Crystal's Song (17 page)

“My nose,” replied Archie. “Because when she saw me running for the door she socked me a shot.”

“Okay, okay. Just calm down, Archie. There’s no use taking you to Miss Cowie – because she’s deid and I havnae the time to do a séance. So we’ll just skip down the road to my dentist in Vanburgh Place.” Archie shook his head. “Look, son,” Dinah went on, “I promise you Mr Wilson will put you right to sleep and when it’s all over your tooth will be out and the pain gone.” Archie shook his head again. “You just cannae go on with the agony, Archie. And know something? Rabbie Burns didnae call it ‘the hell o’ aw diseases’ for nothing. You’ve been real brave this far, but let’s put an end to it.”

“Wish Mammy hadnae gone off on that Mystery Tour to North Berwick.”

Dinah thought, “So do I. And why did they always say they were off on a Mystery Tour when they knew full well, before they left, that they would be landing up just where they wanted to be – in North Berwick for the mandatory fish tea followed by some Luca’s ice cream.”

Archie winced again and gently rubbed his cheek. “Promise I’ll feel nothing?” Dinah nodded reassuringly.

Dinah and Etta waited anxiously in the waiting room and both heaved a sigh of relief when Mr Wilson came out and said he had removed two additional teeth that would have caused bother in the next wee while and that he’d also cleaned up Archie’s mouth. He hesitated briefly before adding that since he was having difficulty rousing Archie, he’d sent for Dr Hannah just to give him the once-over.

Mr Wilson had just imparted this news when Dr Hannah arrived, smiling to Dinah and Etta, both of whom were patients of his. He promptly disappeared into the surgery and when he reappeared, physically assisting a revived Archie, both women tangibly felt released from the sense of terror that had engulfed them. With shaking hands, Dinah took out her cigarettes and lit up one but was immediately overtaken by a fit of coughing.

“Here. That cough sounds as if it’s coming from the soles of your boots, Mrs Glass,” observed Mr Wilson.

Dr Hannah took the cigarette from Dinah and stubbed it out before saying, “I think it’s about time you came down to see me about your chest.”

“I did come down last week but there were twenty people waiting in your surgery. And after being told there were only you and young Dr Milne on duty, I came away. Just couldn’t wait well over an hour – so I thought, why bother?”

“Believe you me, it’s more than important that you
do
bother. So I’ll expect to see you tomorrow!”

Dinah wanted to go on with her explanation but the doctor’s abrupt departure put an end to that.

By the time Dinah and Etta had helped Archie up the road, the children were home from school. However they needn’t have worried as Tess had already arrived, and, knowing how hungry children always were when they came in from school, she had spread some jam on bread. Not only was that a real delicacy for Joe and Myra, it was also a pleasure for Etta’s son, Bill, who always came first into the Glass household for a jammy piece before returning to his own home.

Tess’s face was full of concern when she looked at her uncle’s face, so drawn and sickly. “Whatever happened?” she gasped.

“Got three teeth out, he did,” Dinah replied. “But once he’s had a good sleep he’ll be right as rain.” Turning to Archie, she ordered, “Now, take yourself upstairs and get into the bed in the back room and no one will bother you. And you’ll be sleeping here all night.”

“But will Mammy no be worried when she gets hame and I’m no in my ain bed?”

“No. I’ll get one of the bairns to run up with a note and put it in the letterbox.”

Archie nodded. “Thanks, Dinah. You’re a real swell. I just dinnae feel I’d want to be all on my ain the noo.”

Once Archie had taken his leave and Etta had departed with Bill, Tess looked at her mother. “Mam,” she said, biting on her lip, “I’m going to have a baby.”

“A baby!” exclaimed Dinah. “Oh, great. I just love babies, so I do. And your grannies will be cock-a-hoop. When’s it due?”

“June next year. And Rupert says the added bonus is that – what with him getting me …” Tess laughed and patted her stomach, “well, we won’t have to give you any other present for your birthday!”

Dinah shook her head before enquiring, rather coolly, “So do I take it the baby was planned? It wasn’t just a happy mistake?”

“Mum, you know Rupert doesn’t make mistakes. He plans
everything
…”

Looking away from her daughter, Dinah muttered under her breath, “I have the awful feeling he worked it out, right down to the exact time required and …” She giggled to herself, realising it was pretty crude to say such a thing but she did wonder what bonus payment he had awarded himself for reaching his target.

Before Dinah could let her speculations run on, Johnny came in looking rather guilty. “You in some sort of trouble, Johnny?”

“No really, Mammy. It’s just … well … know how I’ve been writing to that German lassie I met while I was doing my National Service?”

Dinah put up her hand. “We’ve been here before, Johnny. I know the war’s been over for seven years now but your Granny Mary … och, Johnny, you know she’s never got over Dod being killed …”

Johnny interrupted her. “But Granny’s getting old and if Frieda was staying here she wouldn’t ever need to meet her.”

Sipping from a glass of water she’d just drawn from the tap, Tess gulped. “Stay
here
? Are you mad, Johnny? Our Dad never talks about what he suffered at the hands of the Germans while he was a prisoner but he did suffer. We know he did. And simply to be civil to a German would be hard enough, but to have one under his very own roof!”

“Mammy, I’ve invited her because I want to marry her …”

“Marry her?” exploded Dinah. “Oh my Gawd,” she exclaimed, running her hand through her hair. “Tell me, Tess. Am I going crazy or something?”

“No, Mammy, you aren’t, but our Johnny is. Look, Johnny, just leave the lassie in Germany just now. In another five years or so attitudes might – well they just might have changed.”

“Cannae do that. She’s arriving at the Waverley at ten o’clock!” Johnny now turned to Tess. “She’s always wanted to spend Hogmanay in Edinburgh.” Turning back to Dinah he pleaded, “Mammy! Please say she can stay in the back room.”

“Suppose she could, but thankfully your Uncle Archie’s in residence there and there’s just no way your father will put him out of that bed tonight so that a Fraulein can get in.”

The long silence that now filled the room allowed Dinah’s thoughts to run riot until they were suddenly interrupted, this time by Crystal bursting in. “Have you heard? Heard the awful news?” was all a tearful Crystal could sob out.

“What dreadful news is that?” Dinah asked wearily.

“Just that Sam Campbell is being sent to the Korean front line after the New Year!”

Sitting down and tugging at her hair again, Dinah wondered why Crystal’s puppy-love for Sam Campbell hadn’t died – but then, hadn’t her Crystal’s infatuation with Sam been so ardent that it had left her barking mad!

The doorbell ringing at two in the morning awoke the whole household. Joe was first to arrive at the outside door but was unable to reach the top lock. Tam arrived just as Joe was dragging a chair over to stand on. “Look, son,” Tam said, as another urgent peal of the bell rang through the house, “you get back to bed and let me deal with this.” Opening the door, Tam was surprised to find Patsy and Mary, both of whom seemed in quite a state. “What’s the panic?” he asked.

“Panic?” screeched Mary, pushing roughly past him. “I arrive home from our Mystery Drive to Carlisle …”

Having now appeared on the scene, Dinah remarked, “But I thought your Mystery Tours always went to North Berwick.”

“In the summer they do. But in December we go somewhere we can do our Christmas shopping. But forget that! What’s much more important is, where’s my Archie? And why is there a lassie sleeping in his bed who can only say, ‘Nine, nine,’ when you ask her anything?”

Dinah shook her head and looked to Tam for help. “Told you, didn’t I, that you should’ve got on to that Dag Hammarskjöld and offered him the chance to get in some experience.” She turned to her mother-in-law. “That’s him that’s hoping to be the next United Nations Peace Keeper!”

Everybody looked from one to the other before Tam broke the silence. “Mam, Archie’s in bed here. He had to get three teeth out and he didn’t cope well with the anaesthetic so we decided he was better kept here with us.”

Butting in, Dinah explained to Mary: “As to Frieda being in your house – she should have really been at my mother’s.” Dinah now looked accusingly at Patsy. “But you changed your door lock last week and forgot to give me a duplicate key so I couldn’t get in. What else could I do? Frieda couldn’t stay here,” she went on hesitantly, “seeing she’s German and Tam here isn’t …” she paused again, searching for the right words, “… isn’t all that well-disposed to them yet.”

“Oh look, don’t blame me for this fiasco. It makes no difference to me now, Dinah. The war was a long time ago. Anybody’s welcome in my home now,” Tam declared.

“So Frieda can come and stay in this house?”

“Aye, she’s welcome … even if she is,” he gulped, “a Teutonic kraut!”

“Did you hear that, Johnny? Your Dad says Frieda can stay here from tomorrow and if you want to marry her you can.”

“Here, just a minute,” protested Tom, but as he looked around all the expectant faces in the room he knew he’d lost the argument. And as for Frieda, she’d have quite a battle on her hands getting Tam really to accept her!

Tom, as he was now called by everybody (with the exception of his mother and brother Archie, to whom he would always be Tam) was thoughtful as he sat in his swivel chair looking out into the snow-covered garden. New Year had come and gone but he hadn’t really got into the spirit of looking forward to the new year and what it would bring.

“Well,” he argued with himself, “there’s not much going for it so far. Johnny’ll be coming home from Germany tonight with his bride and they’ll be starting married life in Johnny’s room. Suppose if we’d stayed put in Restalrig Circus and I hadn’t decided on going up in the world and buying this six-roomed house, Johnny wouldn’t have got Dinah to agree to them staying until they’d saved up the deposit for a flat.” Tom jingled the money in his pocket, thinking, “I for one couldn’t help them out. Not with Dinah having to give up work because her cough had come back – and with a vengeance.”

Tom’s thoughts went back again to Johnny marrying in Germany with none of the family being there. Why he couldn’t have got married here, he simply didn’t know. Hadn’t he tried to make the lassie feel, if not exactly welcome, at least tolerated?

“Oh, yes,” he reminded himself, “not once did I say a word about Hitler and the German people starting the war – a war I’ve had cause to remember bitterly.” He wriggled painfully in his chair, recalling the nightmares he still endured. Although less frequently now, he could still waken in the still of the night with terror seizing him as he imagined the cold steel of a bayoneted rifle thrusting into his back while the command, “Raus! Raus!” urged him to keep on running. Or he would relive those enforced marches where he could do nothing but trudge stoically onward. He sighed, thinking how everyone in the family said he was too cool and distant with Frieda. He huffed, thinking that even Joe had said to him, “Why don’t you like her, Dad? Is it because she’s not like us?” Tom gave another sigh and a slow smile crossed his face when he considered how hard it had been for him to accept Joe as “one of us”. Now the wee lad had unconsciously wormed his way into his heart, so much so that he never noticed he was any different from his other children. All he knew was that Joe had brought brightness and colour into his life. He vividly remembered that evening eighteen months ago when he first realised what Joe meant to him. A constant ringing of the bell had him urgently open the door, where he found a dishevelled Dougie Small, Joe’s best pal, who spluttered, “You’ve got to come quick, Mr Glass. Joe’s injured. I even think he’s deid!” Tom had raced out of the door, leaving it ajar, and followed Dougie up to the railway dyke where Dougie and he scrambled over the wall and down on to the railway line. The lungs of the wee lad were now searing and he had to stop and bend down to catch his breath.

Helping Dougie up again, Tom demanded, “Where’s my Joe?” Dougie pointed along the line and over to the west where the boys regularly played football. Leaving Dougie to follow at his own pace, Tom sprinted towards the playing field and was relieved to find Joe sitting upright, his head up against another boy’s chest.

“It wasnae my fault. Honest, Mister, it wisnae. Joe was gonnae score and I tackled him and he went up in the air and came doon funny,” protested Bill, another pal of Joe’s.

Tom went over and lifted Joe into his arms. “I think my arm’s broken in ten places and so’s my leg,” mumbled a tearful Joe. “And I ken I’m no supposed to … what’s the word, Dad?”

“Trespass,” said Tom. “But that’s by the bye. Let’s be getting you to hospital.”

Joe started to tremble. “But will they no send for the polis who’ll lock me up in a school for bad laddies?”

“Hardly,” said Tom, unable to hide his smile. “But seeing that I’m going to have to carry you all the way, what’s the easiest way out of this place?”

Joe’s pals all pointed towards the railway track that ran level and was obviously the best way for Tom to carry his son.

Once they reached Leith Hospital Casualty Department, Tom was greeted by a young doctor whom he knew.

“Good evening, Mr Glass.” Tom nodded as he laid Joe down on the examination trolley. “Whose wee lad is this? One of your pupils?” enquired the doctor.

Tom shook his head. “No. Joe here is my son.”

The doctor briefly scrutinised both Tom and Joe before saying, “Really!”

Tom was incensed. Why was it people always noticed colour? He never did these days.

Tom knew by the incessant coughing that Dinah was about to join him. “Thought you were going to try and have a lie-in, love?”

The barking started again and it was some time before Dinah could answer. “Naw. It just goes on and on. I’ll need to see the quack again.”