The G.I. Bride

by Eileen Ramsay

  The door opened as soon as the jeep pulled up, and Mrs Teague stood on the doorstep with a big smile on her face. ‘April! How was everything? I hope the food arrived safely. And who is this young man? You must come in and have some tea.’

  ‘This is A.J. He helped me and the major rescue little Stevie yesterday.’

  ‘Oh, how wonderful. I’ve been longing to thank you. Come in, come in. I still have a little bit of cake left, which I kept back for your return, April. You both look like you could use a cold drink.’

  A.J. smiled and accepted the invitation. They walked through to the kitchen, which was still strewn with food and debris – evidence of Mrs Teague’s valiant attempts to feed every person working at the hospital.

  ‘Looks like you’ve been working harder than we have, ma’am.’ A.J. looked around in amusement.

  ‘It’s been such fun. I do love to cook. Now sit and tell me everything about your day.’

  For the next fifteen minutes, A.J. charmed Mrs Teague with tales of the day, and of April’s bravery the night before, which made April blush. Then he finally rose.

  ‘I best go. I’ll be back at the hospital tomorrow, though, and so will the others. Do you want me to pass any messages to anyone? It’s no trouble, I’ll be passing that way.’ He looked at April meaningfully.

  ‘Umm, no. No, thank you.’ She paused a moment, then said, ‘But perhaps you’d like me to pass a message for you?’

  A.J. looked away, and she was sure that if he wasn’t so dark-skinned, she’d have seen a blush rising up his cheeks. He cleared his throat. ‘I can’t think who I’d pass a message to but thank you anyway. Good night, ladies.’

  April walked him to the door.

  ‘Come back again soon, A.J. You and your friends are welcome any time,’ Mrs Teague called after them.

  A.J. laughed. ‘Is she always so friendly?’ he asked April.

  ‘Oh yes. And once you’ve gone, she’ll be going on and on about what a lovely boy you are. She’d adopt the lot of you if she could.’

  ‘Did she mean it then? Not many white folks back home would invite us into their house.’

  ‘She’ll be heartbroken if you don’t. So please do come again. Perhaps I’ll ask Eunice to come too.’

  A.J. didn’t say anything, just smiled briefly and left.

  *

  Inevitably, Mrs Teague was in ecstasy over the day she’d had and A.J.’s visit. But her main interest was in Crawford Dunbar and she was disappointed to learn that April hadn’t seen him.

  ‘Don’t you worry, my lovely. Soon enough he’ll be haunting my doorstep, you mark my words. Beautiful girl like you and a handsome man like him belong together. I have a feel for these things, you know.’

  April rolled her eyes. ‘Only the other week you’d paired me off with Red.’

  ‘Red? Don’t be silly. Don’t get me wrong, he is a lovely boy, but not right for you. Oh no, nothing less than a handsome major will do for my April.’

  April couldn’t help laughing. ‘If you say “lovely boy” one more time, Mrs Teague, I think I might scream. And stop talking such nonsense. Anyway, he’s the officer Bess has been going on about forever, and she’s already been spreading nasty rumours about me, so I think my life will be a lot easier if I don’t see him again.’

  ‘Pshaw, and what would he want with a girl like Bess? Not that she doesn’t have her good qualities – she’s a nurse, after all – but she’s not you, April Harvey. You’re special, you are.’

  ‘Thank you, Mrs Teague. I think you’re pretty special too. Now, I better clean myself up before supper. I smell like a navvy.’

  Chapter 15

  A week after the air raid, April finally had her first shift of proper nursing. The hospital wasn’t fully functioning, far from it, but the nurses were now taking it in turns to help clear up, and today April had been looking after the children, some of whom had been severely traumatised by the air raid. But they had all been greatly cheered by the donation of teddy bears and games from the US Army. April suspected that Crawford was behind the gesture, and she secretly wondered why, if he could take the time to arrange this, that he didn’t have the time to contact her. Clearly he didn’t want to. Well, so be it. Her life was busy enough without any complications.

  ‘Hello, lovely,’ Mrs Teague called from the kitchen when she got home. ‘There’s a letter for you on the mantelpiece.’

  Heart thumping with excitement, April rushed into the sitting room. But as soon as she saw the envelope, she knew immediately it was from Theo. She was annoyed at how disappointed she felt. Taking the letter back to the kitchen, she sat down at the table and read it while Mrs Teague busied herself at the stove.

  Dear April,

  I hope all is well with you. I am writing this from a hospital bed in Egypt. I was wounded in battle and now lie here waiting to be sent home. The nurses are wonderful, of course, but how I wish I had my own dear nurse to look after me. Hopefully, I will be home soon. Looks like the war is over for me. I count myself lucky that I can say that. So many of my comrades can’t. Oh, April, I knew war was brutal, I’d seen what was happening in London, but it’s only when you’re lying injured under a blazing hot sun that you really understand. And finally, I think I know what’s truly important in life. I thank God every day that I will soon be home and I hope that I will see your dear face once again. It is all I think about.

  I will write to let you know when I get back.

  With all my love,

  Theo

  April gasped.

  Mrs Teague turned from the stove. ‘Is everything all right, my dear?’

  ‘Theo’s been injured. It sounds serious because he’s being sent home and he doesn’t think he’ll be fit enough to go back. Oh, poor Theo and his poor parents. I feel terrible. There’s me mooning over the major, when Theo is lying injured in a hospital bed. What sort of girl does that make me?’

  ‘Poor boy. But why do you feel bad? It’s not your fault that he’s injured. And from what you told me, you’d made no promises to each other. If anything, he’s the one who let you down. So if he thinks to use his injury to get you back by his side, then he’s not a man you want to have any more to do with, my dear. Of course you must write, and maybe you can see him again – he is a childhood friend, after all – but he’s not your responsibility and you don’t owe him your love.’

  April wiped her eyes. ‘Don’t I? We were such friends, Mrs Teague. He’s a part of my life as much as a brother might have been.’

  ‘Exactly, April. Like a brother. Now dry your eyes, you’ve done nothing wrong.’

  ‘Yes, you’re right. I’m being silly. But poor Theo. I suppose I felt so guilty because . . .’ She shook her head.

  ‘Because what, lovely?’

  ‘Oh, I’m being stupid. But I feel guilty that I’m so disappointed the letter wasn’t from the major.’

  ‘I expect there’s a very good reason for that. Because if he said he’d be in touch, then he will. He has honest eyes. I know you think I’m a silly old woman sometimes, April, but I’m not often wrong about people. You’ve learned a thing or two about people by the time you get to my age.’

  ‘I never think you’re silly, Mrs Teague. Warm, affectionate and kind, yes. But never silly.’

  Mrs Teague tutted. ‘Get away with you, or you’ll have me weeping. Go and get changed and I’ll dish up this cheese and potato pie. I’ve even managed to put a bit of bacon in there. That’ll cheer you up.’

  Once they were sitting down, eating the delicious pie, Mrs Teague asked about Bess. ‘Has that young woman been saying any more nasty things about you, April?’

  ‘No, I’ve not had any trouble.’ In fact, April had seen nothing of Bess since their bad-tempered encounter on the stairs before the air raid. According to Eunice, she had been granted compassionate leave as her grandmother’s house had been damaged in the bombing and she needed help. It had made April realise how little she knew of Bess’s life. She remembered Eunic
e had said she’d had a hard time, and she hoped things weren’t too difficult for her.

  She hadn’t felt able to broach the subject of A.J. with Eunice either. On the second day after the bombing, Eunice had joined the clean-up party, but though A.J. was there, April noticed that she avoided him. He’d tried to talk to her, but Eunice had made an excuse and walked away. A.J. had looked baffled and hurt, but when he’d seen April watching him, he’d quickly hidden his expression, shrugged and turned his attention to the job in hand. As far as she knew, he’d not tried to speak to her again.

  Eunice had seemed so sad and tired when she’d spoken to her later, that April hadn’t had the heart to berate her. Instead she’d carried on as normal, and the chance to talk had not come again.

  On the other hand, Nancy and Homer’s relationship seemed to be going from strength to strength, and they didn’t seem to care who knew it. Homer was such an imposing figure that it was hard to miss the two of them and their kissing and giggling. April had felt almost jealous, but at the same time she was glad to see them so happy. Nancy, for all her flightiness, deserved a man like Homer to love her. And it seemed he really did.

  *

  Bess returned nearly two weeks after the bombing, and though April tried to avoid her, they bumped into each other as April was rushing along the corridor. Bess stood in front of her so April had no choice but to stop.

  ‘Glad to see you’re up and about, April. From the way people were talking, you’d have thought that you were at death’s door. Some of us manage to carry on regardless. Anyway, I hear the major hasn’t been around. Shame. But don’t worry, he’s fine. Thought you might like to know.’ She smiled sweetly and walked off, leaving April staring after her.

  She knew she shouldn’t let Bess get to her, but her words had hurt. She shouldn’t be surprised, though. After all, he’d known Bess first. It was time to put all thoughts of Crawford out of her head.

  The following day, April was in the children’s ward, sponging down a little girl whose fever was causing some concern. The poor child had been wounded in the air raid and the deep cut in her side had become infected. Suddenly there was a commotion at the door. She looked up and was surprised to see an enormous bouquet of flowers taking up most of the door space.

  Who would send a small child flowers? she wondered.

  She carried on with her work until Sister Smith interrupted her. ‘Nurse Harvey, you have an unscheduled visitor but just this once I’ll allow it. Nurse Simpson will take over.’

  April smiled at the other nurse, who was relatively new, and handed her the sponge. ‘Here you go, Rose. She gets a bit fretful sometimes, but I’ve found singing to her helps.’

  The flowers had moved closer and her heart gave a thump as she realised the man holding them was Crawford.

  ‘Crawford?’ she whispered to herself, delighted at the sight of him. Then she remembered Bess’s words. She hurried towards him. ‘My goodness, I’ve never seen such an enormous bunch of flowers, but I think you’re in the wrong ward, major. Bess is working in Florence Ward today. It’s just opened again so if you go back to the hallway, turn right, it’s the third door on your left.’ She turned and walked back to her small patient.

  ‘April? Hey, I came to see you.’

  ‘Nurse Harvey!’ Sister Smith’s voice was unusually harsh. She was by far the nicest of all the nursing sisters. ‘I believe I gave you permission to leave the ward. Kindly do so.’

  Flushing, April nodded and walked towards the door, aware that Crawford was following her. Once outside he caught up with her.

  ‘Would you like to get a cup of tea or something, April?’

  She turned and looked at him, furious with herself at feeling so happy to see him. ‘Like I said, major, Bess is in Florence Ward. If you like, you can take a seat in the cafeteria and I’ll let her know you’re here.’

  ‘What are you talking about? I didn’t come to see Bess. Why would I? I came to see you.’ He thrust the flowers at her. ‘I got these for you. The prettiest flowers I could find for the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.’

  Sighing, she took them from him and instinctively buried her nose in them. They were beautiful and smelled divine. ‘Thank you, major, I appreciate it. But now, I really must get back to work.’

  ‘Are you mad at me? I’m real sorry I haven’t been able to be in touch, but I’ve been in the middle of nowhere – not a post box in sight. Then I figured I’d be back before a letter could be delivered, so decided to wait. But I promise you, I haven’t been able to get you off my mind for these whole two weeks.’

  ‘Well, if that’s the case, major, how come you managed to contact Bess, yet somehow it was too difficult to send me a message?’ She cringed inwardly. She hadn’t meant to reveal her hurt and disappointment.

  ‘What are you talking about? I haven’t seen or talked to Bess more than twice in my life.’

  ‘Oh really? She kindly let me know yesterday that you were fine. Sounds like you’re lying, major. And I can’t imagine why. You don’t owe me anything.’

  ‘No, but I thought we shared a pretty special connection, and I wanted to see you again. Seems I was wrong about that.’ He searched her face, but seeing no encouragement from her, he sighed. ‘I apologise, ma’am, for bothering you. Seems I may have got the wrong idea.’ He saluted and began walking away.

  She stared after him in consternation. She so desperately wanted to call after him. After all, Bess had lied to her before, and had spread nasty rumours about her. A.J.’s words came back to her. ‘He’s a good guy.’ She knew that, didn’t she? Hadn’t he protected her and cared for her during the air raid? Surely, if she should believe anyone, it was Crawford.

  ‘Crawford! Wait!’

  He stopped and turned, looking hopeful.

  ‘I’m sorry. I’m being ungrateful. Thank you for the flowers. Truly. I suppose I was just disappointed when Bess told me you were fine and I jumped to all the wrong conclusions. Would you still like to have tea?’

  Crawford’s face broke into a heart-stopping grin. ‘No need to apologise. Seems Nurse Bess is a bit of a troublemaker. And I’d like nothing more than to have tea with you. Even though I hate tea.’

  ‘Hate tea?’ April laughed. ‘How on earth have you survived this long in England?’

  ‘It’s a struggle, that’s for sure. Luckily the US Army keep us supplied with plenty of coffee. Thank the lord. Only place you can find a decent cup of coffee in England is on an American base.’

  April’s heart was singing as they walked down to the cafeteria together. She must remember to take anything Bess said with a pinch of salt. Crawford really did seem happy to see her. She hugged the flowers tighter to her.

  Once seated, April with a cup of tea, Crawford with a glass of squash, he said, ‘How have you been since I last saw you? I hated leaving you like that, knowing what you’d been through, but I could see your landlady takes good care of you, so I figured you’d be OK. And how are your poor legs?’

  ‘I’m all healed. And it’s thanks to you shielding me that my injuries weren’t worse. I don’t think I thanked you properly.’

  He waved her apology away, then took her hand. ‘That night . . .’ He stopped. ‘That night, when we were lying on the floor and everything was falling around us, you started screaming for your dad, talking about being in an air raid. What happened, April? I’ve been so worried that all the horrible memories you seemed to be living through again would be resurrected. I’ve seen it before in soldiers. How are you, really?’

  April looked away, embarrassed. ‘Oh, it’s nothing. Just bad memories. Before I came to Cornwall, I was living in London and I saw my father killed in an air raid. Well, I saw the street destroyed. I suppose it’s haunted me since.’

  ‘Ah, my poor girl. I wish I could take those memories away from you.’ His voice was so sincere that April had to fight back the tears. Sympathy always seemed to make her weepy. Seeing her reaction, he changed the subject. ‘I really would l
ove to get to know you a little better. That night was crazy, dangerous and scary. But I can’t regret it happened, because it brought you to me. So the reason I came here in person, apart from to apologise, was to say, I’m able to get away most evenings this week, and I wondered if perhaps we could . . . ?’ He stopped and raised his eyebrows.

  ‘Oh, yes please. I’d love that. I’m free on Thursday evening.’ April couldn’t help the words bursting from her. Oh dear, did she sound too eager?

  She needn’t have worried. Crawford laughed with delight. ‘OK, then. So how about I pick you up at, say, seven thirty?’

  ‘That sounds perfect. But be warned, as soon as she sees you, Mrs Teague will be making all sorts of assumptions. Please don’t be alarmed.’

  ‘I won’t be alarmed at all. I hope you’ll be making the same assumptions. I know I am.’

  ‘Really?’ April blushed. ‘We’ve only known each other for a day.’

  ‘It’s enough for me. For now.’ He looked deep into her eyes, and his expression was so intense that April felt her stomach swoop. ‘Now, I better let you get back to work. I know how fierce these ward sisters can be and I don’t want you getting in trouble because of me. Until Thursday, April.’ She stood up with him, and he kissed her cheek. ‘Catch you later.’ He grinned boyishly and left.

  April glanced around the room, suddenly embarrassed. While they’d been together, she had completely forgotten that they were in the cafeteria, but now she saw that people were staring at her. Flushing, she picked up the flowers and was about to leave, when one of the staring faces came into focus.

  Bess.

  Hoping to leave before she got to her, April quickly scooted towards the door. She’d provided too much entertainment for the staff already today and the last thing she wanted was to cause another scene. But Bess was too quick for her.

  ‘How could you, April?’ Bess caught her at the door. ‘You can’t say you didn’t know I was walking out with the American major. I told you and Eunice right here in this cafeteria, didn’t I? And I saw you both before the raid, didn’t I? And told you again. You are a nasty, man-stealing cow!’ The last word was almost shouted in her face.