She didn’t know how long she lay in bed, the days rolled into each other. She didn’t eat, bathe, or change her clothes. She didn’t leave the bed unless she absolutely had to. It was safer in her blackened-out corner of the world.
The sound of crying woke her up. In her dream, a little boy had screamed her name but now she was awake, she realized it wasn’t a dream. It was Tom and he was calling for her. He kept banging at the door, screaming for her to come out.
She almost fell out of the bed and down the stairs, opening the door to allow Tom to fling himself into her arms.
“You’re not dead. You haven’t gone away. You’re still here. Promise you won’t go away. You won’t leave us. I love you. Liesl loves you. We need you…” The boy continued repeating, over and over. Sally couldn’t say anything, just held him tight. He put his arms around her neck, his tears wetting her skin.
“Maggie said you were very sad, as you had a broken heart. People die when their hearts stop working. I thought you were dead.”
“Tom, darling Tom. I’m not dead.”
“Why didn’t you come and get us? You left us for days with Maggie. Rachel is really bossy. She hurts my hair when she brushes it and makes me take a bath every night.”
Sally couldn’t stop the smile at those words. Nobody hated bath time more than Tom.
“How’s Liesl?”
“She’s sad too. She was crying over and over but she doesn’t cry now. She says you gone. Sally gone; Sally gone. That’s what she says. Over and over.”
What had she done? These little children depended on her and she’d let them down. She wasn’t fit to be looking after them. A real mother wouldn’t have put her children aside and wallowed in misery, as she had.
“Can we come home, please? I promise to be good. I won’t get into trouble at school. Please?”
“Tom, this is your home. I’m sorry. For the last few days, for everything. Just give me a few minutes to get changed and I will come with you to Maggie’s and get Liesl. Okay?”
Tom wrinkled his nose. “You need a bath. You smell horrid.”
Sally burst out laughing and gave him another cuddle. This time he struggled to get away.
“Go and see what you can find to eat. I think Maggie may have dropped off some food. I won’t be long.”
“I’m starving.” Tom walked into the kitchen and whistled. “Maggie must have thought you needed to eat a lot.”
Sally put her head around the door and saw her table was covered in small dishes of her favorite foods. Or at least those available on ration.
Maggie had done everything to make her feel better and she’d pushed the older woman away without a second thought. Good job Derek wasn’t here to see how selfish she’d become. She ran upstairs and shivered through a cold bath. Dressed in clean clothes, she opened the blinds in the bedroom and pushed the windows out as far as they would go. Tom was right, the smell was horrid.
She came downstairs to find him munching his way through second or third helpings, by the looks of the dishes.
“Come on Tom, let’s go get your sister and bring her home.”
His look grazed her from head to toe before he smiled. “You look like Aunt Sally again.”
“I feel like her too. Just one minute, there’s something I forgot to do.”
She ran back upstairs and retrieved the photograph of Derek from her bed. Kissing it, she brought it back downstairs and put it back, in pride of place, on the mantlepiece. “Love you always,” she whispered, before turning to take Tom’s hand. Together they walked up the short lane to Maggie’s house.
27
Sally pushed the door open feeling shy, which was silly given how long she had known Maggie.
“Maggie, it’s only me.”
“Hi, stranger. Feeling better?”
Sally saw the concern in her friend’s eyes, despite the lighthearted greeting.
“I’m sorry Maggie. I behaved like a spoilt child. Forgive me?”
“Don’t be daft. You did what you had to do. The sun went out of my life for a long time after I lost my Reg. Now, what you got there, young man?”
Tom held up half a slice of cake. “Aunt Sally told me to help myself. I cut a big bit.”
The adults smiled as Tom stuffed the cake into his mouth probably in fear of getting it taken away. He glanced around and tried to speak, with his mouth full, resulting in a coughing fit and crumbs flying everywhere.
“Goodness gracious, will you take it easy and settle down young fella?” Maggie admonished him.
“Where are the girls? I have to tell Liesl we are going home.”
Maggie bent down to Tom’s level. “The girls had a letter, Tom, and it’s upset them, so I need you to be really kind to them.”
“Like I was kind to Aunt Sally?”
“Yes. Just like that.”
“Who was the letter from?”
“Their mother.”
“Oh!” Looking thoughtful, Tom paused before asking, “Are they sad that they have to go back to Berlin? I don’t, do I? My mother can’t write to me. I want to stay here with Aunt Sally.”
“Nobody is going back to Berlin,” Maggie reassured him quickly, as Sally gave him a cuddle. “Be nice to them, Tom.”
Tom ran to find the girls while Sally took a seat in front of the china cups Maggie always used for her table.
“How did Rachel’s mother get a letter out of
