Home Front Girls

better now that it had been chopped off for the Army. Then he gave himself a mental shake, thinking what a soppy devil he was, and asked Lucy, ‘Who were they then? I thought we agreed to keep ourselves to ourselves. You haven’t told them anything, have you?’
    Lucy pulled away from him, her expression hurt. ‘Look, as I said, they’re friends from work. And of course I haven’t told them anything! I’m not an idiot, you know. But you can’t expect me not to speak to anyone now that I’m working.’
    Joel was instantly contrite. ‘Sorry, love,’ he mumbled. ‘Of course you have to have a life, especially now that I’m gone. It’s just that I worry, that’s all. We’ve worked so hard to put the past behind us.’
    She reached up to stroke his cheek, promising, ‘It’s all right, I understand, and never fear – I’m not about to blab to anyone.’
    They stared at each other for an instant and then she asked, ‘Are you quite sure you don’t know where they will be sending you when you get back to camp?’ It was hard to keep the edge of fear from her voice.
    ‘I honestly don’t know.’ He spread his hands in a helpless gesture. ‘It seems to be a closely guarded secret at present, but I’d put my money on France.’
    She nodded. She now read the newspapers avidly, something she had never done before, and was aware of how bad things were out there, although up until now the war did not seem to have touched the people of Coventry. She could only pray that it would end before it did, or better still before Mary reached the age where she would have no choice but to let her be evacuated.
    Joel seemed to pick up on her gloomy thoughts. Glancing at the child, he said, ‘She looks well, Lucy. You’re doing a fine job with her and I do realise how hard it must be for you, what with having to work now too.’
    She shrugged. ‘It’s not so bad now that I’m getting into a routine, although I’d never manage without Mrs P. She’s been absolutely marvellous.’
    His head dipped in agreement as he took a Park Drive out of a packet and lit it. ‘She is a real pal,’ he readily agreed. ‘And when this is all over, we’ll try and make it up to her. But now, how about a bit of home cooking, eh? The Army food is diabolical, I don’t mind telling you, and I could eat a scabby horse.’
    ‘In that case it’s a good job I just happen to have four nice juicy pork chops going begging,’ she grinned, her eyes twinkling, and leaving him to watch over Mary she sped away to start the evening meal, thinking how wonderful it was to have her brother back, if only for a short time.
     
    It was quite late when Annabelle eventually got home after spending time with Dotty at her flat, but the house was still in darkness. It felt as if she scarcely ever saw her mother any more. She was always off somewhere or other doing voluntary work.
    After letting herself in, the girl made for the kitchen, and once she had ensured that the curtains were firmly drawn, she put the kettle on. She had just spent a pleasant couple of hours with Dotty and had only left because a visitor had arrived. The woman was called Miss Timms; she was a quiet, unassuming sort, but it was clear she thought a great deal of Dotty. Dotty had been delighted to see her, but then she had admitted to Annabelle a while back that Miss Timms was the nearest thing to a mother she had ever known. Annabelle actually felt quite sorry for Dotty. She couldn’t begin to imagine what it must have been like, being brought up in an orphanage. There were times when her own mother and father had driven her to distraction, but she loved them both dearly all the same, although she wasn’t always good at showing it.
    Kicking off her shoes, she bent to massage her aching ankles. She had actually treated herself to a new pair of shoes with slightly lower heels, but her feet still throbbed at the end of each day and the icy pavements didn’t help. Her mother had tried to persuade her to get a pair of the fur-lined flat boots that were so popular at the moment, but Annabelle had drawn the line there. The shoes she had purchased were as low as she was prepared to go.
    Now as she watched the kettle gently steaming, her thoughts returned to Lucy’s brother and once again her heart did a funny little flip. Joel was certainly not the bestlooking bloke she had ever seen, and nothing like the sort she was normally attracted to, but all the same there was something about him .