The Plantation - Di Morrissey [124]
‘The war’s over. The Japs have surrendered.’
‘The war is over? Is that what they’re saying?’ The women all looked at each other trying to absorb this news.
‘What’s happened?’ shouted Bette to the men.
‘Surrender. The Nips have surrendered. We heard on our radio that there was a huge bomb and now the Japs have given up. You’ll be all right now. We came to tell you the news, but now we’re going back to our camp.’
As the men turned and went back the way they had come, the women stood, silent and stunned. One woman started sobbing, dropping her face in her hands.
‘Do you think it could be true?’ Evelyn asked Bette. ‘Could it be … ? How?’
She turned and looked at sober-faced Hashimoto. ‘He’s not going to tell us anything. I guess we’ll know soon enough if it’s the truth.’
‘I can’t believe that the Japs are surrendering,’ said Norma. ‘Too proud. Losing face and all that. It must have been a bloody big bomb.’
‘I wish we had some way of finding out what’s happening.’ Bette picked up her hoe. ‘Let’s finish this up. Yam tops and rice for supper.’
There was a lot more chatter as they worked and later when they headed back to camp they held their shoulders back, heads held high and hopeful. The sad, weary sag of their bodies was gone.
The news the men had given them spread quickly through the camp and women gathered in groups talking and speculating. Every move by the soldiers was scrutinised. The surrender seemed too good to be true but, until it was confirmed, most women didn’t want to raise their hopes. Nevertheless, Gloria told those in the sick bay what the men had told them in an effort to lift their spirits.
To everyone’s surprise and growing excitement, the next morning they were called to assembly and it was announced that special parcels were to be handed out, all due to the munificence of the Japanese Emperor. Impassively the soldiers piled packages in front of the women and stood back as they rushed forward as though they were at a clearance sale, tearing the parcels open.
‘It’s food!’
‘Tinned fruit! Oh my God!’
Bette suddenly made the connection. ‘It’s from the Red Cross. Something has happened.’ She grabbed Philip’s hand and spun him in a twirl.
‘Why are you doing that?’ he asked in a worried voice.
‘Now I know that the war is over. We’ll be going home,’ sang out Bette.
Evelyn was studying the contents of one of the parcels. ‘You know what? I bet this is old stuff. I think this food has been sitting in that shed for damned years while we starved and died.’
There was a stunned silence. ‘Do you think so? The bastards,’ said Norma.
‘Now, ladies. Let’s have some order to this,’ shouted June. ‘Let’s sort through systematically, what we have and take it to the kitchen.’
‘Let’s have a party,’ called out Norma.
After that, it was happy chaos as children ran off with chocolate bars and women sat drinking proper coffee with tinned milk. The soldiers left them to it. After a slap-up meal, a sing-song and a prayer of thanks led by one of the nuns they fell into bed.
Philip went to sleep immediately. Bette stroked his hair.
‘I don’t think he’s gone to sleep with a full tummy for years. You know, wonderful as it will be to go home, it’s all going to be a big adjustment,’ said Bette, cradling the sleeping boy beside her.
‘When do you think that will happen?’ said Evelyn. ‘My mind can’t take that in.’
‘Oh, I do hope it’s soon,’ said Marjorie, her eyes shining ‘It’s so exciting. What are you going to do first, Mother?’
‘Hot bath. Clean clothes. Kiss your father.’
‘And you, Bette?’
‘I can’t wait to get back to Brisbane and see my parents, and Margaret, and my home again. I’ve so missed them all. But I do wonder what sort of world we’ll find after all this heartache. I suspect that it will be awhile before life settles down again. But I am so looking forward to it.’
‘We’ve all changed, haven’t we,’ said Marjorie.
‘You certainly have, you’ve grown up,’ said Bette. ‘And we must believe that this terrible time in our lives has given us strengths and knowledge about ourselves that we can use in the future.