Children in Her Shadow (33 page)

The arrival of the hearse was the signal for Dai and Ruth to step outside and lead the mourners through the streets of the village and up the hill to the church. The scene was overwhelming for Dai as he witnessed the outpourings of love and affection for his dear mother with hundreds of people walking the difficult journey to the church. As they came into sight of the church the full throated sound of a male voice choir could be heard singing Lott’s favourite Welsh song the beautiful ‘Myfanwy’. There is not a Welsh man or woman who is not moved to tears when they hear this most evocative of Welsh anthems.

The funeral service was harrowing for Dai and Ruth the two people who owed so much to one of God’s kindest creatures. As the service drew to a close, the Vicar turned to the congregation and signalled to Ruth to come forward. Dai was not prepared for what was to follow. Ruth spoke quietly and without falter in her voice of Auntie Lott the mother, friend, confidant and the village Auntie. She ended by explaining that she was going to recite from a poem that Lott found comforting following the death of her beloved Arthur, Dylan Thomas’s powerful, ‘Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night’.

The congregation was spellbound as Ruth delivered this challenge to the perceived wisdom of a quiet passage to the gates of heaven. As she read the final words her heart broke into a thousand pieces. Dai rose from his pew and helped the distraught Ruth back to her seat as the ripple of voices from outside the church collected with those of the congregation inside to sing the only hymn to close a funeral in Wales ‘Cwm Rhondda’. Ruth knew the importance of this wonderful hymn which is the very embodiment of the ‘hwyl’ or good bye.

Following the burial, the mourners Ruth and Dai went back to the village hall where there were sandwiches and tea and an opportunity for friends to reflect upon the life of this extraordinary woman. It drained Dai to hear the many stories from the young and the not so young whose lives had been touched in very personal ways by the kindness of his mother, Auntie Lott was destined to remain a legend in this small village for many years to come.

That evening Dai and Ruth cried and laughed, sat in silence with their own thoughts and shared many of the personal stories told to them by the people who came to say goodbye to Lott. They laughed at the number of people who didn’t know quite what to say to Dai and Ruth and who simply said with a great honesty and reverence, “She’s got a good day for it anyway.” Ruth and Dai parted company agreeing that they should spend the following day together and with Huw thinking about their future and planning for their move.

The following day, Dai took Ruth to Bridgend firstly to see the business he had decided to buy and secondly to look at the house he was proposing to buy for them to live in.

Their journey to Bridgend would normally take a little under an hour and would bring them through villages and towns that Ruth had never visited but whose names were so familiar to her. As they passed through the village of Upper Boat, Dai pointed out the house where his Auntie Mary lived and as they swept into Tonteg he pulled up at a house on Main Road telling Ruth and Huw that they were going to say a quick hello to his Auntie Violet and Uncle George.

Dai sprung out of the car took Huw by the hand and dashed to the house pulling Ruth behind him. He was like a young boy as he rushed into the house desperate to show off his new family. Dai’s uncle and auntie were overjoyed to meet Ruth and to see Huw. Auntie Violet turned to Ruth and asked if she remembered her from when she was a child visiting Lott. In an instance Ruth did remember the lovely lady who would spend Sunday afternoon playing cards with Lott and Arthur and was so patient with Ruth who was always eager to play herself. Ruth hugged Violet as the memories of her childhood again came flooding back to her.

They left Tonteg with a promise to return again in the very near future and headed back on the road to Bridgend. As they passed through Llantwit Fadre, Dai hooted the horn and waved to a man on a bicycle who Dai explained was his Uncle Edmond, “Never worked another day in his life after he was laid off by the colliery and now all he does is odd jobs for people….but he has a heart of gold” explained Dai and they descended the hill towards Cross Keys. Once again, Dai reminded Ruth of his family’s deep roots in the valleys as he named another three members of the family who lived between here and Llanharan.

On arrival in Bridgend Dai’s first port of call was to show off his new garage. Ruth was disappointed not to have gone to the house first but recognised in Dai that he needed to demonstrate to her that he would have a substantial job and therefore the garage was his first priority.

Dai introduced Ruth as Mrs Evans to the current owner something she was not expecting but a name she felt had a certain ring to it. Huw was fascinated as the outgoing owner showed them around the forecourt with several used cars for sale and the small showroom with its three gleaming new cars. There were two fuel pumps that seemed to be busy serving a constant stream of people in cars and on motorcycles. Finally, they were shown the offices that were above a busy workshop.

Ruth remarked to Dai just how familiar the surroundings felt to her as she whispered in his ear that she would rapidly knock the office into some shape if he wanted her to do. Dai smiled and said, “I hoped you might say that because it is certainly not my forte.” There were three people working in the office, one on the forecourt and one in the car sales section which prompted Ruth to do some quick calculations about Dai’s costs and the likely sales he would need to make to cover those costs and the other overheads.

As they drove away from the garage Ruth mentioned these costs to Dai who smiled and remarked that this is just the kind of open and honest partnership he was looking for in the business in the future. Ruth questioned the word partnership and Dai commented, “You and I are a partnership and it’s important to me that you become a partner in this business and in the others I will buy in years to come.”

He went on, “You have a lot of experience and in no time, I’m sure you will learn the business so that in the future, if anything should happen to me, you and Huw ….and any children we might have, will have a secure future.” Ruth laughed of the reference to his age but squeezed his arm and said thank you.

They arrived at the house Dai was proposing to buy. It was an end of terrace property that overlooked a large green play area that was lined by elm and oak trees. The front of the house instantly reminded Ruth of Mrs Morgan’s house in Cardiff with its small front garden and wooden gate. Dai left Ruth and Huw on the doorstep as he was greeted by the next door neighbour Mr Owens, with the keys for the house. He was the son of the previous owner and was acting on behalf of the family in the sale of the property. Once again, Dai introduced Ruth as Mrs Evans and also brought Huw to say good morning and to shake Mr Owens hand.

Huw opened the front door and they entered moving slowly from room to room most of which had little furniture as this had been sold following the death of the previous owner. But Ruth could see that the house was substantial and very much a family home.

Downstairs there was a beautifully decorated front room and a large, extended kitchen with plenty of room for eating. Upstairs there were four bedrooms and a bathroom. Ruth was overwhelmed by the size of the house and as she was thinking about what they would do with such a large property so Dai whispered to Ruth, “Wouldn’t you love to have more babies and bring them up in this lovely house.” Ruth paused before responding and what she said brought tears to Dai’s eyes, “Yes of course I want more children and I want to have them with you.” He hugged her and lifted Huw into their embrace.

They spent about thirty minutes in the house before Dai confirmed with Ruth that the house was what she wanted. Having agreed, they returned to Mr Owens’s house and with a shake of a hand the deal was done. As they walked to the car, Dai told Ruth that the house would be purchased for cash and placed in her name. He explained that there were two reasons for this, firstly to ensure that at no time in the future could anyone make a claim over her home and secondly to make life easier for her because of the age difference as they became older.

The following eight weeks were like a whirl wind for Ruth. She firstly needed to tell Mrs Thomas that she would be leaving the post office at the end of November to move to Bridgend. The news came as no surprise to the ever observant Mrs Thomas who predicted that it would not be long before Dai and she moved out of the village. Mrs Thomas made this task easy by explaining that she had received several offers for the business and it would not be difficult to sell.

The next step was to secure a place in the local school in Bridgend for Huw something that was achieved three weeks later when she and Dai went to Bridgend to sign the papers for the house. The school was within walking distance of their new home and though much larger than the Senghenydd school it had a village school feel to it. The plans were that Huw would join the school at the beginning of December when he could settle into the pre Christmas activities where he would soon feel a part of the school.

Ruth was overwhelmed by the generosity of Dai’s gesture to place the ownership of the house in her name. As they sat outside the Solicitors office, she gave Dai her post office pass book and said, “This is all my savings that I have been putting aside for many years, this should now be placed into a joint account with you.” Dai held the book in his hand unopened for a couple of seconds before he passed it back to Ruth saying, “No, you must keep this for a rainy day, I will provide for you and our children and I will ensure that we are able to add a few pounds more to your nest egg as the years pass by.” Dai ensured in his tone that Ruth would understand that for him, this was the end of the subject about money.

They entered the Solicitor’s office where an array of papers was awaiting their signatures. The first transferred the house into Ruth’s name but not before Dai counted out one thousand two hundred pounds in cash to secure the ownership unencumbered by any mortgage. Ruth had never seen such sums since she left the central post office in Cardiff. With one signature from Ruth and another from a clerk in the solicitor’s office acting as witness, the house was Ruth’s.

The second papers placed the freehold of the garage in Ruth’s name and the business in Dai’s once again in an attempt to provide security for Ruth. Again Dai paid for the freehold, the business and the good will by cash. Finally, the Solicitor held a document in his hand and said to Ruth, “I have a last Will and Testament here for Dai and I have his permission to tell you that in the event of his demise, he has made proper and generous provision for his children from his first marriage and the rest of his estate will pass to you.” For Ruth this was a day of shocks and surprises.

Dai and Ruth went next to the auction and sale rooms where they made arrangements to purchase the furniture they would need to turn the house into a home. Despite the large sums of money that had changed hands that day the frugal nature of both Ruth and Dai meant that they saw no difficulty in purchasing perfectly good second hand furniture for their home.

As they came to settle the bill, Ruth stopped Dai and said, “From what you have said this may be the last opportunity for me to use some of my money on our home and therefore I beg you to let me pay.” Dai knew this was important to Ruth and after a dash to the post office down the street Ruth returned and settled the account.

On their return journey to Senghenydd Dai informed Ruth that he had decided to sell his mother’s house and that the proceeds would be placed into a bank account for his children.

By the end of the last week of November, Ruth and Dai had managed to move furniture from Lott’s house to Bridgend and they had spent time making sure the Bridgend house was ready for them to move in to in December. Strangely, Dai refused to move into the house until he could do this simultaneously with Ruth and Huw preferring instead to sleep in the office above his new garage. Huw was excited about the move to his new school having visited there twice and seemed eager to start his new life.

At eight thirty on Saturday fifth December nineteen fifty three the Evans family collected their final belongings and set off for Bridgend. Their goodbyes were all done the previous night and whilst these were sad goodbyes it was clear that Senghenydd would never be far from their thoughts.

The journey to Bridgend was filled with excitement and anticipation. For Ruth this would be her first family home, for Dai it would be a new life with his first love and for Huw it would be the first time that his ‘father’ would be living with them.

The move to Bridgend, the home and the business fully lived up to the expectations of Ruth and her family. Huw quickly settled into school and Ruth and Dai rapidly became a good team in the garage. Ruth managed the accounts whilst Dai oversaw the garage and repair shop.

They adapted to new routines and for Ruth she also adapted to having Dai in her bed at night. Dai was the second lover in her life and she could not be happier. His gentle nature and his commitment to love and care for Ruth seemed to find no limit. He was good with Huw and settled quickly into the role of father to ‘their’ child. Huw loved to spend time in the garage with Dai and was never happier than when he was in the pit in the garage looking up at the underside of a car or when he was helping the mechanic take an engine apart.