Forgive and Forget by Margaret Dickinson Page B

sound teasing, almost as if she was playing hard to get. She didn’t want to fall out with him.
    His face fell but then he grinned and shrugged. ‘Oh well, it’s your loss. I’ve got ’em queuing up for me, y’know.’
    ‘I’m sure you have, Micky, you’re a good-looking lad. And thanks for asking me out, but I can’t. Not yet awhile.’
    ‘Then I’ll just have to keep on asking, won’t I, until you say yes.’
    After Eddie and Micky had gone, Polly sat down by the fire and let out a huge sigh of relief. She hoped that that was the end of it. But she rather feared it wouldn’t be.
    As Polly was banking down the fire that night and preparing for bed, she was still anxious, but now it was not about Micky and his advances but more about her father; he still hadn’t come home after work.
    When there was a knock at the door, her heart leapt and she flew to open it. When she saw Leo standing there she felt both a thrill of delight and stab of fear. But then she realized that he wasn’t in uniform. So this wasn’t an official visit and he was carrying a huge parcel.
    ‘H-hello,’ she stammered and felt the colour rise in her face.
    ‘Hello, Poll. Mam’s sent this down for you. Can I come in? It’s a bit heavy.’
    Flustered, she said, ‘Oh – sorry, yes of course.’
    He set the parcel on the table and unwrapped it to reveal a large goose. ‘Mam gets given all sorts of gifts at Christmas, you know,’ Leo explained. ‘From grateful folks she’s helped. Delivered their babies or helped ’em out when they’ve lost someone. And this year she got given two geese, would you believe?’
    Polly bit her lip; she didn’t know whether she did believe it or not. Was it just the Hallidays being kind to the Longdens, who’d had such a dreadful year? But she did know that what Leo said was right; Bertha did get given all sorts of presents by those who could afford to be generous with their thanks for her help.
    Leo was watching her face and must have guessed at some of the thoughts troubling her. Casually, he said, ‘But of course, if you’ve already got something—’
    Polly shook her head. ‘No, no, we haven’t. Eddie’s brought a lot of vegetables and fruit home that Mr Wilmott’s kindly given him.’ Polly’s eyes were on the plump goose so she didn’t see Leo’s sceptical glance, though he said nothing. ‘But – no,’ she went on. ‘I haven’t got anything to go with them. I – I was going to go out tomorrow and see if I could . . .’
    Her voice trailed away. She didn’t want to admit that she’d been planning to hang around the market the following day until the very last minute to see what she could pick up cheaply for the family’s Christmas dinner.
    ‘Then please have it,’ Leo said gently. ‘We’ve got more than the three of us can eat if we sat at the table from morning until night.’
    Polly giggled at the mental picture of the Hallidays sitting round their table the whole day stuffing themselves with food.
    ‘And Mam said to ask you: have you got a Christmas pudding?’
    ‘Oh yes. I made one in November.’
    Leo grinned. ‘On Stir-up Sunday?’
    Polly blinked and stared at him. ‘Eh?’
    ‘Stir-up Sunday, Mam calls it. It’s a Sunday in November. It’s the Sunday before Advent, she says. It’s when she always makes her puddings.’
    ‘I’ve never heard that,’ Polly murmured, still entranced by the sight of the lovely goose and picturing in her mind’s eye the dinner table loaded with wonderful food on Christmas Day. She was going to be so busy for the next two days she’d have to get Violet to lend a hand for once.
    ‘I hope you got everyone in the family to have a stir when you were making it and make a wish?’
    ‘Oh yes,’ she murmured. At the memory of her own secret wish, which had involved the person standing beside her at this very minute, she blushed again.
    As she fell asleep that night Polly couldn’t help wishing – if only it had been Leo who’d