Home Front Girls

’ave to go an’ see ’im an’ put fings right between you. There ain’t nuffink standin’ between yer now, is there?’
    Annabelle frowned uncertainly. She and Joel had never really made any promises to each other, and perhaps she had only imagined that he had felt the same way as she did. She said as much now to Hilary, who snorted.
    ‘Well, there’s only one way to find out, ain’t there? An’ that’s to go an’ see the feller!’
    ‘But it’ll be weeks before I’m due any more leave,’ Annabelle objected.
    ‘So? He ain’t goin’ anywhere soon, is he? An’ in the meantime yer could write to ’im.’
    ‘I suppose I could,’ Annabelle admitted musingly. ‘And I think I ought to write to my mother as well. I’m afraid I’ve been rather awful to her and Daddy too for a long time now.’
    ‘Ain’t no time like the present,’ Hilary commented wisely. ‘You only get one mum an’ dad, be they adopted or otherwise.’ She was the only one at Haslar that Annabelle had ever confided in about her true parentage, and from the start Hilary had struggled to understand why Annabelle was so angry with them.
    ‘But they obviously took you in an’ loved yer because they wanted to,’ she had pointed out. ‘Why waste time worryin’ about yer real mam when she clearly didn’t want yer?’
    Now, suddenly, Annabelle could see that she was right and she felt ashamed.
    ‘I’ll write to Mummy straight away,’ she decided, taking a pen and a writing pad from her bedside locker. ‘And then I’ll go and see Madam and find out when I’ve next got leave so that I can pay Joel a visit.’
    ‘Hallelujah!’ Hilary rolled her eyes heavenwards. ‘The girl finally sees sense!’
    Annabelle grinned as a little bubble of excitement formed in her stomach. It was time to put things right.
     
    Early in May, Annabelle stepped down from the train in the little station and walked out into the charming cobbled streets of Watchet. It was like stepping back in time as she stared at the pretty thatched cottages, and so peaceful with nothing but the sound of the seagulls to be heard. She breathed in deeply, enjoying the salty tang of the air, then set off in the direction of the convalescent home, which Lucy had told her was perched high on a cliff at the end of the town overlooking the sea.
    It was a good half-hour’s walk but she enjoyed being outside after the confines of working in the underground operating theatres of Haslar where she was back assisting the surgeons and sterilising their instruments.
    She had left the village behind her some time ago before the home came into view and she thought how lovely it looked, with the sun shining down on it. The sea was breath-takingly blue and twinkled in the sunshine, and for the first time she began to have misgivings. Should she have let Joel know that she was coming? And would she be welcome? She paused, but then taking a deep breath she strode on. There was only way to find out.
    A fresh-faced young nurse met her in reception. After asking her who she had come to see, the nurse enquired, ‘Is he expecting you? And are you a relative?’
    ‘Er . . . . Well, no, he doesn’t know I’m coming and no, I’m not a relative,’ Annabelle flustered.
    ‘In that case I shall have to have a word with the Ward Sister,’ the nurse informed her. ‘Follow me, please.’
    They moved through a labyrinth of corridors and up several flights of stairs before the nurse said, ‘Would you mind waiting here? I’ll just go in and have a word with Sister.’
    There were men milling about everywhere and some of them looked at Annabelle curiously. Some were in wheelchairs with the legs of their trousers empty and tucked beneath them. The luckier ones were hobbling about on crutches, but they all seemed happy enough and many of them smiled at her. She smiled back as her heart threatened to leap out of her chest and eventually a Ward Sister appeared and said, ‘I believe you’ve come to see Private Ford?’
    Annabelle’s mouth had suddenly gone dry so she nodded. The Sister looked at Annabelle’s uniform and said pleasantly, ‘Did you nurse him whilst he was at Haslar?’
    ‘Yes, I did,’ Annabelle managed to squeak. ‘But he was already a friend before that.’
    ‘I see. Then in that case I can see no reason why he shouldn’t have a visitor. He’s doing very well. In fact, we’re hoping to discharge him in a few weeks. Come this way. I think he’s in the day