Heeellooo...I'm BACK! This is the second story in what I am privately calling my "Winds of Change" trilogy. This one is going to focus more on Matthew, Olivia and Robby but Mary and Bert are definitely still in here quite a bit. And just so you all know upfront...Olivia and Robby are not getting together. I started to ship them, but Bert-in-my-head was all, "Nope. It wouldn't work and this is why", so I had to conceed that he was right, blast him.
Bert Alfred stood in front of the mirror, almost not even recognizing himself. Tonight was the evening of the event that Robby had put together to honor those who had fought in the Great War. Poetry, music, and various other forms of art would be featured and some of it was his own.
So in order to mark it as a special occasion, he had allowed Robby to talk him into wearing an army dress uniform, which he was entitled to wear but had never seen any reason to.
Tugging the cap into place over his newly cut hair, he took a last look. He seemed...remote somehow, not at all his usual pleasant self. And he could even feel himself standing differently, back straighter and hands crisply at his sides. It seemed that old habits died hard.
Chuckling self-depricatingly, he got his crutch (which had recieved a new coat of paint) under his right arm and stumped out of the bathroom. Mary was in their bedroom getting her coat and he paused in the doorway to watch her, a genuine smile spreading over his face. She was about three months along with their third child and to his eyes, she grew more beautiful each day. Jerry and his younger sister Sarah were spending the night with their Uncle Gavin, Aunt Jane, and best friends Herbie and Liza.
"Are you ready?" he asked softly, still feeling a bit self conscious in these unfamiliar clothes.
"I am." she said as she rose to her feet and turned to face him. She paused, eyeing him and Bert wondered if he'd hung one of his medals upside down until she spoke. "If you wore that more often, we might very well have five children instead of three!"
He laughed out loud. Mary rarely made comments like this, but for her to do so meant that she certainly approved of the dress uniform! So he would try to relax.
He offered her his arm as they moved toward the front door and she looped it through his. "Are we meeting Robby there?" she asked and he nodded.
"We are. Olivia is coming and so is Matthew." he informed her with great satisfaction and she rolled her eyes. How could he help it if he was Mr. Matchmaker? So far, he'd managed to make 10 happy couples without even trying!
And Olivia needed someone that could understand her. Although he loved Robby as another brother, he could see that it wouldn't be a good match. They were too different in some fundamental ways and if they had married, they would both have been very unhappy. But Robby was still presisting and Bert feared that if something didn't happen so, he would end up losing Olivia's friendship for good, which he didn't want to see.
"Robby keeps asking Olivia to marry him." he sighed and Mary looked sympathetic.
"It's hard for you to be in the middle, isn't it love?" she asked softly.
"It is. Especially when I care about them both and want them to be happy! But I know that it wouldn't work out between them. Sometimes, Robby's stubborness is a great thing but in this instance, I'm afraid that he's going to drive her away completely if he doesn't slow it down and take some time to think things over."
"And that isn't Robby's style." Mary commented wryly and Bert chuckled. It most certainly was not the way Mr. Graves chose to do anything.
"Exactly. But I suppose they're both grownups. Maybe they have to work it out between themselves."
The carriage arrived at the exhibition hall and Bert was glad to see the number of people milling around. "Seems as though the word has gotten out." Mary said as he helped her down from the carriage and he smiled.
"It sure does." he nodded as he helped her up the steps. He nodded to several people he knew until a familar voice called jovially, "Bertie Boy!"
Grinning, he turned to find Robby coming toward him, also in military best. "Hullo Robby." he said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Looks like a fair few people turned up!"
"Sure does, and I'm glad." Robby said honestly. "Olivia and Adam are about somewhere and your old captain is over by the drawings."
"Thanks Robby. See you around, eh?" Bert asked and Robby nodded as he greeted Mary cheerfully before melting away into the crowd as only he could.
Taking Mary's arm again so he wouldn't lose her in the throng of people, Bert made his way over to the artwork and found Captain Wallace studying several drawings that he had done himself. Mary's face was sober as she studied everything and he sighed inside. He'd sugested that she may not want to come, but she had insisted. She wanted to have a better sense of what he had been through.
"Hullo Matthew." Bert said and took the hand Matthew extended as he turned.
"Hello Bert! It seems that I get to address a few people this evening." Matthew chuckled. Bert couldn't help noticing that Matthew looked a little better since the last time they had met. Perhaps this evening would be good for a lot of people, all said and done.
"Looks like you do." he chuckled as Matthew made his greetings to Mary and inquired after Jerry and Sarah. As the two conversed, he saw Olivia and Adam making their way over.
Olivia looked...downtrodden somehow and he wanted to shake Robby until his teeth rattled but he couldn't get his friend to see what he was doing to the woman he "loved".
"Hullo you two." he said cheerfully and Adam shook his hand, chattering excitedly about one of the piano players he had just met who could play without being able to see the keys.
"Hello Bert." Olivia said quietly when Adam had gone to talk to Mary.
"You don't look so well." he said bluntly, surprised at himself.
Olivia did not take offense, however, and sighed softly. "I don't feel so well. Mother and Father have been applying more pressure than usual for me to wed and between them and Robby..."
"You've got a lot on your mind." he supplied.
She nodded. "Quite a lot. Still, I am glad I decided to come tonight. I think quite a few people needed this, even if they would not like to admit it."
"I agree with you." Bert said, his head turning as the master of ceremonies called for silence.
"This evening, it is our pleasure to have speaking to us the commanders of the 142nd Unit, Captain Matthew Wallace. After Captain Wallace addresses us, we will have a poetry reading by Robert Graves."
Before Bert could say anything, Matthew walked foward, removing his cap.
He was nervous. He had spoken to many people but never this many at one time. Removing his cap, he took a moment to collect himself.
"My name is Matthew Wallace. Some of you may know me as the son of Lord Greyson, but tonight I am merely another man who went away to fight for my country and was changed by it forever."
Everyone was listening raptly and he continued. "I commanded the 14nd Unit and we were based in the French Theatre. We fought alongside American forces in order to repel the Germanic invasion.
He swallowed thickly. The next things he had to see were the ones he was dreading.
"Over half my unit, over the course of the war, died. Many more were wounded, some of them permanantly."
His gaze couldn't help but flicker over to Bert Alfred when he said this.
"And I carry those who died with me." he continued softly. "I directly affected their lives and deaths with the decisions I made. Night after night, I wonder if I had acted differently, interrupreted information differently...if some of those young men might not still be with us."
Unable to bear any look of sympathy, he looked down at the floor for a moment. "But I am just one of many. There are far more people who bear greater burdens than I. The doctors and nurses who cared for the wounded are some. I saw many things, but they saw more than I ever will. But they have gone without honor or any sort of glory. So if you know of women and men who gave their humble service in a hospital...thank them. Because they have gone without acknowledgement for too long."
Applause greeted this comment and he waited for it to die down. "Tonight is a night of remembrance. We remember those who went on before us. We remember their bravery, their courage, and their spirit in the harshest of circumstances. So tonight, we who fought invite you to remember with us so that we never forget them, or why we are still here."
Bowing his head, Matthew tugged his cap on and left the stage to thunderous applause. Robert Graves nodded to him, looking impressed and Matthew smiled as the writer went to go take his own place on stage.
As he returned to where Bert was standing, he saw a young woman and her brother standing with them. And the moment their eyes met, Matthew felt...something. Something strange. Hopefully he would be able to figure out what this meant.
Robby was beginning to recite his poem and as it was one, Olivia had heard before, she wasn't paying overly much attention to it. Her mind was still on the words of Captain Wallace.
Her father knew Lord Greyson, but she had never met any of the others in his family. His son seemed to be as thoughtful and eloquent as he was. And she could see all too easily the pain he still carried around with him.
She knew the feeling. As a nurse, she had many of the same wonderings. If she had seen something sooner, called for a doctor a little earlier...yes, she could understand what Matthew Wallace felt.
As he approached them, her dark eyes met his hazel ones and something flashed between them. Perhaps this meant he would be a good friend, as Robby and Bert were.
Robby finished speaking and as the crowd clapped, Matthew paused at Bert's side. The older man immediately turned to her. "Olivia, this is my old captain, Matthew Wallace. Matthew, this is Olivia Sims. She was one of the nurses who got me through when I was recovering."
He smiled kindly, extending his hand. "A pleasure, Ms. Sims. I believe my father knows yours."
"He does, and speaks of him highly." Olivia said as she shook his hand.
"As mine does of him." Matthew nodded, releasing her hand.
They stood in silence for a moment until Matthew motioned to the drawings. "Have you seen Bert's yet? They're marvellous as usual."
She chuckled as Bert flushed and shook her head. "I have not seen them yet."
"Then may I accompany you? Many of them are of places I know." he suggested, holding out his arm.
"That would be very kind of you." she agreed, taking his arm. Neither of them saw Robby standing a few paces back with a stony expression on his face.