Winter on the Mersey(34)
There were few other customers to notice his staff sergeant’s uniform, and nobody seemed to object. They had chosen this place because it was away from the city centre and in the opposite direction to Bootle, so lessening the risk that anyone would recognise them. Nancy hadn’t told Gary she was married, and hadn’t mentioned her son Georgie after that first night, but she let it be known that her WVS colleagues might frown on her being taken out by a soldier who had used their services, particularly when he was an officer. Gary had accepted this and had praised her discretion and modesty. That had made Nancy smile. Not many people had used those two words to describe her behaviour before.
Now she raised her glass to him. ‘Thank you, Staff Sergeant Trenton.’ She flashed her most brilliant smile and was careful not to spoil her lipstick as she took a sip of lemonade.
‘My pleasure, Nancy.’ He was tall, even when sitting at the old wooden table, which the landlady had polished to a bright sheen to compensate for all the cuts and scratches on its surface. His eyes danced with anticipation as he raised his pint of beer. ‘Your very good health.’
‘I hope so,’ she said. ‘And yours.’
‘I hope so too.’ He paused and seemed to be thinking. ‘Well, I might be in need of a bit of luck soon. Not that I can say why, of course.’
Nancy raised a carefully plucked eyebrow. ‘What do you mean, Gary? Is there something I should know?’
He shifted in his seat and looked around. Nobody was close enough to overhear them. He reached out and took her slim white hand in his large tanned one. ‘The thing is …’ He hesitated. ‘Goddamn it, Nancy, sitting here with you is enough to put a fellow’s mind in a bit of a spin. You got me saying things I shouldn’t.’
Nancy bit her lip. ‘Oh, Gary, you know I won’t repeat a thing. You can trust me, you know you can. Not that I want you to get in trouble or anything like that.’ She curled her fingers in his, suddenly aware of the warmth of his touch. She pushed to the back of her mind the uncomfortable fact that she’d slipped off her wedding ring earlier that evening, dropping it into her coat pocket wrapped in a hanky, after leaving Georgie with the Parkers once more.
‘Nancy.’ Gary’s face grew very solemn. His eyes were still bright but they had lost their humour. ‘You know what the rumours are. You’re in downtown Liverpool and all those soldiers around you all day long. You’re a sharp lady, you’ll know that something’s up.’
Nancy looked at him and nodded slowly in acknowledgement. She’d tried her best not to take any notice, recognising that there were always rumours and you couldn’t live your life according to what they said or you would drive yourself crazy. However there was no denying it, they were all saying the same thing these days: that there was to be a major offensive into northern France. It was what she’d overheard Eddy and Jack say when they’d been home on leave. The one thing at home about being the ditzy sister was that nobody expected you to understand veiled hints and vague conversations, so they just carried on talking when she was in the same room. But she wasn’t stupid. She could put two and two together as well as the next person.
‘Sort of,’ she admitted.
Gary held her hand even more tightly. ‘Nancy, I gotta tell you. We’re being moved out tomorrow.’
‘Oh!’ Nancy couldn’t stop herself from gasping. ‘Where? Or shouldn’t you say?’
He made a rueful face. ‘More like I can’t. I don’t know my whereabouts in England so the names don’t mean much. But it’s down south somewhere. There, I’ve told you far more than I ought to.’
Nancy stared down at the polished table top as the reality hit her: this might be her last evening with Gary; this lovely, strong, caring man who made her feel cherished and protected in a way nobody else had ever done. How bitterly unfair, when she’d really only just met him and was still getting to know him. ‘Oh, Gary,’ she breathed. ‘You’ll take care of yourself, won’t you?’
‘Of course I will,’ he replied, stroking her fingers. ‘Now I know you’ll be thinking of me, I’m gonna make extra sure I get back safe and sound. You will be thinking of me, won’t you, Nancy?’
‘Of course I will!’ Suddenly she thought she was going to cry. She mustn’t. Gary would be putting his life on the line. She just knew he was brave in the face of danger. She couldn’t let him leave with the sight of her in tears. She would shed them in private once he’d gone.
‘I’ll be thinking of you,’ he said, his voice completely serious. ‘I’ll see your pretty face before me and it’ll give me a reason to keep fighting and get back in one piece. You’ll be my comfort and my inspiration, Nancy.’
Nancy gulped. Nobody had ever said anything wonderful like that to her before. She struggled to keep the tears from her eyes and the tremble from her voice. ‘Am I, Gary? Am I really?’
‘Would I lie to you, Nancy? Over something as important as that? On my life, it’s the truth.’ He held her gaze. ‘You’re a very special lady, and I thank my lucky stars that I met you. The thought of you will give me hope in whatever’s to come.’
Nancy could not take her eyes from his face, the eyes full of solemn meaning, his strong but soft mouth, the little creases around his eyes and frown lines on his forehead that showed he was no inexperienced boy but a man who had seen real life. ‘I’m glad I met you too,’ she breathed. ‘What a funny thing, wasn’t it, fate bringing us together like that? Just imagine, if either of us hadn’t gone out that evening, we’d never have met each other.’