Christmas at Woolworths by Elaine Everest

Author:Elaine Everest
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan UK

‘Bob! I’m glad I caught you,’ David said as he spotted Mike’s father outside the entrance to the public air-raid shelter.

‘Hello, David, nothing wrong I hope? We’ve just been having a bit of a tidy-up. It can get terribly stuffy down there with so many bodies close together for a few hours. ‘Sarah,’ he called down the steps, ‘we have a visitor.’

‘There’s a problem,’ David tried to explain, as Sarah appeared at the entrance to the shelter, her face streaked with smoke.

‘A problem? It’s not Maisie, is it? Please tell me she’s all right,’ she asked as a look of panic crossed her face.

‘No . . . she’s well. Sarah, it’s your nan. We can’t find her anywhere and we’re worried she may be hurt. We’re out looking for her and I thought you might have seen her, Bob. Did she come to this shelter when the siren went off?’

Bob took off his ARP helmet and wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. ‘Now you’ve got me worried, lad. I’ve not seen her since she dropped over a bit of food for us earlier today. I’ll come and help you look for her. It won’t take a minute to lock up here.’

‘I think I know where Nan may be,’ Sarah said with hope in her voice as she looked at the faces of the two men. ‘She was at Maureen’s when I left to come here. Mum was with her as well. They were going to have a cup of tea before going home. I would think they were still there when the air-raid siren went off.’

‘It must have been an hour since the all-clear. Wouldn’t she have set off for home since then? I’d have thought Mum would have done as well?’

‘Betty is going to use her telephone to contact your mum. We thought perhaps Ruby might have gone home with her.’ David knew it sounded ridiculous as the words left his mouth.

‘I doubt it,’ Sarah said. Perhaps they just got to nattering and haven’t noticed the time passing. Maureen’s cellar is very cosy so they’d be all right down there. Come on, let’s go and find them. At least we know they’re safe as there weren’t any bombs dropped.’

As the trio hurried towards Crayford Road they spotted Betty and Douglas up ahead.

‘I have to report that George answered the telephone and he is as perplexed as we are, as it seems Irene is not at home either. We were on our way to Alexandra Road to report our findings. George is on his way over to number thirteen on his bicycle to help with the search,’ Betty said, her face flushed not just with hurrying from Woolworths but with her inner joy that she feared would bubble over at any moment.

‘Sarah believes we will find them at Maureen’s house,’ David explained.

‘That’s good. I suggest Douglas and I head to Ruby’s house and let Gwyneth and Maisie know what’s happening. We can wait for George and Mike and let them know where you are.

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