by June Tate
An elegant woman stepped forwards and Valerie caught a waft of expensive perfume. Gloria Johnson smiled at Valerie. ‘Welcome to New York!’ But Valerie saw her smile didn’t reach her eyes.
‘Thank you, how nice to meet you.’
Ross’s father stepped forward, a tall, well-dressed man with firm features and a stubborn jaw. He kissed her on the cheek. ‘Hello, Valerie, my dear. I am Leo, your father-in-law, welcome.’ His greeting was genuine. He took her arm and introduced her to the other guests. She sensed a certain tension as he reached the last one, Laura, a younger woman, glamorous in a hard way, thought Valerie, but she was surprised at the hostility she felt behind the handshake and greeting and wondered why.
Ross’s brother introduced himself. ‘Hello, Valerie, I’m your brother-in-law, Earl and this is my wife Bonny.’
Bonny was petite and full of fun, Valerie could see that from the brightness shining in her eyes and her laughter as she hugged her.
‘Hi, Valerie! Am I glad to meet you. I’m longing to hear all about England and its quaint ways. I do hope we can be real friends.’
Valerie liked her instinctively. ‘I’d really like that. You can help me get used to everything American.’
‘Gee! I love the way you Brits speak! So ladylike.’
Cocktails were served with delicious canapés and the others approached Valerie, asking innumerable questions about Britain and the war until dinner was served.
The dining room was large and the table long enough to seat twelve people comfortably and set with great elegance. Valerie was seated with her father-in-law to her right and, on her left, one of his business associates who turned out to be charming.
She noticed that Ross was beside Laura and it was obvious to all that she was flirting with him, making him look uncomfortable and annoyed. Bonny caught her looking at them and winked at her. She obviously knew what was going on.
Gloria played the perfect hostess, bringing her guest into the conversation sometimes, but there was a definite coolness in her tone and Valerie knew instinctively that she would not be her friend.
At the end of the meal, Valerie asked to use the bathroom and Bonny jumped to her feet. ‘I’ll take you, I need to powder my nose too,’ she said and, taking Valerie’s hand, led her away.
The bathroom was like a first-class hotel, with two washbasins, a huge bath and a separate toilet.
Bonny collapsed on an easy chair. ‘Christ! I do so hate these family gatherings!’
Laughing at this sudden outburst, Valerie asked why.
‘Well, Mrs Johnson, our mother-in-law thinks she’s the first lady and as for that bitch Laura, I can’t stand her!’
‘Who is she exactly?’
Bonny sat bolt upright. ‘You don’t know?’
Shaking her head Valerie said, ‘No. Should I?’
‘Oh yes, you certainly should! It was expected that Laura and Ross would marry after the war. Oh my, when Ross wrote saying he was marrying an English girl, she went crazy! She’s the daughter of a very rich father who dotes on her every wish, but this was something he couldn’t fix.’
‘I see,’ said Valerie. ‘Ross never mentioned her to me.’
‘Well, of course not. Yes, they went out together but it was the two families who had planned their future, I’m not sure they ever told Ross and, if they did, he wasn’t playing. You be careful of her Valerie, she’s trouble!’
Taking out her powder compact, Valerie now understood everything. The girl, Mrs Johnson’s coolness. She had ruined all their plans. ‘What about Leo? Was he in on this too?’
‘Probably not. Dad is a lovely guy. All he’s interested in is business and golf. He indulges his wife for a quiet life.’
Valerie started chuckling. ‘Well, Bonny, now I know what I’m up against. I can’t thank you enough.’
Bonny got up and stood behind Valerie and studied her reflection in the mirror. ‘If I’m not mistaken, I’m sure you can cope with both of them.’ And she laughed. ‘Welcome to the family!’
It was almost midnight when Ross eventually booked a cab to take them home. They said their goodbyes and Valerie thanked her hosts for a lovely evening.
Bonny kissed her goodbye. ‘I’ll give you a call and we’ll go shopping,’ she said.
‘I’d love that,’ Valerie told her.
Once in the taxi, Ross let out a sigh of relief. ‘There! I told you it would all be fine.’
‘Yes, it was lovely. Your mother went to a lot of trouble.’ She paused. ‘You didn’t tell me about Laura ever, why was that?’
He turned quickly and looked at her. She gazed back at him without blinking.
‘There was nothing to tell, that’s why. Sure we dated for some time, but that was all. I came to England a free man.’
‘I don’t think that’s how your old girlfriend saw it,’ she said softly.
‘I never made Laura any promises. We never spoke about a future together.’
‘What about your mother? Did she ever say you two would make a great couple?’
His jaw tightened. ‘My mother doesn’t and never has run my life.’
She smothered a laugh. ‘I don’t think she believes that for one moment, Ross darling, but she certainly will never run mine!’
Chapter Four
Gracie and Jeff Rider eventually arrived in Denver, after a long and tiring journey. Jeff had booked them into a hotel overnight to give them time to rest and freshen up for the morrow.
Although there had been a heavy snowfall, the streets had been cleared. After dinner they took a walk. Gracie was overwhelmed by the bustling city with its shops and restaurants. They stopped in a nearby bar for a drink and when she told Jeff how exciting she found the city, he surprised her by saying this was not where they would be living.
She looked at him puzzled. ‘What do you mean? I thought you said you came from Denver.’
‘Well, just an hour or so away, thankfully. The city is very tiring to live and work in, no we are in a smaller place, thank heavens.’
She was somewhat disappointed. ‘How much smaller?’ she asked.
‘About the size of Southampton, I guess,’ he said laughing. ‘I don’t mean the backwoods, Gracie honey.’
She wondered if there was anything else he hadn’t told her?
They had breakfast in the hotel the following morning and made their way to the Greyhound bus station. As they settled in their seats and the bus moved out and through the town, Gracie felt a little depressed to be leaving such a vibrant place and hoped that wherever they were headed wasn’t some dreary town. She’d seen enough American movies to know that there were many ‘one-horse towns,’ as they were often referred to, and as they headed out into quieter surroundings, leaving the bustle of the city behind for a snow-covered countryside and fewer houses, her heart sank.
At last the bus pulled into its destination and they alighted. Gracie looked around. There were several shops, much smaller and duller by comparison, and the folk walking about were not so smartly dressed as the inhabitants she’d seen in Denver.
They climbed into a cab and Jeff gave the address to the driver.
Gracie took in every detail as they drove away from the station. Yes, there was a town as such. There were shops and chemists, or drugstores as she had been told to call them. The vehicles parked there were not smart, but slightly battered, and there were several small trucks. There was a grocery store, then they passed a school and drove into a small residential area. The houses stood back from the road, their gardens unfenced unlike British gardens, and Gracie wondered how that worked out. Did the residents know which part was theirs, she wondered. It all seemed a bit strange and more downmarket than she’d been expecting after seeing Denver itself.
The cab stopped in front of one of the houses where the path had been cleared. It looked cared for, but it was very ordinary. Somehow, like many others coming to America for the first time and only having American movies to judge by, the reality was a disappointme
nt. This was no Hollywood type area. Not quite a one-horse town, either, for which she was grateful. The next thing was to meet the relations.
The front door opened and a woman came walking down the path, a shawl around her shoulders. Gracie could tell by the physical likeness that this was Jeff’s mother. The woman looking at her all the time as she approached. Gracie wasn’t too sure if the look was friendly or not.
‘Mother, this is Gracie, my bride! Gracie, this is my mother.’
Velda Rider shook her by the hand. ‘I hope you had a good journey?’
‘A long one but we stayed overnight in Denver to rest up, last night.’
‘You’d better come in out of the cold,’ she said and walked away. Gracie followed.
There was a long porch outside the house, but once through the door you stepped into a large open living room. There was another room that Gracie assumed led to the kitchen and a stairway to the upstairs. It was clean, and while the furniture had seen better days, it was comfortable. She stood by the fire to warm her hands.
‘I’ll put the kettle on,’ said Velda. ‘I hope you don’t mind coffee, I’m afraid we don’t drink tea in this house.’ It was more a declaration than an invitation.
‘Coffee will be just fine, thank you,’ Gracie answered.
‘Sit down, make yourself comfortable, after all this will be your home from now on.’
There was no warmth in her voice as she made the statement and Gracie felt her hackles rise.
‘It’s very good of you to take us in at the moment. I’m sure it’s not an ideal arrangement as far as you’re concerned, but hopefully it won’t be for very long, Mrs Rider.’
Being challenged surprised Velda. ‘Jeff is my son and it is my duty to take care of him.’
‘Of course, that’s what mothers do, but now he has a wife, so I can take some of the weight of care off your shoulders. After all, it’s time you had a break don’t you think?’ Gracie smiled at the woman as she spoke but stared straight at her as she did so.
Velda walked into the kitchen without replying and Gracie could hear her banging about as she filled the kettle.
Jeff frowned at her. ‘Be careful honey, after all this is her home.’
‘I’m very aware of that, Jeff, and I hope she’ll have it to herself again very soon!’ As she spoke, Gracie vowed that somehow she would make sure they moved very quickly. After all, no two women enjoy sharing a kitchen and, in this case, a man. Yes, Jeff was the other woman’s son but he was now also her husband.
After they had drunk their coffee and eaten homemade cookies, Velda took Gracie upstairs to show her the bedroom.
‘This one here is yours and Jeff’s, next door is mine and opposite is the bathroom and along there,’ she pointed to a room at the end, ‘is Rick’s room.’
‘Rick?’ Gracie looked puzzled. ‘Who is Rick?’
‘Why Jeff’s younger brother, of course!’
‘Oh yes, of course,’ Gracie hurriedly answered. She hadn’t known that Jeff had a brother. He’d never mentioned him, but no way would she let her new mother-in-law know that.
The room was adequate. Not particularly big, but enough to hold a double bed, chest of drawers and a wardrobe. It was clean and the bed was made up, ready for them.
‘Thank you, it’s really nice, Mrs Rider.’
‘I’ll get Jeff to bring up your cases so you can unpack and get settled in,’ she said, and left Gracie alone.
When Jeff walked into the room minutes later, Gracie immediately questioned him, ‘You didn’t tell me you had a brother and that he was also living here.’
He just shrugged. ‘I’ve been away in the army and to be truthful, he doesn’t figure much in my life. Never has, if I’m honest. The only thing we have in common is our parents.’
She let this pass. No doubt she’d meet her brother-in-law soon enough and she started to unpack, but all the time she was wondering how soon they could leave this house for a place of their own.
‘When you’ve finished,’ Jeff said, ‘I’ll borrow Dad’s car and show you the town. You’ll soon get used to it, the stores you’ll need to shop in. After all, we’ll be here a while.’
‘Can’t we look at some estate agents at the same time? Perhaps we’ll be lucky and find something. After all, I’m sure your mother would be pleased to have her house to herself.’
‘Another time, honey. Today we’ll just take it easy and familiarise you with your new surroundings. First things first, we need to get you kitted-out with warmer clothes. I’ll wait downstairs for you.’ And he left the room before she could argue.
A little later they climbed into the car and drove into town. It was a little bigger than she’d thought, but certainly not as big as Southampton, as she’d been told. Neither was it as classy. It amused her to see many of the men wearing Stetsons, sheepskin coats and jeans to keep out the cold. She smiled to herself and wondered when John Wayne would show up.
Jeff took her to a store and bought her some jeans, cowboy boots and a warm thick jacket that came just below her hips. She turned down a Stetson for a warm woollen hat with earflaps, wondering what on earth would she look like in such strange apparel.
He then took her to the local grocery store, pointing to the aisles of food and shopping carts, explaining that you walked around, choosing your goods then paying for them at the checkout. She thought how very different this was to shopping in Liptons with a list and asking someone behind the counter for the goods and then paying for them.
The roads and pavements, or sidewalks as she must remember to call them, had been cleared of snow but there was a chilling wind, so she was glad when Jeff suggested they stop in a diner for a coffee.
They sat in a booth and ordered. The place was busy and the waitresses fast and efficient. ‘Bacon and two eggs on a raft, sunny side up,’ one called out to the chefs behind the counter. Gracie looked puzzled.
Laughing, Jeff explained. ‘It means two fried eggs on toast, without the eggs being turned over … sunny side up.’
‘An entirely new language!’ she exclaimed. ‘I have so much to learn. A pavement is a sidewalk, the chemist is a drugstore, a lift is an elevator.’
‘A boot of a car is the trunk,’ he added, ‘and a vest is a waistcoat.’
‘Enough, Jeff! It’ll take time but I’ll get there.’
The waitress served the coffee.
‘Thank you very much,’ said Gracie.
‘Aw gee! You English are always so polite,’ the waitress remarked before she was off to the next table.
Gracie had a few things she needed sorted and looking at her husband she said, ‘I need to know just what to do, sharing your mother’s house. What about meals? Do I cook for the two of us?’
‘Hell no! Ma would take that as an insult! I’ll give her money each week for our keep and she’ll cook for the family. You can ask her what she’d like you to do in the house to help her. You need to work it out between you.’
‘When do you go back to work?’
‘Monday morning.’
‘Where do you work, you’ve never told me?’
‘I work in one of the outlets for men selling all sorts of things. Work clothes, ordinary clothes, jeans, shoes, equipment. It’s a kind of general store aimed at the males of the community. We cover a large range of goods.’
‘Perhaps I could get a job too,’ she suggested.
‘It’s not as easy as that, Gracie. You have to apply for a green card first. It’s a permit which allows you to take a job, you can’t work without it I’m afraid.’
All Gracie could think was that she’d be spending far too much time around the house with her mother-in-law and that didn’t sit well with her. She had to try and get along with the woman for both their sakes. With this in mind, she bought some chocolates, or candies – as Jeff explained – to take to her, but when they arrived home and Gracie gave them to her, Mrs Rider wasn’t enthusiastic.
‘Don’t hold much with sweet things,’ she
said, ‘they rot your teeth!’
Gracie was furious at such rudeness. ‘Oh well, in that case I’ll eat them. It would be a pity to let them go to waste.’ She opened the box, took one and offered the box to Jeff, who also took one, which earned him a glare from his mother.
Picking up some magazines she’d bought, Gracie asked Velda if there was anything she could do for her and was very smartly turned down, so she settled in a chair and read.
Around half past five, there was the sound of a vehicle outside and then the front door opened. A tall young man a few years younger than Jeff walked in. He stopped when he saw Gracie. With a broad grin he walked over to her and kissed her on the mouth.
‘Well hello! I’m Rick. I didn’t realise my brother had married such a looker! Welcome to the family.’
Gracie saw the thunderous expression on Jeff’s face, but he remained silent.
‘When did you arrive?’ Rick asked.
‘Earlier today. Once we’d unpacked, Jeff took me into town to look around.’
Her brother-in-law sat beside her. ‘So, what did you think of your new surroundings?’
‘It’s far too soon to know, really. Everything is so different. It’ll take a while to get used to.’
‘Well I think you’re very brave, Gracie, to leave your country behind and come out here. It can’t have been easy for you.’
‘No, but then, of course, I want to be with Jeff, so there was no choice really. So here I am, although I hope for not very long. Your mother is kind to put us up, but we need our own place.’
He rose from his seat. ‘I’m off to have a shower, so I’ll see you later but I hope you don’t move out too soon. It’s kinda nice to have a beautiful young woman around the house.’ He grinned broadly at her and left the room.
She looked at Jeff. ‘Don’t you two talk to each other?’ she asked sharply.
‘When necessary,’ he replied and continued to read the paper.
Shortly after, the door opened again and an older man entered. Jeff put down his paper.