The Dover Cafe On the Front Line, page 20
She looked over to Pauline, who was sitting huddled on the cushions clutching a blanket around herself. To Lily’s surprise, there were tears pouring down her cheeks.
‘Hey, Paul.’ Lily sat down beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘He seems so lovely,’ she wailed. ‘And he really likes you, I can tell. And . . . and . . . Bert just dumped me at the back gate like a sack of spuds and ran off. He didn’t even kiss me.’
‘Maybe if you weren’t half-cut then he’d have stuck around a bit.’ Nellie levelled a disapproving glare at Pauline.
‘I only had a couple.’ Pauline sniffed. ‘Same as Bert. But he don’t think I’m good enough for him, I can tell.’ She turned her head into Lily’s shoulder. ‘My dad’s right, no one’s ever gonna love me.’ She started to sob in earnest.
Lily shot a bemused look at her mother. ‘What did you say to her?’
‘Nothing. The girl stumbled down here, stinking of booze, and hasn’t uttered a word till now. I thought she’d passed out.’
‘It was bad of Bert to leave her like that. State she’s in,’ Marianne interjected. ‘I’ll be giving him a piece of my mind next time I see him.’
‘Are you drunk, Pauline?’ Donny asked gleefully.
‘Donny!’ Marianne reprimanded. ‘Apologise to Pauline immediately.’
‘But that’s what Gran said.’ At his mother’s hard stare, Donny looked down. ‘I’m sorry if I was rude, Pauline.’
Pauline didn’t respond, and Lily felt the shoulder of her dress grow wet as her friend sobbed helplessly against her. ‘Lily,’ Pauline whispered quietly. ‘Lily, I don’t know what to do.’
‘What do you mean, love?’
‘He’ll kill her,’ she mumbled.
Lily moved away and gently helped her friend lie down on the cushions. Pauline had said this before, but she had no idea what she was talking about. ‘Who’ll kill who?’ she whispered.
‘Mum,’ she said vaguely. ‘Mum.’ Her body relaxed then and she started to snore.
‘What’s she yabbering about?’ Nellie asked.
Lily shrugged. ‘She keeps saying, “he’ll kill her”, but I don’t know what she’s going on about.’
Nellie stood up and came to kneel beside them, groaning as her knees cracked. ‘Pauline, love,’ she said loudly. ‘Who’s going to kill who?’
Pauline groaned. ‘Go away. Too loud.’
Nellie shook her. ‘Pauline! Tell me now. What do you mean?’
Pauline opened bleary eyes and stared up at Nellie for a moment, then she shut them again, her head falling limply to the side.
‘We’ll not get anything out of her now, Mum. Last time she was this bad she said the same thing. I don’t know . . .’
Nellie stood up and wrapped her dressing gown more tightly around herself. ‘That’s the trouble with drunks. They talk so much bloody nonsense you don’t know what’s true and what’s not. I tell you, Lily, she don’t clean up her act, she’s got to go.’
‘You can’t throw her out! Not until her mum and dad get back. If she lives on her own she’ll drink herself into a stupor every night.’
Nellie pondered this for a moment. ‘I’ll have a chat with her,’ she said finally. ‘And I’m going to have a word with that son of mine and all. How could he get a girl into this state?’ She shook her head. ‘Like my mum always said, “Handsome is as handsome does”, so what does that make Bert?’ She sighed deeply as she poured herself a cup of tea and flicked open the newspaper.
Lily smoothed the blanket over her friend then went to sit down beside her sister.
‘You all right, Lil?’ Marianne asked gently.
‘Yeah. Just . . . I don’t know. I wish I could help Pauline; something’s really scaring her and I don’t think a chat with Mum will help.’
‘Do you want me to have a word?’
‘Would you?’ Marianne’s gentleness had soothed them all when they were growing up, so maybe she could do the same for Pauline.
‘Course I will.’
Lily gave her sister a kiss on the cheek. ‘Alfie is the luckiest man alive.’
Marianne laughed softly. ‘I don’t know about that, but I am definitely the luckiest woman. Your Charlie seems lovely too.’
Lily yawned and put her head on Marianne’s shoulder, rubbing her face against the soft quilting of the dressing gown. ‘He really is.’ She closed her eyes, her mind full of Charlie’s sparkling dark eyes and the kiss they had shared. She smiled at the memory. The more she thought about it, the more she was certain that the sparks she’d seen when he’d kissed her had nothing to do with the shells being fired across the Channel.
Chapter 25
It was just as well they were on nights, Lily thought the next morning, because there was no way Pauline was in any state to work. It had been a job to get her upstairs once the all-clear had sounded the night before, but somehow between the three of them they had managed to half-carry her to bed.
By three o’clock, Pauline was still asleep and Lily, who’d spent the afternoon thoroughly cleaning the apartment and Polly’s cage, took her a cup of tea and a plate of sandwiches.
‘Pauline!’ she shouted as she plumped down on the bed. ‘We’ve got lessons.’
‘Shh,’ Pauline mumbled from beneath the blankets.
‘Eat this and you’ll feel better. Then you can tell me why you were muttering about someone killing someone else.’
Pauline sat up and grabbed the plate of sandwiches. ‘Wha?’ she said after she’d taken her first mouthful.
‘Last night. You said, “He’ll kill her,” and that’s the second time you’ve said that when you’ve been drunk.’
Pauline swallowed her food and stared at Lily bemused. ‘I said that?’
‘Yes. And while we’re on the subject, where’s your flask? I’m throwing it away.’ She stood up and started searching through Pauline’s bag.
Pauline set the plate aside and snatched the bag from Lily. ‘Gerroff! That’s my private property.’
‘You can’t keep drinking, Paul. You never used to be like this.’
‘Well, that was before the war, weren’t it? And don’t worry. I’ll not take it to work. Will that satisfy you, little Miss Prissy?’
‘I suppose. But promise you won’t? You’ll get sacked if you’re not careful.’
Pauline shrugged. ‘Course I won’t. You worry too much. Anyway, it was fun last night at the pictures, wasn’t it?’
Lily smiled in spite of herself. ‘It was.’
‘Reckon you, me, Bert and Charlie can do a proper foursome one night?’
Lily hesitated. She doubted Bert would want to, but how could she tell her friend that? ‘Course,’ she said vaguely. ‘But once you’ve eaten, get up and get dressed or we’ll be late for lessons.’
The girls’ lectures had been delayed thanks to the constant state of emergency at the hospital, but now they were on night duty they were due to have lessons every afternoon before their shift started.
Pauline flopped back onto the bed. ‘My brain aches just thinking about it. But still, least we won’t be running into Dick Brown while we’re on nights, eh?’
‘Good point. And no cleaning!’
*
If the girls thought night duty would be more relaxing, they were soon disabused as they spent their shift either mending sheets by the dim light of a hurricane lamp, or soothing patients who, in the dead of the night, found the nightmare of war returning full throttle.
Lily was assigned to the Nissen hut with Sister MacKenzie, and she found it unsettling to be there at night. These patients were the enemy, and even though there were two soldiers posted outside to guard them, it was eerie being with men destined to spend the rest of the war as prisoners. It was worse when there was an air raid, as they had to find a way to get the men to the basement in the dark, and as Lily helped Felix, the prisoner with stomach cancer, over the grass one night, she shivered at the thought that he could turn on her at any moment.
To make matters worse, Charlie hadn’t come to see her as he’d promised. Had he had second thoughts? Lily wondered, as she and Pauline wearily made their way back home from the hospital nearly a week later. They only had one more night duty left, and she was tempted to go up to Drop Redoubt to speak to him, but would that seem desperate? She’d never felt like this about a man before, and she had no idea what to do. The boys she’d gone out with in the past had always hung around like bad smells until she was forced to tell them to do one.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the air raid siren and, as the noise overhead increased, the girls ducked into a doorway. A burst of gunfire made them jump, and peeking out round the wall they gasped as the barrage balloon that floated over Granville Gardens burst into flames. The plane responsible continued on its path, roaring over them, so close they could almost see the pilot’s face.
‘It’s got the bleeding balloon attached!’ Pauline screamed.
The girls watched in horror as the balloon was dragged up New Bridge, setting fire to an empty bus parked by the market hall before it finally detached itself and fell in a ball of flames into the market square.
‘It’s hit Lou Carter’s stall!’ Lily shouted, starting to run, Pauline close on her heels. It was too early for the stall to be open, but had she been there setting up?
To their relief, they saw the woman coming down the steps of the market hall carrying a box. She dropped it in disbelief as she stared at the scene.
‘Me fish!’ she shouted. ‘They’ve bloody blown up me whelks and eels!’ Lou ran towards her stall, trying desperately to grab a barrel from the flames. But as she did so, the flames leapt up her arm and she let out a cry of agony as she fell back.
Lily and Pauline increased their pace and as soon as they reached her, Lily dragged off her cloak and threw it over Lou’s arm, wrapping it round as best she could and patting at it in an effort to put out the flames.
Suddenly, a deluge of cold water made her cry out and she looked up to find Jasper standing above her, a bucket in his hand, his expression frantic.
‘Lily, love, are you all right?’ He reached down and pulled her up, wrapping his arms around her and dropping kisses onto her hair.
‘I’m fine, Jasper,’ she half laughed. ‘Least I was til you nearly drowned me then crushed me half to death.’
Jasper loosened his hold, but refused to let her go. ‘Never, ever, ever go rushing in to danger like that again!’ he said fiercely.
Lily pulled back. ‘Says the man who does it every day!’ She looked down at the sobbing woman lying on the cobbles. Pauline was beside her, attempting to unwrap the cape from her arm, but the woman was screaming blue murder and wouldn’t let her touch it. ‘Now let me do my job, for gawd’s sake!’
Jasper released her and she knelt down. ‘All right, Lou. Let’s get you inside and have a look at the damage,’ she said gently.
Nellie rushed towards them. ‘Jesus Christ, Lou! It’s a bit of burnt fish and a scalded arm. Stop bawlin’ like a baby, you’re scaring the kids.’
It was only then that Lily noticed that Donny, Freddie and a few other children had appeared. They didn’t look scared though; if anything they looked excited.
Nellie’s words did the job the bucket of cold water hadn’t managed, and Lou stopped screaming and opened her eyes to glare at Nellie. ‘Me arm’s just been burnt to a crisp. If you were me you’d be hollerin’ as well.’
Nellie raised an eyebrow. ‘You want a cup of tea, Lou? With a tot of brandy for the shock?’
Lou sat up, clutching her arm, and Jasper bent down to help her stand. ‘You wouldn’t be able to spare a bit of egg and sausage and all, would yer?’ she said hopefully.
Nellie chuckled as she put her arm around the woman’s ample waist. ‘Let’s see what we can do. And I’ll get Don to run for the doctor.’
‘No need, Mrs Castle,’ a voice said, and Lily jumped as Charlie suddenly appeared through the thick black smoke that had enveloped the square, a large canvas bag over his shoulder. ‘I’ll take a look.’ He grinned at Lily. ‘Like I said, always a drama around here, isn’t there? You trying to recreate the burning of Tara?’ He nodded at the barrage balloon, jumping back as Ethel Turner, her hair still in curlers beneath a scarf, threw a bucket of water over the flames. She was swiftly followed by Reenie and several other residents of the square.
Lily grinned sheepishly as she pushed her sodden hair off her face. ‘Worth a try, don’t you think?’
‘Definitely. Fancy breakfast?’
‘I wouldn’t say no. I’m starving.’ She looked down at herself and grimaced. ‘But first, I need to change.’
As they entered the café, he pulled her round and looked down at her. ‘If it weren’t for the risk of you catching your death, I’d disagree. You’ve never looked lovelier to me.’ He put his hand on her cheek. ‘God, you scared me when I saw you dash towards the flames!’
‘You saw that?’
‘I was walking down Cowgate. I’ve never run faster in my life. Don’t do that again, Lily.’
She laughed. ‘Funny. That’s what Jasper said. But when you live on the front line, you’ve got no choice but to do what you have to.’
He sighed and shook his head. ‘I suppose you’re right, but I’d prefer not to see it in the future. Anyway, before I forget.’ He took the bag from his shoulder and handed it to her.
Lily staggered slightly under the weight and peered inside curiously. ‘You remembered,’ she exclaimed, pulling out a large hardback book embossed with gold. ‘Gray’s Anatomy,’ she said reverently.
‘Not the latest edition, I’m afraid.’
She hugged it to her chest. ‘It doesn’t matter. Thank you, Charlie,’ she said with a tremulous smile, ignoring Pauline’s derisive snort beside her. ‘This is the best present you could have given me.’
His eyebrows rose. ‘I really hope I can do better than that one day. But I’m glad you like them.’ He gave her a little shove towards the stairs. ‘Now go and get changed before you catch your death, while I take a look at that woman’s arm.’
Gladys came up and put an arm around Lily, giving her a swift kiss on the cheek. ‘Well done, love,’ she whispered. Then she turned to Charlie. ‘Nell’s taken Lou upstairs. Go on up and I’ll bring some tea with a tot of brandy. You too, Pauline. Reckon you could use a little pick-me-up and all.’
Lily opened her mouth to refuse the brandy. Pauline hadn’t had a drink all week and she didn’t want to set her off again. But seeing her friend’s pale face, she shut her mouth. Gladys was right; they could all do with it.
*
Later, Lily and Charlie sat at a table by the window watching the clean-up operation in the square as the fire brigade attempted to remove the balloon. The cobbles where it had landed were blackened and the smell of burning rubber was still in the air, but aside from having to skirt around the firemen, life had returned to its normal bustling routine in the market square.
Nellie came over and placed two plates of sausage, egg and fried bread in front of them, then returned with the teapot to refill their cups. ‘Now, if you want anything else, you just ask,’ she said. Lily stifled a grin. If it had been anyone else, she’d say her mother was fawning. She stared at Charlie over the rim of her teacup. He had a smudge of soot down one side of his face and he looked tired, as if he, too, had been up all night. But the way he was looking at her, as though she had done something miraculous, made her feel warm and tingly inside, even though as far as she was concerned she really hadn’t been in much danger.
Luckily, Lou wasn’t badly injured, and Charlie had wrapped her arm in wet bandages and told her to take some aspirin for the pain and get some rest. Lou had scoffed at that. ‘What? With my stall destroyed? I’ve got stuff to do if I’m to get back up and running. But thanks, Doc. And if you ever need anything – cigs, chocolate, booze – you come to me and I’ll sort you out.’
The woman was now sitting at another table devouring her free breakfast and loudly telling everyone about her brush with death.
‘So . . .’ Charlie said. ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner. It’s been a bit . . . hairy.’
Lily raised her eyebrows. ‘What do you mean?’
He shook his head. ‘I can’t say. But, well, we’ve all been on high alert. Just in case.’
Lily felt her stomach swoop at that. ‘Just in case of what?’
He didn’t answer, but she knew very well what he meant. Had the invasion nearly happened without any of them realising it? ‘And now?’ she asked carefully.
‘Now, it looks like the RAF have managed to buy us a bit more time.’
She nodded, knowing he could say no more.
‘So tell me how you’ve found your first week of nights,’ he said, moving the conversation on to safer ground.
As they chatted, the café filled up around them and soon all anyone could talk about was the barrage balloons. Every balloon in Dover had been shot down, apparently. And several had landed on houses, so they’d been lucky in the square not to have more damage. But all of Lily’s attention was on Charlie, and as far as she was concerned, they were the only two people in the room.
‘Hey.’ Nellie’s loud voice rang across the room. She was standing at her usual post at the counter reading the newspaper. ‘Did any of you see what Churchill said about the pilots? That stuff about so much being owed by so many to so few? I reckon he’s right and all. You lot have been doing us proud.’ She nodded to a group of pilots sitting at a table by the wall. Without exception, they looked exhausted, their eyes red-rimmed and their faces unshaven.
‘He’ll be referring to our liquor bill from last night,’ one of them said, to loud guffaws from the rest of the customers.
Nellie chuckled. ‘You could be right, love. My friend Mavis at the Oak says you lot drink more than your body weight. But then, I’d say you deserve it. Just so you know, there’s no slate here, so if you’re hoping to do the same, you can hop it.’
Charlie laughed. ‘I like your mum,’ he said. ‘She’s not as bad as Jim’s been making out.’
