What a fine thing it would be for him, though – the DFC! He would be invited to Buckingham Palace, and be decorated by the king himself. They would be able to show the medal to Marmaduke one day, and he would be proud to know what a brave man his father was. It might even help Charlie find work. The award was widely respected in the civilian as well as the military world.
‘Birdy, you look a million miles away.’ Topsy patted the settee in Bobby’s small, neat parlour. ‘Sit by me.’
Jolka had claimed the armchair, and was engaged in pouring them each a cup of tea. Bobby sat down by Topsy, smiling.
She could understand why Charlie resented this intrusion. After spending much of their early married life apart, he jealously guarded their precious Saturday afternoons. Bobby, too, looked forward to those contented, peaceful hours in his arms, when the world and its wars could be shut out for a while. Still, it was a treat to spend time with her female friends during what Charlie called their ‘mothers’ meetings’.
‘It is a shame we do not have Lilian,’ Jolka observed. Lil usually made up the fourth in their group of young wives. ‘It was on the edge of the moment that we decided to pay a visit. Topsy is bursting with news for you, Bobby.’
‘What is this news?’ Bobby asked. Topsy did seem to be bouncing in her seat, filled with girlish glee at having a secret.
‘Well, darling, it’s actually a whole lot of news, and all of it jolly exciting,’ Topsy said. ‘But I shall save the part that concerns you for last, because I know how you like to tease Charlie out of his glum moods with a little healthy jealousy.’
Jolka handed Bobby a cup of tea. ‘How does he do?’
Jolka and Topsy had airmen husbands of their own, both of whom had suffered dramatic experiences in the sky, so Bobby felt no bashfulness confiding in them. They knew what it was to live with a man damaged by war.
‘Better, I think,’ she said. ‘He still sleeps restlessly, but the neurasthenia attacks aren’t so frequent. Still, I suppose it will be a long time before his brain understands he isn’t in danger any more.’
‘If it ever does,’ Topsy said soberly. As a nurse at the airmen’s hospital at Sumner House, and with a burnt and disabled husband at home, she had encountered more horrors than most.
‘His moods are improved, I’m sure,’ Bobby said. ‘The hardest thing for him is not having any paid work. I know he feels like he’s failing as a husband, keeping house while I’m supporting us.’
Jolka nodded. ‘Men can be sensitive about playing what they see as the woman’s part. Yet it is not Charlie’s fault that the war has made it impossible to do the work he is trained for.’
‘It’s still humiliating for him, feeling he isn’t doing his duty as head of the house.’ She sighed. ‘I know it’s wrong to look back, but I do miss my days in the WAAF sometimes. Not only the important work I was doing, but the way it allowed me to live.’
‘I suppose it is not unusual for ex-servicewomen to feel this way,’ Jolka said, sipping her tea. ‘Many will not have experienced independent living before.’
‘It isn’t only that. It’s the way we all sort of… mucked in, you know?’ A smile flickered on Bobby’s lips as she thought back to her brief but happy career in the WAAF. ‘Some of the womencould be toffee-nosed, but mostly everyone was happy to do their share. We all took our turn on fatigues, and we divided up chores in our billets equally. I’ve been keeping a home since I was fourteen but I’d never experienced that sort of communal living. It does make it harder to accept the housewife’s lot when the military drops you back on Civvy Street.’
‘For too many wives, a home can be a prison,’ Jolka said soberly. ‘Always for women, the world would try to make us bewhatwe are at the expense ofwhowe are. Still, I do not fear for you, Bobby. You are strong, and your husband loves and respects you.’ She leaned forward to press Bobby’s hand. ‘But for as long as you are able, earn your own money. Always find a way to do this, no matter how little. It is an absence of financial independence that traps women in the home. Even to happy wives, I would say this.’
‘That’s good advice,’ Bobby said, thinking of the letter she had posted earlier. ‘But tell me all your news. Is Piotr still at Ryland Moor?’
Jolka’s husband Piotr, formerly an air gunner with a Polish bomber squadron, was one of the lucky few who had managed to survive a full tour of operations. Having completed the required thirty missions, he had been transferred to an instructor position ten miles away.
Jolka smiled. ‘He is. Tommy is delighted to see his father so often.’
‘Will he apply for a second tour?’
‘He talked of it, but I believe something I told him recently may have changed his mind.’
‘What was that?’
Jolka didn’t answer. She only smiled, and rested one hand on her stomach.
‘Oh. Oh!’ Bobby jumped up to give her friend a hug. ‘That’s wonderful news! I’m thrilled for you, Jolka.’
‘I told you we were brimming with exciting news, didn’t I?’ Topsy said triumphantly. ‘Jolka let it slip when she brought over some tablecloths she borrowed. Of course we simply had to rush into the village and tell you. We’ll call on Lilian on the way home, then everyone in our little gang knows.’
‘You were very sly not to have told me right away, letting me chatter on about myself.’ Bobby held Jolka back to look at her beaming face. ‘When is the baby due?’
‘In five months. I did not wish to make it public until the most dangerous time had passed.’
Five months! That meant Jolka’s baby and Marmaduke would arrive at nearly the same time. Bobby longed to tell her friends that she, too, had news to share, but she would have to hold on to her secret just a little longer.
‘Well, I think this calls for something sweet to celebrate,’ she said. ‘I’ve got a little fruit cake I’ve been saving for a special occasion. I can’t think of any more special than this.’
