The Girl From Mile End. Ch 18.

WAAF=Women's Auxiliary Air Force.

Chapter 18

I got to the cafeteria at five to seven and Bobby was already in there. He ordered two teas when he saw me and we sat at a table. There was a menu folder on the table and I picked it up. “Omelette,” I said. “Do you think they make them with powdered egg?”

         “I doubt it, but I wouldn’t want to try one.”

         I pushed the menu across the table towards him. “What’s that say underneath the omelette?”

         “Sausage roll. What’s up, are you hungry?”

         “No, thirsty though. Shall we go into town for a drink?” Nothing wrong with his sight then. Or maybe it’s only distance that he has trouble with.

         “We’ll finish this tea and go then. So how did you like your trip out on the loco yesterday?”

         “Amazing, fantastic, and I felt so lucky to have the experience. Thank you so much it’s something that I’ll never forget.”

         “We were lucky to have that driver as well,” Bobby said. “Most drivers wouldn’t allow it.”

         We finished our tea and set off into the city. We could just see the town hall clock and it was showing seven forty-five. “Do you have a watch?” I asked.

         “Not on me, no.”

         “I can’t quite make out the time on the town hall clock,” I said.

         Bobby looked towards the clock. “Quarter to eight.”

         I don’t know whether to be pleased or not. He had no trouble seeing the clock at this distance. Could it be that his driver had it wrong and his sight is okay? Is it something else? I hope it is not something nasty. Maybe I should just ask him. But I am a bit worried about what he would say. I’ll just leave it, for now anyway.

         We called into a bar near the cathedral and were on our second drink. “So, where do you live?” I asked.

         “Not far. I rent two rooms in a big house ten minutes away in Canal Street. I’ll show you if you like.”

         “All right, I'd like to have a nosey. You don’t live with your folks then?”

         “No, they moved to Belfast and I wanted to stay in Chester. I go and see then sometimes.”

         We set off and, as Bobby had said, we were there in ten minutes. It was a big house and Bobby said there were three other tenants and the landlady. We walked into the hall. “Don’t they keep the door locked?” I asked.

         “The landlady doesn’t drop the snib on the Yale lock until it gets dark. Dusk as she calls it.”

         Bobby’s rooms were on the first floor and they were quite spacious. “You lock your door then?”

         “Only if I go out. If I’m in I don’t bother until I go to bed. No one bothers in here, we all get on and if anyone want’s anything they will always knock first.”

         I looked through the open door to the bedroom where there was a double bed.

         “Would you like a glass of beer?” he asked.

         “If that’s all there is,” I said.

         We sat on a sofa which I thought had seen better days because the springs were weak. “I was lucky to get this place. There’s room in here for two so when you get de-mobbed you could move in here.”

         “You're not propositioning me are you, Bobby?”

         “No, we would get engaged first.”

         “That’s a round about way of asking a girl to get married.”

         “Whoa, back track a bit. Let’s wait for your de-mob first.”

         “That’s sensible, I suppose.” He had me worried for a while. Thinking of the old, let’s get engaged and then we can have sex line. Another worry; I am still concerned about his health. This could go all wrong but I felt I had to ask. “Your driver told me that you might have trouble with your eyesight?”

         Bobby started laughing. “Sorry, but now I know what the sausage roll and town hall clock was about. My vision is okay, Elsie, but I am colour blind.”

         “Colour blind, I suppose I can live with that,” I said.

         “So can I. But I will lose my job the next time I have a medical.”

         “There’s other jobs. Your beer is okay, but let’s go back to the pub. I need a gin.”

         The next day I just got back with the crew bus and called into the driver’s room. There was a lot of airmen in there so I made myself a brew and thought I would go and relax in the WAAF room. I sat in an armchair and thought I could hear someone sobbing. I went into the toilet room and someone had locked themself in the toilet. I knew that Jane was off today and Eve was out on a run. “Kathy, is that you? Are you all right?”

         “Go away,” she said.

         “No, I won’t go away. We are good friends so we should look out for each other.” There was no response. “Right, you either get out here and talk to me, or I’ll get a couple of the lads in here to rip this door off.”

         Kathy opened the door and walked out. She looked a mess as if she had been crying for a long time. “Whatever is the matter, Kathy?”

         “I’ve been a fool, Elsie. I don’t know what to do.”

         "Why, what have you done?"

         "It's not what I've done, more like what Mark has done."

         “You’re not pregnant are you?” Kathy burst into tears again. “Oh, Kathy, are you sure though?”

         “Yes, I’m a month overdue.”

         “Come and sit down and try to calm yourself. ”

         “My parents will hit the roof. They didn’t want me joining the WAAF in the first place. And I’ll probably get thrown out when the section officer finds out.”

         “I don’t know if that’s true, but I’ll find out.”

         “No, don’t tell anyone.”

         “I won’t mention you, don’t worry.”

         “I know I’ll get thrown out, they don’t want pregnant WAAFs.”

         “When I was at Uxbridge I saw plenty of pregnant women at the RAF hospital.” That was true, but they might have been from married quarters.

         “Mark said he would be careful and promised that I would be safe.”

         “So, he is standing by you?”

         “Is he hell. He called me a whore and accused me of having it off with lots of men. That’s not true, Elsie. He was the first one and there has never been any one else. I just don’t know what to do. I can’t face my father.”

         “Listen, and don’t start crying again. Clean yourself up and get back to the block and try to relax. It will be a while before you start showing. So you will have time to think about what to do. You will have to tell the section officer at some time, but like I said, it will be a while yet.”

         “Thank you, Elsie, you’re a good friend to me.”

         “I’ll always be here for you, Kathy. You can always come to me and don’t forget that. Now get tidied up and when you are ready I’ll go to the control office and tell them you have gone sick.”

         When I got back to the block myself I was pleased to see Kathy sitting on her bed reading. She had managed to calm herself down and although she did not look happy, she did not look in distress.

         The next morning I noticed that Kathy had already left the room for breakfast. I went to the mess and she was not in there. I saw Colin and Mark sitting further down and I avoided them. I didn’t think that Kathy would be too happy if I caused a scene. She was not at the depot and I asked the office Corporal if he had seen her.

         The sergeant looked over. “She has not been here and if she is not here in the next half hour she will be marked Absent Without Leave.”

         If she is AWOL, she may have gone home to try and make it good with her parents. I hope she turns up here soon though. I got the keys for the crew bus and went over to get it prepared. A Mosquito was coming into land shortly and I was ready to set off. A civilian police car pulled into the yard. Please don’t let this be anything to do with Kathy, I thought. I looked at my watch. Fifteen minutes yet before I need to go.

         An airman walked over. “I’m doing the aircrew, Elsie. You’re wanted in the office.”

         I walked over fearing something was terribly wrong. My heart was pounding. I knocked on the office door and was called in. There was a police inspector, an RAF police corporal, and my sergeant.

         “Sit down, Godsalve,” the sergeant said.

         “I believe that you are a good friend of Kathy Mason,” the Inspector said.

         “Yes, Yes I am. What’s happened?”

         “You’re here to answer questions, Godsalve, not to ask them,” my sergeant yelled.

         “Do you know if she is having any problems or if she is being picked on?” The inspector asked.

         When he said: “if she is having any problems” it made me feel a bit better. Whatever has happened, she must be all right. “She has been depressed,” I said.

         “And why was that?”

         “It’s not for me to say.”

         “What?” the sergeant yelled.

         The inspector looked at the sergeant, put his hand up and the sergeant stopped.

         “Your name is Elsie Godsalve, I believe?” The inspector asked.

         “Yes, sir.”

         “Elsie, we need your help. We need you to tell us what you know. Your friend, Kathy, tried to kill herself early this morning by jumping off the Queens Park Bridge into the River Dee.”

         “Oh no, oh bloody hell no. Is she…”

         “She’s alive. Some men were fishing and rowed over and got her out before she was pulled down the river. They got her to the bank and gave her respiration and luckily brought her round.”

         “So, Elsie, please tell us what you know?”

         “She is pregnant and was worried about what her parents would say.” I was sniffling. I was not openly crying but tears were welling up and trickling down my face. "Where is she? Can I see her?”

         “Corporal,” the inspector said.

         “You can’t see her,” the military police corporal said. “She is at the RAF Halton Hospital. Do you know who the perpetrator is? Is he an airman?"

         "I don't know," I lied. "She never said."

         “Thank you for your help, Elsie.” The inspector said as he stood up. “Thank you sergeant,” he said and walked out.

          “I better let the WAAF Section Officer know,” the corporal said and followed him out.

         I looked at the sergeant. He’s gonna tear into me now I suppose.

         “You look understandably upset, Godsalve. We are not busy today and have plenty of spare airmen. Take the rest of the day off and try to relax.”

         “I’d rather keep busy, Sergeant.”

         “What have I told you about back chat?”

         “Will Kathy be coming back here?”

         “Certainly not. She will be court marshalled and given her condition, probably discharged.”

         “She’s going to be punished for being pregnant, sergeant?”

         “No. She is being court marshalled for attempting suicide.”

         “She needs help.”

         “And she will get it, I’m sure. Now get off. Take a walk around the City Wall or something. I don’t want to see you again today, Elsie.”

         I walked out into the yard. Elsie, he called me, Elsie. What is that about? He never calls me Elsie; it's always Godsalve or Girl. I went into Chester to take a walk around the City Wall as the sergeant had suggested. But I did not want to be alone. I needed some company. I knew Bobby was on a late afternoon shift so I decided to call round and see him. I got to the house, walked in and went up the stairs. I tapped on the door and walked in and what I saw took me completely by surprise.

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The Girl from Mile End. Ch 19.  (18+) Elsie on a charge. #2291682 by Bruce.