Across the Mersey - Annie Groves [110]
All Grace could think of was that one day soon this might be Teddy … that one day soon Teddy might be dead and his body the one that received this final service. Teddy, who had told her she must not love him but who she knew now did love her. How would she be feeling now if she had fallen in love with him? Guilt filled her because she wasn’t; because what she felt for him was the love of a friend and not a woman’s love of a lifetime.
She must concentrate on what was happening here in this room and not think about Teddy.
Already Harry’s face was relaxing out of pain and into peace, his features softening and becoming slightly waxen and not quite real somehow. She mustn’t think about death; she must watch Staff carefully instead, and remember everything she was showing her.
Harry’s fingernails had to be pared and his hands washed, his hair combed and then those things done for him that were part of the laying-out process: the packing of mouth, nostrils and rectum, and the tying up the jaw with a chin strap.
Only when it was time to cover Harry’s body with its shroud did Staff summon Grace to assist her.
Grace was trembling so much she felt sure she would be sent off duty in disgrace, but all Staff said to her was a quiet, ‘Brace up, Campion. You’re doing very well. Don’t let the side down now.’
Harry’s body was covered with a sheet and then it was time to summon a porter to wheel him down to the mortuary, his journey there accompanied by a nurse. Grace had feared that she might be sent but as though she sensed what she was feeling, Staff summoned one of the other junior nurses instead.
Death. Grace had never really thought about it in any great detail, not really. Nursing was about helping people to get better, after all, but today she had been confronted with the reality of death and its harshness, not once but twice.
It was four o’ clock in the morning. Nearly two hours since Harry had passed away. Grace remembered that she had heard other nurses calling two a.m. the death hour. She started to tremble sviolently that her teeth were chattering together. All she could do was take refuge in the sluice, but once there Grace found that she couldn’t cry. What she was feeling was too raw and went too deep for the release of tears.
SIXTEEN
Alan hadn’t left her any housekeeping, and not for the first time either. Well, it just wasn’t good enough, Bella fumed, and she was going to go to his father’s office now and tell him so. That would show him.
She was sick of this wretched rationing already. How was anyone supposed to manage without a decent amount of butter? Alan put more on his breakfast toast every day than they were supposed to manage on for a full week. Everyone knew that there was a black market where you could buy as much butter as you wanted provided you were prepared to pay for it, and if Alan wanted butter on his toast then he was the one who was going to have to find the money.
Alan’s father’s business premises were in the centre of the town. The bus stop was at the bottom of the street, but the bus had lumbered to a halt right outside the office because of some commotion in the street. From where she was seated on the top deck – where she had had to go because it was full – Bella could see right in through the window of the Parkers’ office. She could see that stupid Trixie seated at her desk, in front of a typewriter. She could see too Alan coming into the office, closing the door behind him.
He was smiling at Trixie and she was smiling back at him. As she watched, Bella saw Alan go over to her, put his arm around her and then bend his head to kiss her.
Bella started to stand up, her face red with fury. Neither of them had seen her. They were oblivious to everything but what they were doing. And it was disgusting. Alan was fondling Trixie’s breast. Well, they wouldn’t be feeling so pleased with themselves when they found out that she’d seen what they were up to.
The bus started to move, throwing Bella back into her seat. Alan, her