Their Guilty Pleasures

by June Tate

  Jenny had forgotten how charming Adam could be. She enjoyed the chicken and the desert and found herself relaxing in the familiarity that the years spent together had fostered. Adam was recounting old scenarios that had caused them both such hilarity in times gone by.

  He turned his head in her direction. ‘It wasn’t all bad, Jenny, was it?’

  ‘No, of course not.’ She gazed at her husband. He was still handsome; his hair greying at the temples made him look distinguished, and when he smiled she remembered the young man she’d fallen in love with so long ago. It broke her heart to see him now, dependent on others most of the time. She did realize that, as each week passed, Adam was becoming more confident and able to do more for himself, but he was a selfish man and she knew that, without a doubt, whoever was with him would be at his beck and call continuously – but it had been fun to reminisce.

  Adam leaned forward towards her. ‘Jenny, darling, don’t throw what we had away. We can still have a good life together.’

  The atmosphere of the evening changed in seconds. What had been fun and easy now became tense and edgy.

  ‘Please, Adam, let’s not go there. If this was your plan – to soften me up with dinner, candlelight and reminiscences about old times to get me to stay with you – then sadly it was all for nothing. It’s a pity because, until now, I was enjoying it all.’ She rose from the table. ‘I’m off to bed. Thank you for the meal.’

  Adam listened to her retreating footsteps and cursed to himself. He couldn’t let her go without a fight. She was his wife, and they had spent too many years together to have some young Yank come along and ruin everything! He lit a cigarette. Was it about sex – was that what made the whole thing so exciting? But they had had a good sex life he had always thought.

  But when he stopped to really think about it, it hadn’t been special. Whenever he felt like it, he would reach for Jenny in bed. She rarely refused, and he was always satisfied, job done!

  He stubbed his cigarette out angrily. Women! No man could ever understand them.

  Upstairs in her bedroom, Jenny undressed and thought about the previous few hours. What a shame the whole dinner had been part of a plan, instead of just two people enjoying a meal and good conversation. But that was typical of Adam. He was always insistent on getting his own way; it was the manner of the man. As long as he was satisfied, that was what counted. It was the same in bed. Once Adam had reached his climax, nothing else mattered, he would turn over and sleep, whereas Chad was so thoughtful as a lover, making sure that she too was satisfied. How she longed for him at this moment.

  It wasn’t until the following morning that Beth was told about the American GI who had been asking for her. When Beth asked for a description of the soldier, she realized that it had to be Chad. She immediately rang Jenny at her office. ‘So did you see Chad yesterday?’ Beth asked as soon as Jenny answered the phone.

  ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘A GI came looking for me yesterday, but I was out. His description fitted Chad so I was sure you had seen him.’

  ‘No, I left the house early in the morning and didn’t get back until late.’ She hesitated, then swore softly.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Beth.

  ‘Last night Adam arranged a candlelight dinner as a surprise to tempt me back, and now I know why. Chad must have gone to the house. Oh my God! What must he have thought to see Adam there?’

  ‘That all depends if he saw Adam and if they spoke, I suppose.’

  ‘If they did, I can imagine what was said. Adam is such a devious sod! He’d do anything to keep me here.’

  ‘If that was the case, Chad would wait until he saw you, I’m sure, before believing any story. You just have to wait until you hear from him.’

  ‘I can’t do anything else, but I shall certainly have a word with Adam when I go home tonight. He can’t run my life for me, and it’s time to remind him of that!’

  Adam was sitting by the fire in the living room, sipping a glass of brandy, when Jenny swept into the room that evening, bristling with indignation. ‘So what lies did you tell Chad when he called?’ she demanded.

  At first he was startled, but then he just smiled. ‘How did you find out he’d called?’

  ‘He went looking for Beth. What did you say to him, Adam?’

  ‘I told him you had decided to stay with me.’

  ‘You what? How dare you! You had no right to do such a thing, and it was a lie.’

  ‘At the moment it is, but I know you’ll soon come to your senses. Then it’ll be the truth.’

  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. ‘When will you accept that our marriage is over? Even if I never heard from Chad again, I wouldn’t come back to you, Adam. You are a selfish, self-centred, controlling man who has never learned about humility, even now. I’m moving the rest of my stuff out tomorrow. You will need to arrange for someone else to care for the house. I no longer want anything to do with it – or you!’

  The following day, Jenny and Rusty moved into a flat in Hill Lane. She went to the Post Office to fill in a form for change of address, as she didn’t want any of her mail to go to the house. Adam was not to be trusted with any letters that might come from Chad, and now more than ever she needed to hear from her lover to find out if he believed Adam’s lies.

  She sat down before she went to bed and wrote a long letter to Chad, assuring him that she still loved him.

  Nothing will come between us, my darling, she wrote. At one time, I confess, I thought it was my duty to stay with Adam, but it wouldn’t work, and I would wilt away to nothing without you beside me. I can’t wait for this terrible war to be over so we can start our life together. Yours always, Jenny xxx

  She prayed that Chad would receive the letter in the near future.

  But Chad Maxwell was on an aircraft, flying to France once again. He had delivered his papers into the right hands and now was returning to his company. Surely this damned war had to be over soon? He couldn’t wait to get out of uniform, back on a horse and the open country side without the sound of gunfire . . . with the woman he loved.

  He wondered just where Brad was at this time. He really missed his company. He put his head back, closed his eyes and slept.

  But at the stables, no one was asleep. Little Hans had become very poorly in the early evening, and his condition had worsened. Here, everyone was awake . . . and worried.

  Twenty-Six

  Captain Brad Jackson was war weary, as was every man in his company. They all wanted to pack up and go home to their families and a normal life. But, for many, normality would never be the case. So many servicemen would have their lives altered for ever, due to the injuries they received during the fighting. And, for some of them, death would have been kinder. Brad had to deal with these men and try and get them up and give them some kind of hope before he shipped them home.

  As a doctor, he knew that it wasn’t only his injured men who were the ones to suffer. Depending on the extent of the injuries, some of the soldiers’ family members couldn’t cope with sons or husbands who would return as different people, not the fit and healthy men they once knew.

  Some of the men were courageous and mentally strong, accepting that things would never be the same, but determined to make the most of the help that was offered by the service hospitals, but others were unable to see a future and felt they had lost their livelihood and, consequently, their manhood.

  In Southampton, Jenny was doing a similar job but with less brutal injuries. Some of the women who came into her office were in dire straits. Not all the women had been married to their GIs before they were sent to the battlefields, and many of them had illegitimate children to show for their liaisons with the men. Those who suffered most were the women with Negro babies. In many southern states of America it was illegal for a Negro to mix with a white woman, and to give her a child was a lynching offence.

  In their own hometown, the women were looked down upon, and now they had no financ
ial support from the father. This was the hardest part of Jenny’s job, but she did what she could for the women, using the WVS to help with clothing for the babies, and begging, borrowing or stealing anything else she could from any organization that she thought could help.

  Three weeks had passed since Chad had called, but Jenny had not heard from him. She couldn’t imagine what was in his mind after calling at the house and seeing Adam there. Would he really have believed that she was back with her husband?

  Rusty hadn’t had a letter from Brad either, but it wasn’t surprising – the war in Europe was still raging, but slowly the Germans were being beaten, and the bombing of Dresden had put fear into the hearts of the German people.

  Eventually, in March, the US Army crossed the Rhine at Remagen. Brad was with the army as it finally drove over the bridge, which had been detonated by the Germans but had failed to explode. When General Bradley realized the fact, he sent everything he could across it.

  A letter from Rusty had eventually caught up with Brad, but it had been written some time before, so he was unaware of Adam’s status and the brief visitation of his buddy. But now the allies were across the Rhine and the Russians rapidly approaching Berlin, the general consensus of opinion was that the end was nigh, and Brad was content to wait to catch up with the woman he loved.

  In the prisoner of war camp, Gunter listened to the news every night, praying for the end of the fighting so he could be repatriated and prepare a home for his family. He had written to his parents, but had not received a reply. They could be with his sister – or worse, beneath a pile of rubble. He had no way of knowing until he was able to return to Germany and see for himself.

  In the camp, most of the prisoners realized that Germany was losing the war. Most by now just wanted it to end so they could be free, but the few dyed-in-the-wool Nazis were very bitter, and when, in April, Hitler committed suicide in a bunker in Berlin, they felt cheated and betrayed . . . but Gunter was filled with hope.

  Chad was in Prague with the US Third Army when it took the city, but they were ordered to stay there to allow the Russians to take the rest of the country. None of the servicemen cared. They were happy to settle in for the time being, away from the fighting.

  Chad sat quietly in a corner of a small cafe he had found, with a small glass of brandy which the owner had proudly produced as Chad sat at the table.

  ‘God Bless America!’ the man cried and grinning all over his face disappeared into the back.

  Chad chuckled to himself and started a letter to Jenny.

  Hello, darling. We are in Prague, and the fighting is over for a time and hopefully for good before too long. I’ve been moving around so have received no mail at all. I was in the UK briefly a few months ago and called at your house. I saw Adam. Poor guy, what a rotten shame. He told me that you were staying with him. I can understand that you think you have a duty to this man who you were married to for so long, but I am praying that you still want to be with me and come and live in Wyoming.

  This makes me sound like a heel, with Adam being blind and all, but Jenny honey, I love you so much, and I can’t bear to think of you dying inside as you surely would if you stayed in Chilworth with him.

  I may not make it back to see you if an armistice is declared in the near future. I may be shipped home first to be discharged, but I want you to know, I’m coming back for you, darling, however long it takes.

  Yours always and forever,

  Chad.

  At last the war was over. There was dancing in the streets, street parties, the pubs were bursting at the seams with people celebrating VE day. But there were many who celebrated with heavy hearts. Pleased that the fighting was over, but knowing that their lives would never be the same again.

  Rusty, Jenny and Sarah all celebrated at the stables with Beth. Sarah was dancing with little Hans, telling him that soon they would be seeing his father again. Jenny wondered how Adam was, as she’d not seen him for some time. He was back in the house, she knew that, and after going once to see him there, she haddn’t returned.

  Their visit had ended acrimoniously. He had accused her of betrayal to her marriage vows and to him and had ended up calling her a slut, which was when Jenny had walked out of the house – and out of his life.

  The next two months passed quickly, but for Jenny and Rusty it was a fraught time. If they were to go to America, there was so much to be done officially. Passports to be obtained, two copies of birth certificates, a statement from the husband or fiancé, and in some cases letters from the man’s family. Evidence that they could afford a train ticket at the other end of their journey. For both the women, much that was needed was from the men, who were not around and as yet had not been in contact.

  It was Brad who surfaced first of all. He managed to beg a space on a plane leaving Europe for London. There was no time to get in touch with Rusty, and as the aircraft landed in England, Brad decided just to make his way to Southampton. After all, Rusty would be at work, so calling her on the telephone would be difficult.

  It was mid-afternoon, and Rusty had just finished serving a customer and was carefully folding one of the rejected garments, looking down at it, focusing on making it neat, when a hand caught hold of her wrist. She looked up in surprise and saw Brad! She felt the blood drain from her body, and her knees buckled.

  Brad leapt the counter. ‘It’s all right, everybody, I’m a doctor!’ he cried. ‘Someone get me a glass of water.’

  A few minutes later, Rusty started to come round and felt something cold against her forehead. She opened her eyes. ‘Brad, Brad, was that really you?’ she murmured.

  ‘Yes, darling, it really is. How are you feeling?’

  Rusty looked up at him and gave a wan smile. ‘You could have given me a heart attack!’

  He smoothed her cheek. ‘For one awful moment, I thought I had.’

  She looked around and saw lots of concerned faces staring down at her. ‘Oh my God,’ she whispered.

  ‘It’s all right, folks, the young lady is fine. She just fainted.’ To the senior manager of the department, who had arrived to see what all the commotion was about, he said, ‘I’m taking Miss Dobbs home. I doubt if she will be back for a few days.’

  Once outside, Brad took her into his arms and kissed her longingly. ‘I’ve waited for what seems a lifetime to do that,’ he said. ‘I’m taking you home. Let’s find a taxi. Are you still at Chilworth?’

  Rusty gave him her new address, saying, ‘It’s a long story, I’ll explain later.’

  Once they arrived at the flat in Hill Lane, Rusty made a cup of coffee and a sandwich for both of them and they sat on the settee and caught up with each other’s news. Every now and again one would reach out to touch the other, as if trying to convince themselves that the other person was real.

  Brad was sympathetic when he heard the news about Adam.

  ‘That’s a really tough deal,’ he said. ‘How did Jenny take it?’

  Rusty tried to explain how difficult a decision it had been for her to keep her promise to Chad and put aside her feelings of guilt.

  ‘Well, darling, life is cruel, I’m afraid. It throws some diabolical curves your way, as if to say, now get out of that!’ He pulled her towards him and looked into her eyes. ‘I have to return to the States to be discharged, but I’m getting a special licence before I go, so we can be married.’

  This took Rusty’s breath away. ‘Oh my God! Are you sure about this?’

  ‘Absolutely! Why, have you any doubts?’

  She threw her arms around his neck. ‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ she cried – then she kissed him.

  The next few days were frantic, trying to get ready for the wedding. Beth had offered to do the wedding breakfast as a present to the couple, and Jenny had one of her gowns altered for Rusty to wear. It was a coffee-coloured extravaganza bought before the war in an exclusive boutique in London. It was below the knee and fitted with a swathe across the neckline. It was very glamorous and exp
ensive . . . and looked it.

  Rusty, with her auburn hair, beneath a small straw hat with a veil, was a perfect foil against the coffee shade of the dress. She carried a small bouquet of cream roses. Jenny was her maid of honour in a soft pale-green gown.

  As the girls sat together in the wedding car, taking them to St Mark’s church in Archers Road and a vicar who made time for them, they held hands.

  Rusty was trembling. ‘Is this really happening to me, Jenny?’

  ‘Indeed it is, and for goodness sake, try and relax! This is a special day for any woman, so enjoy it. Now come on,’ Jenny gently chided, ‘there is nothing to be nervous about. Brad loves you, and you’ll have a wonderful life.’

  ‘Oh, I do know that, it just seems too good to be true. Until he puts that ring on my finger and we are declared man and wife, I won’t believe it! I just wish you’d heard from Chad and that he could be here too.’

  Jenny leaned out of the window of the vehicle. She had hoped by now to have had a letter from her lover. She wondered if he was still in Europe, waiting to be sent home, or was he already in the States? But why hadn’t he written?

  Brad had tried to trace his whereabouts for her, but had not been able to get a result with troops being moved hither and thither. ‘Try not to fret, Jenny,’ he told her. ‘Chad will get back to you, of that I’m certain.’

  The wedding was a quiet one, with only a few friends attending. Rusty didn’t invite her mother, and her father was still in Australia, but it was a small but happy gathering of friends who were dear to her that sat at the table at Beth’s house after the ceremony.

  And after the speeches and the cake cutting, they all got changed out of their finery and went riding. It was a truly perfect ending to the day, with much merriment as they all rode through the woods together.

  Later that night, in the honeymoon suite of the Polygon Hotel, Brad drew his bride into his arms. ‘When we get home, we’ll have a grand reception for the family.’

  ‘That’ll be nice,’ Rusty said, ‘except there won’t be anyone there to represent me.’