Betty stopped to speak to yet another customer who asked after her health. She wasn’t surprised when most of these short conversations turned to the events of Ruby’s wedding party at the Prince of Wales public house. Again and again she made the right noises and excused herself, saying she had work to attend to. She knew that most people were genuinely concerned, but couldn’t help think that a few of the women were simply being nosy and revelling in the misfortune of others.
Deciding to keep her head down and hurrying as fast as her expanded girth would allow, she headed back towards her office, ignoring someone calling out her name until she was tapped on the arm.
‘Are you going deaf?’ a familiar voice asked.
‘Oh my goodness, Maisie, you are the last person I expected to see today. I’m sorry, what I meant was . . .’
Maisie laughed. ‘There’s no need fer you ter apologize ter me – I’ve come in ter apologize ter you.’
They’d reached the door that led up to the staff area of the store. Maisie opened the door for Betty to go first. ‘Why would you need to apologize to me, Maisie?’
‘Because it’s highly unlikely that I’m going ter be able ter come into work fer a while, wiv David needing me while he’s in ’ospital and the children ter consider.’
‘Let’s go upstairs and chat about this in my office, away from prying eyes,’ Betty said as she spotted several shoppers looking in their direction. ‘Sarah is in there working on the books, and I’m sure she’d like to stop for a chat.’
Maisie had hoped Betty would say just that. ‘I’m not taking you from yer work, am I?’
‘I’m more than ready to have a break,’ Betty said, stopping midway to take a breath.
Maisie thought her friend looked rather flushed in the face. ‘You need ter take things easy, Betty; you ’ave under a month ter go now and should really be putting yer feet up. I’m surprised head office are even allowing you ter remain here.’
Betty stopped again and took a shuddering breath. ‘Phew, I am rather tired,’ she gasped. ‘I’ve been marching around the shop floor for an hour inspecting the counters. Cecil was supposed to have done it, but I was told he went downstairs and disappeared out the front doors. There – I’m at the top of the staircase. I promise not to go down again until it’s time to go home,’ she grinned.
‘Thank goodness it’s half day shopping,’ Maisie muttered as she followed Betty to her office. ‘Now you go and sit down, and I’ll pop into the staff canteen ter see Maureen and cadge us all a cuppa, as well as a bite ter eat. I’ll be back shortly.’
‘It should be me looking after you, not the other way round,’ Betty admonished Maisie, ‘but I’ll not say no.’
‘Was that Maisie’s voice I heard?’ Sarah asked as she moved from the one comfortable seat in Betty’s office over to a hard bentwood chair reserved for visitors. ‘Here, you have that seat and rest your feet.’
‘Thank you. I’ll be glad when I’ve had this baby and people stop telling me to rest,’ Betty said with a sigh as she sat down.
‘Believe me, people will ignore you after the birth. They will only have eyes for your child.’
‘It won’t bother me in the least,’ Betty grinned. ‘Now, how have you been getting on? I hope the books aren’t in too much of a state after I allowed Cecil to take them on? The paperwork is overdue for head office, and there will be an almighty complaint if we miss the deadline. It’s never happened in all the time I’ve taken charge, and I’d hate it to happen just as I’m leaving.’
Sarah had found it to be a nightmare balancing the ledgers but didn’t want to worry Betty unduly, although there was something she couldn’t let slide. ‘We can meet the deadline for head office, but I’ve uncovered something rather worrying. It is most likely something I’ve not entered from the stock lists, and you will spot it and tell me where I’ve gone wrong, I’m sure.’
‘Let’s have our cup of tea with Maisie, then I’ll take a look. You’ve made such a difference since you came back to Woolworths, Sarah. Why, my office has never been so tidy.’
‘You don’t have time to do everything, Betty. You’ve been chasing up Cecil for some time now – in fact, I’d go as far as to say you’ve been carrying him. Is there nothing head office can do about that man?’
‘Believe me when I say I’ve tried. With his uncle protecting him, I’ve not been able to get a complaint through to anyone higher in the company. I live in hope he will move on to another job, and then we can all breathe a sigh of relief.’
‘Not all the time he’s picking up a very nice pay packet every week,’ Sarah said. She didn’t like to mention that the man earned more than Betty did, which wasn’t fair at all.
‘Open the door,’ Maisie called from the corridor outside, and Sarah jumped to her feet and helped her friend bring in the tray of tea and sandwiches. ‘Corned beef sandwiches wiv some of Maureen’s home-made pickle. Me mouth is watering already.’
The friends sat chatting with Maisie as she updated them on how David was progressing. It was now two days since he’d been stabbed by Fred Dawson, and with another operation that morning, Maisie was keen to see him come visiting time.
‘Would you like to use my telephone to ring the hospital?’ Betty asked as she brushed crumbs from her pretty cotton maternity dress, which had been borrowed from Maisie.
‘That’s very kind of you. It may be a little early fer news, but you never know,’ Maisie said, reaching into her bag for the telephone number of Erith Cottage Hospital.
‘Let’s have a look at the problem you noticed in the ledgers,’ Betty said to Sarah, turning away to give Maisie some privacy while she spoke to the ward sister.
Sarah pulled her notes forward on the desk and pointed to a discrepancy between the stock sheets and the sales taken on the electrical counter. ‘I can’t understand how we’ve ordered so much more stock for that department, but sales are the same as they’ve ever been. All I could think was that we’d over-ordered and the goods are still in the storeroom, but lasts week’s stock take shows otherwise.’
Betty was silent as she ran her finger down the columns, then picked up the stock sheets. ‘Well spotted, Sarah. I can only think that when the stock count was undertaken, something was missed out.’
‘Could we do a recount of those items?’ Sarah asked. ‘We have the past week’s sales figures, so I’ll be able to tell if we’ve missed something off.’
‘Yes, that would make a lot of sense.’ Betty looked up at the clock on the wall. ‘We only have half an hour before the store closes. Would you be able to stay behind, and we could do it then?’
‘That’s not a problem for me. Nan has Buster, and Georgina is at school. She knows not to expect me, as I said I’d do a bit of shopping on the way home. Freda is downstairs in the shop. Shall we ask her if she can stay a while and help?’
‘That’s a good idea. Can you ask her now, and also get hold of Cecil and tell him to lock up? Perhaps not mention that we’re checking the stock?’ she added as an afterthought.
Sarah nodded in agreement. They both understood that the less Cecil knew, the better. ‘I’ll pop these ledgers back on the shelf for now,’ she said.
‘I’ll lock your notes in my desk drawer,’ Betty added as Sarah left the room, taking the empty cups and plates on her way out. She quickly rinsed the bits and pieces in the canteen kitchen, as Maureen had gone home for the day, and then headed downstairs onto the shop floor. She stood taking stock of the counters as customers made their final purchases. Already one supervisor was by the four large doors, holding a bunch of keys. She nodded to Sarah and smiled as she shifted from foot to foot, indicating how tiring her job could be and that she’d be grateful to head for home. ‘It looks like it will rain before too long,’ she said as they both peered out at the sky. ‘I hope I can get home and take my washing in before the heavens open.’
Sarah smiled. It was a common problem with the women who had families to care for, and one of the reasons she hadn’t wished to work after Alan came out of the RAF. She prided herself in caring for her family, even though they lived with Maureen and could share the housekeeping duties. She was still in a dream about having her own home one day soon when she spotted Cecil hanging around by the electrical counter. He seemed to be attracted to that section like a magnet, but at least this time he was serving someone, she thought to herself, hurrying to catch him before he did one of his disappearing acts. He wasn’t one to hang about come closing time. How he could take his wage packet each week without having it on his conscience, she didn’t know. ‘Ah, Mr Porter,’ she said as she reached where he stood, adding ‘Excuse me’ to the man who was with him. ‘Mr Porter, Mrs Billington asked me to inform you that you are to lock up this afternoon, please. She will be leaving herself once she has finished her meeting.’
Cecil nodded and turned his back on her. Sarah shrugged her shoulders. She had passed on the message, and now intended to get back upstairs and look into the discrepancy she’d spotted. Hopefully there would be a simple answer to the problem, as she didn’t want to think what else could be the cause.
‘Here she is,’ Betty said, as Sarah reached the top of the staff staircase. ‘Maisie’s going to help us for a while. Three heads will be better than two.’
‘How about four heads?’ Freda asked, coming up the stairs behind Sarah and following them into the storeroom. ‘Didn’t you hear me calling out to you?’ she asked, nudging Sarah’s arm.
‘I’m sorry, I was miles away. Are you sure you want to help us check stock?’
‘If it means I get to spend some time with my friends without us being surrounded by children, then I adore stocktaking. As much as I love them all, I miss the days when it was just us,’ Freda said with a smile. ‘Do you know it’s over six years since we all met here? I was thinking about it the other day, when I was going back over old times and thinking of the fun we’ve had – and the sad times when we’ve supported each other. It’s made me think more about the future now that Sandy’s gone and my brother and Sally have moved to Erith. I’ll be an auntie soon as well.’
‘You are already an auntie to our children,’ Sarah said gently.
‘I know, and I love them all as if they were my own flesh and blood, but you know what I mean,’ Freda said. ‘Then we all lost our mums within a year or so of each other.’
Maisie sniffed. ‘I’m so glad I met all of you. Gawd knows what would have become of me if I’d not decided to come fer that interview fer a job.’
Sarah gave a small laugh. ‘My goodness, look at the four of us. I suggest we get this job done, and then go to the staffroom and have a chat. Maisie will have to go off soon to see David. Was there any news?’ she asked.
‘He went down for his operation late, so they said not ter go up there until around three. So I’ve time ter help you.’
‘Would you like me to come with you?’ Freda asked. ‘It would be company if you have to sit about for a while.’
Maisie gave Freda a quick hug. ‘I’d like that a lot. Now, what is it you want us all ter check? I take it Cecil’s at the bottom of all this?’
Betty groaned. ‘Who else? Right – if you two can count the light bulbs, Freda can help me count the boxes over here. I’ll note down what we have, and we can take these back to my office and check them there.’
The women worked as quickly as they could, checking electrical stock and calling out figures to Betty. As they worked they could hear staff coming upstairs to collect their coats and calling goodbye to each other.
‘I think we have everything. Let’s get back to my office and check these against the numbers in the ledgers,’ Betty said as she picked up her notes and headed out of the storeroom.
‘Why don’t I put the kettle on?’ Maisie suggested. ‘I don’t know about all of you, but I’m spitting feathers after working in that dusty room.’
Sarah went with Betty to collect the ledgers and the notes locked in Betty’s desk, and they settled down in the staff canteen to work while Maisie raided Maureen’s small stock of food. The store fell quiet as closing time came and went as the town started to drift into half-day closing.
‘I’ve found it,’ Sarah shouted in glee, causing them to jump in their seats. ‘Look here.’ She pointed to the figures from when Cecil had undertaken a stock count. ‘Now look here. Can you see how he’s changed the numbers?’
Maisie squinted at the rows of numbers. ‘I ain’t that good with figures. Are you saying he’s nicked our stock and tried ter cover it up?’
‘I’d say you’ve hit the nail on the head, but we need more proof,’ Betty said with a smile. ‘I shouldn’t be wishing ill on a person, but as far as Cecil Porter is concerned, I’m rather pleased he’s been found out. Shall we agree to keep this to ourselves until we can catch him red-handed?’
‘The more proof, the better,’ Freda said. ‘You don’t want him to wriggle out of this and continue working here. It would be hell, and he’d make us suffer. I’d be interested to know what he’s been pinching?’ she said, looking over Sarah’s shoulder at the scribbled notes.
‘Mainly light bulbs; but there are smaller numbers of other items that all come from the one department,’ Sarah said, pointing to her findings in the stock lists.
‘The horrid chap is flogging it all on the black market. Don’t you just ’ate people like ’im? Mind you, he’s got an eye fer the market, what with light bulbs being in short supply.’
Despite the seriousness of what they’d uncovered, Betty couldn’t help but smile. Throughout the war, Maisie had been the one person in her group of acquaintances who could lay her hands on things that were in short supply. She always knew a man who could find just what she wanted, be it a lipstick or a pair of nylons. Where did she think these things came from? They were stolen from somewhere.
‘Do you think we should tell the police?’ Sarah asked. ‘It would be wrong not to try to do something.’
‘But if Betty informs the police they’ll speak to Woolworths head office, and then Cecil’s uncle might warn him. Perhaps we should have a word with Mike Jackson, but make it a friendly chat rather than an official report?’ Freda suggested.
‘I agree. Perhaps we could also think of a way to catch him out?’ Betty said as she stretched and rubbed her back. ‘Ouch – I think I sat still for too long.’ She started to stand up before doubling over in pain, gripping the back of her chair for support. ‘Oh my goodness,’ she exclaimed. ‘It can’t be the baby, surely?’ She gasped as a spasm shot through her.
Maisie and Sarah hurried to Betty’s side to support her. ‘Have you had any pain before this?’ Sarah asked.
‘Since this morning I’ve had a nagging pain in my back, but I put it down to scrubbing out the kitchen cupboards last night when I couldn’t sleep, and then walking around the shop floor for a few hours earlier this morning.’
Maisie raised her eyebrows at Sarah. ‘This could well be it. Freda, would you be a love and use Betty’s telephone ter ring Douglas? Tell him Betty needs ter get up ter the Hainault fairly quickly.’
‘The telephone numbers are in my diary on the desk,’ Betty said as she winced and held her breath. ‘This is too early. I shouldn’t be having this child for at least a few more weeks. There must be something wrong. Please hurry, Freda.’
‘I’ll just be a few seconds,’ Freda said as she hurried to the door that led from the canteen and pushed hard. ‘That’s strange – the door won’t budge.’ She gave it a hard shove, but it refused to open. Taking the handle, she pushed and pulled, then rattled it as hard as she could. There was a slight clunking noise, but the door still did not open. ‘Someone’s bolted the door from the outside,’ she reported back to the other three women.
‘That would have been Cecil,’ Sarah said. ‘Why the silly man couldn’t check inside rooms before he locked up, I don’t know.’
‘No doubt hell bent on escaping the store at closing time. This will definitely be going down on his staff record,’ Betty said in between gasps. ‘That’s if we ever get out of here.’
‘We will,’ Sarah said as she made soothing sounds and rubbed Betty’s back, although she looked very worried.
‘If we can’t, then it’ll be the first baby born in this store; although, Maisie, I recall young Ruby was almost the first? Thank goodness I have two experienced friends to support me,’ Betty said.
‘Three,’ Freda said, although she looked more than a little worried. ‘I was present when Sarah gave birth to Georgina, and the Fire Service gave us a leaflet on what to do if we were ever faced with this sort of situation again.’
‘Was it very helpful?’ Betty asked, looking a little more hopeful than she had a few seconds earlier.
‘To be honest, I never got round to reading it properly. I had to change a wheel on my motorbike and got oil all over it.’
Maisie laughed out loud. ‘We’ve got ourselves into a few situations in the past, but this one takes the biscuit. Let’s think about who knows we’re ’ere. Betty, will Douglas be collecting you, by any chance?’
Betty tried to think as she walked around the room, using the edges of tables for support. ‘No, he is attending an important funeral down in Belvedere. He told me not to get the bus but to telephone for a taxi-cab. I’d meant to do it earlier but forgot.’
Maisie turned to Sarah. ‘How about you?’
‘Nan has Buster, and Georgina doesn’t have to be picked up from school for a while. Gwyneth had offered to get all the kids. I told Nan I had a bit of shopping to do, and then I was going to walk up to see Alan in his workshop.’
Maisie’s eyes lit up. ‘So Alan would be expecting you?’
Sarah shook her head in disappointment. ‘No, I was going to surprise him.’
Before Maisie could ask, Freda spoke up. ‘Sorry, no one is expecting me either.’
‘So we’re up the creek wivout a paddle,’ Maisie declared, looking worried, before trying hard to smile in order to keep Betty in good spirits.
‘What about you?’ Freda asked.
‘Well, I’m not expected at the hospital till late afternoon and I doubt anyone would be worried if I didn’t turn up. David will be too groggy ter notice I’m not there. I’d like ter know how he’s doing, though,’ she added, looking sad.
‘I could do with another cup of tea,’ Betty said. ‘Let’s be thankful that Maureen keeps a tight ship and the room is clean. There could be worse places to give birth.’
‘Does this count as overtime?’ Freda asked, making them all laugh out loud.
‘I’ll get the kettle on and see if there’s anything we can make use of,’ Sarah said.
‘I could make use of something ter eat,’ Maisie called as she rattled the doors of some metal lockers that lined one wall. ‘Look – one of these is open.’ She whooped with delight, but soon looked glum again as she pulled out Maureen’s comfortable work shoes, a cardigan and two crossover pinnies she wore when working in the kitchen. ‘Oh, well, it was worth looking,’ she said, pushing the metal door closed.
‘We may need the pinnies and cardigan if Betty needs to lie down on the floor,’ Freda suggested. ‘You can have my overall as well if it’s needed. It’s a clean one, and I’m wearing a petticoat underneath,’ she added in response to Maisie’s wide-eyed look.
‘You can have mine as well,’ Sarah called as she poured boiling water into a large teapot. She wasn’t sure giving birth on a hard linoleum floor would be very comfortable, although at least it was clean, as Maureen was particular about her work area. ‘I found some bread pudding in a tin. I’m sure Maureen won’t mind us having a slice or two under the circumstances.’
‘It wasn’t supposed to be like this,’ Betty said as Freda wiped her glistening brow with a tea towel dipped in cold water.
‘Sshh. Save yer energy,’ Maisie said as she checked the time on her wristwatch before making sure the makeshift bed hadn’t come adrift as Betty writhed on the floor. ‘I’ve never been so ’appy ter see so many clean tea towels and tablecloths under Maureen’s counter.’
‘They’ve been there since the last Christmas party,’ Sarah said. ‘No one knew what to do with them with Maureen still off sick from work.’
Betty gave out a low, gutteral moan. ‘It’s not supposed to be like this,’ she repeated, rolling her head from side to side. ‘I’m supposed to be in the maternity home with Douglas waiting outside. He’s not even finished painting the baby’s room.’
‘Your kid’s coming whether Douglas has finished decorating or not,’ Maisie said, trying to sound cheerful. She checked her watch again. ‘Here, Freda, sit down wiv Betty while I get a drink. Watching someone give birth is thirsty work,’ she laughed, beckoning to Sarah to follow her to the kitchen area.
‘She’s not looking good, is she?’ Sarah said, looking over to where Freda was again wiping Betty’s face.
‘It’s a first baby, and she’s getting on a bit. She should ’ave a doctor or at the very least a midwife who can ’elp her,’ Maisie said, her face showing her worry now that Betty couldn’t see her.
Sarah tried to wipe the memory of the bad time she’d had with Buster. She wouldn’t wish that on her deadliest enemy, let alone Betty, who was the sweetest, kindest woman in the whole wide world. ‘We need help, don’t we? This isn’t something we can do alone.’
‘I’m just going to get some fresh water. I’ll only be a few minutes,’ they heard Freda reassure Betty, who waved a limp hand to acknowledge the young woman’s words.
Freda hurried over to the two women. ‘I have an idea,’ Freda said. ‘I reckon if I go out on the roof like we used to when on fire duty, I could call out to someone for help.’
Sarah’s stomach lurched. She’d never liked doing fire duty at the best of times, but she knew the roofing hadn’t been repaired properly. Some of the balustrade was missing, and there were loose tiles. Betty had been pushing head office to get it repaired this past year, but to no avail. It was either an excuse about budgets or simply a lack of staff in the maintenance department, due to the building department being needed to rebuild stores damaged in the bombing. Erith Woolworths was a long way down the list of stores requiring repair work. ‘I don’t know, Freda. It could be dangerous. We don’t want you injuring yourself.’
‘Or it would be a case of one born and one gone,’ Maisie said grimly.
‘Look at her,’ Freda hissed. ‘If we don’t do something, Betty could die. We can’t wait here until staff arrive for work tomorrow morning.’
Sarah shook her head. ‘No, we won’t have to wait that long. Nan and Alan will be out looking for me in a few hours.’
‘Freda’s right. Besides, they will see the store locked up and won’t ’ave any idea we are in ’ere. As grim as it is, Freda’s idea is the best one we have.’
‘Then I’ll have my cuppa and head up on the roof.’
‘I have a question,’ Sarah said. ‘How will these people, whose attention you are trying to attract, get into the store?’
‘That’s buggered up that idea,’ Maisie said.
‘You need to throw the keys down to them,’ Betty said from where she’d crept up behind them.
‘Blimey, you made me jump. Shouldn’t you be lying down and resting?’
‘I’m sick of resting, Maisie. Strangely, I feel better when I’m upright and moving about,’ Betty said, before doubling over and using a word none of the girls had ever heard her say before. After a minute or two she breathed out slowly and gave them a grin. ‘See, it’s much better standing up.’
‘I’m glad you think so, as I went through all of that with you,’ Maisie said, reaching for her tea. ‘It’s a shame we don’t have a drop of the hard stuff to put in our cups.’
‘Freda, take the store keys from my handbag and hang onto them. You seem to be our only chance of getting out of here before the morning. Whatever you do, please go slowly and take care,’ Betty said, giving her a smile. ‘If you can’t face going up on the roof, then I’ll understand.’
Freda could see that Betty really needed help, even though she was putting on a brave face. There was a glimmer of fear in her eyes, and her face through the shimmer of sweat was ghostly white. Freda picked up her tea and drained the cup as quickly as she could. ‘Right, I’m ready to do this now.’
‘You’d best put yer overall back on or you’ll scare the natives, going out there in yer petticoat,’ Maisie pointed out, and the girls all started to giggle at the thought of Freda climbing over the roof of Woolworths while improperly dressed. Even Betty laughed out loud before gripping her tummy as another contraction ripped through her body. Freda gave her one look and hurried to the tall sash-cord window that looked out over the rooftops of Pier Road. Still buttoning up her maroon Woolies uniform, she swung her legs out onto the crumbling slate roof before turning to wave to her friends.
‘Here,’ Sarah shouted, hurrying over, ‘you need the keys.’ She grinned, passing them through to the young woman.
Freda hadn’t progressed more than half a dozen steps when she encountered a problem. The earlier rainfall was causing her feet to slip and slide on the slates. She backed up to the windowsill and perched on the edge as she removed her shoes and stockings, throwing them through to Maisie. ‘That’s better,’ she declared before working her way up a slope to the narrow pathway that bordered the front of the building. Holding onto a nearby chimney-stack, she looked around her. It was now drizzling, causing anyone who would have been in Erith when the shops had closed to hurry home to keep dry. How long would she have to stay up here until someone passed by?
Creeping closer to the edge, she gripped the low wall and gulped as large lumps of brickwork came away in her hands. To think she’d spent long hours up here firewatching while enemy planes soared overhead. She shuddered as the memories washed over her. Closing her eyes, she went back in her mind to those fearful nights spent on the roof with her mates as they put out fires and looked out over the roofs of Erith. Thank goodness this damn war was now over and they could sleep safe in their beds. If it meant that people like Sandy were locked up to keep her country free, then so be it. She’d rather die a spinster than marry someone who worked for the enemy. She was so engrossed in her memories that she almost missed the sound of jolly whistling down in the street. Praying the edge of the roof wouldn’t give way, she leant forward to see where the sound came from and grinned as she spotted who it was.
‘Norman!’ she shouted as she saw Norman Missons, the owner of the ironmonger’s across the road, bringing in a display of galvanized buckets that had been in front of the shop. Norman’s wife, Charlotte, was Brown Owl of the brownie pack where Freda helped out, and their daughter Molly, who was away working in the Land Army was her good friend. ‘Norman, up here!’ she called out again, more urgently this time.
Norman looked around him. He recognized that voice. Looking up, he spotted Freda. ‘Whatever are you doing up there? You know the roofs need repairing in this road. You could fall and kill yourself!’
‘We need your help,’ she called out. ‘We’re locked in, and Mrs Billington is having her baby.’
Norman couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. Still holding the metal buckets, he crossed the road and shouted back, ‘What was that you said?’
‘We’ve been accidentally locked in the canteen upstairs, and Betty Billington is having her baby. Here,’ she called, throwing down the keys to the store. ‘Can you let yourself in and come up the staff staircase to the first floor and unbolt the door to the canteen, please? We are in there. Please hurry,’ she shouted, knowing that Betty couldn’t last much longer and needed medical help.
‘I’ll be with you in two ticks,’ Norman shouted back as he rushed into his shop to call his wife to help.
Freda climbed back across the roof and down to the window of the staff canteen, where she tapped on the glass pane for someone to let her back in.
‘Did you see anyone?’ Sarah asked as she helped Freda back into the room and passed her shoes to her.
‘Thankfully Norman Missons was still in his shop and heard me. I’ve thrown the store keys down to him and he should be opening up very shortly. Thank goodness we can get help before the baby arrives!’
She’d hardly stopped talking when a feeble wail was heard that grew louder and louder.
‘Baby Billington was in a rush ter get into the world,’ Maisie beamed from where she was on her knees helping Betty. She held up the wailing child, who was wrapped in a couple of Maureen’s best tea towels. ‘Meet the latest member of staff. Our youngest Woolworths Girl ever.’