A Mother’s Sacrifice. Kitty Neale

       Chapter 5

      The Indian summer had been short lived and it was beginning to rain quite heavily, which made Frank further doubt that Glenda would turn up to see him. At least he had suggested a place to meet where he could shelter from the downpour. He patiently waited under the bandstand for her.

      He had swapped some shifts around at the hospital, which enabled him to be in the park on a Friday morning, but it meant he would have to work tomorrow and he detested working over the weekend. But Glenda Jenkins was worth it. He wouldn’t have minded waiting all day for her or getting soaked through to the skin. It would be nice to spend some time with her outside the hospital, but, more importantly, he wanted to know that she was well and safe. Leaving the note in Glenda’s bag had been a risk, more so for Glenda than for himself, and he just hoped that Harry hadn’t found it and attacked her again. The thought of that man laying a hand on Glenda turned his stomach. But as worries for her safety began to stab at his mind, he spotted a woman running towards the bandstand, pushing a navy-blue pram. Even from this distance, Frank could tell it was Glenda. The closer she got, the more the butterflies in his stomach fluttered – for, though he had hoped, he hadn’t really believed she would risk secretly meeting him.

      Frank removed his oversized long grey mac, ran towards Glenda and held the garment over her head in a bid to protect her from the torrential rain. Between them, they quickly lifted the pram up the steps of the bandstand and once sheltered they both spoke at once.

      ‘You first,’ said Glenda with a smile.

      Frank noticed the swelling around her eye had almost disappeared and she looked even more beautiful than he’d remembered. She wore a scarf around her head, but her marcel waves were wet at the back, making her look windswept and interesting.

      ‘Hello, Glenda,’ Frank said, laughing. ‘I didn’t think you’d come, especially in this weather.’

      ‘I can’t stop for long,’ Glenda said, shaking the rainwater from her black woollen coat. ‘Harry likes to have an account of what I’ve been doing and I don’t think he’d believe that I was out for a walk in Battersea Park in this weather.’

      ‘Not to worry. I’m just glad you’re here now, if only for a little while. How have you been keeping?’

      ‘Not bad, thanks, Frank. It’s nice to be back at home with Johnnie, and Harry is actually making an effort, though I don’t know how long it will last. Still, I’m thankful for small mercies.’

      ‘I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Johnnie yet. Do you mind if I stick my ugly bonce in his pram and say hello?’

      Glenda laughed. ‘Of course you can,’ she said, ‘but don’t expect much conversation. He’s out for the count.’

      ‘It’s a good job he can’t talk. We wouldn’t want him telling tales on us to his daddy now, would we?’

      ‘Oh, Frank. Please, don’t even joke about it! Harry would kill me if he knew I was here and probably you too! I couldn’t believe it when I found that note in my bag! What were you thinking, Frank Myers?’

      ‘I was thinking about you, Glenda. You’re pretty much all I think about these days.’

      ‘You mustn’t talk like that, Frank. I’m a married woman and it isn’t right.’

      ‘And it isn’t right that your old man knocks you from here to kingdom come!’

      ‘I know, sorry, Frank. But can we please not talk about him any more?’

      ‘Yeah, good idea. Least said about him the better. Look, I’ve brought some cheese sandwiches, though I’m afraid there’s only a smidgeon of cheese in them, and a bottle of lemonade. I know it ain’t much, but I thought it would be nice to have a bit of a picnic. It’s a shame about the rain, though.’

      Glenda smiled, a smile so warm that Frank immediately forgot about his cold hands. He laid his mac on the concrete floor for Glenda to sit on and shared out the sandwiches, which they eagerly ate.

      ‘Frank, I don’t care about the weather, and I’ve got to say, nobody has ever done anything like this for me before. It’s so lovely. Thank you.’ She leaned over to tenderly kiss Frank on the cheek.

      Frank knew he had turned red but he didn’t care. Everything felt so relaxed and carefree with Glenda and for a moment he was tempted to return her kiss, only this time passionately on her lips. Instead, he took her hand and said, ‘I’m enjoying this. It’s been great spending time with you and I hope you’ll agree to see me again.’

      ‘I shouldn’t, Frank. You know this is dangerous, but even so I would like to, very much. I know we’re only friends, but if we meet up we’ll still have to be careful and discreet.’

      From there in the small, elegantly designed bandstand, Frank could have sung out across Battersea Park. Glenda hadn’t said so out loud, but he could tell she liked him. If he could just persuade her to leave her brutish husband, then life would be pretty damned good …

      The rain had almost stopped as Glenda walked back through the park on her way home. A small glimmer of sunlight was breaking through the clouds and a large rainbow arched across the sky. For a short while she felt as if she was walking on air through a paradise.

      What a wonderful couple of hours, she thought, picturing Frank’s kind smile and remembering his cheery voice. It was wrong, she knew it was, yet even so Glenda couldn’t wait to see him again. We’re just friends, she told herself as if to ease her guilty conscience, while smiling like a village idiot as she recalled the kiss she had planted on his cheek.

      It had been a bold move to go and meet Frank and several times she had nearly backed out. She was glad that she hadn’t. Spending time with Frank was like a breath of fresh air. He was so easy to talk to, unlike her husband, whom she tiptoed around as if walking on eggshells. It was very different with Frank and she found it refreshing to be herself – the happy and carefree woman she had been before Harry had destroyed her.

      She passed through the wrought-iron black gates of the park but the closer she got to home, the more her heart sank and paranoid fears of Harry knowing who she had been with began to set in. Don’t be daft, she told herself. No one could have seen her; it had been tipping it down, so it was unlikely that anyone she knew would have been out in the park. Even if they had spotted her, she was absolutely entitled to take her child for a walk, wasn’t she? But could she really use Johnnie as a cover for her secret tryst? Yes, she thought to herself, she could – she had no other option if she was to see Frank again. They had arranged to meet the following week, which seemed like such a long time to wait, but in the meantime at least she could hold on to the memory of one of the best days of her life.

      As Glenda turned a corner she sneaked a glance behind her, knowing that Frank wouldn’t be too far behind, on his way home to the prefab down Sheepcote Lane that he shared with his mum and his brother. His brother, Billy Myers! Glenda hadn’t mentioned that she knew Billy when Frank had talked about how lucky they were to be alive after a doodlebug bomb had flattened their house during the war. His father hadn’t survived but Frank hadn’t sounded too bothered by that. It seemed there was no love lost between them. She hadn’t wanted Frank to know that it was partly because of his brother she had ended up in hospital. The whole time she had shared with Frank had been so magical; she didn’t want to spoil it by bringing up horrible things about Harry.

      When Glenda thought of Harry her stomach knotted again and, though there was still a bitter chill in the wind, small beads of nervous sweat broke out on her forehead. Harry wasn’t due home from work for a few hours, but she just couldn’t face going home yet. She wanted the feeling of euphoria never to end, so instead she decided to pop in to see Helen. As her parents lived next door to Helen, she could visit them too, but though her bruises had faded she wouldn’t be able to hide her missing teeth and broken nose from her father.