Home Front Girls

. . The kettle began to whistle and she jumped up to make herself a pot of tea. She was just getting a cup from the smart oak dresser that took up almost the whole of one wall when she heard the front door open and seconds later her mother appeared huddled up in a thick coat, a warm scarf and a pair of woolly gloves.
    ‘Hello, darling. Brrr, it’s cold out there, isn’t it? Have you been back long?’
    Annabelle took another cup from the dresser. ‘No, only a few minutes. Dotty and I went to Lucy’s for tea, but when we got there she found her brother home on two days’ leave, so we went round to Dotty’s then – and would you believe it – she had a visitor too, some woman who used to look after her in the orphanage where she was brought up.’
    ‘That was nice for them then, wasn’t it?’ Her mother took her coat off and placed it neatly over the back of a chair before saying tentatively, ‘Actually, I joined the WVS this evening. I’m going to collect my uniform in a couple of days.’
    Annabelle stared at her in amazement. ‘But I thought you’d put your name down for ambulance driving!’
    ‘I have,’ her mother said calmly. ‘But thankfully up until now there hasn’t been much need for me to do it. And even if or when there is, I’m sure I can fit the two in perfectly well.’
    Annabelle was taken aback and it struck her then just how much their lives had changed in such a short time. Just a few months ago, the most she had had to worry about was where she was going that week and what she would be wearing. Now her father was away God knew where, preparing to fight for his country, she was a shop girl, and her mother was about to become an ambulance driver and a member of the WVS!
    Seeing her daughter’s stunned expression, Miranda reached out to pat her hand. ‘Don’t look like that,’ she urged. ‘I did tell you I wanted to do my bit. But now, about these two friends you’ve made at work – I’ve heard you mention them so many times I thought it might be nice if you invited them over for tea at the weekend. Do you think they’d come?’
    Annabelle pictured Dotty’s tiny flat and Lucy’s little terraced house in her mind. They would probably both fit into half of the downstairs here, but seeing as she had nothing better planned for the forthcoming weekend, she decided it wouldn’t hurt to ask them to Primrose Lodge, though she seriously doubted that Lucy would come.
    ‘I think Dotty might come,’ she answered. ‘But I doubt Lucy will be able to.’
    ‘Oh, why is that then?’
    ‘Well, she has to look after her little sister, doesn’t she? As far as I can gather, she never goes anywhere without her, apart from to work.’
    ‘I can’t see that need be a problem; she could bring her with her too. The more the merrier, I say.’
    ‘In that case I’ll ask them both tomorrow,’ Annabelle replied, and then with a heavy sigh she got out the ironing board and plugged the iron in to start the job she detested the most. She still missed having her ironing done for her, but she had soon found out the hard way that if she didn’t do it, no one else would.

Chapter Eight
     
    The girls met up outside the store the next morning and went in together.
    ‘I didn’t expect to see you today,’ Annabelle commented as she glanced at Lucy. ‘I thought you might decide to have a day at home with your brother, seeing as he hasn’t got a very long leave.’
    ‘I must admit the thought did cross my mind,’ Lucy admitted with a guilty grin. ‘But then it will be nice for him to spend some time with Mary, and I shall see him tonight, shan’t I? This place is short-staffed enough as it is, and I wouldn’t have felt right making things worse.’
    ‘Then you’re a better person than I am,’ Annabelle growled. ‘Just give me a good enough excuse and I wouldn’t set foot in this place again, apart from to shop here. I tell you, this job has been a real eye-opener for me. I never realised how much work went into keeping a store running smoothly.’
    ‘Things will calm down again after Christmas,’ Dotty said hopefully. ‘People are spending money at the moment like it’s going out of fashion. I’m sorry about last night, Annabelle. I wasn’t expecting a visit from Miss Timms, but you would have been quite welcome to stay.’
    ‘Yes, and I’m sorry too,’ Lucy piped up. ‘You could have knocked me down with a feather when I found Joel at home, and after I’d promised you both