The G.I. Bride

by Eileen Ramsay

  Suddenly, a tall shadow detached itself from a thick hedge and moved towards her. Her heart leaped with hope as she heard a deep American voice say, ‘April?’

  But then recognition dawned, and she swallowed her disappointment. ‘A.J., what a lovely surprise,’ she said, and she meant it. ‘Is everyone back now, then?’

  ‘Not everyone. A couple of platoons will be gone a bit longer, but me and Homer and the others you met are back.’

  ‘How are you? You know, after everything that happened?’

  ‘That’s why I came to see you. I’ve got so many questions and I’ve heard some things . . .’ He gave her a meaningful look. ‘Homer’s seen Nancy, and she told him something . . .’ A.J.’s voice was choked with emotion.

  ‘What did she tell him?’

  ‘She told him Eunice is having a baby. Is that true?’

  April hesitated. There really was only one option, though. She had to be honest. ‘Yes.’

  A.J. looked stunned. ‘Are you telling the truth, or is this another lie?’

  ‘It’s the truth, but you really need to speak to Eunice about this.’

  He shook his head. ‘I don’t know what to believe any more. I loved that girl more than I’ve loved anyone in my life. I would have done anything for her. Even stayed here forever and never seen my family again. Then . . . turns out she was lying to me all along. And now I hear this. What the hell am I meant to do, April? Is it even mine?’

  ‘Oh, A.J., of course it’s yours! And Eunice loves you too, you know. More than you can ever know. She’s devastated right now, and her mother hates her. She needs you.’

  ‘So . . . I’m going to be a father.’ The enormity of the situation slowly dawned on A.J.’s face. ‘But I can’t ever look at her the same way again. Not after the way she’s deceived me. How could she?’

  April put her hand on his arm. ‘She just didn’t know what to do, so she did nothing. I know it was wrong, but can you look at things from her point of view? What if you had a girl at home who you’d grown up with and thought you loved? Someone you thought you would marry. And then you met Eunice. What would you have done? Would you have refused to have anything to do with her because of your girl back home, or would you have followed your heart, like she did?’

  ‘I wouldn’t have lied! I would have told her there were complications. I would never lie like that. Not if I loved someone.’

  ‘Wouldn’t you, A.J.? Are you sure about that?’

  ‘Yes, I’m sure. Hell, I’ve been taught to tell the truth my whole life, no matter how painful.’ He was close to tears and April’s heart went out to him.

  ‘You are such a good and honourable man. I really think you would have. But not many people are like you. Some of us are too scared to face the truth. Especially if that truth could lose us the love of our life. Do you understand what I’m saying? Were you not also taught to forgive people? To let go of your foolish pride?’

  A.J. rubbed his face. ‘You’re not playing fair, April. You know very well I was. But so was she.’

  ‘Yes, she was, and believe me, she’s paying a heavy price for not being honest. But she still loves you. She just doesn’t believe she’s worthy of you. She never has.’

  ‘Worthy of me?’ He scoffed. ‘As if that would enter her head.’

  ‘It was always in her head. Always. She was betraying Norm for you, and it made her sick with guilt, yet she couldn’t stop herself. She couldn’t stop herself because she loves you. Completely. And not only did she feel guilty because of Norm, she didn’t want you to be trapped here, unable to return home because of her. Do you see, A.J.? She’s made a terrible hash of it, but none of this was because she didn’t love you.’

  ‘I just don’t think I can forgive her. But if she’s having my baby, what choice do I have? I can’t abandon my child.’

  ‘Well, then, you need to talk to her. Decide what to do for the best. And you need to be strong for her, A.J. I’m afraid the neighbours have been so cruel to her, and they will be cruel to you as well. So will her mother.’

  ‘Huh. I’m used to that. And their brand of cruelty is nothing compared to what we face back home, so that don’t bother me. But what if there’s other stuff she’s hiding from me? Will I always be wondering? How can I live my life with someone I can’t trust?’

  April cringed at the words and wondered if that was what Crawford thought about her. She imagined it was if he believed she’d gone and married someone else after she’d told him she loved him.

  ‘That’s something you’ll have to work out for yourself. But please go and see her. Talk things through with her. If you love each other enough, you’ll find a way; I’m sure you will.’

  ‘You’re right. I need to speak to her. But really, if she’s having my baby, there’s only one thing I can do.’

  ‘If she’ll let you.’

  ‘Oh, she’ll let me. I’ll make sure of that. But it doesn’t change the fact that I can’t trust her any more.’

  ‘Give her a chance to win back your trust, A.J. She deserves it, I promise you.’

  A.J. sighed heavily. ‘Seems I’ve got no choice.’

  ‘No, you don’t. And think, A.J. A baby! Such a beautiful miracle. Try and be happy about it.’

  ‘Yeah. I’ll try. I am, in one way. But in another . . .’ He shook his head again. ‘I just don’t know if anything can be right again.’

  ‘Course it can. Love will see you through. Trust me.’

  A.J. bent and kissed her cheek. ‘Thank you, April. You’re a true friend, you know? No wonder Crawford is so blown away. Well, I best be off. I’ve sort of snuck out, so I better sneak back in. You take care, now.’

  ‘You too.’ But he didn’t seem to hear. He was already striding away to the bicycle he’d left against the hedge.

  April stared in the direction he went for a long while, thinking about his words and about how her and Eunice’s situations were so similar. If only Crawford was still so blown away by her. She hoped that he would give her one more chance too.

  *

  When she got back to Mrs Teague’s, April dropped on to a kitchen chair with a sigh of exhaustion.

  ‘Hard day, love?’ Mrs Teague asked, putting a cup of tea in front of her.

  ‘It hasn’t been easy. I spoke to Bess. She really hates me. I don’t think there’s much that can be done there.’

  ‘Best to concentrate on putting right what she messed up then, dear. I’ve had a few thoughts about that myself. How about I try to go and see Crawford and tell him what happened? Or maybe I can speak to Red? Although I’m not sure if he’s back yet. I’ve not heard anything from him.’

  ‘No. I’ve written my letter to him, so it’s up to him if he wants to talk to me. Anyway, I’m lucky, really. I’ve got you, Eunice, the hospital. And soon there’ll be a little baby to care for. Eunice says I can be godmother. Auntie April. I like the sound of that. Like a proper family.’

  ‘Hmph. Well, I have a few home truths for that Bess, but I will respect your wishes for now.’ She placed a bowl of fish stew in front of April. ‘Get that down you, then I suggest you relax a bit and listen to the Forces Programme on the wireless with me. What do you say?’

  ‘If you don’t mind, I think I’ll turn in early.’ She tucked into the fish stew, which, like all of Mrs Teague’s food, was delicious, and with a hunk of her home-made bread to mop up the juices, she was soon full.

  She stood to help Mrs Teague clear the plates, but the landlady shooed her away. ‘Don’t you worry about this, lovely, I’ll do it. You go and get some well-earned rest and I’ll see you in the morning.’

  April kissed her gratefully and trailed upstairs. She wondered how Theo was getting on and she decided to write him a cheerful letter before she went to sleep. No matter what challenges she was facing right now, it was nothing compared to poor Theo, so she must remember to count her blessings. And if she never saw Crawford again, she still couldn’t regret going to see Theo that on
e last time.

  Chapter 32

  It was as well for April that the hospital was so busy over the next week as she had no option but to think only of her patients, but still every time a nurse was called to the phone, or she left the hospital, her heart leapt with hope. But it was futile. She had no visitors, was not called away from the ward to answer a telephone call, and found no one waiting outside, nor were there any letters waiting for her, either from the Osbornes or from Crawford. A week after her return, April was beginning to realise that she would have to accept that Crawford may not ever want to see her again.

  Still, she told herself bracingly, as she cycled home one evening, at least things seemed to have taken a turn for the better with the war. The night before, Mrs Teague had been full of excitement at Churchill’s announcement that, finally, he thought they were entering the ‘end of the beginning’. Whatever that meant. But with victory in Egypt, it seemed that the tide might be turning. Even though the beginning of the war had taken three years, April thought gloomily, that meant there could be another six years left, and the thought made her want to cry.

  When she reached the front door, she noticed the tiniest furtive sliding back of a curtain and April smiled to herself. And here was another blessing to count. Mrs Teague, who took such good care of her. With Mrs Teague on her side, she didn’t feel quite as alone in the world as she’d used to.

  ‘Your supper’s keeping warm in the oven,’ she said, as April walked in the door. ‘And guess what, I had some visitors today.’ She saw the hope in April’s eyes and sighed. ‘I’m sorry, not your major, dear. It was Red! He’s back at last. Bless his dear heart, he brought me some presents. Wait till you see the mountain.’

  April went into the pantry and gasped. Two tinned hams, tinned fruits, including pineapple, tinned soups, chocolate bars, American cigarettes, coffee, rice, two bars of perfumed soap and a bottle of brandy.

  ‘Good heavens, how on earth are we going to eat all of that?’

  ‘Well, I was thinking, dear, what do you say I invite your friend Eunice around, and maybe, just on the off-chance, A.J. might pop in? What do you think? And, of course, I’ll ask Red. And how about your friend Nancy and her chap? He’s a friend of A.J.’s, isn’t he? So he can bring him too. Oh, we could have such a wonderful party!’ She smiled, but April could see that there was a touch of tension behind her smile. Her landlady was absolutely terrible at keeping her thoughts to herself.

  ‘Mrs Teague, what have you done?’

  ‘What do you mean, dear?’ Mrs Teague gave her a wide-eyed look.

  ‘You’ve already invited everyone, haven’t you?’

  ‘How on earth could I have done that?’

  ‘Oh dear, Mrs Teague, you’ve asked Red to deliver your messages to A.J. and Homer, haven’t you? And have you already sent a letter to Eunice?’

  ‘Well, it’s about time someone got those two children together.’

  ‘But I told you that A.J. was going to talk to her. We should let them sort it out in peace.’

  ‘Should we? Do you know how that talk has gone, by any chance?’

  ‘No, I was going to cycle over on Sunday.’

  ‘Hmph. However it’s gone, they need to have a place to meet with friends. If they’re still not in agreement, maybe we can help them along. And if they’ve decided to marry, then it’ll be a celebration. Honestly, April, I have no idea why you’re so worried about the whole thing. And if Nancy and Homer are here, surely they can only make everyone feel more relaxed. And, of course, Red is always the most lovely boy, so there’s no problems there . . .’ She trailed off and looked away.

  ‘Mrs Teague, you’ve not invited Crawford, have you?’

  ‘Good heavens, whatever gave you that idea?’

  ‘It just seems to me that you’ve taken it on yourself to play matchmaker to the whole of Truro, so I can’t imagine you’d leave me out of it. Don’t tell me you’ve invited Bess too, for Red?’

  ‘I most certainly will not invite that little troublemaker. I’ve had quite enough of her shenanigans. Although, it’s like you say, there’s got to be a reason for her behaviour, so maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea.’

  ‘Don’t you dare! And if you’ve invited the major, then I’m afraid I can’t be here. He doesn’t want to see me, that’s very clear, and I don’t want him to feel he has to come out of politeness. It would be too awful.’

  ‘Oh, pish, April. How you fuss. You’ve been wandering around for a week now looking like you’ve lost a shilling and found a ha’penny, and I’m not going to sit back and watch you waste away with misery. All you do is sit in your room and write letters to your poor dying friend, and of course you have to write to him, but enough’s enough; it’s time to sort this mess out once and for all.’

  April was almost in tears at this. ‘No, I’m sorry, I can’t be here if he’s here too. I couldn’t bear to see his face hating me. I love you, Mrs Teague, and I’d do almost anything for you, but please don’t interfere in this! And I’m not so sure that it’s a good idea to force Eunice and A.J. together. So, please, can you not do this?’

  She pushed past her distressed-looking landlady and ran upstairs. Throwing herself on the bed, she buried her face in the pillow and sobbed until she had no tears left. Since her trip to London, she felt very much as she had in those first weeks after her dear father had died, and she didn’t know which way to turn for comfort.

  Finally, after tossing and turning for what felt like hours, she fell asleep and, for the first time in months, she dreamed again of her father and the air raid. But this time, it was different. This time her mother stood at the window with her father as well. And when April woke, her eyes were heavy with tears and her heart was heavy with grief.

  Mrs Teague brought her a cup of tea first thing in the morning. Seeing April’s red eyes and puffy face, she sat beside her.

  ‘I’m so sorry, lovely. I never meant to upset you. I’ll cancel all the plans, and maybe instead, you can go and see Eunice to see what the situation is. And I will write to all the men and tell them that I’m indisposed and will have to postpone. How’s that?’

  ‘It would be lovely to see everyone, but we need to make sure they want to see each other first. I’m sorry if I upset you, it’s the last thing I ever want to do. Anyway, I doubt Crawford would have come. Especially as he hasn’t even answered my letter. He doesn’t want anything more to do with me.’

  ‘I just can’t believe that of him. But I will respect your wishes, my dear. Now, are you working today?’

  ‘No. I’m going to go to St Merryn. I want to talk to my mother. Sounds silly, doesn’t it? But I dreamed about her last night, and I haven’t visited her grave more than once since I came here.’

  ‘Course it doesn’t. I visit my Isaac all the time. Particularly when I feel troubled. I’ll leave you to get dressed.’

  *

  An hour later, April was on the bus to St Merryn. It was a cold, drizzly November day, and the moors were swathed in mist, merging with the sky in the distance, as if the whole world beyond her little patch had had a grey sheet dropped over it. When the sea came into view, it too looked grey and lacklustre, with just the white of the surf providing a contrast to the relentless gloom. April sighed. Even the countryside couldn’t shake her out of her mood today. In fact, she felt very much as if the grey sheet had been dropped on her too.

  Once at St Merryn, she stopped and picked some winter honeysuckle from the hedgerows, burying her face in the fragrant flowers and marvelling that even in this cold weather these little flowers bloomed. Almost as if they’d been created especially to remind everyone that life went on, and there was always hope. She must take a lesson from these flowers, she thought, and try to bloom even though the world seemed so hostile. She walked on, buffeted by the wind and the rain, to her mother’s grave.

  It had been a year since she’d been here. Maybe she should have come more often. But she’d been so busy with her studies and her new
life, and then Crawford, of course, that she’d kept putting it off.

  She kneeled by the grave and placed the flowers carefully on the gravestone. ‘Hello, Mum. I expect you’ve been wondering where I’ve been for the past year. I’m sorry, I should have come more often. But I see Mrs Villanoweth has been keeping everything beautifully, as usual.

  ‘I dreamed of you last night, Mum. You were standing with Dad at the window, surrounded by flames. I was glad he wasn’t alone this time. Were you there, Mum? Keeping him company that night? Were you there to greet him as he died? I hope so. People shouldn’t be alone when they die. It’s hard enough when you’re alive.’ A single tear trickled unnoticed down her cheek and merged with the rain drops that were dripping from her hair. Before she knew it, April found she was sobbing out the story of what had happened over the past year and, in particular, her love for Crawford, and what had happened to Theo.

  ‘But then I expect you know all about heartbreak, don’t you, Mum? Mrs V told me what happened to your family. You went through much worse than me, and you came out smiling with a family of your own. That gives me hope. Not just for me, Mum, but for everyone. We’re all suffering in one way or another. But it’s like Dad always said, “This too shall pass.” I pray it does.’

  When she’d finished speaking, she rose stiffly from her position, suddenly realising how wet she was as the weather worsened. But she didn’t mind, because although nothing was resolved, she felt at peace for the first time since she’d received that heart-breaking phone call from Reverend Osborne. She’d also come to a decision. She would try to speak to Crawford. Mrs Teague was right. It was silly to hold on to her stubborn pride when it was causing her so much heartache. She only hoped he’d listen to her. Just once. And give her one final chance.