Christmas With the Engine Girls by Daisy Styles

Author:Daisy Styles [Styles, Daisy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Sagas, Romance, Historical, General, Holidays, 20th Century, World War II, Women, Family Life, Coming of Age, War & Military
ISBN: 9781405956116
Google: ZRetEAAAQBAJ
Published: 2023-11-09T00:00:00+00:00

30. Annie

As the frosty atmosphere in the workplace began to lift, Sid made no secret of his huge relief.

‘All quiet on the Western Front,’ he joked. ‘I have to say, I never thought I’d see all you lasses mingling together, nice and friendly, like you are these days. Better than knives out, like it was before.’

‘Apart from our Annie,’ Audrey grinned.

‘She’ll come around in the end, just you wait and see,’ Sid said confidently.

After Sid had gone on his way, little Mary blurted out, ‘To be honest, I sometimes get a bit lost for words, if the truth be known. It’s not like when I’m talking to mi pals, I’m never short of things to say. I know their families and where they live, where they went to school and how many kiddies they’ve got. When I’m around the new girls, I do get a bit tongue-tied.’

Smiling at Mary’s touching naivety, Ruby said, ‘Mary, lovie, I keep telling you, they’re no different to us. They haven’t just landed from outer space,’ she teased. ‘Just ask about their families and where they’ve come from, that’ll soon get them nattering.’

‘But in’t it cheeky, probing into strangers’ affairs?’

Audrey let out a loud hoot of laughter. ‘Hell fire, you’re not exactly asking how much money they’ve got in the bank!’

‘And it’s a lot better than ignoring them,’ Ruby pointed out.

Blushing furiously, Mary added, ‘Mi mam said I should mind mi manners, that I shouldn’t let Hucknall folk down by asking outsiders overfamiliar questions.’

‘Oh, for crying out loud …’ Audrey murmured under her breath.

Putting an arm around skinny Mary’s narrow shoulders, Ruby said gently, ‘Lovie, just be yourself and stop worrying – you’re not capable of upsetting anyone, no matter what your mother might think.’

Seeing Edna queueing up at the canteen counter, Ruby hurried over to join her.

‘A little bird told me you didn’t come into work yesterday,’ she said, keeping her voice low.

‘That little bird was right,’ Edna winced. ‘I’m sorry to let anyone down, but to be honest I just couldn’t bear to leave Kathleen, it gets harder every time. When she begged me to stay, I hadn’t the heart to say no. It was lovely spending the night with her,’ she sighed. ‘Mind you, did I get a roasting from Sid for not turning up for my shift yesterday morning! He was livid, said he’d cut my wages, which is fair enough. I couldn’t tell him the truth, so I lied through my teeth and told him I’d missed the last train.’

When both women had collected their mugs of tea and a pile of chip butties, they settled down at the nearest table.

‘The good news is, I don’t think it will be too long before I can bring Kathleen to Hucknall,’ Edna told Ruby. ‘She’s really getting comfortable with me. Nellie’s sure it won’t be long now. I try not to allow myself to think that she might be with me by Christmas.’

‘Wouldn’t that be wonderful!’ Ruby cried. ‘Christmas with your little girl.

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