The Sun Will Shine Tomorrow (35 page)

His face brightened up a bit. ‘Aye, she writes to Kit every week and they’re getting on fine, her and Chris. Kitty is still enjoying her new school. She was saying that London is one vast bomb site but buildings are being rebuilt slowly.’ He sipped his tea. ‘It’s strange how everything has worked out – lots of lives turned upside down and folk living in places they could never have dreamed of before the war.’

I agreed. ‘Kathleen said we should all take our happiness when we find it,’ I told him, trying to keep the sadness from my voice.

Not very successfully it seemed as Danny asked, ‘Have you had any more word from Greg?’

‘No.’

Perhaps the shortness of my answer alerted him to my hidden feelings because he gave me a quick sharp glance and turned to look out of the window.

‘I’m worried about Maddie, Ann – the fact that she’s having twins. I hope it all goes well.’ His forehead creased in a worried frown and there was a slight tremor in his hands.

‘Och, Maddie will be fine, Danny. Lots of women have twins or even triplets. I was reading the paper the other day and saw that one woman had one set of twins and one set of triplets and she looked great. She had her picture in the paper with the two toddlers and the three babies and she was positively beaming.’

Danny laughed. ‘So what you’re trying to tell me is to count my blessings? It could have been three instead of two.’

‘Or maybe four.’ I rolled my eyes in mock horror and we both laughed.

He set off for home still chuckling but, before he left, he said, ‘You’re a great help in times of worry, Ann. You always put everything into perspective.’

I still felt the glow from this compliment. Lily arrived home and soon we were snuggled up in our bed settee with our hot-water bottles against the cold night air.

Lily lay awake. ‘I’ll be really pleased to see the Borlands again, Ann. Are you looking forward to it?’

My heart sank but I couldn’t let my feeling show. I couldn’t upset Lily now that she was on the home run to the art college.

‘Aye, I am, Lily. Let’s hope the weather is a bit warmer though.’

As it turned out, the weather did improve and it became warm and sunny again. In later years, I was to remember these weeks as a hiatus – a golden time of waiting for Maddie’s twins and Lily and Joy’s eventual departure.

Lily also viewed this time as a crossroads. She told me she was going to miss the school and all her friends she had made over the years. I also felt there was a slight hesitancy about her going and I knew she was worried about leaving me on my own.

Then, at the end of June, Granny, Dad, Rosie and I all went to the school to see her getting her leaving certificate. We sat in the large assembly hall with all the other parents and friends, all puffed up with pride as their children walked on to the stage to get their certificates and school prizes.

Lily looked so grown-up and dignified as she climbed the stairs to shake hands with the headmaster. Then, to our delight, she also received the top prize for art. She hadn’t mentioned this and wanted it to be a surprise for us which it certainly was. But, like all good things, it didn’t last long and it was soon over. I wished I could have held that moment forever – to hold its image in my memory and not let it go. I closed my eyes and tried to savour the moment so I wouldn’t forget it – ever.

We stood outside in the playground while she said her farewells to her friends, all of them vowing undying friendships. Their young, shrill voices were floating over the hard concrete and echoing against the red stone walls. ‘Keep in touch!’ ‘Please write!’ ‘Here’s my address!’ ‘Write your name in my autograph book!’ ‘Cheerio!’ ‘Cheerio!’ ‘Cheerio!’ ‘Goodbye!’

I saw Janey, Lily’s friend from primary school days and was struck by how grown-up she had become. Where had all the years gone? I wondered as I remembered them as two nervous five-year-olds not so many moons ago … or so it seemed.

Granny, dressed in her new blue frock, looked on with a smile. ‘It’s hard to believe she’s grown-up now, Ann. It only seems like yesterday when she was born and now she’s on her way into the big wide world.’

The memory of that unhappy time was mirrored in her eyes and I felt a lump in my throat. If only Mum could see her now. She would be so proud of how she had turned out.

Rosie and Dad wiped away a tear from their eyes. He said, ‘I’m glad I came. I thought it would all be academic and highfalutin.’

Rosie gave his arm a squeeze. ‘She’s a great lassie, Johnny.’

Alice was going to look after Jay when he came back from school because we had decided to have a celebration tea in Franchi’s restaurant in the Overgate. Lily’s eyes were bright with excitement, especially when we got a table at the window and she was able to look down on all the people passing underneath.

‘I can’t believe I’ve left the school,’ she said breathlessly, ‘and, in a few months, I’ll be going to Glasgow with Joy.’

We all looked at her with affection. At that moment I said a mental prayer, hoping her young life would always be full of love and excitement and adventure.

Lily scanned the menu and her dark eyes became solemn.

‘When it comes to food, Lily always gives it her full attention,’ Granny said and we all laughed.

Later, after we had all eaten, I asked her, ‘Which painting won the first prize, Lily?’

We had left her art portfolio at Granny’s house before heading for the restaurant but she bent down and, from her large bag, she brought out a rolled-up tube of paper tied with a white ribbon. She handed it to me and said, ‘This is the winner, Ann.’

As everyone looked on, I unrolled it. It was a watercolour painting of me and I gasped. Lily had caught me in pensive mood and I looked unworldly. The soft tones seemed to enhance my face and the faraway look in my eyes as I rested my chin on my hand. I looked sad and must have been thinking of Greg, and Lily had caught this moment in time and recreated it forever.

‘Oh, it’s beautiful, Ann!’ said Rosie. ‘And it’s just like you when you’re thinking of something.’

Granny and Dad both said the same thing and I felt tears come to my eyes.

Lily looked at it with matter-of-fact eyes and said, ‘I wanted to give you something before I left, Ann – to thank you for all you’ve done for me.’

I wiped the tears from my eyes. ‘Oh, thank you, Lily. It’s the best present I’ve ever had. I’ll get it framed and put it above the fireplace at Roseangle where I can sit and look at it and remember you. And I’ll also remember it won the top art prize at Rockwell.’

We then all went home after a memorable day.

Two days later Maddie went into labour. She was admitted to the nursing home at seven o’clock in the morning. A young lad who was a part-time message boy in Danny’s shop arrived at the Hilltown to tell me. Connie was doing the evening papers so, as soon as I finished in the early afternoon, I headed for the Perth Road Nursing Home.

I only meant to look in for a few minutes to see Danny but he asked me to stay. He couldn’t sit still and I didn’t blame him. Everyone was always saying how giving birth was a natural process but Mum had died giving birth to Lily. But I said to myself that I mustn’t dwell on this tragic event. I had to be positive for Danny’s sake.

‘You were here when Daniel was born, Ann. Was Maddie’s labour long then?’

I thought back to that awful night – of how Maddie had cried and cried for Danny and how she had thought he was dead.

I nodded. ‘It was, Danny, although I wasn’t actually here during the labour. She came here in the evening and Daniel wasn’t born till the next day.’

Danny shuddered. He said, ‘Mum was here with Mrs Pringle but they’ve gone home for a wee while and will come back later but I’d like you to stay with me if you can, Ann.’

I said I would because I knew how worried he was. It was the least I could do.

The door opened and a nurse came in with a tray. Along with the tea she had placed a small plate of plain biscuits. She apologised for the biscuits. ‘We’re supposed to be getting chocolate biscuits sometime but we never see them,’ she said with a smile.

This small luxury hadn’t been around on my first visit so things were certainly improving. I looked at the magazines and noticed there were some copies of
Picture Post
in the pile.

I said to Danny, ‘Kathleen was telling me that Chris sometimes puts his photographs in this paper. He’s a freelance photographer.’

Danny nodded. I wondered if he had heard me but it didn’t matter. I was merely making idle chat, hoping to fill this awful void – this waiting to hear of new life.

The sun dipped behind the trees in the garden and long shadows spread over the well-kept lawn. It would soon be night and Maddie had been in labour since seven o’clock that morning. I wondered if I would be allowed to stay for much longer. Did the waiting room close at night? Or did it remain open at all times?

I glanced at Danny. He was sitting with his head down, his hands clasped in a white-knuckled grip on his lap. There was nothing I could say to him. After all, what did I know about giving birth? How could I tell him what was happening when I couldn’t even visualise what it entailed? Hattie or Mrs Pringle would have been a better companion for him as at least they were mothers.

I took one of his hands and he gave me a weak smile.

‘Are you hoping for boys? Or girls?’ After I said it, I felt stupid.

He gave me another weak smile. ‘Oh, Ann, I don’t care – as long as Maddie is fine.’

By now, the sun had disappeared and the grounds had become mauve with twilight. The nurse came in and pulled the thick curtains over the windows and I felt the entire world was now cut off from us.

She gave Danny an encouraging smile. ‘Your wife is doing fine. It won’t be long now.’

For the first time since we arrived, Danny looked animated. ‘How long, Nurse.’

‘Not long. I’ll let you know as soon as the babies are born.’

I sat back in my seat and I hadn’t realised I had half risen from it. The clock on the wall ticked loudly and I recalled the one in Rita’s house the day Lily was born and how merrily it had ticked away the final hours of Mum’s life. I had to push these sad memories away. It wouldn’t help Danny if I was to become morose so, with his hand in mine, we sat in silence except for the relentless ticking that marked the passing of time. I watched the clock with a perverse sort of fascination. How slow and ponderous the pendulum looked and yet the hands moved over the clock face in a loud tick, tick.

Thirty minutes later, the nurse reappeared. ‘You have two baby boys, Mr Ryan.’

Danny leapt to his feet and, for one giddy moment, I thought he was about to kiss the nurse. Instead he grabbed me and said, ‘Do you hear that, Ann? Two boys!’

I was so pleased for him and relieved it was all over for Maddie.

‘Can I see my wife and the boys?’ asked Danny.

The nurse said he could but only for a short visit as Mrs Ryan was tired.

I wasn’t allowed in so I went and stood outside in the purple twilight, smelling the sweet aroma of the flowers and grass and feeling a bit weak in my knees. It had been a long wait.

Fifteen minutes later, Danny appeared. He looked ecstatic and I could swear his feet weren’t touching the ground.

‘Maddie is terribly tired but she’s fine and the two wee boys are lovely. One was five pounds and the other was five pound six ounces.’

I laughed. ‘No wonder she was like a barrel on legs! She’ll be able to see her feet again.’

I left him as he hurried home to tell Daniel, the Pringles and Hattie. I quickly went to see Granny before going home, to tell her the good news. I would tell Rosie and Dad the next day. I hated to admit it but I was exhausted too – almost as if I had given birth as well. All I wanted was my bed.

Lily and I were able to visit Maddie on the Saturday afternoon but only for a short visit as she had so many visitors.

She was in a room similar to the one she’d had last time but the similarity ended there. After Daniel’s birth, she had been tearful and depressed but, this time, she was almost glowing with pride. The two babies lay in two small cots and they were lovely. I thought Lily would also explode with pride – just like Maddie.

Maddie said, ‘They normally stay in the nursery but they’ve just been fed.’

Lily kept peeping into the cots. ‘Och, they’re lovely, Maddie – just like two wee dolls.’

Maddie laughed. ‘You wouldn’t say that during the night, Lily, when they wake up to be fed.’

Before I could take another look, a nurse came in and wheeled them out of the room.

Maddie laughed again. ‘I think the nurses are frightened my visitors will give them leprosy or something equally drastic.’

‘Still, it’s better to be safe than sorry, Maddie,’ I said. ‘After all, we could have a bad cold or the ’flu.’

‘We’re calling them Patrick and James after both their grandads. I know Daniel has these as middle names but we wanted to have them as Christian names for the twins.’

‘Your mum and Hattie will be pleased about that,’ I told her.

Then it was time to leave but I told Maddie that if she needed any help, she was just to ask.

‘Thanks, Ann! You’re such a good friend to me. I don’t know what I would do without you.’

As we were walking through the grounds towards the main road, we met Hattie with Mr and Mrs Pringle. Coming behind them were Danny and Daniel and they were all hurrying to see the new additions to the families. Daniel looked up at his father and he was laughing at something Danny had said to him. It warmed my heart and we waited a few moments to say hello to them.

After the jubilation of seeing the babies, a dark cloud settled above me. The cause was a letter in my coat pocket. Babs Borland had written to say how much they were looking forward to seeing us and asking if the second week in July would be suitable for our visit. The very thing I had been dreading for months was now almost upon me and there was nothing I could do about it. Lily was so excited about the visit that she had started to pack her suitcase in anticipation. As for me … well, I was almost crying. How would I get through this visit? Listening to the Borlands telling me all the news of Greg and his wife. And worse – what if she had also given birth?