Charlie gazed for an instant at his sister and then frowned. He jumped off the running-board and headed in the direction of the tree.
‘He doesn’t really understand,’ said Peggy gently. ‘I’m afraid you’ll have to give him a little time.’
‘Sure.’
But her mother could see that Rusty was disappointed.
Just then, a short robust woman in her eighties came bounding out of the house. A young woman, dark-haired and lean, followed her. The old woman flung the car door open and grabbed Rusty’s hand. She then proceeded to pump it up and down vigorously.
‘Welcome to England, Virginia. My, you look fit.’
One look at the beaming face of this ruddy, white-haired woman, and Rusty instantly couldn’t help liking her.
‘You must be absolutely ravenous,’ the woman exclaimed, and she released Rusty’s hand, opened the back door and proceeded to drag out the luggage.
‘Let me,’ Rusty insisted.
‘For the next hour you’re a guest, and after that,’ she added, throwing Rusty’s coat untidily over her arms, ‘you’re part of the family.’
Rusty had had no idea her grandmother was like this. Grandma Fitz and Gramps would just adore her. She noticed the dark-haired woman smiling shyly.
‘Afternoon,’ said the woman.
‘Hi!’
The woman laughed. ‘Oh, you sound so American.’
The young woman had a strange accent. It reminded Rusty of Maine.
‘I’m Ivy Woods. I’m billeted here, too. I’m from Plymouth. You’ll have to tell me all about America. I’m going there next year.’
‘Where to?’
‘Chatham New Jersey. I’m marrying one of the G.I.s stationed near here.’
‘Hasn’t he told you about it?’
‘Oh yes. But it sounds so wonderful, I don’t know whether to believe him or not.’
‘It is wonderful,’ said Rusty. ‘You better believe it.’ She turned to her mother. ‘I guess I’d better go inside. Grandmother will be wondering what’s keeping us.’
Her mother looked alarmed.
‘That’s not your grandmother. She’s still in Guildford. She doesn’t like travelling long distances. That’s the Honourable Mrs Langley –’
‘Beatie, if you don’t mind,’ interrupted a loud voice from behind. ‘If you call me by my full name you’ll die of exhaustion.’
Rusty turned and grinned.
‘You can call me Rusty if you like. Everyone BackHome does.’
There was a terrible silence. Out of the corner of her eye Rusty could see that her mother had become still. She hadn’t meant to say ‘back home’. It had just slipped out.
Beatie put her arm around her and gave her a squeeze.
‘It shows what a kind family you stayed with, to make you feel so at home.’
She turned to the others.
‘Time for tea, everybody!’ and she dashed back into the house.
Charlie and the little girl scrambled barefoot down the branches to the old rope that was connected to the tyre.
They stood inside the tyre and swung backwards and forwards.
‘Come on, you two,’ said Peggy. ‘Come inside and wash your hands.’
They giggled and rocked, ignoring her.
‘Well,’ she said, ‘I suppose we’ll have to eat those chocolate cakes ourselves.’
‘Chocolate!’ they screamed.
They leapt off the tyre and skipped wide of the vegetable patches.
‘He’s real husky,’ said Rusty, trying to find some complimentary adjective for her brother.
‘Husky?’ said her mother, startled.
Ivy laughed. ‘That’s what Harvey Lindon used to say, wasn’t it?’
Her mother nodded.
Charlie and the little girl ran towards them and stopped abruptly. They took one look at Rusty and started to giggle.
‘Hi,’ said Rusty.
They giggled again.
‘Susan,’ said Ivy, ‘shake hands with Virginia. Oh,’ she added, ‘would you prefer to be called Rusty?’
‘I don’t care. I guess Rusty is what I’m used to.’
The little girl held out a grubby hand. Her straight brown hair hung untidily from a side parting. Her faded blue dress was tucked into a pair of heavy black knickers.
‘How do you do?’ she said politely.
‘Pleased to meet you,’ said Rusty, shaking her hand.
‘Charlie?’ said Rusty’s mother.
Charlie had stuck his hands into his pockets and had been scrunching up the flannel in them. One hand appeared from underneath his shorts.
‘Oh, not another hole, Charlie.’
He swung from side to side. ‘Only a little one.’ He looked up at Rusty. ‘Hello,’ he said.
‘Hi,’ said Rusty.
They stared awkwardly at each other.
Suddenly Beatie leaned out of the dining-room window.
‘Come on, you slowcoaches,’ she yelled.
It was obvious that a lot of effort had. gone into the sparsely set table. Six small chocolate cakes stood on a plate next to two platefuls of buttered grey bread. A jar of jam and a saucer of whipped cream completed the picture. Next to each plate was a paper hat made out of painted newspapers. The white linen tablecloth was patched in several places.
‘This looks swell,’ said Rusty, trying to sound enthusiastic.
She eyed the bread as she sat down, hoping that the jam would drown the taste.
‘The National Loaf,’ said Beatie. ‘There’s a shortage of flour. It’s not very nice, but it’s better than nothing.’
‘I’ve had some already. It’s O.K.’
Beatie and Ivy sat at either end of the table. Facing Rusty sat Charlie and Susan. Rusty’s mother seated herself beside her.
Charlie gazed silently across at Rusty, picked up his hat, and pulled it on.
‘Now you’re the King of the Castle,’ said Peggy.
‘And she’s the dirty rascal,’ he said, pointing to Rusty and pursing his lips.
‘Charlie!’
He scowled and looked aside at Susan. .
‘When you two have finished eating,’ said Peggy, feeling it was wiser to take Charlie’s remark as lightly as possible, ‘there’s a surprise for you from Uncle Mitch.’
‘Is it ice-cream?’ exclaimed Susan.
‘It’s a secret.’
‘Isn’t there a present from Uncle Harvey?’ said Charlie.
Charlie fell silent and peered at Rusty out of the corner of his eye.
‘Uncle Mitch is going to be my dad,’ said Susan suddenly, ‘and I’m going to be a bridesmaid, aren’t I, Mum?’
‘Am I going to be a bridesmaid too?’ said Charlie.
‘No,’ said Peggy. ‘You’re going to be a page.’
‘Like in a book?’
Peggy smiled. ‘No. A page is like a boy bridesmaid.’
‘Oh.’ He paused. ‘Will Uncle Harvey be my daddy too?’
Peggy blushed. ‘No, Charlie, I’ve told you before. You already have one.’
‘Why is Susan having another one, then?’ he said crossly.
Rusty could feel the atmosphere tighten up. She didn’t know for sure, but she guessed Susan’s father had been killed.
‘Susan,’ she said, ‘when you go to America you’ll have lots of ice-cream.’
Ivy gave a relieved smile. ‘So Mitch tells me.’
‘Is it true,’ interrupted Susan, ‘that you can go to a special place and eat the ice-cream on a high chair?’
‘Uh-huh. And you can get all kinds of ice-cream. You can have it with chocolate and crushed nuts on, or a malt ice-cream or with milk all whipped up and served in a tall glass with a long spoon.’
Charlie scowled. ‘Mummy,’ he said, ‘she sounds like Uncle Harvey.’
‘Yes,’ said Peggy. ‘I thought that, too.’
‘I guess Uncle Harvey must have spent a lot of time here,’ said Rusty.
‘I’ve never seen a man adore children as much as that man,’ said Beatie. ‘He drew children to him like a magnet.’
‘Mitch too,’ added Ivy.
‘They were quite a pair.’
‘Where is Uncle Harvey?’ said Charlie, insistent.
‘I told you, he’s had to go away.’
‘Doesn’t he like us any more?’
‘Of course he does, but he has to go where he’s sent.’
‘Why?’
‘Because he’s a soldier, and soldiers have to do what they’re told.’
‘Why?’
‘Because they do, that’s all.’
Charlie glared at Rusty.
‘Couldn’t we swap her for Uncle Harvey?’
‘Charlie!’ said her mother. ‘Virginia’s come all the way from America, and she’s been looking forward to meeting you, haven’t you, Virginia?’
Rusty swallowed. ‘Sure.’
After wading through the bread, jam and cream, Rusty bit into her chocolate cake. It tasted like sawdust. She gulped frantically at the milk in her glass in an attempt to rid herself of the sickly dry sensation in her mouth, but it was all she could do to keep herself from spitting that out, too.
‘It’s powdered, I’m afraid,’ said her mother. ‘Once I get your ration book, we’ll be able to buy milk for you.’
‘Now,’ said Beatie, clapping her hands, ‘for the ice-cream.’
‘I knew it was ice-cream,’ said Susan. ‘I knew it was ice-cream.’
‘Can we come and help you?’ cried Charlie.
‘As long as you don’t eat it all up while you’re carrying it.’
As soon as they had left the room, Peggy leaned towards Rusty.
‘I’m sorry about Charlie,’ she said quietly. ‘He doesn’t understand. You’ll have to be rather patient with him, I’m afraid.’
Charlie and Susan entered, clutching old chipped bowls filled with ice-cream.
‘You’ll spill it!’ shrieked Susan.
‘No I won’t,’ said Charlie. ‘I got it tight.’
As everyone tucked into the ice-cream, Rusty withdrew into herself. She was vaguely aware of her brother and Susan making jokes that no one else thought funny. It was only when she heard her name being mentioned that she began to listen.
‘Oh, nonsense,’ said Beatie. ‘She’d settle down splendidly there. A lot of it is based on the work of an American educationalist.’
‘That’s what I’m afraid of,’ said her mother. ‘I think she’ll concentrate far better in an all-girl environment.’
Beatie caught Rusty’s eye.
‘You were co-ed in your American school, weren’t you? Boys and girls?’
‘Sure. Isn’t that how the schools are here?’
‘Beatie,’ said Peggy in a warning voice, ‘I don’t think this is the time and place to talk about it.’
Outside, suddenly it started to rain. Without warning Charlie and Susan gave a loud shriek and leapt from the table, followed hastily by Beatie, Ivy and Peggy.
‘What...’ began Rusty.
She followed them out into the hallway and watched as Beatie and the two children emerged from the kitchen carrying saucepans and a copper bowl. Ivy and her mother leapt up the first flight of stairs two at a time, and within seconds had dived into the bathroom and reappeared with tin buckets.
Rusty stood in the hallway as they thundered to the top of the house. She listened to the sound of their laughter, then turned hurriedly away and returned to the dining-room table alone.
Beatie was the first to stride back in. ‘Oh dear,’ she said breathlessly. ‘One of these days we won’t get there in time. I suppose,’ she added, ‘you’d better know what to do. We’ll have to find you something to carry up. Leaks in The roof, you see. Can’t afford to fix it yet. Fearful nuisance. Your mother managed to mend part of it, but she’s been so busy.’
Rusty stared down at her empty ice-cream bowl. She wasn’t really interested. If they weren’t interested in her, why should she be interested in them?
When tea was over, Rusty began clearing the table. Beatie, noticing how quiet she had become, whisked the bowls out of her hands.
‘No you don’t,’ she admonished. ‘Not today. You’ve had a long journey. Charlie,’ she said, ‘show your sister the back garden and the river.’
Charlie gave a weary sigh. ‘Can Susan come, too?’
‘Of course she can,’ said Rusty.
‘I weren’t talking to you,’ he said crossly. ‘I were talking to Beatie.’
‘Now, Charlie,’ said Beatie, ‘don’t be an old prune. These should fit you,’ she added, handing Rusty a pair of large rubber boots. ‘You don’t want to spoil those marvellous socks and shoes.’
She had actually noticed them!
‘They’re all the rage back home.’ She stopped. ‘Sorry, it slipped out again.’
‘Oh tosh,’ said Beatie, waving her arms about. ‘It’s good to have lots of homes. Means you can make one anywhere.’
‘That’s what Grandma Fitz says. She says if you put your heart and hands and back into a place, then it’ll be home.’
Beatie smiled.
She has such a beautiful face, thought Rusty. All the wrinkles around her eyes swooped upwards as though she’d laughed them all there.
‘I’ve heard such a lot about you from your mother,’ said Beatie warmly. ‘She’s been so looking forward to having you back.’
‘I guess,’ murmured Rusty.
‘It won’t be easy,’ Beatie whispered. ‘But if you follow your grandmother’s advice – Oh, Lor’.’ She laughed. ‘Now Pve started. I mean your American grandmother -you’ll be fine. Now,’ she said, ‘go and explore.’
By the time Rusty had put the boots on and stepped outside, Charlie and Susan had run off by themselves. She could hear them giggling conspiratorially behind one of the large hedges.
Apart from a tiny crooked path of grey flat stones, the large back garden was made up of several vegetable patches. Surrounding the garden were numerous fruit bushes and apple trees. From a shed came the sound of clucking chickens. A smaller shed stood near a coal bunker. Rusty pushed open the door. Inside were logs and uncut branches. She was about to make her way down to the river when she heard her name. She ducked swiftly behind the woodshed and peered out.
By the open window, Beatie and her mother were doing the dishes. They were talking about school again, and obviously disagreeing.
‘She’ll be home every weekend,’ her mother was saying.
‘You’d be a fool not to stay here,’ said Beatie.
‘I’d love to, you know I would, but I can’t possibly let her go to that school. It’s out of the question. Roger would be horrified.’
‘You don’t mind Charlie going to the nursery part of it.’
‘But that’s just playing. I want Virginia to have a chance of catching up with her education and not leave school unqualified like I did. There’s a competitive atmosphere at this school, and I think it’ll help her to settle down.’
‘But if she’s coming home every weekend, why haven’t you chosen a day school?’
‘I don’t want my mother-in-law and her friends getting their hands on her. I know it’s a terrible thing to say, but the War was one of the best things that happened to me. Look what a state I was in when I arrived in Devon. I’m so much happier and more confident since I’ve been here.’
‘I know, Peggy, so why on earth go back?’
‘Roger’.’
There was a long silence.
Rusty was dying to peep out and see what their faces were saying, but she didn’t dare risk it.
‘He was born in that house.’
“Bout time he left it then, dear,’ said Beatie jovially.
‘Look, Beatie, he’s looking forward to picking up the pieces there again. It’s going to be hard enough as it is for both of us to adjust to each other after having been separated for nearly five years. I think it’s important we start from a familiar base.’
‘But you hate that house – you’ve told me a hundred times. I’m sure Roger could find a job near here.’
‘Oh Beatie, don’t,’ said Peggy. ‘It’s going to break my heart enough as it is, to leave here. I…’ She stopped.
‘Come on, dear, let’s go and have a sherry.’
As soon as they had left the kitchen, Rusty came out of hiding and headed for the river. A rowing boat was tied up alongside a tiny makeshift jetty. Rusty slid down a muddy bank and stood at the river’s edge. As she gazed at the trees, leafy still with summer, she suddenly felt very cold.