1944 December
As Christmas approached, Jean often thought back to the first few holidays she'd celebrated after her marriage. With a regular paycheck coming in once Christopher had joined the Army, and with the arrival of their two sons, they had gone all out for the festive season. Towers of gifts all around, decorations everywhere, and of course bountiful food for everyone. She knew that Jack barely remembered those celebrations, but she was sure young Christopher recalled them as wistfully as Jean herself did, even though he never spoke of it. Her elder son was as practical as his mother, knowing better than to wish for what was clearly impossible.
She decided she would try to make some simple toys to give the boys, to be sure the day did not pass unnoticed. Sock puppets, perhaps? She recalled that she still had some valuables hidden inside Jack's stuffed bear, but there was nothing really to buy at this point. No extra food or medicine anywhere in the camp that hadn't already changed hands and been used up at some point.
To make matters worse, two days before Christmas when the guards brought the evening food, they announced that rations had been cut once again. The nightly meal would now be the only one. All the protests, even those of mothers worried that their children would starve, fell on deaf ears. Jean tried not to blame the guards, knowing they had no say in the matter, but she realized that even with her garden there wouldn't be enough to feed everyone. She could till more space, but even if she had the hands to plant more, the crops wouldn't be edible in time to help. Once again, she wondered what edible treasures lay beyond the fences. Somehow she would have to find the courage to explore out there or watch her boys starve.
The soldiers were furious when they received news of the cut to rations. They were close to rioting. Lucien insisted on speaking with Colonel Suga to discuss the matter, but to no one's surprise, the colonel happened to be away for the week. That meant any violent displays on the part of the prisoners would be met with even more violent reprisals from the guards.
Lucien ordered his men inside to discuss their options.
"What options?" Norman Baker demanded once they were assembled. "Seems our options are to starve or get shot."
"Go get yerself shot then," Morris muttered. Baker was known to be a coward and a malcontent, always blaming others for everything that befell him.
Lucien held up his hands for quiet. "The women have a patch for growing plants to supplement their diet."
"Civilian men do too," Morris added.
"Well, then, any of you lot done any farming?" asked Lucien.
"Just harvesting, not planting," said Private Colin Doyle, and a few men nodded that it was the same for them.
Private Manos spoke up. "I've grown flowers. My father has a greenhouse. It can't be all that different, can it?"
"Well, Nick, it looks like you'll be in charge of our garden," said Lucien, clapping him on the shoulder.
"One problem, Cap. We don't have anything to plant," Manos pointed out.
"You leave that to me," said Lucien. "I know just the expert to consult on this matter."
Jean stood in the doorway, looking out into the darkness that was broken only occasionally by a sweep from the guard tower lights. She was disappointed in herself. She had always considered that she was brave enough to do whatever needed to be done, especially for her family. But the thought of going out into that darkness conjured up all-too-real images of being grabbed and struck by someone she couldn't see, only feel and smell. She shivered, trying to banish the flashback.
She was just about to move back inside, defeated yet again, when Ruth, who had left moments before to meet up with her husband, suddenly returned.
"Jean, Doctor Blake is just around the corner," Ruth told her. "He wants to speak with you. What do you want me to tell him?"
She froze. Doctor Blake, Lucien, who'd gone through hell for doing God knew what, had risked going through that again or worse to talk to her. How could she ignore that or him? And if she was with him, she knew he could protect her. She suspected he would literally risk his life to keep her or anyone else in his care safe from harm.
"You go see Ben," Jean told Ruth. "I'll speak with Doctor Blake."
"Are you sure? I think he'll understand if you can't."
"I'm sure. Go. Ben's waiting."
Ruth was only too happy to comply.
Jean paused a moment to ask Eve to keep an eye on the boys, then took a deep breath and walked out into the darkness. Almost immediately, even before her panic could set in, he was standing in front of her, his blue eyes gleaming. Those eyes were like none other she had ever seen, and they were enough to calm her considerably.
He leaned in close to whisper to her. She could smell him: perspiration, of course, from the heat and the lack of bathing facilities, but something else, an essence that was just him. She breathed it in deeply. It was so very different than the reek of the guard Bruiser that she found it reassuring.
"Are you all right, Jean?" he whispered.
"Yes, I think so," she replied.
"Good." His teeth glistened in the moonlight as he smiled at her. "Do you feel up to a trip beyond the fence so we can talk? If not, we can just move out of the reach of the searchlights and speak very quietly."
Jean decided that if she had managed to come this far into the darkness, she wasn't going to miss a chance to go out into the jungle to explore. "I'm fine," she insisted. "Let's go."
"Just hold onto my hand," he urged her. "Squeeze it or give a sharp tug if we need to stop for any reason."
She took his hand and immediately squeezed it. "Like this?" she asked teasingly.
Again he smiled. "Yes, exactly like that."
He led the way back to the fence, where he had to release her hand. "I'll go first," he whispered, "make sure it's clear, then reach back for you. Will that be all right?"
She nodded, immediately missing the warm reassurance of his grip. Watching, she saw him drop down onto his back and wriggle beneath the barrier. She felt a brief moment of panic again while he was out of sight, but then his hand appeared, extending toward her, and she clenched it between both of hers. A moment later he had pulled her up to join him.
He put a finger to his lips to indicate quiet, then gently pressed her back out of the path of the searching lights. When the light had swept past their position, they crouched and ran until the jungle's undergrowth concealed them. He kept on going, his hand still in hers, until he seemed to feel they were out of earshot of the guards. He looked around, and then, satisfied, he turned to her. "All right?"
"Yes, I'm fine. You?"
"Top notch," he assured her. "But let's keep walking, if you don't mind."
"I don't mind in the slightest." She swung their still-joined hands.
He seemed to have a destination in mind, and she thought she would wait until they reached it to really talk with him.
Lucien slowed suddenly, and again put a finger to his lips as he crouched low. At that moment she heard it too, soft voices up ahead. She couldn't make out the words at first and then realized they were speaking in another language, but it didn't sound like Japanese. Local people, perhaps?
All smiles, Lucien stood up, still holding her hand. She stood with him, and together they moved forward and he quietly greeted the newcomers, obviously people he knew. They seemed to be a family, and Lucien addressed them in their own language before switching back to English.
"Jean Beazley, may I introduce the Leong family, old friends that I haven't seen in far too long."
"Hello," Jean said hesitantly.
Mr. Leong nodded. "Hello."
"I haven't seen them since before the Selerang incident," Lucien explained. "I'm so happy to see them all again and looking so well."
"Guards not so many now," said Mr. Leong. "Safer. We have been hoping to meet you again, Doctor."
"The Leongs, especially Mama Leong," he smiled at the older woman, "know all about the local plants. What's good for eating, what medicinal properties they have."
"Perfect," said Jean. That was exactly the kind of knowledge she needed.
"Mrs. Beazley has a garden inside the camp," Lucien told Mr. Leong. "We need to start something similar for the soldiers. The Japanese have just cut our rations. Not enough food now."
"And I need to add more types of plants to my garden," Jean explained.
Lucien began to chat to "Mama" Leong in her own tongue, presumably repeating the details of their situation.
The older woman smiled and nodded at Jean, then motioned for her to sit down. Lucien sat beside her to translate as Mama opened the sack she carried and began pulling out the contents.
The first item was covered with hairy tendrils, kind of like a small, red coconut. Jean had no idea what to do with it.
"It's called a rambutan," Lucien told her. They both watched as Mama pulled out a knife and split open the husk to reveal a silvery white fruit inside. She split it in half and gave each of them a portion to try.
Jean watched Lucien pop the whole piece into his mouth, seed and all, as with his eyes he urged her to try it. She did, and was glad she had. The fruit was delicious, just slightly acidic and reminding her of the taste of grapes. The seed in the center was nutty and just as delicious.
"That's wonderful, thank you," said Jean. "My boys will love these. How do they grow?"
Lucien translated her question and the response. "They grow on trees, too big to plant in your garden, I'm afraid."
Mama pointed out several of the trees and spoke again.
Again Lucien translated. "They're all around here, though, so we can pick them ourselves. I might add, they would also seem to have vitamins we haven't been getting."
"Then we should definitely pick some before we go back," said Jean.
Mama again reached into her sack and pulled out a variety of plants, and for the next hour she and Jean discussed what might be suited to her garden and how to care for the various plants. Lucien patiently translated until the two women seemed to develop their own method of communication. Then he moved to the side to speak with Mr. Leong but stillremaining within sight of her as Jean and Mama continued discussing plants. Mama helped Jean to dig up several species that she could replant easily and that were close to harvesting.
By the time Lucien walked back to see how they were doing, Jean felt she had enough to keep them going for a while, certainly more than she had expected.
She tried to thank the other woman, but Mama waved it off. Lucien explained that Mama felt it her duty to pass along the wisdom she had acquired.
"Then I should pass this on to the other camps as well," said Jean. "Who will be handling the garden for your men, Lucien? Not you?"
"Definitely not me," said Lucien, grinning. "We'd all starve even quicker. Private Manos has volunteered. Maybe tomorrow night I'll bring him out with me and you can talk to him? Would that be all right?"
"Yes, I think so."
They both turned to the Leongs to thank them, and Mr. Leong and Mama held out their sacks, insisting Jean and Lucien accept what they had collected. Lucien apologized to Jean before taking off his shirt to contain the gifts so that the Leongs could keep their sacks.
Although he wore a singlet beneath, Jean could see the edges of the scarring along his shoulders. With his cheerful, easygoing manner, she often forgot just what he had gone through so recently.
She schooled herself not to be showing her dismay when he looked back at her.
They bade farewell to the Leongs, making a date to meet every week as they had before, and once again Lucien took her hand and led the way back toward the fence. They stopped a couple of times, presumably for something only he could hear or see, but then made it safely back to and under the fence.
He insisted she take most of the produce they had been given, setting aside enough to show his men what they should be looking for on their nightly forays into the jungle. He escorted her as close to the door as he dared before releasing her hand.
"Same time, same place tomorrow?" he whispered.
"It's a date," she returned.
He gave her another of his brilliant smiles, something for Jean to take with her as she slipped back inside, already looking forward to the following night.
Lucien watched Jean disappear inside, before heading back to his own camp. He marveled at the strength of the woman, so brave, smart and kind, not to mention capable and beautiful. He chastised himself for falling so hard so quickly, but he suspected she welcomed his attentions. He hoped their attraction was more than just two lonely people too long deprived of the company of the opposite sex. It felt like much more than that to him.
He found himself humming 'You're the Top' as he slid through the loose slat in the fence. He was still smiling when he strode into the barracks, at least until he saw Derek Alderton watching him, a sneer on his face.
"Got some, did you?" said Derek.
Lucien sighed, refusing to be baited. Derek had changed so much that he could no longer be trusted with any information whatsoever. "How are you feeling?" Lucien simply asked.
"Nowhere close to as good as you, obviously. Is it still that Beazley woman or someone new now?"
"If you weren't lying in your bunk all day, you might have something more interesting to do than speculate about the love life you're making up for me. Honestly, Derek." He shook his head.
Derek narrowed his eyes, about to respond, but then turned away. He had something on his mind, Lucien could tell, and he needed to be watched. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.
Stowing away the items he'd brought back with him, Lucien was tired out when he finally lay down on his pallet. There was a smile on his face as he fell asleep, already looking forward to seeing Jean again on the following night.
