Home Front Girls

thoughts from going any further. This was his last night at home and she didn’t want anything to spoil it.
    ‘I’ve made us a cottage pie.’
    He flushed when Lucy raised her eyebrows then admitted sheepishly, ‘Well, Mrs P did help a bit.’
    ‘Whoever cooked it, it smells delicious.’ Lucy ushered Annabelle and Dotty to the table. Joel had laid the cutlery on the oilskin cloth and had even managed to find a few pink chrysanthemums at the local florist. He had placed them in a vase which now took pride of place in the middle of the table.
    ‘If I’d known you were this domesticated I’d have given you a few more chores to do before you went away,’ Lucy teased her brother as he hurried to fetch the pie and the vegetables.
    The meal was a light-hearted affair with a lot of giggling and chattering. Once it was over, and Lucy had gone off to put Mary to bed, Dotty insisted on doing the washing up on her own, which left Joel and Annabelle to entertain each other for a while.
    ‘The papers are full of doom and gloom today,’ he told her. ‘Have you read them?’
    Annabelle had never been one for reading newspapers, she much preferred a fashion magazine, but not wishing to appear ignorant, she shook her head and said simply, ‘No, I don’t get time now I have to be out for work so early.’
    ‘It seems the Russians have bombed Helsinki,’ he told her quietly. ‘And the German battleship, the Graf Spee, has been sunk in the South Pacific. I can’t see Hitler being any too pleased about that. I’ve no doubt there will be serious repercussions.’
    Annabelle tried to look interested, although she really couldn’t see why this should affect them. Finland was miles away. But of course she nodded gravely before asking, ‘What exactly have you been doing during your training? Is it really awful?’
    ‘It’s not exactly a picnic.’ He shook his head. ‘The worst thing for me has been having to learn how to handle a gun. I mean, it’s one thing to do target practice when you’re aiming at a board, but quite another to know that soon you may be aiming at another human being, be he German or otherwise. We’ll be using rifles too – Lee Enfields. Powerful beasts, I don’t mind telling you! The physical training is all right, although by the end of the day all you’re fit for is to collapse on your bunk. The assault courses are quite tough.’
    Annabelle looked horrified and he said immediately, ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.’
    Speaking to Joel had suddenly brought it home to her just how dangerous the war could prove to be. Up to now it had scarcely affected her part of the world, but what if that changed? And would her father stay safe? Joel’s words had brought the reality of the war much closer.
    When the other two eventually rejoined them, Joel and Annabelle were still deep in conversation. Lucy made them all a cup of tea and they sat around the fire together to drink it.
    ‘I think I ought to get off now,’ Dotty said some time later, glancing at the clock on the mantelshelf. ‘The buses are going to be all over the place with the weather as it is, and I don’t want to end up walking home.’
    ‘Hm, you could be right. I suppose I should be making a move too,’ Annabelle agreed.
    Lucy went off to fetch their coats as Annabelle selfconsciously held her hand out to Joel, saying, ‘It’s been really nice to meet you. We’ll perhaps meet again on your next leave.’
    ‘I hope so.’ He held her hand for a fraction longer than was necessary and Annabelle felt as if it was on fire. Then quite unexpectedly, he leaned forward and brushed her cheek with his lips, making Annabelle blush furiously.
    ‘The mistletoe,’ he explained, pointing to her ear, and she laughed, pulling it out of her hair. She had had no idea that it was there, and the two others had naughtily not mentioned it.
    Joel then said his goodbyes to Dotty too and settled back into his chair as Lucy saw the girls to the front door. He was determined to make the most of his home comforts while he had the chance. God knew how long it might be before he was home again – if ever, a little voice in his head whispered, but he thrust it away. It wouldn’t do to get all maudlin on Lucy and upset her any more than she already was.
    ‘They’re nice, aren’t they?’ Lucy said when she came back to join him. ‘I thought Annabelle was a bit stuck-up when I first met her, but she’s all right when you get to know her.’