25. Life Goes On

The atmosphere in Mary Vale turned oppressive. Nobody wanted to make things worse by talking about Shirley’s departure, but there wasn’t a person in the Home who didn’t feel her absence everywhere they looked. They missed her smiling face in the entrance hall that she used to mop and polish every morning; they missed her in the kitchen where she washed up and cleared away pots, pans and crockery after every meal; they missed her in the dining room pouring out tea and handing around plates at breakfast, dinner and supper; and they missed her in the garden where, even in the winter months, she could be found weeding out the flowerbeds. Though young, small and completely unassuming, Shirley had filled the Home with her presence, which had been so gentle and benign that nobody had really appreciated it until she was gone.

It was sweet relief to have visitors to lift the heavy atmosphere in the Home, so Jeannie’s visit with a hefty hamper was most welcome. After struggling to get the hamper out of the boot of her car, Jeannie staggered indoors, where she was met by her smiling granddaughter.

‘Heavens above, darling,’ she exclaimed, as she lay aside the hamper to embrace Isla. ‘You’re the size of a house!’

Isla grinned. ‘I know: I swear I’m eating for an army!’

Jeannie looked with pleasure at her grandchild, who, in her final months of pregnancy, looked like a flower in full bloom; Isla glowed with health and energy, and her soft blonde hair had grown long and had a pretty shine to it.

‘In that case you’ll love my housekeeper’s hamper, full of all your favourite treats,’ Jeannie told her. ‘She made extra for your friends too. There’ll be a mutiny in my house if the government start rationing sugar and butter,’ she joked.

In the sitting room, warmed by a crackling fire, Isla shared out cakes, sandwiches and cheese scones with her friends, which they enjoyed with several pots of tea provided by kindly Merry Paul, as everyone (thanks to Robin) now called the genial nun.

Referring to the recent letters she’d received from Isla, Jeannie spoke gently. ‘It sounds like you’ve had a sorry time here recently?’

Emily, Gloria and Isla exchanged sad looks.

‘Everything happened very quickly,’ Isla murmured tearfully. ‘We never got a chance even to say goodbye to the little boys, and now Shirley’s gone too.’

‘The staff have been wonderful,’ Emily added staunchly. ‘Sister Ada keeps a beady eye on all of us, making sure we don’t get over-emotional and upset our babies.’

‘She’s a wonderful nurse,’ Jeannie said admiringly. ‘You can see it the minute you set eyes on her: so strong and competent but with warmth and compassion – they’re very rare qualities.’

‘We all love her to bits,’ Gloria said fondly. ‘I’m having trouble keeping Robin out of the maternity ward now that he’s found out where Sister Ada lives.’ She burst out laughing. ‘I swear he thinks Merry Paul sleeps under the kitchen table and Sister Ada sleeps in a cot with the babies!’

Taking a sip of tea, Emily mused, ‘You get really close to people in this place and then – before you know it – they’re gone from your life.’

‘I suppose that’s the nature of the establishment,’ Jeannie said.

Sensing their gloom, she tried to talk of other events outside of the Home. Not wanting to dwell on the recent depressing report of the Luftwaffe and German U-boats mining the Thames Estuary, she instead told them about the new film Goodbye, Mr Chips, which everybody was raving about.

‘I’d love to go to the cinema in Grange to see it too,’ Isla said, as she rolled her hands over her huge stomach. ‘But I know I couldn’t sit in a small, cramped seat with this big bump for more than five minutes.’

‘And I’d be nipping to the ladies’ toilets all the time,’ Emily laughed.

‘Never mind,’ Jeannie chuckled. ‘There is life after pregnancy.’

All three women briefly imagined their lives post-childbirth. Fearing the worst, Emily wondered how she and her baby would survive if George didn’t come home to them: where would they live, what would she do? Isla thought of starting her academic life over again, maybe in Oxford or Cambridge this time round; while Gloria thought longingly of returning home to Stan with Robin at her side and a new baby in her arms.

When it came to saying goodbye, Jeannie had a private word with her granddaughter. After giving Isla a firm hug, she said, ‘Not long now, my precious.’

‘I know,’ Isla answered excitedly. ‘I can’t wait for it all to be over, to have my body and my life back, but after all the ghastly events that have happened here I do wonder about the future of my child. Don’t get me wrong,’ she quickly added, ‘I haven’t changed my mind – I still want it adopted – but I hope she, or he, will be safe as well as loved.’

‘You made that perfectly clear when you talked to Father Benedict,’ Jeannie reminded her.

Isla nodded. ‘I trusted him completely,’ she said. ‘I’m quite certain Father Ben would always put the happiness and wellbeing of Mary Vale babies first and foremost. I wouldn’t be at all worried if he were still in charge.’

‘The sooner that good man returns to the Home, the better,’ Jeannie said, as she clambered into the driving seat of her car.

‘Come and visit me again soon,’ Isla begged.

‘I will, sweet child,’ Jeannie promised. ‘Even if the roads are blocked with snow, I’ll struggle over the fells with a hamper that will keep you all going till Christmas!’