‘You all right, Tommy?’ Polly asked. She had been dozing but sensed that Tommy had woken.
‘Water?’ Tommy asked, his eyes looking to the bedside cabinet on the far side of the bed.
‘Don’t move,’ Polly commanded, seeing him grimace in pain as he tried to push himself up. She hurried around the bed and put the beaker of water to his lips. Tommy took a few sips, but the effort was almost too much and he was forced to slump back down in the bed.
‘What a state,’ he muttered, looking at Polly, who had started to dab his dry, cracked lips with a damp flannel.
All of a sudden, he reached out and touched her face. Having felt the outline of her nose, her brows and her lips, he dropped his arm back on top of the starched white sheets.
Polly looked at Tommy, puzzled. There were so many things she wanted to ask him. What had happened to him while he’d been missing? About his time in Gibraltar – all the stories he hadn’t been able to tell her in his letters.
But she knew that those questions could wait.
They had time.
Polly closed her eyes and let her mind drift to the future, imagining their life together – getting married, setting up home and having a family.
She hadn’t felt so happy or relieved in her entire life.
When the light started to filter through the blackout blinds, Polly sat up and saw that the matron was no longer snoring.
Tommy was also stirring.
‘Pol?’ he asked.
‘Yes?’ She took his hand.
Tommy seemed to relax.
‘Yer know,’ he looked up at Polly, his hazel eyes sparkling, ‘when I first came around, before yer got here, I thought I saw Helen.’
Polly smiled.
So, that was why he kept asking if it was really her.
‘You’re right. You did see Helen. She was here, just by chance.’
Tommy looked at her and furrowed his brow.
Polly’s smile widened.
‘I think she’s friendly with one of the doctors. I think he might be your doctor. It was Helen who told me you were here.’
Tommy nodded. His face scrunched up in pain as he did so.
‘You all right?’ Polly panicked.
‘I’m fine, honestly,’ Tommy said.
Polly looked up to see the matron heading towards them with a steel kidney-shaped bowl and a large syringe.
‘Right, young lady. I think it’s time for you to leave. They’ll have my guts for garters if they find out I’ve let you stay all night.’
Polly felt a surge of trepidation. She didn’t want to leave Tommy alone.
‘Go home, get some sleep,’ Tommy said, trying to mask the pain that had returned now that the morphine was wearing off.
Polly bent over and kissed him.
‘Chop-chop!’ Mrs Rosendale said. ‘If the rest of them see you here, getting fresh with your fiancé, there’ll be a riot on.’
Polly looked around at the dozen or so beds. She could hear a few of the patients starting to wake up.
‘I’ll come and see you later,’ Polly said, trying to keep the worry from her face as she smiled her goodbye.
Making as little noise as possible, she walked towards the swing doors, before turning to take one last look at Tommy.
Polly came face to face with a white doctor’s coat as she stepped out into the corridor.
‘Oh! So sorry!’ She stepped back.
‘Ah, Polly! You obviously managed to sweet-talk Mrs Rosendale into letting you stay the night.’
Polly looked up to see the smiling face of Dr Parker.
‘How’s Tommy doing?’ he asked, his face now serious. ‘I was just on my way to see him.’ He guided Polly away from the swing doors.
‘He seems all right. A little bit confused. Keeps asking if it’s really me …’ Her voice trailed off.
‘Come on,’ Dr Parker said, cocking his head towards the canteen at the end of the corridor. ‘Let me get you a nice cuppa. You look like you need one.’
Polly took a large sip of her tea and savoured it.
‘Mmm, that’s lovely.’
Dr Parker chuckled. ‘Not a word I think I’ve ever heard used to describe hospital tea.’
He looked at the young woman opposite him.
‘Well, it’s great to finally meet you, Polly. Properly that is. Not standing in the middle of a bomb site.’ His mind momentarily jumped back to the dramatic events of the previous evening, before forcing itself back to the here and now.
‘So, you say Tommy’s talking?’ he asked.
‘Yes, just a few words. He seemed a little confused, though.’
‘He’s been heavily sedated,’ Dr Parker explained, ‘and he’s been in and out of consciousness since he was admitted, so it’s not surprising he’s a little disorientated.’
‘But he’s going to be all right, isn’t he?’ Polly asked, suddenly worried.
‘All the signs are good,’ Dr Parker said. ‘Although it must be said, he’s been through the mill. Obviously, we had no idea who he was until Helen recognised him.’ Images of Helen’s face as she realised the man they had named ‘our poor chap’ was none other than the Tommy Watts rushed to the fore, along with her subsequent declaration of love.
‘Last night’s all a bit of a blur,’ Polly said, thinking of the aftermath of the air raid, ‘but I remember you saying that Tommy had lost a lot of blood and needed an operation.’
‘Well,’ Dr Parker looked at Polly, ‘Tommy is one lucky man.’ He smiled. ‘And not just because he has such a devoted fiancée who clearly loves him very much.’
His words were sincere. He only wished that it was just Polly who loved Tommy.
‘Not long after he was admitted he suffered a ruptured spleen,’ Dr Parker explained.
‘What’s that?’ Polly was suddenly reminded of Helen suffering a ruptured appendix. ‘Something burst?’
‘Exactly.’ Dr Parker nodded. ‘His spleen burst, which meant he bled a lot, but we were able to operate on him before anything too catastrophic happened. He could have died. As I said, he’s a lucky man in more ways than one.’
Polly didn’t know whether to be elated that Tommy had survived or shocked that he had been so ill he’d nearly died. She felt tears prick her eyes again.
‘I know you’ve had a night of it,’ Dr Parker said, ‘and your mind’s probably all over the place. I’m also guessing you haven’t slept a wink. I’ve been Tommy’s doctor since he was admitted, so any worries or questions you’ve got, just come and ask me. Providing I’m not in theatre, I’ll be able to see you.’
Polly gave a sigh of relief. Helen’s doctor friend must have read her mind.
‘Can I make a suggestion?’ He smiled.
Polly looked up and nodded. A tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. She brushed it away quickly.
‘I think you should go home and get your head down for a few hours at least. Tommy will need to rest, so why don’t you come back this afternoon? I should be about, so you can come and grab me if needs be.’
Polly felt like hugging the man sitting opposite her. He seemed so nice. Too nice to be Helen’s latest squeeze. Perhaps Bel was right and they were just friends.
‘Actually,’ Dr Parker said, seeing the familiar look of exhaustion he saw on the faces of those who’d been up all night with loved ones, ‘I need some supplies picking up from the Royal in town. You could cadge a lift home if you want?’
Polly’s face lit up.
‘Oh yes, please. That would be great.’
The pair left the cafeteria and started walking down a long corridor towards the rear of the hospital.
‘Was everyone all right after I left?’ Polly asked.
‘Yes, yes, all things considered.’
Dr Parker turned right and they walked down another windowless corridor.
‘I sent Gloria and Martha off to the hospital to get checked over. I gave orders that they were both to be kept in for at least one night – if not more. Gloria’s going to have to rest that leg of hers and make sure it doesn’t get infected. And Martha took quite a bash on the back of her head. She seems all right, but best to err on the side of caution. Just in case.’
‘I can’t believe they made it out in one piece,’ Polly said, recalling the bombed building collapsing in a cloud of brick dust.
‘I know,’ Dr Parker said.
‘Especially Helen. She barely had a mark on her,’ Polly said, walking quickly to keep up with Dr Parker’s long strides.
‘I know. She’s one very fortunate woman,’ Dr Parker agreed, thinking of Helen, her arm around Gloria; both of them standing amidst the ruins, having just escaped death by a hair’s breadth.
‘And very brave,’ Polly added.
Dr Parker nodded his agreement as they turned down another corridor.
‘You know,’ Polly said, ‘the only thing she was bothered about when I was helping her to the ambulance was Hope – and making sure she was all right.’ Polly shook her head. ‘She wouldn’t rest until she saw her with her own eyes.’
Dr Parker walked on quietly for a moment before he suddenly burst out laughing.
‘And that ginger moggy!’
The image of Helen sitting on the back step of the ambulance, Hope snuggled up in her lap and a marmalade-coloured tomcat weaving itself around her legs, would stay with him for ever.
‘It wouldn’t leave Helen alone, would it?’ Polly chuckled.
‘Mind you, it did well to give Gloria a wide berth. I think it might have lost the rest of its nine lives if she’d got her hands on it.’
They both walked in silence, thinking about Gloria’s old friend Mrs Crabtree, who had died trying to save her beloved pet.
‘The flea-bitten thing followed Helen and Hope all the way back to Gloria’s.’
Dr Parker pushed open a double set of swing doors. Seeing the puzzled look on Polly’s face, he explained, ‘Helen’s looking after Hope until Gloria’s discharged.’
‘Oh,’ Polly said, still a little surprised. ‘I just presumed Bel would have taken her back to ours. But I guess Hope is Helen’s sister.’ Polly hesitated. ‘None of us realised that Helen had become so close to Hope … and Gloria.’
Dr Parker nodded, knowing it was wise not to say any more. The dramatic events of yesterday had brought many secrets out into the open, the repercussions of which would only just be starting to be felt.
Dr Parker opened a door and the two stepped out into the backyard.
‘Mr Sullivan!’ he shouted over to an old man who was washing down one of the ambulances. ‘Can you pick up some supplies from the Royal for me – and drop this young lady off in town while you’re at it, please?’
The old man chucked the rest of the water over the bonnet and put the empty bucket down by the outdoor tap.
‘You got a list for me, Doc?’ the old man asked as he opened the passenger door for Polly.
‘Just the usual.’ Dr Parker cocked his head towards Polly.
Mr Sullivan looked momentarily perplexed before he nodded his understanding and climbed into the driver’s seat.
‘Thank you, Dr Parker.’ Polly leant out the window.
‘What for? I’ve not done anything.’
‘Oh yes you have,’ she shouted back. ‘You’ve kept my Tommy alive!’
Dr Parker stood and waved as the ambulance drove off.
‘No, my dear,’ he said to the empty yard. ‘It was you who kept him alive. Of that I have no doubt.’