The door opened and Nurse Willoughby appeared. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Bingham. I’m afraid I need to take Hedy for more tests.”
Gertie nodded, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief as she rose to her feet. “Of course.”
As she trailed along the corridor, it was as if her shoes were weighed down by boulders and hope was dissolving to quicksand, disappearing with every step. She had almost reached the door when there was a shout behind her.
“Mrs. Bingham!” cried Nurse Willoughby. “Come quickly. Hedy’s awake.”
Gertie sped along the corridor as if she were five years old again. Hedy’s face was radiant with joy as she burst into the room. “I’ve just had the most wonderful dream, Gertie,” she said. “We were walking through the Englischer Garten with my mother on a beautiful sunny day, and the pair of you had become the very best of friends. It made me so happy.”
Chapter 23
1945
We have inherited the past; we can create the future.
—Anonymous
Hedy and Sam were married in the spring. Gertie dusted off her best tweed suit and glowed with pride as she watched the pair of them make their vows.
As soon as the date was set, Gertie had climbed into the loft, batting away the cobwebs with her feather duster to retrieve a large, faded cream box. She carried it downstairs, placing it before Hedy, who was lying on the sofa, writing in her notebook. “I know you’d rather your mother was here to make it for you, but as that’s not possible, I thought this might do.”
Hedy lifted the lid and peeled back the pearl-white tissue paper to reveal an ivory wedding gown with lace sleeves. She stared down at the dress and then up at Gertie.
“It might need some adjustment, but I’m sure Margery’s seamstress army can help. Of course if you’d rather wear something more up to date . . .”
Hedy leapt up and threw her arms around Gertie’s neck. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you, Gertie.”
“I hope you are as happy on your wedding day as I was on mine, my dear,” said Gertie, holding her close.
Margery’s seamstress army did indeed work wonders to adapt the gown, adding the odd flourish and ensuring it fit Hedy as if it had been made for her. She wore a headdress that Betty fashioned from cherry blossom and ivy and looked as radiant as a Greek goddess. Sam gazed at her with such adoration that Gertie thought her heart might leap from her chest. This is how mothers feel, she thought as she stood beside Daphne, watching while they posed for photographs.
The wedding reception was held at the Godwin family home and felt to Gertie like the first of many celebrations to come. The world was alive with anticipation as every day inched closer toward the possibility of peace. News that the Rhine had been crossed gave everyone cause for great excitement. The dark cloud of fascism had spread across Europe like a virus, but now it was starting to dissolve.
Daphne and Margery had known each other through the Beechwood Operatic Society, so it didn’t surprise Gertie to note that Margery had taken full charge of the catering arrangements. Thanks to Betty’s GI fiancé, they were able to enjoy Spam in almost every form, along with potatoes prepared three different ways. The wedding cake was encased in a cardboard outer ring and decorated with blossom and ivy. Gerald had managed to secure another barrel of beer, and Margery and her WVS colleagues made gallons of tea.
“Wizard wedding, isn’t it, Mrs. B?” said Betty, appearing by her side as Sam wheeled out the gramophone and started to play “On the Sunny Side of the Street.”
“It’s wonderful,” said Gertie. “It’ll be you next.”
Betty glanced over at her fiancé, who was leading her jubilant mother around the impromptu dance floor. She grinned. “I can’t wait. And what about you, Mrs. B? What will you do when all this is over?”
Gertie hesitated. She hadn’t given the question much thought until now. The years had been taken up with surviving, hoping, waiting. There had been little time for anything else. Now that they were on the brink of peace, she had no idea what she would do. Sam and Hedy were going to live with her for the time being, but she knew they wouldn’t stay forever. Sam had continued his law degree while in the prisoner of war camp and hoped to qualify soon. They would set up their own home. They would look to the future, and Gertie must look to hers. The problem was that she had no idea what it might be. It was as if she were standing on the shoreline, peering into the mist, unable to see what lay ahead. Before the war she had been set on retirement. During the war, the bookshop had given her purpose. Now, though, she had no idea what the promise of a life beyond it would bring. “Carry on as before, I suppose,” she said, although the idea of this left her feeling oddly dissatisfied. “Are you excited about the prospect of moving to America?”
Betty grinned. “I’m fit to burst, but don’t talk about it in front of Mother. She breaks down into tears at the mere mention.” She glanced over at her fiancé and mother, laughing together. “Sometimes I think she’s going to miss William more than me.”
“Well, I know I’m going to miss you very much,” said Gertie.
“We’ve had some rare old adventures, haven’t we?”
“We certainly have, my dear.”
“Pardon me,” said William, bowing to them both. “But I was wondering if I could borrow my fiancé for a dance?”
Betty grinned. “I thought you’d never ask. See you later, Mrs. B.”
Gertie gave them a jovial wave and decided to get some air. She’d enjoyed a glass of Gerald’s beer and felt the need to clear her head a little. She pushed open the doors leading to the garden and immediately spotted Hedy sitting under the apple tree.
“Don’t sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me,” she sang, making her way across the lawn to join her.
“Gertie!” Hedy’s face lit up. “I was feeling a little tired and thought the fresh air would do me good.”
“Great minds think alike,” said Gertie, sitting down beside her. She could see that Hedy’s eyes were tinged with red as if she’d been crying. Instinctively she placed a hand over hers as they sat in companionable silence.
After a while Hedy spoke. “Today is my mother’s forty-seventh birthday.”
The words hung in the air, laced with sorrow. Gertie burned with frustration that she couldn’t magic Else Fischer into this moment or offer sufficient words to console. There were no words that could do this. She squeezed Hedy’s hand in a gesture that felt woefully inadequate.
“I just want to know, Gertie. One way or the other, I want to know what’s happened to them.”
Gertie nodded. “I’ll do all I can to help you. I promise.”
There was a burst of the Andrews Sisters from the dining room as Sam opened the door. “Hedy, my love. Mother thinks we should cut the cake.”
“I’m coming,” she called, rising to her feet. Hedy turned back to Gertie. “You know I heard what you said to me in the hospital when I was ill.”
“You did?”
Hedy nodded and offered her hand. “I feel exactly the same.”
Back inside, Gertie found Charles by the buffet. “I feel like a proud mother hen today,” she told him.