The Women's Auxiliary Air Force by Vicki Beeby

Author:Vicki Beeby
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canelo Digital Publishing Ltd
Published: 2022-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

They collected Evie from the pub on their way to the rehearsals. Milan and Jiří were with them and Alex accompanied Evie. Even though May was overjoyed to have Evie there, she worried she would get tongue-tied performing in front of an audience for the first time.

However, she forgot her nerves when Peggy arrived, alone as usual. The girl gave her such a reproachful look that May’s heart sank.

‘Where’s Susie?’ Jess asked, when the children had gathered around. They were a more sombre group than usual, hardly surprising, considering what had happened to their home town.

‘Her mum was killed.’ It was one of the boys who answered – Danny. He spoke in such a matter-of-fact way, it took a moment for the meaning to sink in. When it did, May felt sick that young children were being forced to confront such horrors.

Another girl, Lottie, nodded, eyes wide. ‘She was crying all day at school.’

Jess looked horrified. ‘Poor Susie.’ She swept her gaze over the rest of the children, brows drawn together. ‘What about the rest of you? Have you heard from your families?’ Peggy sat silent but the other three children clamoured to answer.

It turned out that the two boys, Danny and George, had mothers with babies. They had left Coventry at the same time as the other children. Lottie’s mother had been hurt but would be fine. However, George was still waiting to learn about his grandparents, and Lottie’s auntie had been killed.

‘The vicar came to see us,’ Lottie said, her eyes brimming with tears. ‘He was very kind. He took us to church and let us light candles.’

May’s heart ached for these children, remembering the devastation she had witnessed in Coventry. It was awful to think that people dear to them had been among the dead.

Jess appeared to be at a momentary loss for words, then she gathered herself. ‘Tell Susie we’re thinking of her,’ she said, ‘and let her know she’s welcome to come back any time if she feels up to it.’ She was silent again for a while and the children sat with bowed heads. ‘I’ve had an idea,’ Jess said after the silence had stretched out for several long seconds. ‘We can take a collection when we perform the pantomime. To help your families. What do you think?’

Most of the children agreed, nodding enthusiastically. Peggy sat with bowed head, tracing patterns on the dusty floorboards with her fingers.

‘Do you feel up to rehearsals tonight? You’ve been doing so well, it won’t matter if you’d rather wait until next week.’ When the children insisted they wanted to stay – even Peggy joined in with this – Jess chivvied them to their feet. ‘Then let’s get started.’

May sat on the steps at the side of the stage while Jess took the children through their opening song. Her job as prompter was unnecessary now, as the children were word-perfect and moved through the steps of the dance in unison. May kept her eyes on Peggy.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.