He saw her again the week after. The pleasure of a day off and he had thought to go for a walk up to his parents; perhaps take the dog off their hands for a few hours and take in some fresh air in the park. Peter had done just that and it had been a rather perfect day off even if he said so himself.
Now he was on his way home for supper. He'd been to his favourite place, Mrs Lacey's, to pick up something to eat and head back to his lodgings, the package of pie and mash warm in his hand and his stomach grumbling with it. It was getting quite dark now and as he walked past the end of Venue Street he could see the grey gabardine and maroon hat, recognising the uniform immediately, but not who was wearing it. Perhaps it was the new nurse and she did look like she was having some difficulties.
Chummy was leaning over her bicycle and he could see clearly that the chain had slipped. No harm in offering a hand he thought as he wandered up. Sister Evangelina had not been very complimentary about her if it was the new one, but he preferred to get to know people before he listened to other people's views.
"Can I help you Nurse?" Peter offered. The poor girl almost jumped out of her skin at the sudden voice in front of her.
"No!" Chummy exclaimed, rising up to her full six foot one in height. "No, no need. Really. One will just have to…." She gestured walking with her fingers, her voice failing her at this sudden appearance of this man in front of her. He had lovely silvery blue eyes though.
"It's quite alright" he said, smiling at her seeing that she was really quite perturbed at this sudden approach, particularly as he was now impeding her way out of the dead end street. "I'm a Police Officer".
She observed him suspiciously, barely able to keep eye contact with him as he fished in his pocket, her bicycle thankfully barring his way for the moment. Peter always kept his warrant card on him. You never knew when it might come in useful, even if it was to prove to a rather alarmed Nurse who you were.
"Here" he said, holding it out to her, deliberately keeping his distance, arm outstretched so she could see the photograph and emblem in the streetlight.
She saw his photograph and name. 'Peter Noakes'. 'Police Officer 127'. He was the officer with Sister Evangelina the other night it seemed and Chummy relaxed ever so slightly. Cynthia and Jenny said they liked him so there was no harm in entertaining him, even though she was sure he must have noticed that she had flushed in embarrassment at his unexpected appearance. He had not perhaps realised that cornering a woman in a street no wider than an alleyway was the best of decisions but he only wanted to help her. Why did he always manage to get things like this wrong?
"I could fix it for you?" he suggested hesitantly, gesturing at the infernal chain, seeing she had already tried if the oil on her hands was anything to go by. However many hours he had spent cycling around Poplar himself he had become an expert in flat tyres and impudent chains. He could see she was thinking about it; him half wondering why she was chewing it over so much, but there you go.
"It will take me two minutes" he said, trying to convince her. "It will save you the walk back to Nonnatus too". She nodded quickly although still quite wondering why he had offered to help her out of nowhere; nobody did that usually, especially not a man. Chummy would far prefer a helping hand though than having to walk all the way back to Nonnatus and risk the criticisms about tardiness that she seemed to be attracting recently.
"Hold it still" he said, kneeling down. In no time at all, the chain was back on. Peter stood up and she saw the oil on his hands, much like hers in her vain attempts at getting the monstrous thing sorted out. She was mortified and he saw her look at his hands as he brushed what he could off.
"Don't worry about me" Peter said. "I only live around the corner". It was a slight exaggeration as he still needed to cross the Cut but it wouldn't take him long.
Peter reached over and flicked on the light on the front of her bicycle too.
"Don't want you getting lost and my mates to have to come and find you" he quipped, assuming she was on her own. She smiled quickly, although it disappeared just as fast and now it was his turn to go beetroot red. It looked like a polite, tolerant, smile rather than one that conveyed that she found him funny.
Peter cleared his throat, hands clasped tightly together, lost to what to say next, seemingly having blown what was a simple conversation again. She was really quite lovely when she smiled though. Not that he'd stand a chance. Nurse Browne talked too well for him so he decided not to think of that now.
Even the words 'thank you' couldn't even manage to come out of her mouth though as he saw Sister Evangelina barrel out of the property behind her, dumping her bag onto the back of her bicycle.
"Come on then!" Sister Evangelina carried on, not seeing Peter standing opposite her. "We don't have all night to be faffing about!"
Peter saw a flash of something in the new nurse's eyes. It looked almost like defeat and it made him curious about her.
"Oh!" the Sister bustled, looking the pair up and down as she pulled her bicycle away from where it was propped against the house wall. "Good evening Constable". Why on earth was he there, just appearing out of nowhere?
"Good evening Sister" Peter replied with a sincere smile. "I was just assisting fixing Nurse Browne's bike chain".
Chummy's heart jumped out of her chest. How did he know her name? She hadn't told him.
Sister Evangelina looked at his oil stained hands. "I can see that" she began, also looking to her side at Chummy, who was staring at the floor where her heart currently lay. "And is it fixed?"
"Yes Sister" they replied in unison. Both had wanted to laugh the co-incidence but it felt so uneasy that they didn't. Peter said a quiet goodbye to them both and they went on their separate ways.
Trixie, arms full of sheets, rounded the corner into the kitchen. Chummy was at the sink, up to her elbows it seemed in steaming hot water.
"Are you alright there?" Trixie asked putting the sheets down on the table seeing she seemed to be scrubbing her skin. Trixie was not looking forward to the mountain of ironing but it was her turn and one thing she had learned throughout her time at Nonnatus was that everyone was meant to pull their weight, even if it meant being on their knees scrubbing floors when Peggy was off, or setting the table for breakfast and running over the place with a duster.
She looked over the nurse's shoulder. "Bicycle chain oil?" Trixie offered, seeing her nod. "Bane of my life too. Fred tries his best he really does, but I think these bicycles do too many miles. We really need new ones".
Chummy saw the sugar pot put next her on the draining board.
"Just a teaspoon full with the water should take it off", Trixie offered as she busied herself with the ironing board from storage room at the back of the kitchen.
"Sugar?" Chummy questioned, still deep in scorching hot water trying to get the pestering stuff off.
"Hmm.." Trixie replied, the screech of the ironing board being folded out ripping through the kitchen. It set their teeth on edge. "I don't know where I learned it but it does do the trick".
Chummy shook out her hands, unscrewed the lid and picked up a teaspoon. 'Oh well' she thought, dropping the crystals into the water. 'Anything goes!'
"Don't tell me the chain fell off on that call with Sister Evangelina?" Trixie asked, recalling one day long ago, actually several days, that it had happened to her in the company of one of the Sisters too and it never got any better. It was their responsibility, along with Fred, to keep their bicycles in good working order but these bicycles seemed to have minds of their own.
"The bally moment we were leaving" Chummy said sadly, not wanting to remember the look on the Sister's face. "Moved the blessed thing and bang..."
"Sometimes" Trixie started, "the local kids will pull the bicycle chains off. But its just kids misbehaving as usual". Trixie plugged in the iron. "So did you get it back on before Sister Evangelina spotted it?"
"Just about" Chummy replied, seeing Trixie's sugar potion seemed to be working as she withdrew her hands from the water. "That fellow – the Constable - from the other day was walking past and he did it for me".
"Constable Noakes?" Trixie asked, not thinking twice about him being there. He was probably on duty at the time anyway and if she had something to confess, he'd repaired her bicycle chain a couple of times too when she had despaired of it herself.
Chummy nodded. "And I forgot to thank him and say goodbye. He must think me a horrid person already". Trixie heard a heavy splash of water as Chummy plunged her hands back into the water. She hadn't realised until they were almost back at Nonnatus how rude she had been towards him; but she hadn't thought and the words never came. That was unforgivable, even if he was a stranger and, always conscious of how she was perceived, Chummy did wonder what he thought of her for it. It had been a rather strange thing though. He was a total and absolute stranger to her, yet when she realised, she had almost panicked at how terrible it was not to even say 'thank you' and this set her off worrying.
Trixie shook her head and smiled. "He won't think anything of it" she replied, breaking Chummy away from her most depressing thoughts. "Next time you see him just say thank you then".
Chummy smiled ironically to herself. If it was only that easy. There was something about those eyes that she didn't quite recognise quite yet.