Worlds Between

by Sherry D. Ficklin

  It was the night before the wedding that I sat in Blod’s room with her, helping her put her hair into overnight rollers for a perfect set of blonde curls at the chapel the next day. We were talking about simple things, nice distracting things like how pretty Ness would look as a flower girl and how we could put some flowers over my crutches to make them look less hideous in the photographs, when suddenly Blod fell silent. I knew she had returned to her worries about her brother, so I kept quiet too and tried to finish her hair. I had just put the last roller in when she exploded into a fit of tears.

  “How am I supposed to go and have the happiest day of my life?” she sobbed, turning to me with anger in every muscle of her face, “Ieu’s dying. He’s dying and we’re yur doing nothing!”

  She slammed her fists down on her bed and I caught her by the wrists to calm her down.

  “You heard what Mum said,” I tried to soothe, “that sub is due to surface in England tonight, where all sorts of proper doctors and equipment are waiting.” I rubbed her wrists with my thumbs. “He’s made it this far.”

  Blod nodded a few times, scrubbing tears from her eyes roughly.

  “It’s lucky you were there to feel that bit of blade that got stuck,” she said quietly, “or he’d most likely be dead already.”

  I thought bitterly about Mum not wanting me to be there at all, how if I had just done as she said and stayed away, Henri wouldn’t have even known to rush down the tunnel and help them to get out. The thought of Henri sent a pang straight to the centre of my chest. Suddenly I wanted to cry too. All the horrible things he must have seen and now he was all alone on that submarine, time ticking away until he could set foot on safe ground once more. When he left for war I had promised to be there always, but now we were truly apart.

  The door to Blod’s bedroom opened and a breathless figure clunked in, shutting it behind him.

  “Oi!” Blod cried, her hands rushing to her hair. “You’re not supposed to see me now! It’s bad luck!”

  Steven Bickerstaff heaved with the effort of hauling his false leg and crutch up Ty Gwyn’s stairs for the first time, but when he looked up at us he was grinning like a madman. He shook his head, gasping for breath.

  “No love, it’s the best luck,” he began, clutching his chest, “they got the blade fragment out. The sub’s surfaced in Cardiff docks. He’s stable.”

  Blod leapt off the bed so fast she nearly knocked me to the floor, rushing to Bickerstaff and throwing her arms around him. He wobbled precariously and held onto her, trying to keep himself steady as she kissed him all over one side of his face in utter joy.

  “Cardiff’s in South Wales, isn’t it?” I asked.

  Bickerstaff nodded as Blod let him go. “It’s a fair drive, but Idrys says we’ll go down tomorrow right after the wedding and see him.”

  Blod settled herself beside me again on the edge of the bed, clutching my hand for a moment. “Thank you,” she began with a huge grin, “both of you. You’ve done so much. Now get out of my room! I’ve got a sack-load of beauty sleep to catch up on for the morning!”

  She pushed and shoved our limping forms from the room, but we took her enthusiastic brutality with a smile.

  Bickerstaff pretended that he’d had a letter from a colleague in Cardiff General Hospital so that we could break the news about Ieuan to Mam. I was front row centre to see her reaction and she didn’t disappoint me. First she attacked Bickerstaff with a hug so fierce that he actually fell right over on his backside after she let him go, then she ran around kissing each one of us with joyous tears pouring down her cheeks like some great waterfall of relief. She picked up Ness; already half adorned with her flower girl outfit, and swung her around the kitchen until the paper roses that had been tacked to her skirt came flying off in all directions, covering us all in pink petals. As a final act, she burst outside to shout to the heavens and thank God himself, only to find herself ankle-deep in the first full drift of December snow.

  “Ooh!” Ness cried, running out after her to play in the white blanket all over the yard.

  Leighton followed suit, throwing himself face first into a huge drift that had piled up outside the nearby barn. I looked out at them with a nervous kind of joy in my heart. I had never actually walked in snow before. I hauled myself out gingerly, stepping down into the cool, powdery stuff, feeling my feet make a deep print before I set out with more confidence. I looked back at my tracks after a while, the crutches making it look like two peg leg pirates were walking side by side. Even Blod came out to enjoy the drift without moaning about what it might do to her shoes, throwing a snowball at Bickerstaff that he deflected with his false leg, which almost came off totally from the impact of the throw.

  The whole contents of the house were still outside in the fresh morning when a lilting voice called over from the path:

  “Oi! I thought you lot had a wedding to go to?”

  All heads turned to see Thomas racing towards us in his fine navy uniform, his bags discarded in the snow. He went straight to Mam, turning the tables on her for once as he half picked her up in his excitement.

  “Oh Thom! Ieuan’s home!” she exclaimed, delighted to have another person to tell, “He’s in hospital in Cardiff!”

  When Thomas pulled away from the hug his young face was a picture of shock. He looked around to Blod and his grandfather, both nodding to help him accept the good news. It took quite a few moments, but eventually it all sank in. He swore quite loudly, but nobody told him off, then threw himself backwards into the snow and laughed up at the morning sky. Ness leapt on his stomach and covered him in slush, which to Mam and Blod’s horror was also all over her dress.

  “You little mochyn!” Blod cried, pulling her away from Thomas and dragging her up to see her soaking wet hem.

  And that was when the real work of having a wedding began.

  ***

  The preparations had been hard, but they were nothing compared to organisation of the big day itself. The ceremony was at the chapel at half past twelve but it was gone nine by the time everyone was dried off and breakfasted after our time in the snow. Mum was a whirlwind of activity, shooing Mam away from the kitchen for her to get ready whilst she took over making the sandwiches and sorting out the other foodstuffs for the party at Ty Gwyn straight after the service. A visit to Cardiff or not, Mam would never let anyone set off with an empty stomach.

  It was my duty to help Blod get into her dress, but everything was such a blur and a rush that I spent most of that time close up to it adjusting hems, fixing broken seams and resetting her golden curls once we’d secured her veil. In fact I didn’t actually stop to look at her properly until some hours later when we were outside the chapel with Ness, waiting for Idrys to come and walk her in. It was then that I saw the long, flowing white skirt of the gown. It was as bright as the snow all around us, something shiny in the material was reflecting the sun that had broken through the clouds above. Blod’s perfect skin was like porcelain against the dress save for a pinkish glow in her cheeks as she stood catching her breath in the cold air.

  “You look perfect,” I told her, smiling widely.

  “I should think so, the amount of time it took us.” She was grinning, but clearly agitated. “He’ll be in there, now won’t he?”

  I caught on to some of her worries and nodded. “Of course. It’s not like he could get away, not at his speed. Even I could catch him.”

  Blod laughed out a few nervous breaths, clutching her bouquet that matched the paper roses on Ness’s quickly-repaired dress. The little girl was looking up at the sky, watching the clouds break with her familiar look of concentration. Blod and I followed her gaze.

  “I wish Dad could’ve been yur to see this,” Blod mused quietly, “but at least we’ll see Ieu tonight.” She let out a little sigh. “I reckon every family only gets one miracle, and Dad would’ve never wanted it to be the other way round, for him to be yur and Ieu gone, so there you go.”

  “I think we’ve had
a few more miracles than that, if you think about it,” I added.

  Blod nodded at me and squeezed my shoulder.

  “I’m going to try and remember that, and be less snappy with you from now on,” she said with a laugh.

  “Good plan,” I replied, “Save all the snapping for your husband.”

  We were still laughing when Idrys came out of the chapel and told us we were ready to go. Ness was lined up to go first, a basket of paper petals in her hands ready to scatter, then Blod would take her Bampi’s arm to walk down the aisle. I couldn’t really carry the dress’s train and use both my crutches, but Blod had asked me to, so I was going to give it a damn good try. The first thing I caught sight of as we entered the church was Bickerstaff waiting in his bottle green suit. Unable to stop himself he was already watching his bride approach with the biggest smile I had ever seen him wear. If I hadn’t ever met him before, I’d have sworn he was the happiest man alive.

  ***

  A photographer followed the wedding party home after the service, which was relatively short after Blod had finished lecturing the preacher on cutting out the boring bits a few days prior to the event. Mam had insisted on having all the pictures taken on the pasture outside Ty Gwyn, especially now that the fallen snow had given us such a beautiful backdrop. While everything was being set up I took my chance and set off to escape up to my room. A day full of love and happiness had only made me think of one thing for hours on end. I barely had one foot on the stairs when I heard Mum appear behind me.

  “I’ve checked on everyone and they’re fine,” she chided, “so no sneaking off. Come and have a sandwich.”

  I spun on my crutch and glared at her.

  “There’s no danger right now,” I protested, “why can’t I just have a chat with him, just for five minutes?”

  Mum approached me slowly, something I couldn’t read behind those indigo eyes the same shade as mine. She rested her hands on my shoulders and broke into a smile that made me feel warm even though I was mad at her.

  “Your father and I have had a talk,” she began, heaving the words out almost reluctantly, “and he’s right. It’s time I let you go. I’m not going to stop you using your powers ever again. You’ve done so well with them, handled things so much better than I would have imagined.” I felt her hands holding me tighter, like she needed me to keep her steady. “I’ve been looking after you so much for so long that I’d forgotten you would grow up sooner or later. I just want you to remember the warnings I’ve given you, they always apply, wartime or otherwise.”

  I nodded, starting to smile too. “Psychic or not, I’ll always have your voice in my head,” I answered.

  Mum chuckled a little, her hold on me relaxing again.

  “But that freedom starts tomorrow,” she continued, “so please don’t do anything yet, just for today.”

  “But why?” I asked.

  “You’ll see.” My mother started to walk away with a grin.

  Leighton came into the hall in his little waistcoat and trousers, rubbing his head. His hair was sticking up at a funny angle and Mum rushed to adjust it for him, but he batted her away. That pensive look was back on his face.

  “Leigh what’s up?” I said as I approached.

  But he didn’t have time to answer as Idrys’s deep Welsh voice boomed through the house to call us out for the photographs.

  “Tell me later?” I whispered to Leighton. He nodded gently, still nursing his temple.

  We all lined up on the snowy ground at the edge of the pasture waiting for our turn to be called. There were several pictures of the bride and groom as Blod took full advantage of her big day to look as good as possible, then there were a few more of just the bride when Bickerstaff got sick of posing and left her to it. Eventually it was the turn of the bridesmaid, flower girl and page boy, which saw Ness, Leigh and I trying to pose with my clonking crutches in the way.

  “Oh sod these things,” I cried eventually, chucking them out of the shot and standing behind Leighton.

  I leant on his shoulders to keep myself steady, surprised at how strong my knees were to keep me up. It was hard to miss Bickerstaff’s medical mind assessing my stance from the side-lines, but he was smiling so I thought I must have been doing all right. Ness was the next problem, the wriggly little thing refused to stay still for the photo. It was only after some careful persuasion from Bickerstaff that she did as she was told, beaming up at the photographer like an angel even after her massive fidgeting episode. I had the feeling her would-be father had promised her a lot of lollipops for that smile.

  Mum was smiling too at Leigh and I, I caught her eye over the top of the camera after the shot had been taken. Leighton was pretty sure he had blinked, so another take was in order. I rolled my eyes at Mum, but then I noticed she wasn’t looking at me anymore. Her gaze was cast way past where we stood at the edge of the field, her smile widening every moment.

  “Yur now!” Mam shouted with a pointing finger. “Who’s that ruining our backdrop?”

  I turned, still leaning one hand on Leighton to see two shapes under the shadow of the nearest tree. The larger of the two emerged from it and I was surprised to see my father carrying another man on his back. When the other man looked up from Dad’s shoulder, his gingery hair and sparkling eyes gave him away despite the unusual paleness in his face. Mam screamed with delight.

  “Good God!” Bickerstaff shouted as he realised who it was. “Are you entirely insane? This boy should be in hospital, not travelling two hundred miles up the country!”

  Ieuan ignored him and waved with every bit of strength he had in him. Dad was fast approaching, flashing me a smile as he passed us to deliver the boy to his family.

  “I’m sorry,” he said to Bickerstaff, “but he wouldn’t be told. He insisted on coming up right away even if it killed him.”

  Bickerstaff glanced at his new bride as she raced past him to join Mam and Thomas in crushing Ieuan from all sides. The former doctor shook his head, starting to grin.

  “That’s the Price family all over, I’m afraid,” he concluded.

  “It’s Dad…” Leigh muttered, clearly stunned. He tapped my hands where they were leaning on him. “Let’s go to him, Kit!” he pleaded, more excited than I’d ever known him be.

  Dad beamed at us both as he came back towards us, but when he looked at me he pointed again to the tree behind me. The other figure was still there. I watched, open mouthed like a goldfish as the other person stepped out from under the branches’ shadows, stretching his arms wide open, his messy dark hair flying everywhere against the wintery breeze.

  “Thirty paces!” Henri shouted.

  Slowly, I let go of Leighton’s shoulders.

  “No, no!” Henri shouted, half laughing, “Get your aids!”

  But I didn’t. I knew that it was an all or nothing kind of motion. If I started to run I wouldn’t be able to stop or I’d be face deep in the snow. It was a soft landing, all things considered, so before anyone could catch me I put every bit of power I had into my knees and ran for it. The distance was much less than thirty steps when I was running, jarring every bone in my body as I streaked desperately towards Henri and his open arms. He watched in awe as I sped at him, wrapping me up as I fell into his arms, my knees finally spent.

  He held me up and kissed me deeply, sending warm tingles out all over my face despite the cold air. I pulled him close, my arms around his neck as I felt his warm body next to mine. It was a while before either of us had breath again to speak, both grinning at each other like a pair of Cheshire cats, trying to think of the perfect things to say having spent so long apart. I had nothing, no words that could express the relief and joy and completely all-consuming love that was gripping me in that moment, but Henri looked me up and down and grinned, creasing his lovely chocolate eyes.

  “You’re wearing the dress I made you.”

  I looked down at myself; the navy fabric with the white polka dots was bright against the white winter scene a
round me. I shrugged happily at Henri.

  “I was the only bridesmaid, so I could pick whatever I wanted to wear.”

  He beamed at me, his strong arms holding me steady again.

  “And you chose this?”

  “Always,” I replied.

  “All right Romeo, put the girl down.”

  My father had found us. I turned to find him being swiftly followed by my mother and Leighton who were rushing up with my crutches. I took them rather gratefully as my weak legs shook in the cold snow, grinning when Henri kept a warm arm around my waist still. Dad rested his hand on Mum’s shoulder and she took hold of it tightly. Leighton stood in the middle of us all, smiling at everyone, until his stomach gave a huge echoing growl.

  “I think that means lunchtime,” Henri observed as the rest of us laughed.

  We set off as a group at my slow pace back towards Ty Gwyn, where the newly reformed Price family had bundled Ieuan into the wheelchair to take him inside. Leighton steadied my walking on one side with Henri on the other until we too were back at the kitchen door. The smell of fresh cakes invited us in and Leigh broke free to attack them. Henri turned to me and kissed my cheek softly.

  “I love you,” he whispered.

  “Love you too,” I mouthed, eyeing my Mum and Dad carefully.

  Once Henri too had gone inside, Dad stopped Mum and I from following. He gave me a sombre look; his dark eyes open wide with thought.

  “This war’s not over, you know,” he said quietly, “Henri will have to go back into service soon.” I gulped; it was the last thing I needed to hear on such a happy day. “But,” my father continued, “I was thinking of pulling him into my department, given his experience so far.”