After the War is Over (44 page)
Read After the War is Over Online
Authors: Maureen Lee
Dorothy, already in bed, shouted, ‘I’ll get that, sis. It’s probably Mum or Dad to say they’re on their way home.’
But Louise was already pushing her feet into slippers. ‘It’s okay, I’ll answer it,’ she shouted back. Her parents would never ring so late, and she had a feeling what the call was about. In the corner of the room, George was fast asleep in his cot, snoring slightly. She felt a rush of love that almost choked her.
‘Is that Mrs Louise Dixon?’ a man’s voice with an American accent enquired when she picked up the receiver.
‘Speaking.’ She’d had a funny sensation all day that something was wrong.
‘I’m so sorry, ma’am, about calling you like this, but we weren’t too sure if you’d be there to accept a telegram. There’s another address in Boston, you see.’
‘I’m Gary Dixon’s wife if that’s who you want.’
‘I’m so sorry, ma’am,’ the voice said again, ‘but I have to inform you that Private Gary Dixon lost his life yesterday at Song Ve Valley. He was a good, brave soldier. My commiserations, ma’am.’
‘Thank you for telling me,’ Louise whispered. She replaced the receiver. She and Gary hadn’t had much time together. It didn’t seem fair that she should lose him so soon. But was it ever fair that a man could die before he had even set eyes on one of his children?
Dorothy had come halfway down the stairs in her nightdress. ‘What is it, Lou?’
‘Gary’s dead.’
‘Gosh, I’m sorry.’ Her sister looked stricken. She ran down the rest of the stairs and flung her arms around her. ‘Shall I make tea?’
‘Please.’ Louise stood helplessly in the hall, feeling lost and alone, despite having Dorothy with her and her son only upstairs. She badly wanted Mum and Dad. She looked at the telephone; there was something she must do. There’d be time to cry later. She picked up the phone and dialled a number. It would be afternoon in Boston.
Monica Dixon answered with her name followed by the telephone number. Her voice was thin and frail and full of despair.
Louise swallowed. ‘Hello, this is Louise. Have you heard about Gary?’
‘Yes, a friend rang.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘I think I want to die,’ Monica Dixon said wretchedly.
‘Please don’t. Do you know I’m expecting another baby? Did Gary tell you?’
‘Yes. How are you feeling?’ The question was clearly an effort of will.
Louise could hear dishes rattling in the kitchen where her sister was making tea. ‘Not so well, but as soon as the baby is born I’ll come and see you. I’ll bring George too.’
‘Would it be all right if I came and saw you? Soon, very soon. Tomorrow, in fact.’
‘You’d be very welcome. Good night, Monica.’
‘Goodbye, Louise.’
Dorothy was taking the tea into the living room. ‘Was that your horrible mother-in-law?’
‘Yes, she’s coming tomorrow.’
‘You poor thing.’ Her sister looked troubled. ‘I bet she’s the last person you want to see.’
‘She’s Gary’s mother, sis. We’ve both lost him. We should mourn him together.’
It was the right thing to do.
Two days after the wedding
(New York)
Raoul and Lucia Perez emerged from the cinema off Times Square. As ever in this area, the sidewalks teemed with people.
Lucia linked her husband’s arm, worried she might lose him in the crowd. ‘Well, that was a really rapturous movie, honey.’ It was her favourite word: rapturous. ‘
Raining Flowers
. I love the title.’
‘My mom was in love with Hugo Swann when she was a girl,’ Raoul remarked. ‘She told me so before we left the apartment.’ His mom was babysitting their two little boys.
‘Maybe I could take her to see it next week. I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.’
‘Mom’d like that. Thanks, hon.’
‘We could go Thursday. You could look after the kids.’
‘It’s a deal.’ He squeezed her arm. ‘Shall we stop for a coffee?’
‘Yeah, I’d like that. Next diner we come to, we go in.’ She began to hum a tune in order to express just how happy she felt, linking her husband’s arm, going home to the cutest couple of kids in the entire world.
‘What’s that tune?’ Raoul asked.
‘It’s from the movie. I dunno if it had a name. It’s – what d’you call it? Catchy. It sounds Irish.’
‘So it does. I like it too. Tell you what, hon. Tomorrow I’ll see if I can buy the record.’
He began to whistle the tune along with her.
THE PEARL STREET SERIES
Lights Out Liverpool
Put Out the Fires
Through the Storm
Stepping Stones
Liverpool Annie
Dancing in the Dark
The Girl from Barefoot House
Laceys of Liverpool
The House by Princes Park
Lime Street Blues
Queen of the Mersey
The Old House on the Corner
The September Girls
Kitty and her Sisters
The Leaving of Liverpool
Mother of Pearl
Nothing Lasts Forever
Martha’s Journey
Au Revoir Liverpool
AN ORION EBOOK
First published in Great Britain in 2012 by Orion Books.
This ebook first published in 2012 by Orion Books.
Copyright © Maureen Lee 2012
The right of Maureen Lee to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All characters and events in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978 1 4091 4024 5
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