Free Welcome Home by Margaret Dickinson Page B

Charlton was the only one in the family to own a car. He’d always been generous and had often taken Edie’s children out in it for a Sunday afternoon drive to the seafront at
Cleethorpes where they’d spend a happy afternoon building sandcastles on the beach or running in and out of the waves, shrieking with laughter at the cold water.
    ‘Do you think he’ll be able to spare the petrol for something like that?’ Beth asked doubtfully. Petrol rationing had started the previous September.
    ‘You can only ask, love,’ Archie said mildly and returned to reading his newspaper, but the print blurred before his eyes. Had he done the right thing in suggesting she should learn
to drive? Perhaps not, if it meant she might end up driving ambulances through the bombed streets of the capital.
    But Harry was only too happy to teach his niece to drive.
    ‘I don’t use my car much and I’m thinking of taking it off the road while the war’s on, but before I do, we’ll get you driving.’
    The two of them spent several happy hours bowling along the country lanes on the outskirts of Grimsby.
    ‘You’re a natural,’ he told her. ‘I’ve never seen anyone pick it up so quickly. Are you planning to volunteer? Is that it?’
    ‘I must do something, Uncle Harry. I’m bored to tears at home. Sorry, that sounds awful, but I am, and I thought driving might be useful. Actually, it was Dad who suggested it, but I
think he’s right.’
    Harry said nothing. Archie had had a quiet word with his brother-in-law and Harry knew the reasoning behind her father’s idea. But he wasn’t sure it was going to help; Beth wanted
involvement and excitement and nothing and no one was going to stand in her way. Harry sighed inwardly. He loved all his nephews and nieces, but like Archie, he recognized that Beth was someone
special – very special. He just hoped and prayed she would stay safe.
    At the beginning of April, when the disturbing news came that Hitler had invaded Denmark and Norway, Irene, however, had a piece of good news.
    ‘Mam,’ she said shyly one morning. ‘I went to the doctor yesterday.’
    ‘Oh ducky, what’s wrong?’
    ‘Nothing’s wrong, Mam. I’m going to have a baby, that’s all.’
    Lil stared at her for a moment before hugging her and saying, ‘“All”, she says. “That’s all”, as if it isn’t the most marvellous news ever. Oh, wait
till Edie hears this!’
    ‘D’you want to tell her, Mam? I don’t mind if you do.’
    Lil was bursting with pride, but she steeled herself to say, ‘No, no, that should be Frank, though I don’t know if I’ll be able to contain myself until he gets home tonight.
I’d best stay out of her way. She’ll read it in my face.’
    ‘But aren’t you meant to be going to the WVS centre with her today?’
    ‘Oh dear, yes, it’s Thursday, isn’t it?’
    Now Lil was faced with a dilemma. She knew she wouldn’t be able to keep Irene’s secret if she was to be with Edie for more than a few minutes, let alone most of the day.
    ‘Oh, go on, Mam. It won’t matter if you do let the cat out of the bag. Frank won’t make a fuss. He was that thrilled when I told him last night after we went to bed, I reckon
he wanted to wake the whole street up there and then.’
    Frank had gone out early to look for work but neither of them knew what time he might return.
    ‘I just didn’t want to spoil his surprise. I’m sure he’d like to tell his family himself.’
    ‘If you can keep it to yourself, do, but don’t worry if she winkles it out of you. I know what Aunty Edie’s like – and so does Frank.’ She laughed. ‘He used
to tell me when we were kids at school that he could never keep anything he’d done from her. “I shall find out,” she used to say to him, “so you might as well tell me
yarsen.”’
    ‘I remember,’ Lil murmured and then sighed. ‘Oh well, I’ll do my best.’
    As it happened, Edie had some news of her own and she was so wrapped up in