‘No, he can’t …’
‘I’m sorry, Helen. Won’t you sit down?’
‘No!’ Without thinking what she was doing, Helen fled from the basement and ran to her father’s door, hammering on it until he opened it, still dressed in his pyjamas and dressing gown. Wrapping his arm round her shoulders, he closed the door and led her into the living room.
‘Jack’s gone,’ she blurted between sobs. ‘He was here yesterday and he saw me kiss Adam Jordan, and now he’s gone back to camp …’
‘You kissed Adam Jordan?’
‘Yes … no … I danced with him and he kissed me. It was to get his own back on Jack for some stupid prank. I didn’t want to kiss him; he only did it because Jack walked into the Pier …’
‘Sit down and calm down,’ he ordered. ‘I’ll make us a pot of tea. He couldn’t help thinking as he went to the kitchen how like Helen this was. Last night she had told him she was disgusted with him and she never wanted to see him again, and here she was, first thing in the morning, all thoughts of him and Katie driven from her mind by a misunderstanding – if that was the right word – that had sent Jack back to army camp when he should have been spending his leave with her.
‘You’re not shocked?’ Katie asked Joy as they sat over a pot of tea at the breakfast table.
‘No. And if you’d heard half the things I have from my customers over the years, you’d be unshockable as well. John Griffiths may be twenty years older than you but I watched you grow up. You had the knowing look in your pretty face of a forty-year-old when you were five years old, which is hardly surprising considering some of the things that went on in your house. John’s kind, gentle, if he has a temper I’ve never seen any sign of it, which is remarkable when you consider how long he was married to Esme. Her antics would have been enough to try the patience of a saint. But then, perhaps John is one.’
‘I love him and I know I can make him happy, Mrs Hunt,’ Katie said simply.
‘I wish you all the best, love. It’s not going to be easy for either you or John. People can be cruel – and envious – and it’s my guess Helen isn’t going to be the only one to say what she thinks.’
‘I know she’s not.’ Katie stared down at the crumbs on her plate.
‘You’re not sure you can face them?’ Joy questioned, wondering if she should point out some of the other problems that could lie ahead, if Katie did marry a man twice her age.
‘I’ve never cared what people say about me, Mrs Hunt, but I’m worried for John.’ Joy was oddly shocked at Katie’s casual use of John Griffiths’ Christian name, but schooled by years of experience in her salon she kept her composure. ‘John’s not like me, he’s so sensitive …’
‘Katie.’ Joy shook her head fondly at her. ‘You’re going to make him a wonderful wife. And twenty years isn’t that big an age gap. I’ve known lots of marriages – very successful ones – where the husband has been that much older than the wife – and more.’
‘Really! You’re not just saying that?’
‘No.’ The only successful marriages Joy had personal knowledge of where the husband had been twice the age of the wife were the kind where the wife had been given a blank chequebook and a lot of expensive jewellery, but somehow Katie didn’t seem to fall into that category.
‘Thank you, that means a lot to me.’ Katie’s eyes shone, like a child who’d just been shown a glimpse of Christmas.
‘We ought to talk about practical things. You can stay here until you’re married …’
‘Thank you, Mrs Hunt. I’d really appreciate that.’
‘And I could help you to organise your wedding, if you want me to.’
‘I haven’t spoken to John about it, but I know neither of us will want a fuss. Just the two of us in the Register Office.’
‘You’ll need witnesses and I think I can speak for Roy when I say we’d be honoured.’
‘What are you going to do?’ John asked Helen, as she was halfway through her second cup of tea.
‘I don’t know. I love Jack and now I won’t see him for years. That’s if he ever comes back …’
‘The way I see it, you have two choices,’ he interrupted, before another flood of tears materialised. ‘You can either stay in Swansea and cry, or buy a train ticket and go after him.’
‘To an army camp?’
‘He’s on leave and if I know soldiers he won’t be spending much time in the camp. He’ll be in the nearest pub drinking with his mates.’
‘And if he won’t talk to me?’
‘At least you will have tried.’
‘Thanks, Dad.’
‘What are you going to do?’ he asked as she left the sofa.
‘Find out when the next train leaves and if I have time, go home and pack before I catch it.’
‘I’ll telephone the station while you finish your tea. Then, if we’ve time, I’ll drive you home so you can get some clothes. Best take a few, you could be gone a couple of nights.’
‘You’re with your father?’ Lily looked in astonishment from Helen to her father’s car parked in the drive.
‘Jack’s gone back to camp. I’m going after him and I only have an hour to pack and get to the station to catch the next train.’
‘We’ll give you a hand.’ Judy ran up the stairs ahead of them.
‘Have you seen Katie?’ Lily asked, as they followed.
‘No.’
‘She isn’t with your father?’
‘She wasn’t in the house with him this morning that I saw. God! I said some awful things to them last night.’
‘Yes, you did.’
‘I’ll say sorry.’
‘Only if you mean it, Helen,’ Lily warned.
‘It will take some getting used to, Katie and my father.’
‘Yes, it will, but she’s still the same Katie you’ve always known. And your father is a special man. Just look where he is now, waiting outside for you, after you told him he disgusted you and ordered him and Katie out of the house.’
‘I’ll talk to him.’ Lifting a suitcase down from the top of her wardrobe, Helen started throwing things into it, the whole of her underwear drawer, six nighties. Five minutes later Lily fetched her toilet bag from the bathroom and laid it on top of everything before closing and locking the case.
‘If you’re missing something you’ll just have to buy it,’ Judy said practically.
‘Buy … I’ve only fifteen shillings in my purse.’
‘I can lend you some.’ Lily delved into her handbag. ‘I have two pounds and some change.’
‘I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.’
‘Take it off the rent.’
‘I can manage one pound ten shillings.’
‘Thank you.’ Helen hugged them in turn. ‘Wish me luck.’
‘Good luck,’ they shouted down the stairs at the back of the door as she rushed out.
‘Fifty pounds.’
‘Dad …’
‘You’ll need money. Go into the Ladies’ and hide it well. I borrowed it from yesterday’s takings in the warehouse and I paid for your ticket with a cheque.’ He handed it to her. ‘Look after it.’
‘I will.’ She ran into the Ladies, locked herself into a cubicle and pushed the roll of notes her father had given her into her bra. She didn’t dare hope, but if Jack did talk to her perhaps … she forced herself to think about something else, lest she jinx what little chance she had of saving what was left of their marriage.
‘Train’s in, you’ll have to run,’ John shouted, as she emerged on to the platform.
Throwing her arms around his neck, she kissed him. ‘Thank you, I don’t deserve a father like you, and tell Katie I’ll try to understand. I really will.’ She dived on to the train just before the porter closed the door. Pushing down the window, she added, ‘She’s a very lucky girl,’ just as the train started pulling out.
‘We weren’t sure whether you boys would come today, or not.’ Judy looked up from the deckchair she was
sitting in, as Martin and Sam walked through the gate into the garden.
‘We didn’t bring Adam,’ Sam joked caustically.
‘After last night I don’t think any of us wants to see him again.’
‘You know Helen’s left?’ Lily asked Martin as he sat on the grass beside her.
‘Mr Griffiths called in after he took her to the station. He also told me what happened here last night with Katie.’
‘Have you seen Katie?’ Judy adjusted the straps on her swimsuit, pulling it higher.
‘Yes. She’s staying with Mrs Hunt until she gets married. Mr Griffiths also said he talked to Helen on the way to the station and he thinks she’s coming to terms with the idea of him marrying Katie.’ Martin reached for Lily’s hand.
‘I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to think of Katie as Mrs Griffiths,’ Judy said slowly.
‘She’ll always be our Katie.’ Lily smiled at Martin.
‘Come for a walk?’ he asked.
‘Do you mind, Judy?’
‘I don’t.’ Sam grinned.
‘I’m glad you said that, Sam.’ Judy smiled maliciously. ‘The grass needs cutting and there’s a pair of shears in the shed. You may need to sharpen them first but there’s a stone next to the back door that’s ideal …’
‘I’m no gardener.’
‘Practice makes perfect.’ She looked up at Lily and Martin. ‘What are you two waiting for? Go.’
‘Do you have a room, please?’
The manageress of the hotel looked Helen up and down, and made it obvious that she didn’t like what she saw. ‘Yes, but it will be twenty-five shillings a night. In advance.’
‘Does that include breakfast?’ Helen asked, incensed by the woman’s attitude.
‘Full English breakfast.’
‘If it is a double room, I’ll take it,’ she said decisively.
‘I see, you’re one of those.’
‘One of what?’ Helen questioned, mystified.
‘This is an army town …’
‘And I’m an army wife.’ Helen drew off her gloves and waved her engagement and wedding ring at the woman.
‘And I’m Princess Margaret.’
‘My husband has leave. I’m hoping he’ll join me here.’
‘And I don’t believe a slip of a girl like you has a husband.’
Helen opened her handbag and rummaged through the contents. She’d pushed a letter from Jack into it so she would have his full address. ‘There.’ She slammed the envelope down on the desk. ‘Mrs Jack Clay.’
‘And who’s to say that you are Mrs Jack Clay?’
‘Me.’
Helen turned to see Jack standing behind her.
‘You’re her husband?’
‘Yes.’
‘Are you staying here too?’
‘And if I am?’ Jack answered, avoiding the question.
‘It will be another ten shillings a night – in advance.’
‘Including breakfast,’ Helen pushed.
‘Including full English breakfast. Both of you have to sign the register.’ The woman handed Helen a pen. After she wrote down the Limeslade address, she handed it to Jack. As their fingers touched, he turned away and her heart pounded erratically. So much depended on what was going to happen in the next few minutes. ‘Room twenty.’ The woman waited until Helen handed over two pound notes, before pushing a key and five shillings change towards her. ‘The bathroom is at the end of the corridor on the right. Breakfast will be served from seven o’clock until half past eight tomorrow morning. If you are only staying the one night you will have to vacate the room by ten or pay for another full day’s occupancy.’
Helen took the key. There was a lump in her throat that prevented her from speaking, but even if it hadn’t been there, she doubted she would have been able to thank the woman.
‘Don’t bother to call a porter, I’ll carry my wife’s case.’ Taking it, Jack led the way up the stairs.
‘How did you know I was here?’ Helen asked, struggling with the key.
‘Martin telephoned the camp from Mr Williams’s house. He left a message that you were following on a later train. I would have met you at the station if I’d got it earlier, but it went round three barracks before it found me.’
‘But you didn’t know about the hotel …’
‘It’s the only decent place, or rather the only place a decent woman would go into for miles.’
‘That’s what the taxi driver said. But that woman was horrible.’
‘She’s used to tarts trying to book in.’
‘Tarts?’
‘Pros who want to make a few quid entertaining blokes in their room.’
‘How do you know about them?’
‘Barrack room talk.’ He looked coolly at her. ‘I haven’t scraped that low down the barrel in the six weeks we’ve been separated.’
Blushing, she opened the door, holding it so he could carry her bag in. ‘Thank you for coming to find me.’
‘This town is no place for a woman alone.’ He sat on the only chair in the room.
‘Be honest, if you had received the message in time to meet me at the station, would you have sent me back?’
‘That would have been difficult; there isn’t another train that reaches Swansea today. You’re a fool …’
‘I had to see you to let you know there’s nothing between me and Adam.’
‘I think that got sorted when he shouted he’d got his own back on me for what I did to him on my stag night.’
‘Then why did you run off this morning?’
‘Because when I saw you dancing with him, I realised there was no way I could hold you to a marriage when I was leaving the country for a year and a half. It wouldn’t be fair to ask you to stay in night after night and I couldn’t bear the thought of you going out with other men. So I decided it would be easier to end it.’
‘I was with Martin and Lily …’
‘So Martin said.’
‘You could have at least tried to talk to me, told me how you felt.’
‘I didn’t think there was much point.’
‘I love you, Jack. I know I was horrible to you when I was in hospital and I wasn’t much better after I came home. And now I’ll never be able to have the children you want …’ Without warning she began to cry. ‘I hate doing this, it’s not fair … but every time I try to talk to you about the baby, I …’
Opening his arms, he held her tight.
‘Can we at least stay together for your leave?’ she begged.
‘That will take care of the next week but what about the next two years?’
‘I don’t know, Jack.’ She lifted her face to his. ‘I honestly don’t. But what I do know is that I love you and I’m prepared to fight for our marriage. If that means staying in every night until you come back …’
‘I have no right to ask you to do that.’
‘But I’d do it, and willingly. I have a job I like now, working for my father in the warehouse so it’s not as if I’d never go out or see anyone, so …’ She faltered as she remembered her father and Katie. Her father had warned her that Jack didn’t know about them and now, when she was fighting to save what was left of their relationship, was no time to drop that bombshell.
‘What, Helen?’
‘How can I prove to you how much I love you?’
He looked down at the bed. ‘I can think of one way.’
‘You haven’t seen my scar, it’s horrible, ugly …’
‘No part of you could possibly be ugly.’ He unbuttoned her dress. When she was naked, he lifted her on to the bed and kissed the jagged line that marred her skin. And after that, nothing else seemed to matter to either of them – for a while.
‘You look serious,’ Lily said to Martin as they walked hand in hand down the beach. The sun was setting, casting crimson and gold lights over the horizon and on to the surface of the sea. ‘Is it Katie or Jack?’
‘Neither. I’ve come to the conclusion that a
big brother can only do so much. They have to find their own way.’
‘Katie will be happy with Mr Griffiths.’
‘That’s my Lily. Always wanting to believe the best of everyone. And what’s your forecast for Jack and Helen?’
‘They have to sort themselves out.’
‘I think those are the harshest words I’ve ever heard you say about anyone.’ He stopped at the edge of the sea and looked at the waves crashing almost to their feet. ‘What about us, Lily?’
‘I love you.’
‘And I love you.’
‘Then we’re fine.’
‘No we’re not.’
‘I told you that’s enough for me …’
‘But not for me.’ Catching both her hands, he looked deep into her eyes. ‘I’ve discovered I want more. Much, much more.’
‘Like what?’
‘An engagement to start with, marriage as soon as I’ve heard that I’ve passed my exams, which will be any day now. And who knows, after that, children …’
‘Marty, you said you’d never be able to support a wife.’
‘I know and I won’t, not in the way I’d like to support you. But plenty of couples get by on what I’ll be paid when I qualify. But I warn you, Lily, the best we can hope for to begin with is to rent a basement in Carlton Terrace. Your uncle’s if he’ll let us. We could put our name down for a council house but there’s an enormous waiting list and there’s no guarantee that we’d get one, even if we waited years and years.’
‘Now that’s a romantic proposal a girl can’t refuse.’
‘It gets worse. I pinched your signet ring and pressed it in soap to get your ring size when you weren’t looking, but then I remembered you have better taste than me, so you should really choose your own. But in the meantime I bought you this in the gift shop in the amusement arcade.’ He handed her a silver-coloured ring set with a bright-red glass stone.
‘Marty, it’s perfect.’ She kissed him.
‘That’s enough joking. It cost one and six …’
‘And I wouldn’t swap it for all the diamonds in Africa. Please, put it on.’ She held out her left hand.
‘You can’t be serious. I have some money saved. I’ll buy you …’
‘I don’t want another ring.’
‘You are serious, aren’t you?’ he whispered huskily.
Swansea Summer Page 48