‘Children, please!’ Mother put up her hands. ‘Our tempers are short but this is no time to bicker.’ She wiped the smudges of dirt on her face with her handkerchief and pushed back her hair that had fallen loose from its hair grips. ‘Let’s start the day with good intentions.’ She opened the kitchen door cautiously. ‘Seems to be all right … so today, after breakfast, we’ll help to carry your things into the spare room, Daisy. Then, afterwards, we can top and tail in the bathroom.’
‘What have we got for breakfast?’ Daisy looked hopefully at the larder door as they went in.
Mother smiled. ‘If one thing in this world never changes, Daisy, it’s your appetite.’
J ust after they had begun to carry Daisy’s belongings to the spare room, there was a knock at the door.
‘Flo, are you there? It’s me.’
Daisy rushed to the landing and looked over the banister. ‘Aunt Betty, oh, Aunt Betty!’ She flew down the stairs and fell into her aunt’s open arms.
‘Daisy, darling,’ whispered her aunt, hugging her so tight that Daisy could barely breathe. ‘Are you all right? Where’s Bobby and your mother?’
‘Upstairs. Oh, Aunt Betty, it was awful,’ blurted Daisy as she rushed to explain everything that had happened. ‘We were collecting the apples when we heard the planes and there was no time to take anything into the shelter, except the basket. Which was lucky because in it we had a bottle of lemonade and a scone, but the lemonade made us even more thirsty. And Bobby hadn’t come home and Mother was terribly worried. And in the morning, guess what happened? There was a huge hole in the house and it was my bedroom window and - ‘
‘Betty!’ Mother came running down the stairs with Bobby. ‘Oh Betty, it’s so good to see you. So very, very good.’ They all grasped one another, holding back tears, as everyone tried to speak at once, until Daisy caught sight of a vague reflection in the hall mirror.
She untangled herself to clean the glass with the palm of her hand. They were all blanketed like Egyptian mummies in the wretched dust that, it seemed, was now part and parcel of everyday life. Aunt Betty’s smart blue overcoat was a shade of gunmetal grey and her brown, glossy hair was a dull, untidy mop. Mother was speckled with dirt and soot and so was Bobby who had managed an assortment of interesting black stripes and squiggles over his shirt and trousers. Her own un-plaited hair hung about her head and shoulders in lifeless, lank strands, while her face, despite the swift wash in the bathroom sink reminded her of one of the monkeys she’d once seen at the zoo. Two white patches for her eyes and under her nose, a small moustache was imprinted on her top lip.
‘Is that me?’ she gasped into the mirror.
Bobby pulled a face. ‘Horrible!’
Daisy giggled. Aunt Betty laughed. Mother shook her head, unable to hide her amusement. ‘We might not look our best - but oh, oh - ‘ Suddenly she put her hands over her eyes. Aunt Betty held her close and smoothed her hair behind her ears.
‘Come now, Flo. We’ll face this together. Nothing matters more than that.’
‘I’m sorry, it’s just that so much has happened,’ Mother murmured as she tried to regain control. ‘Our lovely house - well, it’s ruined!‘
Aunt Betty smiled. ‘No need for apologies, Flo. This continual dirt and dust is very upsetting.’
Daisy nodded in agreement. ‘I wanted to be upset too. But I couldn’t because I needed to sit on the lavatory first.’
Bobby gave a hoot of laughter and Mother bent close to hug her. ‘Thank you, Daisy,’ she whispered. ‘You make me feel so much better.’
CHAPTER 45
‘COME ALONG, we’ll clean the kitchen, then have tea,’ said Aunt Betty, taking charge. ‘Daisy, I’ve brought a flask in my bicycle basket and some cheese sandwiches and pickles from the WVS canteen. Perhaps you could get them for me? Bobby, be a dear and pump my tyres. They’re a bit soft and I have to cycle back to Aldgate for my shift tonight.’
‘Aldgate?’ said Mother as Bobby left. ‘What on earth do you have to do there?’
Daisy returned with the flask and food parcel just as Aunt Betty was explaining. ‘I’m in digs at the moment as I’m more central in Aldgate. I decided to close the house with Ed gone.’
‘But Betty, what about all your things? Your personal possessions and clothes?’
‘I packed a suitcase and took it with me to Aldgate. In fact, since we have uniforms supplied I need very little of anything except underwear and stockings.’ Aunt Betty continued to wipe down the surfaces. ‘Life is very different for me now. My days are certainly far more interesting than sitting in the office and typing. Talking of which, I cycled by the factory on my way here and saw a girl I knew from the typing pool. She told me the caretaker management have installed new equipment, retaining only a handful of women to work the machines.’
‘Is Mrs Hayes still there?’ Daisy asked hopefully.
‘I’m afraid there’s no canteen now, Daisy. It’s just too dangerous to operate. If a bomb, God forbid, should drop there, the gas would explode and cause untold harm. These days most of the workers bring packed lunches and a thermos filled with tea.’
Daisy thought of the happy times she had gone with Pops to the factory and helped Mrs Hayes to make tea for all the staff. Were those days never to come again?
‘This war is the cause of so many changes,’ sighed Mother sadly. ‘Oh, Betty, I do admire you. Your work in the voluntary group must be very rewarding - but dangerous.’
’There’s no time to think of the danger, Flo. We’re given our orders at the beginning of our shifts and the day flies by. Sometimes it’s helping the wardens, sometimes the hospitals, sometimes transport, and
