Goodnight Sweetheart. Annie Groves
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are all here to work, not to engage in time-wasting chatter. I have already told Mr Harding that I think he would do well to put in place a system of fines for workers who shirk their duties – in any kind of way.’
Molly could see the tide of angry red staining the back of May’s neck.
Without the normal banter between the girls to speed them through the day, time seemed to drag, and Molly could scarcely conceal her relief when the dinner bell rang, signalling the end of the morning’s work.
Immediately June stood up and called, ‘Come on, our Molly. We’ll have to put a bit of speed on if we’re to get down to Lewis’s and back …’
‘You there, girl. Who gave you permission to stop work?’ Miss Jenner demanded icily.
‘The dinner bell’s been rung and that means that it’s dinner time. And me and me sister have got to get down to Lewis’s and get our blackout material, just like the Government has told us to do,’ June defended herself, raising her eyebrows as though defying Miss Jenner to claim a higher authority than that of the British Government.
‘Very well then. But see that you are back here before the work bell rings otherwise you’ll be docked half a day’s pay.’
‘You gorra be careful with that Jenner, June. It looks to me like she’s going to give us a lorra grief,’ May warned ten minutes later as they all streamed out of the room, heading for the small ‘canteen’ where they were allowed to eat their dinner and make themselves a hot drink.
‘So what? Let her try, if she wants,’ June shrugged. ‘I don’t care. Come on, Molly,’ she instructed. ‘We’ve got to get down to Lewis’s.
‘It’ll be quicker if we walk instead of waiting for the bus,’ June announced once they were outside the factory, but in the end, even though they ran almost the whole way down to Ranelagh Street, it still took fifteen precious minutes.
‘Oh Gawd, look at the queue,’ June complained when they hurried into Lewis’s haberdashery department. The shop was filled with customers milling around amongst the rainbow-coloured bolts of cloth and shelves of pins, needles and buttons.
Lewis’s was Molly’s favourite store and she could remember the thrill of coming here as a little girl, holding tightly on to Elsie’s plump hand for fear that she might be lost in the crowd of shoppers. Now that she was older, though, one of her favourite treats was to wander round the well-stocked haberdashery department. Unlike June, Molly loved sewing and was a dab hand at making things. She also had a good eye for the right bit of trimming to smarten up an old blouse, or last year’s hat.
‘Look, you go and get the blackout stuff,’ June told her, ‘and I’ll go and look for a pattern for me wedding dress whilst you’re queuing. Here’s the measurements for the windows.’
‘June, we’re not going to get served in time to get back. Wouldn’t it be better if we came back tonight?’ Molly begged her.
‘What, after we’ve gone and run all the way here? Don’t be so soft. You go and get in that queue.’
Half an hour later, when Molly was only three from the front of the queue, June came hurrying up to her, pulling a face and complaining, ‘I was hoping you’d have been served by now …’
‘Did you find a pattern?’ Molly asked her.
‘Yes, but I wanted you to come and have a look at it with me and there won’t be time now. Here, come on, it’s our turn next,’ she warned, digging Molly in the ribs.
‘By, but this stuff is heavy,’ June complained, stopping to push her hair off her hot face.
‘We should have left it until tonight and then gone straight home on the bus,’ Molly told her.
‘Oh, give over saying that, will you, our Molly?’
It was just gone one o’clock when they finally trudged wearily into the factory yard, but when Molly would have made straight for the workroom, June shook her head at her.
‘What are you doing?’ Molly asked worriedly when she saw her sister heading determinedly for Mr Harding’s office.
‘Wait and see. And here, take hold of this lot for a mo, will yer?’ June thrust her own parcel on top of Molly’s, before knocking firmly on the office door.
‘I’m sorry to disturb you, Mr Harding,’ Molly heard June announcing when the factory owner opened the door, ‘only I thought as how we should explain ourselves on account of us being late back from our dinner break.’
‘You’re late?’ Molly saw him frown as he looked at his watch.
‘Yes,’ June confirmed, ‘and I’m right sorry about it, only I felt it was our duty to go down to Lewis’s just as soon as we could to get our blackout material, what with us getting notices about it from the Government, and all.’
‘Well, yes, quite right. We must all be aware of our duty from now on,’ Mr Harding agreed immediately.
‘Of course we’ll make up the time by working late,’ June continued.
‘No, that won’t be necessary … June, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, Mr Harding. And this is me sister, Molly.’
‘Very good, very good … Back to your machines now, both of you.’
‘What did you do that for?’ Molly asked curiously as they hurried away. It wasn’t like June to admit to doing something wrong.
‘By, you’ve got a lot of learning to do, our Molly,’ June told her, shaking her head. ‘Wait and see.’
The unfamiliar silence when they walked into the workroom almost caused Molly to miss a step and cannon into her sister.
All the girls were seated at their machines but none of them was working. Instead, they were all staring straight ahead whilst Miss Jenner stood in front of the machines watching them.
‘And what time do you call this?’ She pounced immediately on Molly and June.
‘I’m sorry we’re a bit late only there was a bigger queue at Lewis’s than we were expecting,’ June apologised.
‘You are five minutes late, and since no work has been done by anyone whilst we have waited for you to return, that means that thirty lots of five minutes have been lost – the cost of that amount of time will be deducted from your wages, just as soon as I have spoken with Mr Harding.’
‘Well, I’ve already seen him and he has said as how it was our duty to go and get our blackout material,’ June told her, ‘and if you don’t believe me you can go and ask him yourself.’
Molly watched as an ugly red flush of anger spread up over Miss Jenner’s thin neck, and then held her breath, fearing that her sister had gone too far. But the new supervisor didn’t say anything, leaving June to give the other girls a triumphant wink behind Miss Jenner’s back before sitting down at her machine.
‘By, June Dearden, you’ve gorra lorra cheek,’ Sheila Williams commented admiringly when the afternoon whistle had gone and they were all getting ready to leave.
‘Aye, and you’ll have made yourself an enemy as well,’ Irene warned her darkly. ‘She’s not the sort who’s gonna forget what you’ve done – she’s gonna have it in for you an’ for your Molly from now on, mark my words.’
‘I’m not walking all the way home lugging this stuff,’ Molly told June as they left the factory carrying the fabric. ‘It’s too hot.’
‘All right then, we’ll get the bus, but you’re going to be doing the paying, mind,’ June warned her. ‘I wonder how long it will be before we get word from Frank and Johnny.’
The boys had been gone only a day but it had already affected the girls – though in very different ways. Underneath her bright exterior,