Fiona rose. ‘Now I hate to rush you but I have a meeting to attend. Gwen, a word with you about those blasted budgets; I’ve now realised that one of our assumptions is wrong.’
Edith knew she was being dismissed and saw herself out of the office, the nerve centre of the whole building. She was delighted with the result of the meeting and could not wait to tell Harry. She loved nursing with all her being but, if it had come to making a choice, the truth was that she loved Harry more. She had been prepared to give up everything to marry him. She was heartily glad that she would not have to.
‘Everything all right, Gladys?’ Alice thought that the younger woman was looking worried.
‘Oh, you gave me a fright. I didn’t know you was there.’ Gladys swung around from where she’d been cleaning the counter in the service room. ‘Do you want a cold drink? It’s warm out there today, isn’t it?’
Alice could see that Gladys was avoiding her question and decided to bide her time. ‘That’s a good idea,’ she said, although she wasn’t really thirsty. ‘I’ll get myself a glass of water, don’t stop what you’re doing on my account.’
‘I got some lime cordial around here somewhere,’ said Gladys. ‘How about a splash of that? Bet you haven’t had any for ages.’
‘Yes please. Wherever did you get it?’
Gladys scrabbled around in the far reaches of the end cupboard. ‘Here you are.’ Then her face fell. ‘To be honest, I couldn’t rightly say where it came from. My sister Evelyn gave it to me, sort of as a peace offering. We had another row. She said she would look after the little ones but then she scarpered off to the pub again.’
Alice drew cold water from the tap and carefully added a small drop of the precious green cordial. ‘The pub? Isn’t she a bit young for that?’
Gladys sighed and pushed a strand of straight dull brown hair out of her eyes. ‘Yes, you’re right. I try to stop her but she don’t listen. They let her do a bit of singing and she thinks she’s going to be a star. I’m just an old killjoy who’s out to spoil her fun. She don’t see how she’s being taken advantage of. All those men from the docks who go there … I worry about her, but the more I say, the more she sneaks out.’
Alice’s face creased in sympathy. ‘I bet you do.’
‘Think I’ll have some of that meself.’ Gladys reached for the glass bottle. ‘I try not to have it too often so it’ll last, but now and again I give in.’
‘You deserve it. You work so hard,’ Alice said. ‘Doesn’t it smell lovely? All fresh.’
Gladys took a sip, closed her eyes and nodded. ‘I feel better already.’ But Alice could see she was putting on a good front, and the worry had not left her eyes.
‘Are you on first-aid duty tonight?’ she asked.
Gladys shook her head. ‘No, not until tomorrow. Thought I’d go down to the victory garden and fetch some more potatoes.’ She sighed again. ‘That’s the other thing, all the shortages. I know I shouldn’t say it but it gets me down sometimes. Always wondering how we’ll manage. You nurses out on the district all day long, you need to be well fed, but I dread not finding enough food for you all.’ She looked around in case anyone else had heard her confession.
Alice realised that Gladys felt the weight of the world on her slender shoulders. She had grown up with such heavy responsibilities and there had been no let-up since. The war did that to everyone; despite trying to maintain a cheerful outlook or – failing that – a stoic one, it was only natural to feel despondent sometimes. The campaigns in the East and in North Africa were in trouble, the U-boats were preventing supplies from crossing the Atlantic, and rationing was biting ever harder. No wonder Gladys was slumping against the counter.
On top of that, just when she might have expected some help at home from her sister, the opposite had happened and Evelyn was refusing to pull her weight. Not only that, she was actually a cause of extra worry. It was not fair.
‘Shall I come with you later?’ she offered, feeling it was a barely adequate response.
‘Oh no, you don’t have to do that,’ Gladys said at once. ‘You done enough hard work for one day, you don’t want to be out grubbing about for potatoes.’
‘I don’t mind, I like it,’ Alice said. She took another sip of cordial. ‘Reminds me of helping out my parents when I was little. At least, I thought I was helping.’
Gladys brightened. ‘If you’d like to, then I won’t say no.’
Alice finished her drink and gave a satisfied smile. ‘It’s made such a difference, having that garden,’ she said. ‘You have worked miracles with it.’
‘Ain’t just me, you all help out,’ Gladys said immediately.
‘You do the brunt of it,’ Alice pointed out. ‘You’re too modest, Gladys. You think about what we need, work out when and where to plant it, and then pick it when it’s ready. We really just do what you tell us.’
At last Gladys gave a quick grin. ‘I like it too, really. It helps me to think, straightens out my head when I don’t know what to do with myself.’ She drained her glass. ‘Thanks, Alice. I’d better finish here and go to help Cook with the evening meal, but I’ll see you later.’ She picked up her cleaning rag again.
‘Right you are.’ Alice made her way back through the common room and into the hall, wondering how Edith’s interview with Fiona had gone. With luck she was up in her room right now, writing to tell Harry the good news. That’s what we all need, Alice thought to herself. Some good news. It seems like a long time since we had much of that.
‘What are you doing on Saturday evening?’ Mary asked a few weeks later. They were in the common room after a particularly tiring day. Alice couldn’t have said why; it was still hot, although no more than it had been for much of the summer; her patients were demanding, but only as much as they usually were. It was that background sense of constant unease, the drip-drip-drip of depressing news on all fronts. She hadn’t been able to shake it off properly.
‘Let me guess,’ Mary went on, settling herself in a comfy chair. ‘Sitting in your room reading a boring book. Or sitting down here reading a boring newspaper.’
‘They’re not boring,’ Alice began in protest but Mary took no notice.
‘Doing the crossword and then listening to more news on the wireless. Same as you do every day. Well, how about a change?’
Alice looked warily at her friend. ‘What sort of a change?’
Mary beamed. ‘Charles can get us tickets for the last night of the Proms. How about that? Wouldn’t you like to come?’
‘Really?’ Alice perked up. ‘Edie, did you hear that? Do you fancy a night out at the Albert Hall?’
Edith came across to join them, her expression slightly dubious. ‘I’m not sure. I don’t know much about that sort of music. I might not like it as much as
