The G.I. Bride

by Eileen Ramsay

  They lay there for a while, as screams and shouts echoed around them. Finally, Major Dunbar whispered, ‘OK, I think we can get up now. I’m going to get off you real slow. Are you injured?’

  April wriggled her fingers and toes. Although her legs felt sore, she didn’t think she’d broken anything.

  ‘No, I’m all right. Let’s go.’

  ‘I’m going to need you to think about where he might be. I don’t know the hospital like you do, so you’ll have to be the guide.’

  They stood up slowly, and April blinked through the dust and the chaos. ‘The cries were coming from up there,’ she said, pointing at the staircase. It seemed to be intact, so she was hopeful they could find him. ‘Come on.’

  Gingerly they began to climb the stairs. A nurse came running down. In the fading light coming through the broken windows, April could see the gleam of red hair.

  ‘Eunice! Thank goodness you’re OK. Is everyone out?’

  Eunice’s eyes were wild, but her voice was calm. ‘Yes, I think we got everyone out from up there. The south wing’s been hit, though. I saw from the window. I’m going there now to see if I can help. Where are you going? There’s no one there.’

  ‘I heard a child, Eunice, I’m sure of it. I’m going to check.’

  ‘No, everyone’s out. Best come back down. It’s not safe.’

  ‘Don’t worry, nurse. I’ll go up with her. You go see what you can do to help elsewhere. I’ll take care of her.’

  Eunice nodded, clearly too distracted to argue further, and hurried down the stairs.

  ‘OK, April, lead on.’

  They reached the top of the stairs and turned into the corridor. Evening was drawing in and the light was fading.

  ‘The floor’s a minefield so be real careful, there’s glass everywhere. Don’t you have an auxiliary power system?’

  ‘We do, or perhaps did; obviously it’s not working. But don’t worry, I know my way around even in the dark.’

  They stepped through the first doorway they came to – there was no door now, and April could see it had been blown to the far wall of the ward. Treading carefully over the fallen trollies and tables, April tried to move a bedside table and chair that lay in her way, entangled together.

  ‘Let me do that.’

  She ignored him and, once again, tried to separate the pieces of furniture. She failed.

  ‘I’ll push them out of the way.’

  Crawford lifted the entangled furniture and carried it across the ward, where he added it to a pile that had formed naturally during the attack. ‘How about you be the brains and I’ll be the brawn?’ Then he raised his voice. ‘Hello? Is anyone here?’ There was no answer. ‘I don’t think the little one’s here. Let’s try the next one.’

  She nodded and, carefully stepping back into the corridor, they made their way towards the door of Dover Ward. This time, the door was intact, and she leaned against it, listening intently, but all was quiet. She pushed but nothing happened.

  ‘Allow me, ma’am. It’ll be like the other one, possibly a piece of ward furniture rammed up against it.’

  April stepped back and the American leaned his right shoulder against the door and pushed with all his strength. Eventually they heard the excruciating sound of metal being scraped across the floor and, very slowly at first, then with a speed that almost made him fall into the room, it opened, propelling both of them into the badly damaged room. Crawford caught April’s arm and managed to stop her from falling to the ground.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said breathlessly.

  They stood together, breathing heavily and looking around. As with most of the building, the windows had been blown out, and the setting sun shone through, lighting up the devastation. The long, rectangular ward looked as if a giant had picked it up and shaken it, letting all the pieces fall where they might. Some of the beds were seriously damaged, mattresses were ripped and the stuffing was lying like dirty snow all over the floor. The wooden bedside tables had suffered most: doors had been pulled off, drawers were lying upside down on the floor, emptied of all contents – books, newspapers, hair brushes, even money. The once comfortable bedside chairs, recently bought for visitors, were ripped and damaged beyond repair.

  April started across the room, but Crawford caught her arm once more.

  ‘No, ma’am, wait here. I’ll look.’

  She pulled her arm free. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. We’ll go together,’ she said forcefully.

  ‘How about if I call hello? Your strength will be needed when we find him. Let’s stay real quiet for a minute and listen.’

  They stood and listened but, apart from the constant tinkling of falling glass and the far away shouts of people, they heard nothing.

  ‘Hello, anyone there?’

  Nothing.

  April stumbled on, twice almost falling over objects on the floor.

  ‘Nurse, you need to conserve your strength for the patient. Excuse me.’ And to her surprise he lifted her as if she were a child and walked carefully on, calling ‘hello’ every few steps.

  ‘What was that?’ April asked. They stood quietly and listened. Was that a faint cry? ‘Hello, anyone there?’ she called desperately. ‘Put me down.’ She pushed at Crawford’s chest, then reluctantly added, ‘Please.’

  Gently, he put April on her feet and she decided not to notice that he was still supporting her.

  ‘One, two, three,’ he said, and together they shouted, ‘Hello, is anyone there?’

  They held their breath and were rewarded by a faint squeak.

  ‘Was that a voice?’ April whispered hopefully.

  ‘You call this time, April. If someone’s there, your voice will be more reassuring.’

  ‘Hello, is anyone there?’ called April again, although she thought that if she were lost and hurt, it would be the American’s voice she would find most reassuring.

  Suddenly they heard it. A faint, high-pitched cry. ‘Mummy?’

  ‘Oh, thank God,’ said April. ‘It’s coming from over there.’ She pointed to a mountain of mattresses, pillows, bits of bedside tables and chairs thrown against the wall. Almost everything that was in the ward seemed to be in the pile of wreckage. How was it possible that he was still alive under all of that? ‘Oh, I wish I knew his name.’

  ‘I’ll have to move this stuff,’ Crawford said. ‘Hey, buddy, we’re coming to get you. OK?’

  Again, there was a tiny sound.

  ‘I’ll help,’ April said. ‘I’m stronger than I look.’ She winced as she reached for a chair and hoped Crawford hadn’t noticed. But he had.

  ‘Hey, careful there. We don’t know what we’ll find, so let me move everything, then hopefully we’ll clear enough space for you to crawl into. If . . . when we find him, it’ll be you he needs.’

  ‘All right.’ April conceded defeat. He was a lot stronger than she was, and she didn’t want to jeopardise the operation.

  April watched as he disentangled chairs and bedside tables, which he moved into the empty space near her. She winced, not from pain but from fear as she saw him attempt to lift an iron bed that had been tossed upside down by the blast and now had the wheels of a second bed and several mattresses entangled with it.

  ‘Hey, buddy, am I close?’ he called. ‘I’m kinda big to get under here but I know you’ll be helping me. Can you say hi?’

  ‘Mummy.’

  ‘Even better. Now, I’m also kinda dirty, bet you are too, and so we won’t be scared when we see each other. Ouch. Would you believe I almost put my foot in a drawer? Stupid or what? Who puts their drawers on the floor – not my mom.’

  A sound like the smallest of laughs brought a flood of relief, and April let out the breath she hadn’t realised she was holding. Surely the child couldn’t be too badly injured if he had the energy to laugh.

  ‘OK. I see the problem.’ Crawford had managed to lift a mattress away, and she could see that a bed had been tipped over and was leaning lengthwise against the wall, leaving
a space big enough for a child to sit behind. The problem was that there was another bed entangled with the one against the wall, and it looked too difficult for one man to lift them both.

  ‘Hang on, Crawford. Let me crawl through this space. Hopefully I can get to him, then you’d better go and see if you can find help. I think it’ll take more than one person to lift those beds.’

  The American looked uncertain. ‘What if something falls on you?’

  ‘For goodness sake! There’s no time for that sort of thinking. And so help me, if you stop me, I’ll try and lift the bed by myself.’ From his expression she was almost sure that no one had ever argued with him. ‘Or we could try together.’

  Crawford strained against the tangled beds, trying to move them. ‘No, you’re right. Can you fit through there?’

  April moved to the tiny space at the end of the bed and peered through. It was dark, but she could just make out a small scrunched-up figure.

  ‘Hello there. It’s April here. Can you see me? Me and Crawford are going to help you get out, but he needs another big, strong soldier to help him, unless you can crawl towards me?’

  ‘No! I want Mummy!’ he cried.

  ‘All right, we’ll find her. But how about I come and sit with you and we can sing some songs while we wait?’

  ‘Where’s my mummy?’

  April’s heart lurched. She hoped she was safe in the hospital somewhere. It would be too awful to get him out and find his mother had been killed. ‘She’s waiting for you downstairs. Now, do you think this big fat nurse can squeeze in?’

  The boy laughed. ‘You don’t look that big.’

  ‘Well, let’s see, shall we?’

  April squeezed through the space. She felt her dress catch on something, and then there was a ripping sound.

  ‘Oh my goodness, sounds like my dress has torn. Deary me, matron won’t be happy with me. Unless you promise to tell her it wasn’t my fault. Will you do that for me?’

  There was no answer.

  ‘What’s your name, sweetheart?’

  ‘Stevie.’

  ‘Do you have any brothers and sisters, Stevie?’ April knew that talking was the best way to calm him down so she kept up her chatter as she crawled slowly and carefully behind the bed, throwing out bits and pieces of rubbish that littered the way. Finally, she was there, and she could see him.

  ‘I’m in, Crawford. Go and get help.’

  ‘I won’t be a moment, April, hang on in there.’

  She heard his footsteps crunching through the debris as he went to the door and she put a comforting arm around the little boy, who hid his face in her shoulder and started to sob in earnest.

  ‘Don’t you worry, Stevie, we’ll be out in a jiffy. Tell you what, let’s sing a song. What’s your very favourite song?’

  There was silence for a moment, then she heard a whispered, ‘Teddy Bear.’

  ‘Oh, that’s my very favourite as well. Shall we sing together?’

  Soon the two of them were singing away, from ‘Teddy Bear’s Picnic’ to ‘The Laughing Policeman’. Finally, as they were singing ‘Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?’, she heard voices.

  ‘Hey, A.J., sounds like there’s a little piggy in there who thinks he isn’t scared of the wolf. Shall we see if we can huff and puff and blow this house down?’

  ‘I sure would like to catch myself a little piggy,’ said a deep voice that April recognised.

  ‘A.J.? Is that you?’ April was delighted. ‘It’s April here. Eunice’s friend. We met in the Bluebell. Is Homer here? He could probably shift this pile of beds with one hand.’

  ‘Well I never! April. Wish I could say it was good to see you, but I can’t see much of you from here. Just hang on and we’ll have you out in a moment.’

  She heard the two men grunting with effort as they began to move the piles of debris blocking the bed. Then there came an ear-damaging screech as metal pieces rubbed against one another. The pile was moving.

  Chapter 13

  April gasped and prayed the whole thing wouldn’t collapse on top of them. Stevie whimpered against her, so she started to sing again. But this time he was too scared to join in.

  ‘Not long now, Stevie,’ she whispered. ‘Soon you’ll be with your mummy and she will be so happy to see you.’

  ‘OK, we’re ready to move the bed, April.’ Crawford’s voice sounded very close.

  ‘Well, hurry up, will you? Me and Stevie are a bit bored in here, aren’t we, Stevie?’

  She was rewarded with a ‘Hurry! Hurry!’ from Stevie. Now that they were nearly free, he was starting to recover his spirits.

  ‘Ready, A.J. On the count of three. One, two, three, lift. Two steps to your right. One, two.’ The bedstead trapping them against the wall finally started to move and, suddenly it was gone, and April and Stevie sat blinking up at them.

  ‘Well, what do we have here? Looks like there are two piggies hiding in the house. Hello, buddy, it sure is good to see you. Hey, A.J., look at this. Have we got a prize for the dirtiest face, like maybe a chocolate bar? I thought I was dirty and you’re awful dirty too. But Stevie here has to win the prize for the dirtiest face I’ve ever seen.’

  ‘Of course, there’s chocolate.’

  Stevie’s eyes went round with surprise when he looked at A.J., who was possibly not only the tallest, but also the darkest man he’d ever seen. ‘Chocolate,’ he said commandingly.

  ‘You bet there’s chocolate.’ A.J. grinned at the boy. ‘Ever heard of a Hershey Bar?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘It’s from America and it’s like your very, very favourite chocolate but better.’

  ‘Honest?’

  ‘Absolutely.’ A.J. bent down and scooped Stevie up. Stevie giggled delightedly as A.J. walked towards a chair and sat down with him on his lap. ‘Now, sir, let’s see if you can find it. I’ll give you a clue. It’s in my jacket.’

  April watched as Stevie, so recently terrified, grinned and started patting A.J.’s chest, looking for the promised chocolate. She smiled in relief; apart from a bit of shock, he appeared completely unhurt. She stood up, but a wave of dizziness hit her, and she leaned against the wall.

  ‘Sit down, April. You look about ready to collapse. And your legs are bleeding. Come on, sit right here.’ Crawford sat her on a mattress on the floor. Resisting the temptation to lie down, April put her head between her knees. Crawford sat down next to her. ‘Hey, it’s all fine now. Come on, let’s get you out of here and have a doctor check you over.’

  She raised her head and smiled at him. ‘I’m fine. The doctor will sort it out once we’ve reunited this young man with his mother, I just felt a little shaky there for a moment. Thank you so much, Crawford. I couldn’t have done this without you.’

  ‘Sure you could. I just did the heavy lifting. Anyone with muscle would have done. Just my lucky day that I was the one who was here.’

  She looked over to where Stevie, who could not be more than five or six, was nestled comfortably in A.J.’s arms, eating his promised bar of chocolate.

  ‘Goodness, young man, you look mighty comfortable.’

  Stevie grinned, chocolate smeared around his mouth. April hadn’t thought his face could get any dirtier. Still, she doubted his mother would care.

  ‘We should go and find your mother, Stevie.’

  ‘Come on, tiger.’ A.J. stood up. ‘How would you like to ride on my shoulders and I’ll take you to look for your mommy? If you’re way up there it’ll be easier to spot her.’

  The boy looked delighted at the prospect, and A.J. hoisted him easily up on to his shoulders.

  ‘Careful, there,’ April said nervously. ‘He looks like he could fall at any moment.’

  The G.I. laughed. ‘No way. I am the biggest bear in the wood. Tell the nurse not to be such a scaredy cat.’

  The little boy laughed delightedly. ‘Not be scared, nurse.’

  The four made their way carefully out of the ward and down the stairs, Stevie holding o
n to A.J.’s head and shouting, ‘Gee up, horsey.’ The power generator had kicked in, so although it was dim, at least it was light enough to see where they were putting their feet. The destruction was heart-breaking. Everywhere she looked, April could see broken glass, bricks and the inevitable dust. She had no idea how they would get the hospital back up and running again, and she prayed that no one had been killed.

  Finally, they made it downstairs and into the cafeteria, which seemed relatively undamaged. It had been set up as a temporary first-aid area, and, though everyone was calm, there was an undercurrent of delayed shock and lingering terror, and April saw several people sitting, staring into space, oblivious to the activity around them.

  As soon as they entered, a cry went up, and a woman came rushing over. ‘Stevie! Oh, thank God! I’ve been beside myself! Where did you get to?’

  At the sight of his mother, the little boy seemed to remember what had happened and began to cry. A.J. lifted him down gently and placed him in his mother’s arms.

  ‘The nurse and the major here found this little man hiding behind a bed. He seems perfectly fine, so don’t worry.’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know how I can ever thank you. Stevie, did you say thank you to the nice gentleman?’

  ‘The nurse sang songs and he gave me chocolate,’ Stevie said, pointing at April and then A.J.

  Laughing and crying, Stevie’s mother looked at them tearfully. ‘I don’t know what to say. Just thank you. We lost his dad last year, and I don’t think I could carry on if I lost the little one too.’

  April smiled tiredly at the woman. ‘I’m just glad you’re both safe. Now I really must go and see if I can help.’

  ‘Not so fast.’ Crawford put a hand on her shoulder. ‘First you need to get those cuts on your legs and hands checked. Then we’ll see.’

  She huffed in annoyance, but really, she didn’t have the energy to argue, and she was glad of Crawford’s support as he practically carried her over to the nearest doctor. It was Dr Stafford, the paediatrics specialist, and next to him stood Eunice, holding a basin of water as the doctor tended to a cut on somebody’s face.

  ‘Oh thank God!’ Eunice cried when she saw April. She put down the water and hurried over. ‘Here, April, sit down. Thank you so much, major. I’ve been so worried.’