Now the War Is Over Read Free Page A

the quietest of the Morrison boys, the one you didn’t notice. But he seemed taller now, wirily strong, his blue eyes fierce, eyebrows
pulled into the frown of a man who meant serious business.
    ‘Calm down,’ the older bloke said, putting a hand on Reggie’s shoulder. But Reggie shook him off as if to say, look, it’s me that’s done the
work
around
here. He wiped his arm across his forehead and glanced at his right hand which he seemed to have grazed.
    ‘You lot,’ the man shouted at the already fleeing group of boys. ‘You just clear off!’
    Melly, still trembling with the shock of it all, went to Tommy, who had started to let out big gulping sobs. Tommy didn’t cry often. When he did he found it hard to breathe.
    ‘Tommy?’ She put a hand on his shoulder, close to tears herself. She wanted to thank Reggie Morrison but she couldn’t seem to bring out a word.
    Reggie was still standing in front of Tommy, elbows jutting out, hands on his waist.
    ‘You’re all right, mate,’ he told him. ‘They’ve gone now. They won’t be coming back.’
    Tommy looked at him, his little face straining and wet with tears, in too much of a state to say anything back.
    ‘You’re all right, Tommy – no need to blart,’ Reggie said again, sounding like a man. Turning, he adjusted his shoulders and took off up the road.
    Melly watched him in wonder: the strong set of him, his straight back, the wide shoulders and confident stride. She saw Reggie as if for the first time; saw what
a man
meant. Something
soft and yearning budded inside her. Reggie. She tried the name in her head. Reggie Morrison.
    Melly was crying so much herself by the time she got the chair back into the yard that she hardly had the strength to push it inside the house. Tommy was still bawling and the
commotion brought their mother groggily downstairs. She stood clutching the ends of her cardigan round her.
    ‘What the hell’s the matter with the pair of you?’
    It was a while before Melly could get the words out. It was her fault. All of it. She spilled out the story.
    ‘I wanted to help,’ she wept. ‘I went to get the bread and rations and . . .’ A terrible thought struck her. She’d forgotten the shopping! What if someone else had
taken it – there was hardly any food to be had, Mom was always saying so! Panic rattled around in her head.
    ‘Well, where is it?’ Rachel asked.
    ‘I never . . . I mean, there were these boys and they were going for Tommy – trying to turn his chair over and I ran out and . . . and then Reggie . . .’
    Rachel drew a chair from the table to sit down, her face hardening with fury. ‘Who – who were they?
    ‘I d-don’t know. They weren’t from up this end. . . Reggie came and stopped them but I never went back to get the things from Mrs Bra – acken.’ The last word was
interrupted by a hiccough.
    ‘Never mind Mrs Bracken – she’ll keep it for us. But those lads – the rotten little sods – if I ever get hold of them . . . C’m’ere, Tommy. It’s
all right, babby. No one’s going to hurt you.’
    Melly watched as her mother leaned in and unstrapped Tommy. Even though he was seven now, she pulled him on to her lap, cuddling her distraught little boy. Melly wished Mom would cuddle her as
well.
    ‘I never meant—’ she said.
    ‘I know you never
meant
,’ Rachel said harshly. She sounded so furious and unforgiving that Melly shrank inside. It was as if she had committed a crime. ‘But you should
never’ve taken him. Oh, God . . .’ Rachel was speaking as if to herself, her face raised towards the cracked ceiling. ‘What’re we going to do?’ After a moment she
turned to Melly.
    ‘Well, go on.’ There was no softness in her voice. ‘You’ll have to go back and get the bits from Mrs Bracken, won’t you?’
    Melly slunk out into the yard, pulling her sleeves across her eyes. She didn’t feel like crying now. Leaving Mom cuddling Tommy she went along the entry, frozen with