Winter on the Mersey(96)

‘So, it’s time to say goodbye.’

She’d thought he was referring to his return to active service, but it soon became clear he meant it for good.

‘But why?’ Nancy couldn’t understand it. They were meant for each other, and he should be asking her to come back to America with him, not dumping her as if she’d been some toy he’d been playing with. ‘Don’t you want us to be together for ever?’

Gary had leant back against the pillows and stretched his arms above his head. ‘Now what makes you think that? Sure, we’ve had a swell time while I’ve been here in Liverpool. But anyone can see the fighting’s drawing to a close. I’ll be back home in America with my wife—’

‘Your wife?’ Nancy had exclaimed, going white.

‘Sure, my wife. What, did you think I didn’t have one?’

‘You’ve taken your time mentioning her,’ Nancy said, stung into asperity.

‘Never said I wasn’t married though,’ Gary replied evenly. ‘I didn’t promise you anything, did I? And anyway, you aren’t exactly free yourself.’

‘What do you mean?’

Gary had shaken his head and given a short bark of a laugh. ‘Oh, come on. That first night we met, you said you had a little boy. So I reckon you’re as married as I am.’

Nancy had felt sick. She’d spent so long pushing Sid to the back of her mind that she’d almost managed to convince herself that he didn’t exist, and had reassured herself that Gary would make the inconvenient problem go away somehow. In a matter of moments, her ticket to future happiness had disappeared in a puff of smoke. She couldn’t bring herself to believe it.

Now she sat on the almost empty bus as it slowly drove back to Bootle and knew that the dream was over. Damn Gary for his good looks and charming ways. He was no better than the rest of them. Gloria had been right – he had been too good to be true, but Nancy had been so dazzled by him she hadn’t been able to see it. How she longed for her best friend at a time like this. Gloria was away with ENSA, though, and not due to return to England any time soon, much less come to Merseyside. Nancy was back on her own.

Wearily she dragged herself off the bus when it reached her stop, the cold wind chilling her through her best clothes, worn for glamour and not to keep out the weather. She sucked in her cheeks in order not to give in to the mounting need to sob out loud. She wouldn’t. He wasn’t worth it. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. He certainly wouldn’t be crying, setting off with his men, leading them back to the final and decisive fight that he was sure was just over the horizon. He’d be laughing, thinking about going back to his accommodating wife at home. A fat lot of use he’d turned out to be.

Nancy thought this was just about as low as she’d ever felt, that life couldn’t throw anything more at her to make things worse. Then she rounded the corner into Empire Street and saw the gathering of people outside her parents’ front door, and two policemen.

‘Do you think you can sleep now?’ Laura asked anxiously as Kitty propped herself against the dark oak headboard. Her arm had been strapped and put in a sling, and she’d been told not to lie down fully as her ribs were bruised. The spare room at the admiral’s flat was the most luxurious she’d ever seen, with its plush furnishings and little touches of comfort, added to by Laura. A glass of water and some tablets were left on the bedside table in case she felt pain on waking.

‘Yes, I’ll be all right.’ Kitty was beginning to feel guilty at all the attention she was getting, even though she told herself not to be stupid. ‘What about you? Where will you go?’

‘I’ve got the admiral’s room – no, he’s not going to be in there,’ Laura said hurriedly. ‘He rang his housekeeper and had her make up the bed for me.’

‘So what about Frank?’ Kitty fretted, unable to accept he might have drawn the short straw after all he’d just been through.

‘He’ll take the sofa. No, don’t worry, it’s a very big and comfortable sofa,’ Laura assured her. ‘He wants to come in to see you now you’re settled. Is that all right?’

Kitty’s face broke into a smile. ‘Oh, yes.’

‘So I was right about him all along, was I?’ Laura asked, just a little smugly. ‘I’ll leave you two in peace, then. Night night. Or what’s left of it. It’s pretty well morning, but we won’t worry about that just now.’ She slipped from the room and Frank came in.

He sat carefully on the edge of the bed and took Kitty’s right hand.

‘How are you now?’ he asked.

‘Not too bad at all,’ said Kitty staunchly. ‘The doctor was marvellous, wasn’t he? Staying up for us like that. He’s patched me up good and proper. What about you, though? That was a nasty cut on the side of your head and you didn’t say a thing about it. I was a bit worried when you kept fading away.’

‘It’s nothing.’ Frank grinned. ‘Believe me, I’ve had worse.’ He tapped his leg. ‘Now that was pretty bad, I don’t mind admitting, after all this time. What a good job I had the false leg though. The ARP man took one look at it and noticed how crushed it was – if it had been my other good leg, I could have bled to death from the injury. So, in a strange way, it saved me.’