Danny and Sophy catching up with them.
‘As they’ve had our grub in the caff, they can shell out for the fish ‘n’ chips,’ Geoff said.
‘Don’t work like that when you’re courting and you’re a real gent.’ Alice impishly echoed his words back at him then turned and scampered off, laughing.
‘I’ll be sorry to lose you, Alice. You’re a good worker and if things don’t come right for you round in Isledon Road I’d take you back if I had a vacancy.’
‘Thank you, Mr Wright,’ Alice said. ‘I’ll remember that.’
‘We’ve had lots of orders come in because of the war. Kiddies like to play with toy soldiers at such times. We’ll be as busy as the new factory. Overtime might be available …’ Simon Wright dangled the carrot, in his own way trying to make her change her mind about leaving. Oddly he’d miss her, he realised, and her sweet, mischievous way. He’d never forget the sight of her marching into his office on her first day at work with the vacancy notice tucked under her thin little arm.
Alice waited for Annie and they went out into the muggy evening together. Alice felt oddly nostalgic yet excited too on knowing that her final shift was behind her. At the gate she and Annie stopped and turned to take a look back at the building.
‘Ain’t sad to see the back of that place,’ Annie said flatly.
Alice looked up at the wall where the notice had been pinned. She remembered how months ago Geoff had got it down for her and she’d gone in, quaking, to plead for her job. She wasn’t glad to be going. She’d liked working there. But it had just been her start; it had never been where she’d finish.
‘I’m gonna miss you so much, Al.’
‘Going to miss you too,’ Alice muttered hoarsely and kept on folding her sister’s few new clothes. Neatly she put them in Sophy’s travelling bag. She sniffed back the dew that threatened to drip from her nose and blinked away blurring tears. ‘Can’t believe you’re really goin’,’ Alice choked out through the lump in her throat. ‘It’s come around so quick. Seems like only yesterday you announced you was off when we was in the caff with Geoff and Dan.’
Almost a month had passed since Sophy and Danny dropped the bombshell about leaving London for Essex. Now it was a Saturday in late September and at midday Sophy was getting on a train and leaving The Bunk to start her new life in service at a manor house in Essex.
‘It don’t seem real,’ Sophy said, her quavering voice betraying her nervous excitement. ‘If I don’t like it there I’m coming home,’ she added. ‘Don’t care what Dan says; if they’re horrible, mean sorts I’m coming back here, ‘n’ that’s that.’
Alice looked up, her blue eyes glistening, but she smiled encouragement at Sophy. She knew her sister would never be back, mean people or no mean people. Sophy had in her pocket her ticket to ride away from the worst street in North London. Her future was fresh air and regular grub and, please God, when the time was right for them, perhaps a family of her own with Danny Lovat. Despite all the argy bargy that had gone on between Sophy and Danny Alice knew her sister had always, deep down, never stopped loving him. ‘You’ll be alright,’ Alice mumbled. ‘It’s not as if you’re going alone and don’t know nobody. You’ve got Dan.’
‘Yeah … I’ve got Dan,’ Sophy said softly and followed that with a crooked little smile.
Suddenly Alice hugged Sophy tightly to her. ‘Don’t go doing nothing stupid for him though,’ she said gruffly. ‘Don’t go letting him persuade you to misbehave again before you’re properly sorted out together. You’ll both end up with no roof over your heads. Posh lady’ll put you off soon as look at yers if you’re knocked up at your age and livin’ in her house.’ She let go of Sophy and resumed packing her clothes.
A sheepish look and a quick nod was Sophy’s agreement to her younger sister’s wisdom. ‘I already put him straight on it all, don’t worry about that.’ She gazed intently at Alice. ‘You think I was in the family way, don’t you, not just late with me monthlies.’
Alice shrugged and glanced away, not wanting to upset Sophy on this day of all days.
‘I’ve been thinking about it a lot,’ Sophy said. ‘All that blood ‘n’ stuff … it were a tiny baby, weren’t it? I lost me baby, before it was ready, didn’t I?’
Alice’s small teeth sank into her lower lip for a moment as she considered her answer. ‘Not sure,’ she finally said. ‘If you did it’s called a miscarriage.’ She looked gravely at her sister. ‘I heard Annie talking with some of the other women at work. What they were saying about this friend of Annie’s sounded similar to what happened to you. They called it a miscarriage.’
‘Kitty at Star Brush kept dropping hints like that. I didn’t want to listen to her ’cos it made me stomach turn to think of me baby getting tipped down the bog even if he was dead. Anyhow Mum found out what she’d been saying and told her to shut her gob, and keep her nose out, so I never found out no more.’
The sisters gazed solemnly at one another, each lost in private memories. Six months ago they’d been two frightened girls bewildered by what was happening to Sophy. Now they knew what women knew and prayed they’d never need to struggle through such a time again.
‘So don’t go doing nothing stupid,’ Alice repeated hoarsely.
Any further conversation on the subject was prevented by their mother’s appearance in the doorway of the back room. ‘Ready?’ she asked Sophy. ‘Don’t want to be late and miss your connectin’ train at Fenchurch Street. Danny’s already out on the pavement waiting.’
Sophy quickly stuffed the last few remaining bits in her bag. ‘Will you come to the station with me?’ Her eyes were pleading as they met Alice’s.
‘Try ’n stop me,’ Alice answered huskily.
‘We’ll all come,’ Tilly announced shortly. ‘Bleedin’ hell! Ain’t every day one of me daughters gets a job takes her miles away across the country.’ She rolled down her blouse sleeves and buttoned the cuffs. ‘’Sides, Margaret and Bert ‘n’ all their kids are seeing Danny off. So we’re seeing you off ‘n’ all. And that’s that.’
Jack took Sophy’s bag from her and the Keiver family trooped down the dank stairs to join the Lovats congregated on the pavement. As the little party set off in a festive mood in the direction of Finsbury Park railway station some of the neighbours came out to lean shoulders on doorjambs and watch the families pass. Old Beattie Evans called out good luck and farewell to Sophy from across the road and Sophy acknowledged her with a wave and a smile. She then skipped ahead and walked beside Danny at the front of the human convoy, her expression proud and her chin high. As Alice watched the couple she felt a warm contentment bathe her insides. It looked like Sophy had subdued her butterflies and settled down already.
Alice and Geoff fell into step together, right at the back of the group, behind their parents and a clutch of their boisterous younger siblings.
‘Glad he’s off at last,’ Geoff muttered. ‘He’s been driving me up the wall goin’ on about having proper riding boots. Thought I could get him some from Milligan’s. It’s a gent’s outfitters in Islington,
