A Gift for the District Nurses

It also helped explain why everyone was expected to fetch their food from the kitchen hatch and then collect their used plates, bowls and cutlery and take them to a counter at the end of the room, ready to be washed. Gladys and the cook couldn’t spare the time to wait upon the nurses. Lily decided she didn’t mind, even though – on the few occasions she had been in a restaurant – she had loved being waited on. A sigh escaped her. Not much chance of that at the moment.

As she set her empty bowl down on the battered countertop, two figures came through the canteen door, talking earnestly. They sat at a table in the far corner, too intent on their conversation to pay her any attention. One, the smaller woman with dark hair, was Edith, who had been kind that first night and brought over the cocoa. Lily hadn’t seen much of her since.

The other young woman was a good half a head taller, with dark blonde hair – or would it be better classified as light brown, Lily wondered, proud as ever of her own true blonde locks? Then she looked again more closely. The dawn was still to break fully and the light was not the best, but still that taller nurse seemed familiar somehow. Lily wrinkled her nose in concentration.

She’d seen her before, no doubt about it. Lily hadn’t been in London for long enough to have met anyone apart from here at the home, or the patients. That couldn’t be it. Back in Liverpool, then? Someone passing through one of the hospitals?

Or … or … the pieces were beginning to fall into place. Not passing through. Someone who had trained at the same place that Lily had, although maybe a year or two ahead of her. But they had overlapped, and she was certain that they knew people in common.

What on earth was her name? Lily drummed her fingers against the counter. Somebody had actually mentioned the name to her recently. Of course. That tall nurse on the far side of the room was Alice Lake.

CHAPTER FOUR

Edith knocked on the front door and then opened it, without waiting for an answer. The knock was just for politeness’ sake; she didn’t really have to let anyone know she was here. This house was practically her home, and as soon as she had to give up work this was where she would be living. Three generations of the Banham family were to be found under this roof, and they had never been anything but welcoming – to her and to any of her friends.

‘Come on in,’ she said to Ruby, who was shyly hanging back.

‘Are you sure they won’t mind?’ Ruby asked for the umpteenth time that morning. She drew her cloak around her against the bitterly cold wind as she hesitated on the doorstep of the terraced house.

‘Not a bit, they’ll be glad to meet you. Now get yourself inside before all the heat goes out of the door.’ Edith knew that her mother-in-law, Flo, would have the range stoked up in the kitchen at the back and she could feel its warmth radiating down the corridor, but it wouldn’t do to let the temperature drop. Fuel was not easy to come by.

Ruby gingerly stepped inside. She had been delighted when Edith, who had rather taken her under her wing, had invited her to the Banham family home, but now she was having second thoughts. She was not used to people opening their doors to strangers. Her mother never had anyone round and her sister would have been highly suspicious of the invitation. Ruby could hear her now: why would anyone want to meet you, Ruby? What makes you think they’d be interested?

Before she could change her mind, a small child ran into the corridor from a door at the far end, swiftly followed by a woman of around Edith’s age.

‘Edie, Edie!’ shouted the child, holding out two arms to be picked up. As the figure approached, the light from the front fanlight showed it to be a little boy. Edith immediately bent down and lifted him up, even as the other woman protested.

‘Edie, you’re meant to be taking it easy! Alan, what have I told you!’ she scolded, but Ruby could tell she wasn’t really cross. Her tone was full of exasperated affection.

‘I know, I know, but he’s not doing any harm. Are you, Alan? Down you go.’ Edith set the toddler back on the ground. ‘You don’t need to wrap me in cotton wool, I’m not half as sick as at the beginning.’ She led the way into the room at the back, and Ruby followed, drawn by the promise of warmth and the enticing smell of something cooking.

‘Mattie, this is Ruby.’ Edith made the full introductions as they stepped into the muted winter sunlight of the big room.

Ruby stopped biting her lip and smiled at Edith’s sister-in-law, who gave her a lively smile back. Ruby couldn’t help but notice her hair was a complete mess, escaping from pins on both sides, a chunk of it ineffectively tied back at an odd angle. For some reason it helped to settle her nerves. ‘Pleased to meet you,’ she said. ‘Thank you for having me.’

‘Not at all. Any friend of Edie is a friend of ours,’ Mattie insisted, nudging Alan out of the way as she turned around. ‘Ma, is the kettle on? Our visitors are here.’

Ruby looked towards the door at the far side of the room, which appeared to lead to a back kitchen, as a bustling figure came through – a middle-aged woman, with greying hair and faded apron, but who moved as swiftly as her daughter. ‘Oh, you’re here, Edie!’ she called in evident delight. ‘And your new friend too. Come in, come in … Hasn’t Mattie taken your coats? Whatever were you thinking of, Mattie? Now do sit down and tell me how you’re settling in.’

Edith grinned wryly as Ruby took a small step back, caught in the full beam of her mother-in-law’s energetic welcome. She slipped off her own worn winter coat and cheerfully took Ruby’s cloak, as Mattie was busy keeping Alan out from under their feet by steering him towards his toys under the window.

There was a rocking chair near the range, and Flo indicated that Ruby should take it. Then she swung the large tin kettle onto the hot plate. Ruby’s professional brain registered that the older woman winced slightly as she lifted its heavy weight, and noticed that her wrist and fingers were swollen. The cold weather must have brought on a bout of arthritis, but Flo was obviously determined to ignore it.

‘So, now, how are you finding the nurses’ home?’ she asked her guest.

Ruby cleared her throat. ‘I like it,’ she said honestly. ‘Everyone’s been very kind.’

Flo nodded, as if this was only proper and what she would have expected.

‘I’m still getting used to where everything is,’ she admitted. ‘Inside the house and out of it, I mean. I haven’t been to the East End before. It’s taking a while to get my bearings.’

Flo’s face creased in sympathy. ‘It will do, I expect. You’ll have to learn all the alleyways and shortcuts, won’t you, nipping from patient to patient like you do. Then you got to keep away from all the potholes and what-nots. Our streets ain’t like they were before, that’s for certain.’ She paused as the kettle began to whistle.

‘I’ll do it, Ma.’ Mattie stepped in, bringing a large china teapot across the room. ‘You’ll both have a cuppa, won’t you.’ It wasn’t really a question. Tea might be rationed but that didn’t mean a guest would ever go thirsty, or not in this house.

Edith nodded for both of them. ‘I remember getting completely lost when I first came.’ She laughed at the thought. ‘Seems like ages ago now, things have changed so much. You get the hang of it before long.’

‘Hope so,’ Ruby replied.

‘And have you been to the market yet?’ Flo wanted to know, settling herself on the old sofa with its much-mended cushions. ‘That’s the place to pick up what’s really going on, never mind what you hear on the wireless.’

‘Not yet.’ Ruby could sense disapproval at this. ‘I’ve seen it though. I thought I’d go back when I have a day off. It looks bigger than the one near my house – my old house, I mean.’

‘I’ll take you,’ Edith offered. ‘It’s always best to get to know the stallholders, then you get a better bargain. We know some of them pretty well.’

‘Especially Brendan,’ Mattie said. ‘He’s also an ARP warden, works in the same section as my dad. You get Edie to introduce you and he’ll always see you right.’

‘Helps to know the ARP wardens too,’ Edith added cheerfully. ‘The other one in their section is Billy, and he went to school with Mattie.’

‘And now he’s married my best friend Kath from school, so we see a lot of him,’ Mattie chipped in as she poured the tea into cups arranged on the big dining table. ‘Sometimes I mind their little girl – she’s about a year younger than Alan. Or sometimes my friend minds him, cos I work in a factory most of the time. I got today off cos I worked a double shift yesterday.’ She came across with a cup and saucer for each of her guests.

Edith took hers gratefully. ‘So you’ve gone full time now, then?’

Mattie nodded, taking a cup for herself and one for her mother. ‘They need as many workers as they can get. It’s much easier for me, now that Gillian’s started school – that’s my eldest.’

‘How’s she getting on?’ Edith wanted to know.

Mattie raised her eyebrows. ‘Only been there a week or so and she’s practically running the place already. You know what she’s like. It’s strange to think of her in the same classroom as we used to be in.’

Flo sipped her tea and gave a nostalgic smile. ‘It’s no time at all since she was a baby.’ She glanced across the room to where a large wooden cot was pushed against the far wall. ‘Remember how she used to sleep there while you helped me with the housework, Mattie? And then Kath would bring Brian round and they’d share it.’

Ruby glanced over to the cot.

‘Yes, we never got around to moving it,’ said Flo happily. ‘First Gillian and Brian, and not that long afterwards, Alan here, and little Barbara as often as not. Used to nap in it when they were tiny and then it’s as good as a playpen once they get crawling. Not long before your baby has its turn, Edie.’

Edith laughed in acknowledgement and Ruby widened her eyes.

‘It’s due in June, but don’t worry, I’ll have to give up work before then,’ Edith said, mistaking Ruby’s expression. ‘So you won’t have to sleep in the broom cupboard for ever.’

‘Oh, it’s not that.’ Ruby hurriedly put her right, but couldn’t say what it was that had bothered her. It would sound silly in this generously sized room with its generous family, but something about the cot had shocked her.

Her mother had always been extremely proud of the fact that – even though she and Ruby’s father had been short of money and space – the twins had never needed to share anything. It had been some kind of point of honour: whatever misfortunes might befall the family, Colin and Beryl would not be lumped together, but would have their own clothes and little beds. Not for them the big, unwieldy prams with a baby at either end. People who did that to their children were to be disapproved of, condemned even. As if it showed they didn’t love them enough.

Yet here were a mother and grandmother who obviously doted on the children, and those of their friends too, who had no problem with them sharing a cot. Ruby knew on one level there was no sense in her reaction; as a nurse she knew there would be little risk to the children, providing normal rules of hygiene were observed, and this house was as clean as any could be with a toddler around. It was yet another part of the way she had been brought up, she realised, having extra things to worry about that simply didn’t bother most people. It was a burden she feared she could not shake.

‘Have you heard from Harry?’ Mattie asked Edith.

Edith turned to Ruby. ‘That’s my husband,’ she explained. ‘He’s just got a posting as a PT instructor with the army, and he’s had to move up north – we won’t see him for months now.’ Automatically one hand went to her stomach where there was just the beginning of a new bump. ‘He’s not a great one for letter writing, so all I know is that he’s arrived.’

Mattie grimaced. ‘He’s better at it than Lennie is – sorry, he’s my husband. He’s been a prisoner of war since Dunkirk. Never was much good at writing home and now he doesn’t have much chance to.’ She smiled as if she had grown used to the situation, and that would have fooled anyone but Edith and her mother. They were well aware that she was covering her daily heartbreak with a show of bravery.

‘Oh, that must be hard,’ Ruby said, realising that this young woman had some very genuine causes for concern. ‘My brother’s in the navy. You can’t help worrying.’

Mattie nodded. ‘That’s true enough. As for my big brother, Joe’s in the navy as well and we never know where he is or what he’s doing. That’s unless Alice has said anything?’ She looked hopefully at Edith.

Edith shook her head. ‘I don’t think she’s heard from him since New Year. She always tells me if there’s any news from him.’ Once again she felt obliged to explain to Ruby. ‘Joe’s good friends with Alice, and everyone always teases them that there’s more to it, but really it’s because they’re the only ones among us who read all the papers and follow current affairs. She’s always been like that and the war has made her even worse – you’ll soon find out, if you ever try to get her head out of a book.’

‘They’re the brainy ones all right,’ Mattie agreed. ‘Most of us haven’t got a clue what they’re on about half the time. Still, that’s not much use to either of them now. Didn’t she think he was in Italy, or on the way there?’

‘It was a guess,’ said Edith sadly. ‘I’ll tell you if I hear, of course I will.’

Ruby let the conversation flow on around her, enjoying being part of the warmth of the group but not joining in. The heat from the range was enough to make her pleasantly drowsy. Somehow it felt more like a home than her own. She shifted a little in the chair, knowing her thoughts were disloyal, and her gaze fell upon an open newspaper, tucked behind a cushion. It had been folded to show a photo, a little blurred, of prisoners of war opening Christmas presents. She wondered if Mattie had searched the men’s faces for her own husband’s, hoping for confirmation that he was still alive and safe, or at least at the time the picture had been taken, a few weeks ago now. It must be horribly difficult.

Edith noticed her movement and turned to her. ‘We ought to be going,’ she said, her voice full of reluctance. ‘Sorry to drag you away, Ruby, but I promised to help restock the district room this afternoon. It’s my turn. We had better make a move.’ She rose, pausing to ruffle Alan on the head as he raced by with his toy plane. ‘We’ll see you again soon. Thanks for the tea.’

‘Don’t stay away so long this time,’ Flo scolded, as Mattie went to fetch the coats. She gently took Ruby’s arm for a second. ‘That means you too, Ruby. We said it before; any friend of Edith’s is a friend of ours. Even if you aren’t as far away from your family as some of your colleagues, if you ever want a bit of home comfort then we’re always here. You make sure you remember that.’

Ruby swallowed hard. ‘I will,’ she said.

Walking back to the high road that ran between the Banham household on Jeeves Street and the side road that led to Victory Walk, Edith noticed that the new nurse was very quiet. ‘You all right, Ruby?’

‘Of course.’

‘Because you don’t need to worry; like I said, I will have to give up work in the not-too-distant future and then you’ll have my room on the top floor, up next to Alice and along from Mary. I just hope you aren’t too uncomfortable in the meantime.’

They stopped and waited at the kerb for the Liverpool Street bus to go by, and Ruby gave a small smile. ‘Really,’ she told Edith, ‘I don’t mind. I like it.’

Edith frowned. ‘But you must be able to hear everyone coming and going. Isn’t that annoying? I’d be annoyed.’ She stuck her hands into the patch pockets of her coat, feeling around for her gloves.

Ruby shrugged, a little embarrassed. ‘I’m a heavy sleeper so I don’t get woken up easily. Then sometimes it’s useful.’ She almost stopped but then ploughed on, despite having to admit her ignorance. ‘I didn’t know what to do about my Gladstone bag. I knew I was meant to refill it but I’d forgotten how – we never did it on our own when we were training and I felt a fool for not knowing.’ The bus left the stop near them and they crossed the wide road. ‘Then I heard voices and so stuck my head out. Two of the others – the one with the posh voice and the very tall one with black hair …’

‘Mary and Belinda, I bet.’

‘Yes, that’s it. Well, they were about to restock their bags and so I asked if the room opposite was where everything was kept. They said yes and showed me what to do. So you see, it’s the ideal place.’

Edith looked up at the new nurse, with her pale face and sharp features, noticing for the first time the reserves of humour in her grey eyes. ‘I’m pleased to hear it!’ she said with some relief. ‘I hated to think I was stopping you settling in.’

Ruby shook her head. ‘No, it’s quite the opposite,’ she said with feeling. As they walked on past the tall terraced houses she reflected that she had truly struck it lucky – getting to know Edith had not only helped her at the nurses’ home, but now she had also seen a taste of family life that, if she was honest, made her ever so slightly jealous. What she wouldn’t give to have a warm welcome like that to go back to.

CHAPTER FIVE

Lily was grateful to be back indoors and out of the freezing January wind. She set down her Gladstone bag and rubbed her hands, trying to bring circulation back into her fingers. She’d only just managed to work the brakes on her rickety old bike, she was so chilly. Those bikes were terrible to ride, far worse than the one she’d had during her training in Liverpool. It was a wonder that none of the nurses had come a cropper.

She decided to head straight for the service room and get herself a hot drink. Restocking the bag could wait. She’d only fumble everything while her fingers were cold and stiff, she thought, hurrying down the short flight of steps at the end of the corridor and into the common room.

Others had clearly had the same idea, and several nurses were huddled around the fire burning in the grate on the far side of the big room. Lily hastily made a cup of tea and then went to join them. ‘Room for another,’ said one of the Irish nurses as she let Lily squeeze in. ‘I’m late already, so I’ll see you all later,’ she called over her shoulder as she headed off.

Lily edged into the vacant carver chair that either Bridget or Ellen – she couldn’t remember which was which – had left behind. She sighed in relief as the warmth from the fire hit her, making her tingle all over. ‘That’s better,’ she breathed.

‘I’ll say.’ The tall, dark-haired nurse raised her eyebrows in sympathy. ‘Bit of a shocker out there today, isn’t it?’

Lily nodded, her teeth chattering a little against the rim of her cup as she raised it to her mouth. She knew it was important to appear to be friendly but she didn’t want to seem weak. ‘It certainly is, but I’m used to it. It gets pretty cold where I’m from.’

Belinda smiled. ‘Liverpool, wasn’t it? Alice says it rains a lot there.’

Lily took another sip. ‘It does, there’s no denying it. Is Nurse Lake back from her rounds yet? I’ve hardly seen her since I moved in, but it would be nice to talk to her, given that we come from the same place.’

The nurse on her other side frowned. ‘No, she’s teaching one of the WVS groups today,’ she said in a refined accent. ‘She’ll be gone all day, I expect. I’m sure she’d be glad to, though, another time.’

Lily could finally feel her hands properly. ‘Well, we’re bound to see each other soon, then.’ She tried hard to remember this nurse’s name. Mary, that was it. And the tall one was Belinda.

‘How were your rounds today?’ Belinda was asking now.

Lily set down her cup on the nearest table. ‘Oh, nothing I couldn’t handle,’ she said lightly. ‘One of the women was making a right fuss over nothing. You’d think nobody had ever had flu before. She kept asking me for a new vaccine, said she’d read about it in the paper, and that she wanted it for her family. I had to tell her she couldn’t have any such thing and that her little boy would get better as long as she kept him in bed.’

Mary looked puzzled. ‘I haven’t heard about a vaccine.’

Belinda grinned. ‘Yes, but you hardly ever read the papers, Mary. Don’t worry, it won’t affect us. It’s a new thing the Americans are giving to their servicemen. It wasn’t exactly in the headlines.’

‘I’m sure if it was important then Charles would have told me,’ Mary replied staunchly, unconcerned that Belinda was teasing her.

‘In that case I’m surprised this woman knew about it,’ Lily said, keen to keep Mary on side. ‘It didn’t look like the sort of house where people read very much.’

Belinda widened her eyes at this but didn’t comment directly. Instead she said, ‘Was this a place just off Cricketfield Road by any chance?’

Lily paused to think. She was still trying to remember the names of the streets. ‘Yes. Yes it was.’

Belinda nodded. ‘Thought so. It’s the Peterson family, isn’t it? I’ve treated them before now.’

Lily shrugged. ‘Yes, I think that was her name. Mrs Peterson. And her little boy is Bobby.’

‘Oh, I know who you mean now,’ Mary said. ‘No wonder she was upset. She can’t help it. She’s terrified of the flu; happens every winter, of course, but this year there’s been a bit of an epidemic and that’s made it worse. Poor soul, I hadn’t realised that her little boy had gone down with it or I might have popped in.’

Lily was confused. People got flu all the time; what could possibly be so different about this family? They’d all been in a right state and she’d had to struggle hard not to show her impatience with them.

‘Mrs Peterson’s parents caught the Spanish flu when it was going round at the end of the Great War,’ Belinda explained. ‘They both died. It was especially sad because her father hadn’t long got back from fighting. He’d survived the trenches only to be killed by the flu. She was brought up by her aunt and she must have put the fear of God into her about it. She’s always extra-careful about hygiene but it looks as if her son’s gone and caught it anyway.’

Lily bit back her annoyance. She couldn’t possibly have known but now she’d come across as uncaring. It made her dislike the family even more. ‘Well, he’s in no danger,’ she pointed out. ‘He seemed a healthy little thing otherwise. He’ll be over it in no time.’

Mary nodded. ‘He probably will. I might go round anyhow, just to reassure her.’

Lily wanted to snap in exasperation; hadn’t she reassured the woman, despite her being so aggravating? But it would do no good to object.

‘At least people are better fed now,’ Belinda pointed out. ‘I know we all complain about the rationing but it does mean that families like that have better nutrition than they would have done otherwise. He most likely got it from school. You can’t stop kiddies passing it on when they’re all over each other in the playground.’

Mary brightened up. ‘We could use that as an excuse to visit the local schools and give them extra hygiene lessons. We haven’t done that for ages. Remind them that washing their hands properly isn’t just something their mothers tell them for the sake of it.’

‘Good idea. We could speak to Janet.’ Belinda’s expression grew animated. ‘That’s a teacher we’re friendly with. She’s very keen on that sort of thing, that’s how we know her in the first place – she got Alice in to teach the little ones how to brush their teeth, ages ago.’

‘Oh.’ Lily wasn’t sure how to react. It looked as if her casual comment had spawned a whole lot of extra work for her colleagues. That hadn’t been her intention at all. She’d better leave before they roped her in any further. ‘Nice talking to you,’ she said hurriedly, ‘but I’d better go and see to my bag as I’m running low on lots of things. See you later.’ She headed for the door as quickly as she could without seeming rude.

‘Golly,’ said Mary when she’d gone. ‘Was it something we said?’