Lost and Found in Lavender Bay (The Lavender Bay Chronicles #2)

28. Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

L aura walked over to Lenore’s house to pick up the girls. She’d been on the night shift for the past week, and the girls had been staying over at her sister’s house.

The house on Pearl Street looked well. It appeared bright and pretty with a profusion of red and pink flowers out front. She glimpsed the lake beyond the house and thought briefly she might take the girls and Johnny to the beach over the weekend on her day off, maybe even splurge on an ice cream for them. It was the least she could do since poor Johnny always had the job of keeping the girls entertained.

She knocked on the front door.

Through the window, she spied Lenore walking from the kitchen. When her sister saw her, she waved her in.

“Laura, how many times do I have to tell you that you don’t have to knock, just come in,” Lenore said as Laura entered.

“I know. But I can’t help it. ”

“Try. Come on back to the kitchen, I’m making tea. Would you like a cup?”

“If it’s not too much trouble.”

Laura followed her sister back to the kitchen. Lenore provided a dinner for all her boarders every day, so it was no surprise that there was a pot on every burner of the stove. Laura didn’t know how she managed; she didn’t think she’d like to cook for that many people. It was a lot of potatoes and carrots to peel.

“How were the girls last night?” she asked, half dreading the impending reply. It could go either way.

“Fine. We did some baking until bedtime, and that seemed to keep them busy.”

“Thank you,” Laura said with a sigh. Her sister was doing her a huge favor, and she wanted her daughters to be as good as gold for their aunt, which didn’t always happen. But it seemed Lenore and Johnny had a good grip on the situation.

“Where are they now?” she asked. Lenore handed her a cup of tea. “Thanks.”

She’d finally gotten used to drinking it without sugar, but she poured a liberal amount of milk from the little jug into her cup.

“Johnny took them for a walk. They were starting to get antsy.” Lenore joined her at the table and asked, “How are Mother and Dad?”

“Fine. Mother is thinking of taking the train to see Aunt Millicent.”

Lenore looked worried. “Is that a good idea? For her to be traveling alone?”

Laura sighed. “Probably not. But you know Dad won’t go, and Aunt Millicent isn’t in the best of health. ”

“I know.”

“Where’s Hilda?”

“She’s gone to town to get a few items.”

“How’s she doing?”

“Slowing down, like everyone else.” Lenore picked up her teacup and took a sip. “I’m sorry I have no biscuits. Would you like a piece of cake?”

Laura shook her head. “No thanks, I’ll eat before I go to work.”

“How’s your friend Diana?”

“The same. Depressed. But home now.”

“Hopefully she’ll do better at home,” Lenore said.

“Hopefully.”

“How’s work going at the plant?”

“You know, okay.”

Lenore smiled. “Mother and Dad are very proud of you.”

This came as a shock to Laura. “They are?”

“Of course. We all are. Doing your part for the war and doing a man’s job at that!”

Laura fumbled with her answer, still shocked to hear this news. “I needed to do something.”

“And you have. So good for you!”

This was high praise coming from her sister, and Laura was secretly pleased. Lenore, the sister who had done everything right and never put a foot wrong, who was loaded with common sense where sometimes Laura felt she herself was in short supply of it, was proud of her.

“Can I talk to you about something?” she asked.

“Of course. Anything.”

It was rare to find Lenore alone in the house, but Laura was glad of it. There was so much she needed to discuss.

“I need some advice about what’s going on at work.”

“It sounds serious.”

“It is.” She gathered her thoughts. She placed her elbow on the table and leaned her cheek against her fist. Lenore stood and poured more water into the teapot.

“All of us women are glad to be there at the plant, for the most part. We all have an important job to do.”

“You sure do.” After Lenore sat down, she said, “What’s going on?”

First, Laura told her of the abuse Joy had endured at the hands of some of the other workers because of her Italian heritage.

Lenore was appalled. “That’s awful. We’re all in this together.”

“I know that, and you know that. But some people out there apparently have some awful ideas.”

“And she continues to work there.”

Laura smiled. She admired Joy greatly. “If anything, it makes her more determined to stick it out.”

“Good for her!”

“But I have a problem.”

“Are you being harassed by those women too?” Lenore leaned slightly forward.

“No, not the women. One of the men.”

Her sister leaned back in her chair, her eyes widening. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.”

“What’s going on?”

“There’s a guy at work. We call him Creepy Les. He makes all sorts of lewd comments to us under his breath, so no one else can hear, and he can’t have a conversation without touching you.” The memory of the discomfort caused her to squirm in her seat.

Lenore blanched. “Touching you? How?”

“He likes to touch your shoulder, right over your bra strap. I’m not the only one he does it to. We all try to avoid him because he’s such a creep.” Laura’s anger rose within her. “But it’s hard. Sometimes, he coerces women into this unused office across from the restroom. We all try to warn the new girls coming in not to be alone with him.”

Lenore scowled. “That’s awful. How old is this guy?”

“Around thirty or so. My age.”

“And he’s not off fighting?”

Laura shrugged. “He’s got a concave chest or something, I don’t know. The other day I was coming out of the restroom and a woman was leaving that office in tears.”

“What about the management?”

Laura scoffed. “He is the management. He’s the assistant to the foreman.” The plant manager was only concerned about production and meeting quotas. And although the foreman, Mr. Treadwell, was a peach and the father of four daughters, he was under too much pressure already. She didn’t think he’d want to have to deal with the interpersonal relationships of the workers, and she told her sister as much.

Lenore looked horrified. “Are you sure about that? He should make it his business.”

“Anyway, what do I do?” Laura asked, hopeful that Lenore would have the answer.

“For one thing, don’t ever let him see that you’re afraid of him.” Lenore paused. “There are a few options. First you have to stand up to him, somehow. I can imagine how hard that is, but it might be the only way to get him to leave you alone.”

“What if it gets worse?” Laura asked.

“Then you’ll have no choice but to report him or you’ll have to quit. You can’t work under those conditions.”

Laura sighed. She couldn’t tattle. She wasn’t a squealer. Snitches get stitches— that’s what the girls said at work. Some who had gone to management with other complaints had found their work lives miserable. Besides, who were they going to believe, her or him? He was her boss. And she certainly didn’t want to quit. She resented Les for putting her and all the other women in this predicament.

Before they could say anything else, Johnny appeared with the girls, who looked tired and worn out and had some sun on their faces.