I was glad to get home as I was weary and my legs were tired. For the past week, I had been having vivid and upsetting dreams about Danny. I could see him lying in a field and he was pleading with me to help him. He stretched out two arms and, to my horror, I saw they were bandaged almost to his shoulders. When I moved towards him, I could also see a thick white bandage around his head but what upset me most was the fact that he disappeared when I ran to him. One minute he was lying there and the next I was left alone in the field, crying.
I decided not to mention these dreams to Maddie. They were so upsetting to me and I could only guess how distressing they would be to her.
On my day off I went to see her at Perth Road where she had been staying since the baby was born. Daniel was thriving and, although he had her blonde hair, he had the same vivid blue eyes as Danny.
Maddie was restless. Seemingly she had to wait in for a registered letter from the postman. ‘It’s a letter to do with Dad’s business but for some reason it’s being sent here.’ She sounded annoyed.
I could see why she was disgruntled. It was a lovely April day and, although there had been a heavy shower earlier on in the morning, it was now sunny and quite warm. We could have gone for a walk if she hadn’t been tied to the house.
‘Mum and Hattie have had to go into the town – that’s why I’m on my own.’ She gave me a strange look and no doubt she was wondering why I had decided to pay a visit in the late morning but she didn’t say anything.
As it was, I couldn’t have told her why I had decided to come. I didn’t normally visit her so early in the day. My only reason was I simply had to see her and Daniel.
We sat in their sun-filled lounge and I looked at the river flowing, sparkling bright, beyond the garden. Maddie was giving Daniel his bottle and I heard his loud sucking noises mixed up with little roars of rage when he found his feed was finished.
We spoke about the lucky escape Minnie and Peter had. ‘It must have been a terrible experience for them to come out from the shelter and see her entire house demolished,’ said Maddie.
I nodded. ‘Not only her house, Maddie, but the whole area – it’s all gone.’
Maddie shuddered. ‘Somebody’s just walked over my grave,’ she said.
The doorbell sounded, a series of gentle peals floating throughout the house.
‘That will be the postman,’ Maddie said, handing Daniel to me.
I could hear muffled voices in the hall. I carried Daniel to the window to let him see the flowers and the river. He gazed at me with his bright blue eyes and gave me a smile. A smile so wide that milk started to dribble from his mouth. My heart turned over in emotion and I almost burst into tears as I wished with all my heart that Danny could be here to see his lovely son.
Maddie didn’t reappear and I became worried. Surely it didn’t take as long as this to sign for a letter? I sat down and jiggled Daniel on my knee but there was still no sign of Maddie. I was really worried by now so we went out into the hall. There was a padded seat beside the telephone and Maddie was sitting on it, tears streaming down her cheeks.
I suddenly felt very cold. ‘What is it Maddie?’ I couldn’t say, ‘Is it bad news?’
Maddie gave another huge sob and, as if catching the emotion, Daniel began to cry loudly. To be honest, I wasn’t far away from tears myself.
Then she looked at me and I suddenly realised she was crying with joy. ‘It’s Danny,’ she said, ‘he’s alive!’
I moved quickly towards her and she held out a sheet of paper. I then saw the registered letter on the hall table.
‘This letter has come from the Red Cross!’ She handed the letter to me and scooped Daniel up in her arms. ‘Your daddy is alive! Your daddy is alive!’
I quickly read the letter. It said, ‘Private Daniel Ryan is a patient in a hospital in Germany.’
I looked at her. ‘He’s in hospital, Maddie.’
She nodded, tears still streaming down her face.
I read on. ‘He was very badly injured in France. He has two broken arms, a broken leg and a fractured skull and he’ll stay in hospital until he’s fully recovered.’ It went on to say how pleased they were to send this news. There was another sentence. ‘Another soldier was also injured at the time but he has recovered. He will be taken to a prisoner of war camp. His name is Private Sam Malloy who we believe is a relative of D. Ryan.’
The signature wasn’t very clear but the message was. Danny was alive and so was Sammy. Danny was badly injured but alive.
Then Mrs Pringle and Hattie arrived back to a scene of utter happiness and, when she heard the news, Hattie burst into tears. I had only ever seen her cry once before and I realised then the awful strain she had been under, over her only son. Although she had never put it into words, Hattie, along with everyone else apart from Ma and me, believed he was dead – killed during the chaos of Dunkirk.
Well, the news spread like wildfire around the Hilltown, the Overgate and Lochee. My grandparents were overjoyed, as was the whole family. I went to Lochee to see Kit but I really wanted to see Ma Ryan. Maggie was there and she was over the moon to hear of the two men’s survival – especially when so many soldiers had died.
Kit said to me on the quiet, ‘Kathleen’s not going back to live with Sammy when this war is over. She plans to make a new life for herself and Kitty and, although the Catholic faith doesn’t believe in divorce, I think that’s what’ll happen.’ She looked over at Maggie and smiled. ‘Mind you, although I don’t want him back as a son-in-law, I’m really pleased the wee sod isn’t dead for his mum’s sake. As for Danny …’ Her eyes filled with tears.
In the middle of this commotion, I noticed Ma sitting by the fire. ‘It’s great news, isn’t it Ma?’
She nodded wisely and her dark eyes sparkled. ‘You and I knew he wasn’t dead, didn’t we?’
I nodded happily.
‘He’s in a strange place and he’s very badly injured,’ she said.
‘And our dark horizons, Ma, what about them?’ I asked.
She patted my shoulder. ‘One step at a time, lassie.’
I left them all rejoicing and went home to our own elation. Rosie and Dad were trying to help Lily with her homework. A large pile of books and annuals lay on the table beside her school jotters.
Lily’s face lit up when she saw me. ‘I’m giving Peter all my books, Ann, because he lost all his toys when his house was bombed.’
Darling wee Lily.
Rosie caught my glance and gave me a secret little smile.
Oh, I hoped with all my heart that our dark horizons had cleared slightly and surely life would get better as we all moved towards the unknown future.
Also by Maureen Reynolds
Voices in the Street
Teatime Tales from Dundee
The Sunday Girls
The Sun Will Shine Tomorrow
McQueen’s Agency
A Private Sorrow
Indian Summer
COPYRIGHT
First published 2008
by Black & White Publishing Ltd
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www.blackandwhitepublishing.com
This electronic edition published in 2013
ISBN: 978 1 84502 669 1 in EPub format
ISBN: 978 1 84502 670 7 in Mobipocket format
ISBN: 978 1 84502 143 6 in paperback format
Copyright © Maureen Reynolds 2008
The right of Maureen Reynolds to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the publisher.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Ebook compilation by RefineCatch Ltd, Bungay
Maureen Reynolds, Towards a Dark Horizon
Towards a Dark Horizon Page 40