Minerva

by June Hirst

  ‘Right we will start again. I am Sergeant Wood and I have come to see Sergeant Moxon. He is a friend of mine from back home.’

  ‘I’ll have to ask the M.O. He is still unconscious. Maybe you could sit with him for a while. Please wait there Sergeant Wood.’ Minerva felt that she had made a point. The sooner they were accepted, on an equal footing with the men, the better it would be. Suddenly a squadron of Spitfires roared overhead, just as the Medical Officer came to meet her.

  ‘There they go again Sergeant. There must be an alert. I hope that they intercept the bombers and shoot them down. I believe that you are a friend of Sergeant Moxon. This is a surprise as he has a reputation of only being dedicated to planes.’

  ‘I’m an old friend. We are from the same town. I was very sorry to hear that he was injured. I only arrived two days ago with my corporal to replace casualties.’

  ‘Come with me. You may be able to help. Can you talk to him about his civilian life and old times?’ the doctor asked. Minerva took a deep breath and followed him, clutching her hands behind her back to stop them trembling. Her appearance caused much interest from the patients, which she ignored. Martin was in a small room off the main ward. A male nurse was sitting beside him.

  ‘You are relieved nurse, the sergeant will take over for a while,’ the doctor said. Minerva took another deep breath and swallowed hard. Her heart was thudding and her throat was dry. Martin was lying on his back and his head was completely bandaged. There was a cage over his body to support the bed clothes and a drip was connected to his arm.

  ‘They call him Magic Moxon and it is a miracle that he is alive. He was buried under tons of rubble and had suffered a blow to the head. His clothes had been blasted off and he is covered in cuts and bruises, but there are no broken bones and no internal damage.’

  ‘Thank God he has survived. How long will he be unconscious?’

  ‘ I can’t tell you. We are feeding him through a drip as you can see. Can you spare some time to sit with him now?’

  ‘Yes I am free all morning. Sergeant Benson can manage without me.’

  ‘I’ll leave you then for a while. Hold his hand and talk to him. I’ll come back later.’

  Minerva sat down by Martin’s bedside and tears rolled down her cheeks, as she succumbed to the shock of seeing him again. Quickly she wiped her face and blew her nose telling herself to recover. She took his hand and held it to her cheek.

  ‘Oh Martin my darling please come back to me.’ She leaned over him and kissed his cheeks and his nose. I have found you Martin. It is Minerva. Do you remember Minerva? You pretended that you could see Minerva, the Roman Goddess,’ and she kissed his lips lightly over and over. Minerva the Goddess of Wisdom ran down the stony path and disappeared. I ran away to protect you my darling. She put her hands on his shoulders and lay her head on his chest. She could hear his heartbeat, but it was not pounding as fast as hers. She was holding the man of her dreams in her arms, but he was unaware and there was no response.

  ‘Recently I went to the mill Martin. Do you remember Perseverance Mill Martin? Can you hear the machinery? Can you hear the clattering of the looms? Can you smell the wool and the grease? Can you see the girls in their overalls and scarves and hear their cheeky remarks? I spoke to your father Joseph Moxon. I told him that you were famous. He was very pleased and proud.’

  She kissed him again and buried her face in the thick black hair on his chest. It was very hot in the little room. She removed her jacket and tie and undid her top button and collar. Her mouth was dry and she longed for a drink. She sat down again and held his hand and wondered if they had shaved his head. His handsome face was unmarked and she wished that she could see his startling blue eyes. She traced around his eyes with her finger and then kissed his closed eyelids. She traced a heart shape on his chest and the letters Minerva loves Martin, then held his hand and prayed silently, as she gazed onto his closed eyes. Was that a flicker, did his eyelids move? She squeezed his hand and was sure that there was a response.

  ‘Doctor, doctor, help somebody, please.’ The same white coated Airman answered her call.

  ‘What’s wrong is there a change?

  ‘I’m sure that his eyelids flickered and he squeezed my hand.’

  ‘Hang on I’ll fetch Doc. Brown.’ The doctor came immediately and listened to Martin’s heart, took his blood pressure and lifted each eyelid.

  ‘He is responding to whatever you have been saying, but he needs to rest now. Can you come back tomorrow morning? Minerva was overwhelmed. He must have heard her.

  ‘I can be back at the same time, but please will you inform me if there is any change.’

  ‘Yes I will. You have certainly stimulated him my dear. His heart rate has risen and so has his blood pressure. We know little about the human brain and he suffered very severe bomb blast. We must not rush him.’

  ‘Goodbye Martin I’ll see you tomorrow,’ she said and quietly left, ignoring the comments from the patients.

  Victoria was waiting for her bursting to know what had happened.

  ‘The doctor said that I was helping him and I have to go visit the same time tomorrow. Victoria I can’t begin to tell you how I feel. Everything seems unreal. I held him and kissed him and talked to him and the M.O. thinks that he is responding. I dare not think any further than that. Victoria hugged her,

  ‘I’m so pleased for you,’ she said. Minerva drifted through her duties in a daydream, counting the hours to her next visit. She slept soundly, because after all she must be strong and fresh ready for helping Martin.

  News had spread that Magic Moxon was responding to the new mysterious W.A.A.F. so that when she and Victoria entered the cookhouse for breakfast the men stopped eating and an eerie silence took over, as they all stared wondering which girl was working the cure, how and why? Gossip and rumour spread in waves. The W.A.A.F.s were also eager to know more about Sergeant Wood, but nobody dare ask.

  When Minerva arrived at their office Sergeant Benson was listening to the wireless.

  ‘The news is very bad Minerva. The Luftwaffe left London alone last night and about four hundred bombers attacked Coventry. They have flattened the city and even the cathedral is in ruins. There are hundreds of casualties and homeless people and a large number of people are dead.’

  ‘That’s dreadful Barbara. I feel so helpless. We can’t do anything except hope that our boys will retaliate. Even then it is a horrible thought, but they are the enemy.’

  ‘We have to remain strong and not think about innocent people being killed. They are not innocent really. They are our enemy as you said. We have won the Battle of Britain and Hitler cannot invade for the time being, so he has changed tactics and is bombing other cities as well as London. He won’t stop with Coventry,’ and she shivered.

  ‘You’re right Barbara they will bomb us and we will bomb them. Now I must report to the M.O. I will see you at lunch time, unless the M.O. wants me to stay.

  Minerva anxiously entered the Medical Block to be met by the same Airman.

  ‘Good morning Sergeant Wood. The M.O. said that I was to take you straight in. Magic has had his dressings changed, but there is no change in his condition.’ She noticed that there were no whistles today and the Airman had greeted her respectfully. Ah well that is one little victory, she thought.

  ‘I’ll leave you with him, Sergeant Wood. The M.O. said that you had to press the bell if you see any change.’

  Minerva sat quietly by Martin’s bedside just enjoying being close to him. She took his hand and placed it on her heart, which was beating fast.

  ‘Martin can you hear me my darling. It is Minerva. I’ve come back to sit with you. Can you feel my heartbeat?’ She decided to repeat yesterday’s treatment of stroking and kissing him and using the same words. When she traced Minerva loves Martin, enclosed by a heart shape, on his chest she again saw his eyelids flicker. She squeezed his hand. Martin my love if you can hear me please squeeze my hand. She could not reach the bel
l without letting go of his hand. She kissed him.

  ‘I’ll get the M.O. darling. She released his hand and pressed the bell. The M.O. arrived immediately.’ His eyes flickered again and he pressed my hand. He can hear me,’ Minerva told him. The M.O. nodded and examined Martin. He is definitely responding. His heart rate and blood pressure have risen again. Sit with him nurse and observe him closely, while the sergeant and I have a discussion in my office.

  ‘You are pale and shaken. This is a traumatic experience for you. We will have a cup of tea and then I would like you to tell me, what you have been saying and why. As I said yesterday, we know little about the human brain and we must tread carefully.’ Minerva felt drained of energy, as though it had flowed into Martin. While she sipped her sweet tea she remembered the M.O. at Brackston, who she had trusted and he had told her to inform her sweetheart, where she was stationed. This M.O. was an older man. He must have gone through the last war, but been luckier than her father. She felt confident that she could tell him the whole story, especially if it would help Martin. Feeling refreshed and revived she told him her whole life story and ended with meeting Martin and how she felt about him. When she had finished, she was amazed how much better she felt. The M.O. cleared his throat.

  ‘That is a very moving story my dear and I hope, that it will have a happy ending. In the meantime we need you to talk to Moxon every day, in the hope that he will eventually regain consciousness.’

  ‘I would be delighted doctor, but of course when he wakes up he might not feel the same about me, as I feel about him. Have his parents been informed?’

  ‘Yes they have and they are coming to see him this weekend. Would you like to meet them?’

  ‘No thank you. Mr Moxon was my boss, although he will not recognise me. I will see what Martin feels like when he wakes up.’

  ‘Thank you for confiding in me my dear and I’ll see you the same time tomorrow.’

  Every morning Minerva carried out her recovery therapy, as it was being called, and every Airman on the camp knew her name and that she was the mysterious girl from Magic’s past. She saw the Moxon’s Bentley arrive and she watched them enter the Medical Block. She felt deep sympathy for them. They would feel so sad and helpless. Victoria was very supportive and no matter how the other girls tried to wheedle information from her she just smiled sweetly and told them that there was no change. They were both off duty when they saw the Moxon’s arrive.

  ‘Minerva it’s no good moping about. You said that you didn’t want to meet them. Shall we go into York?’

  ‘No I can’t leave the camp. What if he wakes up when he hears his parents? What if he wants to see me?

  ‘O.K. let’s go to the N.A.F.F.I. We might pick up some news about Parky.’

  ‘I’m sorry Victoria I’ve been so immersed in my own affairs I’d forgotten about him. Come let’s go.’ They were able to buy a mug of tea and a piece of jam pasty, which seemed to sooth both of them.

  ‘When I am holding his hand I feel a pure uncomplicated tenderness towards him, which is very different from what I felt for Ricky. It is not just sexual passion, but spiritual fulfilment as well. He is my soul mate Victoria. I know that he can hear me and I pray that he feels the same.’

  ‘I’m sure that he does Minerva and the doctor says that you are helping him to recover. They were so involved in their personal conversation, that they did not notice they were the centre of attention, until Victoria began to feel uncomfortable. She looked up and met a sea of eyes all fixed on them.

  ‘Don’t look now Minerva, but we are being watched,’ she said. An officer approached them.

  ‘Forgive the interruption ladies, but I believe that you are involved in Martin Moxon’s recovery therapy. May I introduce myself. I am Peter Williams. Martin and I are good friends. We are all very concerned about him. May I sit down?’ Victoria was the first to recover from this unexpected situation.

  ‘Certainly please sit down,’ she said, but Minerva remained silent. They needed to make sure that he was a friend and not just a busy body. Victoria was skilled at interrogating people. She drifted off into her own daydream, as Victoria asked seemingly innocent questions to discover if Peter and Martin were really friends. He looked alright and Victoria was enjoying the conversation. Victoria was a good judge of character and Minerva knew that she could trust her.

  ‘Minerva you are daydreaming again. Peter is O.K. He is Martin’s friend. He is from your home town, but they didn’t know each other.’

  It was obvious that Victoria liked him. Minerva had not seen her so animated since her involvement with Parky.

  ‘If you are Martin’s friend I am pleased to meet you,’ she said.

  ‘Everybody knows that you are helping him to recover and everybody hopes that it will be soon. We all trust him to overlook the planes. I expect that you have heard his nick name Magic Fingers.’

  ‘Yes we have,’ Minerva replied and smiled at him. She was remembering how those fingers sent tingles, through her whole being, when they were dancing and how she held them every day willing him to wake up.

  ‘Did he ever mention me?’ she asked.

  ‘No but it was obvious that he was thinking about someone. Sometimes he was very quiet, as though he was alone and oblivious to his surroundings, and when Victoria said that you were daydreaming again, I recognised the look.’ Peter told them. Were you his sweetheart?

  ‘It is complicated Peter. We did meet twice, but it was a Romeo and Juliet situation at the time. It is very confidential, so I shall trust you not to repeat this conversation.’ Minerva replied and Victoria squeezed her hand.

  ‘If there is anything that I can do you have only to ask,’ Peter told her. ‘In the meantime may I escort you both to the Officer’s Mess this evening. We have had a delivery today.’

  ‘That would be lovely wouldn’t it Minerva? Thank you. We will look forward to that,’ Victoria replied and both girls’ smiles made Peter feel on top of the world.

  ‘In the meantime I am going to meet Mr And Mrs Moxon to introduce myself. I’ll tell you about it tonight,’ he said as he left them.

  ‘Wow Minerva I like him. Things are looking up. I think that I’m going to like it here.’ Minerva smiled realising that her friend had found a new man. She thought about what Peter had said and she was pleased, because there was hope Martin had been thinking about her.

  Chapter 17

  Minerva and Victoria had enjoyed their evening in the Officer’s Mess. Peter had kept his word and not revealed any details of Minerva’s relationship with Martin Moxon. He had reported, that she was an old friend from their home town. Victoria was very attracted to Peter and it was obvious that the feeling was mutual. The officers had hovered around Minerva, like bees around a honey pot. She had smiled and answered their questions, without revealing her secret. Her cool manner and detached, distant , look was mistaken for frigidity.

  Next morning Minerva again took her place at Martin’s bedside. She longed to press her body against his, to be lost together in a private moment. She sat quietly for a few moments, just imagining that he had pulled her into his arms and kissed her with a fierce hungry passion, while his magic fingers stroked her innermost core. For a few seconds she remembered Ricky and how they had reached the pinnacle of ecstasy together. No! She must not remember those passionate encounters. It had been a brief interlude of passion in wartime conditions of live for today, because tomorrow may never come.

  ‘Oh Martin my love please wake up, so that we can have millions of tomorrows,’ she whispered. She put her hands under the bedclothes and lightly stroked his bruised body. She kissed his nipples, traced around them with her tongue, and showered kisses on his brow, his nose, and cheeks and finally pressed her lips to his.

  ‘Martin my love it is your Minerva. Please wake up.’ From her sexual experience with Ricky, she had learned what aroused a man, but it was too intrusive. She dare not stroke his manhood. If he awoke he might be shocked at her forwardness. Lightly
she stroked his pubic hair and traced around his belly button, then she took his hand and held it to her heart.

  ‘Martin my darling can you feel how the nearness of you makes my heart almost explode. That is the heartbeat of love. I love you Martin I long for you to hold me in your arms and return my kisses.’ She sighed and shuddered, as she felt the wetness of sexual frustration. Then she stood up and took deep breaths to banish her faintness. Martin’s eyelids flickered and opened.

  ‘No W.A.A.F.s allowed in planes, go away,’ he murmured and slipped back into unconsciousness. Minerva rang the bell over and over in her excitement. The M.O. arrived quickly.

  ‘Doctor he opened his eyes and spoke. He said no W.A.A.F.s allowed in planes go away.’

  ‘That is marvellous. He is hovering on the edge of recovery. You are doing a marvellous job sergeant. He is obsessed by planes. He saw your uniform, but he did not recognize you, because you look very different from the last time he saw you. Can you bring some civilian clothes next time and comb out your hair? His blood pressure and heartbeat have risen considerably.’ Minerva sat down trembling with tears in her eyes. She blew her nose and raised her beautiful soft brown eyes to the M.O.

  ‘I’ll bring the clothes that I was wearing when we were dancing. When we met he said that he thought the Goddess Minerva had appeared.’

  ‘Well my dear she was the Goddess of medicine and healing, as well as music and wisdom. Will you try again tonight, when the dance music is on the wireless and bring your dance dress?’

  ‘Of course I will,’ and Minerva kissed Martin’s brow and returned to her other duties.

  The news spread around the camp that Magic Moxon had spoken to the new W.A.A.F. It was regarded as a lucky omen. Magic was recovering and a new era was beginning for the bomber squadrons. The bombing was inaccurate and a new technique was needed. A Pathfinder Force had been developed and the best crew at Bilton, with superior navigation and piloting skills, was going to lead the way and light the target. Peter Williams was going in the Pathfinder plane and Victoria was very anxious. There was still no news of Parky, except that he was missing from a reconnaissance flight.