The Air Raid Book Club(90)

“I need you, Gertie. Please, can you come and stay? I can’t do this without you.”

“I want you to take note of the fact that I have resisted the urge to say I told you so,” said Margery as she and Gerald drove her to West Sussex two days later.

“Until now, my love,” said Gerald, raising his eyebrows at Gertie, who sat in the back with Hemingway.

“A girl needs a mother when she’s expecting.”

“I’ve told you before, I’m not her mother, Margery,” said Gertie.

Margery flapped her arms expansively. “Yes, but you’ve fulfilled that maternal role for a long time. Not all families need to be blood related, you know. Look at how Gerald has become a father figure to my Cynthia. He’s always going ’round to help her and Archie make home improvements.”

“Taught the young man how to put up shelves for all their books the other day,” said Gerald proudly. “And I helped Cynthia make a frame for her runner beans. I’m going to build them a greenhouse next.”

“You see?” said Margery. “Look at everything you’ve done for Hedy. You’ve been precisely like a mother to her.”

“Well, perhaps,” said Gertie. “But I would never presume to usurp Else Fischer.”

“No one is asking you to, Gertie. Goodness me, for an intelligent woman, you can be rather dim sometimes.”

“Margery,” said Gerald in a mildly scolding tone.

Margery dismissed him with a flick of her hand. “Oh, hush now, Gerald. Gertie’s used to my forthright ways.”

“I couldn’t imagine a world without them, Margery,” said Gertie, gazing out at the sweeping Sussex countryside.



Hedy’s labor started one evening as they were finishing supper. She let out a loud gasp and clutched her belly. Sam’s face went ashen as he rushed to her side. “Are you all right, my darling?”

Hedy nodded once the pain subsided. “It’s starting,” she said.

The district midwife was called Nelly Crabb, and she smoked Player’s Navy Cut cigarettes during her tea breaks. “We’re in for a long night, dearies,” she told them on examining Hedy. “First babies are always a bit reluctant to leave.” She bundled Sam out of the room. “Best you stay downstairs and keep that teapot topped up, young man. The mother and I will look after your wife, don’t you worry.”

Gertie caught Hedy’s eye, but they didn’t contradict her.

Hedy faced labor and childbirth with the same determined courage she had shown toward everything else she’d had to face over the past eight years. Gertie kept hold of her hand, offering words of encouragement, soothing her brow with a cooling flannel, and watching in reverent awe as this young woman did what thousands of women did every day. When baby Else emerged, announcing her arrival with a bold, powerful cry, Gertie sensed the world around her shift again. New life. New hope. The future opening up before them.

“That’s a voice that demands to be heard,” said Nelly Crabb, as she cut the cord. “This girl is ready to take on the world.”

Gertie and Hedy grinned at each other before gazing down at Else, who looked up at them and then immediately closed her eyes as if reassured that all was well. Nelly opened the door and Sam practically fell into the room. “In you come, Father,” she said. “Congratulations.”

Gertie stood back to let Sam embrace his wife and new daughter. “Oh, Hedy,” he said. “She’s perfect. Well done, my darling.”

“I couldn’t have done it without Gertie.”

“Thank you, Mrs. B,” said Sam.

“Right,” said Nelly, bustling back into the room. “I need to tend to Mother, so if you could take the baby downstairs, but stay in the kitchen to keep her warm.”

Tears brimmed in Gertie’s eyes as she watched Sam take his daughter from Hedy, gazing down at her with such tenderness. “Hello, my beautiful girl,” he said.

Gertie put on the kettle as Sam sat with Else in his arms. Hemingway sniffed the bundle before sitting bolt upright beside them as if ready to guard this precious being with his life. “Do you know, Mrs. B, my daughter is the best thing to come out of this blasted war. She gives me hope after I’d nearly run out of the stuff.”

Gertie put an arm around his shoulders and gazed down at the baby. Else opened her eyes for a moment, staring up at them in surprise. “I know precisely what you mean, Sam. I’m over the moon for you both. It’ll be quite a wrench to go home.”

“Then don’t.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Don’t go home, Gertie. Please stay. We’d both like it if you did.”

“Are you sure?”

Sam nodded. “I didn’t mention it before because I thought you’d want to enjoy your retirement, but now, seeing you here with Hedy, it all makes sense.”

“I don’t want to be in the way,” said Gertie.

“We’ve got three bedrooms, and I know Hedy would appreciate help with the baby. Why don’t you stay for a while and see how you feel? I know the estate agent in town. I’m sure he could find you a house you’d like.”

Gertie’s mind buzzed with possibility. Sam was right. It all made sense, and yet she wasn’t sure she could imagine leaving the place where she’d lived with Harry, where they’d built Bingham Books, where they’d been so happy. The baby squeaked as if offering a different point of view. Gertie smiled. “I’ll stay for a while. Thank you, dear.”