‘Why – how awful.’ Adina sank into a chair before asking, ‘But what will happen to Sarah now if she has no other family to go home to?’
‘Ah, well, me an’ the old man were just discussin’ that afore he left fer work an’ we’ve decided that we’ll keep her. After all, she ain’t no trouble, is she? An’ at the end o’ the day, I dare say stayin’ wi’ us will be better than her bein’ carted off to some bloody orphanage. I know everyone will say we’re mad, but what else can we do?’
‘I think you’re doing exactly right,’ Adina said and Freyde nodded in agreement.
‘So do I, and I think it’s wonderful of you,’ she assured her kindly neighbour. ‘This is going to be hard for the child, but at least she still has you willing to stand by her.’
Dovi, who had been listening to the conversation, nodded in agreement too and they all looked towards him with surprise. Dovi never seemed to have much interest in anything, but because they were speaking of Sarah his ears had pricked up. ‘S-Sarah stay?’ he stammered.
Freyde smiled at him sadly. ‘Yes, Dovi. Sarah will be staying. That will be nice for you, won’t it?’
He turned back to the dancing flames in the grate and became silent again as the women contemplated how the child would take the news. The whole country was praying that the end of the war was in sight now, but unfortunately, it had not come soon enough for Sarah’s mother.
The following day the papers were full of yet another vicious attack on a second young man in Nuneaton and the shop was alive with gossip as the customers surmised who might be the culprit.
‘I’ll bet yer any money it’s one o’ them bleedin’ Jerries from up at the Hall,’ one man commented when he came in for his daily packet of Woodbines.
‘Don’t talk out o’ yer arse,’ said an indignant lady who was rifling through a barrel of apples. ‘Them blokes are as polite as can be. Why, they’ve even rebuilt the church, ain’t they? ’Tain’t their fault as they were sent off to fight the war, no more than it were fer our lads. There’s good an’ bad in every race, that’s what I say.’
‘What yer forgettin’ is it were them buggers that bombed the church in the first place,’ the man retorted, and Adina felt her cheeks grow hot. No matter what the German prisoners of war who were stationed at the Hall did, there were still those in the town who were ready to condemn them.
‘They come here,’ the man ranted on, ‘rapin’ our women an’ leavin’ ’em with their bellies swollen. It’s a bloody disgrace, if you were to ask me. Trouble is, it was too dark fer either o’ the poor souls to see their attacker so the police are no nearer to catching ’em!’
‘Huh! There are certain girls who don’t need rapin’ from what I’ve seen of it,’ the woman said. ‘Practically thrown themselves at the GIs an’ the Jerries, so they have, so it ain’t all one-sided.’
Adina and her father exchanged an uncomfortable glance as they both thought of Ariel, but they said nothing until the customers had left the shop and then Adina plucked up the courage to ask, ‘Have you given any more thought to Ariel’s plight, Papa?’
‘I have, as it so happens.’ Her father busied himself in straightening up the sweet jars as he carefully avoided her gaze. ‘And you can tell her that when the young man next has leave, I shall give them my permission to get married. But don’t expect me or your mother to be there. As far as I am concerned, once she is wed she will be dead to us.’
‘But Papa, this is your grandchild that Ariel is carrying!’ Adina cried.
Now he turned to glare at her and the hurt in his eyes silenced her instantly.
‘I shall say no more on the subject,’ he barked. ‘I cannot prevent you from seeing your sister, but I have said my last word about it.’
Blinking back tears, Adina flew blindly past him and upstairs to her room. She had a skirt to finish making by teatime for a lady who lived just along the street, and she was glad. At the moment, sitting in her room sewing was preferable to being in her father’s company – although she was relieved that he had at least agreed to Ariel getting married. She knew her sister would be delighted with the news and could hardly wait to tell her.
She met Ariel out of work the following lunchtime and when she passed on their father’s decision, her sister sighed with relief.
‘Thank God for that,’ she said chokily. ‘Though I haven’t a clue when Brian will be home again or what I will wear. I certainly don’t have enough clothing coupons saved up for a new blouse, let alone a wedding dress. And I don’t even know where Brian is.’
‘I’m sure he is safe.’ Adina squeezed her arm reassuringly. ‘And you won’t have to worry about a dress. I can sort you out with one.’
‘How would you just happen to have a spare wedding dress hanging about?’ Ariel asked suspiciously.
‘I had some parachute silk left over from the one I made for Beryl so I made another one up.’ Adina refrained from telling her sister that she had actually made the dress for herself. At the moment, her sister’s need was greater than her own and she reasoned that it wouldn’t matter if it had already been worn by the time she got to wear it, especially if the bride was Ariel.
‘I’ll bring it round to Brian’s for you to try on,’ she promised. ‘It will probably need a few alterations but I’m sure we can make it fit.’
Ariel hugged her and really smiled for the first time in weeks. ‘Oh, this is wonderful. Will Mama and Papa be coming to the wedding?’
‘I’m afraid not,’ Adina told her regretfully. ‘But at least you can get married now and that’s the most important thing. We’ll face all the other problems as we come to them, eh?’
Ariel nodded and they then spent the rest of Ariel’s dinner-hour searching the shops for some fine netting so that Adina could make her a veil to go with the dress.
After they had parted, Adina hurried home with the netting they had managed to find. She was keen to make a start on it but it seemed that her parents had other ideas.
‘Would you mind helping your father out in the shop for a couple of hours?’ her mother asked, the second she set foot through the door. ‘I have the most awful headache and would like to lie down for a while.’
‘Of course.’ Adina glanced towards Dovi who was eyeing her with that vacant look she had come to dread. Sometimes she felt that she didn’t know him at all any more. He had kept them all awake for most of the two previous nights, screaming and crying with nightmares, and Adina wasn’t surprised that her mother was feeling unwell. Caring for Dovi was proving to be a challenge for all of them, and sometimes she wondered if he would ever be truly well again. But only time would tell, and for now she was happy to help out.
Beckoning her mother over to the table she whispered, ‘I just saw Ariel and told her that Papa has agreed she can marry Brian.’
‘Oh!’ Tears filled Freyde’s eyes and then she wiped them away. ‘Who would ever have thought it would come to this. My youngest daughter planning her wedding and me being no part of it.’
‘You could be,’ Adina told her stoutly. ‘If you were prepared to stand up to Papa.’
Freyde stroked her daughter’s smooth cheek and smiled wistfully. ‘It is hard to break the habits of a lifetime, bubbeleh. Your father has always been the head of the family, and I could not go against his wishes, even for Ariel.’
Adina’s heart sank. She knew all too well that the same reasoning would apply to her when her parents discovered that she was going to marry Karl. But she would not think of that for now. It was too painful.
She gave a deep sigh before going off to help her father in the shop.
Later in February 1945, over 50,000 Germans died in an RAF raid which devastated Dresden, and the jubilant Allied troops began to prepare to cross the Rhine. The British people’s spirits were high as they dared to hope that the end of the war really was in sight.
Karl, along with some of the other prisoners of war who were stationed at the Hall, was now busily working in the park dredging
the River Anker, and just as she had when he had been helping to rebuild the church, Adina took to walking home that way when she finished her job at the school.
It was on one particular day when he had been allowed to have a lunch-break that they sat together in the bandstand.
‘Is there any news of your sister’s boyfriend yet?’ he asked as he offered her a sandwich.
‘No, nothing as far as I know,’ Adina replied, taking one. ‘Ariel is beside herself with worry. The last she heard of him, Brian was preparing to cross the Rhine.’
‘He could well be on the front line then,’ Karl commented – and they both knew all too well what that could mean.
Rumour had it that Adolf Hitler was running scared although he was still fighting back and refusing to accept that defeat could be in sight.
‘Have you heard anything from your family?’ Adina asked.
Karl shook his head. ‘Nothing at all, but then letters are scarce up at the camp. My family were informed that I had been taken prisoner, so they will know that I am safe – if the letter ever reached them, that is. I am more concerned about them, to be honest.’
‘Well, let’s just hope that the rumours are true and that it will soon be over.’ Adina stood now and straightened her coat over her slim hips. ‘I ought to be getting back now otherwise my parents will be wondering where I am. Ever since the second attack that was reported in the papers they seem to hate me even going out alone to the school.’
‘I can understand that. My comrades told me that the man is still in a bad way in the Manor Hospital. If he dies, the police will be searching for a murderer. What madman could commit such evil crimes? But will you still be able to meet me this evening?’
Adina smiled. ‘Yes. I have some sewing to deliver to a customer, but I won’t be able to be out for too long.’
‘Of course.’ Karl glanced about to make sure that no one was watching them before raising her fingers to his lips and kissing them; then she left him and hurried home through the drizzly overcast day.
‘Where is Dovi?’ she asked her mother when she entered the kitchen.
‘Out walking again,’ Freyde answered. She was busily chopping vegetables on the table and looked at Adina curiously. ‘You’re rather late again, aren’t you?’
‘Oh, I er . . . got caught up at the school.’ Adina went to hang her coat up. It was then that a knock sounded on the kitchen door and before they could answer it Ariel stepped into the room. Her mother opened her mouth to protest but clamped it shut again when she noticed her daughter’s red-rimmed eyes.
‘What is it?’ she asked instantly.
‘It’s Brian.’ Ariel held out a crumpled telegram and as her mother’s eyes scanned it her face creased with sympathy.
‘He was injured in action last month,’ Ariel told her sister. ‘And now he is on his way home.’
‘What’s wrong with him?’ Adina asked, but the girl could only shrug helplessly. ‘I don’t know. He’s being transported to a hospital in Portsmouth and they have said that they will let me know more when he gets there.’
Adina shivered involuntarily as she thought of Dovi. How would Ariel cope if he returned as a shell of the man he had once been, as their brother had? But she knew that she mustn’t voice this concern. She had to be strong for Ariel now.
‘Well, at least you know that he is still alive,’ she told her optimistically.
Ariel wiped her eyes with a handkerchief that her mother had handed her. ‘Yes, I suppose there is that to it.’
At that moment the door leading from the shop opened and her father appeared, his face set in grim lines.
‘What are you doing here again?’ he ground out. ‘Did I not make myself clear the last time you visited? You are no longer welcome here.’
‘But Ezra, she has received some very bad news. She had a telegram to say that Brian has been injured in action and—’
‘Be quiet.’ Ezra glared sternly at his wife. ‘It is no longer any of our concern. I am sorry to hear that the man you turned your back on the family for is hurt, but you made your decision. Now please leave.’
Ariel rose from her seat with what dignity she could muster and with a last glance towards her mother and sister she silently left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
‘Have you no heart?’ Freyde admonished.
‘Oh yes, I have a heart, and our daughter broke it the day she chose that boy over us. So now if you will excuse me I must return to work. I think I just heard a customer come into the shop.’ And with that, Ezra turned and left them without another word as mother and daughter looked helplessly at each other.
It was five weeks later when Brian was returned to his parents’ home in an ambulance. Unlike Dovi, his mind was intact but he had lost one of his legs from below the knee. More worrying still, he felt obliged to inform his nearest and dearest that there was still a piece of shrapnel in his body that the doctors had considered too dangerous to try and remove.
Ariel was devastated at the loss of his limb but did not seem to understand the implications of his other injury.
‘Will it just stay there?’ she asked innocently as she fussed over him.
Brian looked towards his mother, who was trying her best to put a brave face on. He was still reeling from the shock of discovering that he was to become a father, and was only too happy to make an honest woman of the girl he loved.
‘Well, there is a possibility that it will move one day,’ he told her cautiously. He omitted to mention that the surgeon at the hospital had warned him that if the shrapnel moved towards his heart, it could be fatal. He felt that Ariel had more than enough to come to terms with at present, and wanted to take one day at a time. He was furious to hear of the way Ezra had turned his back on her, and determined to make her happy with or without her father’s blessing.
Ariel was content with that answer. It had been a shock to see Brian as he was now, but she was just grateful that he was alive and home with them. And of course, she could now start to plan the wedding which they all agreed should take place as soon as possible.
Ariel and Brian were married in Coton Church on 26 March 1945 – on the same day that David Lloyd George, the Prime Minister in the First World War, died at the age of eighty-two. Ariel was painfully aware that Ezra would frown on her marrying in a Christian church, but she was past caring now.
There were few people present at the wedding. Brian’s brother, John, gave the bride away, and although Adina felt the absence of the rest of her family, Ariel seemed to have a glow about her as she made her vows to the man she loved. She looked beautiful in the dress that her sister had made, even though it was a little tight across the stomach now and Adina cried as the newlyweds kissed when the ceremony was over.
It was a blustery day, and as they left the church with Brian leaning heavily on his crutches, the veil that Adina had so lovingly sewn floated about Ariel’s face. There was to be no reception but Ariel seemed content to just be married.
‘You be happy now,’ Adina sniffed as she kissed her sister.
‘Oh, I will be,’ Ariel assured her as she looked lovingly towards her husband. He might be a little gaunt and crippled now, but he was still the man she loved.
‘I’ll get the dress back to you as soon as I can,’ Ariel promised. ‘Thank you for letting me wear it. Who did you make it for anyway?’
‘Oh, for someone who doesn’t need it just yet,’ Adina told her blandly, and then the young couple turned and as she watched them go she fingered the ring that she still wore on a chain about her neck and wondered when it would be her turn.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The war raged on, but on 27 April 1945, as Allied forces closed in on Milan, the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was captured by Italian partisans as he tried to flee Italy. He had been travelling with a German anti-aircraft battalion in an attempt to reach Switzerland. The following day, he and his henchmen were taken to the village of Dongo and executed and then th
eir bodies were hung on public display. On 29 April the rest of the Fascist Italian armed forces surrendered at Caserta, and the English people rejoiced as they listened to the news on their wirelesses. It was another victory for their armed forces.
‘It won’t be long now,’ Ezra prophesied as the family sat in the kitchen that evening. ‘That pig Hitler is running scared now and – so he should be.’
‘Pray God you are right,’ Freyde muttered as she turned her attention back to the pair of socks she was darning.
Without another word being said, they each knew that they were thinking of Ezra’s parents and the terrible fate they had probably endured in one of Hitler’s camps. The end of the war might be close, but for them and many others, life would never be the same again. Their hearts were permanently scarred.
Adina looked forward to the end of the war with mixed feelings; part of her longed for it to be over, so that she and Karl could make a life together. Yet the other part of her dreaded having to be estranged from her family, which she knew would be inevitable once they learned that she had fallen in love with a German.
She was still seeing Ariel once a week. Her sister was blossoming now and would soon be finishing work to prepare for the birth of her baby. She seemed content and happy, although Adina knew that she desperately missed her family. She had tentatively tried to tell her father as much one day when they were working in the shop together, but he had pointedly changed the subject. Now all Adina could do was hope that once he had a grandchild, he would also have a change of heart.
Adina knew that her mother fretted about Ariel. She had taken to occasionally strolling through Woolworth’s just so that she could catch a glimpse of her. But she never approached her; her loyalty to her husband was stronger even than her need to speak to her own child.
Dovi was still giving them cause for grave concern. He would sit for hours rocking to and fro as he stared into the fire, mumbling incoherently and playing with the stumps where his fingers had once been. His nightmares seemed to be getting worse if anything, and they were all tired following a procession of disturbed nights.
A Band of Steel Page 18
