April 2nd 2010 – Parting at the Station

The station had been cleaned up since Chloe had last been in here. Moving through the automatic swishing doors, she could see her daughter’s father standing in one corner of the ticket hall. He was dressed in uniform and had his kit bag at his feet. The months of vigorous training had put some muscle on his wiry frame. Chloe thought he looked pretty good.

“What are you thinking?”

The boy nodded, pointing to the wall with his head. The girl followed his gaze. He was looking at a battered piece of sandstone. It was the memorial to rail workers that had lost their lives in the First World War. The stone was pockmarked in a few places. An inscription pointed out that these were bullet holes, caused by German planes in the Second World War.

“Seems impossible to believe that someone could be shooting at me in a few weeks.”

Tom sighed involuntarily. Turning round, his face lit up as he saw Eve in her trolley. She was smiling in recognition. Chloe looked on as the young Private bent down to talk to her.

“Now you be a good girl for your mummy. And daddy will be back to see you before you know it.”

The little girl was staring up at him with wide, trusting eyes. Chloe was glad that she had made that Facebook contact. In the last few days she had formed the opinion that Tom was turning into a pretty good father. She guessed she had always known he would be. They strolled onto the platform, looking every bit the close-knit family. But before they could grab a coffee from the shop, the train was announced. Tom scooped Eve up in his arms and gave her a big hug.

He didn’t need to say anything. Chloe knew that this was a big deal. She had seen the pictures of the wounded and dead on the news. She had watched the solemn crowds paying silent tribute to the funeral processions in Wootton Bassett. She couldn’t stop the tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. Leaning into him, her lips touched him tenderly on the cheek.

“Take care of yourself.”

The soldier gave her a little mock salute and with what he hoped was a reassuring smile, turned and boarded the train.