someone to come in and look at the hole in the roof where some slates had been smashed, Freda had helped Sarah wash herself and climb into bed. The baby’s cradle was at Maureen’s house, so they’d made a bed up in a deep drawer, where she had fallen into a contented sleep wearing one of the night-dresses that Maisie had sewn by hand.

‘She’s so beautiful,’ Freda sighed as she watched over the new arrival.

‘I think we are a little biased, but I must agree with you,’ Sarah smiled as she stroked her daughter’s cheek.

‘Won’t Maureen be surprised when she finds out she has a granddaughter?’

Sarah agreed. ‘I thought she would have been round here by now to find out what happened.’

‘We don’t know what’s been going on at Woolworths this afternoon. Perhaps they are staying late to clear up. If we were affected by the landmine, they must have been as well. If you like, I’ll jump on my bike and pedal round to let her know the news.’

‘Have your dinner first, Freda. It’s been a long day for all of us.’

‘If you’re sure. I’ll go and help your nan and bring you something up.’

‘That would be lovely, thank you, Freda.’

‘It’s no trouble to run upstairs with a tray. I’ll get to see little Miss Gilbert again.’

‘No, I mean thank you for everything today. It must have been scary for you.’

Freda bent over and kissed the baby’s head. ‘I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.’

Sarah snuggled down in the bed. It would have been perfect if Alan had been there to greet his daughter. She didn’t know how she felt about him anymore. What man doesn’t keep in touch with his wife? Perhaps once she was back on her feet, she would do what Betty suggested and see if someone in authority in the RAF could tell her where Alan was. If he didn’t want to see her, he could at least know about his daughter.

The women had just finished a scratch meal of sardines on toast when there was a knock at the door. Maisie let Betty and Maureen in.

Ruby jumped up. ‘You must be famished working this late. Let me get you both something to eat. We have such a surprise for you.’

Betty raised her hand, indicating for Ruby to stay where she was. ‘Ruby, we have some bad news. Where’s Sarah?’

‘We packed her off to bed. She had the baby this afternoon while we were in the shelter.’

Rather than look happy, Maureen started to cry into her handkerchief.

Maisie took the woman in her arms to comfort her. ‘She’s fine, Maureen, and so is the baby. Why don’t we take you up to see them both?’

Maureen shook her head. ‘No, not at the moment. We have something to tell you.’

They all turned to see Sarah standing in the doorway.

‘I heard the front door. What is it?’ She looked from Maureen’s tear-stained face to Betty, who stood there looking so helpless. ‘It’s Alan. He’s dead, isn’t he?’

Betty took her hand. ‘No, my love, it isn’t Alan. We were still clearing up at the store after this afternoon’s raid and there was a phone call. The nurse knew that you worked at Woolworths and hoped that we could contact you.’

Sarah looked puzzled. ‘I don’t understand. If it’s not Alan . . . ?’

‘It’s your dad, Sarah. George was driving home in the blackout and a lorry pulled out in front of him. He’s very poorly. They’re operating at this very moment.’ She turned to look at a now ghostly white Ruby. Freda went to her as Ruby crumpled into her armchair. ‘Things don’t look good, Mrs Caselton,’ Betty added sadly.

‘Dad,’ was all that Sarah could say before falling to the ground in a deep faint.

‘The poor love. It’s been a long day and one she won’t forget for many a year. I’m so glad that Maureen stayed with her while she slept,’ Ruby said to no one in particular as she stared at the wall of the hospital corridor. Either side of her, Betty and Maisie sat and let her talk. They’d been at Erith Cottage Hospital for two hours and had yet to see George. The sterile corridor with cream walls and a simple bench echoed with the brisk footsteps of nursing staff as they hurried between the ward and a door with the ominous words ‘No entry’.

They’d been informed upon arrival that there would be no news until George had been to the operating theatre, but he was very poorly.

‘I don’t understand what happened,’ Ruby said sadly. ‘George is such a good driver.’

‘I was told little more than his car swerved to avoid something in the road and he crashed into an army lorry driving in the opposite direction. It is through the care of the soldiers that he even made it to hospital.’

Ruby nodded thoughtfully. After hearing the news and seeing her granddaughter faint, she had started to organize things so they could get to the hospital as soon as possible. It was decided that Maureen and Freda should stay with Sarah and one of them would run for the doctor if she remained in a distressed state. Ruby was of a mind that a strong cup of tea and a cuddle with her baby would be all that was needed to calm the girl.

Maisie and Betty made it clear they would accompany Ruby to the hospital, which was a twenty-minute walk on the other side of Erith.

A nurse dressed from head to foot in a white gown, her hair pulled back behind a starched cap, appeared from the door marked, ‘No entry’. ‘Mrs Irene Caselton?’

‘I’m George’s mother, Mrs Ruby Caselton. His wife is in Devon. How is my son?’

‘The surgeon will be out to speak to you shortly. I’ve organized some tea. You’ve been here for a while now.’

‘That’s very good of you, love. Can you tell me anything at all about George’s injuries?’

‘I’m afraid I can’t, but the surgeon will not be long.’

Ruby nodded and watched as the nurse disappeared through the swing doors.

‘They do a marvellous job,’ Betty said.

Maisie wrinkled her nose. ‘It’s not something I could do. Think of all that blood.’

Betty raised her eyebrows at Maisie, but Ruby didn’t acknowledge the words. ‘It’s certainly a calling.’

‘They’re nothing short of angels. Every single one of them.’

They’d just finished their tea when the surgeon appeared. He introduced himself to Ruby and pulled a chair forward to sit in front of the women. All three watched the man’s face for clues of what he was about to say.

Ruby cut straight to the chase. ‘How is my son, Doctor?’

‘He’s a very lucky man, Mrs Caselton. If there hadn’t been an army first-aider on that lorry, your son would have been in the morgue by now.’

Ruby flinched. He didn’t mince his words. ‘Does that mean he’s going to be all right, Doctor?’

‘It’s still touch and go. I’ve done my best to save his leg, but we won’t know for a few days yet if I’ve been successful. We’ve stitched up a few gashes, and he will have a scar on his forehead, but all in all he has been very lucky. They have just taken him back to the ward, so if you would like to visit him for a few minutes to see him, that will be in order. He is still sedated, so don’t expect him to respond.’

‘He’s a fighter, Doctor. I know he’ll do his utmost to get well again. He may not hear me, but I want to tell him that his granddaughter was born today. He’d be chuffed to know that.’

The doctor patted Ruby’s hand and returned to his duties.

‘So you see, your dad is very poorly, Sarah. We need to let your mother know and bring her to Erith as soon as possible.’ Betty sat watching Sarah as she explained what had happened at the cottage hospital the night before. Sarah had declared herself recovered from her faint and wanted to be out of bed and visiting her dad. However, both Ruby and Maureen had put their foot down and she was to remain in bed until they said otherwise.

‘We could telephone the golf club and ask them to tell Mum, but it may be rather a shock to hear news like that. I’m not sure what we should do, Betty.’

‘I think I have the answer, but I wanted to speak to you first.’

Sarah nodded her head and listened quietly as Betty explained her plan.

‘As you know, my car’s locked away in a garage due to petrol rationing. However, I do have a little petrol stored away for emergencies.’

Sarah raised her eyebrows at her boss. She’d never known her do anything even slightly wrong before.

Betty smiled. ‘As I said, it was for emergencies. I contacted your father’s employers this morning from my office, as they would need to know about his accident. They were most sympathetic and immediately offered to help. I explained that Irene is in Devon and, at the moment, oblivious to George’s predicament. I indicated that I would be prepared to drive to Devon and break the news to Irene.’ She raised her hand to silence Sarah as the young woman opened her mouth to protest. ‘I said that petrol for the journey was a problem and at once they promised to assist me in any way they could. It was all I could do not to cry at their generosity.’

‘Betty, I can’t let you do this. It is not your responsibility. We have no way of knowing how Mum will take the news.’

‘I’m aware of that, Sarah, but there is no other option. It would not be right to give your mother such devastating news over the telephone even if we could contact her. You are not fit to make a long journey at the moment, and your grandmother needs to be at George’s bedside at this time. Maureen and Maisie are at Woolworths, and I am promoting Maisie up to supervisor to help cover for the few days I’ll be away. I’m sure she is up to the task, don’t you?’

‘It could be the making of her,’ Sarah agreed.

‘Freda is needed here, as she has essential war work to do. So that just leaves me, and though I say it myself, I do get on rather well with your mother. We struck up quite a rapport at your wedding.’

‘Only because she knows you are not exactly working class, and also because you wouldn’t do the hokey-cokey in the middle of the street with the rest of us.’

Betty smiled at the memory. ‘To be honest, I was dying to join in, but I had no idea what to put in and what to pull out and I didn’t wish to make a fool of myself.’

Sarah burst out laughing. ‘Oh, Betty, you are a treasure. Whatever would we do without you?’

‘You said yourself I was part of your family, so I intend to pull my weight and share your family responsibilities. Whatever are you doing? You shouldn’t even consider getting out of bed.’

Sarah held on to Betty’s arm. ‘I’m just a little wobbly. I can’t stay in bed all day. I have things to do.’

‘Nothing that can’t wait. You get yourself back into bed this minute.’

‘No, Betty. I need to see my dad.’

‘It can wait a day or two, Sarah.’

‘No, you don’t understand. He’s very ill. I need to see him and show him he has a granddaughter. If I wait, it may be too late. I’d never forgive myself.’

Betty thought for a moment. ‘Right. If you promise to rest for a couple of hours, I will collect my car from the garage and then I’ll drive you to see George this afternoon, but it will only be for half an hour. Then I’m going straight to collect Irene.’