Gunner Girls and Fighter Boys Read Online Free Page B

why it hadn’t occurred to her before. Perhaps because a villain in the family seemed like no villain at all. It was easier to think of them as coming from somewhere else.
    ‘They won’t like it.’
    ‘I know but, May, I can’t get by on casual work at the docks.’
    May wanted to say that lots of other men did, but she knew that her brother’s idea of ‘getting by’ didn’t always refer to essentials.
    Jack’s face had turned sulky. ‘Bloody hell, I was in such a good mood an’all. But now it’s spoiled the surprise.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Well, I was going to tell Mum and Dad first, but…’ he said, spinning it out.
    ‘Tell me!’
    Suddenly he broke into a broad smile, his chest puffing out ever so slightly.
    ‘Me and Joycie got engaged!’
    ‘Jack!’ She ran to kiss him and then she thumped his chest.
    ‘That makes two things you never told me about!’ May was used to being Jack’s first port of call, whenever he was either in trouble or confused. She didn’t like the idea of him keeping secrets from her. But her irritation with him disappeared the instant she saw how happy he was.
    ‘I only asked her today and she said yes!’ The brightness of his golden hair, which he pushed back from his forehead, was matched only by the radiance of his face. She’d heard that sometimes when people were deeply happy, their faces shone, and his really was shining. And though part of her was sad to be losing her brother, she couldn’t do anything other than share his joy.
    ‘Oh, Jack, I’m really happy for you! Mum’ll be so pleased. It’s just what she needs.’
    But then a cloud dimmed his brightness.
    ‘What?’
    ‘Well, the reason I asked Joycie now is because I reckon I’ll get my call-up papers soon.’
    ‘But you don’t know that.’
    ‘Oh, sis, it’ll happen sooner or later. Some of my mates have already enlisted.’
    ‘Well, you’re not going to!’
    For some reason this made him laugh. ‘If little sis says I can’t, then who am I to argue?’
    She shoved his shoulder, laughing, but then turning serious, she said, ‘Just tell her the good news, eh? Leave out the rest.’

2
Babes in the Ruins
    January–September 1940
    The New Year had swirled in with snow and a biting wind. Everything in the world was colder, bleaker, and the darkness of the blackout seemed to cast its shadows into the days. When May looked back on that first Christmas of the war she realized it was to be their last truly happy gathering together as a family. She remembered a moment when, glancing up at the mirror above the fireplace, she had seen them all reflected as if in a photograph, raising their glasses of beer to toast Jack’s engagement. The flickering fire in the grate had flared and in spite of its heat, May had felt a sudden chill, which seemed prescient tonight as she lay on her bed listening to the angry voices rising up through the floorboards from the kitchen below.
    ‘I’m telling you, son, you’re riding for a fall! Do you know how long they’ll put you away if the dock police catch up with you? It won’t be a piddling few months, I’ll tell you that!’
    Her normally placid father rarely raised his voice in anger. If he did, it usually involved Jack, and May always hated it.
    ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, Dad. I’ve got nothing to do with that racket!’ Jack’s voice was defensive, almost dismissive.
    Their shouting and their anger set her heart racing and she crept downstairs to peer through the half-open kitchen door. Her mother sat white-faced, looking neither at her husband nor her son, her eyes fixed on the table in front of her.
    ‘Now that’s a bare-faced lie. I hear things at the docks. How d’you think I feel when my son’s name gets mentioned when they’re talking about lorry loads of stuff going missing?’
    Jack jumped out of his chair. ‘I think you should stick up for your bloody son, that’s what I think!’ He stood close to his father, shouting into his