The Bells of Bow (39 page)

‘Feed her?’ Evie was horrified. ‘I ain’t feeding her. She can have a bottle.’

Dr Land looked exasperated.

Blanche took Evie’s hand. ‘What’ll happen when you have to run down the shelter and there’s no bottle there for the poor little love?’

Evie shuddered with disgust. ‘Don’t, Blanche. The thought of having to feed her, and in front of all them people in the Drum what’s more, makes me feel sick. No, yer not gonna persuade me. She’s having the bottle and that’s final.’

Dr Land looked round the little room. He was beginning to get a headache. ‘Have you got any bottles?’

‘No.’

He turned to Blanche. He knew her to be a respectable sort. ‘Mrs Simpkins?’

‘Yeah, I’ve got some indoors, Doctor. From Janey.’

‘Good. So, if you can organise that? And I’ll leave you some Epsom Salts, Evie, to help dry you up.’ He took a box out of his bag and handed it to Babs. ‘You might be best moving your sister downstairs when she feels strong enough,’ he said, nodding at the box. ‘So-she can be near the lavatory.’

‘Dry me up! Be near the lav?’ Evie covered her face with her hands. ‘How the hell did I get into all this?’

Almost as soon as the all clear sounded the next morning, Babs, Blanche and Maud were taking turns to let people into number six. Baby things were either in short supply or rationed, just like everything else, but the neighbours, even those who very publicly disapproved of Evie’s way of life, raked round in their cupboards and drawers to ‘sort out a few bits’ for her and the little girl.

Nellie was one of the first to arrive. When she saw Betty she could hardly speak she was so choked up.

When she had finished the cup of tea that Maudie insisted on making for her, she sat by Evie and held the baby in her arms. ‘If only me and my Jim had been as blessed,’ she sighed. ‘Even one kiddy like Rita and Bert had would have been a miracle. Still, mustn’t get all humpy. It wasn’t to be and that’s that.’ She stroked her finger tenderly across Betty’s cheek. ‘Will yer just look at her.’ She held her out for Evie to take from her and reached into her handbag. She put a two shilling piece in the baby’s tiny hand. ‘There y’are, sweetheart,’ she said, folding Betty’s tiny fingers round the silver coin in the traditional East End way. ‘You hold on to that and yer’ll always have good luck and never want for nothing.’ She looked at Evie. ‘And here’s a little present.’ She held out a flat, leather-covered box.

Eve took it from her but just dropped it onto the bedcover without bothering to open it.

‘Yer must be tired,’ Nellie said. ‘Here, let me.’ She undid the catch and showed Evie what was inside. On a pad of pale cream velvet was a delicately entwined gold chain holding a heart-shaped locket. ‘For when she’s older,’ beamed Nellie, holding it for the baby to see. ‘I’ve had it put by for a month or so now, just hoping it’d be a little girl. Couldn’t resist it, could I, when one of the customers brought it in?’ Nellie leant forward and kissed Evie on the cheek. ‘I’ll let yer get yer rest now.’

Evie nodded listlessly.

‘Has Ringer seen her yet?’ Nellie asked as she got up.

‘No,’ Babs said. ‘Blanche’s Terry took a message round the station early this morning but Dad’s crew was still at a fire.’

‘He’ll be like a dog with two tails when he sees her. Tell him to pop in for a drop to wet the baby’s head when he gets back.’

As Babs saw Nellie out, Rita from the baker’s came along the street. She was pushing a big, old-fashioned pram.

‘What’s this?’ Nellie grinned, poking Rita in the ribs. ‘You ain’t had a little surprise and all, have yer, Reet?’

Rita grinned back. ‘No such luck, Nell. Putting jam in doughnuts is about all Bert can manage nowadays. This was my Bill’s. I got it all cleaned up for Evie a while back. Didn’t wanna bring it round till the baby was born though. I mean, yer don’t wanna tempt fate, do yer?’

And so it went on, with people popping in and out of number six nearly all day. They brought gifts, offers of help and their best wishes. And Evie couldn’t have cared less. If they had been coming to see her, she would have been pleased to see them, but all they could talk about was the baby, and it was getting on her nerves.

Babs put a soup dish down on the bedside table. ‘Try a drop of this what Maud sent along for yer, Eve.’

‘Sure the soup ain’t for Betty?’ Eve sniped, turning her head away.

‘Don’t be silly. Come on, yer’ve gotta eat something.’

Evie shifted onto her side and stared at the wall. ‘I don’t want it, Babs. Take it away.’

Babs picked up the dish and left the room.

Evie rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. It was a nightmare, that’s what it was, it wasn’t really happening to her at all. Here she was, not even nineteen and her life was over.

‘Eve?’

She took a deep breath. ‘Babs, I told yer. I don’t want the poxy soup.’

‘I know. Yer’ve got a visitor.’

‘I’ve had enough visitors to last me a rotten lifetime. Tell ’em I’m too tired.’

‘What? Too tired for me, darling?’

Evie’s eyes flicked open. ‘Albie!’

‘I got this note from Babs.’ He was standing over her. His big handsome face was smiling.

Evie smiled back at him.

‘Yer looking better than I thought yer would,’ he said.

He dropped down heavily onto the bed, and even though it jarred her sore and aching body, she didn’t flinch. Albie didn’t like people who were sick or under the weather and she didn’t want him to get all upset and leave.

He chucked her under the chin. ‘You’ll have that figure of your’n back in no time, won’t yer, babe? Then I’ll take yer up West and show yer off again, all done up like my little platinum doll.’

Just as Evie put her arms round his neck and lifted her face to kiss him, Betty woke up and started to cry, making low whimpering sounds as she snuffled round for food.

Evie looked over Albie’s shoulder and flashed her eyes at Babs, signalling urgently for her to do something.

Babs rolled her eyes and went over to the drawer at the bottom of the bed. She picked up the crying baby and took her outside onto the landing. As she jiggled Betty up and down over her shoulder, she could hear what Albie was saying to Eve, even over Betty’s cries.

‘Cor,’ he complained. ‘Does she make that racket all the time? And what’s that smell in here? Sick?’

There was a pause then Albie spoke again; he had an impatient laugh in his voice. ‘I think it’ll be best,’ he said, ‘if you and the nipper stay here for a while. Till it gets a bit bigger. I mean, girl, that flat ain’t no place for a kid, now is it?’

By the time Betty was six weeks old, Evie was back to her old self. At first, Babs was relieved that she’d got over the baby blues so quickly. She had her figure back, her dark roots had been freshly bleached and she was going out enjoying herself again. But when she showed no signs of any maternal interest in her daughter or even a touch of domesticity, Babs wasn’t sure that she was so relieved after all. Especially as Evie didn’t even think to ask her if she minded when she left her caring for Betty every night, while she divided her time between going out with Albie – when he deigned to see her – and doing the rounds of the local pubs. At least when Evie had been depressed she’d stayed indoors.

Babs threw her coat over the banister and hauled herself up the stairs to the front bedroom. Thursday night, she reminded herself, so only one more day at work before the weekend and the chance of having a rest. But no matter how tired she felt, she was still elated at the prospect of seeing her little niece, always the first thing she wanted to do when she got in from work.

She crept into the bedroom so as not to disturb her, but pulled up short in the doorway when she saw Evie sitting at the dressing table smoothing her long blonde hair into a careful roll round a twisted scarf that she had fastened to the back of her head.

Evie didn’t greet her sister, she just looked at her reflection and asked, ‘So, what do yer think? It’s all the go, this look.’

‘I think yer taking the piss if yer going out again, Eve. That’s what I think.’ Babs bent over the drawer that stood on the ottoman at the bottom of the bed. The sight of her beautiful little niece, tucked up so cosily in the pale pink blanket that Blanche had given her, made her smile.

‘I’ll have to remember to take a rag out with me to wipe me legs,’ sighed Eve, as she began applying the first layer of lipstick. ‘There’s mud and rubbish all over them bloody streets from the bombsites. Someone should do something about it.’

Babs straightened up and stuck her hands on her hips. ‘Shut up about the mud a minute, Eve, and tell me where you think you’re going.’

‘Out.’

‘Where?’

‘Some feller I met the other night, his mate’s got a boozer up Whitechapel way. He’s asked me to sing a few songs in there tonight. Give all the soldier boys a bit of a treat while they’re home on leave.’ She smacked her lips together to blot the lipstick then grinned into the mirror. ‘And they’ll have all that lovely back pay to spend. It’ll make a nice change enjoying meself.’

‘Nice change? Yer out nearly every night of the week.’

Evie raised her eyebrows and shrugged.

‘Ain’t it about time yer thought about going back to yer flat? This room was crowded enough when it was just the two of us.’

Eve twisted round on the stool to face Babs. ‘You saying me and the baby ain’t welcome?’

‘Course not, and keep yer voice down, yer’ll wake her up. But it don’t seem right, Betty not being with her dad. What must Albie think? You and the baby hardly ever see him.’

‘Albie? Don’t make me laugh.’ She turned back to the mirror and began dusting her face with powder. ‘Why should I worry about him? He only ever turns up when he ain’t got nothing better to do. Or he fancies a bit of how’s yer father.’ She grinned at Babs’s reflection. ‘Not that he’s had any luck there for a while.’

Babs tried another tack. ‘Don’t yer wanna stay in, spend some time with the baby?’

‘Here, you saying yer don’t wanna look after her?’ Evie countered.

‘No. Yer know I’m not. It’s just that you’re her mum.’

‘Yeah? So? I have her all day.’ Evie spoke to Babs as if she were stupid. ‘And you like being with her. So everyone’s happy. So what’s the problem?’

Evie had only been gone half an hour when yet another raid started. Babs was torn between making the dash along the street to the Drum in the chilly evening air with all the things needed to keep Betty fed and comfortable, or staying put and sheltering under the table. But, tired as she was, she knew she had to keep Betty safe. So she gathered up bottles and nappies, threw them in a basket, lifted Betty gently out of the drawer and wrapped her in a blanket.

‘Let’s just hope yer mum’s safe, eh, sweetie?’ Babs whispered to the baby, and made a run for it.

The next morning, bleary-eyed from spending yet another uncomfortable night sleeping on a makeshift bed and tending to Betty, Babs crawled back to number six. There was no sign of Evie.

She laid Betty in Rita’s big old pram that almost took up the entire passageway and went into the kitchen. She put the kettle on to boil for tea, steeped the night’s dirty nappies in the enamel bucket outside the back door and then, summoning what she felt was the very last of her energy, had a wash in cold water at the sink.

She peered up at the clock over the top of the towel. Wherever Evie had got to, Babs hoped she’d hurry up; she had to leave for work in half an hour.

She was just finishing her second cup of tea, fighting her craving for her bed, when the street door opened.

She heard Evie swear angrily as she bashed into the pram.

‘For gawd’s sake, Eve,’ she hissed, ‘don’t wake her up.’

Evie dropped down onto one of the kitchen chairs. ‘Aw, stop moaning.’ Her voice was slurred with drink.

‘Where’ve you been?’

Evie grinned lopsidedly. ‘Did singing in the pub. They loved me.’ She closed one eye in an effort to focus on her sister’s face. ‘Then we went to get fish and taters but the warning …’ She paused, trying to keep her thoughts on track. She nodded. ‘Yeah. The warning went. So me and the boys, we went down the Underground. Right laugh, it was. Singing. Dancing. Drinking. Like a night club. Mind you, yer should have seen the lavs.’ She screwed up her nose in distaste. Her elbow somehow slipped off the table, making her burst into a fit of hiccuping giggles.

Babs got to her feet and looked down at her sister. She wouldn’t argue with her, she wouldn’t waste her breath when she was like this, but she had to say something. ‘It’s all right for you staying out all night, but I’ve gotta get out to work.’

Evie clasped her hands to her chest in a pose of melodramatic shock, then she batted her lashes and said, in a mock posh voice, ‘What, would yer rather your only sister risked her life by running through the streets in the middle of an air raid?’

‘You ain’t funny, Eve, yer a pig. Now just shut up. I should have knocked for Blanche five minutes ago.’ She deliberately bashed into Evie as she stepped past her. ‘I’ve fed and changed Betty, so she should sleep for a couple of hours yet, give you a chance to sober up before Dad gets in off shift.’ She swept out of the room before Evie had a chance to speak: she knew she would only try and persuade her to stay and look after the baby while she slept the day away.

Babs knocked impatiently on Blanche’s street door. ‘Come on, Blanche,’ she muttered under her breath. ‘We’re late enough as it is.’

The door opened.

‘Blanche!’ Babs stepped forward and put her hand on Blanche’s arm. ‘Yer look terrible. It’s not Archie, is it?’

‘No.’ Blanche pulled her coat on and shut the door behind her. ‘I was over with our Ruby last night.’

‘The baby still no better?’ Babs glanced sideways at Blanche as they fell into step. Babs thought she herself looked rough after the hard night she had had, but Blanche looked totally drained.

‘No. Poor little bugger. They’re hoping for the best but it ain’t doing very well. All we can do now is pray for a miracle.’

‘I’m sorry, Blanche.’

‘Yeah, we all are. Heartbroken, she is. No reason, just one of them things, the doctor said. Don’t seem right, does it? She wants it so much. And there’s your Evie, couldn’t give a …’ She stopped in her tracks. ‘Sorry, Babs, I’m just a bit upset, that’s all. There was no need for that.’