As Ariel said, Emily Sutton, Adina’s latest placement, was another matter entirely. Emily was fourteen years old but as Melly whispered one day, she seemed to have a chip as big as a house brick on her shoulder. Admittedly, the girl had arrived in care having come from a very dysfunctional family, but instead of trying to make the best of things she constantly complained. She also took to staying out late after a very short time of being there; a fact which caused Adina no end of bother.
‘Nine o’clock is your time in, miss,’ she said sternly at eleven o’clock one night when Emily rolled in looking suspiciously as if she had been drinking.
Emily tossed her long mousy hair across her shoulder and sneered, ‘An’ since when have you been me keeper?’
‘Since the minute you set foot through my door,’ Adina rejoined.
Emily glared at her rebelliously. ‘An’ what are you goin’ to do about it?’
‘There’s not much I can do,’ Adina admitted. ‘Apart from to tell you that if you don’t obey the house rules you can move to another foster home. And those include putting that cigarette out right now. If you must smoke you can do it outdoors.’
The girl made a great show of grinding it out. She was dressed most unsuitably considering the bitterly cold temperatures outside, in hot pants, and her short jacket was open to display a low-cut top that left little to the imagination. Her face was plastered in so much make-up she looked almost clownish, and Adina felt a surge of temper ripple through her veins.
‘I suggest you get yourself off to bed now,’ she told her. ‘You have school tomorrow.’
‘That’s if I decide to go!’ the girl shot back, and with that she turned and stamped out of the room.
Adina sighed as Melly glanced up from the assignment she was working on to ask, ‘Would you like me to make you a cup of cocoa?’ She had remained tactfully silent while Emily was there, but now she was concerned to see that Adina looked somewhat stressed.
‘That would be lovely, dear.’ Adina rubbed her eyes wearily. She had spent the greatest part of the day sewing in the downstairs study that she had converted into a sewing room, and now she was so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open.
Melly was back in minutes balancing two steaming mugs and a plateful of biscuits on a tray.
‘Oh lovely, thank you.’ Adina lifted one of the mugs and sipped at it gratefully. ‘You know, I think I might be getting too old for this fostering lark,’ she commented. ‘I can actually earn a very good living with my dressmaking now, so I’m not sure why I still bother to do it.’
‘You do it because you are good with most of the children you care for,’ Melly said admiringly. ‘Look at what a fine job you’ve done with young Lucy. From what you’ve told me she wasn’t much better behaved than Emily when she first arrived here, and now here she is about to fly the nest and become independent.’
Adina smiled. In actual fact, Melly was right, Lucy, her other placement, had been quite a handful when she first came, but she had managed to turn herself around and in March she would be leaving to work as a Red Coat at one of the many Butlins holiday camps that were springing up around the country.
Lucy had turned out to be a lovely girl once she realised that the whole world wasn’t against her, and Adina was inordinately proud of her. Lucy had always wanted to work with children and Adina had an idea that she would love her new job. She would be another success story to add to her list, although she was realistic enough to admit that she hadn’t succeeded with all the children she had cared for. Some of them had gone beyond help by the time they came to her, and were determined to go their own ways – and Adina had been forced to accept that fact early on in her fostering career.
Now, as her thoughts turned to other things, she asked cautiously, ‘What are you and Richard planning on doing for Christmas? Will you be going to visit his folks in Devon?’
‘Unfortunately not. Richard is on duty in Casualty on Christmas evening. Still, it could have been worse. At least I’ll be able to be with him during the day.’
‘Then why don’t you invite him here for dinner?’ Adina suggested. ‘It will be frightfully expensive if you dine out on Christmas Day. The restaurants charge an extortionate amount and he’d be more than welcome to come and join us. I think it’s about time I met him.’
‘Really?’ Melly beamed prettily. ‘Why, that would be wonderful. Thank you. I’ll ask him tomorrow, although I’m sure he’ll snap your hand off. We’re saving really hard for our wedding at present so every penny counts. As soon as Christmas is over I shall have to start scouting around the jumble sales for something to wear for the wedding. There’s no way I could afford to pay the prices of the dresses in the shops around here.’
‘Hmm, well, I just may be able to help you out there,’ Adina told her as she eyed her up and down appraisingly. ‘Come with me.’
Melly followed her upstairs without a word and once they were in Adina’s bedroom she went to the wardrobe and lifted out the large cardboard box in which she kept her wedding dress. After carefully lifting it from the layers of brown paper and tissue it was wrapped in, she shook it out and Melly’s hand flew to her mouth.
‘Why, it’s absolutely beautiful!’ she gasped as she fingered the silky material. ‘But I couldn’t possibly wear this. Was it your wedding gown?’
‘I made it for myself many years ago,’ Adina said softly, ‘but I never got to wear it – although many others have. I’ve altered it and washed it so many times that I wonder how it manages to stay looking so fresh. But I don’t want you to feel under any pressure to wear it. You mustn’t say you like it just to spare my feelings if it’s not your style.’
‘Oh, but it is. I think it’s lovely,’ Melly said dreamily. ‘Would you mind very much if I tried it on?’
‘Of course not.’
Adina looked on with amusement as Melly stripped off to her underwear there and then; she then lifted the dress over the girl’s head and began to do up the little row of buttons up the back as Melly held the skirt out and posed in front of the mirror.
‘Oh, it’s just a like fairytale gown,’ she said delightedly. ‘Are you really sure you wouldn’t mind me wearing it? I’d feel like a princess in this.’
‘I’d love you to wear it, but now will you just keep absolutely still while I have a good look at it on you. I think I might need to take it in just a little around the waist.’ She slipped away to her sewing room and returned minutes later with a box of pins.
‘Now hold still while I pin it,’ she ordered and the girl obligingly did as she was told as she admired herself in the mirror.
Emily finally disappeared two days before Christmas although Adina wasn’t really surprised. She had an idea that the girl would have returned to her alcoholic mother but there was little she could do about it other than to report her disappearance to the Social Services and the police. She was saddened that she hadn’t been able to get through to the girl, but also determined that she wasn’t going to let it ruin Christmas for the rest of them.
She had invited Beryl, Mick and their brood, but as she had expected they had had to decline the invitation because Christmas was one of their busiest times. Adina had also invited Beattie for Christmas dinner, but the woman had already had an invite from one of her numerous grandchildren, which Adina felt was just as it should be. Christmas was a time for families, after all. And so this year she would be cooking the Christmas dinner herself, and as she rushed about the shops getting the last-minute bits and pieces, she found herself looking forward to it.
At last everything was done and now she decided to give the house a final tidy-up. It was Christmas Eve and she was feeling happier than she had been for some time.
Melly was working at the hospital today and Lucy had gone to spend Christmas with her grandparents in Leeds, so it would be just Melly, Richard and herself there for Christmas dinner. She went about her chores merrily humming, but occasionally she had to stop and press her clenched fist
into the pain in her side. It had been getting progressively worse over the last few weeks and now she reluctantly promised herself that she would go and see the doctor after Christmas. Beryl had certainly been nagging her long enough to do it. In the drawing room she found a pile of Melly’s assignments laid neatly on the table, and as she was going upstairs anyway, she decided that she would put them into her room for her. She had never been in there since the day the girl had arrived as she had no wish to invade her privacy, but she was sure that Melly wouldn’t mind.
When she opened the door, the room was just as she had expected it to be. The curtains were drawn and the bed was neatly made with not a single thing out of place. Crossing to a small table standing in the deep bay window, Adina placed the paperwork on it – but then as she turned to leave, her eyes were drawn to a small photograph in a silver frame standing on the bedside table. Trembling, she slowly approached it, and as she lifted it, found herself staring down into two familiar faces. It was a photograph of Fliss and Theo, obviously taken some years ago. But why would Melly have a photo of them? she asked herself, and as the answer suddenly screamed at her, she dropped heavily onto the bed. Could they be the people Melly had known as Mummy and Daddy? If they were, it meant that Melly was . . . her daughter – little Dottie, the child they had stolen from her so long ago.
Suddenly everything began to fall into place. The blonde hair and eyes the colour of bluebells. The dimple in her cheek – all so like Karl’s, her father’s. It was incredible and yet how else could it be explained?
Without really thinking what she was doing she began to open drawers and soon she found a photo album. It was full of Fliss and Theo happily holding a baby girl. Her baby girl – there was no mistaking her. The last glimpse she had had of Dottie’s face was carved into Adina’s memory for all time, and even now, after all these years, she would have recognised her amongst a million baby photos. As she turned the pages there was Melly at different stages of her life. On one page she was a toddler; old Mrs Montgomery was in the background of that one too, and now there could be no mistake. Melly had said that her grandmother had died whilst she was still quite young, which tied in with the photographs.
And then there was one of her on her first day at school, proudly showing off her new satchel. One of her on a bike and another of her opening her Christmas presents. As Adina slowly turned the pages she saw her daughter at various stages of her life growing up before her very eyes and her throat clogged with tears. No wonder she had felt so drawn to her the first time she had met her – but why had she never realised who she was before? The signs had all been there but somehow Adina had missed them. And now what was she to do about it? Her first instinct was to pour her heart out to Melly and tell her everything the second she set foot through the door, but she knew that she must think this through first. She musn’t let her heart rule her head. Carefully replacing the album exactly where she had found it, she crept from the room, her heart bursting with joy. Somehow, after all these long years, she had found her daughter again. Perhaps there was a God, after all?
When she heard Melly enter the hall that evening it was all she could do not to rush out and hug her, but she forced herself to be calm and greeted her as she always did.
‘Brrr, it’s freezing out there. I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t have snow,’ Melly laughed as she kicked her boots off. Her cheeks were glowing with the cold and suddenly Adina found herself staring at a female version of Karl.
‘Come down to the kitchen. I’ve got a pan of chicken soup on. That will warm you up,’ she said, trying to act as normally as possible.
Melly hung her coat and scarf on the hall-stand and, blowing into her hands, she followed her downstairs.
‘Richard will be here for twelve o’clock tomorrow. Is that all right?’ Before Adina could reply, she went on excitedly, ‘He’s so looking forward to meeting you. I’ve told him how good you’ve been to me.’
‘Rubbish. It’s you that is good to me. You’ve been such a great help since you arrived,’ Adina denied.
‘I’m sure you’re both going to get on,’ Melly rushed on. ‘Once you’ve met him you’ll see why I love him so much.’
‘I dare say I shall,’ Adina said as she ladled the aromatic chicken soup into a bowl. ‘Now get this down you, and then you can go and have a nice hot bath.’
‘You sounded just like Mummy then,’ Melly chuckled and Adina felt as if someone was plunging a knife into her heart, but she said nothing. She had never heard Melly say so much as one single bad word against Fliss or Theo, and she knew that she would have to feel her way very carefully before making a decision about what she should do. Even so, as she looked across at the girl, a surge of love powered through her. Her daughter was somehow miraculously back where she belonged – and for now that was enough.
Chapter Forty-Nine
The Christmas Day that Adina spent with Melly and her fiancé was as near to perfect as it could be. Richard Wilson, Melly’s fiancé, was a lovely young man, tall dark and handsome, and the love that passed between them each time they glanced at each other was so touching to see that it brought a lump to Adina’s throat. She couldn’t have chosen a more wonderful young man for her daughter if she had set out to do it, and she somehow knew that Richard would cherish her.
The Christmas dinner was delicious. She had cooked a huge turkey which Melly declared would feed them for days, and served it with all the trimmings. There were crispy roast potatoes and juicy roast parsnips, brussel sprouts and carrots, and so many other dishes to choose from that Richard scratched his head, wondering just how much he could eat. They pulled Christmas crackers and wore paper hats, and the house rang with laughter as they read out silly jokes. Following the main course, Adina served a huge Christmas pudding that she had had soaking in brandy for weeks, and once Richard had polished off his second helping he leaned back in his seat and rubbed his stomach uncomfortably.
‘Aw, I shan’t be able to eat again for at least a week,’ he groaned.
‘Serves yourself right for making such a pig of yourself,’ Melly giggled as she poked him in the ribs, and he caught her hand and squeezed it tenderly.
‘Right now, how about you two go up into the drawing room and watch a film on the television?’ Adina suggested. Melly and Richard had noticed that she had done little more than pick at her dinner but tactfully refrained from saying anything until the meal was over.
‘Certainly not, we’re going to help you clear away,’ Melly said, and then, ‘but you’ve hardly eaten enough to keep a sparrow alive.’ She started to gather the dirty dishes together. ‘No wonder you’re so thin.’
‘Rubbish,’ Dina retorted. ‘And you can leave those things for now. We’ll tackle them later. Come on, let’s go and have a sherry.’
‘Hmm, if you put it that way, why not?’ Melly grinned. It was Christmas Day, after all. They all happily trooped off into the drawing room and the young lovers were soon comfortably settled on the new leather-look sofa with generous glasses of sherry in their hand.
‘Ah, you can’t beat old Bing Crosby,’ Melly sighed contentedly after watching White Christmas for at least the fourth time in as many years. ‘Daddy always said Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a Bing Crosby film on the television.’
Adina felt a surge of jealousy as she heard Melly talking so affectionately about Theo, but she remained silent. It still hurt her to think of the time she had missed with her daughter – a time that she could never recover – but she intended to make the most of every second now.
They spent a pleasant afternoon watching TV and nibbling chocolates, and then Richard shocked them all at teatime when he polished off two dishes full of Beattie’s delicious strawberry trifle and two mince pies. Although she had retired, Beattie still called round regularly to make Adina the odd treat, and she had made these the day before she set off to spend Christmas with her family.
‘I thought you weren’t going to eat again for at least
a week?’ Melly teased.
‘I’m just filling a hole.’ Looking at Adina, he winked cheekily. ‘It’s a good job I don’t live with you, Miss Schwartz. I’d be as fat as a pig in no time.’
‘I’m just glad that you’ve enjoyed it,’ Adina replied with a wide smile, and with that she helped herself to another small glass of sherry and settled further down into her seat with a contented sigh.
When it was time for Richard to go to the hospital, Adina was sorry to see him leave. She and the handsome young man had hit it off right away and she hoped that she would see him again.
‘Now don’t be a stranger,’ she told him as she showed him to the door with Melly. ‘Call in whenever you like.’
‘I will, Miss Schwartz, and thank you for a wonderful day. I can’t remember when I last had such a lovely meal. You are almost as good a cook as my mum is,’ he, teased, then planted a kiss on her cheek. She blushed furiously as she told him, ‘Call me Dina, please. Everyone else does.’ She then slipped away to leave the lovers to have a moment to themselves. It had been a truly enjoyable day, and now that she had her daughter back under her roof, she had an idea that there would be many more to come.
Beryl called in to see her two days after New Year’s Day. ‘So what’s put the smile on your face then?’ she asked plonking herself down at the kitchen table. She loved being a vicar’s wife and it never failed to amaze Adina how happy she always seemed, even though she was usually run off her feet organising one thing or another.
‘Oh, I suppose I’ve still got the Christmas feeling on me,’ Dina told her vaguely.
‘Good, I’m pleased to hear it. But have you made an appointment with the doctor yet?’
‘I have, as a matter of fact.’ Adina grinned at her friend’s surprised expression as she loaded some ginger biscuits onto a plate. ‘I’m going to see him in the morning, as it happens.’
A Band of Steel Page 40