Page 13 - The Spirit of Christmas 1940

The Spirit of Christmas 1940

my little deals from. He would just charge people over the odds
just so he could line his own pocket. It’s not so much that I’m
scared of getting caught, I just don’t want that old bugger ripping
people off.”

Rose smiled and slipped the package on the shelf below her cart.
She picked up a small red rose and put it into the button hole of
Jimmy’s coat and gave him a little kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”

Jimmy turned a deep red as he blushed uncontrollably. It was if
all of his emotions had just been whisked up in the mixing bowl of
his head and he was suddenly and completely at Rose’s mercy.

His embarrassment was suddenly interupted by the shriek of
another arriving train. As normal, Jimmy looked across to make
sure he wasn’t going to shout out at an awkward moment. His
eyes caught the solitary soldier as he walked over to to a woman
waiting for the train. The soldier walked behind the woman and
embraced her. The waiting woman didn’t flinch. It was if she
knew he was about to join her or that she was so wrapped up in
the moment, she didn’t notice him.

As the train came to a stop, passengers poured out into the
station. Within a few minutes, the platform was empty except for
a few staff, the woman and the soldier. The woman bowed her
head, turn away from the soldier and walked away leaving the
soldier standing there on his own. He walked over to a nearby
bench seat, sat down and leant forward as if he was weeping.

“That was strange, did you see that, Rosie?”

“I did. It did seem a little odd. I expect there was perfectly
reasonable explanation for it though. It’s not a good idea to
second guess these things.”

“Yeah, I know that but who is he? Why does he keep coming to
this station? And who was that woman? It don’t make sense to
me. Maybe he’s a spy, maybe he’s getting information from that
woman. All seems a bit iffy to me.”