Martha

 

Martha

Martha is thirteen and a sweet-natured, effervescent girl. She loves animals and was sad for us when our dogs died. She gave me a little black cushion with a yellow Labrador embroidered on it – very fitting to remember our black and yellow dogs. It was such a thoughtful gesture.

In November, Martha will become our step-granddaughter. It’s so nice to think she will be part of our family, together with her brother, Edward, and her lovely father, James. Susannah knows she is a lucky woman!

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 O is for October

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012

O is for the fifteenth of 26 short stories - 250 words or fewer - about the life and times of a fictional character called Alice.

O is for October

In October 1957 Alice’s first child was born. When Ivy visited her in hospital she gazed at the pleated face of her grandson. He yawned and opened his fathomless navy blue eyes.

‘Have you thought of any names?’ Ivy asked.

‘Norman and I decided on Edward John,’ said Alice. Her mother blinked back tears and looked down at the baby.

‘He has a look of Edward about him,’ she said softly as the baby grasped her finger.

As Edward John grew into a sturdy toddler his resemblance to his late uncle intensified. Even Norman’s parents, who had only ever seen photographs of Edward as a young man, remarked on the likeness.

Daniel’s perpetual gloom lifted whenever he saw his nephew. The lines of pain scored on his face softened and Ruth, watching him, glimpsed a shadow of the young man she had married. Not for the first time she wondered if her marriage would have been happier if there had been children. The little boy was quieter when he was with Daniel, as though he sensed an unquiet soul.

For Ivy, he was her lost son returned. His temperament was exactly that of Edward’s. He was a mischievous, loving child, often in scrapes and full of smiles. His infectious giggle made everybody laugh, particularly Ivy, whose face lit up every time she saw him. The years of sorrow dropped away and she became again the spirited woman she had been before the war.

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 M is for Marriage

M marks the middle of the alphabet and the thirteenth episode in 26 short stories of 250 words or fewer about Alice’s life and times.

M is for Marriage

Alice and Norman were married on a cool August day in 1956. Ruth didn’t attend. She told Ivy Daniel wasn’t well and she must look after him. Alice was sad but not surprised.  

John swelled with pride as he walked his daughter down the aisle and Ivy dabbed at her eyes and hoped there would be some grandchildren soon.

After the reception the newly-weds left for a hill-walking honeymoon in Wales. Ivy and John returned to their empty house, exhausted after a long day.

‘I hope they’ll be happy,’ said Ivy.

‘I’m sure they will be,’ said John. ‘They’re a lovely couple.’

‘We’ve been happy, haven’t we?’ said Ivy, ‘Despite everything?’

John squeezed her hand. ‘Of course we have,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t have asked for a better wife or a happier life.’

‘The boys?’ said Ivy.

John considered his answer carefully. ‘I wish they were with us as much as you do, but they’re not and we have to carry on, like so many others.’

Ivy nodded, her eyes shining with unshed tears. ‘I still hope . . . ‘

‘I know but it’s been too long. If, by some miracle Edward had survived, he would have found his way home by now.’

They sat in silence, holding hands, lost in thought. A knock at the door made them jump. Ivy’s hand flew to her mouth as John went to open it. Ruth had come to ask about the wedding. She sounded genuinely sorry she hadn’t gone.

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 I is for Ivy

The ninth of 26 short stories – 250 words or fewer - about Alice’s life and times is about Ivy.

I is for Ivy

Alice’s mother Ivy had withstood the privations of war and shown immense strength when news came of Edward’s loss and Charles’ death. She knew Edward was dead but a part of her clung to the hope that he would return one day. Miracles sometimes happened. In her bleaker moments she wondered at the wisdom of such hope. Daniel had returned maimed in body and spirit. He had learnt to walk on artificial legs but his mind remained caught in the horrors of war.

When Daniel was discharged from hospital he and Ruth moved into a small house nearby. Ivy protested that he should come home to his family where everyone could look after him but Ruth insisted he needed peace and quiet. Ivy had not argued but she and Ruth were no longer as close as they had been. 

Alice knew Ruth was right. Her mother hovered over Daniel and made him uneasy. Her artificial brightness and attempts to jolly him along irritated him. Ruth’s quieter manner soothed him. Alice learnt from Ruth and moderated her behaviour when she visited. She wished her mother would do likewise. She couldn’t bear the sadness in Ivy’s eyes when Daniel brushed her away. She hated the despair etching lines ever deeper on Ruth’s face. Most of all she couldn’t accept that Daniel was broken beyond repair.

In 1950 Alice introduced her boyfriend to her family. Norman had seen three years’ action in the war. Ivy was elated.  Meeting Norman might help Daniel.

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 G is for Glory

G brings us to the seventh of 26 short stories – 250 words or fewer - about Alice’s life and times.

G is for Glory

The first months of the war were surprisingly quiet and became known as the Phoney War. People relaxed and stopped carrying their gas masks everywhere. In the spring of 1940 they were made to think again when the Netherlands and Belgium were invaded and the battle for France began. Suddenly the enemy seemed uncomfortably close.

Letters home calmed the anxieties of Alice’s family but they had little idea where the brothers were. They dreaded seeing the telegram boy and sighed with relief when he passed by. One day in 1941 he stopped at the house. Edward was missing in action, presumed killed. He was just eighteen. His parents wept and Ruth and Alice did their best to comfort them though they could hardly stop their own tears from falling.

Three years later another telegram arrived reporting Charles’ death. His ship had been torpedoed in the Atlantic in early January. 

When VE day came in 1945 there were ecstatic celebrations for those who welcomed home their loved ones. There was proud reference to the sacrifices of ‘our glorious dead’ but the bereaved could not see it and could not rejoice.

Finally, Daniel returned. He’d left his legs behind on a battlefield but at least he had survived. Alice watched Ruth as she got ready to visit him in hospital.  She was trembling. Alice recognised her fear and hoped somehow Daniel would be the same as he had ever been.

She was thirteen - half her life had been lived in wartime.

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 F is for Foreboding

This is the sixth of 26 short stories – 250 words or fewer - about Alice’s life and times.

F is for Foreboding

There had been rumblings and rumours for months but most people hoped and prayed that Chamberlain’s 1938 declaration of ‘peace for our time’ would hold true. As 1939 wore on and international peace looked ever more vulnerable Alice’s father and brothers shook their heads and tried to remain optimistic. On September 3^rd they huddled round the wireless as Neville Chamberlain announced ‘this country is at war with Germany.’

In the days that followed Alice heard her parents talking about men being ‘called up’ and asked Daniel to explain. She looked thoughtful. ‘You and Dad and Charles and Edward?’ she asked.

‘Not Dad. He’s a policeman – he’s needed at home. Not Charles - he’s still at university. Edward’s too young. I’ll be called up, but probably not yet.’

Alice was reassured until a few weeks later when all three brothers told their startled parents that they had enlisted, Charles in the Royal Navy, Daniel and Edward in the Army. Daniel announced that he and Ruth were getting married immediately.

The wedding was a bittersweet affair. Two young people promising to remain together ‘till death do us part’ emphasised the fragility of a world at war. Nonetheless, the newlyweds were sent on their honeymoon with much laughter and good wishes. Alice was pleased that she now had a sister who would be living in her house.  In time, she hoped, there would be babies.

All too soon, her brothers left for their training establishments. The house felt shockingly empty and quiet.

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 E is for Edward

Letter E brings us to Edward, the youngest of Alice’s three brothers. This is the fifth of 26 short stories – 250 words or fewer - about Alice’s life and times.

E is for Edward

Edward had been the baby of the family but was ousted when Alice was born. It was a shock to realise the family dynamic had changed and he resented his baby sister for shaking him from his comfortable complacency. However, his sunny disposition ensured that he soon stopped sulking.

As Alice’s personality developed Edward began to enjoy her company. He was the most audacious of her brothers and urged her to attempt things she would not have dared otherwise. She was a willing disciple, trotting after him from an early age and copying what he did. She became adept with a bow and arrow and held her own in conker contests.


She went scrumping when she was six and learnt to jump down from the apple trees and scramble through the hedge to safety. Edward got into trouble for that. ‘Encouraging your sister to steal is not acceptable,’ his father scolded and Edward hung his head in shame. 


Alice didn’t like him being rebuked and cried but Edward looked sideways at her and winked. He gave her confidence and above all he was fun. Spending time with him stimulated Alice, sometimes so much that she became over-excited. ‘There’ll be tears before bedtime,’ her mother would say, shaking her head at Edward and leading Alice away to quieter pursuits.  

Edward would just grin and blow Alice a kiss. On the next fine Saturday they would go out again. Daniel and Ruth joined them sometimes but those occasions were necessarily more restrained.

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 D is for Daniel

The fourth letter of the alphabet is about Alice’s brother Daniel. This is the fourth of 26 short stories – 250 words or fewer - about Alice’s life and times.

D is for Daniel

It is often the case that the middle child of three of the same gender differs from the first and third. So it was with Daniel. Charles and Edward were broad-shouldered, with light brown hair and hazel eyes, like their father. Daniel’s eyes were cornflower blue and he was more finely built than his brothers.  Alice’s eyes were the same colour as his and she too had high cheekbones like their mother.

Daniel was a serious little boy and grew into a thoughtful, quiet young man. He wanted to be an accountant and studied hard, attending evening classes to gain the necessary qualifications. He was the brother Alice took her troubles to. He mended her toys and dried her tears and sat with her while she practised her piano scales.

When she wanted respite from the rough and tumble of games with Edward she sought refuge on Daniel’s lap and listened to the wireless. She was intrigued by the squeals and hisses it made as Daniel searched for different stations. The staccato bursts of music, the crackles of signals that could not quite be tuned and the voices of broadcasters speaking unfamiliar languages made a kaleidoscope of sound that comforted Alice and made her feel she was a part of the wider world.

In 1938, when Alice was six, Daniel shyly introduced his girl-friend to the family. Alice’s mother worried that her daughter would be upset by this new, important person in Daniel’s life but Alice took to Ruth immediately.

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 C is for Charles

The letter C brings the third of 26 short stories – 250 words or fewer - about Alice.

C is for Charles

Charles was the eldest child in the family and took his responsibilities seriously. From an early age his parents had exhorted him to be a good example to his brothers and it was a natural extension of this that he should look after Alice. He pushed her in her pram, negotiating kerbs with care and ensuring that no draughts chilled her. His friends often accompanied them and so, from an early age, Alice had many surrogate brothers.

Charles hoped to become a teacher and enjoyed reading to his little sister and playing with her. She couldn’t pronounce his name and called him Dars. The name stuck and before long it was difficult to remember a time when he had not been Dars.

Charles was nineteen the summer that Alice was five. When he arrived home from college she rushed towards him. ‘Dars, Dars,’ she cried and screamed with delight as he swept her up and swung her round.

During the long, hot days the boys took her into the countryside to fish and swim. As soon as she tired a strong pair of arms scooped her up and let her ride on broad shoulders. She favoured Charles to carry her because he was the tallest and she liked being up high. At other times Daniel and Edward would link hands to make a chair for her and swing her along between them. They sang as they walked and her musical voice made a pretty counterpoint to their deeper tones.

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 B is for Brothers

This is the second of 26 short stories about a fictional character called Alice.

B is for Brothers

When Alice was born in her parents’ bedroom in 1932, Edward was nine years old. Daniel and Charles were eleven and fourteen respectively.

At first they were not very interested in her, a squalling, red-faced unprepossessing bundle of fury and could not understand their mother and her female friends cooing over her and declaring how beautiful she was. They were even more surprised to see their father rocking her in his arms and singing softly to her.

Once she began to look ‘more human’, as Edward put it, the boys took a greater interest in her and began to celebrate her developmental milestones. By the time she took her first tottering steps all three brothers were entranced by their little sister who repaid their attentiveness with flirtatious smiles.

They took pride in teaching her to ride her bicycle, to swim and fish. They taught her to climb trees and tie knots, to build camp fires and construct Meccano models. Alice enjoyed all these pursuits and adored her brothers as much as they doted on her. Happy and secure, no little girl could have lived a more enviable existence until war was declared in 1939 and everyone’s world changed.