Dublin Bay by John Patrick

Author:John Patrick
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: LGBTQIA+, Historical, Ireland, World War II, PTSD, IRA, espionage, minister, new adult
Publisher: NineStar Press, LLC
Published: 2021-10-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

FEBRUARY 1941

One bitterly cold afternoon at the end of January, Bella and I were working in the Werners’ kitchen when we heard children raising a ruckus in the alley. We rushed through the shed and opened the door. A dozen or so children were running down the alley. “The Glimmer Man’s coming. The Glimmer Man’s coming!” they sang out, some turning down other alleyways to carry their message through the neighborhood.

“I hate this,” said Bella as we made our way back into the kitchen to await the inspector.

“We’ll be fine,” I told her. “We’ve only used the turf stove for the last two days.” I had managed to fit the flue on the stove myself, and just in time too. Coal rationing had limited supplies severely, and what coal was available was of extremely poor quality. For those lucky enough to have piped coal gas, like the Werners, there were only brief periods of the day when they were permitted to use it. Hence the Glimmer Man—an official inspector who went door to door checking that gas wasn’t being used when it shouldn’t—“not even a glimmer,” as the posters put it. A warm gas oven could have your supply cut off for days.

A few minutes later, Bella was ushering the inspector into the kitchen.

“It’s warm in here,” he observed with some suspicion as he read the notes on his clipboard.

“Yes, sir,” I replied. “I installed an old turf stove. Heats the place right up.”

He looked up at me. “That was smart of you.” He walked over to get a better look at it. “Looks like the one we had in our cottage when I was a boy.” He walked to the gas oven and placed his hand on it. “Good,” he said. “How are turf supplies?” he asked me.

“Getting better,” I replied. And they were. The government was pushing to transition to turf across the country, and the effort was beginning to pay off.

“Think you could set me up with one at my flat?”

Bella smiled. I knew what she was thinking. Another job. We were doing quite well, she and I. Bella had two other families she’d met through the Werners that she occasionally worked for, and I was developing a reputation as someone who could secure fair contracts for home deliveries of all sorts. Maybe I could branch out into turf stove installation?

“I imagine I could,” I answered.

“Good, then, and where can I find you?”

“I’m here more often than not,” I said.

He looked at his clipboard and frowned. “This is the Werner household, yes?”

Bella and I nodded.

“I’m not one to tell others their business, but I’d be careful about getting in too close with Germans if were you.” He tugged on his hat. “Have a good day.”

“A little late for that piece of advice,” Bella murmured. After she’d shown him out.

Bella went back to her vegetable chopping, and I went back to the bills. Everything was getting to be so much more expensive, and I was a stickler for ensuring the Werners didn’t pay more than necessary.

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