Chapter Fifty-One

Aggie answered the street door and opened it to find Rachael standing on the doorstep.

“Hello Love ... Come in. Will ye have a cup of tea?”

Rachael looked thin and drawn, but her beautiful eyes had lost none of their lustre.

“Yes thanks Aggie but only if you’re making one ... Don’t trouble on my behalf.”

Aggie waved her hand in the air.

“Nonsense ... It’s lovely to see you. How have you been?”

Rachael stepped inside the house and Aggie took her coat.

“I’m alright Aggie, thank you,” she answered but she would have been happier talking to a stranger. How could she tell the sister of her love, that her heart was breaking? How could she hurt Charlie’s sister by renewing the heartache that she knew Aggie was enduring also? They sat down together on the settee by the fire and shared their tea.

“How is all the family?” Rachael enquired as she held her cup in her hands, warming her palms.

“They seem to be coping alright,” ...she replied and then she stopped talking for a moment ... “Well No I don’t suppose they are, really.”

“What do you mean, Aggie? Please tell me. I am anxious to know about all of you.”

Aggie looked into Rachael’s eyes as she sipped her tea.

“You’re a kind little thing, Rachael .and I wish things could have been different for you, I mean” ... Rachael was on the brink of tears, but she fought them back and furthered her enquiry as Aggie put down her cup and sighed. “Well, Willie is different That’s for sure and I should have expected he would be, but I didn’t, somehow You know men well, they don’t take things to heart so much as we women do they? ... or at least, I didn’t think they did but Willie ... he’s different and I’m worried about him, I really am. Sadie, well, we don’t see much of her, so I suppose she is O.K. and anyway, she has her husband and family now to take her mind off things like sadness and that ... Meggie is abroad and planning to marry soon, so I suppose she is alright. It’s Mammy I’m really worried about. She hasn’t been too well lately and has had to stay in bed quite a lot. Thank God for Tom. I don’t know what we would have done without him and I notice that even he is not exempt from a ‘wee tear’ now and again. I’ve seen him when he thought nobody was looking.” Aggie stopped talking and poured another cup of tea.

“Aggie ...How are you taking it?” asked Rachael as she shook her head to another cup from Aggie.

Aggie shrugged her shoulders and said nothing about her own feelings, because in her heart, she was afraid. She knew that soon she would be hearing from the convent and she almost wished they would turn her down. She knew she would miss everyone at home, more particularly now and she also knew that the chances of visiting Charlie’s grave would be NIL. The future she had longed for so earnestly and for so long, seemed glib and unimportant to her now. “Are you coping alright, Aggie?” Rachael asked again and Aggie grinned.

“I’m a tough old horse, Rachael,” she said shrugging her shoulders again, “Don’t worry about me.” But Rachael could see through the subterfuge. She knew the real Aggie Blair. She may think she is tough, thought Rachael ... but she was aware nonetheless ... that Aggie Blair was one of the tenderest and affectionate persons she was ever likely to meet. ...

“Aggie ....” Rachael lowered her head and spoke in a soft voice.

“Yes, Rachael,”

Rachael put her cup down on the coffee table and looked steadily into Aggie’s eyes.

“Aggie I’ve really come to say good-bye I shall be going away soon and I just came to say good-bye to all the family.

“Where are you going Rachael?”

“Well... you know my father was sent abroad not so long ago but he has been sent back to England now and he is based at Fleet in Hampshire. There seems to be some change in the war strategy and some even think that the war will be over very soon.”

Aggie thought about what Rachael had said and she thought of all the young lives that had been lost in the war; young, virile men, who could only obey orders, even if it meant a senseless death and she shuddered.

“So you will be going to Fleet to be with him then, I suppose? I hope to God the war finishes soon, I really do,” she said, “but I’ll miss you Rachael we all will.” Aggie said nothing about Willie’s feelings, although to her, they were obvious and Rachael went into the hall to take her coat from the hallstand.

“I’ll miss you all too,” she said quietly and stopped for a moment where she stood. “Will you please do something special for me Aggie?” she asked as Aggie helped her on with her coat.

“Of course Rachael ... if I can...”

The young Jewess hesitated as she straightened her headscarf around her collar.

“I know you will be looking after Charlie’s grave so can you tell him in the way you do in your prayers, that I am with him always and that I shall always love him.”

Aggie looked sad and the picture of the Carmelite Nuns loomed up in front of her

“He knows that already Rachael. We all know how you loved each other. God will take care of him now and YOU and your prayers are much more valuable than mine, I can assure you, but don’t worry about the grave. It will always be cared for, I promise.”

“Say good-bye then, to everyone for me Aggie. I’m sorry I’ve missed them.”

“Good-bye Rachael.”

Rachael had hardly reached the doorway when Aggie threw her arms around her.

“Rachael... Rachael, God bless you always, my dear.”

Rachael smiled “Shalom,” she said, “Shalom, my good friends .”