The next morning before she left for work, Polly went to have a quick word with Agnes, who was in the scullery and had just finished wrapping up her freshly made sandwiches in greaseproof paper, and was now slicing up the loaf of bread she had baked yesterday to make toast for everyone’s breakfast.
Polly murmured a few words quietly to her mum, who nodded her agreement before opening up the back door to let Tramp out for her morning ablutions.
As Polly walked back into the kitchen, Agnes shouted over her shoulder, ‘Good job your old ma’s gone soft, isn’t it?’
Polly let out a loud laugh and shouted back, ‘Touché, Mother!’
She then sat down next to Bel, who was trying to get Lucille to eat her porridge before she was allowed to go off in search of ‘Trampie’ – the name she had taken to calling her new, real-life toy. It hadn’t escaped Bel’s notice that her daughter’s raggedy bunny had been somewhat neglected since the arrival of the new four-legged addition to the Elliot household.
‘I just wanted to check you’re sure about what we chatted about a few weeks ago?’ Polly asked, not wanting to elaborate, as Lucille didn’t miss a trick, and Polly didn’t want her niece getting excited about something that might or might not happen.
Bel looked blankly at her sister-in-law. It took a few moments for the penny to drop and for her to catch on to what Polly was talking about – or rather not talking about.
‘Ah, what we discussed during the evening of toffee, broken biscuits and sweets?’ She laughed. ‘Yes, of course I’m still up for it! I’ve actually had to stop myself getting too excited – you know – just in case …’
‘I know,’ Polly agreed. ‘You never know, there may be complications because of her age …’
‘But, yes,’ Bel said, her face looking young and happy. ‘Definitely. Tell Gloria we’ll all have to meet up – and soon.’
Polly gave her sister-in-law a big hug. ‘Thanks, Bel. You’re a star,’ she said, before grabbing her work bag and gas mask and heading out.
As she walked to the south dock she had to wait for a ferry, as the one she normally got was full; the sunny morning had pulled people out of their beds and on to the streets just that little bit earlier than normal.
‘Sorry, Polly. There’s not even room for a little un like yourself!’ Stan the ferryman shouted over to her as he closed the landing gate. ‘Be back as soon as we can!’
‘No bother, Stan!’ Polly shouted back. She’d still make it to work on time, and it gave her a few moments to daydream about Tommy; she had just received another letter from him, which she had already read to Bel, and which she was going to enjoy rereading to the women later on.
But, before she did so, she needed to grab Gloria for a quick cuppa and see what she thought of her suggestion. The baby wasn’t due until the start of August, which meant she still had another twelve weeks to go, but the way the days seemed to be flying by at the moment, her due date would be upon them before they knew it.
*
Five hours later, when the midday horn sounded out, Polly dumped her welding mask on the ground, switched off her machine, and headed across the yard to where she knew she’d find Gloria.
‘Eee, that crane suits you, Glor! You won’t want to come back to us lot,’ Polly shouted out to her friend.
Gloria was sitting in her tank-like metal box, just staring out to the North Sea. She was lost in her own world. On hearing Polly’s voice she swung her gaze around and smiled.
‘I love it here! Give me a moment and I’ll manoeuvre this elephant-like body of mine out of this cage.’
Polly watched as Gloria swung her legs around and heaved herself out of the crane driver’s box. She stepped on to the flat concrete expanse of the yard, which was just starting to quieten a little as workers sat down to have their lunch.
‘I’ve got a proposition for you,’ Polly said, as they both settled themselves on two metal chairs Gloria had managed to acquire from the draughtsman’s office. She was now at the stage in her pregnancy whereby she might well be able to sit down on the ground, but there was no guarantee she would be able to get up.
As they poured out their cups of tea from their flasks and unwrapped their packed lunches, Polly gawped at Gloria’s two rounds of sandwiches, which looked as though they had been filled with an entire jar of strawberry jam.
‘That baby’s going to end up with the biggest sweet tooth ever – either that or it’ll hate anything even remotely sugary.’ Polly chuckled.
Gloria laughed. ‘I know. If it’s a girl I think I’ll just call her “sweetie” – or “sugar”, like the Yanks do.’ She took another big mouthful, sighed contentedly and lifted her face to the sun.
‘So,’ she said, wiping jam from the corner of her mouth, ‘you’ve got me curious. What’s this proposition all about?’
Polly swallowed her own ham and pease pudding sandwiches, which had been a special treat from Agnes, who Polly was convinced was buttering them all up so that they’d be fine about keeping the dog.
‘Well, you know you said you wanted to stay on working in the yards after you’ve had the baby … and that the foreman is keen to have you back as soon as possible …’
‘Yes,’ Gloria said, now looking more serious.
‘But, you didn’t know if you could because you didn’t have anyone to look after the baby during the day when you’d be working here?’
‘Yes.’ Gloria was looking more and more intrigued.
‘Well, you know my ma looks after a load of the neighbours’ children while they’re out at work … and that she’s now got Bel there helping her …?’
‘Yes,’ Gloria said, her voice getting louder with hope.
‘And that Bel’s great with children and, let’s face it, she has only ever wanted one thing in life – to be a mum …’
Gloria could not contain herself. ‘Oh, if I think you’re going to say what you are, then, yes please! That would be fantastic!’
Polly beamed, seeing how overjoyed her workmate was. ‘You couldn’t want for anyone better to look after your baby,’ Polly gushed. ‘She really is the best.’
Gloria hadn’t met Bel, but she felt as if she knew her, as Polly had talked a lot about her sister-in-law: how understanding and supportive she had been when she was going through her rollercoaster of a love affair with Tommy, how she’d always been there for Polly, whether she needed a shoulder to cry on or just a good old gossip, and, of course, how devastated she had been when she had lost Teddy.
‘That’s all sorted then. I’ll organise a time for you to come round for some tea so you can meet Bel. Ma might even bake a cake!’
Gloria eyes lit up as she polished off her lunch. ‘Ah, thanks, Pol. You’ve all been so brilliant. What with Dorothy getting me this job and everyone being so nice about everything. I don’t know what I’d do without you lot,’ she said.
They were both quiet for a while.
Polly wanted to tell Gloria that they didn’t know what they would do without her either; that she had helped them and been there for them all over the past nine months. She had taken on the mantle of mother hen from when they had first arrived in the yard, and kept a watchful eye on them all ever since, only stepping in if it was necessary. And, she had taken control the night Rosie had been attacked, and dealt with Jack when he had turned up so unexpectedly and seen what had happened.
Which brought Polly back to the present.
‘Any idea what you’re going to do about Vinnie,’ Polly lowered her voice, ‘or Jack?’
What Polly was really asking, of course, was whether or not Gloria was going to come clean about who the baby’s father was. They had chatted about it before, and Polly could understand why Gloria had not told Jack she was pregnant before he went off to America – he might well not have gone, for Gloria’s sake, but they all knew just how important these new Liberty Ships were going to be in the war.
Now, though, that the yard’s owner, Cyril Thompson, had returned, and issues regarding the production and construction of the new ship had been more or less dealt with, Jack’s work was done. He was due back any time soon. And, boy, Polly thought, was he going to get the shock of his life when he saw Gloria.
‘I’ve no idea,’ Gloria answered honestly. ‘I feel I’m stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea. I know it’s not right to let Vinnie think the baby’s his, but at the same time, if I tell Jack it’s his, there’ll be a holy war on. Can you imagine what’ll happen if Miriam finds out. And Helen … They’ll make it their life’s mission to totally destroy Jack – and me. I could cope with it if it was just me, but it’s Jack who will lose everything – his job, his family, his good standing. He’ll be an outcast. And I know Miriam will make it nigh on impossible for him to get another job anywhere else – especially with the contacts her father has. God, he practically runs this town. Or certainly the business side of it.’
Polly nodded her head in agreement. She certainly didn’t envy Gloria, and could not see how she could possible resolve the situation happily. She also knew that the last thing Gloria wanted was for it to even cross Jack’s mind that she had done the same as Miriam and had conned him into being with her by getting pregnant unexpectedly.
As Polly got up to go back to the women welders, Gloria asked, ‘How’s Angie getting on?’
Polly chuckled. ‘Let’s just say it’s been an amusing few days. Poor Rosie, I don’t know how she manages to keep her cool. Honestly, Angie and Dorothy are like the female version of Laurel and Hardy. It’s like being back at school most days.’
‘And how’s the little bird coping?’ Gloria asked.
Polly’s face fell. ‘Not good. Poor thing. I really feel for her. Helen’s giving her a hard time. She’s been pinged across the yard like a yo-yo. And don’t get me started on Martha. It’s like Helen and Rosie are having a tug of war over who has her. The rope’s either going to snap or one of them is going to end up on their backside,’ Polly mused.
‘Let’s hope that it’s you-know-who,’ Gloria said with a concerned look on her face.
‘Anyway, catch up with you later,’ Polly said, grabbing her empty lunchbox and brushing off the crumbs from her overalls.
‘See ya, Pol. And thank you,’ Gloria said, watching as her friend hurried back over to her work place, dodging various groups of fitters, caulkers, and rivet catchers, and fending off the usual litany of cheeky comments from the shipyard’s Casanovas.