Home Front Girls

I’ll tell you truthfully what I think of it when I’ve read it.’
    Soon afterwards they strolled to the magazine headquarters arm in arm. Laura was waiting for them and was full of praise about the stories that had been printed so far.
    ‘They’re just so . . .’ she sought for the right words to describe them before saying, ‘simple, I suppose is the word I’m looking for, and what I mean by that is, your characters are very believable, so much so that our readers feel they can relate to them.’
    ‘There you are then,’ Robert teased. ‘If Laura says they’re good then they’re good, madam!’
    Again Dotty felt a twinge of jealousy as she noted how easy Robert and Laura were with each other. She left her book with Laura – or what she had written so far, all neatly typed – and then Robert once again insisted on taking her out to lunch.
    ‘Where would you like to go?’ he asked.
    Dotty shook her head. ‘I really don’t mind, but it doesn’t have to be anywhere too expensive.’
    ‘In that case, how about we go and feed the pigeons and call into a café somewhere for lunch? Then we might even have time to take a boat-ride along the Thames before you catch your train home.’
    Her face lit up at the thought of it as he steered her towards a taxi and soon they were at the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral throwing the seed he had bought for her to the hungry birds. There seemed to be thousands of them and Dotty couldn’t stop smiling. When they entered the beautiful building Dotty was rendered momentarily speechless, even more so when they climbed up to the Whispering Gallery and on up to the inner Golden Gallery. And then they were on the outer gallery and London lay spread around them, so changed since the beginning of the war. She was breathless by then after climbing over five hundred steps.
    ‘There’s Wimbledon Common over to the west there – look,’ Robert pointed out. ‘And over there is Tilbury Docks. That’s Greenwich and the Observatory over to the southeast.’
    Still breathless, she could only nod.
    After their visit to St Paul’s, he took her into a modest café where they ate fish and chips, and finally they sailed along the River Thames. Robert gestured at the Tower of London with his good arm and Dotty beamed. She would have so much to tell Annabelle and Lucy when she got home. She was just sad that the day had to end.
    ‘Everywhere is just so huge!’ Dotty exclaimed as she gazed about her. It was exciting to see all the buildings rearing up on each bank of the river. But even here she could not escape from the fact that there was a war on. There were very few young men about and those who were, were mainly in some sort of uniform.
    Robert smiled indulgently. Because he lived in London he took all these sights for granted, but it was gratifying to see Dotty enjoying herself, and the more she relaxed the more he thought what a truly nice young lady she was. ‘Where would you like to go now?’ he asked, having as good a time as she was.
    Glancing at the cheap watch on her wrist, Dotty said regretfully, ‘As much as I’d like to carry on, I think I ought to be heading back to the station now or I might miss my train.’ The day had passed in the blink of an eye.
    ‘Right you are then, but on the way we’ll call in for a cup of tea, eh?’
    They stopped off in a Lyons Corner House and the tea was accompanied by a sticky bun. After she had eaten it, Dotty joked, ‘It’s a good job I don’t come here too often. The way you feed me up I’d soon be as fat as a pig.’
    He shook his head. ‘I doubt that very much. You aren’t as far through as a clothes prop!’
    Again a stab of jealousy reared its ugly head as a picture of Laura’s womanly figure flashed in front of Dotty’s eyes, but she forced a smile as he chivalrously helped her back into the lovely blue swing coat that Miranda had given her. She wondered why it should bother her so much. After all, Robert had never behaved as anything less than a perfect gentleman and a friend.
    When they arrived back at Euston in time for her to catch her train she told him sincerely, ‘Thank you for another wonderful day.’
    Again he was struck by how young and naïve she was. ‘I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it,’ he told her. ‘And if ever you and your friends fancy a weekend in London, just say the word and you can stay at my flat. In your own rooms, of course,’ he said quickly, not wishing her to get the wrong idea.