THE WAR BRIDE CLUB (35 page)

      The only other thing she cared about was finding her friends. Something she should have done months ago.
What had happened to their determined promises of staying in touch forever?

      Alice raised her hand and forced her knuckles to bang on the door. It was now or never.

      No answer.
 

      She stood, waited some more, then hit the door harder, trying to make more noise.
 

      The door swung open.
 

      Alice dropped her hand. It wasn’t Betty.
 

      “Can I help you?”

      A older woman stood, looking her over, smiling.
 

      “Well, yes. I hope so. I was hoping to find a Mrs. Betty Olliver and I don’t know if I’m at the right house.”

      The woman’s smile deepened.

      “You’ve got the right house, dear. You’re not one of her friends from the ship, are you?”

      Alice nodded. “Yes. How did you know?”

      “Oh my, Betty is going to make a fuss when she sees you. Come with me.”

      Alice followed the woman and shut the door behind her. The lady hadn’t answered her question but she wasn’t going to wait around for an answer, not if Betty was here.
 

      “So she’s home then?”

      “Oh yes.” This time the lady’s eyes shone. “She’s home, and the other girls are here too. This is your lucky day.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

JUNE’S cup dropped from her hand like it had a mind of its own. Her ears almost fell off, the shriek was so loud, and her hands were still shaking.
 

      Only the cry of Madeline’s baby made her snap out of the daydream.
 

      “Betty, what the…”

      Her mouth fell open. Oh my. It couldn’t be, surely not today?

      “Alice!” Betty was screaming. “Alice, it’s Alice!”

      June watched as Alice walked across the lawn, on tiptoe so her heels didn’t get lost in the turf as Ivy flapped her hands from the back door. Alice looked the same – blonde hair perfectly manicured, red lips painted on, but older perhaps, more mature. Or maybe she was just exhausted. Like poor Madeline.
 

      “Alice Jones, what on earth are you doing here?”

      June was surprised to see Alice blush at Betty’s question. She jumped up to greet their friend, although she couldn’t help but notice that Madeline stayed seated. Like she lacked the energy to even move.

      “I hope I’m not interrupting,” Alice sounded unsure of herself, not the bold girl from the ship June remembered. “I wasn’t expecting to find you all here.”

      Betty grabbed hold of Alice and held her tight, feet stomping in her excitement.
 

      “You’ve got the best timing, Alice. June and Madeline have just arrived.”

      June stepped forward and hugged her too. When she pulled back she saw the confusion in Alice’s eyes.
 

      “Oh Alice, don’t go thinking we’ve been meeting without you,” June told her.
 

      Betty looked confused, then seemed to realize what was going on.
 

      “Oh gosh, no!” Betty took Alice by the hand and led her over to the table. “We only just got back in touch, this is the first time we’ve met since we got here, can you believe it? Nine months it’s taken us.”

      Alice looked relieved, like she’d thought she’d been left out of whatever fun they’d been having.
 

      “Hi Madeline.”

      Madeline looked up, a blank look on her face, before seeming to register what was going on.
 

      “Alice,” her voice was flat but she smiled. “How are you? I’m sorry I didn’t get up.”

      Alice swapped a look with June, but she just smiled back at her. She knew as little as Alice did. If Madeline had confided in Betty, she hadn’t shared it with her.

“So what’s been happening, Alice? How did you find me?”

      Alice raised her eyebrows at the tea being poured from the pretty teapot. “Something about that double L spelling.”

      Even Madeline laughed at that.
 

      “So maybe teaching you how to spell my married name correctly wasn’t so loathsome?” Betty teased.
 

      They all nodded their heads.
 

      “How’s your man? Your Ralph?”

      Alice looked up at June. “Let’s just say moving here wasn’t as easy as I’d expected.”

      June didn’t know what to say to that. Was she the only one who’d found actual happiness here? Was it wrong for her to want to tell them how wonderful Eddie was?

      “Please tell me your husband is a dish?” Alice asked June.
 

      “Oh yes!” Betty answered for her. “I met him at the dock. He was divine.”

      June had to agree. “He’s a wonderful man, I’m so lucky.”

      But even as she said it, knowing that she was so fortunate, she was still envious of the two children amongst them. What she wouldn’t give to have one of her own here.
 

      “And you, Betty? Is that Charlie of yours coming out to join us? Or is he scared of a group of women?”

      Alice was laughing, so June gave a tight smile back, not wanting to say anything. It was Betty’s place to tell them all.
 

      Betty looked from Madeline to Alice, then to June.
 

      “Did I say something wrong?” Alice’s eyes flicked between them.

      “I don’t want to ruin the mood, but I may as well just come out and tell you. Since we’re all here now.”

      June wasn’t going to let herself cry. She had to be strong for Betty. She’d been a blubbering mess before but she wasn’t going to let it happen again.

      “Charlie took a contract after the war, flying for a supplies company. His plane went down on his last flight, and he didn’t make it home.”

      June heard Alice gasp. Even Madeline seemed roused from her trance, blinking furiously.

      “Are you saying that Charlie’s dead?” Alice asked.

      Betty nodded, hands folded tightly together on her lap. “I only found out after I arrived. His brother Luke took me in, this is his home.” She paused.” He’s a lovely man and I’m very fortunate.”

      June kept her eyes downcast. She guessed Betty wasn’t planning on sharing
everything
with the others.
 

      “Oh sweetheart, I’m so sorry.” Alice moved her chair closer so she could put her arm around Betty’s shoulders.
 

      They all froze when Madeline started snuffling.
 

      “I’m sorry Betty, I’m sorry. You don’t need me here with my problems too.”

      Madeline stood with Charlotte in her arms, eyes wild, filled with terror.
 

      June jumped to her feet first. “Mads? What are you saying? Don’t be silly. We’re all here for one another.”

      Madeline looked like she was about to run – to take flight and get as far away as she could. Something had happened to their friend, something serious, something that she needed to get off of her chest.
 

      June walked slowly over to her, taking her on the arm and walking her back over to her seat. She hoped her touch helped to calm her, to let her know she didn’t have to run, didn’t have to keep her problems bottled up inside like a disease.

      “Tell us what happened to you, Madeline. Tell us what’s wrong.”

      It was like they were all holding their breaths, waiting to hear. Wanting to know what had traumatized Madeline so badly. They were all waiting to see how they could help, what they could do.
 

      “I hate it here. I hate it. I want to go home.”

      Madeline’s words were so low, spoken so softly they were barely audible. But June heard them; heard them for what they were. This wasn’t just a case of not liking it here, of pining for home and missing family. Madeline was desperate.
 

      “Has he hurt you? Did you husband do something?” June lowered her voice. “You can tell us, Madeline, you’re safe here. We’re not going to let anyone hurt you or your baby.”

      Madeline’s response was to shut her eyes, tight. Like she was trying to force the memories away.
 

      Betty and Alice fell to their knees in front of her, leaning into her, holding Madeline’s hands. June reached for the baby and put her over her shoulder.
 

      She tried to ignore the feeling of the soft, tiny child in her arms. The pang in her chest wasn’t fair. She needed to help Madeline. Nothing else mattered right now.

      “What did he do, honey? Is your husband okay?”

      Madeline looked up, her eyes like glass. It was as if she’d died behind them, like she wasn’t there anymore. “My father died. My husband’s family kept every letter from me, and now they want me prisoner in their house again. I have to go home, please.
Please
help me get home. I can’t stand another day of it, let alone a lifetime.”

      They all looked at Madeline and then at one another.
 

      “Please, Betty. June. Alice. Please.” Madeline started to sob. “I need to go home. Help me go home.”

* * *
 

Madeline felt like a fool. It wasn’t that she wished she’d kept it to herself, but she felt like an idiot for putting up with her new family for so long.
 

      She’d thought that maybe she wasn’t being strong enough. That she needed to try toughening up. That maybe she was doing something wrong. But the look on her friends’ faces had told her she was right, that she should have trusted her instincts from day one.
 

      “Why did we take so long to find each other?”

      Madeline’s voice was hoarse from crying and her eyes were burning, but she felt happier than she had in a long time after talking everything through.

      “We’re fools, all of us.”

      They laughed at Alice.

      “So am I the only one whose marriage was a failure?” Madeline asked.

      Betty smiled and Madeline’s heart dropped.
 

      “Oh, Betty, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean…”

      Betty raised her hand. “Don’t apologize, no offense taken. You don’t need to walk on eggshells around me.”

      Madeline bit her tongue. She wasn’t saying another word.
 

      They were quiet, all sitting on the blanket now, spread out on the grass. Charlotte was asleep in June’s arms, and William was curled up against a cushion like an exhausted puppy, like he’d been crawling one moment and fallen over asleep the next.
 

      “Marriage has had its ups and downs for me.”

      Madeline looked up at Alice when she spoke. Saw the tired expression on her face as she stared up at the blue sky.
 

      “How so?”

      Alice sighed.
 

      “My Ralph wasn’t exactly how I remembered him, but we’re getting there now.”

      No one asked any questions. They just sat. Alice would speak when she was ready, they all knew that.
 

      Madeline, well, she was just happy to have her mind off her problems. For now. Tonight, she’d probably start to worry all over again, but now she just needed to shake it off and enjoy the company. It seemed like forever since she’d just relaxed and been happy.
 

      “I had stars in my eyes, you know? Ralph was so confident and strong, gave me everything I could dream of back in London. When he came home, he lost everything, and I didn’t cope very well with the man he became.”

      “But you’re okay now?” June asked.
 

      Alice stopped playing with the edge of the rug and raised her eyes. “We’re going to be fine. Deep down, I know we will be.”

      Madeline watched June. She could sense her friend was holding something back.
 

      “How about you, June? Tell me about your Eddie?”

      The smile that broke out on her friend’s face said it all before she’d even spoken a word.
 

      “Eddie’s wonderful. I’m very lucky.”

      That made them all look up.
 

      “Do tell!” Betty sounded excited again, like she had been when they’d all first sat down together. “No holding back here. Especially not with good news.”

      June looked nervous but Betty gave her a sharp nudge with her elbow.
 

      “I don’t know what to say.” June was blushing furiously.