A Mother's Love by Daisy Styles
Author:Daisy Styles [Styles, Daisy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781405950442
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2022-01-05T00:00:00+00:00
24. Counting the Days
Christmas and New Year came and went in the munitions factory on the Pennine Moors. Others might have taken a day off to celebrate but not so the bomb builders, who worked around the clock, and of their own volition put in extra hours in order to meet the bomb quota needed to beat the enemy.
âBetter to be on the offensive in 1944,â the factory manager had declared to the workforce. âMakes a nice change from the bloody defensive.â
War news at the start of January 1944 was all about successful advances. The Soviet troopsâ advance into Poland raised the nationâs growing hopes that Hitler would soon be routed. Though Stella heard the good news, she barely had the energy to raise a smile. Her sickness had by no means subsided; she struggled throughout the day and turned green at the smell of most of the food she had to prepare, pregnant or not. Sago, boiled sprouts, and tripe and onions turned her stomach to such an extent that she had to hand over the making of those dishes to Nellie, who so far had no idea of Stellaâs condition.
âBut she soon will,â thought Stella as she loosened the canteen pinafore tied around her thickening waist.
It was a relief to go home at the end of the day and change into something that didnât constrict her tummy or her breasts, which were tender these days. It was also a relief to be able to talk openly to Doreen, who was genuinely sympathetic to Stellaâs situation.
âSo, whatâre you going to do, then?â Doreen asked, as she lit up a Woodbine.
âWeâll get married,â Stella told her. âBillâs looking into the rules and regulations.â
âAnd youâll move down South?â
âYes, if all goes well,â Stella replied.
Doreenâs string of questions continued. âAnd when will you leave here?â
âAs soon as Bill gets permission to marry me. Iâll have to get a doctorâs note to show to the factory manager, who will hopefully let me leave immediately.â
âI suspect heâll make you hang on until he gets a new cook,â Doreen pointed out.
âGod! I hope not,â Stella exclaimed. âI could finish up having the baby on the job.â
Doreen didnât flinch as she asked her next question. âAnd youâre keeping it?â
Stellaâs big blue eyes opened even wider than ever. âAre you kidding me?â she exclaimed. âOf course, weâre keeping our baby; we love each other.â
Doreen raised her hand in a gesture to calm Stella down. âOnly a practical question. Lots of women in your place would be organizing a back-street abortion by now.â
âWeâve talked about it,â Stella admitted. âNeither of us wants that.â Sighing she flopped down on to her narrow single bed. âOh, I wish I could talk to Bill. I ask so many questions in my letters to him, but it takes at least a week before I can get any answers back, and by that time I have another string of questions.â
Stubbing out her cigarette, Doreen was pragmatic as always. âWell, at least Billâs genuine enough and wants to marry you.
Download
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.
Kathy Andrews Collection by Kathy Andrews(10616)
The remains of the day by Kazuo Ishiguro(7623)
Spare by Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex(4258)
Paper Towns by Green John(4208)
The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson(3883)
Be in a Treehouse by Pete Nelson(3260)
Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire by J.K. Rowling(3149)
Goodbye Paradise(3018)
Never by Ken Follett(2959)
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer(2739)
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro(2646)
The Genius of Japanese Carpentry by Azby Brown(2639)
The Cellar by Natasha Preston(2633)
Drawing Shortcuts: Developing Quick Drawing Skills Using Today's Technology by Leggitt Jim(2552)
120 Days of Sodom by Marquis de Sade(2471)
Architecture 101 by Nicole Bridge(2373)
Machine Learning at Scale with H2O by Gregory Keys | David Whiting(2373)
The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman(2351)
Industrial Automation from Scratch: A hands-on guide to using sensors, actuators, PLCs, HMIs, and SCADA to automate industrial processes by Olushola Akande(2331)