A Second Chance (64 page)

‘Of course,’ Amy said. ‘Would you like to
stay the night? You’ve come a long way.’

‘Thank you, but I couldn’t put you out like
that. No, I’ve a room at the hotel for the night, then I’ll be on
the boat tomorrow.’

‘Well, stay until Eddie comes back, anyway.
He’ll probably come up wanting something to eat before too long. If
he doesn’t, I’ll go and fetch him.’

Mr Carter nodded absently. He lifted the
satchel onto his lap and opened it, removing a neatly-wrapped brown
paper parcel tied with string. He slid the parcel across the table
to Amy.

‘Your letters are all in there. And the
boy’s drawings. Milly told me where she’d been keeping them. The
last letter arrived after she’d passed away—I haven’t opened it.
You’ll find his birth certificate in with them, too. And this,’ he
said, reaching into the satchel again. ‘Milly used to wear this all
the time. I thought her boy might like to have it.’

‘Thank you. I’m sure he will.’ Amy took the
silver bangle from his outstretched hand, recognising it as the one
Milly had proudly announced Malcolm had stolen for her. No need to
tell Mr Carter that. She had slipped an envelope containing enough
to cover the price of the bangle under Mr Hatfield’s door one
Sunday, so she could keep it for Eddie with a clear conscience.

Mr Carter removed something else from the
satchel. He seemed about to pass it over, then hesitated, holding
it between fingers that trembled. ‘I’ve brought the photograph,
too—the one of Milly and her boy. But I wondered if… I don’t like
to ask, but… I’ve no pictures of Milly.’

‘Oh, you keep that one,’ Amy urged. ‘I got
the photographer to do two just the same, one for Eddie and one for
Milly. It was taken the day she left.’

‘Thank you,’ Mr Carter said with evident
relief. He put the photograph away carefully. ‘I’ve her wedding
ring, too—I’ll get a nice frame, and put the ring in with her
picture.’

Amy poured out more tea. ‘You met Milly at
the hotel, didn’t you?’ she asked, wanting to turn the conversation
along happier lines.

Sid Carter’s face brightened. ‘Yes, I did.
I’m a bookkeeper, you see. I do the books for all sorts of little
concerns that don’t have enough business to employ a bookkeeper of
their own. Mainly in and around Waihi, so I was living in a
boarding house there. But I found I was spending a day most weeks
in Tauranga, so I decided I could treat myself to staying the night
there sometimes. It made a pleasant change—boarding house fare is
rather monotonous.

‘I noticed Milly straight away. The staff
there are competent enough, but they’re inclined to be a bit stiff
and formal. Milly had a spark about her that set her apart. I
remember the very first morning I saw her—the food’s excellent at
that hotel, but the portions aren’t overly generous. Milly was
serving my breakfast, and she gave me a bit of a grin and slipped
me an extra knob of butter.’ He smiled at the memory. ‘It became
something of a game between us after that. She’d look about as if
there might be spies watching, then make a great show of sliding me
the extra butter under cover of her hand.

‘We’d talk away whenever she wasn’t too busy
with her work, and it got so as things seemed rather dull on the
days I didn’t see Milly. I soon started making sure I had enough
work there to take me to Tauranga every week—in fact I found an
excuse to stay two nights a week when I could. And then when I was
walking about the town one day I saw a sign up for a concert, and…
well, I hadn’t been in the habit of putting myself forward like
that, but I found myself asking Milly if she’d like to come to it
with me. And she said yes.

‘After that, I took her out every week, even
if it was just for a walk along the Strand. She seemed to enjoy my
company,’ he said, a touch of wonder in his voice. ‘And when I was
responsible for her being dismissed, I thought I’d better do the
right thing and get on and marry her at once.’

‘Milly got the sack?’ Amy said, startled.
‘What, for giving you an extra knob of butter?’

Sid’s eyes slid away from hers. On his face
was an expression somewhere between embarrassment and shy pride.
‘Actually, it was for being caught coming out of my room one
morning,’ he admitted. Amy suddenly felt the need to fuss about
with the tea things.

‘We got married straight away, as soon as
all the forms were filled in. Just a simple exchange at the
courthouse—Milly didn’t want a fuss, though I wouldn’t have grudged
her a proper wedding. I bought her a new hat for the occasion,’ he
said pensively. ‘One of the girls she’d been working with at the
hotel came along to be a witness, and she ran back and got one of
the boot boys when we realised we needed two of them. We didn’t
bother with photographs. I wished afterwards that we had.

‘I rented a house for us, and Milly seemed
happy getting it all set up the way she wanted. Then we found there
was a baby on the way, and…’ He picked up his spoon and began
stirring his tea. ‘I hadn’t expected to marry,’ he said, turning
the spoon slowly round and round as if the task took great
concentration. ‘Not at my age. I was contented enough with how
things were. Well, used to how they were, at any rate. But to come
home every evening and find someone pleased to see me, and wanting
to talk about all the little things that had happened in the day,
and then with the baby… It was…’ He trailed off and shook his head,
and Amy quickly dashed her hand across her eyes to clear them.

Mr Carter looked up from stirring his tea.
‘Would you mind writing from time to time to let me know how
Milly’s boy is getting on? Once a year would be enough.’

‘I’d be glad to. And when Eddie’s old
enough, I’ll get him to write himself sometimes.’

‘Oh, I doubt if he’d be interested in
writing to an old fellow like me.’

‘Yes, he will. He’ll want to when I tell him
how good you were to Milly. But I think I’ll leave that till he’s
old enough to understand.’ Amy sighed. ‘For now, it’ll be enough
for him to try and understand about Milly passing away.’

‘I’ll make sure you have an up-to-date
address for me.’

‘I’ve got the address—I used it to write to
Milly.’

Sid shook his head. ‘I won’t keep the house
on. There’s no point, just for myself. When the rent’s up on it,
I’ll go back into a boarding house.’

Back into the grey, plodding routine he must
have had before Milly erupted into his life. Back to a world of
dusty offices all day and a drab room to return to at night. Years
stretching out ahead of him until those few months when he had been
a husband and about to become a father would seem like a foolish
daydream. Amy’s heart ached for the man. But it ached more sharply
for the little boy who had become an orphan.

‘Shall I go and get Eddie?’ she asked.

‘Yes, if you wouldn’t mind. It’s probably
time I was on my way.’

He followed Amy outside, clutching the
satchel that flopped loosely now that it held nothing but a
photograph. Amy shielded her eyes to look in the direction Eddie
had set off, and saw him coming up the hill, swaying somewhat under
his load.

‘He’s got Daisy with him,’ she said, smiling
at the sight. ‘She’s my other son’s little girl—Eddie’s
cousin.’

‘A little girl,’ Sid echoed. ‘Milly’s baby
was a girl, too.’ He fidgeted with his satchel. Amy could see that
he would rather have taken himself off before the children arrived.
But he stood his ground, and watched as Eddie struggled up the
slope to them.

Amy relieved Eddie of his wriggling burden
as soon as he was close. She slipped an arm around his shoulders
and led him over to where Sid Carter waited. ‘This is Eddie,’ she
said. ‘Eddie, this is Mr Carter.’

‘’
lo,’ said Eddie. He thrust
out his hand, and Sid Carter shook it solemnly. He crouched down to
Eddie’s height, placing his hands on his thighs to steady
himself.

‘How are you, Eddie?’ he asked.

‘Good,’ said Eddie.

‘And do you like school?’ It was almost
painful to watch Sid’s stilted attempt at conversing with a small
boy.

‘I don’t go to school. I do lessons with
Granny. I can read, and I can write things, and I can do sums.’

‘You teach him at home?’ Sid asked, looking
up at Amy.

Amy gave Eddie’s shoulders a squeeze. ‘I
enjoy it. He’s doing very well, too.’

Sid stood up and patted Eddie on the head in
an awkward gesture. ‘You be a good boy for your grandmother,
then.’

‘I am!’ Eddie said indignantly.

‘Shh, Eddie. Yes, he’s a good boy. I’m lucky
to have him.’

Sid studied Eddie’s face; Amy guessed that
he was trying without success to find some trace of Milly there. He
turned to Amy and nodded. ‘He’s a fine boy. Thank you for letting
me meet him.’

Eddie held the horse’s bridle while Sid
mounted. He went back to stand beside Amy as Mr Carter rode off.
‘Bye, Mister!’ Eddie called after him.

Sid turned in the saddle and waved, then Amy
watched him dwindle. Milly’s husband. The man who had given her a
home; who would have welcomed Eddie for her sake. Milly’s best
chance of a settled, comfortable life, and one she had clearly
taken hold of with both hands. Milly, who had lost family and lover
and child, and had had life snatched from her just when it had
seemed on the verge of making good some of those losses.
Wednesday’s child, full of woe. Made for sorrow. No wonder she and
Malcolm had found each other.

Amy balanced Daisy on one hip, and with her
free arm drew Eddie close. Milly’s child. Mal’s child. And now
Amy’s own child. ‘Come and sit on the verandah with me,’ she said.
‘We’ll have a little talk.’

Amy set Daisy down on the verandah, and sat
on the steps with Eddie at her side. Daisy pulled herself upright
against a post, then cautiously moved from one post to the next,
clinging to the verandah railings for support. It was a task that
took all her concentration, and left Amy free to give Eddie her
attention.

‘Climb on my lap.’ She spread her arms in
invitation, and Eddie clambered on readily. She smoothed down the
hair at the back of his head that insisted on sticking out in all
directions; a pointless exercise, as the hair immediately returned
to its previous angle, but one Amy found soothing. She kissed one
particularly unruly tuft.

‘Do you remember I told you how Mama was
very tired, and she wasn’t feeling well?’ she began. Eddie nodded,
his eyes fixed on hers.

‘She got really sick, Eddie. That’s what Mr
Carter—the man who was just here—that’s what he came to tell me
about. He’s been very kind to Mama, looking after her. But she got
worse and worse, and then she… she passed away.’ Those pale blue
eyes stared at her uncomprehendingly; “passed away” meant nothing
to him. ‘She died, Eddie. Mama died.’

He looked more thoughtful than upset. His
face took on the same expression it did when she set him a
particularly difficult piece of arithmetic. ‘Isn’t she coming
back?’

‘No, she’s not. I’m sorry, Eddie.’

He still looked as if he were working
through a puzzle. ‘Has she gone to Heaven?’

‘Yes,’ Amy said, snatching gratefully at the
suggestion. ‘Yes, Mama’s in Heaven now. So she won’t feel sick any
more, or sad, or anything like that.’

Eddie tilted his head to one side, still
thoughtful. ‘Is she with my dad now?’

‘Oh, yes,’ Amy said, rather more certain of
this than of her previous answer. ‘Yes, I’m sure they’re
together.’

‘Do they have horses in Heaven?’

Amy laughed softly. ‘Do you know, I’ve never
thought about that. Perhaps they do, for the people who really want
them.’

Eddie nodded solemnly. ‘They do have
horses,’ he pronounced. He put a hand on Amy’s arm. ‘Are you going
to die, Granny?’

‘One day, yes. But not for a long time, I
hope. Not till you’re grown up, anyway.’ She closed her arms around
him more tightly. ‘I’m not going away, Eddie. I’ll look after
you.’

Amy sat in the April sunlight, Daisy warm
and drowsy on her lap, and watched Eddie riding back and forth. He
had cajoled her into letting him set up jumps, though Amy had
insisted they be so low that the horse barely had to stretch its
stride. But Eddie seemed to find it exciting enough. He gave a
whoop of delight at every jump, usually followed by a cry of, ‘Did
you see me, Granny?’

Between assuring him that she had indeed
seen, and that it was very good, Amy stole glances at the latest
letter from Sarah, spread out beside her on the old log she was
using as a seat. It was close to two years now since she had last
seen Sarah, and Amy had no idea how much longer it might yet be
before they were reunited.

But for the moment she took pleasure in the
soft, milky-smelling baby on her lap, and the laughing little boy
riding round and round the paddock. Sparks of orange flame flashed
from Eddie as the sunlight struck his hair, while Daisy’s growing
curls peeped from around her bonnet in an echo of darker red.

The sound of hooves smacking against dried
earth, quite different from the soft thud of Eddie’s unshod mount
in the grassy paddock, caught Amy’s attention; she looked up and
smiled to see Frank approaching. She tucked the letter away and
called him over.

He knotted the bridle and left the horse
free to graze along the side of the track. ‘I was just on my way up
to see Bill,’ he said as he sank onto the smooth log beside Amy. ‘I
thought I’d drop in and see my girls.’

‘Beth’s gone off for a walk with Dave. I’d
go and look for them, except… well, I think they might have gone
for a swim.’ Amy felt a blush creeping over her face. ‘The weather
won’t be warm enough much longer.’

Frank grinned. ‘Good for them. That’s all
right, I’ve only got a minute. I’ll make do with seeing this little
one.’