The Poison Pen Part Three

A young blackbird fluttered against the greenhouse glass and flew away.

After a period of silence, Laura began.  'It's hard being on your own, just you and the kids.  Short of everything.  Queuing, cooking, washing, cleaning.  The days and weeks turn into months and then years.  It gets you down.  I used to go to the pictures with Mum and every other Sunday we went to see your Dad and Aunt Mary but it's always home to an empty house.  Some of us wives started going to dances but the men were around like wolves if they knew your husband was away.  It was horrible.  Then the gossip started.  We were having a good time whilst our husbands were fighting abroad and it was true some of the wives were.  I stopped going.'

Laura put her cup down and braced herself, then went on,  'They started putting on afternoon tea dances at the Granby Hotel.  I went with some friends and it was nice.  That's where I met John.  He is a very good dancer.  He was very polite, never pushy or anything and obviously he thought a lot of me-lost his head really.  I relaxed with him.  I felt safe and I enjoyed the dancing.  Then it came up that I did bookkeeping.  He asked me to help him.  I went to his shop.  He told me how unhappy his marriage was    and I just let it happen.'  She started to cry, then stood up clear of the bench and faced Tom, her body racked with sobs. She stood head bowed, her arms rigid at her sides, fists clenched.  She went on, 'It meant more to him than it did to me but,' Laura raised her head, and looked at Tom.  'You won't understand but it just felt good to be needed by somebody other than the children for once.'  She went on, 'When I got your letter I was in despair, I couldn't think straight.  In the end I told Mum And Dad.  Unfortunately June overheard.  I don't know how much Jeffrey knows but he's been getting into trouble at school.'

The sun was gone now.  Laura wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her cardigan...'I'm sorry Tom.'

'I see Ada Manning is still spying on us,' Tom observed.

'Well that's the other thing,' Laura sighed wearily.  'Eileen Boardman is Ada's cousin.  Ada hates me.  When I'm a divorced disgraced woman, she will be ecstatic.'  Laura glanced at Tom, she knew he was thinking things through as he always did.  Finally he pulled away from the bench and turned to face her. Laura's heart raced.  Here it comes she thought.  They made true eye contact for the first time since Tom had arrived home. 'What do you want to happen now?' He asked abruptly.

'That's up to you Tom, I will do whatever.'  

Tom cut in,'Tell me what you want!'

Laura gathered her thoughts, 'I love you Tom.  We all do.  You are back now and that's all that matters in the world to us.  I want us to stay together, put all these bad times behind us.  I will do anything to make it up to you.  I just want us to be happy.'

They stood looking at each other.  Tom thought of Anne Marie.  He had visited the village she was possibly heading for.  What would have happened if he had found her?...Nothing he concluded.  She was obviously an upper class woman more likely to pick up with an officer than an ordinary Tommy like him.  I behaved like an idiot he thought.  He said, 'That's what we will do then, Blame the whole thing on the war and never mention it again.'

Laura cried out with relief and pleasure.  She threw her arms around Tom'  He felt her hot tears on his neck.  He put his hands on her waist and eased her away to arms length.  'I mean it Laura, I never want it mentioned again.'

Laura nodded enthusiastically.  Tom went on  'We will tell the kids in the morning, they will be asleep now.'

Laura smiled through her tears, 'You think.'  She led him to a gap in the fruit trees and pointed.  Tom saw two white faces at the bedroom window.  They vanished instantly.  Tom laughed.  Laura said,'We can go and talk to them now.  They will be so happy and then when they are hard and fast, asleep, that can be our time if you want.'

As they walked back through the garden Laura linked her arm through Tom's.  'Would you like to move away from here?' Tom asked, 'Out to the leafy suburbs.'

'No, we are not the leafy suburbs type.  Jeff would hate it.  He's a real Chapel Street Lad.'

'Don't you want a modern house with a bathroom and all that?'

'No.' Laura laughed, I love my bath in front of the fire.'

Then she stopped and faced her husband.  'But if that's what you want Tom, to get away, to have a fresh start, then that's what we will do.'

'No nothing like that.'  Tom smiled, 'It was just something Bob Helm said.'

'How is old Bob?'

'Same as ever, he stuck up for you.'

Laura's face flushed, her eyes again moistened with tears, 'Did he,' she spoke huskily, visibly moved.  Tom laughed and put his arm around her.

In her bedroom, Ada Manning thrashed her curtains together with such savagery that they came unhooked.  She charged downstairs and confronted her husband in their little parlour where he was sat listening to the end of the late evening news. She switched the radio off.

'She's got away with it!'  She spat out the words vehemently.

'What?'  Joe asked, bewildered by his wife agitation.

'She's got away with it.  The crafty minx has pulled it off!'  Ada marched into the kitchen.  Joe got up with a sigh and followed her.  His wife stood at the sink vigorously scrubbing a pan.  Ada Manning burned with a sense of injustice that good, honest, steadfast women like her were not blessed with children, but these weak, faithless women were.

'Look,' Joe said, 'forget about Laura.  It's. women like you who are important.  Women who never put a foot wrong and tired yourself out doing voluntary work.  Don't be too hard on them,' he coaxed.  'Give her and Tom a chance.'

Ada sat down still angry.  Joe left the room and returned.  'Here,' he said.  He handed her a bank

book.  Ada looked at it grudgingly then cried out in surprise, 'Three hundred pounds!  Joe where on earth did you get that amount of money?'

'I saved it. Joe said triumphantly.  Three years working all the hours god sent.  I wanted it to be a surprise for you.  We are going to turn the little bedroom into a bathroom.  You can have it just the way you want it.  We are going to buy a little car and we are going on holiday to Torquay, I've always wanted to see the Cornish Riviera.'

Ada sat stunned.  Eventually she said, 'Not Torquay Joe.  It will be too posh for us.  Can we not go to Filey love.'

'No!' Joe was adamant.  I've spent the war building aeroplanes and they all flew.  After the cock ups the top brass have made in this war, we don't have to be in awe of anybody.  'We will have no more of that posh nonsense.  Jacks as good as his master now and we are bound for the Cornish Riviera.'

​

In his dream it was a bright, cold, sunny day.  Tom was walking down a busy street in a strange town.  Suddenly, he saw Taxi coming towards him on the other side of the street.  He was walking along with his usual bouncy stride a happy grin on his face.  Tom called out to him 'Josh!'

'Taxi!' Josh called back with his usual raised arm salute. His grin widened,  'How's it going Tom old lad?'

'Laura's been playing away. I've forgiven her and taken her back.' Tom shouted.

Josh kept walking.  He stretched out his arm and gave Tom a big thumbs up, 'More power to you old son.'  He gave a wave of his hand, then abruptly turned down an alley and vanished from sight. Tom woke up with a start.  His heart was pounding.  Laura's warm ample bottom was in his lap.  The pillow smelt slightly of moth balls and lavender.  It was the small hours of the morning.  He realised it was the first time he had dreamt about Josh without the horror, the fumes and the stench of blood.  It was over.  He would remember Josh in happier times, as the larger than life centre forward, barging through the opposition defence and blazing a shot at goal, invariably high and wide

They had discussed Josh last night at Laura's request, whilst they were resting after making love.  He had tried to spare her the horror.  Yes he had been with Josh.  He had done what he could. Mercifully he died quickly.  They had made love again through Laura's tears.  Slowly Tom relaxed.  He heard the faint sound of a horses hooves as it trotted past a few streets away.  In the eaves the swifts were stirring.  England he thought, how good to be home.  At the end of the day, this was all he had been fighting for.  This little house and his family and right at the centre of it Laura.  He reached over and drew her hair back from her ear, “Are you awake?” he whispered.

Mmmmm, She murmured.

The End