Lost and Found in Lavender Bay (The Lavender Bay Chronicles #2)

25. Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

1944

L aura paced the platform, wringing her gloved hands. Edwin was due home on leave, only the second one he’d had since joining up. She missed him so much that sometimes her body and heart ached for him. She’d been able to get a few days off from work so they could spend the time together.

The weather was damp, and a fine mist hung in the air. February had been milder than expected with some days hitting almost sixty degrees.

She’d done her hair in the popular Victory rolls style, glad to be rid of the kerchief, and had applied some red lipstick. She didn’t want Edwin coming home to a drudge. She had on her best shirtdress and her most comfortable pair of shoes that still had a bit of a heel on them.

She felt the vibration and heard the whistle of the approaching train before she saw it. When it finally came into view and rumbled into the station, her breath caught in her throat. She was so excited she thought she might faint.

It came to a stop with a final whoosh , and within seconds, the doors were thrown open and passengers disembarked. As the platform became crowded, Laura stood on her tiptoes to get a better view. There weren’t many servicemen on this train. Over the heads of the crowd, she spotted him before he saw her, and she lifted a gloved hand and cried out, “Edwin!”

The crowd, sensing a reunion, parted, and there he was.

He raced toward her, his duffel bag over his shoulder, and Laura broke into a run. He dropped his bag as he reached her, and she jumped into his arms, hugging him tight as he lifted her off the ground and kissed her.

“Oh, Edwin! How I’ve missed you!” she said as he set her down.

“Not as much as I’ve missed you,” he said with a laugh. “How are you? You’re looking as beautiful as ever, I see!”

She reached up and placed her hand on the side of his face. “I’m so happy to see you.”

He smiled and looked around. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” He wrapped his arm around her and leaned in to kiss her again. “Just as I remember!”

She elbowed him with a laugh. “Let’s go, the car is out front.”

With their arms linked, they walked through the small train station to the parking lot out front, and he threw his bag into the back seat.

Both of them went for the driver’s side. Laura laughed and said, “You’re on leave, honey. I’ll drive.”

“Swell,” Edwin said with a grin .

She got into the car, thinking that while he was home, she wanted him to relax and take it easy. His furlough was only fifteen days, and she knew they would fly by. In no time, she’d be bringing him back to the station. Immediately, she pushed that thought out of her mind. Right then, at that moment, Edwin was there with her, and that was all that mattered.

“It’s great to be home!” he said as he got into the car.

As Laura drove out of the parking lot, he looked over at her and winked. “I could get used to this.” And to prove his point, he leaned back and lowered his Army garrison cap over his eyes, folded his arms across his chest, and feigned sleep.

“Don’t you dare fall asleep on me, Edwin Knickerbocker!”

Immediately, he pushed his cap back onto his head and sat up. “How are the girls?” he asked.

“They’re fine. They’re shooting up like sprouts.”

He looked out the window, his smile faltering. “I hope they remember me.”

Laura took her eyes off the road for a moment to look at him. “Of course they do! They’ve got your picture next to their beds, and Edna keeps your letters tucked under her pillow.”

This resulted in a laugh from her husband.

“So, what’s new in Lavender Bay?” he asked.

“Not much. Lenore’s got a full house over on Pearl Street. Mother and Dad are fine, although Dad is struggling with some gout.” She thought for a moment. “The cinema closed down.”

“That’s a shame. Why?”

“The owner is sick, and his son is off in Africa. ”

“There’s a lot of that,” Edwin mused. “That cinema is where we had our first date.”

“I remember,” she said.

“How’s Uncle Bert?” he asked.

“Like a new man since his operation. The garage is up and running again, and I think he’s happy to be back at work. The girls and I visited him last week on my day off.”

“Good.”

When Laura pulled up to the house and parked the car, the front door burst open and both girls rushed out, hopping down the steps and yelling, “Daddy!” Behind them, Leo and Eleanor stood on the porch and waved. Mr. Wainwright moved slowly, leaning on a wooden cane.

Edwin had no sooner got out of the car than Edna lunged at him.

“Daddy!”

Edith followed suit, and Edwin scooped them up, planting one on each shoulder. “How are my best girls?”

Edna wrapped her thin arms around her father’s neck and kissed his cheek. This resulted in laughter from Edwin. “I missed you, Daddy!”

“I missed you both! So much!” He carried them up to the porch, where Laura’s parents waited to greet him.

Laura pulled out his duffel bag from the back seat.

Edwin turned around and said, “Aw, honey, leave it. I’ll get it later.”

“I don’t mind.”

Edwin set the girls down on the porch to shake Leo’s hand. “Sir, it’s good to see you.”

“And you,” Leo said. “You certainly are a sight for sore eyes.” He put his hand up alongside his mouth and joked, “ It’ll be nice to have another man in the house. I’m outnumbered here.”

Edwin threw back his head and laughed.

Eleanor laid a hand on his arm. “You must be hungry. We’ve got a nice luncheon prepared for you, and Lenore has made some of that delicious war cake of hers.”

Lenore was always testing new recipes with the limited ingredients available. This one was eggless and had an abundance of raisins and spices: nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. Laura liked this one, although it would have been better with a spread of butter. Sometimes, she wondered if the old staples like butter and sugar would ever be as readily available as they used to be.

They gathered around the table. Laura had put the girls on either side of their father. She’d learned a long time ago that they couldn’t be seated next to each other, because they always started fighting.

Once all the platters and bowls were on the table, she sat on the other side of Edith.

The girls took turns telling their father all their news. Edna crowed about how she was learning to read, and Edith showed her father her new bow. Edna favored her father with her auburn hair and green eyes, and Edith was the image of Laura: blond and blue-eyed.

“Girls, let your father eat his lunch in peace,” Eleanor pleaded.

“I don’t mind, Mrs. Wainwright,” Edwin said. “I’ve missed them.”

“Of course you have,” Laura said. He looked at her and grinned and winked.

“Edwin, when are you going to start calling me Eleanor? You’ve been in this family for almost ten years now. ”

“Old habits die hard, Mrs. Wainwright.”

It was good to see that Edwin had an appetite. He shoveled the food into his mouth as if they were going to take his plate out from under him any minute. Happily, Mrs. Wainwright filled his plate with seconds, and he didn’t refuse. He looked thinner than when he was last home, Laura thought. How could they fight a war if they were hungry?

When they were finished, Laura helped Joan clear the table, and her parents retreated upstairs for their afternoon nap. Edwin changed his clothes and took the girls outside. Laura had splurged and bought two secondhand bicycles for them, and Edwin promised the girls that by the time his leave was over, they’d both know how to ride them.

After the dining room was cleaned up, chairs pushed in, and the linen tablecloth given a good shakeout over the side porch rail, Laura joined Edward and the girls outside. She sat on the top step of the porch, watching as he held the back of Edna’s seat as the girl pedaled, a bit wobbly. Edith, being a year younger, struggled to keep her balance. When it was her turn, Edwin held on to the back of her seat and the handlebars as well.

As Laura watched them, the girls laughing and shouting, she wished it could always be like this. Just the four of them. When Edwin wasn’t there, things felt flat. She and the girls were like a three-legged chair; they simply didn’t work properly without him. She said a silent prayer, like she had so many times before, that he would make it safely home from the war.

When they had enough of the bikes, the four of them took a stroll around Lavender Bay, neighbors coming out to say hello. Laura and Edwin walked arm in arm, with the girls running on ahead of them.

“You should have kept your uniform on,” she said.

“It feels good to get back into my regular clothes.”

She didn’t point out that they were practically hanging off of him.

By evening, the girls were tuckered out, and fell fast asleep on the sofa in the parlor. Edwin carried them up to bed.

Later that night, Laura slept with Edwin’s arms around her, and again, she thought, if it could only be like this all the time.

The following night, they went out dancing. They met up with Diana and Betty, as Laura was eager for Edwin to meet them. Joy had planned to come out as well, but one of her kids was sick and she decided to stay home.

They danced all night, rarely sitting down. They jitterbugged to Glen Miller’s “In the Mood,” and when the orchestra played “Begin the Beguine,” Edwin held her close, his hand folded over hers against his chest.

Diana and Betty didn’t stay late as they were on the morning shift, but Laura and Edwin stayed long after they left. They practically had to be kicked out of the place, stumbling out in the early hours of the morning, Edwin’s right arm slung around her shoulders, a lit cigarette in his other hand. The cool air was a welcome relief. They were sweaty from all the dancing, and Laura’s hair was damp and clung to the nape of her neck.

“The fresh air feels good,” Edwin said .

“It sure does. I can’t remember the last time I danced like that.”

“I don’t think we’ve ever danced like that.”

“No, we haven’t.” Impulsively, she reached for his hand and kissed his knuckles.

“You’ve got nice friends, Laura. I’m glad.”

“I wish you could have met Joy. She is one top-notch gal.”

“Where’s her husband?”

“He’s in Europe as well.”

They walked two blocks in silence with only the moonlight to guide their way, due to blackout restrictions, Laura simply enjoying being in his company.

“Do you ever get lonely, Laura?” he asked.

She snorted. “Every night when I go to bed by myself.”

“No, seriously.”

His mood had shifted. She’d noticed that the last time he was home. Suddenly he would become very somber. He could be in the middle of laughing and yukking it up, and then he’d go quiet, as if someone had flipped a switch.

Laura’s left hand held on to his right hand, which was slung around her shoulder, and she slid her free hand around his waist.

“Edwin, where do you go when you go quiet?”

“Huh?”

“Where are you right now?”

He took a long drag on his cigarette and flicked the elongated ash onto the sidewalk. “I don’t know. I think of what’s going on over there and all the guys I’ve left behind, and I don’t know if I should be here.”

She stopped walking and frowned. “What do you mean? Do you not want to be home with us? ”

“More than anything, sweetheart. But last week, we lost five guys in our unit.” He shook his head, his eyes narrowing as cigarette smoke drifted in front of his face.

They turned to face each other, and Edwin went on. “As much as I love coming home—and it’s the only thing that keeps me going, knowing that I have you and the girls waiting for me—there’s a part of me that feels guilty for enjoying myself when I’m here. Especially when so many men, some a lot younger than me, will no longer enjoy anything.”

Laura took both his hands. “Oh, Edwin.” She knew something about guilt and how it could eat you up inside. It had almost destroyed her life, but then he’d come along with his cheery countenance, his practicality, and his positive outlook, and showed her that she could move on and be happy.

She stepped closer and lifted one hand to trace it along the side of his face. She felt so much love for this man that to know he suffered broke her heart. It was unfair. He was too good.

“I wish I could take the pain away from you,” she said in a low whisper.

“I know, Laura. I appreciate that. Sometimes I wonder what I ever did to deserve someone as wonderful as you,” he said.

Smiling, she asked, “Do you want to know what you did?” She turned and walked slowly backwards, facing him. “You loved me for me!”

“It was easy, honey,” he replied.

“Come on, I’ll race you!” Laura laughed and she turned on her heel, and broke into a run, heading into the darkness toward Bluebell Lane .

They didn’t stop until they reached the house, stumbling at times, and it was a miracle that neither had fallen along the way. Laura reached the house first with Edwin behind her and they collapsed on the porch steps to catch their breath, still laughing.