A Rose and a Promise, page 27
‘Liver and onions, please,’ said Cadi promptly. ‘I need all the energy I can get.’
Aled smiled sympathetically. ‘Them’s the joys of motherhood.’
‘He’s a big boy with a fine set of lungs, and he’s not shy of letting you know what he wants, whether it be food, a fresh nappy or a nap.’
Aled leaned forward. ‘Sounds like you do more work now than you did in the WAAF.’
She blew her cheeks out. ‘Way more. At least the WAAF allow you proper breaks with a good night’s kip. Oscar’s a hard taskmaster, but he’s worth it.’
Aled went to place their order at the bar and returned a few moments later.
‘I quite fancied liver and onions myself.’ He ran his tongue over his lips. ‘You can’t beat a bit of onion gravy, and the stuff they make here is way better than the dishwater they serve up in the RAF.’
‘Kitty says it’s because they’re providing for fewer people, which makes sense when you think about it.’ She smiled softly at him. ‘I know better than to ask, but I can’t help it. Do you know what’s going on? With the war, I mean. Only with them cancelling everyone’s leave, it looks like summat big is about to happen.’
He drew a deep breath, contemplating his answer. He knew a lot more than he was prepared to say, because rumours were quick to spread, no matter how much people swore they would keep the information to themselves. ‘I suppose the answer would be to watch this space. I’d love to be able to give you a timeline, but it’s a bit like the age-old question, “How long is a piece of string?” I can only say that things are definitely coming to a head, but I suppose I’m not telling you anything you can’t work out for yourself.’
She smiled gratefully. ‘You’re not, but it’s nice to have my thoughts confirmed. I can’t believe it’s been nearly a year since Jez’s passing.’
Aled shook his head, stern-faced. ‘Me neither. I remember it as though it were only yesterday …’ He broke off, giving her an apologetic grimace. ‘I’m guessing it’s the same for you too.’
‘Very much so. I’m hopeful that it’ll get easier with time, but having said that, Oscar’s proving to be a marvellous distraction, even though every time I look into Oscar’s eyes I see Jez looking back at me, so I have a constant reminder of the love I lost – not that I need one.’
They had been so deep in conversation that neither of them had noticed the barmaid approaching with their meals. Now she placed their plates down, along with the cutlery, and addressed them. ‘Can I get you anything else?’
They both declined her offer, and Aled waited for her to walk away before continuing with their conversation. ‘That must be tough. Or does it make it easier?’
She shrugged. ‘I’d say it’s six of one and half a dozen of the other.’ She sprinkled salt over her meal. ‘How about you? Do you think it’s got any easier with time?’
‘In my opinion a year’s too soon,’ said Aled, ‘and besides, you don’t really have time to grieve when you’re up to your neck in the thick of things. Which I suppose is why you were hungry for distractions.’
‘Bill always said you have to have time to think in order to process things and move on,’ said Cadi, ‘and now that I’ve done just that, I can see that he’s right: it does make things a little easier. I used to feel guilty about being here when Jez isn’t, but Oscar changed all that, because if I wasn’t here he wouldn’t be either.’
‘I too used to feel guilty, but when Tom reminded me that Jez would give anything to be in my position I realised that I should appreciate how lucky I am to be alive.’
‘Exactly! Even knowing there was nothing you could have done, you still have to go through the process.’
Aled swallowed his mouthful of food before agreeing wholeheartedly. ‘You have to come to terms with your emotion, and some find that harder to do than others.’
Cadi nodded. ‘Absolutely. I found it easier to cope with Carrie’s loss than I did Jez’s, because whilst I loved Carrie I was in love with Jez, so was more emotionally invested, and that’s why I found his passing harder.’
‘Grief is a funny old thing,’ said Aled. ‘Some people bury it deep inside, whilst others mourn for the rest of their lives, like Queen Victoria.’
‘I think that’s why Jez made me promise not to die a widow. He couldn’t stand the thought of me spending the rest of my life grieving.’
‘He’s right. And that’s why I think running your own pub is a marvellous idea, provided you have plenty of staff to help you.’
‘Good. But just because I’m thinking about moving on, it doesn’t mean to say I’ve any desire to find myself a new husband. I honestly can’t ever see that happening.’
Aled furrowed his brow. ‘I don’t think anyone would expect you to be thinking about that sort of thing for a long while yet.’
‘For a lot of women, being married epitomises happiness, but I don’t see life like that,’ said Cadi. ‘For me, happiness is being surrounded by the people I love.’
Aled raised his glass to make a toast. ‘Amen to that.’
By the time they finished their meal, Maria had returned with a sleeping Oscar. She placed a finger to her lips as she walked over to join them.
‘I’ll take him through to the room, if that’s all right with you,’ she said quietly. ‘It seems a pity to wake him up when he’s sound asleep.’
Cadi smiled appreciatively. ‘Thanks, Maria.’
Aled rose slightly in his chair, so that he might take one last peek at the sleeping infant. ‘He’s the spit of Jez!’
Cadi’s eyes shone as she gazed lovingly at her son. ‘He has the same colour hair, and I’m sure it’s beginning to curl.’
Waving to indicate that she was about to take the baby through, Maria said her goodbyes to Aled. ‘Take care, luv, and be sure to call in if you’re ever in Liverpool,’ she finished.
‘Wild horses wouldn’t keep me away.’
As Maria left, Aled glanced at his watch before turning rueful eyes towards Cadi. ‘I’m afraid I’m going to have to shoot off myself.’
Cadi nodded sorrowfully. She had very much enjoyed Aled’s company, and had completely forgotten he had to go back to Finningley. ‘I wish you weren’t going off in a plane,’ she said quietly. ‘I hate to think of you on your own in the back of that thing with God knows what going on around you.’
He smiled briefly as he stood up. ‘You thought Jez was safe because he was a mechanic, but in truth it’s the luck of the draw. Jez was bloody unlucky, but that doesn’t mean to say that I will be too.’
She followed Aled out of the pub to his car. ‘I know. I just wish I knew how many more sorties you’d be going on, so that I could count you down to safety.’
He placed his hands on her shoulders. ‘Too many to mention, but hopefully not for too much longer.’
Cadi tried her best to appear cheerful. ‘I’ll set a date for the christening, just as soon as they declare peace, because even though actual demobbing will take an age, I can’t see them refusing people leave in the meantime, not after everything they’ve done for their country.’
He winked at her. ‘I’ll play the farmer’s son card; tell them I’ve got to get back home to help the old man out.’
‘Do you ever wish you’d stayed in Rhos?’
He shook his head decidedly. ‘Not in a million years. Although it would’ve saved you an awful lot of bother if I had, cos I’d never have met Daphne, and you and Jez wouldn’t have had to go through everything you did as a consequence.’
She gave a half-shoulder shrug. ‘What’s life without a bit of drama?’
Gazing affectionately down at her, he hesitated momentarily before pulling her into a warm embrace. ‘Goodbye, Cadi Thomas. Be sure to take care of yourself as well as little Oscar.’
Leaning back, her smile wavered ever so slightly. ‘I promise. Mind how you go, Aled.’
She lifted her hand in farewell as she watched Aled drive away. Had she seen her friends for the last time, or would the heavens smile favourably on them all?
Chapter Nine
April 1945
It had been weeks since Aled saw Cadi last, and the crew were gearing up for what would turn out to be the last bombing campaign of the war.
Aled knew that the success of their raids meant the difference between defeat and victory, and accordingly he had aged considerably in a short space of time. The Americans had referred to the bombing of Dresden as a ‘home run’, and even though Aled was pleased that the mission had proved successful, he couldn’t shake the images out of his mind. They had turned the city into a blazing inferno with not a building left standing; the sheer volume of devastation had been worse than anything he had witnessed to date.
Taking his position in the back of the Ulysses, he closed the blast doors behind him and gazed unseeingly through the glassless turret. Hearing the skipper confirm that they were clear for take-off, he shuffled around in his seat as the heavy bomber accelerated along the runway.
As they lifted off, he gazed to the spot where Jez had met his maker. He had got into the habit of dedicating each op and sortie to Jez’s memory, but today he did so with greater intensity than ever before. Because today they were heading for Berchtesgaden, the reported retreat where Hitler himself was believed to be hiding. He set his jaw in a determined fashion. The thought of the man who had created such carnage hiding hundreds of miles away from the action made him sick to his stomach. The dictator was nothing but a cowardly bully, who never dirtied his own hands. If they were to take him out today, it would mean the end of the war.
The crew knew that flying over Germany would be dangerous, and weren’t surprised when they met several fighters who tried to take them down, but Aled and Tom defended the Ulysses well, and it wasn’t until the return journey that they really ran into trouble.
Whether Aled had relaxed a little in the knowledge that the operation had been successful, or whether it was fatigue from the countless sorties they had carried out over the previous days, he couldn’t be sure, but by the time he realised the Messerschmitt was on his tail it had already fired off a round of bullets. Aled fought back furiously, and was euphoric when he sent the enemy hurtling seawards. It wasn’t until his vision blurred that he realised something was wrong. Glancing down, he saw blood running from several wounds. Hearing the growing concern in Tom’s voice as he repeatedly asked him whether he was all right, he managed to tell him he’d been hit before the world began to swim in and out of focus. Trying to stem the flow of blood, he was only grateful that he couldn’t feel the pain caused by the bullets. He heard Tom instructing him to stay focused just as a world of darkness enveloped him.
May 1945
It was the 8th of May and Cadi and Maria were preparing for the party of a lifetime, along with the rest of the nation. Having got up betimes, Cadi was helping Maria to swathe the bar of the Belmont in bunting, occasionally singing snatches of God Save the King at the top of their lungs.
Maria held the bunting whilst Cadi climbed the ladder and began pinning the little triangles into place. ‘Look at Oscar,’ Maria told her. ‘He can’t keep his eyes off the flags.’
‘I’m going to make sure Oscar knows that his father was a hero who sailed halfway around the world to fight the Nazis,’ said Cadi. ‘Even though at the time I hated the thought of him going away, I realise now that we might never have won the war without men like Jez.’
Maria smiled down at Oscar, who was continuing to stare at the different colours in wide-eyed wonderment. Breaking her gaze, she turned her attention back to Cadi. ‘Never a truer word said, which is why I’m going to put a photograph of him behind the bar, along with his medals.’ She glanced at the clock on the wall. ‘What time are we expecting Raquel, do you think?’
‘Around two this afternoon,’ replied Cadi, her voice muffled by the drawing pins she was holding between her lips.
‘She must be looking forward to seeing you and Oscar,’ said Maria, passing up more bunting.
‘When I spoke to her last night she couldn’t wait to get here. She said she loves spending time with Oscar because it makes up for the time she lost with Jez. She adores that baby.’
‘As do we all,’ said Maria. ‘Have you heard anything from the girls?’
Cadi smiled. ‘I have indeed. Poppy said they’re having a right old knees-up in Lincoln city.’
‘What about Ronnie and Kitty?’
‘Ronnie was granted a forty-eight within minutes of peace being declared, so she’s heading back to Blackpool. As for Kitty, she’s still in Little Snoring, but she plans on coming home just as soon as she’s demobbed.’
‘Everything’s going to change now that the war’s over,’ Maria mused. ‘Have any of the girls got a clue as to what they’ll do when they’re demobbed?’ Standing to one side, she waited for Cadi to descend the ladder, and together they moved it further along the bar before Cadi responded.
‘I know that Ronnie’s going to help run the family business: a tea room on the promenade in Blackpool. I should imagine Izzy and Kitty will come back to Liverpool, but I have no idea what either of them will do for a living, and as for Poppy …’ she hesitated as she ascended the ladder again, ‘I reckon our Poppy’ll be married before the month is out.’
Maria steadied the base of the ladder with her foot as Cadi stretched more bunting along the top of the bar. ‘I’m glad they’ve all come through this,’ she said, and hesitated. ‘We’ve covered the girls, but what about Aled? Do you think he’ll go back to the farm as he said, or stay on in the RAF?’
Cadi gave a small grunt as she pushed a pin into place. ‘No idea, cos I’ve not heard a dickie bird. I’ve tried calling his station, but the woman I spoke to reckoned she’d never heard of him, so I’m guessing she’s not been at Finningley long.’
Maria pulled a face. ‘Churchill did say that Japan hadn’t surrendered, so we have to continue the fight. Do you suppose he’s gone overseas to fight the Japanese?’
Cadi tutted under her breath as the drawing pin she was using refused to go in. ‘Damn and blast, I do hope not. But I suppose someone has to go, and there’s no reason why that someone shouldn’t be Aled.’ Her shoulders dropped. ‘And just when I thought everyone was home safe and sound.’
Maria pulled a grim smile. ‘If it’s any consolation, I’m sure the worst is over. Japan’s not as big as Germany. We’ve beaten the Krauts, so the Japs should be a walk in the park.’
‘It beats me why they’re still holding out. Surely they must realise they haven’t got a cat in hell’s chance of winning?’
Maria shook her head. ‘It’s all down to national pride.’
Cadi rolled her eyes. ‘So more people have to die, just so their stupid pride doesn’t take a bashing? Which it will do anyway, probably more so for them having held out longer than they should.’
‘We just have to hope they see sense sooner rather than later,’ said Maria. ‘Harking back to Aled, have you thought about approaching his parents? I’m sure they’d know if he were staying on.’
Cadi beamed as she pinned the last flag into place. ‘Good thinking. I’ll write them a letter, or better still I’ll send them a telegram.’
Maria glanced towards the door. ‘Go on. I can keep an eye on things here.’
Cadi jumped down the ladder and kissed her friend on the cheek before taking her coat down from its hook and bundling Oscar into his pram. ‘Thanks, Maria, you’re a star. I shan’t be long.’
Pushing Oscar along the pavement she smiled at the passers-by, all of whom looked as joyous as she felt. The mood of the city had changed considerably in the past twenty-four hours, and it occurred to Cadi that she was seeing the real Liverpool for the first time since visiting as a child. Thanking an elderly man for holding the door open, she wheeled the pram into the post office and joined the back of the queue. As she waited, she overheard some of the women in the queue ahead of her saying their loved ones had already been demobbed, and hearing this brought another thought to her mind. What if Aled was already home? He had joked that he would play the farmer’s son card in order to get demobbed faster, but what if he really had, and he’d kept quiet in order to surprise her? If that was the case, then she might be worrying over nothing, and she would finally be able to make arrangements for Oscar’s christening in a few months’ time, when she felt certain that everyone would be able to make it.
When she reached the head of the queue, she asked the postmistress to send a telegram to the Davies family, simply stating Aled. Please telephone Cadi at earliest opportunity. The message sent, she returned to the pub and helped Maria to bake pies and cakes for the celebration.
‘It’s going to be a party like no other,’ said Maria. ‘It’s such a pity that Oscar won’t remember any of it.’
‘We must be sure to take lots of photographs,’ said Cadi, ‘and every year we’ll get them out so that we can remember not just the war, but everyone we lost as well as those who came home safe.’
Much later the same day, Raquel was helping to get yet another batch of pies out of the oven. ‘I’ve not seen this much food since I don’t know when,’ she said, wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand.
Bill teased a small piece of crust off one of the pies and popped it into his mouth. ‘We’ll not need to eat for a week after we’ve got through this lot.’ He looked at Cadi. ‘Maria said you’d sent Aled’s folks a telegram. Have you not heard back yet?’
Cadi waved the steam away from the oven before putting a sponge cake in to bake. ‘Not a sausage, but I dare say they’ll be busy with celebrations of their own. If I’ve not heard owt by tomorrow, I might give the village post office a call to make sure that the telegram’s gone through.’
‘It will’ve,’ said Bill confidently. ‘I know there’s lots of people sending messages, but I have great faith in His Majesty’s telegraphic service.’
Cadi frowned. She had already spoken to Poppy on the matter, and they both thought that Aled would’ve been straight on the phone if he’d seen her message, if only to rejoice in the good news.
