A Mother's Love

by Katie Flynn

  Aidan stepped forward. ‘Maybe we should talk about this somewhere a little more private.’

  Evie glanced at Aidan’s walking cane. ‘I couldn’t give a rat’s behind who hears me. I’m not the one pretending to be someone I’m not.’ Her eyes narrowed as she continued. ‘I suppose the only way someone like you can get a girl is by pretending to be someone else,’ she said in disgust. ‘It doesn’t take a genius to work out why.’

  Ellie’s cheeks flushed angrily. ‘For your information, I’m with Aidan, and the only reason Connor dressed in his cousin’s uniform was because you made a mistake that night in Liverpool. It was you who got them confused. If you’d been interested in more than his wings, you might have realised your error.’

  Evie laughed scornfully. ‘Well, I sure as hell wouldn’t be interested in dating a cripple, wings or not … but either way I won’t be made to feel like the one who’s in the wrong when he’s been impersonating an officer.’ She stared accusingly at Aidan. ‘And you lent him the uniform to do it.’ She folded her arms defiantly. ‘The way I see it, it’s two birds with one stone, and you’re both going to get into a lot of trouble for this. No one makes a fool out of me.’

  Gwen nodded. ‘If we’re talking about honesty, then you’ve not been entirely honest with Connor either. After all, you got one of your pals to lie and say you were in the city with one of your friends, but you’re not, are you? You’re in a hotel with Sergeant Barton.’ Her eyes met the sergeant’s. ‘It’s been a while since I saw your wife. She’s a lovely lady, always very concerned about you. I’ll make sure I pay her a visit when I go back, let her know that I’ve seen you.’ Pausing, she peered momentarily at her feet before catching his eye once more. ‘I’ll tell her we saw you too, Evie. I believe the two of you were quite friendly at one point. I’m sure she’ll be pleased to know you’re keeping an eye on her husband for her, although she might wonder what you were both doing in the same hotel, coming down from the rooms.’ She smiled brightly. ‘Still, that’s not for me to worry about, is it?’

  Evie scowled at Gwen. ‘You can tell her what you damn well please … There’s nowt wrong with visiting someone who’s staying in the hotel on a bit of leave—’

  Sergeant Barton, who had gone white, interrupted. ‘I’m sure everyone’s made a mistake at some time in their lives, and I think it would be best all round if we forgot all about this.’ He addressed Connor. ‘Let’s put it down to a bit of high jinks, shall we? No harm done, after all.’

  Evie’s face was a picture of fury. She opened her mouth to speak but shut it quickly as the sergeant’s complexion went from white to blood red in an instant. He gripped her by the elbow and hissed through gritted teeth, ‘If my bloody wife finds out about this, I’m done for. It’s her parents’ old house we live in, so just you keep your bloody mouth shut, because I can guarantee you one thing: if she makes my life hell I’ll do the same to you.’

  Snatching her elbow from the sergeant’s clasp, Evie glared at the small group. ‘Fine! Just you keep your distance, Aidan, or Connor, or whoever the hell you are, and if anyone asks, I dumped you, understand?’

  They watched as Sergeant Barton and Evie ascended the stairs once more, bickering as they went.

  When they were out of sight, Connor gave a low whistle and clapped a hand on Gwen’s back. ‘Well done, Gwen! I thought it was going to get nasty for a minute there. How could you be so sure they were together, and what was all that about his wife?’

  Gwen smiled absently. ‘It’s a long story, and right now my heart’s racin’ fit to burst, so if you don’t mind can we go and get some lunch?’

  ‘Fine by me, and after that little performance I’m paying!’ He winked at Gwen before adding, ‘I’ll even stand you a seat in the cinema.’

  Tilly shook her head in disbelief. ‘You swore to me you were telling the truth, yet here you are, whining that you’re the one who’s been hurt! And you want me to tell on them?’

  ‘I’d do it for you,’ Evie pouted. ‘He’s made a ruddy fool out of me, and he shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it. You should have seen that Ellie, she looked like the cat that got the cream.’ She stamped her foot angrily. ‘I won’t have it, Tilly, I won’t have that nasty little slum queen getting the upper hand. If you tell someone you saw Connor in his cousin’s uniform they can’t do anything to me, or to Sergeant Barton. That way the sergeant and me will come off scot free!’

  Tilly stared incredulously at her friend. ‘You don’t get it, do you? You were the one who made the mistake when you got the two of them confused. I’d wager if it weren’t for your rank-eating reputation,’ she held up a hand as Evie started to protest, ‘they’d never have thought of doing it in the first place. But you, on the other hand, you’ve always known that Barton was married. Good God, woman, you’ve even had tea with his wife! Have you no scruples, morals or principles?’ She stared into Evie’s blank face. ‘You haven’t, have you? As long as you’re all right you couldn’t give two hoots about the rest of us! Well, I’ve had it with you, Evie Maddox. I promised myself that if you were lying our friendship would be over and I meant it. From now on you’re on your own, and you can tell Sergeant Barton that if his wife, or anyone else for that matter, ever asks whether there’s any truth in the rumours, past or present, I’ll be sure to tell her all I know.’

  Evie’s mouth dropped open. ‘But you can’t! I’ll be ruined! You know you’re the only friend I’ve ever had …’

  Tilly nodded. ‘I do, and no matter how hard I’ve tried to change people’s opinions of you, you’ve always thrown it back in my face. I’m sorry you fell from grace, I know you had a dreadful time of it when your father appeared in the papers, but truth be told, he’s the one you should be angry with, not everyone else! I know you love him, and I know you’ve found it hard, but I can’t keep making excuses for you. I’m afraid you’ve got to grow up, and you won’t be able to do that if I keep covering your tracks.’

  Evie’s eyes narrowed. ‘I don’t need you, or anyone else for that matter. If I’d known how you felt about Daddy …’

  Tilly shook her head. ‘Stop blaming everyone else, Evie Maddox.’ She turned to leave the room.

  ‘Where do you think you’re going? You can’t walk off; you haven’t agreed to be my friend again yet. You know you always apologise in the end, so why don’t we sort it out now?’

  Tilly shook her head, then, without turning, she opened the door to the hut. ‘Not this time, Evie. Not this time.’

  Ellie listened to the sound of the engine as it puffed its way across the English countryside. She glanced at Gwen, who was snoring softly, her head resting against the shoulder of the Waaf to the right of her. With two hours of their journey left before they reached Liverpool, the other occupants of the compartment were also trying to get some rest.

  Placing her coat against the window, Ellie closed her eyes. The past week with Aidan had been blissful, and they had spent their last day exploring the city of Lincoln.

  It was on this day that Aidan had chosen to wear his special flying shoe in front of her. He had picked her up outside the Saracen’s Head and they had driven into the centre of Lincoln before parking on a side street just off Steep Hill. Having walked to the bottom of the hill, Aidan had raised his brow expectantly.

  ‘Notice anything different?’ he said anxiously.

  Ellie looked him up and down. ‘Nope. Should I?’

  He shrugged, then offered her his arm. ‘Maybe not yet. I’ll ask you again in a moment or two.’

  Arm in arm, the two had begun to ascend the hill. When they were halfway up Aidan stopped and pulled her to face him. He was grinning. ‘Now do you notice anything?’

  Ellie looked at him quizzically. ‘Sorry, but no. I’d like to think I’m pretty observant, being on the ack-acks, but—’

  Aidan waved his arms up and down. ‘No cane!’

  ‘You don’t always use a—’ Ellie’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘You’re not limping!’ Taking a s
tep back, she looked at his legs. ‘But how come?’

  Lifting the hem of his trouser leg up, he had shown her the shoe. ‘It’s my flying shoe. I don’t normally wear it in public, but it does make walking easier and Steep Hill is a bit of a blighter to go up with a cane.’ He gazed lovingly into her eyes. ‘You really didn’t notice, did you?’

  Ellie shook her head. ‘Why would I? I’m not in the habit of staring at people’s shoes.’

  He had started to chuckle, but it soon turned into a belly laugh. ‘To think I was so worried as to what you might think when you saw the awful thing, and you never even noticed.’

  ‘I don’t see what’s so funny, or why you were worried about what I would think about your shoes. I’d rather look at your face than your feet.’

  Ellie smiled at the memory. Before she could get another word out, Aidan had put his arms round her waist, pulled her close and kissed her. It had been the start to a perfect day. When they eventually reached the top of Steep Hill, they had wandered around the beautiful cathedral, which Ellie had first mistaken for a castle. They had stopped for lunch at Stokes High Bridge Café before taking a bus into Waddington, where they took a stroll along the riverbank before returning to the Horse and Jockey to have their supper. It was here that Aidan asked Ellie the question that had been uppermost in his thoughts. ‘What made you finally make up your mind? About me, I mean?’

  Ellie had lowered the forkful of pasty from her lips. ‘I always liked you, ever since the day we first met, but when I told you that I needed to find my own way in the world I meant it. My mam was left holding the baby when my dad beggared off. If it wasn’t for her I’d have ended up in an orphanage, but she was a strong woman, fiercely independent and a force to be reckoned with. I wanted to be just like her when I grew up – still do – so I was a little disappointed with myself when I had to rely on you and your family to look after me. My mam wouldn’t have relied on handouts, or anyone else’s help; she’d have struggled through somehow.’ She raised her brow reflectively. ‘Having said that, she would never have got herself in that predicament in the first place, because Sid wouldn’t have dared try anything on with her. She’d’ve had his guts for garters amongst other things if he’d so much as looked at her in the wrong way, and whilst I’ll always be grateful to you and your family for helping me out at such short notice, I needed to prove to myself that I was capable of being the same sort of woman as me mam.’ She chewed thoughtfully on the pasty before adding, ‘Enduring nights like the May blitz showed me that I am that woman. Now do you see?’

  Aidan had nodded. ‘As far as I can see you’ve always been that woman, only you couldn’t see it.’ He held up one hand and started to tick the list off on his fingers. ‘You worked two jobs when your mam died, you fought Sid off and escaped to a whole new life where you learned new skills, which you took to like a duck to water, might I add.’ He smoothed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. ‘You never batted an eye when you realised I was disabled, and you never treated me any differently. It made me realise that I wasn’t that different from everyone else, and that’s why I went to the town hall day after day until one man saw the same person you did.’ He eyed her anxiously. ‘Trouble is, when all’s said and done and the war is over, I’ll go back to being a boring old farmer once more, and after all your adventures I don’t know whether you’ll find farm life a bit too mundane. I suppose I’m worried that whilst you might have said yes to being a pilot’s girl you might have second thoughts when I’m back on the farm shovelling manure for a living.’

  She had looked at him in astonishment. ‘I would never describe you as boring, and if you must know, I was saying yes to Aidan the farmer, Aidan the pilot and Aidan the man. That do you?’

  Leaning across the table, he had cupped her face in his hands and brushed his lips against hers. ‘That suits me fine.’

  As the train’s wheels clickety-clacked along the tracks, Ellie sighed wistfully. Hearing a soft chuckle, she opened one eye.

  ‘Dreamin’ o’ summat nice, were you, gal?’ said one of the men in naval uniform.

  Aware that she had been grinning like the Cheshire Cat, Ellie nodded shyly.

  ‘Or perhaps someone,’ he said with a wink.

  Eyeing the sailor shrewdly, Ellie pulled her ATS cap down over her face, and smiled.

  ‘Gwen! You’ve got to come and read this.’ Ellie, flourished a piece of paper at her friend. ‘It’s from Arla, I got it this morning.’

  As Ellie positioned herself cross-legged on the bottom bunk, Gwen nestled beside her. ‘What’s up?’

  ‘Gossip, and it’s hot off the press.’

  Several of the women in the surrounding bunks lifted their heads in interest. ‘Anyone we know?’ said Delilah.

  Handing the letter to Gwen, Ellie nodded. ‘The letter’s from my mate Arla. She’s the girl me and Gwen went to see in Lincoln.’

  There was an audible gasp from Gwen. ‘Blimey! I never saw that coming.’

  ‘What?’ said Delilah, who had got up to join them.

  ‘Evie’s been taken off the ack-acks and sent to Scotland. Apparently Sergeant Barton arranged for her to be remustered as a clerk,’ said Gwen.

  Delilah’s jaw dropped open. ‘Scotland? Surely she could’ve trained somewhere closer to home?’

  ‘According to Arla, Barton wanted to get rid of her, reckoned she’d been trying to cause trouble between him and his wife.’ Ellie glanced knowingly at Gwen.

  Delilah pointed an accusing finger at Gwen. ‘You knew there’d been rumours, didn’t you? When we first got here, I heard you telling Ellie about your initial trainin’ an’ that.’ She pursed her lips. ‘No smoke wi’out fire, and I reckon you were right.’

  Gwen glanced up from the letter. ‘Right or wrong, it makes no difference now, not with Evie out of the picture.’

  Delilah nodded grimly. ‘She always was trouble, that one; I remember the grief she gave Ellie over that pilot friend of hers. It’s about time someone put her in her place.’ She giggled. ‘Scotland! I bet she was like a bear with a sore head when they told her where she was going! Does she say any more?’

  Gwen glanced at Ellie, then shook her head. ‘Nothing of interest.’ This seemed to satisfy the curiosity of the women around them, who went about their business. Gwen turned her attention back to the last paragraph of Arla’s letter.

  Fancy asking Tilly to tell on Connor and Aidan. Of all the low-life things to do! Still, it backfired on her good and proper, didn’t it? I’d have loved to be a fly on the wall the day Tilly told Barton she wouldn’t keep her mouth shut if his wife came asking questions. I bet his face was a picture. She knew he’d try and send her off like he did Evie, so she told him straight that if he even thought about having them posted together she’d be sure to pay his wife a visit before she left!

  Gwen glanced around the room, and when she was happy that no one was listening she spoke quietly to Ellie. ‘Good for Tilly, that’s what I say! Just goes to show that we were right about her from the start. She wasn’t such a bad egg after all.’

  Ellie nodded. ‘It does sound as though she’s come out of her shell good and proper since Evie’s gone. Arla even invited her to her wedding; it’s just a shame she won’t be able to make it. I, for one, would have liked to thank her in person for standing up to Evie.’

  ‘Me too, It can’t have been easy; they’d been friends for ever such a long time.’ Ellie took the letter from Gwen and tucked it back in its envelope. ‘She’ll make a lot more friends now she hasn’t got Evie overshadowing her. Probably be a lot happier, too, so all in all I’d say it’s worked out pretty well.’

  It was the morning of Archie and Arla’s wedding. Ellie, Gwen, Arla and her sisters were squeezed into Arla’s old bedroom, each doing the other’s hair and chattering excitedly.

  ‘You’re going to be married in a couple of hours,’ Ellie breathed as she curled the top of Arla’s hair into a roll. ‘You’ll be Mrs Archie Byrnes.’

  Gwen
gazed wistfully at Arla. ‘I wish I was gettin’ married, but knowin’ my luck I’ll be left on the shelf. I’ll probably end up like one of them old women that sits in a rockin’ chair all day, surrounded by cats.’ She pulled a face as the image formed in her mind’s eye. ‘I can just see me now, Baggy on my knee whilst his little ’uns try to bite my ankles.’

  Arla giggled. ‘You should’ve brought him. You could’ve put him in a penguin suit; he’d look adorable.’

  Clipping Arla’s hair into place, Ellie stood back to admire her handiwork. ‘You’re bonkers, both of you.’ Holding up a mirror, she showed Arla the back of her hair. ‘How’s that?’

  ‘Oh, Ellie, it’s beautiful. Thanks so much for comin’ round early. You’ve allus been better at doin’ hair than me,’ said Arla, gently patting the back of her head.

  ‘I’m so glad to be here,’ said Ellie. ‘I must admit when you told me the date I was a bit worried I might not be able to make it, and I’m thrilled the boys could come before leaving for Africa.’

  Looking in the mirror, Arla smiled at Ellie’s reflection. ‘This’ll be you and Aidan one day, but I bet you won’t be getting married in uniform, will you?’

  Picking up a piece of tissue Ellie, blotted the lipstick her friends had persuaded her to wear. ‘Knowing Aidan we’ll get married in farm overalls and have a tractor as the wedding car.’

  Gwen was dabbing at her uniform with a wet flannel, trying to remove the baked bean juice from her breakfast. ‘Not on your nelly! I’ve seen the way he looks at you: you’ll be getting the best he can afford, and to be honest I’m surprised he hasn’t asked you already.’

  Ellie shrugged. ‘We’ve neither of us mentioned marriage. I think we’re still gettin’ used to being together. Besides, he’ll be off to Africa soon.’

  Arla turned to face her. ‘You’re not suggesting you might change your mind?’

  ‘No, I’m just saying he’s going to be far away and anything might happen. I don’t want to make the same mistake me mam did and assume everything is coming up roses only to find it goes pear-shaped!’