‘Oh. My. God.’ Dorothy stood and stared at Polly.
‘Bloody Nora, Pol!’ Angie had to practically scoop her chin off the floor.
‘That is some wedding present!’ Martha said, gawping.
‘Well, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer couple.’ Gloria had her hands on her hips. A look of disbelief on her face.
Rosie looked at her squad, all standing around their makeshift fire. She smiled at everyone’s reactions. She too was delighted for Polly.
As the women fired questions at Polly, wanting to know every minute detail of Lily and George’s impromptu visit last night, Rosie thought about Peter. She couldn’t help it. Any mention of the war or weddings brought him to mind. She had accepted that now.
She looked at Gloria, who she knew worried about her boys out in the Arctic. Luckily for her, Bobby and Gordon wrote regularly. Hopefully, Tommy would too. If only Peter were also able to write to her.
The women’s excitement and interrogation ended with the klaxon blaring out the start of the shift, but their questions immediately started up again when the horn sounded out the beginning of the lunch break.
They were joined in the canteen by Hannah and Olly. On hearing the news, Hannah clapped her hands and hugged Polly, all the while making a series of exclamations in Czech, which Olly translated.
A little while later Bel arrived with Marie-Anne. Polly had given Bel the go-ahead to tell Helen and Marie-Anne the wonderful news and that, naturally, they were invited if they were able to come. It being Christmas Day and all.
Polly told Dorothy, Angie and Marie-Anne to each bring a date, if they wanted. Not one of the trio seemed particularly enamoured with any potential beaux they had met at the Ritz. What followed, therefore, was much discussion as to whether or not it would be preferable to go as a girlie threesome, with the hope of meeting their own Mr Rights at the wedding. Everyone knew weddings were fertile ground for meeting one’s future husband, although, as Dorothy pointed out, that might have been the case before the war, but not necessarily now.
Rosie made everyone chuckle when she told them how Charlotte had actually jumped up and down on her bed on hearing the news last night. Secretly Rosie had been slightly dismayed that Charlotte’s enthusiasm for what she saw as the equivalent of a Hollywood wedding had been equalled by her adoration of Lily for making such a ‘sacrifice’ and being so ‘kind and generous’.
Polly told Rosie to tell Maisie and Vivian to bring whoever they wanted, and that it went without saying that Lily and George should invite as many people as they wished.
None of the women said anything, but they all knew Gloria would have given anything to be able to go to the wedding with Jack.
After Rosie had eaten her lunch, she told everyone she had to nip in and see Helen.
When she returned ten minutes later, everyone looked at her, curious as to what they had needed to chat about.
‘We’re going to be a man down – or I should say a woman down,’ she told them, her face serious as she poured herself a lukewarm cup of tea. ‘As Polly here,’ she continued, the beginnings of a smile forming, ‘has just been given paid leave of absence as of end of shift today. It’s just been sanctioned by Helen.’
Polly’s eyes lit up.
‘So,’ said Gloria, who had been in on the plan, ‘this will be your equivalent to a honeymoon. Only before the wedding, not after.’
‘Really?’ Polly’s face lit up.
Rosie reassured her with a smile.
‘Oh my goodness! That’s wonderful! Thank you, thank you, Rosie!’
Polly jumped up and flung her arms around her friend.
‘Wait till I tell Tommy!’
At the end of the shift, Polly said her goodbyes and hurried over to see Ralph and the diving team to invite them to the wedding.
Ralph declared himself ‘chuffed to pieces fer yer both’. The other two divers and the two linesmen all beamed at her and agreed that they were too. They all had a soft spot for Polly. When the younger diver asked about what to wear, Polly found herself being stared at by all five men and realised that they were worried about the Grand being so posh. When she left them, she’d hoped she’d done a good enough job of reassuring them that it did not matter one iota.
By the time she reached the admin building, everyone had gone home. She was banking on Helen working late and was right. When she walked into the main office, she saw the light on in Helen’s office. She knocked on the open door and was immediately waved in.
‘Polly, I’m overjoyed to hear the news!’ Helen got up out of her chair, wanting to go and give Polly a hug, but holding back.
‘Thanks,’ Polly said, walking into the office. ‘And thank you so much for giving me paid leave.’ Polly, too, felt an unexpected awkwardness. She hadn’t seen much of Helen since the night of her falling-out with Tommy. She still felt awful about what she’d said, and also a bit embarrassed about the state she’d been in.
Helen dismissed Polly’s gratitude with a flick of her hand.
‘I know Bel’s already invited you,’ Polly said, ‘but I wanted to invite you personally. There’s no time to send invites out.’ Polly looked down and saw Winston curled up in his basket, his two large green eyes staring up at her. It was the first time Polly realised that Mrs Crabtree’s cat and Helen had the same startling, emerald-coloured eyes.
‘You will be able to come, won’t you?’ Polly asked. ‘Obviously, I’d really like you to come, but I know the girls would too.’ This was a little white lie. They hadn’t said as much, but this was probably because they were far too preoccupied with more pressing matters, like what they were going to wear.
‘And I know Tommy would love you to come.’
Polly paused.
‘He’s asked me if you could invite Dr Parker as well? He’s not sure he’s going to be able to get up to the Ryhope to ask him personally.’
Polly saw Helen hesitate and misread it.
‘Of course, you both probably have something else planned. It is Christmas Day, after all.’
‘No, God, no,’ Helen laughed. ‘Far from it! I’d love to come. I really appreciate you asking me. And Tommy. I’d have totally understood if I was the last person either of you wanted there.’
Polly shook her head. ‘After everything that’s happened these past few months,’ she said, ‘and more so this past week, I’ve realised that life really is too short to hold resentments.’
Helen thought she heard sadness in Polly’s voice, which wasn’t surprising, but also acceptance.
‘Honestly,’ Polly said, ‘everything that happened before – when I first started at the yard – that’s in the past now.’
Helen looked at Polly. She was pretty sure she didn’t know about her declaration of love to Tommy. If she had, she wasn’t sure Polly would have been quite so forgiving.
‘So, you’ll come?’ Polly asked.
‘Of course. Wild horses wouldn’t stop me,’ Helen said. This would be the perfect excuse to bail out of the usual Christmas celebrations with her mother. With her father in Scotland, she had not the slightest desire to spend the day at home.
‘And you’ll ask Dr Parker? I know it would mean a lot to Tommy.’
‘Yes, of course.’
Polly looked at Helen.
There it was again.
The hesitation.
Helen suddenly sat back down in her chair, defeated. She took a cigarette out of her packet of Pall Malls and sparked it up.
‘We’ve had a bit of a falling-out,’ she confessed.
Polly stepped forward and sat down on the chair in front of Helen’s desk.
‘Why?’
Helen looked at Polly.
‘We haven’t spoken since you and Tommy had your huge falling-out.’
‘Really?’
Polly thought Helen looked a little guilty.
‘Why?’
‘I was annoyed after the dive,’ Helen said. ‘Blamed him for Tommy going back out there.’
Polly leant forward.
‘Oh, Helen, Dr Parker couldn’t have stopped him.’
Polly looked at her and realised her falling-out with Dr Parker had upset Helen more than she was letting on. More than she was probably admitting to herself.
‘The poor bloke’s done nothing but try and help Tommy. And – I know this for a fact – Tommy said if ‘the doc’, as he calls him, hadn’t sanctioned the dive or signed his medical certificate, he would have found someone who would. Even if he’d had to pay him.’
Helen looked at Polly.
She knew she was speaking the truth.
She took a deep breath.
‘God!’ she declared. ‘I hate apologising!’
Polly laughed out loud.
‘Now, why doesn’t that surprise me?’
When Polly left, hurrying off to her next port of call, the Maison Nouvelle for a last-minute dress fitting, Helen dialled the operator.
‘Ryhope Hospital.’
She listened.
Then sighed.
‘Yes, I’ll hold.’
After her dress fitting, Polly practically ran the half-mile from the boutique to John Street.
Hearing her coming through the main front entrance, Tommy opened the door to the flat.
‘I’ve got the rest of the week off!’ she said breathlessly, stepping over the threshold to the flat. ‘Rosie asked Helen and Helen’s given me paid leave of absence!’
Tommy pulled Polly close.
‘That’s brilliant!’ he said, taking her in his arms.
Kissing her passionately, he pushed the door shut with his foot.
Neither of them had to say it, but they were now on a countdown.
Four more days to their wedding.
But also, only five more days before they would be parted. Again.
They didn’t need to say it, but they intended to make the most of every minute of those remaining five days.