Ch 9. A promise
When his alarm clock went off to attend the service at dawn, Mike had barely slept. A good shower and a strong cup of coffee brought him back to the reality. He sat in the still empty breakfast room, sipping from a strong cup of black coffee.
No, it was not a dream. There's the little house across the Menin Gate where Kate lives. Kate? Hmm, Helen and Kate!
Was it really a good idea to go back to the hotel? I'm an idiot, I had to stay with her,... them... But, the responsible persons of the commemoration are picking me up within ... (he looked at his watch) ... 10 minutes! And I didn't even know who to contact that I changed my address. Hopefully she doesn't feel too strongly about it.
Anzac day passed quickly, from one ceremony to the other, shaking hands, making circumstance chats, drinking cups of weak coffee and tea. When he arrived back at the hotel room he let out a deep breath throwing his visor cap at the bed. Mike changed in civvies, went down to check out and paid his bill. Once outside he couldn't hide a smile when he walked along the shopping street towards the Menin Gate. Everything looked so different than yesterday. He looked at the shop fronts, but all of a sudden he stopped and entered a shop of female accessories.
He went out with a parcel in a fancy paper.
Amazing, they all know English here like it's the most ordinary case on earth! And look at this. Chocolate shops seem to be the most popular shops in town, they are crowded.
Once at the door of the little house Mike took a deep breath. He had never felt that nervous. He rang the bell.
It was like she was waiting behind the door because it opened almost immediately.
"Welcome home Mike!", she said stepping aside to let him in. "We were waiting for you!"
He entered and he put down his suitcase. The 'we' didn't escape him and he threw a glance at her twinkling eyes when she took over his coat."
"I've brought something for you", he said offering her the parcel.
"Oh Mike you're still so cute!", she said giving him a kiss and taking over the present.
"You smells good!", he said looking at her. She wore a blue-green woollen dress with a round neck and sleeves and it came just below the knees, an according necklace and a bit of make up. "And you look pretty well!"
"Thank you," she said while she tore open the parcel. "Oh beautiful!," she exclaimed when she hold the colourful scarf in the air. "I'll use it immediately." She wrapped one arm around his neck and kissed him again.
"I'll take your suit case to the bedroom, then you can see it also."
He followed her on the staircase and smiled when he looked straight at her naked legs and bare feet. Upstairs she put the suit case down in the bed room. She showed him a cheeky smile while she waited for his reaction. Mike looked around and nodded. The room was rather big with a double bed, a dressing, a wardrobe, a big mirror and an easy chair next to the window. He noticed the second pillow and smiled. Home!
Helen opened the wardrobe and showed him that it was half empty. "You're welcome!"
"Thank you honey, you're an angel", he said when he took her in her waist and kissed her.
"Would you like to have a dinner in the city tonight?", she asked him.
Mike nodded. "Sounds good, but you know that I have to attend the last post ceremony at the Menin Gate this evening?"
"Yes, I know", she replied nodding.
"Uh-hu, I assume you know the good addresses here", he asked with a grin. "But what with Kate?"
"Oh, don't worry, I've foreseen a baby-sit."
"Ok." He grinned. "You were sure that we were going out for dinner, not?"
"Yeah, I know you", she replied also with a grin and he replied with a smirk as well.
"Where is Kate now?"
"She's asleep in her room that is according at the corridor here."
Mike followed her to see the little one in her bed.
"And?", Helen asked him eagerly with a twinkle in her eyes.
"She's great, but I think that I'll better get dressed, because I don't want to be the first officer who's going to be too late for the last post!", he replied.
A bit later someone rang the door bell and Helen went to the door to let a girl in. Mike guessed she was 16.
"Hallo Katrien, bedankt voor deze avond", she greeted her. (Hi Katrien, thank you for this evening)
"Dag mevrouw, ik ben het hier al gewoon hé", the girl replied. (Hi ma'am, I'm used to it here yet huh)
She threw a glance at Mike's uniform.
"Mooi, Kate slaapt momenteel en er is frisdrank en er zijn sandwiches in de fridge, uh, koelkast. Ik geef je my mobile number, uh of hoe noemen jullie dat?", Helen asked.
(Nice, Kate sleeps actually and there's lemonade and there are sandwiches in the fridge. I'll give you my mobile number, or how do you call that)
"gsm nummer mevrouw."
"Ja, gsm nummer", repeated Helen.
Mike was looking amused to the, for him, weird Dutch communication, but now she pulled his sleeve. "Come, otherwise you're going to be really too late."
She knotted the new scarf, pulled on a pair of high heeled brown boots and a long brown leather coat.
Mike looked at her and let out a whistle. "Wow, you're amazing."
"Thank you. I bought it a few months ago to comfort myself because I felt lonely", she said grabbing her handbag.
They walked to the Menin Gate. Helen had pulled her arm through Mike's arm and she felt feather light.
During to ceremony she stood on her toes to peek over the shoulders of the other visitors to see her Mike.
After the ceremony they hurried quickly home so that he could change in civvies again.
A few minutes later they walked along the shopping street towards the market square to the restaurant. He had offered her his arm to hang on.
"I can't count anymore the number of times I dreamt to walk like this with you, and now it is," she said and she pulled him a bit down to give him a kiss on his cheek. "I feel happy again darling."
"Yeah honey, me too."
From out of the Vivaldi restaurant they had a nice view at the Cloth Hall. They just got their appetizer.
"Nice city", he remarked looking outside.
"Yeah, the whole area around here is nice," she brought in.
"Honey, I noticed that a tad of English speaking people are carrying these yellow plastic bags. Is there something special with?, he asked sipping from the glass of wine.
Helen smiled from ear to ear, "Oh darling, that are pralines! Belgium is specialised in it and returning without them is for an Anglo-Saxon a crime! You'll discover them quicker than you think!"
"Hmm, beers, pralines, frites, stew... promising...", he mused.
Somewhat later during the diner. Helen started fiddling with her glass.
"Some more wine?", he asked rather bluntly.
"Darling, uh... Do you.. uh...I don't want to talk about it, but I have to. When do you have to leave?", she said hurtfully.
"Normally, the day after tomorrow, Sunday ", he said slowly not knowing exactly what was going to come.
He saw her hurtful face and continued. "But I've made up my mind and I'm going to take a little holidays. I'll call Maxine at a reasonable hour for her to tell her that," he said with a smile. He saw a twinkle in her eyes.
"Oh, that's just great, thank you."
"Mike, what did you recover from my house?", she asked while she put her hand on his.
He grimaced. "I kept a few souvenirs where under your white official uniform with the medals, your hat, photo's, jewellery and a few statues you liked."
"Thank you," she whispered with glassy eyes.
"What now with us?", she asked him, trying to be strong.
"Honey, I don't know yet. It's such an absurd situation where we are in. I have to investigate what the possibilities are," he said beaten.
She grabbed his hand firmly. "I understand, but you're not alone, I stand behind you."
"I know Helen."
She smiled. "You see, you're getting used to it."
He smiled wryly.
"But what are you doing actually? You seem to work for the Commonwealth Graves Commission.", he asked to navigate away from the awkward conversation.
"Yeah, that's true", she answered after taking a sip from the glass of wine.
"But you're not digging graves, I hope?", Mike asked concerned.
"No darling, no. Far from that. I'm in a team that provides information to relatives and we inspect also the cemeteries to see if everything is still ok. No damages, plants and flowers ok. Worn out grave stones, that kind of things. All that information is put into a report and we're making the work orders as well to repair them."
"Hmm, I see. Not that difficult but not boring."
"No it's far from boring, but I miss the job at sea. At such moments I'm escaping to Nieuwpoort or Ostend to feel the sea", she replied with a sad smile.
He nodded, "I would feel just the same"
Later that night when they arrived back home, Helen thanked the baby sit.
Mike looked at his watch and mumbled. "Hmm 7 o'clock in Cairns, our Max will be awake already."
"What did you say?", Helen said from out of the corridor where she was pulling out her boots.
"I said that Maxine will be awake right now!", he replied towards the hallway.
He grabbed his mobile and dialled her number and waited.
"Maxine White speaking. Hey Mike! How are you doing?", Maxine answered the call when she recognised his number.
"Hi Max, indeed it's me. Yeah I'm fine."
"Well, I'm really happy to hear you saying that!" and he could hear a certain joy in her voice.
"Yeah, I've just put away a splendid steak with frites," he said with a grin.
"Oh Mike! Stop talking about steaks! I can't bear a steak between my cereals. But I assume you don't call me to chat about steaks, do you?"
"No, indeed. I just wanted to say that I'm going to prolong my stay here in Belgium. I'm going to take a holidays."
"Hmm, I fully understand. I was already wondering why it took so long before you popped up with that question," she said suspiciously.
"Ah?"
"It's ok Mike. Enjoy your stay."
"Thanks and bye Max," he said before he hung up.
Meanwhile Helen has sat down next to him.
"She expected it," he said somewhat surprised.
"Darling, I told you."
He grinned.
"Now, it's bedtime!", she said as she stood upright taking his hand.
He stood upright as well and looked in her big green eyes that were expressing hope, love, desire, an urge for security and even pain. She switched off the lights and grabbed his hand She ushered him gently towards the staircase.
In the bedroom she turned her back towards him. "Darling, can you help me out off my dress?"
"Sure!", and he pulled the zipper down and placed a kiss on her back. The dress slit at the ground, she turned and stepped over it.
"Wow!", he said when he threw a glance at her coloured underwear with lace.
"I bought that for you!", she said with a smile when she started to untied his shirt.
His smile froze on his face and he frowned as he looked at her left shoulder. He touched with his finger tops the pale rough skin.
"Honey what's that?", he asked concerned.
He could see some pain in her eyes.
Helen sighed, "Oakes had forced me to sail to the coast. Over there he knocked me down and he has set the boat on fire. Instinctively I must have felt that something was seriously wrong, but it was already too late. My shoulder was burned. I tried to get up, but I was too dizzy. Luckily there were out of the blue a couple of soldiers. One of them has lifted me out of that boat just like I was plum."
She looked sadly at her shoulder and then back to him, "It has never healed well, that made that sun dresses and tops are out of order for me now."
She turned to show him a scar on her right arm. "Here, I took the bullet when I left the court. And that one was the bullet that I took on the Hammersley", she said pointing to another scar on her left arm. "My body became almost a cartoon!", she said sarcastically rolling her eyes.
Mike didn't know exactly what to say, but enclosed her in his arms hoping that this was the appropriate way of comforting her. He started caressing her back avoiding the damaged skin on her shoulder.
A minute later they lay embraced in the bed losing the time in their passion.
Later on they were lying next to each, holding their hands and listening to the faint sounds of the street
"Ka… Helen, why didn't you say somewhat earlier that you were alive? I've had a horrible time," he asked her.
She didn't respond immediately and he looked at her. In the faint shine of the street lamps he saw how tears were running down her cheeks.
"I'm so sorry," she said barely auditable. "I couldn't. I really didn't dare. These bastards were so cruel that they are up to everything. Probably they would have used you to find me. I've seen how they shot the other undercover agent without hesitation."
He turned towards her and kissed her. "Lock it away, it's over now, we have a new future in front of us."
"What kind of future?", she asked hurtfully.
"I don't know yet, but there is a future. Together!", he said determined.
The following days they spent together enjoying Kate and making tours around Ypres, to the Kemmelberg, to Bruges, to Lille, to the Cap Blanc-Nez to see England and to the coast.
Finally the day of departure had come. They stood in the living room.
Helen walked to him, her hands in the pockets of her jeans. She shrugged.
"That was it? You've got everything? Your ticket?", she asked, her voice full of emotions.
"Yeah," he said faintly. "It was as in a dream. "
"Helen! I …", he started but.
She grabbed his shirt with her both hands. "Darling, do you come back? I don't think I can stand it any longer to be alone!", she asked desperate looking at him.
He smiled. "Let me finish my sentence, yes?"
Helen released his shirt and wiped on it to remove the wrinkles.
"Helen," he started again, "I want to give you something that assures you that I come back." He grabbed in his pocket and pulled out a small brown box.
"For you."
Helen accepted the box and opened it and took out a diamond ring. "Oh Mike, I …", she started but the lump in her throat avoided that. She slit the ring on her finger and wrapped her arms around him. They kissed each other and he tasted her salty tears.
"Mike, you really don't know what kind of feeling you've given to me. Now we have a real future!"
"Yeah, and now you have plenty of time to think how to arrange our marriage," he said with a smile.
"Yeah, sure!", she replied, still on the seventh cloud.
The good-bye went easier than he thought. It was just like he left for a few weeks on business travel. When he sat in the chair of the Qantas airplane from Heathrow to Cairns he realised that he made the travel from Ypres to Brussels and the flight to Heathrow without realising what he was doing, so far away he was with his thoughts.
He stared at blank at the sunset outside enjoying a whisky and waiting for his dinner.
Gosh, what a turbulent 14 days was that? When I left Cairns I was alone with pain in the heart and now I have my Katie back and a beautiful daughter and a home in a city that I only knew from the history books and documentaries on tv and I proposed the woman I ever loved. The major problem is how can we be together? She's stuck there, thus it's up to me, but how?
And the additional problem is that I can't call her. She almost begged me not to do it because she's scared to death that they will find her.
At the same time, a light-brown haired woman was holding a black haired toddler in her arms and she was looking through the window to the same dark orange sky of the sunset above the Menin Gate She was slightly rocking the girl.
"Daddy is outside there in the sky now, Katie. He will be soon by us again, huh. But I think I have to tell you it in Dutch, that would be better for you, not? Papa is daarboven nu, in de lucht. Hij zal vlug terug bij ons zijn, ja? Time for your bed now. Bedtijd voor jou nu."
Helen walked with the girl to her own room and she put the little one in bed. Helen gave her a hug and activated the music of the mobile toy above the bed. Finally she returned down to the living room. She looked through the window to the crowd at the Menin Gate and listened to the tones of the last post sounded through the glass. Meanwhile she fiddled with her ring.
Thank you Maxine for bringing us back together! Thank God that he didn't start a new relation. The only problem is when do I see him back? Flights from and to Australia aren't cheap.
She turned and took the frame with his photo from the dressing and caressed his image with her fingers.
Will he come back? He left me once! But at that time we were much younger and we were in a awkward situation. And now? Even worse. I here, he there and there's a child! His child.
She swallowed a lump and blinked with her eyes to keep the tears away.
Reasons enough to forget me.
She took a deep breath.
No! We're changed. He loves me, I just feel it.
Shall he come back?
Sure, he has given me this ring and he proposed.
She smiled wryly.
It was well a very weird moment to propose someone.
She shrugged.
Well, that's him. 100% Mike Flynn. Good intentions, but so awkward in expressing them.
She sighed.
It's going to be a long, a very long period!
Helen turned, padded to the couch, sat down and switched on the tv, but she stared at blank at it.
How did it all start?
That Thursday when Maxine called us in her office. I didn't get a single change to tell Mike.
To be continued