Because all three of them were working on Christmas Day, they decided to go out to celebrate Christmas Eve together and splurged on an expensive meal in town, complete with turkey and Christmas pudding. It was nice that some of the restaurants didn’t have as much restriction on food as people did individually.
‘I’m stuffed,’ said Lizzie, sitting back from her plate, wearing the party hat she’d pulled out of her cracker. ‘I won’t need to eat for a week.’
Paying the bill, they looped arms and made their way home. They’d only got halfway when the sirens wailed, and they quickly looked around for the closest shelter, which was an underground station close by. Racing towards it, they clattered down the stairs with hundreds of others. Even though they were under attack, everybody was in a jovial mood because of Christmas.
‘Is it Father Christmas?’ said an older cockney as they arrived on the platform, and people around him laughed.
‘If it is,’ responded another, ‘I don’t think much of his presents.’
Moving down the platform, the girls took off their coats and laid them on the cold, hard concrete, and sat together, their backs against the wall, staring at the brick arches that formed the station.
‘You’d think Jerry would give us a night off,’ shouted somebody else. ‘Isn’t it Christmas in Germany?’
As the underground platform filled up, it was an interesting sight. People caught in the midst of celebrating the holiday. Children dressed in angel costumes, obviously coming from a nativity play, a group of carol singers standing with their candles, a group of musicians, and plenty of mothers with children dressed in their Sunday best, probably on their way back from visiting Father Christmas.
Abigail was spending the night with Agnes, who had assured Julia that she would go into the Anderson shelter if the sirens went off, even though she was vocal in her dislike of it.
Somebody stepped in front of the girls with a box of chocolates. ‘Ee’ ar’ from my family in America,’ said a woman with a round face and a cheeky grin as she offered the girls the box. They thanked her, and all took one.
Lizzie couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten chocolate, and it tasted so good.
Suddenly, a girl rushed down the stairs in a wedding dress, her veil tucked under her arm.
‘God, you’d think the enemy would give us the night off so I could get bloody married,’ she said. ‘I’m only half-dressed.’ Lizzie stood up and helped the woman by zipping up the back of her dress. ‘I didn’t even have a chance to do my hair,’ sighed the bride-to-be as she pulled out the curlers, still arranged in a neat row on her head.
‘Well, fortunately, my friend is a hairdresser,’ shared Lizzie with a smile.
‘I’m getting used to working on the go,’ added Diana, sorting through her bag for a comb. ‘Come on, let’s see what we can do.’
Somebody produced a chair, as some people carried them down to the underground, and the young woman sat down as Diana started to comb through the bride’s hair as best she could, styling it in a way she thought would be attractive. Then, lifting her veil onto her head, she started to pin it into place for her. Young women and young girls gathered around to watch Diana work as the bride-to-be continued.
‘We thought it’d be romantic getting married on Christmas Eve. I thought the Nazis would give us a night off. My fiancé’s probably still all the way across town. I hope he’s all right, and let’s hope the church is still there when I get above the ground.’
As Diana adjusted the bride’s veil, Lizzie thought about her own wedding and when it would happen. She hoped soon. They hadn’t got around to talking about a date yet. She wanted to tell her family first. But something about living in a time where the veil of life and death was so thin made everything polarized. She could see so clearly through the superfluous to what really mattered. And if she only had months, weeks, or even days with Jack, she hoped to spend them as his wife.
‘There you go,’ said Diana, finishing off the bride’s hair, and someone produced a compact mirror from their bag so she could admire Diana’s handiwork. Lizzie thought the young woman looked beautiful.
‘God, I look gorgeous, thank you. Let’s hope we get a lull so I can go and say my vows.’