Page 50 of Neighbors at War

‘When will you speak to her about it?’ her mother asked as she looked at her watch. ‘It’s probably best if they have one last night in their home before you break this news to them.’

‘I agree,’ Peggy said. ‘We can’t do too much this evening now, anyway. I’ll go next door on my way to work and break the news to her about the new ruling. At least then she’ll have the day to pack a few things and try to come to terms with moving here.’

‘Never mind that,’ Babs said. ‘We need to work out where to hide her. There’s no point in them coming if we don’t have anything prepared.’

She was right. ‘I suppose it wouldn’t be safe for them to sleep in one of the bedrooms.’

Their mother stood up. ‘Don’t you worry about that. Babs and I will sort something out in the attic, while you go and speak to her. Then the pair of you can help Helen pack up and bring over hers and Bobby’s things when it’s dark.’ She stared past them thoughtfully. ‘She’ll need to bring the odd thing of Sylvia’s, too, no doubt. We’ve all heard of empty houses being looted, and although we can keep an eye on the place, there’s not much we can do if we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves.’

‘Good point, Mum.’ Peggy thought through her mother’s suggestions. ‘We’re going to have to do this secretly in the middle of the night.’

‘What about curfew?’ Babs asked, looking frightened. ‘I don’t mind hiding them here but I’m really scared about being arrested.’

Peggy didn’t look at her sister, worried that she might see the guilt in her eyes. Expecting her mother and sister to hide their neighbours was a lot to ask, and exceptionally dangerous. She pushed the thought aside. Each of them had agreed to commit to the plan and that’s what they would do.

‘We’re going to have to be extremely careful,’ her mother insisted. ‘We can’t afford for people to see Helen bringing things here. As it is, the authorities are bound to come looking for her at number 2 and will automatically come here to ask us if we know anything. We don’t need people seeing us acting oddly and tipping the Nazis off.’

‘No, we don’t,’ Peggy agreed. ‘I’ll go and speak to her in the morning on my way to work. The announcement won’t be in the newspaper yet, so we can give her one more night in her home.’

Chapter Twenty-Nine

HELEN

Helen slouched in front of the living room grate until the last remnants of the wooden stool she had found earlier in the eaves were little more than cool cinders. She didn’t think she had ever understood how true loneliness felt before losing her aunt.

Helen shivered and looked up at the photo on the mantelpiece of Aunt Sylvia and her husband. She struggled to believe her aunt had been gone now for over half a year, and the effort of having to be strong for Bobby continued to be exhausting. All Helen wanted to do was lie in her bed with the curtains drawn and cry.

‘Who will I reminisce with now, Aunty?’ she asked, staring at the photo of the happy couple so clearly in love. ‘Why didn’t I ask you all the practical questions I need answers to?’ She had been too busy refusing to acknowledge that her aunt was extremely unwell despite the proof being in front of her eyes.

Helen wasn’t sure what would happen to her aunt’s home now Sylvia was no longer there. Would she and Bobby be allowed to keep living here?

The thought of going anywhere else unsettled her further. It was wartime, she reasoned. Aunt Sylvia had welcomed her and Bobby into her home and she would stay until she was told otherwise.

Feeling a little calmer, Helen knew she should finally do something about her aunt’s possessions. But, looking at the photos displayed in the living room, she decided to leave things as they were. Although her aunt was no longer in the house, Helen still felt her presence. In the first weeks after her death she had treasured the wafts of Shalimar, her aunt’s favourite perfume, which filled her senses whenever she plumped the cushion on her Sylvia’s favourite armchair. And breathing in the delicate scent of roses and jasmine with a hint of sandalwood whenever she brushed against her Sylvia’s coat, still hanging in the hallway, soothed her and allowed her to believe for a few precious seconds that she was still alive. She had looked forward to these sensory treats, but they’d long since faded.

Later, Helen was halfway up the stairs on her way to bed, when a loud banging on the front door startled her. She heard Bobby cry out from their bedroom and gritted her teeth in irritation. It had taken her almost an hour to settle him, and she had been hoping to enjoy a reasonable night’s sleep for once.

There was another bang and a German accent ordered her to open the front door at once. Helen’s breath caught in her throat and her heart raced as she grabbed the banister to steady herself.

Hearing them shout once again, Helen forced her feet to move. She reached the front door and turned the key with trembling fingers. She opened the door to find two German officers standing on her step glaring at her.

They walked in without any pleasantries, forcing her to step aside. Bobby began crying noisily, no doubt terrified by the loud noises.

‘You’ve woken my baby,’ she snapped, her motherly instinct to protect her son making her forget who she was addressing for a moment. ‘I need to fetch him.’

They seemed taken aback by her cheek, then the shorter of the two nodded. ‘We will wait.’

She ran up the stairs needing to comfort her sobbing toddler. Wait for what? she wondered. Why were they here, and at this time of night? Gripped with fear about what she was about to face, Helen went to placate her sobbing child.

Chapter Thirty

PEGGY

‘Good grief, who can that be?’ Ida gasped when someone knocked on the front door just after eight the following morning. ‘Go and see who it is. Quickly, Peggy.’

Peggy was about to put down her piece of bread when Babs bellowed from the hallway, ‘I’ll get it, Mum.’

Peggy heard voices and smiled. ‘It’s Helen and Bobby.’ Peggy exchanged a curious glance with her mother.