‘It’s too soon to tell at this stage.’ He prided himself on never giving false hope. ‘We’ll know more once we’ve had her in theatre. So now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go and scrub up. There’s no time to lose.’
It was the early hours of the morning before the doctor appeared again, still wearing the gown he had worn to theatre, and looking, if that were possible, even more tired, but then he had been on duty since six o’clock the morning before.
‘Well, we’ve set all her broken bones,’ he told them. ‘And in actual fact she’s been a very lucky girl. One of the broken ribs was just a fraction away from piercing her heart. Had that have happened there would have been nothing we could do. We’ve managed to stop the internal bleeding and the rest of her injuries are cuts and bruises which will heal themselves given time.’
‘So she will live?’
He looked at the sea of hopeful faces and gave them the slightest glimmer of hope. ‘She’s managed to survive the surgery so things are looking slightly better but the next twenty-four hours will be critical. I suggest you all go home and try to get some sleep now. There’s nothing more you can do here. She’s in God’s hands now.’
‘Thank you so much, doctor.’ Tilly’s mother was sobbing and he gently patted her arm before he turned and walked away.
The following morning, just as they had opened the café for the breakfast rush, the girls had a visit from the same policeman they had spoken to at the hospital the night before. None of them had slept very well, and they could only hope that Tilly had made it through the night.
‘We went to the laundry and were told by some of the women and girls that work there that Yung Huan had indeed been there shortly before. He was in a very agitated state and covered in blood, which leads us to believe that he was the one responsible for the attack,’ the policeman informed them gravely. ‘Unfortunately, he then disappeared and we haven’t been able to trace him.’
‘So what will happen now?’ Flora questioned.
‘We have an alert out for his arrest. Every police officer in New York is scouring the streets looking for him and furthermore two other girls from the laundry have now come forward to say that he has raped them too so it’s looking very worrying. He’s clearly a very dangerous man.’
‘He didn’t rape Tilly, did he?’ Flora asked fearfully. Knowing what an innocent Tilly was she dreaded to think how she would cope with it if he had.
‘Her underclothes were pushed aside but it looks like he had second thoughts because the doctors found no evidence of rape,’ the officer informed her and Flora sighed with relief.
‘I wonder if I might have a word with Jia Li about Yung’s attack on her.’
Jia Li licked her lips as she glanced around at all of them, then she nodded and holding tight to Flora’s hand, they went into the kitchen away from the customers. Once there, Jia Li told him the full story of what had happened, all the while clinging to Flora’s hand. Flora knew how hard it still was for her to talk about it and throughout her explanation, she could feel Jia Li trembling, but she was proud of her friend for managing to speak so calmly.
When he left the policeman was grim-faced after taking Jia Li’s statement and assured them all that everything that could be done to apprehend Yung Huan was being done. ‘If Tilly should die we’ll be looking for a murderer,’ he told them gravely. ‘But even if she doesn’t I can guarantee with the evidence we’ve got against him he’ll be put away for a very long time when we do catch him.’
All they could do now was pray that he was right, and that Tilly would survive.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
For the next three days, Tilly hovered between life and death but finally on the fourth day, as her mother sat at the side of her hospital bed, she opened her eyes and gave her mother a weak smile. It was a good sign and they all began to breathe a little easier, although as yet Yung Huan had still not been apprehended.
‘I hope they lock the bugger up and throw away the key when they do catch him!’ Hattie raged. Since the attack both she and Ernie had been to sit by Tilly’s bed every single day, although they knew she was probably unaware they were even there.
‘I could be wrong o’ course but I’ve got a feelin’ our Ernie is more than a little fond o’ the girl,’ Hattie told Flora and Colleen one morning as they were preparing to open the café.
Flora raised an eyebrow. ‘And what makes you think that?’
‘Well, I reckon he’s just realised she’s no longer the little girl as used to follow him about. She’s turned into a pretty young woman an’ though she’s a little slow she’s got a heart o’ gold.’
‘You wouldn’t mind, then, if something were to develop between them?’
‘Oh lordy, no, quite the contrary, I’d be tickled pink. Our Ernie’s had a bad time of it since his girl went down with the Titanic an’ if he can find happiness wi’ someone else, then so be it.’
‘Hmm, we’ll just have to see what happens then, won’t we?’ Flora said thoughtfully. ‘But the main thing is that Tilly gets well.’
Two days later they were all sitting in the kitchen on a cold, frosty evening enjoying a well-earned break when they had another visit from the police that shocked them all to the core.
‘A body was pulled out of the Hudson this morning that we have reason to believe might be the body of Yung Huan.’
They all gasped as the policeman went on. ‘Mrs Yung was taken to the mortuary where she was able to formally identify it as the body of her son, Huan. He’d been badly beaten before being thrown into the river to drown so it appears that this is the end of the case.’
‘It’s good riddance to bad rubbish, that’s what I say,’ Hattie said unsympathetically. ‘But who do you think did it?’
‘Probably a relative of one of the girls he raped from the laundry,’ the officer answered.
‘Then I just hope as they get away with it,’ Hattie said heatedly. ‘The dirty little sod got what was comin’ to him, as far as I’m concerned. At least he won’t be able to bring no more young girls down!’
Of course, the officer was in no position to agree with her but being the father of two teenage girls himself he couldn’t have agreed with her more. ‘It seems that Jia Li wasn’t the only girl who he got in the family way,’ he informed them. ‘One of the girls who worked at the laundry told us that he got her friend pregnant too. The poor girl was so terrified of what her folks would say that she went to a backstreet abortionist and ended up dying from loss of blood. She was just sixteen.’
He took his leave of them then, promising to inform them if there were any more developments and the second he had gone, Colleen, who was up and about again after her illness and who had remained silent up to then, looked at Jimmy and Sam, who had joined them earlier for dinner, and asked shakily, ‘It wasn’t you two who did for him, was it?’
‘Whoa there!’ Appalled, Jimmy put his hand palm up as if to shield himself from her. ‘I swear on my mom’s life that this had nothing to do wi’ me nor Sam. We roughed him up before, sure, but that’s it!’
Colleen visibly relaxed. ‘I thank the Holy Mother for that at least, so I do. Now all we have to worry about is gettin’ young Tilly well again. I reckon I’ll take her a can o’ me home-made chicken soup in tomorrow to build her up a bit, bless her. It certainly did me a power o’ good while I were ill.’
Not one of them had an ounce of sympathy for Yung Huan; he had got what he deserved in their eyes and they were sure the only one who would grieve for him was his own mother.
Over the next week, Tilly made steady progress although she still had a long way to go. She had been almost unrecognisable immediately after the attack and Ernie had openly cried at his first sight of her, and had visited her devotedly every day since while she lay in hospital, her pretty face covered in cuts and bruises. She had lost some back teeth during the vicious attack and when he first saw her, her eyes had been so swollen that she couldn’t open them, and even when she did man
age to, she could barely see. Her broken ribs were tightly bound and still caused her tremendous pain if she so much as moved and her broken limbs were in plaster casts. Even so every day now saw a slight improvement in her. The swelling on her face had gone down and the bruises had faded from bright blues and purples to dull greys and yellows. There was nothing that could be done for her missing teeth but the doctors were optimistic that her face would not be scarred once she had healed and because the missing teeth were at one side of the back of her mouth, hopefully being without them wouldn’t spoil her lovely smile. They had warned that her broken fingers might always be a little stiff and because the two fractures in her leg had been very severe it was possible she would always walk with a limp, but even all these things could not detract from the joy they all felt that she had survived.
Jia Li sobbed uncontrollably the first time she plucked up the courage to go and see her.
‘I’m so sorry, Tilly,’ she croaked. ‘Huan must have thought you were me from the back. It all my fault.’
But Tilly had been so gracious and it was suddenly clear to them all that she was actually a lot more intelligent than people had given her credit for. ‘It wasn’t your fault,’ she assured Jia Li, gently stroking her hair with her good hand. ‘Please don’t think that. Huan was a bad man. If it hadn’t been me it would have been some other girl sooner or later so stop blaming yourself.’
Ernie, who had just witnessed the tender scene between the two girls, felt a lump form in his throat. Tilly was truly beautiful both inside and out and suddenly feeling guilty for thinking that, he hurried out into the corridor to light a cigarette.
What the hell am I thinkin’? he scolded himself as he blew a smoke ring towards the ceiling. The girl I loved an’ was goin’ to marry met her end in a watery grave an’ now here I am lookin’ at Tilly in a different light. It was all very confusing.
He admitted as much to his mother that evening when they were both back in their little house and Hattie smiled sadly as she gently stroked his cheek.
‘You shouldn’t turn your back on somethin’ wonderful,’ she told him softly. ‘Your Carol was a lovely girl an’ I’ve no doubt that had she survived you’d have lived happily ever after. But you have to accept she’s gone now an’ what do you think she would have wanted for you? I think the answer is, she’d have wanted you to be happy. She wouldn’t have wanted you to spend the rest of your life mourning her.’
Hattie went off to bed then, leaving Ernie staring thoughtfully into the dying flames of the fire.
Chapter Forty
Much to everyone’s relief, Tilly was discharged from hospital three weeks later, although it would be some time before she was well enough to return to work in the café. Ernie spent most evenings sitting with her at her parents’ home and by then everyone had an inkling that Ernie was fast developing romantic feelings for her.
‘I think it would be lovely if they got together,’ Flora told Hattie one morning as they were serving in the café.
Hattie nodded in agreement and confided, ‘I think her mom an’ dad wrapped her in cotton wool and were a bit overprotective of her because she’s a bit slow. They never let her out alone and watched over her all the time, but look how she blossomed in the short time she worked here. I think she’s capable of a lot more than they gave her credit for, not that I’m blamin’ ’em mind. I’d be delighted if she and Ernie do get together and I think she’d make him a lovely little wife.’
‘Only time will tell,’ Flora replied wisely.
Now that the fear of losing Tilly was past, Flora was more concerned about Colleen. She’d grown increasingly quiet since Christmas so it came as no surprise when, once they were home that evening, Colleen told her, ‘I, er … I’ve been t’inking that it’s time I went home … Could you manage here wit’out me?’
‘Of course I could, although I’ll miss you.’ Just the thought of Colleen leaving made tears spring to Flora’s eyes, although she had been half-expecting the announcement. She had sensed how restless Colleen was and could completely understand her wanting to go home to her family again. After all, didn’t she feel the same way deep down? Not a day went by when she didn’t wonder what they would all be doing back in London or think of Jamie. Would he still be working in the city or would he have returned to his home in the Midlands?
‘You must do what feels right for you,’ she told her, reaching out to gently squeeze her hand.
Colleen nodded. ‘I t’ink I have enough saved for my fare back to Ireland so I’ll go to the shipping office an’ make some enquiries this weekend, if you’re sure?’
‘Of course I’m sure.’ Flora hastily turned away and busied herself with filling the kettle then so that Colleen wouldn’t see her tears.
For the rest of the week they were both subdued but never once did Flora try to persuade her friend to change her mind. She sensed that New York no longer held any attraction for Colleen and she shared her thoughts with Jamie.
My dear Jamie,
Colleen has told me that she intends to return to her family in Ireland, so once more I will be losing someone I care about. Aside from knowing how much I will miss her, it has made me even more restless and envious. How I wish that it was me coming home to all the people I love. I thought that the longer I was away the easier it would become, and yet I find it is quite the opposite as I think back to the happy times you and I shared. If only I could turn back the clock, things would be so different and I would never even have contemplated leaving you, but it is too late for regrets now and the longer I am here the harder it is. I have been fortunate to have Colleen and Jai Li but Colleen will soon be gone now and Jai Li is making a life with her new husband so when Colleen leaves I will feel even more lonely.
Oh my love, I miss you so much and wonder, do you ever give me a thought or am I a part of your past now?
I will end now but know that when I close my eyes tonight yours will be the last face I see, and you will be the first person I think of when I open them again in the morning.
With all my love
Flora xxx
She folded the letter in half and prayed to God that she might find the strength to post it one day.
After mass on Sunday morning, Colleen set off for the shipping office with her savings tucked deep in her pocket to book the first part of her passage home. The next boat would not be sailing until early in May, which at least would give Flora time to find someone to take her place, she decided. As she handed over her money, she felt sad at the realisation that she would be leaving Flora, Hattie and Jia Li behind, but her stomach fluttered with excitement at the thought of seeing her beloved family again.
Three nights later as she and Flora were finishing at the café Colleen noticed a figure hovering in the shadows on the other side of the street but thought little of it. Many sailors passed that way on their route to the pub so she carried on with her work.
Jia Li and Bai had already retired to the rooms above the café, which they had now transformed into a very comfortable home, and seemed so happy that both Flora and Colleen never tired of seeing them together.
‘That’s about it then.’ Colleen wiped her hands down the front of her apron as she glanced around at the newly cleaned tables. The floors had been swept, the salt and pepper pots filled and they were all ready for the breakfast trade the next morning. Flora went to turn off the lamps in the kitchen and once they had let themselves out to go next door Colleen glanced across the road but the shadowy figure was gone and she thought no more about it.
The next day was busy as usual. ‘I think we ought to start lookin’ around for someone to take Tilly’s place, love. Even if she comes back there’ll still be plenty for her to do even with an extra pair of hands, especially when Colleen is gone,’ Hattie suggested.
Flora supposed she was right so once more she wrote out a notice for a waitress and placed it in the window.
They were all tired when they finished that evening and as Colleen was
just wiping the windows down in the café she again noticed the shadowy figure standing across the street. She frowned. That was two nights in a row the person had stood there now and Colleen was beginning to feel slightly uneasy. Could it be that someone was watching them? Or worse still, was it Yung Huan? The police only had his mother’s word that it was his body they’d found, after all.
She was just about to call out to Flora when the figure emerged from the shadows and strode towards the café, and before she could move they were knocking loudly on the door.
Pulling herself up to her full height Colleen crossed the room and flung the door open ready to give whoever was standing there a piece of her mind, but when she saw who it was her mouth gaped and for a moment she was sure she must be seeing things.
‘Will!’ His name escaped her lips before she could stop it just as Flora came hurrying from the kitchen and at sight of the handsome young man she too looked shocked.
‘Ben!’
‘Flora?’
It would have been hard to say who was the most confused as they all stared at each other, but eventually it was Colleen who broke the silence when she muttered, ‘How do you know Flora, Will? And why are you calling him Ben, Flora? This is Will, the young man I was walking out with until …’
‘Oh no it isn’t,’ Flora retorted heatedly. ‘This is Ben, my brother!’
‘B-but I don’t understand!’
‘I think I owe you both an explanation,’ Ben said shame-faced and clearly in shock. ‘I had no idea you worked here, Flora, I swear it.’
‘I don’t exactly work here, this is my café,’ Flora told him indignantly. ‘And yes, I do think you owe us both an explanation.’
And so they sat down at a table and Ben very hesitantly began to tell them both of his flight from England following the break-in and why he had lied to Colleen about his name when he had first met her.
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