by Lily Baxter
‘That particular ferry pool is at Hawarden, near Chester.’
‘They can’t send you that far away when we’ve only just found each other.’ Her voice broke on a sob. ‘It’s not fair.’
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her as if he would never let her go. She could feel his breath warm on her cheek and the now familiar scent of him filled her with longing. She laid her head on his shoulder, savouring the bittersweet moment.
‘It won’t be forever, darling,’ he said softly. ‘I might even be sent here to pick up a Spitfire from the factory. I’ll write to you every day and I’ll come to see you whenever I can.’
‘But are you fit enough for that sort of work? What will your dad say when he finds out that you’re flying again and risking your life?’
‘Of course I’m fit enough. They’ll take pilots with glasses and one arm missing, they’re so desperate. As to Dad, he’ll understand.’
‘Your Aunt Maida will say I led you on, and I can’t say I’d blame her. You’d be safe here training ferry pilots if it wasn’t for me. Oh, Tony, I’m so sorry.’ Fighting back tears, she buried her face in his shoulder.
‘Forget them,’ he said, stroking her hair. ‘Nothing matters except you and me. We belong together, Sue. It’ll take more than a war and a couple of hundred miles of air space to separate us now.’
She raised her face, closing her eyes as his eager mouth sought hers. For an achingly short while she was able to blot out the war that was tearing them apart. She knew now that she loved him with all her heart. He was all the family that she needed. They belonged together. When he drew away just far enough to gaze deeply into her eyes, she managed a smile. ‘I love you, Tony.’
‘And I love you, Susan. I always have. Tell me again, just once before I have to go.’
She froze. ‘You’re not going already?’
‘The Flight Captain didn’t give me any option, sweetheart. I’m taking a repaired Spit to Filton aerodrome near Bristol this afternoon. I’ll get further orders there.’
Susan swallowed hard. Now she knew how Roz had felt when Patrick was spirited away so suddenly. Her whole world seemed to be crumbling about her ears. ‘We’ve had such a short time together,’ she whispered. ‘But I’ll write to you. I’ll send you all the gossip and let you know what’s happening in the village. I’ll wait for you forever, if that’s what it takes to bring you back to me.’
He answered her with a kiss that sent her senses spiralling into infinity, and then he was gone.
She struggled through the remainder of her working day feeling as though she was stuck inside a huge bubble. Shock and disbelief were replaced by anger and frustration, but if she were to be honest with herself she knew that she was the only person to blame. It was her foolish obsession with flying that had made him risk everything in order to give her what she had longed for. She could understand his passion for flying, but that did not disguise the fact that accidents and fatalities amongst the ferry pilots happened all the time. They flew without navigational aids other than maps and without the benefit of radios. They were unarmed and vulnerable to attack from the Luftwaffe and occasionally mistaken for enemy aircraft. They were at the mercy of the weather and exhaustion, and she had sent him back to the danger zone. She knew that she would never forgive herself should anything happen to him.
After a day of agonising and self-recrimination, Susan rode home with a heavy heart. She had jeopardised the life of the man she loved. She was alone again, and desperately lonely. She was pedalling along the High Street, wrapped in her own dismal thoughts, when she heard the sound of an approaching motor vehicle. She pulled in at the kerb as an ambulance flashed past her with its bell ringing. It had come from the direction of the aerodrome and was obviously answering an emergency call, but accidents were not uncommon in the two factories on the airfield and the workshops. Some poor soul had been unlucky that day. She arrived at the pub to find it parked outside. The doors were open and Bob was about to climb in, but he hesitated when he saw her. ‘Look after the bar until I get back, Susan.’ He thrust the door key into her hand. ‘It’s Roz. She’s had an accident at the factory. They’re taking her to Southampton General.’
Chapter Seventeen
Susan wanted to question Bob further, but the ambulance man barred her way. ‘Please let me speak to Mr Fuller,’ she said breathlessly. ‘I must know what happened.’
He shook his head. ‘Best do as the gentleman said, miss. The young lady’s in good hands.’ He climbed into the vehicle and closed the doors. It sped off, leaving Susan none the wiser and in a state of considerable agitation. Roz’s condition must be serious or Bob would have taken the time to put her mind at rest. Fearing the worst, she picked up her bicycle and wheeled it into the pub garden. She left it propped up against the wall regardless of the fact that it had started to rain. Normally she would have put it under lock and key in the garage, but at this moment she had more pressing matters on her mind. She let herself into the pub, acknowledging Charlie’s bouncy welcome with an absent-minded pat on the head. Her concern for Roz was uppermost in her mind. An accident at this stage of her pregnancy might cause a miscarriage and she knew how much Roz wanted this baby. She seemed to have come to terms with the fact that her child would bear the stigma of illegitimacy, even though she was suffering at the hands of the village gossips. Sly remarks and covert glances were cast her way whenever she went to the shops. Roz had managed to rise above it so far, but there was only so much a person could take, and Susan suspected that she was teetering on the edge. Losing the baby as well as Patrick might be the last straw.
Susan checked the bar. Bob had obviously been preparing to open up and everything was in readiness for the evening trade. She threw a log on the fire, warming her hands over the heat. She felt chilled to the bone although it was not a particularly cold evening. She wished that she could go to her room and lock herself in with just Charlie for company. The last thing she wanted was to have to put on a brave smile and face the customers that evening, but someone was tapping on the outside door and a quick glance at the clock above the bar showed that it was five minutes past opening time. Somewhat reluctantly, she unlocked the door and the two locals wandered in, touching their caps to her in a silent greeting. She went behind the bar to serve them.
‘The usual, is it, Nutty?’
Nutty Slack, a grizzled man in his late fifties, had earned his nickname when he was a coalman. He nodded his head. ‘Saw the ambulance. Was it the boss they took?’
‘No, it was Roz. She’s had an accident at work. I don’t know any of the details.’ Susan pulled his pint and passed it over the counter. ‘Same for you, Todd?’
Nutty’s lifelong friend and drinking partner grunted his assent. ‘Bad do. Poor girl. She hasn’t had much luck recently.’
Susan gave him his beer, taking their money which they had counted out to the last penny and putting it in the till. There was nothing she could do now other than wait for news from the hospital. Until she knew the extent of Roz’s injuries she could only imagine what might have happened to her at the factory. She knew very little about the type of work Roz undertook, although she knew that it had something to do with repairing damaged Spitfires. Roz made no secret of the fact that she hated her job, but Hamble was a small village and her only alternative would have been to travel daily to Southampton. She might have considered it once, but being pregnant had changed her priorities and she had chosen to work closer to home.
She had, to Susan’s knowledge, so far only received one letter from Patrick. He had told her that he was about to be sent abroad, although he could not say where. Susan had comforted her as best she could, but only now could she fully empathise with the sense of loss and foreboding that Roz must have been feeling. The future was an uncertain place for everyone in the country, and now Susan had joined the millions of women who lived on hope and waited.
The evening passed slowly with a trickle of customers stopping off for a drin
k on their way home after work. Nutty and Todd sat at one of the tables playing dominoes and sipping their pints of mild. Susan kept glancing at the clock but it seemed as though the hands barely moved. She emptied ashtrays, washed and polished glasses and waited. It was not until nine o’clock that the bar started to fill up and she was kept busy serving drinks. She looked up expectantly every time the door opened hoping to see Bob returning from the hospital, but it was always just another local eager for warmth and company.
It was almost nine thirty when Danny strolled into the pub. He threaded his way towards the bar with a cheery smile on his face, although Susan was certain that she detected a slight wariness in his eyes as he greeted her. Perhaps he thought she was about to fall apart if he mentioned Tony or Roz.
‘The usual, Danny?’ She pulled a pint of bitter and put it on the bar in front of him.
‘Thanks, Susan.’ He drank thirstily. ‘That’s a good pint.’
‘What happened?’ Susan asked in a low voice. ‘Were you there when Roz had the accident?’
His smiled faded. ‘I saw her fall. Is there any news?’
‘Not yet. I’ve been hoping that Bob would telephone from the hospital, but I don’t know anything about her injuries. You obviously do.’
Danny took another swig of his drink. ‘She fell from the wing of the plane. I don’t know whether she had a dizzy spell or why she suddenly toppled over, but she landed awkwardly. We got the medic to her as soon as we could and made her comfortable until the ambulance arrived. I guess she’s broken some bones.’
‘But she was conscious?’
‘Yes. I don’t think she hit her head, but of course in her condition it’s a hell of a worry.’
Susan frowned. ‘I suppose it could be worse, just so long as the baby is all right.’
‘We’ve got to hope. Poor girl, she’s had a rotten time recently.’ He eyed her over the rim of his glass. ‘And how are you?’
‘I suppose everyone knows that Tony took me up in a Mosquito?’
‘Pretty well. You know what it’s like.’
‘I blame myself. He only did it for me.’
‘Pretty damn dashing, if you ask me. I never had old Tony down for the romantic sort but there you go, he risks everything for the woman he loves. How about that?’
‘It’s not funny.’
‘No, I suppose not. Sorry.’ He reached across the bar to pat her hand. ‘Chin up, Susan. If I know Tony he’ll be counting the days until he sees you again.’
She felt a blush rising to her cheeks and she turned away to serve another customer, but her thoughts were elsewhere and she had to tot up the round all over again. ‘That will be two and tenpence halfpenny, please.’
The man with the florid complexion handed over the money with a snort of derision. ‘Daylight robbery.’ He picked up the tray, walking away carefully so as not to spill a drop.
‘I added it up twice,’ Susan said, turning to Danny who was perched on a bar stool in the corner. ‘It’s not my fault that beer costs eightpence a pint.’
‘Don’t let them get to you, love,’ Danny said, pushing his glass towards her. ‘I’ll have another, and one for yourself.’
She pulled his pint but refused the drink as politely as she could without hurting his feelings. He was about to argue when the pub door opened and Bob walked in. There was a sudden hush. Word had got round and expectant faces turned towards him. He raised his hand, a wry smile on his lips. ‘She’s all right, folks. Broke her ankle and sprained her wrist, which is bad enough, but everything else is fine.’ He made his way to the bar. ‘Thanks, Susan. I owe you one.’ He lifted the hatch and came to stand beside her. ‘Don’t look so worried. She’ll be fine.’
‘What about the baby?’
‘So far, so good. There are no guarantees but the doctors seem to think everything will be okay.’ He took a glass from the shelf and held it beneath the whisky optic, measuring out a double. ‘I need this.’
Susan had never seen him drink anything stronger than tea and she was suddenly anxious. Roz had hinted that her father had had a drink problem after her mother died, adding hastily that he had managed to stay on the wagon for a good many years. Judging by the way he knocked back his drink it looked to Susan as though he had fallen off it with a vengeance. He downed a second large Scotch with equal speed.
‘Steady on, Bob,’ Danny said softly. ‘She’s okay, and that’s all that matters.’
‘I don’t need you to tell me what I can or can’t do in my own pub, son.’ Bob went to refresh his drink but the bottle was empty.
Susan moved swiftly to take it down. ‘I’ll see to it, Mr Fuller.’
‘You’ve done enough, Susan.’ Bob’s voice was thick and his speech already slightly slurred. ‘I’ll finish off here.’
She cast an anguished glance at Danny and he responded immediately by getting off his stool and letting himself into the cramped space behind the bar. ‘Tell you what, Bob. Why don’t you let me do last orders so that Susan can get you both some supper? The poor girl looks done in.’
Bob recoiled slightly, glaring at Danny with a suspicious gleam in his eyes. ‘What do you know about working in a bar, sunshine?’
‘My dad runs a pub in Catford. I’ve helped out there more times than I can remember, and you look as though you could do with a break. Let me help. I’d like to.’
Susan clutched Bob’s arm. ‘I’ll make us something to eat, and I’m dying to know everything the doctor said. It’s not very private out here.’
He glanced round, seeming to realise for the first time that people were staring at him. He shrugged his shoulders. ‘All right, you win the pair of you.’ He turned to Danny with an ominous scowl. ‘You can do the bar but I’ll cash up.’ He ducked under the hatch and moving a little unsteadily made his way out of the bar.
Susan flashed Danny a grateful smile. ‘Thanks. Come through to the kitchen when you’ve locked up and I’ll save you some supper.’
‘You’re on.’ Danny leaned on the counter. ‘Yes, sir,’ he said, grinning at the young airman who was waiting to be served. ‘What can I do you for?’
Susan followed Bob to the kitchen. He slumped down in a chair at the table, holding his head in his hands. ‘I thought I was going to lose her,’ he muttered. ‘Her mother died in childbirth, and I thought that Roz was going the same way.’
Susan filled the kettle and put it on the hob. ‘She’s not going to die. You said that she’s got some broken bones and the baby is all right. She’ll be home in no time at all.’
‘She’s not out of the wood yet. Things could still go wrong and I could kill that bloody vet. He had his way with my little girl and then buggered off abroad to look after sick horses. I’d like to put him in front of a firing squad.’
‘He loves her,’ Susan said gently. ‘They love each other.’ She took a loaf from the bread bin and cut several thick slices. She found cheese in the larder and cut slivers ready for toasting. ‘You did say that she’s going to be all right, didn’t you? There isn’t anything you aren’t telling me?’
He shook his head. ‘No, that was all. You’re a good girl, Susan. Thanks for stepping in this evening.’
‘I’m happy to help out. I don’t know where I’d be if it wasn’t for you and Roz.’
She made the tea and put a liberal helping of sugar in Bob’s cup. She served the cheese on toast and they ate in silence. She shot him sidelong glances, hoping that he would not turn to the bottle again once he was out of her sight, but he seemed to have returned to his former good-humoured self, and when he had finished eating he rose from his seat. ‘I’ll cash up and then I’m going to bed. I’ll phone the hospital first thing in the morning to check on Roz.’
‘You must try not to worry. Roz needs you now more than ever. She’ll always need her dad.’ She swallowed hard as a lump in her throat threatened to choke her. She would give anything to have a loving father like Bob. ‘She’s so lucky to have you,’ she added in a whisper.
‘Thanks for supper, and don’t worry – I’m not going to hit the bottle. I’m okay now. Anyway, I’ll send young Danny through to get his grub.’ Bob hesitated in the doorway, a ghost of a smile on his lips. ‘I thought it was young Tony who was sweet on you. I can’t keep up with you young people.’ He wandered off in the direction of the bar.
Susan shook her head. He must still be a little bit drunk if he thought that there was anything between her and Danny. She put another two slices of bread under the grill and cut more slivers of Cheddar cheese. She wondered what Tony was doing at this moment. Was he thinking of her too? She hoped so.
For the first time since she had lived in the pub Bob was up before her next morning. She could hear him bellowing down the telephone as she came downstairs. She hurried past him with Charlie running on ahead, and as she opened the kitchen door she heard Bob moderate his tone slightly and the clunk of the receiver as it was replaced in its cradle. She prayed silently that it was good news. She studied his face as he entered the room, and to her intense relief his stern features creased into a wide grin. ‘She’s doing well. They’ve set the broken bones and the baby is fine.’
‘That’s wonderful.’ Susan rushed over and gave him a hug, but the smell of whisky on his breath made her draw away quickly.
He shrugged his broad shoulders. ‘It was just a tot, Susan. I won’t touch another drop.’ He walked over to the stove. ‘I’m making scrambled eggs for breakfast. I’m seriously thinking of buying a few laying hens and then we can be self-sufficient in eggs. Roz has been on at me for ages to make use of the barren strip of land at the end of the garden.’
Susan left him to prepare their breakfast while she let Charlie and his now best friend Orlando out into the garden. She smiled as she watched them ambling around together, with Charlie sniffing scents undetectable to humans and Orlando looking on in his superior feline manner. Everything seemed wonderfully normal now that Roz was on the mend and she heaved a heartfelt sigh of relief. Roz was the sister that she had always longed for and nothing and no one could take that away from her. She went indoors to have her breakfast and get ready for work.
