20

‘Gosh, what a day,’ Sarah said as she stood watching Betty lock up the main doors of the store. ‘There was a time I never thought we’d get to the bottom of that business with Mr Harrison. I’m grateful you had a friend at head office who agreed with our plan to catch him red-handed; and Nan played a blinder. You know, it’s going to be like old times, with you back in charge of the store.’

Betty checked her bag. ‘I want to take this gift to Ruby straight away, to show how much I appreciate her help. It’s a silk scarf.’

‘That’s very generous of you; Nan will love it. I’ll walk round with you, as I must collect Buster, who’s been helping Bob up at the allotment since he came out of school. Georgie’s playing with one of her school friends and will make her own way home at six o’clock. Alan should be home by then. He’s off out tonight at the amateur-dramatics group.’

‘Tell me more. I had no idea Alan was outgoing enough to perform onstage.’

‘We have Maisie’s Claudette to blame for that. You know how keen she is to sing at any opportunity?’

‘She does have a lovely voice.’

‘She joined the group a few months back, and it seems they have a shortage of male performers. She talked Alan into going along – he thought it was to help behind the scenes, but once there he was given a small part and he loves it.’

‘Well, I never,’ Betty exclaimed. ‘I can’t wait to see him perform.’

‘Now, tell me all about Clemmie being engaged. I was so surprised when she mentioned it this afternoon.’

As they walked along Manor Road towards Ruby’s house, being careful of the traffic as they crossed the busy road that led down to the Slade Green and Crayford marshes, Betty explained about the wedding and how Douglas had caved in, allowing Clemmie to marry, although he’d wanted her to wait a few more years.

‘There’s no reason to wait, when Jimmy already has a home, but I don’t envy her taking on two children.’

Betty sighed. ‘In so many ways it echoes my own life, as I too married a widower although, as you know, I was a lot older than Clemmie. Of course when I was a little younger than Clemmie is now, I could have been married, if it weren’t for the Great War, but we waited, and then it was too late . . .’

They stopped at Ruby’s gate in Alexandra Road as Sarah put her arm round Betty’s shoulders. ‘But look at you now. Surely it was meant to be?’

‘Yes, but I can’t help feeling that I need to support Clemmie as a young bride, as I see so much of myself in her, even though she is my stepdaughter and not a blood relative,’ she said, giving a sudden shiver.

Sarah was concerned; she’d never seen Betty acting like this. ‘Come on, let’s get you inside. You must be freezing to shiver like that.’

‘I’m not cold, I just can’t help shake off this feeling I have that something will go wrong. You must think I’m silly?’

‘Not at all. I’ve often had a sense of foreboding, and I’m not usually wrong,’ Sarah replied as she pulled the string tied to the key of the door. As she ushered Betty in front of her into the house, she put a hand to the back of her neck, rubbing it thoughtfully; yes, she too wondered if all would be well with the young couple, although she wished Clemmie and Jimmy all the best.

‘You shouldn’t have done this,’ Ruby scolded Betty as she ran her fingers through the silk scarf appreciatively. ‘I’m only too happy to help you out. And to think you are now back at the store, and in charge, is such good news. And now to hear there is a wedding in the offing . . . What a day!’

‘It certainly is. Clemmie is to be married at the end of February next year and there’s so much to arrange before then. I have no idea about the church, let alone booking a place for the wedding breakfast,’ Betty sighed. ‘I may be able to run a branch of Woolworths, but arrange a wedding; well, I’m not so sure.’

Ruby was thoughtful. ‘At least, being early in the year, it won’t clash with our young Queen’s coronation.’

‘Oh, Nan, I doubt anyone going to Clemmie’s wedding will also be attending the coronation,’ Sarah chuckled.

Betty nodded. ‘I agree with Ruby. People will either want to go to London to cheer on our new monarch or stay at home and watch it on the television. Alan will have a very busy year.’

‘Of course. I’d not given that a thought. How sad it is that some people would prefer to watch the coronation on a television set in their front rooms rather than jump on a train and go to London. I know my family will benefit from the sale of all the televisions, but I fear for our children if they miss out on seeing real events. These days our Buster would rather visit his Granddad George and watch sport on television than attend his boxing club. I find it rather claustrophobic, sitting in a room with the curtains drawn so that we can see the picture,’ Sarah said.

‘I quite like it,’ Ruby replied. ‘I was at George and Maureen’s the other day and watched a programme about walking through Wales. And there I was in my slippers, with a plate of biscuits by my side. Anyway, getting back to this wedding, why not ask Maisie to make the frocks? After all, she sells wedding gowns in her Bexleyheath shop. I bet she would run up a few outfits and give you a discount.’

‘Oh, I don’t mind paying the going rate. I don’t expect any favours,’ Betty said, thinking how embarrassed she would feel if Maisie was to offer to work cheaply for her. ‘I’ll have a word with Clemmie, and we can telephone Maisie to make an appointment. She’s thinking of having two bridesmaids: Dorothy and Claudette. My two youngest are far too young to behave properly on the day.’

‘Oh, bless them, I like nothing better than to see the little ones running amok in church in all their finery,’ Ruby chuckled.

‘Only because they aren’t your children,’ Sarah chortled. ‘Do you remember Freda’s wedding, when Buster played merry hell and hid under the skirts of her wedding dress? I could have died of embarrassment.’

Betty smiled. ‘I’ve no doubt the children will get up to all sorts at Clemmie’s wedding.’ The smile dropped from her face for a moment. ‘It is such a shame Clemmie’s real mother isn’t here to see her walk down the aisle on her father’s arm; I’m sure she would have been so proud of the beautiful young woman she’s become.’

Sarah kept quiet about the fact that Douglas’s first wife came from the upper classes and would not have approved for one minute of her daughter marrying a man with two children, let alone of her working in Woolworths. ‘It will be a wonderful wedding and I’m sure Maisie would do you proud. Do take into consideration that it will be pretty chilly in February, so perhaps a woollen suit for yourself and warm undergarments for the bride and bridesmaids.’

‘That’s a good point, thank you,’ Betty said. ‘I’m still unsure about the church. Clemmie isn’t worried as long as she can marry her Jimmy, and he seems to be of the same opinion, not being a churchgoer.’

‘But don’t you have to attend a church, or be associated to it in some way, to marry there? I know, when Alan and I married, the vicar at St Paulinus was accommodating as he knew you, Nan.’

‘He buried my first husband,’ Ruby explained. ‘I do have an idea. What about St Augustine’s in Slade Green? The store did so much to help the British Restaurant based in the church hall during the war.’

Betty looked thoughtful. ‘I do have a connection to the church and visit once a year with Douglas on Armistice Day.’

‘You do?’ Sarah looked confused. ‘You’ve never mentioned this before.’

‘It is something I have always kept to myself, but perhaps now is the time. You must recall my fiancé, Charlie, and his death at Ypres during the Great War?’

‘I do,’ Ruby said, reaching for a handkerchief. ‘It was a sad time in your life.’

‘And for many women. However, it is through Charlie that I met my Douglas, as they served together at that time.’

‘I recall the palaver when he sought you out,’ Sarah said through misty eyes. ‘It was a very special time.’

‘It was. We visit St Augustine’s church each year to pay our respects and to think of Charlie, whilst looking at his name engraved on the war memorial.’

‘I hope you don’t mind me asking, but didn’t Charlie come from Woolwich?’ Sarah asked.

‘His late mother’s parents lived down the Green and it was they who requested that his name be added to the memorial, as he spent so much time there as a young boy. I was overjoyed when I found out, as it gives us somewhere to visit and think of Charlie. There was no grave in Ypres, although his name is engraved on the memorial at the Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium. Charlie and I plan to visit one day.’

‘It wouldn’t be my choice of place to visit,’ Ruby shuddered, ‘but I can see why you would want to pay your respects. I wonder what would have happened if he’d survived?’

‘I’d never have known any of you, or worked at Woolworths. It is strange to think how our paths would have changed . . .’

The women fell silent as they thought of Betty’s past life.

‘I honestly feel the Reverend Donald Mills would be delighted to hold Clemmie and Jimmy’s wedding in the church, but it would help to attend a few services, to be on the safe side,’ Ruby winked.

‘I will write to Reverend Mills and make myself known to him. Thank you for your advice, Ruby. To see Clemmie and Jimmy marry there would warm my heart.’

‘You could ask about hiring the church hall for the wedding breakfast at the same time,’ Sarah suggested. ‘That’s if you don’t wish to hold it in a hotel somewhere?’

‘That is certainly food for thought,’ Betty said. ‘I have a lot to think about, but for now I must bid you both goodbye and get home to my brood. Clemmie will be thrilled to know I’m making headway with the plans, as all she can think about is decorating Jimmy’s bungalow in Belvedere to make it feel more like her own. The darling boy is going to move back in with his parents, so that Clemmie can do as she pleases and not disrupt the children.’

Vera nodded her approval. ‘He sounds like a lovely lad.’

‘Do you think you should let Freda know your good news, as she hurried off before it was announced?’ Sarah suggested.

‘I’ll certainly do that at the earliest opportunity,’ Betty replied.

‘Clemmie is a lucky girl,’ Ruby said as she showed Betty to the door.

‘I’m the lucky one, being able to help Douglas’s daughter arrange her wedding, and being accepted by Clemmie as a replacement mother. Being the new store manager, and with a family wedding in the offing, everything seems right in my world,’ she sighed, before kissing Ruby and Sarah goodbye.

‘Whatever has happened?’ Freda asked as Tony slammed the telephone down. ‘I’ve never seen you like this?’

‘I’ve never felt like this before,’ he replied as Freda hurried to him and flung her arms around his neck to give him a hug, before leading him into the front room, where she sat next to him on the settee. ‘I fear I have let you down.’

‘Don’t ever say that, my love. Without you my life would be worthless,’ Freda consoled him, still unsure why he was so upset.

‘I went to meet you at the store and, as I was climbing the staff staircase, I overheard something. I could only think of getting home and contacting head office to ask what’s happening.’

‘But why are you angry, when the store manager’s job is as good as yours? That’s why I hurried home to telephone you. I didn’t expect you to be here already, not that I’m not pleased to see you.’

Tony frowned. ‘I’m not sure what you mean. I rushed back here to ring head office about my position, rather than wait for you.’

‘Oh dear, this is all getting very confusing. Mr Harrison has been given the sack and that horrid floorwalker, Alfred Argent, has been taken to the police station. It seems they were in cahoots to swindle Woolworths. After it had all been sorted out, Mrs Cathcart started to announce there was to be a new store manager . . . It’s you, my darling husband,’ she beamed, trying to put her arms around Tony as he stepped back.

‘Oh, Freda darling, you’ve got it all wrong. Betty Billington is to return as the new manager, effective immediately.’

Freda thought back quickly to what had been said at the store – she’d been so wrapped up in Tony returning as manager that she had misunderstood what had happened – before bursting into floods of tears.

‘Don’t upset yourself, my love. I can be angry for both of us. Think of the baby and our William asleep upstairs.’

Freda sniffed into the handkerchief he gave her. ‘What makes me so angry is that while I sat in the office, watching the whole sorry story unfold, I started to feel a glimmer of hope that you would be recalled to take over the store. Not once did Betty, or Mrs Cathcart from head office, mention that Betty was to be manager. It got to the point when I had to leave. I wanted to speak to you, as the excitement was unbearable. I’m sorry you had to hear the news like you did.’

‘And I’m sorry you had to get so upset,’ he said, taking both her hands. ‘What a pair we are!’

‘Indeed we are. Do you think you’ve burnt your boats, shouting down the telephone as you did? I suppose we could always uproot and move to the coast and run a teashop . . .’

Tony gave a harsh laugh. ‘We will soon find out, as I’ve been told to go round to the Wheatley Hotel this instant, because Mrs Cathcart is staying there overnight and wishes to speak with me.’

Freda was livid. ‘No doubt throwing you a few crumbs, or perhaps even giving you your cards. If she offers you something not worthy of your training, you are to refuse it, do you hear me? You are worth more than that. Besides, there will be other positions, perhaps at Sainsbury’s or the Co-op.’

‘I promise you I’ll do just that,’ he said, stroking her cheek while thinking that nowhere would be as good as working for F. W. Woolworth. ‘Now I’ll be off. Are you sure you’ll be all right on your own or should I walk you and William over to Ruby’s, so that you have company while I’m gone?’

‘Oh, be off with you! I’ll be fine,’ she laughed, forcing herself to look positive, even though she wanted to howl her head off and throw a tantrum over the unfairness of the situation. She pushed him towards the front door. ‘However, if your meeting takes a long time, I would love fish and chips for our tea; we will need something to cheer ourselves up.’

‘The food of the gods,’ he laughed. ‘Put your feet up and rest until I return. William should be fine, as his nappy was changed before he was put down for his nap.’

Freda lay down on the settee and propped up her aching feet on a cushion. As much as she adored carrying Tony’s baby and being spoilt rotten with new clothes from Maisie’s shop, she’d be pleased when the child arrived and life got back to normal – if it ever would, with Tony’s position at Woolworths being such a problem and two children to care for, with possibly no income. She wriggled and moved her position a few times, being unable to get comfortable. ‘Oh, blow it, I’ll go over and see Ruby,’ she muttered, pulling herself up on her feet.

Writing a note for Tony, she pulled on a cardigan, then hurried upstairs to collect a complaining William, who did not want to be wakened from his slumbers. Opening the front door to go over to number thirteen, she spotted Betty walking away from Ruby’s. Fury erupted inside her and she hurried as fast as her aching legs would carry her, whilst holding her son on her hip. ‘Betty, I’d like a word with you,’ she called out.

Betty turned towards Freda, about to smile, until she saw the angry look on the girl’s face. ‘Freda, is there a problem?’ she asked, although she had a feeling she knew what it was.

‘You may well ask,’ Freda gasped, holding onto a garden wall with one hand while trying to catch her breath. ‘Have you no idea that you’ve taken the position that was promised to my Tony?’

Betty reached out to touch Freda’s arm. She looked as though she’d collapse at any minute. ‘You need to calm down; it’s not good for you or the baby. Here, let me take William while you compose yourself,’ she said gently.

Freda wrenched her arm away. ‘I’m fine. What have you done to my Tony’s career prospects? They’d as good as promised him a permanent position as manager, and you’ve taken it from him.’

Betty sighed. ‘Tony is not due back in work for some months; surely his work with the Olympic team will last until the Games in July?’

‘No, he was due back for the last month before my confinement and at that point was taking up his management duties, but you’ve put paid to that now. I thought you’d retired?’

Betty felt as though she been cornered. Blinded by the thought of returning to the job she loved, she had forgotten about Tony. ‘I’m sorry. Perhaps I could put in a word for him to be my under-manager?’

Freda was horrified. ‘What? He has had more training and has been a replacement manager more times than you’ve had hot dinners. I thought you were a friend, Betty,’ she cried out, before turning to walk back to her house.

Betty went to follow her. ‘Please, Freda, I don’t wish to fall out with you over this. Can we talk more?’

‘I never want to speak with you again. You’ve destroyed my dream,’ Freda spat back before hurrying across the road and slamming her front door.