Meadow Lane

by Maureen Reynolds

  Maryanne had no idea but she didn’t think he would play truant as he liked learning too much.

  ‘Do you think he’s worried about that fight with the Davidson boy?’ Grace asked but Maryanne shook her head and said she didn’t know. ‘He keeps a lot to himself,’ she admitted, ‘and it’s hard to tell what he’s thinking.’

  At six o’clock Sadie wandered along the lane; she was feeling a bit sick and she had another headache. Before she reached the door her mother hurried out along with Grace, Bella and Albert. Before she could ask why she had this welcoming committee her mother blurted out, ‘Eddie’s missing, Sadie, and no one’s seen him since dinner time. Did he come to see you?’

  Sadie was confused. ‘What do you mean, Mum, where is Eddie?’

  Albert took her inside and said it was time to speak to the police and she became agitated. ‘We don’t want the police, he’ll come home soon, I’m sure of it.’

  Everyone looked at one another. Albert continued, ‘He can be anywhere, Sadie, and maybe he’s had an accident.’ Sadie screamed.

  It was decided they would call the police. Bill, who had come home to this drama said he would go to the telephone box and call them. By now Eliza had joined the company and they all sat around Sadie who was weeping loudly with everyone trying to comfort her.

  Morag and Rory arrived with the baby to say how sorry they were at the news and Maryanne thanked them before they returned to put Catriona to bed. ‘If we can be of any help just ask,’ said Morag as she left. Sadie didn’t hear her as she wept even louder.

  Within an hour two policemen arrived and they began to take statements from Evie and Tommy who repeated what had happened at school. At this point everyone left to let the policemen question Maryanne and Sadie. Maryanne said she was at work and only heard of her grandson’s disappearance when she got home. She told them she worked at Keiller’s sweet factory.

  Questioning Sadie was difficult as she couldn’t stop crying but she did manage to say she was also at work and like her mother only heard the news when she came home. When asked where she worked she hesitated but when asked again she said she was employed at Hal’s Bar in Lochee.

  Maryanne gave her a sharp look but didn’t respond to it. The policemen then began to search Eddie’s room and asked her if anything was missing. Sadie looked around before saying his rucksack was gone and when she opened the wardrobe his clothes were also missing.

  ‘Do you have a photograph of your son, Mrs Boyd?’ one of them asked and she rummaged in her bag before bringing out a snapshot taken in America. She handed it over.

  ‘I believe you came back from America with your son, was he happy about that?’

  Sadie wanted to shout out that it was none of their business but she resisted the urge and said he was. Maryanne gave her another sharp look but she stayed silent.

  They then left but told her that a search would begin right away, saying, ‘He’s probably playing truant and now he’s scared to come home. Don’t worry, we’ll find him soon.’

  Sadie burst into a frenzy of tears and her mother tried to help by saying that the policemen were right in their explanation. ‘Just wait and see, Sadie, he’ll be home when he’s hungry.’

  Sadie responded by becoming angry. ‘I don’t understand him. Why has he done this to me? I’ve tried hard to make him happy.’ Maryanne stayed quiet because if she told her daughter the truth she wouldn’t believe her. Eddie wasn’t and had never been happy since coming here to live. He wanted to be with his father in America and Maryanne was so angry about her daughter’s attitude to her son but she didn’t want to make her more distraught than she was. Then just before bedtime Sadie remembered his fishing rod was also missing and she prayed he hadn’t fallen in the river.

  36

  There wasn’t much sleep that night in the lane. News had reached the surrounding streets and people had been asked to check any outdoor sheds and toilets which they did in an effort to find Eddie. Evie and Tommy were questioned again. Had he given any hint what he was planning to do or was there a favourite spot he liked to visit?

  Tommy said he liked fishing from the docks and the police searched all the area but there was no sign of him. His photo appeared in the morning paper and the school was abuzz with rumours. Bruce stated that Eddie was frightened of another fight with him and his mother had said that was why he had scampered but David told him that was rubbish and Bruce didn’t like being told that.

  Sadie couldn’t stop crying and Maryanne was at her wits’ end trying to calm her down. ‘I think you should go back to work and the police will keep in touch with you,’ she told her daughter but Sadie had shouted at her.

  ‘He’s my son, no wonder I’m worried for he can be in all sorts of danger.’ She sat down and began to wail. ‘Where are you, Eddie?’ Maryanne went over and tried to comfort her but she got louder. ‘Where is he? I can’t believe he would do this to me.’

  There had been no sightings of him and the police were still checking lots of outbuildings. Maryanne said it was strange that no one had seen him after dinner time. ‘You would think a young boy would have been spotted wandering about out of school. Where were all the old women who sit at their windows?’

  She was referring to some of the houses she regularly passed on her way to work where elderly women sat watching the world go by and even if there was no one visible, there would be a twitch of the curtains as the householders kept an eye on their neighbours.

  So it was agreed that Sadie would go to work and if there was news then the police would be in touch with her there. Maryanne had tackled Sadie about pretending to work in an office when she was working in a pub. Sadie was angry. ‘What do you want me to do? Everyone is so nosy here so I pretended I had this super job as a secretary instead of working in a dingy bar.’

  Sadie headed off to work with a heavy heart. She imagined the worst had happened to Eddie and that was the reason he couldn’t be found. Hal had heard about this family misfortune and he was sympathetic. ‘Is there any news?’

  Sadie looked glum and shook her head. When the regulars came in they were also sorry for the missing boy. Big John spoke for them all. ‘We hope you get good news soon, Sadie. Don’t worry as he will be found soon.’ Sadie nodded but she didn’t think it was as simple as that. She knew Eddie was unhappy and she felt so guilty about burning his father’s letters and wondered if this act has pushed him into running off.

  The door opened and one of the policemen came in. Sadie hurried over. ‘Have you found him?’

  The policeman said no, not yet. ‘Is there any place you think he would go to?’

  ‘No I can’t think of anywhere. If anyone knows it will be the two girls who go to school with him. Did he mention anything to them?’

  ‘No, he didn’t. The girls are as puzzled by his disappearance as the rest of us.’

  Hal stood behind the bar. He wasn’t pleased about the police coming here as the customers looked uneasy. Although he felt sorry for Sadie, he didn’t want his customers to stay away. His wife had warned him about Sadie as on the one occasion she was in the pub she recognised that the woman was drinking on duty. Hal said it was probably drinks bought by the customers but now he wasn’t so sure. He was glad when the police left and the customers resumed their games of dominoes and their pints of beer. He knew he had a good clientele from the overcrowded streets with their numerous tenements and he didn’t want anything to harm his business.

  Sadie was unaware of his dilemma but she did ask if she could leave early and he agreed. When she got home she hoped that Eddie would be back but she was disappointed to find the house empty. Her mother had returned to work as she was afraid she would lose her job as there were more rumours of possible layoffs at the factory. Grace had seen Sadie passing the window and she came in. ‘Is there any news?’

  She shook her head. ‘I just feel helpless not knowing where he is. The police say they are searching all over but no one seems to have seen him.’

 
Grace said she was sorry and with the arrival of Evie and Tommy, she went home. The two girls had been subdued since Eddie vanished. Grace asked them again if there was something trivial they had maybe forgotten but they said no.

  ‘The last time I spoke to Eddie was that morning when I dropped my library book and he picked it up,’ said Evie. ‘You remember that, don’t you, Tommy?’

  Tommy nodded. Grace said Evie had better return the book as the date was almost up.

  ‘I haven’t read it since that day as we’ve been so worried about him.’ She picked up the book and went to take the bookmark from the pages. A piece of paper fluttered out and she picked it up. ‘I don’t remember putting this in the book,’ she said as she opened the single sheet of paper. She gasped. ‘It’s from Eddie.’

  Grace took it from her and read it. It was just a few lines but he said he was going to try and get back to America and thanked her and Tommy for their friendship. Grace hurried to see Sadie but wasn’t home.

  ‘Sadie has gone out but I think the police will be wanting to see this,’ she said on her return. She put the letter on the sideboard. ‘I’ll hand this over when she comes back.’

  As it turned out it was Maryanne who arrived first and Grace handed over the letter. Maryanne was dumbfounded. ‘How on earth will he manage to get back to America? I wish the policeman would come back so I can hand this over.’ As if in answer to her wish, the two policemen knocked at the door. Maryanne had to tell them Sadie wasn’t in but before she could mention the letter, one of the men said, ‘We’ve had information that a boy resembling your grandson boarded a Glasgow bus at the Seagate on the afternoon he disappeared.’

  Maryanne handed over the letter and the man read it. ‘It looks like he’s trying to get on board a ship to go to America but we’ll investigate this latest development.’ He gave her a sympathetic look. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll find him as he can’t have got that far, not without money or a passport.’

  Maryanne forgot about needing a passport and she would have to quiz Sadie when she came home about this.

  Sadie returned about eight o’clock and she was carrying a bottle of whisky in a message bag. ‘I feel like a stiff drink to take my mind off Eddie,’ she said, pouring out a large measure. She asked her mother if she wanted one but Maryanne said no, and told her all about the letter and the bus to Glasgow in the hope of getting back to America.

  Sadie was so angry that she had to sit down. ‘Why didn’t he leave me a letter instead of Evie? For heaven’s sake I am his mother, don’t I count in his life, and how on earth is he supposed to get back to America?’

  Maryanne said this was something she had to deal with. ‘When he’s found he will still want to go back to his dad. You can’t stop that, Sadie, so you have to make up your mind to go back with him.’

  Sadie refilled her glass and drank almost half of it before replying, ‘I’m not going back. I don’t love Ed any more and I hate the life over there. No, Eddie has to stay here with me and get to like his life here.’

  Maryanne was furious. ‘That’s a very selfish thing to say. You have to think of your son’s happiness before your own, and maybe when he’s grown up and self-sufficient then you can please yourself but not until then.’

  Sadie laughed but it wasn’t a pleasant sound. ‘Do you hear yourself preaching, Mum? What about yourself, there’s not one photograph of my father in this house or anything to say he was ever in our lives.’ Her hand swept around the walls as if to emphasise the lack of tangible evidence of her dead father. Maryanne went pale. ‘I told you years ago that your father Bernard died when you were four years old.’ She went over to the sideboard and brought out a framed photo. It showed a young Maryanne and her new husband smiling at the camera. It was one of those old-fashioned studio photographs that were very stilted and posed and the young couple stood beside a huge palm plant with a painted background of misty hills behind them.

  Sadie scrutinised the photo. Bernard Roberts was a bit older than her mother but he was slim with a boyish face and a lock of fairish hair falling over one eye. He wasn’t handsome but there was an attractive quality about his face. Maryanne looked very young but her dress looked old fashioned and frumpish and she clutched a bunch of flowers that looked as if they had seen better days.

  ‘Why don’t you put it on the sideboard instead of hiding it away?’ she asked but Maryanne said she didn’t like looking at herself as she didn’t feel she was pretty.

  ‘I like to look at it every now and then,’ she said as she put it back into the drawer. ‘I was devastated when he died and it’s been hard going financially since then. That’s why I don’t want you to end up like me, Sadie, as I want you to have a happy marriage and a happy life.’

  37

  Years later, everyone in the lane was to remember the last weekend of the school term because Eddie was found at the docks in Glasgow by a middle-aged stevedore who had noticed him lurking around for a few days before he contacted the police.

  He was barely back in Maryanne’s house when his father Ed appeared. It was a Saturday and Maryanne was trying to console Eddie over his aborted plans while his mother was still in bed with one of her headaches.

  The tall American knocked politely at the door and when Eddie answered he was ecstatic. ‘Dad,’ he shouted as he threw himself into the man’s arms.

  Ed hugged his son as if he didn’t want to let go before turning to Maryanne. ‘Hi, how are you, Mary?’

  She could barely speak with shock but managed to blurt out, ‘Why are you here, Ed?’

  Ed didn’t reply but asked where his wife was.

  Sadie, who had been awakened by the noise, staggered out of bed and made her way to the kitchen. She almost fainted when she saw Ed standing beside her mother and son. She made an excuse and disappeared back into the bedroom then appeared fifteen minutes later, wearing a pretty dress with her hair brushed and her face made up.

  Ed seemed pleased to see her. ‘Hi, honey, you look well.’ He went over and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

  Eddie was bubbling over with excitement. ‘Did you get my letter, Dad?’

  ‘Yes I did, Eddie, and I hope you didn’t do anything stupid like you said you were going to do.’

  ‘Well he did, didn’t you, Eddie?’ said Sadie. ‘He stupidly ran away and caused so much worry and fuss and added years to all our lives.’

  There was a stunned silence but Maryanne said she would make breakfast. ‘You’ll be hungry, Ed, sit down with Eddie and Sadie while I put some bacon and sausages on.’

  Father and son sat close together while Sadie seemed to be an outsider who sat alone at the far end of the table. She ate hardly anything but her husband and son made up for it. ‘That was great, Mary,’ said Ed as he dipped his toast in the last of his egg.

  Maryanne asked him how long he was planning to stay. He looked at Eddie before replying, ‘I’ll be here for a week then I hope we can all go back together. It’s a busy time on the farm but my father and a couple of my cousins are looking after it.’ He turned to Sadie. ‘You’ll remember Joe and Will who have the farm a few miles away. Well, they very kindly said they would help out till we got back.’

  Sadie didn’t look pleased but she said she remembered the two men. Later when Eddie went out with his father for a walk, she said, ‘Did I remember Joe and Will? Of course I remember them because they are a couple of idiots. All they talk about is corn. The growing of it or the price of it or how to transport it, their lives revolve around their farm and it makes me so fed up.’

  Maryanne said she should keep her comments to herself and try to enjoy having her husband coming all these thousands of miles just to see his wife and son.

  Sadie was on her high horse and there was no appealing to her better nature. ‘And another thing, why does he keep calling you Mary when your name is Maryanne?’

  Her mother said he probably thought Anne was her middle name but added that she didn’t care what she was called.

  By
now the story of Ed’s trip was the talking point round the district. Martha was full of curiosity about his visit. ‘You mark my words, Eliza, there’s something behind him coming all this way. He could quite easily just write letters instead of turning up on the doorstep.’

  Eliza said she didn’t believe that and she reckoned it was one of the most romantic things she had seen in a long time.

  Grace and Bill were also grateful he had come, as were Evie and Tommy who were pleased to have Eddie back with them. The police had given Eddie a good telling-off for running away but it was nothing compared to his mother’s furious outburst when told of his eventual destination at the Glasgow waterfront. ‘Anything could have happened to you, Eddie. I can’t bear to think about that if that man hadn’t found you.’

  Eddie had said he was sorry for all the trouble he had caused but Sadie was still mad at him. His father, although worried at the time, was more inclined to let the matter pass but when he mentioned this to Sadie on their return from the walk, Sadie started to shout at him that he was the reason behind his son’s disappearance.

  Eddie ran out of the house and Maryanne told her that all this fighting wasn’t doing the lad any favours so Sadie joined her son in marching out, leaving Ed looking askance at his mother-in-law. ‘What a mess,’ he said, which was an understatement in Maryanne’s opinion. She suddenly longed for her former peace that she had before Sadie came back and caused all these traumas.

  ‘I was going to ask Sadie and Eddie to come to a movie with me but I guess that’s not an option now,’ he said ruefully. ‘I think I’ll go and see Albert as he’s asked me to visit.’

  Maryanne now had a headache and she swallowed two aspirin as Ed also left the house. Albert was pleased to see him and he was soon seated in a comfy chair with a bottle of beer.

  ‘I’m sorry the beer is warm,’ he apologised but Ed said anything would taste good after the ructions in the house.