Barmbrack
I was so glad we were on our way back to Aldbourne. It was a lovely village and I felt so at home there, walking around and through the trails and fields. I knew Mrs Evans would be pleased see me and I'd like to see her too; she was the closest thing I had to a mother figure after all. She seemed to be close in age to my mum and even though they didn't look or sound anything like each other, they both wanted the best for me. I wondered what to say to her, as I watched the countryside zip by in the back of Taylor's jeep, eventually zoning out into a world of my own.
"Lith? Lith!" I jumped and looked around for the voice. I could see that Taylor was snickering, "Ty snova dumal o svoyem parne?"
"Nei, jeg tenkte på deg." I wondered what she'd have to say about that.
"Wait, what?" Taylor looked confused and surprised while Dan and I just laughed. Hall looked a little left out, but Danni reassured him that he would be able to understand us soon enough. Taylor told him that he'd regret it, which was a fair point; we only spoke our native tongues either out of habit or so that no one else could understand what we were saying. But, it was also a good way to remind ourselves who we were and where we had come from. Hall seemed worried.
"How hard is it to learn?"
"What? Russian or Norwegian?" I asked. He shrugged and said both. "You only have to understand what we're saying, you don't have to speak it."
"Yeah." Agreed Taylor, who quickly glanced around. "I speak fluent Russian and I can understand everything that Ailith says, but I don't speak it. I can't read it either, so when her mom used to leave notes in the gifts she'd sent, I'd have to ask her what it said."
"Mmm, and I can't read Cyrillic either, so as much as I can understand what she's saying and speak a little, I've got no hope."
"But they both speak and read Spanish fine." Danni turned around in her front seat to smile at Cowboy, who sat in the back with me.
"Spanish is easier than Russian!" Tay and I replied in unison.
As the trucks and jeeps rolled into the village, we were met with more than a warm welcome. People had seen the trucks coming and had lined up in the village square to greet us. Miss Lamb was obviously at the front, waiting to see Don. Not jealous. At all.
There was one face, however, that I didn't see. I searched up and down the small crowd for Mrs Evans, but couldn't see her. Then again, she didn't like soldiers due to the fact that so many of them don't come back, like her husband. I couldn't blame her either. She probably thought she'd be getting her hopes up by coming into the village and if I hadn't made it, she'd just be upset with herself for letting her guard down and hoping. She was after all, a very proud woman.
We were greeted by a few of the locals; Mr and Mrs Hughes from the farm, who brought us all a small loaf each and Mr and Mrs Barnes from the post office where Taylor was billeted and their evacuee Janet. It seemed that they were waiting for her and we all decided to split up and go our separate ways; Taylor went to the Barnes', Dan went off to HQ, Hall was ambushed by Bill before he had a chance to go back to the barracks and dragged off to a group of fawning ladies and I set off back up to Mrs Evans' with my bread. I'd only gotten to the end of the village square, when I heard someone calling me. I stopped and turned, only to find a newly promoted Don grinning at me, jogging over from where he'd left Alton and the bike.
Ah the motorbike. I had no idea where they'd got it from and I didn't want to know; it was a sort of see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil kind of situation. What I did know for a fact, was that Alton had forged an entire bag full of fuel rations so well that the two of them were never stopped on the way back. We didn't call him Spiv for no reason.
Just behind Alton, I could see a rather dour looking Miss Lamb. It seemed that I wasn't the only one who was jealous. Not that there was anything for her to be jealous over, other than the fact that Don had come to my side and not hers.
"What's that look for?" He asked with a boyish smile, wrapping his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side
"I don't know what you're talking about."
He snorted, seeing through my obvious lie.
"You know there's no contest, right?" Don asked, glancing back at Miss Lamb, who was pretending to be interested in someone else.
"Of course… but I don't think she does." I chuckled, "Anyway, have you come all the way over here to make her jealous or is this you coming to walk me back, Sergeant Malarkey?"
Don chuckled, "To walk my girl back home… maybe get a kiss or two."
Now it was my turn to snort a laugh. We started to walk and talk.
"Your girl? I wonder who that could be."
"You might know her, goes by Section Leader Conneely?"
"Hmm… nope, never heard of her. Is she pretty?"
Don nodded, "Oh yeah! Coffee coloured hair, big brown doe eyes, cute freckles… sweet as cotton candy."
"She sounds nice."
"Sure does, doesn't she?" He smiled proudly at me. "I couldn't ask for anyone better."
"And why is that?"
"Because there isn't anyone better than my girl!" Don boasted, his hands wrapping around my waist and pecking me on the cheek. I laughed and shoved him playfully away. God he was so adorable.
"Honestly! When did you get so flirty?"
It'd been a few days since me and Don were alone together. We'd spent the past couple of days getting ready to come back to England, then crammed into a troop transport ship overnight, then spent the entire day on the road back to Aldbourne. The two of us decided on a nice, slow walk back to Mrs Evans', to give us enough time to enjoy each other's company.
Eventually, we were outside Mrs Evans' gate.
"You're not going to let her flirt with you still, are you?"
"Wouldn't dream of it."
"I did." I grumbled, pouting. "And I wasn't happy about it."
"Now who's getting jealous?" Don gave me a smug grin, wrapping his arms around my tiny waist.
"Me, clearly." I huffed, looking away. He dropped the smug look on his face for a softer one, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear. He pulled me close, his hand on my face as he leaned in, pressing his forehead against mine.
"Aren't you the one who told me I didn't need to be jealous?"
I smiled, "I might have said that." I just couldn't be mad at him.
"You did say that… you're my Lith, my best friend. I love you… you know I love you."
We were just about to kiss when suddenly, there was the sound of a throat being cleared and the two of us shot apart quicker than lightning.
Mrs Evans stood in the middle of the garden path, arms crossed over her chest, looking disgruntled. I knew my face was bright red and once I glanced at Don, saw that his was just a red as mine. I turned away, tugging my earlobe, very embarrassed.
I said an awkward good-bye to Don and walked down the garden path, turning hesitantly as I reached the door. I watched as Mrs Evans looked Don over with a cool eye. I was just about to go in, when she suddenly spoke to him.
"I suppose you better come in then." She said, haughtily. I felt myself light up like Blackpool.
The whole company knew Mrs Evans wasn't keen on soldiers; no one but me had ever even been allowed through the front gate before, so it was a shock that she was now inviting Don in.
He followed her into the house, taking off his cap and hanging it up where I told him to, then we led him into the surprisingly spacious kitchen. A familiar smell wafted up my nose and I could tell Don knew it too, him catching me sniffing the air. We shared a look.
"Barmbrack!" we said together.
Lo and behold, there laid out on a plate, was a loaf of barmbrack, freshly baked. There was a little saucer of butter next to it with a knife and a blue and white china teapot. She brought out three teacups and saucers and sat Don and I across from each other. Her best china, I noted.
Whatever Mrs Evans said she thought of soldiers, it certainly didn't prove true. As I'd walked by the mirror in the hall, I'd seen one of my letters I'd sent, telling her that I was safe. Now, she was letting Don into the house (where even Dan and Tay hadn't set foot in), letting him in for tea and actually speaking to him.
We chatted a little (awkwardly) and Mrs Evan's almost admitted that she was relieved to see me.
"Well, now that you're settled, you might like to introduce me to your… friend."
"Oh, yes, er," I stuttered, looking back and forth between Mrs Evans and Don. "Mrs Evans, this is Sergeant Donald G. Malarkey, just newly promoted. Don, this is Mrs Evans."
Mrs Evans let out a satisfied puff from her nose and reached for the teapot.
"Ailith, I trust you can see our guest out." Mrs Evans said, later on. He's stayed long enough for it to get dark outside and now (reluctantly) it was time to go. Mrs Evans packed up a piece of barmbrack for him and went to the sitting room, working on a cross-stitch. She told me I had 10 minutes and if I wasn't in the house after that, she'd be coming to get me.
I walked Don up the garden path, wrapped up in a knitted cardigan that was far too big, stopping on the road just outside of the gate.
"That felt like you were meeting my mother." I chuckled, nervously. I was still bewildered. "I think meeting my real parents wouldn't be as nerve wracking as that."
Don chuckled too, looking off down the road, "I still can't believe she invited me in… and gave me tea and bread."
"And she's given you some to go back with." I nodded to the packet of bread in his pocket. I got closer, fiddling with his jacket lapels. "Do you know something?"
He wrapped his arms around me and asked, "What?"
"You're the first guy that I've ever brought home."
"Really?" He grinned, looking smug as he leaned in, "Well, I feel kinda important now."
"Now, now, let's not let it go to your head." I paused, his forehead resting against mine. "It's already big enough as it is."
He chuckled and kissed me, electricity tingling through me. I still couldn't get used to it.
"Don?"
"Yeah?"
"We're not going to change, are we?" I asked, looking up at him. He pulled a face, as if to say what are you talking about. I began to fidget and he seemed to read my mind.
"We'll stay how we always have been, if that's what you want… but at least kiss me when no one else is around."
"Deal." I giggled, kissing him again.
Don took my hand with the scar and kissed it. My cheeks couldn't get any redder if I tried, covering my face with the back of my other hand. As Mrs Evans called, reluctantly, he let me go, watching until I gave him a shy wave and closed the door.
I sloped up the stairs, bidding Mrs Evans good-night and wandered into my room. I shut the door behind me, got changed for bed and almost dived on to it. How strange it was to have a nice, warm fluffy bed to sleep in, instead of a water filled fox-hole.
As my mind wandered back to Don, my heart began to race again and I couldn't help but cover my red face with my pillow. My first boyfriend! I wondered what Finny would think of it; he was more protective over me than Pappa was and whenever he was around, there seemed to be a 4 meter wide berth around us. As I drifted off to sleep, I wondered what we'd say to him and what he would say to Don, if Finny was here.