Better Days Will Come by Pam Weaver

Author:Pam Weaver [Weaver, Pam]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Sagas, General, Fiction
ISBN: 9780007453283
Google: mFtmfzVUrwcC
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Published: 2012-04-11T23:00:00+00:00

Twenty

Bonnie had been at the nursery for six months already. She had settled in quite quickly and she and Shirley were very happy. On her days off (she had one a week), Bonnie would take Shirley out and about. Sometimes they would walk in Richmond Park, sometimes she would make the trek down the hill into Kingston itself. On summer days she would stroll along the riverbanks or look around the shops. There was a Bentalls in Kingston and Bonnie would wander around, remembering the Bentalls in Worthing. She seldom bought anything because she tried to save every penny she had. One day, Shirley would need things like school uniforms or new shoes and books and pencils. Bonnie also harboured the faint hope that one day she might find a little flat of their own. She had to carry on working and so for the moment it was better to stay where she was, but she longed for the freedom of being able to do what she wanted to do when she wanted to do it.

The only thing she didn’t like was having to lie about George. Because it was still fresh in everybody’s mind, she’d told them he’d been killed in the awful train crash at South Croydon in October last year. Thirty-two people had lost their lives and she was sure no one would remember all their names nearly a year on. The papers had made much of the fact that the accident happened in the rush hour and with 800 people on one train and 1,000 on the other, George’s death could easily be swallowed up by the enormity of the event. When Shirley was two months old, it was her mother’s birthday. Bonnie sent a card but of course she made no mention of her first grandchild.

The nursery had a very strict routine. Bonnie worked a twelve-hour stretch with two hours off during the day. Off duty was either 9.30 till 11.30, 2 till 4 or, best of all, 5 till 7. Because tea was at 4.30, when she had a 5 to 7 off duty that gave her an extra half hour and a lovely long evening to herself. Having that afternoon break was a definite advantage in the summer, because she could spend more time with Shirley, but the girls preferred the evening too especially if they were going out. They were only allowed to stay out until 10pm, or if they had a ‘Late Pass’ they could stay out until 10.45pm. By the time they’d come off duty at 7 and got ready, they were lucky to have two hours away from the home. Everybody knew that if they rang the doorbell after 10.45pm to get in, they would forfeit some of their precious off duty another time.

Anyone out after 10.45pm, was, according to Matron, ‘up to one thing and one thing only.’ Bonnie mused that she was probably right. They would be running like mad up Kingston Hill because they’d missed the

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