Home Front Girls

handsomest man you’ve ever seen? Now find me a fellow with his looks and a fat wallet and I shall be happy.’
    Both Lucy and Dotty giggled.
    ‘So will the man you marry have to be rich then?’ Dotty asked innocently.
    ‘Oh absolutely.’ Annabelle tossed her head. ‘You’ll never find me in some grotty back street surrounded by a herd of kids. I want to enjoy myself and see the world.’
    ‘In that case I wish you luck, but this perfect man might prove difficult to find with most of our chaps away fighting the war,’ Lucy said as she took a sip of her tea.
    ‘But the war can’t last forever, can it?’ Annabelle stubbed out her cigarette and rose from the table. ‘Right – I’ll see you both at lunchtime,’ she said. ‘Bye for now.’ And with that she stalked off to the ladies, her smartly clad rear wiggling provocatively.
    Lucy chuckled. ‘She’s a bit of a one, isn’t she? But you know, I like her for all that and I hope she manages to meet her ideal man. I can’t see Annabelle settling for anything less. But come on, we’d better get a shufty on otherwise we’ll be late. See you later, Dotty.’ And with that she hurried off to the lift with Dotty close at her heels.
    *
     
    It was as they were all leaving the store that night that Lucy turned to Dotty and offered, ‘Would you like to come home with me for a bit of tea and to meet Mary?’ She sensed a deep loneliness in the girl and had taken to her, which was unusual, as Lucy had always kept herself very much to herself, especially over the last few years. Since moving to Tile Hill, Joel and Mary had been her whole world, but now that Joel was gone there were times in the long evenings when she longed for another grown-up to talk to. Of course, there was Mrs P, but when she had put Mary to bed, that was the worst time. ‘It will only be sandwiches,’ she rushed on quickly. ‘Mrs P, that’s my neighbour who looks after Mary whilst I’m at work, will have given Mary a hot meal and I don’t usually bother cooking just for myself weekdays.’
    Dotty’s cheeks glowed with delight at the unexpected invitation. ‘I . . . I’d love to,’ she stammered. After all, there was no one to rush home to and they didn’t live that far apart – so why not?
    Soon they were sitting side by side on the bus as it crawled through the darkened streets with its headlights shielded, giving off the merest hint of light. Once again it was bitterly cold and both girls shivered as they gazed through the windows, not that there was much to see. All the houses had blackout curtains tightly drawn across the windows now and it brought home to both of them just how much the declaration of war had changed so many lives. Lucy was suddenly worried about what Joel would say if he were to find out that she’d invited someone into their home. He’d always been fiercely private before he went away and guarded Mary and Lucy possessively. Of course, she knew that he had good cause to be as he was, but what harm could it do, making a friend in Dotty? Anyway, it was too late to do anything about it now so she decided she might as well make the most of it. It would certainly be nice to have someone to talk to.
    ‘You’ll like Mrs P,’ she said conversationally. ‘She’s got a heart of pure gold, and between you and me I think she’s quite enjoying caring for Mary. Her oldest son has been called up and her two younger ones have both been evacuated to the country. I know she misses them terribly. In fact, she keeps saying that she’s going to fetch them home because nothing’s happened as yet, but I don’t think that would be such a good idea.’
    ‘How sad.’ Dotty thought how difficult it must be for a mother to be parted from her children, although her own mother had obviously found it easy to abandon her. Lately, the fantasies she had woven about her true parentage had faded somewhat and she had started to feel some bitterness towards the woman who had left her at such a tender age at the orphanage. Not that the people there hadn’t been kind to her, but it wasn’t the same as having your very own family.
    The bus had arrived at their stop, and soon they were hurrying along the row of terraced houses on the street where Lucy lived. Dotty wondered how she could know which house was hers, since they all looked the same. They stood in two straight regimental lines like soldiers standing to attention, and as all the doors opened directly onto the pavement and