The September Girls (61 page)

‘Where are they going on honeymoon?’ Jack asked when the pair had swept past them on the way to the bedroom.

‘Blackpool,’ Cara told him. ‘It’s a holiday resort, quite close to Liverpool. I’ve always wanted to go meself. Unlike the other resorts, it hasn’t closed down and is still full of life.’

‘Perhaps I could take you one of these days, Cara. I can always borrow a jeep.’ His tone was light, but she sensed a note of seriousness behind it and knew he wasn’t just asking for a casual date.

‘Perhaps,’ she said, just as lightly. ‘We’ll have to see.’

‘Cara, darlin’,’ her mother bellowed, ‘are you going to the station with the bride and groom to wave them off? Nancy’s offered to look after the children.’

‘All right, Mam.’ She got to her feet and Jack McGarry did the same.

‘I’ll come with you,’ he said quickly.

She’d been hoping to escape his dark eyes and admiring looks, but it seemed that wasn’t going to happen and she wasn’t at all surprised that she didn’t mind a bit.

 

‘Who looks after Bernard while you’re at work, Colm?’ Brenna asked at around seven o’clock when things had grown quieter and some people had already gone home. Cara had taken the children out for some fresh air and the remainder of the guests lolled around the house, waiting for the evening’s entertainment to begin. Brenna and Colm had the dining room to themselves and could talk freely.

‘A woman from the new estate by the station, Mrs Hall. She has a little boy of her own about Bernard’s age.’ He looked awfully tired, she thought with compunction, holding down a full-time job and having an energetic toddler to look after in his spare time.

‘I bet he was upset at first, being dumped on a stranger.’ She found it hard to keep the anger out of her voice.

‘He was a bit disturbed, yes. In fact, he still misses Lizzie. She was a good mother, Bren.’

She could tell he was warning her not to go too far with her criticism of Lizzie Phelan, but Brenna couldn’t resist another barb. ‘She couldn’t have been all
that
good, shooting off to America just because a good job came up with the Red Cross.’

‘It’s more than a good job, Bren,’ Colm said patiently. ‘It comes with enormous responsibility coupled with doing an awful lot of good for mankind. She left two people behind in order to make life better for thousands. That’s the way Lizzie is made.’

Brenna was tempted to say a mother should always put her children first and there must be something desperately cock-eyed about the way Lizzie was made, but thought she’d better shut up or they’d end up having a row. She said, ‘If you like, I’ll look after Bernard. Our Fergus is leaving, so there’s only Joey left. Tyrone’s only home occasionally and then it’s just for a few days. If you like, I’ll take the little lad permanent, like, so you wouldn’t have to bring him every day. You could even come and stay weekends,’ she added casually.

Colm leaned forward in the chair, eyes bright all of a sudden, the tiredness gone. ‘Actually, Bren, I was going to ask you much the same thing. Would you take Bernard for me? You see, I’d like to join up. Oh, I know I’m nearly forty-nine,’ he said when she looked at him askance, ‘but I could pass for less and they’ve already started calling up men over forty.’

‘You’re not going to fight, are you, Colm?’ she asked faintly.

‘I will if they ask me, but I’d probably end up driving an ambulance or working in a hospital. Will you, Bren? Will you look after Bernard for us?’ He looked completely rejuvenated.

She nodded. Although sincere in her wish to look after the little boy, she’d rather hoped it would come with Colm’s frequent presence in the house in Shaw Street, so she could feed him up, remind him what a good cook she was, how well she did the washing and the ironing, how clean she kept the place. Instead, he was about to disappear out of her life, out of all their lives, and they might never see him again.

‘Oh, Colm,’ she moaned and, to her intense horror, she began to cry.

‘Don’t, luv,’ he said awkwardly.

The ‘luv’ only made her cry more, bringing back memories of when they’d been a real man and wife and he’d called her ‘luv’ all the time. ‘I’ve felt like crying all day,’ she wept, thinking that she must have a smidgeon of pride left, as she didn’t want him to know he was the reason for her tears. ‘I managed to avoid it in the church, but it just came over me all of a sudden, our Fergus getting married an’ all.’

‘Our Fergus is going to be very happy with Fielding, Bren.’

‘I know, Colm, but he’s left a big hole in me life. The house will feel dead empty without him.’

‘Maybe Bernard will fill the hole, luv.’

‘Maybe,’ she sniffed.

He must have decided to change the subject. ‘That’s a lovely frock you’re wearing, luv. It suits you.’

‘It’s not a frock, it’s a costume. It belonged to Eleanor’s mam and she altered it for me.’ She fingered the fine material of the skirt. ‘It’s silk.’

‘Costume, then.’ He smiled at her affectionately. ‘You’re a very handsome woman, Brenna Caffrey.’

Handsome! She didn’t want to look handsome.
He
was handsome and so were her lads. Women described as handsome were usually middle-aged and over-large. Nor did she like being smiled at affectionately, as if she were a baby or a pet animal. ‘I’d best go down and see if Nancy needs a hand with getting the food ready for tonight,’ she said stiffly.

‘What’s the matter, luv? Are you all right?’ He must have noticed her stiff tone and reached for her hand as she was about to brush past him.

‘There’s nothing wrong with me.’ Oh, but there was. The touch of his hand had brought a thrust of desire. She wanted him! She wanted to lie in bed with his arms around her, wanted them to make love, then fall asleep with their bodies touching. A voice came to her from across the years saying words she’d thought were long forgotten: ‘
I see a woman weeping because she has lost her loved one
.’ It was Katie MacBride staring into a cup of tea leaves. ‘
Who is it
?’ Brenna had asked, but hadn’t waited for an answer because Cara, next door, had begun to cry. ‘
One day the loved one will return
,’ Katie had called as Brenna rushed from the house. Was
she
the weeping woman? Brenna wondered now. The entire reading had been about her: the fourth baby, the loss of something precious, the cruel betrayal. Everything had come true. The loved one could only be Colm.

‘Bren, are you all right?’ he asked again.

‘Yes.’ He
would
come back one day, even if right now it seemed most unlikely. But hadn’t Katie predicted it? She made for the door, but before she could open it, Eleanor came in holding Hector Ingram’s hand. In all the years they’d known each other, Brenna had never seen her look so blissfully content.

‘Guess what?’ she cried. ‘Hector and I are going to get married and he’s coming to Liverpool to live. He actually proposed to me in church and I accepted. I’ve been meaning to tell you all day, Brenna, but this is the first opportunity.’

‘Congratulations, El, and you too, Hector.’ She kissed them both, tried to pretend how pleased she was, when secretly she was so eaten up with jealousy she suspected her face had turned bright green.

 

They sang until they were hoarse and danced until they were exhausted. Now it was past eleven and the Americans would soon have to leave for Central Station to catch the last train to Warrington and the other guests to take buses and trams to destinations all over Liverpool. Dexter played ‘Goodnight, Sweetheart’, the final tune he would ever play on the Allardyces’ piano and Jack McGarry took Cara in his arms for the last waltz. They’d danced with each other all night.

‘When can I see you again?’ he whispered.

‘I don’t know.’

‘Tomorrow? The next day?’ He pressed his hand into the small of her back, as if trying to encourage her to name a date.

‘I’m sorry, Jack, but I don’t think I can see you again.’ Now that she was faced with making a decision, Cara knew she could never go out with Jack McGarry. She liked him, felt attracted to him, but today had been enough. She wasn’t in the mood for a romance, she wasn’t ready. While they’d danced, she’d kept thinking about Kit, comparing him with Kit. Jack didn’t come off worse in the comparison, except that he
wasn’t
Kit and it would be a long time before anyone could take his place. That time with Marcus had been an aberration. She’d felt sorry for him and it had happened suddenly, taking her by surprise, although she would never regret it. But Kit would always be the love of her life. It was something she could never escape from and wasn’t sure if she would ever want to.

 

The Americans left, amidst a great deal of kissing and hugging and promising to write, as well as quite a few tears, particularly from Nancy who was devastated.

‘What a day this has been!’ she sobbed when the boys had gone and there were just three of them, Nancy, Brenna and Cara, left in the kitchen. ‘I’ve never cried so much or laughed so much in all me life. And what about Eleanor getting married again! It’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time.’

‘Isn’t it?’ Brenna said, a touch bitterly.

Cara glanced sharply at her mother: she’d sounded envious. Perhaps she’d been hoping Dad would come home now that Lizzie had gone abroad, but he’d told her earlier he was going to join the forces. How awful to love someone as much as she’d loved Kit, yet the someone was still alive and no longer loved you.

‘Would either of you like a cup of cocoa?’ Nancy asked.

‘I would, but I’ll make it, Nancy. Do you want one, Mam?’

‘No, ta, darlin’. I’ll be off home. Is it all right if Joey stays the night? He was dead to the world in Fielding’s bed when I last looked.’

‘Of course, Mam. Why don’t you stay the night too? You can sleep in Marcus’s bed. It’s already made up for when Fergus and Fielding come back.’

‘But that’ll mean you’ll have to change the bedding.’ Brenna pushed herself wearily to her feet. ‘To tell the truth, darlin’, I feel like a really good cry and I’d sooner do it in me own house than anywhere else.’ She was out of the door before anyone could stop her.

‘I’ll better go after her.’

‘Leave her be, pet,’ Nancy said with a sigh. ‘If your mam wanted company, she’d have stayed and had the good cry here. There are times when a person would far sooner be on their own. Don’t make me any cocoa, I’d prefer a glass of whiskey. It’ll help me sleep. Me body’s completely worn out, but me brain’s still alive and kicking.’

They stayed in the kitchen a while longer, picking over the day, from the mist early that morning, to the party that night, and all the funny things and near disasters that had happened in between.

‘All in all, it’s been a really good day,’ Cara said. She thought of Eleanor’s radiant face and her mother’s rushed departure a few minutes ago. ‘Although it was better for some than it was for others.’

Wednesday, 8 May 1945 VE Day

The war ended on a day as bright and sunny as the one on which it had begun almost six years before, but on this day, the sun seemed even brighter, the sky a prettier blue, the air intoxicating. In fact, Cara felt a little bit drunk when she woke, knowing that at last the nightmare was over. After an eleven-month struggle, starting on D-Day when the Allies had landed in France, they’d finally taken Berlin and Hitler had killed himself.

Peace had arrived, the lights were on and once again people could sleep easily in their beds. Last night, she’d raced around the house tearing down the blackout curtains. It really was over.

She leapt out of bed and ran downstairs to the kitchen where Nancy was sitting at the table with a cup in her hand. She bestowed a kiss on the older woman’s head. ‘Isn’t it the gear!’ she cried.

Nancy nodded, smiling, although she looked tired. ‘I’ve kept meself going for today,’ she said. ‘Now I feel I’d like to sleep for a hundred years like Rip Van Winkle.’

‘Why not go back to bed now? I’ll see to everything,’ Cara offered. Nancy would be seventy in a few weeks. It was about time she took it easy. She didn’t know that a surprise party was planned: Brenna and Eleanor were attempting to track down all her old friends to invite.

‘You can see to everything tomorrow, pet,’ Nancy promised. ‘After such a long wait, I’ve no intention of missing a single minute of today. Any road, there’s sarnies to make for the kids’ party in Shaw Street and I’ve loads of other things to do.’

‘Whatever they are, I can do them.’

‘Tomorrow,’ Nancy said again. ‘I’d never sleep for a hundred hours, let alone a hundred years, but I wouldn’t mind a nice long rest.’

Kitty burst into the room. ‘The war’s over,’ she announced as if nobody else knew.

Cara agreed that this was so. ‘Shall we walk into town later to see all the flags and decorations?’

‘Yes, please, Mam.’ Kitty gleefully clapped her hands.

‘Sit down and I’ll make your brekky, then I’ll take drinks upstairs for Fielding and Fergus.’ The day had been declared a National Holiday so Fergus didn’t have to go to work.

‘I’ll do that, pet.’

‘You will do no such thing, Nancy.
I’ll
do it. And when I come back, I’ll start on the sarnies and you can just sit and watch for a change.’

On her way with the tea on the tray, Cara looked in on Sean. He had dressed himself in a short-sleeved shirt and short trousers, and was struggling to fasten the buckles on his sandals. He was three and a half and determined to keep up with Kitty, who was almost a year older and very forward.

‘Clever boy!’ she marvelled. ‘But don’t you think you’d better put socks on first?’

‘I forgot,’ he said forlornly.

‘I’ll be back in a minute to give you a hand.’

She knocked on the door of Marcus’s old bedroom. ‘Are you decent? Can I come in?’

The only response was a groan that she took as permission to enter. Fielding’s head was hidden under the clothes and Fergus was sitting on the edge of the bed nursing Harry who was nine months old, a delicate little boy who was sick a lot, although neither the hospital nor the doctor could discover the reason why, or why he cried so much and was seriously underweight.