Chapter 12
"We made it through three weeks and you are not pregnant. I have to say I can't help but think of today as a win," said Liz to Patsy as they hung up their bags for the shift that day. It was only the fact they were on their that meant Liz could say it.
"Oh, don't even joke about it!" Patsy said. She did not think she would ever be able to forget the fear she had felt. But what her friend had said was no lie. "I do have to agree with you there #though and thank you as well. I do not know what I would have done had done had it not been for you the last few weeks," she said to her sincerely. She would have had no one to talk to or confide in when she had needed it the very much.
Liz nodded with understanding, but was not going to let then get bogged down In all of that. Not that day. They were passed it and they were moving on to better things.
"Well, I am rather brilliant." Liz joked. No arguments from Patsy.
It was then their boss walked in.
He knew or he thought he knew what they were talking about.
It was after all the day at last.
"So do we know what time the boys are getting back?" Marty asked, completely changing the subject even though he would guess he had not done that at all.
Patsy shrugged and Liz was soon to follow. "They have not given us a time." Whether Jim had kept it vague so that she was not going to be clock watching, Liz did not know. To her it felt as if that was going to be a him thing to do.
But he would be home that day. That was what mattered.
However that was a resolve that faded over the course of the day. Every time the door opened Liz and Patsy were looking for Jim and Dan to appear. But they did not. Marty felt his heart break for them, as the men continued not to appear. He begun to worry this had been a cover. Maybe they had gone on active tour… but no surely not. It did not seem a good idea to start things on a pack of lies.
And he did not think that was who Jim was.
The day went slowly – too slowly for any of them really. Marty waited for as long as he could to shut up as he did not want to upset the girls, but there were limits.
"Girls, I am so sorry but it is time for me to shut up and for you to go home now," he said as he turned the sign on the front of the café door from open to closed. The shift was over.
Patsy looked as if she wanted to stay on but knew such a thought was fruitless.
Liz on the other hand went straight to get her bag.
So that was it. Jim had not come to the café. Maybe he wasn't back yet. Or maybe he had gone off her.
Either on anyway it was time to go home. "Goodnight Marty, Pats," said Liz as she put her coat on. Hope was not gone for the day. Maybe he would have rang, and left a message with her mum and dad.
Once more, she felt for her friend who could hope to have no such reprieve from what they were going through right then but if she could have it, she was going to take it.
"I'll ring you if I get a message from Jim," she said as she made her way out of the café, squeezing Patsy's hand as she did so.
But when she got back her mother's greeting made it clear there was no such message.
"So here she is one half of loves young dream. How was our man in the field?" said Carole with a beaming smile which made her daughters heart sink.
"If I am honest mum, I was hoping you were going to be able to tell me that," Liz said as she collapsed into the chair in the kitchen.
Well, what a let-down the day had been. She was sure when she saw Jim again she was going to give him a right proper ear bashing for it but right then she was so worried she did not know if she wanted to kiss or kill him.
"He did not get home today?" asked Carole.
Liz shook her head.
Carole prayed fervently that the lad was ok but there was a part of her knew if this was the life her daughter chose then she was going to have many more moments of worry such as this. And there were going to be times when Jim was away and she was not going to have the luxury of knowing when he was going to be coming home to her and if he was late back then it was going to be from the field. If they were going to make a go of this they had better get used to it.
"You know he is going to be ok and in a few days, he is going to be right here with you."
Lizzie nodded but in her heart she hoped her mother was right for she did not know what she was going to do if she was wrong.
What if he had got hurt? She knew he had not going on active duty but that did not mean he might not come home hurt.
"I hope so." Her mother nodded and leant over to give her a kiss.
"Try not to worry too much. If nothing else then you know he loves you and he is going to be getting back to you as soon as he can."
X x x
The following day went as the one before had done, with work and no news. Liz did not think she would mind telling anyone she felt as if her head had been done in by it all.
"Marty, did you want me to stay and close up tonight?" asked Liz. She felt as if she had done nothing but stand by the phone or sit next to it at home, waiting for it to ring and it hadn't and she did not want to go home right then. If she did she was just going to have to carry on waiting. It was driving her up the wall.
And Marty had been so good to her and Patsy lately - even when she did not think he was getting a lot back from the two of them. He was a lot more understanding than a lot of bosses were and they were lucky to have him. It was about time someone took care of him as well she thought to herself.
"I mean if you want to do it, then I am not going to say no, but I do not want you to stay any longer if you do not want to."
She had done it with him a few times before and he had always paid her a bit of over time to do so - but the fact that she had offered meant he could go and watch some football sooner.
Well, he did not think that was an offer which he was able to refuse.
"You go and put your feet up," she said to him with a gentle smile. Lord only knew he deserved it.
"Lizzie Greenwood, you are going to be rewarded for this one day, I swear it." He said with a grin.
"You get off," she said and he did not need telling again, soon disappearing to the flat upstairs.
She had a feeling there were many things she had done of late which she should get a reward for.
Not least of all for helping Patsy. But she had been glad to do it. And her friend did seem as if she was more herself right then…
But it was not Patsy she had stayed behind for – well, that was to say it was not Patsy she was trying to take her mind off of.
She went over to the juke box in the corner and put a little music on for she knew Marty was not going to mind. Even if he heard it in the flat above, then all he was going to do was assume the truth which that she had put it on to distract herself from silence.
She was learning slowly that that was the hardest thing to distract herself in the world from.
She took off her shoes. She had to say she did not think the floor at the greasy spoon was the cleanest in the world but she was not sure if she cared just at that moment.
She had been up on her feet for as long as she wanted to be, despite needing the distraction. And if she had to be up on them then she was going to do so bare foot.
And so she moved to the music, putting the chairs back up on the table and restocking the tables for the morning.
She did not think that Marty had done badly for himself at all. In fact, if she did half as well then, she was going to be chuffed.
For a moment she had an image of herself when she was older, may be owning somewhere like the spoon.
Running it with Jim and a couple of their own kids. A boy and a girl.
And then not for the first time since he had been gone over the time he should have been gone, she felt her eyes fill with tears.
She had not felt as if she could say she missed him. She knew everyone knew - but she had wanted to show her mum and dad she could cope. She had thought she was going to have Patsy to talk too, but when it came to it she had had her own troubles and really, if Liz had her own way then the one she was going to tell all this to was Jim. She knew the two of them had not known one another long and she did not think she could argue against anyone who said they may not last because she did not know if they would.
But she did know when they were together she felt as if she was the most important person in the world.
And she had wasted time. Time the two of them could be doing the really important stuff she thought to herself. Time which Dan and Patsy had seized.
Because as lovely as it had been to have him meet her mother and father, had she known what it was going to feel like when he was going to be gone, she would have made sure they had time alone before he had gone as Patsy and Dan had done.
It had brought its trouble, but it had worked out as well and she knew she had nothing to match to those memories.
But she also knew that wishing things were different was not going to make anything different. She needed to have a word with herself as she had said to Marty she was going to lock up and it was now not fair not to do it. She wiped her face and got on with the task at hand.
She got up and begun the sweeping. She was so looking forward to going home she thought as she considered the way that her mood had plummeted in the last few minutes. When she got there, she was going to get in to the bath and she was going to have a long hot soak and no doubt she was going to dream about Jim - but at least she would do so in her own home.
"We're closed," she called as she heard someone bang on the window wishing that whoever It was would just read the sign on the door so she did not have to answer them but when she turned around she was so glad she had as when she did she saw him.
He was there.
In all his military and Irish glory in was her Jim. It took her no more than ten seconds to cross the room and take the latch off the hock and then she did something which she had never done before in that she took his face in her hands and kissed him as softly and as deeply as she could. He was real and he was there.
Before he had gone ,she had felt as if she was so nervous of the two of them and what they were building but now she knew it was whole and good and she did not think it worried her any more. In fact she knew it did not.
And all she wanted to do was feel his fire and his passion for her and she had no doubt that before she let him go again she was going to make sure she felt every bit of it.
As for Jim he had to say, this felt as if it was a dream come true for him. He had worried on the way back to base that he was going to get back and she was going to say she had gone off of him or that it was all just a dream but that was not what that kiss said.
It was only when the two of them broke apart that she felt angry.
"Where the hell have you been?" she said to him and she felt humiliated by the tears which swam into her eyes right then. She wanted to be so tough on him and she did not want him to know how not knowing where he had been these last few days had got to her. But got to her it had.
"It is good to see you too, wee girl," he said with a chuckle which almost made her feel more anger at him. But when she had had all sorts of scenarios going on in her head it was not easy to not relish that sound.
"Where the hell were you Jim?" she said to him.
"We had mechanical problems," he admitted to her.
"What?"
"Would you believe that the transport wouldn't start?" he said to her with a smile.
"But you're royal engineers," she said to him.
"Aye – but it takes even us time to fix things when they go wrong and by the time things were up and running again love it was too late for us to leave for base yesterday." She shook her head. This was the last thing she had thought he was going to say.
"And when you had got down fixing the trucks had you forgotten how to use the phone?" she said to him and then bite her tongue for she did not think she sounded a lot like a doting girlfriend right then and much more… well, was already a nagging wife?
If he did not like it though, then he did not say it and he had the good grace to look as if he felt as sheepish as she did right then.
"Oh, Lizzie I did not mean to make you worry," he said as he brushed a piece of her hair out of her eye. She could not deny that she wanted to melt right into him then.
"And here I was going to ask if you missed me but I think I have my answer," said Jim with a grin.
She did not want to say the next words which came out of her mouth for fear she was going to sound a bit more desperate than she liked to but in the interest of honesty they came out all the same.
"I missed you more than I have ever missed any one," to hell with not knowing if the two of them were serious and to hell with worrying if she was going to scare him off.
Now he was here it did not seem as if that was possible for every time she squeezed him he squeezed her back.
Outside of the shop window she could hear the rain clatter down and she had to say it soothed her more than she thought possible. The two of them stayed there for a long time and did not have time to say much at all, for their lips did all the speaking for them.
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