37. Good Luck! Goodbye! Farewell!

The mood in the dining room that morning was very different to that of the previous day. The usual buzz of chatter around the room was subdued; apart from the odd greeting as residents sat down, the loudest noise to be heard was the clatter of crockery or the tinkle of cutlery. Knowing that two among them would soon be gone made the diners all too aware of what they themselves would soon face.

Ada and Dora comforted each other in the privacy of the sluice-room, where Dora pummelled the nappies soaking in the sink, while Ada refilled two large galvanized buckets with cold water and sanitizing fluid.

‘No matter what they’re like, you can’t help but worry about the girls,’ Dora chatted. ‘I’ve tried not to get attached, but it doesn’t work: living beside them and bringing their babies into the world ties you to them, even the horrible ones, like Annie,’ Dora laughed.

‘I often wonder whether Annie’s life is better or worse since she left Mary Vale,’ Ada said, as she set down the heavy buckets on the tiled floor.

‘There’s one girl I won’t be worrying about,’ Dora smiled. ‘And that’s Diana. Have you ever seen a woman happier than her?’ Giving a naughty wink, she dropped her voice to a whisper. ‘Gracie told me that she and Zelda had offered the bride and groom their big bedroom. Apparently the two girls pushed their single beds together to make a whopping big double and left them in peace to enjoy their wedding night.’

‘How very thoughtful,’ Ada cried.

‘They made up the bed with clean sheets that Zelda sprinkled with some of her special lavender water,’ Dora added.

‘So where on earth did the two girls sleep?’

‘Gracie slept in Diana’s room and Zelda bunked down in a spare bed on the ante-natal ward,’ Dora explained, before she started to giggle. ‘The newly-weds looked like the cat that had got all the cream when they came down to breakfast this morning.’

Ada covered her mouth with her hand to try to stop herself from giggling too. ‘I bet they hardly slept a wink!’

‘Harry has been in the convent since he arrived,’ Dora chuckled. ‘He can’t have got up to much mischief there.’

Ada gave an envious sigh. ‘How nice for them to have time alone together.’

Seeing a sad look come into her friend’s lovely big blue eyes, Dora spoke cheerily. ‘It’ll soon be your turn, missis.’

Ada blushed. ‘One day soon, please God,’ she murmured wistfully.

‘It’ll be tough saying goodbye to George and Teddy.’

‘It would be tougher still if George was left behind,’ Ada pointed out. ‘I’m sure he’ll have a wonderful life with Harry and Diana.’

In a sentimental mood, Dora wiped a tear from her eye. ‘Then there’s little Daisy,’ she sighed. ‘She’ll be gone soon too.’

Ada gave her colleague a comforting pat on the shoulder. ‘Father Ben assures me that Daisy is going to a loving couple: a vicar and his wife in Durham, who are desperate for a child.’

‘God love her,’ Dora said fervently. ‘And we’ve got Constanza for a bit longer,’ she said on a more cheerful note.

Ada looked grave. ‘I worry how Zelda will manage once her friends have gone.’

‘Aye, I’ve been thinking the same thing too,’ Dora agreed. ‘It won’t be easy, being the one left behind in the Home.’

Sitting upstairs in their bedroom, which had been restored to its former two single-bed status, Zelda was blinking back tears that threatened to overwhelm her any minute. She was supposedly helping Gracie pack her suitcase, when all she really wanted to do was to hurl the clothes out of the suitcase and lock the door so Gracie wouldn’t be able to leave. Feeling like a five-year-old in the middle of a panic attack, Zelda simply couldn’t hide the misery in her dark-brown eyes. Catching sight of her friend’s expression, Gracie sat down on the bed beside her and gripped her trembling hands in her own.

‘I know what you’re thinking, sweetheart, so stop trying to be brave.’

‘I’m sorry, I should be stronger,’ Zelda apologized. ‘I should be happy for you, rejoicing in your freedom, but I’ll miss you more than words can say,’ she said, as her tears flowed. ‘Cooped up in this place, you’ve been like a beautiful caged bird, you’ve kept us smiling and entertained with your spirit and determination –’ Zelda broke off as something made her smile. ‘You even managed to pick up a boyfriend!’

Gracie burst out laughing. ‘Catching a fella when you’re six months pregnant and living in a Mother and Baby Home too is quite a coup,’ she conceded.

Seeing Zelda’s sweet face brighten briefly with a tremulous smile, Gracie continued earnestly. ‘Sweetheart, you really have got to start thinking of your own future now.’

Zelda’s head drooped. ‘I know, it’s all I do think about these days.’

‘I’d invite you and Connie to come and live with me in Barrow, but all we’ve got is a two-up, two-down, though to be honest that wouldn’t stop mi mam – she’d welcome anybody in need.’

‘That’s sweet of you, Gracie, but I must be independent,’ Zelda answered honestly. ‘If I had a choice, I would dearly like to bring up Constanza in this lovely area.’

‘Aren’t Frank and his dad looking out for a cottage for you?’ Gracie enquired.

‘Yes, but so far they’ve found nothing that I know of,’ Zelda replied. ‘I could stay on a bit longer at Mary Vale, but without you and Diana it just doesn’t seem right,’ she confessed.

Making a huge effort to pull herself together for Gracie’s sake, Zelda rose to her feet. ‘Come, let me help you with your case; it’s time you were on your way, my friend.’

When Zelda and Gracie walked outside, they saw Harry was busy packing up the car while Diana was arranging the little boys in their cardboard beds on the back seat on either side of her.

‘They’ve just been fed,’ Dora chatted, as she helped Diana tuck blankets around the wriggling boys. ‘They should drop off soon, with a bit of luck.’

‘Hopefully they’ll sleep until we get on the A1,’ Diana said excitedly. ‘Heaven only knows where we’ll stop for their next feed.’

‘You’d best get on your way while they’re both quiet,’ Dora urged. ‘You’ve a long journey ahead of you.’

Diana caught the nurse’s hand. ‘I’ll never forget you, Dora,’ she said, with an emotional catch in her voice. ‘You have a heart of pure gold.’

They were interrupted by Sister Mary Paul bustling forwards with a hamper packed with as much food as she could spare from her kitchen.

‘Something to keep you going on your journey,’ the nun said. ‘Hot tea, barley water, Farmer Arkwright’s Lancashire cheese sandwiches with my apple chutney and a pastie apiece – only onion and mutton, but it’ll keep you going until you get down South.’

‘Darling Sister Mary Paul, I’m going to miss you so much,’ Diana cried, as she wriggled forwards in her seat to hug the old nun.

‘God speed, dear girl,’ Sister Mary Paul answered tearfully.

Harry climbed into the driver’s seat and wound down the window. ‘Cheerio!’ he called.

The group of well-wishers standing on Mary Vale’s doorstep waved goodbye, as Harry started up the engine, at which point Ada, who had been held up on the ward, came rushing towards the car.

‘Take care of yourself, dearest girl,’ she called out to Diana. ‘Promise you’ll come back and be chief bridesmaid on my wedding day?’

Winding down her window, Diana blew kisses back to her friend. ‘Promise!’

‘Goodbye,’ her friends chorused after the departing car. ‘Good luck … God bless … Goodbye.’

Gracie was determined to make the journey home on her own. No fuss, no bother, and this time she wouldn’t need her mother as an escort. Certain that she would pick up where she left off, Gracie (having learnt her lesson the hard way) would take her time when it came to courting the opposite sex. Well aware of the pain she had caused, not just to her family but to her innocent little daughter, who would grow up never knowing her birth mother, Gracie’s resolve was unshakeable. She wasn’t going to waste time having fun; she had heard enough of Hitler first-hand from Zelda, and she had seen what a monstrous dictator he was on the cinema news reels. Now, Gracie wanted to fight back, do her bit for the war effort, either by joining the forces or repairing warships to fight the enemy at sea; she was determined that come what may she would work for peace until she dropped.

Gracie quietly left the Home by the back way. She had said her goodbyes; she didn’t need to wring it out even longer. After one lingering backward glance, Gracie headed for Kents Bank Station. With a skip in her step and a smile on her face, she set off for the new life that awaited her just around the corner.