Such Sweet Sorrow Read Online Free PDF

to the New Theatre, the family was considered well-off by Pontypridd standards. Well-off would have been enough to set them apart on its own, but as Wyn was also saddled with the reputation of being ‘a queer’ he was treated as an outcast by most of the males in the town, William included.
    ‘Boss is in early.’ William nodded to the shadow of a van parked outside the shop.
    ‘Oh no, I must be late.’
    ‘See you tonight, sis.’ William carried on swiftly down the hill, crashing into another pedestrian in his eagerness to escape a possible meeting with Diana’s boss.
    Diana negotiated the blackout curtain to find Wyn piling boxes from the shop floor into the back storeroom.
    ‘It’s an offence to hoard sweets, even for a retailer,’ she smiled.
    ‘I’m checking stock levels against the ration cards that have been registered with us.’
    ‘Are you going to be able to keep the two shops going?’ she asked, her heart skipping a beat at the thought of losing her job. For all the talk of a shortage of manpower and the conscription of men, there was still an unemployment problem in Pontypridd. And well-paid jobs, like working for a considerate boss like Wyn Rees, were scarcer than diamond tiaras in the valleys.
    ‘To tell you the truth I don’t know.’ He heaved the last of the boxes into place. ‘I came here early so I could talk to you. You’re a first-class worker, Diana.’
    ‘You didn’t come in early just to tell me that.’ She unpinned her hat and carried it together with her coat into the back room.
    ‘I couldn’t have managed these last couple of years without you. You’ve kept this shop going, you’ve never complained, not even when I’ve asked you to man the theatre shop late at night after you’ve put in a full day here. You’ve always been there ready to take over when Dad’s been too much for my sister to manage by herself…’
    ‘Are you trying to tell me that you’re closing this shop?’
    He stood up and leaned against the counter. ‘I don’t want to, but I can’t keep both shops going at the new, reduced stock levels now that sugar rationing’s begun to hit trade,’ he confessed.
    She sank down on the chair in front of the counter. ‘How much notice are you giving me?’
    ‘None at the moment. But the way things are it can only be a matter of time. Diana, I’m sorry, I’ll do all I can to keep you on, you know that, but I can’t guarantee you’ll be here six months from now.’
    ‘I’m sorry. You’re trying to be fair with me, and I’m behaving like a spoilt brat. It’s just that this is the best job I’ve ever had. I can’t imagine working anywhere else.’
    ‘We might all be working somewhere else, whether we want to or not, by the time this war is finished.’
    ‘You’ve had your registration papers?’
    ‘Yesterday.’
    ‘Will and the two Ronconi boys have joined the Welsh Guards.’
    ‘If it wasn’t for Dad and my sister, Myrtle, I’d have been tempted to do the same thing.’
    ‘How is your father?’ she asked, remembering her manners.
    ‘Dr Evans told us he’ll not see summer out this year, but then he said the same thing this time last year. And when I look at Dad lying in bed with Myrtle fluttering around him, wearing herself out, I think he’ll outlast me and my sister. I wish I could do more to help her. She never has a moment to herself.’
    ‘It must be quite a strain.’ Diana felt sorry for Wyn’s spinster sister. Ten years older than Wyn, and undeniably plain, she had sacrificed whatever life she might have had to care for her father and brother when her mother had died. ‘If there’s anything I can do to help either of you, you know where to come.’
    ‘Thanks, Diana. And as soon as I make a definite decision on the future of the shops, I’ll let you know what’s happening. If they can be kept open I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather entrust the running to, than you. But with all the men going away I’ve a feeling