Poplar for once was looking rather glorious as the late afternoon sun shone down on the cobbles and that warmth in the air that signalled that Summer was firmly on its way and it filled this particular Nurses' hard-working heart and soul with peace.
Trixie smiled as she cycled along the Dock Road letting the rays beat down on her face and the gentle breeze ruffle her hair as she rode, thinking there was just enough time before evening clinic for a refreshing cup of tea and a biscuit or two and a good old fashioned sit down. She was looking forward to the latter particularly as she trundled along, dodging the odd van but by and large it was all in all rather a quiet day as the market traders wound down for the day. Ahead of her, fifty or so yards up, she saw another figure dressed in the self same uniform of grey gabardine and maroon hat, brown hair tucked neatly under and Trixie soon realised she could have company on her trip back.
"Fancy seeing you here!" she smiled as she stopped by Chummy who was buckling up the pack on her bike, turning hearing the comment and grinning widely too at the sudden appearance of her friend. "I must ask, do you come here often?!"
"What ho" Chummy responded, straightening up; pack firmly away and ready to leave for Nonnatus and smiling still at the jokey greeting.
"A delivery?" Trixie asked, really quite sure that when she left to take that parcel to the clinic for Dr Turner, Chummy was still at Nonnatus and she hadn't been gone all that long; even if she had dawdled a bit in the sun on the way back.
"In the loosest terms imaginable!" Chummy replied with a laugh as she took hold of the handlebars of her bicycle. "Seems young Master or Mistress Robinson isn't playing ball the devilish little scamp! I've left poor old Jane's mother with Chloral Hydrate and a tome of instructions!"
"Nothing?" Trixie asked as they began to walk slowly.
"Not a squeak. One rather thinks it all points to a slow labour though. I said someone would pop back in a few hours if they didn't telephone in the meantime" Chummy reported; too now feeling the sun as they walked along. "Baby's tip top and enjoying the peace inside it seems!"
Trixie smiled as they continued to walk, only to be distracted by a sudden wall of noise as they turned the corner on their way up to the main road. A crowd greeted them; probably three or four deep with people craning their necks to see over each other's heads to the source of the fascination and shouting what could well have been encouragement. The Nurses guessed quickly what was going on when they looked up and saw the roughly painted sign hanging precariously over the throng.
"Not another fight!" Trixie exclaimed under her breath as they walked along reluctant both to have to go the long way round just to avoid the crowd. "I don't know why they don't just close that awful pub down!"
"It is rather terrible isn't it?" Chummy agreed, able to see slightly better than Trixie – the advantages of height – as they kept a safe distance. Two men it looked like and they both seemed to be old enough to know better than brawling in the street, but without words to each other, the nurses assumed quite rightly it was down to drink. Peter had mentioned the White Horse once or twice and it didn't seem to be the kind of place she wanted to set foot in and this only served to compound that view. They were just about to ignore it and walk around the crowd when they heard Police whistles that sounded as though they were reverberating from the brick walls around them. Neither could tell the direction the tinny noise was coming from.
"Bout time ve damn cavalry got off vere fat arses an' got 'ere" a clearly disgruntled elderly onlooker standing next to them muttered as the two nurses scanned for any sign of the Police, looking around themselves as were the crowd. A good fight was always a decent afternoon's entertainment; particularly if a rozzer or two got knocked about a bit for his pains and the crowd were not for budging at the prospect of the show.
Sure enough ahead of them two officers ran, one of which she recognised immediately as Peter as he and the other – Chummy was sure it was Norman – charged down the road. She could see he was so concentrated on the job at hand that who was actually standing around watching was of little consequence. The two nurses were rooted unintentionally to the spot, fascinated in an abhorrent way at what was unfolding as the encouragement of the crowd intensified with more shouts.
Neither had heard language quite like it as the crowd started cheering the men on, goading them to keep fighting and turning on the Police Officers rather than each other even though all they were doing was their job.
"One does hate that" Chummy whispered watching carefully for Peter, "there's really no need for it!" He'd told her bits and bobs about his job; what he got up to and the kinds of people he encountered. She'd been interested and it had struck her how dedicated and determined he was to do good by himself and rise up the ranks. He'd seemed animated, really much like her, when they talked of their professional dreams and where they wanted to be in ten, fifteen years time but she was still not entirely sure, or even if, their lives would continue to intertwine. To her side, Trixie just nodded in agreement to her comment. She knew they had been on a handful of dates now and they must have some form of attachment, but if she was being honest, she understood what Chummy was saying regardless of who Peter was in her life. Why was it so necessary to abuse people that are just doing their job and trying to keep the place peaceful?
They were still fascinated though and as they stood horrifically mesmerised, Chummy started to feel her heart race, seeing one of the officers pushed to the ground and the cheer that followed from the crowd; just a smidgen frightened for Peter's safety now. Half of her wanted to tear through that group and give them a piece of her mind but she knew courage would fail her.
Through the crowd she saw Peter all of a sudden, side on, haul one of them up off their feet and shove him hard against the pub wall with such sufficient force the fighter cried out. Her eyes were focused on him as the crowd suddenly hushed quiet when someone within it shouted louder than the rest, realising that all of a sudden the two officers seemed to have the upper hand. Neither girl could work out who said what but the crowd disbursed as the fun seemed to be over really rather quickly.
Arrests made, and two other officers having arrived just that little bit too late, Peter looked up from brushing down his uniform to find the two nurses on the other side of the street; revealed when the crowd left.
He walked across to where they were standing on the other pavement, drawn to her inexplicably, temporarily forgetting he was sure he had bent his wrist back awkwardly during the arrest and that would hurt in a bit. "Sorry you had to see that. Both of you" he smiled meekly, watching carefully as the two suspects were led away. Chummy resisted reaching across to turn down the collar of his tunic that had turned up in the melee, wondering for a moment if he might not welcome it. Out of the corner of her eye, however she did see Trixie take a step back to fiddle with her bicycle pack.
"Where did you learn that?" Chummy asked, the question coming out before she realised what she had said.
"Learn what?" he responded, still slightly distracted and brushing something off the front of his tunic.
"That" she said, gesturing towards where the fight had been. "How to do that?"
"Fight or break one up?" he asked with a shy smile looking up briefly, just about managing to hold her gaze even though her bicycle was blocking his path so he could get no closer.
"Both".
"Growing up in Bow" Peter replied. It was nothing more than that and a touch of police training but underlying that? Growing up on the streets of Bow. "That applies to both" he added quickly. "Fighting and breaking them up. Sometimes you to just had to...to get by..." he concluded with a self-conscious smile suddenly realising with abject horror that she must have seen every second of that brawl and his heart dropped.
"Oh" she responded, looking immediately down at the ground, noticing a fresh scuff on the toe of her shoe; anxious and apprehensive again. She thought she'd got over her nervousness at speaking to him as their dates had flowed really rather smoothly but no, floundering again but it was that tingling excitement at the forbidden that was doing it. It had happened before - when he said 'goodbye' on the steps of Nonnatus on Friday last - and she had wished he had kissed her properly, not just that feather light peck on the cheek, even though she would have no idea how to respond if he did.
"But I don't have to do it all that often. Not as a kid or now. Well, maybe more now actually...the job...it tends to...you know" Peter replied hastily, his throat drying of words and hoping she didn't think he was some kind of rampaging hooligan. That was all he needed. She was lovely; and, touch wood, all was going quite well on that front and the last thing he wanted was for her to think he spent his childhood scrapping on street corners like an scruffy, ill-mannered urchin.
Peter had no idea how she viewed the realities of Poplar but she had certainly just witnessed one of them! He had to be able to handle himself – it was what he was wearing the uniform for – but it hadn't struck him until just this second that he would really quite like to impress her if he could and breaking up a fight between drunks in broad daylight and confessing that he'd been doing it since he was a kid - wasn't the best of way of doing that. He wasn't so sufficiently blind to notice already that she knew things far better than the streets of the East End even wondering for a moment if she had even witnessed a proper fight before.
Chummy nodded carefully; at a loss of for words. Again. She'd never admit it but seeing him wade in like that set her heart a-flutter. A small corner may have been anxiety that he might get hurt but to her alarm and she might say shame, she felt her heart skip for other reasons she really didn't feel she could explain without thoroughly going scarlet.
He had another side to the really quite sweet, gentle and – she had found – respectful man that would turn up for dates in his Sunday best and keep his paws off her all night and her mind had wandered to places that the Ayah would surely scold her for even now. Seems that the Constable had hidden depths and they were making her think all kinds of inappropriate thoughts! Chummy knew she wasn't supposed to be impressed at such uncouth behaviour, but between her and no-one else, she might just venture to say that she was really quite….well, quite, yes….. just that. Quite.
Peter knew he was on duty though and would be slaughtered if he was seen entertaining. The whole shift knew who "Noakes' Missus" was although he daren't tell that was how the lads referred to her just in case it put her off completely. Still it was no worse and no better than what some of the other's wives were talked about. "Your missus delivered our Joan's kiddie last night. Safe as 'ouses. Give 'er a quick one from us in fanks will yer Noakes!"
Chummy she pressed her lips together, not sure what to say. If she was being truthful with herself; the way he had handled himself she knew she should have been thoroughly disgusted that he could be reduced to it - even as part of his job - but she wasn't. Not one blasted bit. Rather rapt if it came to it.
Trixie gesturing at her watch caught her eye and she smiled quickly at him, Peter soon realising that it seemed that their conversation was over. It was probably for the best in all. He was on shift and he was sure he had seen something on her face that he didn't want to read any more into in case he got his hopes up too high.
"Are you still going to come to see that film on Friday with me?" he asked tentatively. The number of dates they had he could count on one hand, notwithstanding the jokes of his workmates, and he was still nervous of asking her out that very next time just in case he had bored her silly with stories from his childhood holidays on the farm or how he wanted to travel the world or if she was tolerating him to be polite.
"Of course" she smiled, reluctant to turn her bicycle round so they could leave; even though she knew she had to. "Collect me at half past six?"
She just about heard the slightly relieved 'of course' as they rode off, her not daring to take a look back at him as, cheekily though, that flutter in the pit of her stomach was still there and would it go away the whole journey back?
No...it wouldn't!