A Mother Forever by Elaine Everest (good novels to read txt) 📗

family up the road heard about their Edward. By all accounts he’s buried over in France – it’s not as if they can even pay their respects.’ She shook her head sorrowfully.

‘Don’t forget Tom Crispin two years back – and John Smart not long afterwards, drowned at sea. That’s just people in this road.’

‘And now we can add young Donald to the list.’ Ruby’s voice started to wobble as she embraced her son again. ‘Just promise me this, George: you must be careful. I don’t want your name added to a list of dead lads from Alexandra Road – do you hear me?’

‘I hear you, Mum,’ he answered, his voice as shaky as hers. ‘I wouldn’t dare let you down.’

‘Right, let’s get this tea in to the girls before they wonder what we’re up to. Do you think they’ll stay for dinner?’

‘What have we got in the stew?’ he asked, peering into the pan.

‘I’ve made a nice mutton stew. I’ve only to add a few more dumplings in the pan. I suppose you’d like two – one each for the girls?’

‘I don’t think Irene likes stew. Besides, they’re going to Maureen’s. We only popped in for a cuppa before I walk them round the road. But saying that, you want me to pop over and pay my respects to the Greens, so I’ll come straight back. Can you put some dinner by for me? By the way, where is our Pat?’

‘She’s gone to her first Brownie meeting. I know she’s a bit young for it, but with the girls she plays with down the road already attending, and the Brown Owl agreeing, I decided she could join in. It won’t hurt as she’ll have a bit of fun for a few hours, and it will take her mind off this war. Since she saw that Zeppelin going overhead, she can’t think of anything else. A couple of hours of playing and such like will cheer her up. I’ll need to pick her up from the Mission hall at Northend in three quarters of an hour.’

George took the tea tray. ‘Why don’t I pick her up after I’ve dropped the girls at Maureen’s? I’m halfway there anyway. It’ll give you time to put your feet up for a bit – you look worn out.’

Ruby gave him another a hug. ‘You’re a good lad.’

‘Steady on, Mother, I nearly dropped the tray,’ he grinned before pecking her on the cheek and giving her a wink.

‘You’ll always be my baby boy,’ Ruby smiled, although her heart felt heavy.

After saying goodbye to George and the girls, Ruby settled down with her knitting. Her head was full of the men who had died, as well as those she knew who were still serving overseas. She’d stopped reading the newspapers so much, and since Frank’s good friend Stephen was living over the bookshop and helping out most days, she only popped round to work there part-time. Now that she didn’t have to find the rent money each week, and George was giving her a little towards the housekeeping, the pressure was off her shoulders to bring in a proper wage. Frank would treat her and Pat to gifts of food, as number thirteen was still as much his home as it was Stephen’s, who was a welcome guest. To the outside world, Frank still lived with them. If Frank’s parents thought the set-up at the bookshop was strange, they never commented.

Placing her knitting beside her chair, she again reached for her box of memories and pulled out Eddie’s last letter. He’d not mentioned anything about his situation, but instead told her of his sorrow at hearing of the death of Charlie Sears, the son of his landlady where he’d lodged in Arthur Street when working in the brickfields. Ruby had heard of the loss, and had broken the news to him in her previous letter. Eddie’s reply was full of memories of the way the family had looked after him. He even mentioned his work, which interested Ruby very much. Although there were a few brickfields surrounding the town, she’d known nothing of how bricks were made. She remembered Derek Green telling her how they could only make bricks during the warmer months, and wondered what Eddie had done for the rest of the year.

Ruby smiled as she re-read his words about Derek, and how the man would lecture them in the trenches about bricks to the point Eddie thought about joining the enemy trenches just to escape. There was mention of when he would be home with Ruby and their future together, and she blushed as he mentioned being alone with her. She quickly folded the letter and replaced it in the envelope. She’d put them somewhere safe in case Pat’s curious eyes came across them.

Unable to settle until she knew that her two children were back home, Ruby reached for a book. It was one that Frank had recommended to her, on which he was waiting for her opinion. Her mind wandered after she’d read the first couple of pages as she thought about German planes dropping bombs on her children while they were away from the house. She’d been astonished when she was told of the planes flying as far as London and then dropping explosives. George explained that they also dropped something called incendiaries, which caught fire and caused so much destruction and death, so when they’d first seen the Zeppelins and then later spotted an enemy plane, she’d been petrified. ‘What has the world come to?’ she muttered to herself. The public had been warned that if they should hear whistles, car horns and shouts from the police, they were to take cover, as it meant that a plane was in the area. At first Ruby was unsure where the family would hide if this happened, and worried about the safest place in the house. George said to go into the cupboard under the stairs – being surrounded by brickwork, it should