The Serial: The Pepper Girls At War Day 62

It’s Isabella Anderson here,” she said. “I think we need to meet up. It’s about Annie”

Annie stared at the words. Lexie getting married, Annie told herself in disbelief and to a Canadian! Only Lexie could be so headstrong, she thought.

First it was Robbie, then Charlie Mathieson and now – she looked at the name again – Bo McGhee! What kind of a name was that?

Annie felt as if her whole world was falling apart. First Euan dying and now Lexie marrying a “foreigner”.

“Oh Lexie,” she whispered into the emptiness, “not you as well.” And where was Ian? She hadn’t heard a word from him for weeks, not since he’d gone back to his unit after Euan’s funeral.

She walked to the window and although it was June, the sky was cloudy and rain was drizzling down the panes of glass. Annie had never felt so alone.

Her mind went back to the poorhouse where she’d spent her confinement, waiting for the labour pains to begin when she’d received the worst letter of her life. Frowning It told her that Billy and her sister were married and it was only the stirring of new life in her womb that had kept her from going insane with grief.

So long ago now but still the birth of her illegitimate son reverberated through her world. He was in Ireland, a doctor of medicine now and had his own life but what had she to cling to, Annie pondered, with so much of her world now gone?

The noise of the door knocker brought her mind back to the present. She hesitated from opening the door, not wanting to see anyone but the insistent knocking continued until Annie answered it.

Isabella bustled in. “You took your time answering. Is everything all right?” she asked, taking off her hat and noticing Annie’s face for the first time. “Annie!” Isabella exclaimed, “you look dreadful. What’s wrong?”

Annie showed Isabella the letter. “Getting married to a Canadian!” Isabel read, frowning. “She never mentioned anything about this when she was home for the funeral.”

Annie turned her sad eyes towards her sister-inlaw. “I suppose it had to happen sooner or later,” she murmured, “I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon.”

Isabella made the tea, her mind whirling as to how to deal with Annie’s distress. She’d just been coming back from Euan’s death and now this.

“I don’t think you should stay here alone for a wee while,” she said. “Come and stay with John and me, just until you feel more like yourself again.”

Annie nodded. There was no fight left in her and Isabella and her kindness came as a relief.

She looked around the little kitchen where she’d spent so many happy times but now it was more like a prison. “Let’s get you out of here,” Isabella said. “You’re not alone Annie,” she said, decisively, “you’ll always have me, I’m not going anywhere.” Soldier on The two friends walked slowly to Isabella’s house in Janefield Place. “You need a bit of fattening up,” Isabella said. “Some decent food and a warm bed will soon put you to rights.

“That would be nice,” Annie said, weakly. Maybe she should have moved into Isabella’s house immediately after Euan’s funeral, instead of trying to soldier on by herself but now with Lexie’s news hitting her hard, she gratefully accepted Isabella’s support.

“Could you let Nancy know I’ll be here for a while?” she asked Isabella. “I said I’d help her out during the pregnancy and I don’t want her to find a closed door.”

“Leave everything to me,” Isabella said. “Just get some rest and stop trying to solve all of the world’s problems yourself.”

Once Annie was settled in and fed some soup and bread, Isabella went to John’s study and picked up the telephone. Billy Dawson answered it after three rings.

“It’s Isabella Anderson here,” she said. “I think we need to meet up. It’s about Annie.”

Billy felt his grip on the telephone receiver tighten. He turned away from Josie and lowered his voice. “I’ll be at the Masonic Lodge in Princes Street in an hour, will that do?”

“I’ll be waiting,” Isabella said and hung up. “Who was that?” Josie asked, realising Billy wasn’t going to volunteer the information.

“There’s a problem at the Lodge,” Billy replied, pulling on his jacket and stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray by the telephone.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He leant over and kissed her on the top of her head.

“But, what’s the prob...” Josie started to ask but the question went unfinished as Billy disappeared out the door. She picked up the book she’d been reading and marked the page.

Life with Billy was becoming more and more silent. He spoke only when he had to and left the house as often as he could find an excuse to do so and this felt like one of those times.

She sighed as she made her way to the kitchen to fill the kettle. Was this what her life with Billy was going to be until one of them died, she wondered, feeling his indifference weighing heavily on her heart. Unloved With the girls independent now and her teaching days over, Josie felt useless and unloved. As usual, when she felt blue, her thoughts turned to Annie Melville, a widow now and free as a bird, she surmised, able to do anything she wanted, unlike her, trapped in her silent marriage.

She straightened her back. When Billy came home, she was going to speak to him about their life together. He wasn’t going to ignore her any longer. Things had to change and change for the better.

Isabella was waiting when Billy arrived. “Will you walk with me,” she said, to Baxter Park?”

Billy nodded and the pair set off along Arbroath Road. “How’s your daughter, Nancy?” Isabella asked.

“She’s fine now,” Billy said, “her husband’s home on leave and they’ve cleared up the misunderstanding about the new bairn.”

“Good,” Isabella said, “because, I don’t want her bothering Annie just now.”

Billy flinched. “What’s wrong with Annie?” he asked, anxiously, “if she needs anything, she just has to ask, she knows that.”

Isabella turned to face him. “You love her, don’t you?” she stated bluntly. Billy stared at the honest woman before him.

“Is it that obvious?” Billy said. (More tomorrow.)