A Diamond in the Rough

by Marilyn Land

  Out of the corner of her eye, Lexi noticed Betsy and Lily staring curiously at her, as a few feet away to Jake’s surprise stood Tommy and Andy staring curiously at him. Jake never spoke of Lexi to his friends—it hurt too much. Lexi never spoke of Jake to her friends—she simply didn’t know what to say.

  To the four friends, however, it was evident that Jake and Lexi cared deeply for one another—it was plainly written all over their faces.

  Taking Lexi by the hand, Jake walked over to his friends. I’d like you to meet the two lads I went through flight training with. My two best buddies—Tommy Butler and Andy Barbour, this is Lexi Portman.”

  Andy nodded. “How nice to meet you.”

  Tommy reached for and kissed her hand. “Leave it to Jake to just happen to know the prettiest girl in the room.”

  His charm was not wasted on Lexi. “Thank you, but from what I’ve observed, there are dozens of pretty girls here tonight.”

  Observing that her friends had moved closer and were itching to get into the conversation, Lexi introduced Jake, “I’d like you to meet the gals that I’m in nursing school with and soon to be two of the best nurses ever. Betsy Bromwell and Lily Martin, meet Jake Lyons.”

  “The pleasure is all mine.”

  Of course, Betsy couldn’t leave it at that. “We’ve been friends for a long time; why haven’t we ever heard you mention the name Jake Lyons before?”

  At hearing this, Tommy piped up, “Ditto, we’ve been friends for a long time too; why haven’t we ever heard you mention the name Lexi Portman before?”

  Turning to Lexi, Jake said, “I think we’re being ambushed.” He introduced his friends to her friends. “Have a great evening; we’ll catch up with you later.” Taking her hand, he led her to the dance floor where once again he could hold her in his arms, close to his heart. When the song ended, they quietly slipped out of the ballroom.

  Jake retrieved her coat, and without saying a word guided her to the Lobby, where they took the lift to his room.

  By midnight, they hadn’t been seen for most of the evening, and their friends stopped looking for them. They were having quite an evening themselves.

  Barely inside the room, and unable to keep their hands off one another, a trail of shed clothing led to the bed. At first, Jake just wanted to hold her and never let her go. She was more beautiful than he ever imagined—his Lexi. His love for her encompassed his whole being, and he couldn’t imagine his world without her.

  They made love slowly and deliberately willing it to last forever. They explored every inch of one another, wanting only to etch in their hearts and minds their first time.

  As Lexi slept in his arms, Jake held her close, still not quite believing that they were in his room at the Savoy. He knew all too well they had precious little time before reality would once again part them. He could barely remember the last time they were together; it seemed longer ago than it actually was. They were so young and naïve when the War changed the course of their lives, but not the course of their love.

  It was undeniable that their love for one another had not only endured, but their time apart had drawn them closer, made them stronger, and deepened their connection.

  Lexi woke, and they realized they hadn’t eaten; they were starving. It was too late for room service, but the woman who answered the call told Jake to come down to the kitchen, and she would put together some nibbles and a pot of tea.

  While Jake was gone, Lexi freshened up and found one of his shirts to wear. She sat cross-legged on the bed waiting.

  He returned with an odd array of food, some of which may have been left over from the party. There was an assortment of cheeses, crackers, scones, slices of cold meat that didn’t look too appetizing, and a big pot of hot tea. They ate hungrily and savored every bite. Playfully, they fed one another and teased one another as they had when they were in school; all the while, thanking their lucky stars that had brought them together.

  As light snow continued to fall on London, 1944 arrived. They made love again and yet again; they fell asleep, their bodies entwined, just as dawn was breaking.

  Jake woke and slipped quietly out of bed. He showered and dressed while Lexi slept through it all. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he watched her for a while; not only had she matured into a beautiful woman, but she was about to become the nurse she aspired to be since she was a child. He briefly thought about the letter he had written her, hoping that in some way he had encouraged her to pursue her dream and not worry about him. He was so proud of her.

  As he leaned over and kissed her, she opened her eyes. “Am I dreaming or was last night really the best night of my life?”

  “No, my Love, you are not dreaming, and it was the best night of my life too. I’m showered and dressed, and since we didn’t spend any time talking last night, we need to do so. I’ll order breakfast from Room Service while you rise and shine, shower and dress, and then we can have our little chat.”

  Over breakfast they learned that each was due to leave London on the same day—Monday; it was Saturday. Lexi wanted to go home where she could change into something more casual.

  Without explanation, she said, “I’m staying at the house alone, so we can have our little chat there and decide how to spend the next two days. Do you have any plans? I don’t. Other than meeting Betsy and Lily at the train station Monday afternoon to head back to Birmingham—I’m all yours.”

  Jake grinned broadly. “Those are the best three words you could have said, second only to “I love you. Don’t ever stop saying them. I have no plans, so let’s make some.”

  Grabbing a change of clothes, they headed for the lift down to the lobby and out the door to the street.

  Arriving at the Portman house, Jake recalled the night they had gone to the Cinema in London to see the American film Strike Up the Band. It was actually one of only a handful of dates they had. The majority of the time they spent together was attending youth events at the synagogue. He remembered kissing her goodnight at the door. He also remembered their first kiss—when she kissed him at his Bar Mitzvah party. For Jake, that had been the best part of the evening.

  Lexi opened the door, and Jake followed her inside. Nothing had changed from what he could remember. She turned to him, “I’ll just be a minute. I want to change into something more comfortable.”

  When she returned she asked, “Do you want something to drink? I do have a little food in the house if you’re hungry. My father left me his ration books in case I needed them, and I did pick up some basics when I got here.”

  Jake reached for her and led her to the sofa. “I’m fine. If you care for something I’ll wait, but we must have our talk. I have so much I want to tell you, so many blanks to fill in. I want to account for every minute of the years we’ve spent apart; but most of all, I want you to understand the decisions I made and how I made them.

  They sat on the sofa; Lexi cradled in Jake’s arms. Slowly he returned to that awful night; the night that changed everything. “It was Rose and Rachael’s 9th Birthday and I had been working on a surprise for them—two rings with diamonds that I myself cut and polished. It was my surprise, and I had not shared it with anyone. It was as much a surprise for my father because they were diamonds that I cut and polished without his guidance. It was the surprise that made me late and being late saved my life.”

  He related his waiting and watching in the shadows of the destruction left by the air raid; to realizing he was alone with no family left; to Marcus Hirsch finding him at Max’s shop and extending him a life line. The next three days passed in a blur, leaving him with immediate decisions to make; decisions that would impact the rest of his life.

  Jake stopped speaking, and she felt him shutter. She realized he was crying. Trying to turn towards him, she couldn’t. He held her tightly, rocking her against his chest.

  After a few minutes, he began speaki
ng again. “I had turned seventeen only months earlier and technically, I was a minor. That fact alone convinced me that my choices were limited, and I opted to join the RAF. Marcus offered to take care of everything for me, including arranging the memorial service, and later seeing that they were properly buried.

  “I went to the house in Middlesex, and although I knew at that time that I could never live there, I decided that I would keep it until I returned home after the War. Knowing we were due to move by month’s end and how happy my parents and sisters were, was very hard for me to deal with. All I could think about was if we had moved before Passover, everyone would be alive.

  “After walking through the house, packing some clothes, and gathering the papers and documents I wanted to leave with Marcus, I sat down to the hardest task—writing a note to you. I couldn’t face you for if I did, I could never have left you. I loved you with all my heart, yet I had nothing to offer you, and above all else, I didn’t want to alter your plans for the future. As I wrote you out of my life that day, I sat there crying for my latest loss—you.”

  Again, Jake paused. Lexi offered to make tea again, but he declined. As he began anew, his story became light and his voice upbeat as he recounted becoming a Pilot Under Training posted to Stratford-upon-Avon, meeting Tommy and Andy and becoming fast friends, and how the three of them as part of a group of fifty traveled to Canada and down the east coast of the United States to the State of Georgia where he spent a year training to fly the latest aircraft available.

  He even chuckled as he told her about southern hospitality, foods he had never heard of let alone eaten, and learning how to jitterbug. “You were never out of my thoughts, and each time I returned to London, I ached to get in touch with you, but hesitated not knowing if you had moved on, and had someone new in your life. If I had discovered that there was someone, it would have destroyed me. So I took the coward’s way out.

  “Since returning from the States, I’ve been posted at Winkleigh in Devon, except for several months I spent in Scotland. With the War ongoing, and my squadron actively engaged on a daily basis—we’re consistently on call. There haven’t been many extended leaves, and with a one or two-day pass, I stay close to the base.”

  He released her so she could turn and face him. With a devilish grin on his face, he said, “Lexi, I don’t know how to tell you, but I do have another Love in my life, but it’s not a person. It’s my Spitfire Aircraft, and she’s a beauty. The first time I flew in a plane, I was exhilarated, but there was no comparison to the elation I felt when I flew solo for the first time. It was at that moment that I realized I had made the right decision by joining the RAF.

  “The hardest part is when we lose aircraft and fellow pilots. When Andy’s brother was killed in the Battle of Britain, he postponed his studies and joined up. His father is a barrister, and he has plans to go to Cambridge when the fighting is over and ultimately join his father’s firm. It seems as though this War has changed things for so many.

  “The past few months, the Allies have scored some resounding victories, and I so look forward to the War ending; it can’t be soon enough for me. I am so very sorry, I pushed you out of my life; it was the one decision I truly regret. Until I saw you yesterday, I didn’t realize how much I need you and how empty my life has been without you. I don’t ever want to feel that way again.” He pulled her close and kissed her.

  When they drew apart, he joked, “Let’s see what you have to eat around here; if you have eggs, I can whip us up a little something.”

  “I do have eggs, just three though. Is that enough? I also have cheese, scones and jam, and I have some soup. It sounds terrible all together.”

  For the next hour, they had such fun. They made an omelet with the eggs to share, accompanied with scones and jam, and hot tea. They didn’t talk about anything that Jake had told her; their banter was light, funny, and so natural.

  When they returned to the parlor, Lexi urged him to sit beside her. It was her turn to fill in the blanks.

  “I was totally devastated when I learned of the bombing in the East End. Told that it was your building that took a direct hit and that there were no survivors took my breath away; and for the entire weekend, I never left my room. I cried and cried. I wouldn’t eat; I was a mess. My parents were beside themselves. They didn’t know what to do or how to help me.

  “On Monday, I woke early and decided to go to Ivan’s to see if I could learn anything. While I was out, Mr. Hirsch delivered your letter, and when I returned home, my Mum told me you were alive, but you had lost everyone, adding that you left to join the RAF.

  “Of course, I was thankful, relieved that you had been spared, but I was also terribly hurt that you didn’t come to see me in person. I realized we were young, but we had professed our love for one another, and seeing you alive and unhurt would have meant the world to me.

  “What I have to tell you now will upset you, but please hear me out before you say anything. When Mr. Hirsch left, my Mum having seen my reaction to the bombing and having learned you left to enlist had second thoughts about giving me your letter. Before I returned home, she put the letter away. She had no knowledge of its contents, and wanted to spare me the heartache of waiting and worrying about you, not knowing how long the War would last. She wanted me to go forward with my dream of becoming a nurse.

  “I know deep in my heart that she did what she thought was best for me, but the ache I have carried in my heart, coupled with the inability to reconcile the fact that you left without a word to me were far more damaging than the actual contents of the letter or what she surmised the contents to be. My gut feeling was that something was awry, but I could never identify it. As a result, my relationship with my Mum grew strained, and I came home from school as infrequently as possible.

  “Last summer, my dear, sweet Mum was diagnosed with lung cancer. She died in September. I took a leave of absence from school, and I spent the last two months of her life by her side. It was shortly before her death that she told me of Mr. Hirsch’s visit that afternoon, gave me your letter, and begged me over and over to forgive her.

  “At first, I felt utterly betrayed, by my own Mum no less, but then as I read and reread your letter, I realized I had been right all along. My Jake would never leave me without a word, and it proved to me that although you didn’t feel you had the right to ask me to wait for you, I felt your love surround me. There is no one for me but you, and there never will be.”

  Jake was stunned to learn not only that Elise Portman had not given Lexi his letter when it was delivered, but that she had died the previous September. He wondered if Marcus knew about her mother’s passing. Probably not, or he would have certainly told him.

  “I’m so sorry to hear about your Mum. I didn’t know. And I certainly have no right to judge a mother looking out for her child’s best interests. Sadly, I’ve learned that war has a tendency to bring out the worst in all of us.”

  “Thank you. I miss her terribly, but my Pops is having a really hard time coping without her. They were together since they were children, like us. He left for Palestine with a group of other medical personnel two weeks ago, and he plans to spend three months at the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. He’ll be back for my graduation.”

  They both sat quietly for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. They had been through a lot during their separation, albeit in different ways.

  “I’m glad we spent the day making peace with the past and catching up. We’re far different today than when we parted—we’ve grown up overnight. “Robbed of our youth, we have to look to tomorrow. Never have I felt indispensible, but my initial guilt of having survived that awful night weighed heavily on my mind as I struggled to make the hardest decisions of my life. Then my thoughts turned to the possibility that God had plans for me. It’s hard to explain, but whenever I fly on a mission, I know that He is watching over me, and I feel safe. I can’t b
elieve, I refuse to believe that I survived only to be killed in the War.

  “I promise you Lexi, I will come home when the War is over, and my life’s goal will be to love you forever and make all your dreams, our dreams a reality. I want to have a family again; live a normal life again; all with you by my side.”

  Jake stood and pulled Lexi to her feet to face him. “For now, I have some suggestions for the rest of today and tomorrow; Monday will come sooner than we both want. I hereby proclaim today ours, and ours alone. Let’s ring up our friends and make plans for the six of us to spend tomorrow together in and around London ending with dinner at the Savoy or a local pub. Then on Monday, I can go to the train station with you, see you off with Betsy and Lily, and catch my train to Devon. What do you think?”

  “I think you’re wonderful. But what shall we do today?”

  “My plans are to make love to you for the rest of the day. Have dinner in the City, and go to the hotel, or come back here and make love to you all night.’

  Lexi answered with her kiss of approval.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Their Saturday couldn’t have been better. Although they ate at a small local pub within walking distance of the house, they spent the night at the Savoy. They rang up their friends before leaving for the City, and after reaching everyone, it was agreed they would meet in the hotel lobby for breakfast before setting out on foot for an impromptu day. Jake asked Lexi to tell her friends to dress casually, wear a warm coat, bring a scarf and gloves, and wear comfortable shoes for walking. He had a few ideas in mind with the thought of keeping their last day, before returning to the real world, upbeat and fun.”

  The London Underground known simply as the Underground or the Tube connects the London suburbs to Central London and forms a network linking major railway stations throughout England. The Underground serves North London much more extensively than South London as a result of a combination of unfavorable geology. Since the 1930s, the Underground has been London’s primary public transportation system.