Aunt Zoe, wheres Mikey?
«What do you want him for?»
«We were supposed to go berry-picking this morning.»
«Hes gone, off with the lads.»
«Gone?» The girls lips trembled. «But he promised!»
«Listen, Tammy, why dyou keep clinging to that boy, eh? Youll be chasing lads soon enough, and here you are fussing over a child. Go on, play with the girls. Leave Mikey alone, be sensible.»
Zoe couldnt stand this gap-toothed, big-lipped, long-legged girl, Tammylike a heron in a marsh. Just the sight of her twisted Zoes stomach. A child, yet so unpleasant.
Tammys lips quivered, tears welling in her round eyes.
Ugh, what a mess of a girl. Zoe shrugged and walked deeper into the yard. Still, the little nuisance wouldnt leave the boy alone.
Just then, Zoes son, Mikey, darted from the shed.
«Where to?»
«The woods.»
«Did you clean the pigs pen?»
«Yes, Mum.»
«Straw laid out?»
«Laid out.»
«The chickens need»
«Mum, Ive been working since dawn! Its summer break, and we planned this trip. The lads are waiting!»
«Which lads?»
«Mum, whats got into you? The usualJohnny, Vinny, Stevie, Pete, and Gary.»
«Forgot anyone?»
«No, Mum. Ive got to go.»
«And that gap-toothed oneshe tagging along too? A girl with a pack of boys?»
«Mum, enough already! Whats Tammy ever done? Shes my friend.»
«Friend? Dont be daft.» Zoe grabbed his shoulder, whispering harshly, «Dont mix with her, son. Shell twist you up, mark my words. Just listen to me.»
«Mum, whatre you on about?» The boy wrenched free and sprinted off, leaping onto his bike without looking back.
«Tammy! Tammy!» Zoe heard his bright voice call. She sat and wept.
Whys she latched onto him? What does she want? A couple years, and hell be courting. Then hell drag this gap-toothed creature home, saying, «Mum, Dad, Im marrying herlove her as you do me.» No. Never.
Zoe wiped her tears, stood firm, and marched to the gate. She paused outside, as if weighing her decision, then strode down the street.
Near the fence, kids played in a heap of yellow sand. Zoe called to onea tousle-haired, big-headed lad.
«Andy, your mum home?»
«Yeah,» the boy mumbled, digging a hole.
«Fetch her.»
«Mum!» the boy bellowed.
Ugh. Shouldve sent him running, but he just shouts. The whole familys the sameloud and gap-toothed.
«Oi!» came a reply from behind the fence.
«Come here! Aunties calling!»
Out waddled Andys motherVeronica, a freckled, big-lipped woman with legs just as long as her daughters.
«Annie, over here.»
«Afternoon, Zoe. Whats happened? The kids alright?» She wiped her hands on her apron, anxious.
«Nothings happened. But it might. Rein in that Tammy of yours. Shes a girl, yet»
«What?»
«Traipsing after boys, pestering my Mikey.»
«Youve lost the plot, Zoe. Theyre just kids! Running aboutpicking berries, mushrooms, fetching corn for the rabbits, tidying the orchard. Remember?»
«You ran about. I didnt.»
«Ha! Who chased after my brother, Jake? Your own mother chased you off with a switch! I rememberfour years younger, but I saw it all. Sneaking smokes behind the shed, giggling at those dirty pictures, fishing trips, snogging behind the barn. Or did none of that happen?»
«Ive said my piece. Keep your girl in check, or shell end up with a bun in the oven.»
«And you didnt? Or is Paul really Jakes?»
«You daft cow! Why would I want your lot? My children are my husbands. But youyour litters a mess.»
«Me? Hows mine a mess? Got a husband who loves me, thats why were happy. Yours stays out of fear. You grabbed the first man you couldbecause Jake dumped you. No one else wanted you, you old mare.»
Zoe knew Veronica had a sharp tongue. Most women avoided her. But Zoe was no pushover.
Meanwhile, the kids, berry baskets full, raced to the shallow stream. Stripping as they ran, they splashed in, laughing, shrieking, indistinguishableboys, girls, just children. No dirt in them yet, only innocence.
Later, sprawled on the sand, sunning their backsides, they chattered and dreamed.
«Pete, whatll you be when you grow up?»
«Like my dada mechanic.»
«Tammy? A singer?»
«Why a singer?»
«All girls want to be singers. Fiiive minutes, fiiive minutes,» Gary mocked.
Tammy snorted. «You do it. Ill be a pilot or a scientist.»
«Girls dont do that.»
«They do,» Stevie said firmly.
Zoe fought to pry Mikey from that gap-toothed girl. She breathed easy when he left for the army. If she spotted Tammy, she turned away.
Once, Tammy came tearful.
«Aunt Zoe, has Mikey written?»
«Course he has. Sally the postwoman brought one yesterday.»
«Not to me.» The girls lips trembled.
«Well, he mustnt want to write to you.»
«But he always did! Why»
«What dyou want from me?»
Tammy hunched and left.
«Hes found someone else out there,» Zoe muttered at her back.
A wedding! Joy! Bridesmaids danced, groomsmen laughed. The groomGary, Mikey and Tammys old friendsat beaming. Hed hardly believed his luck when Tammy, weeping, proposed. Just one condition: after the wedding, theyd move to the city.
Gary wouldve agreed to anything.
Shed never noticed him beforealways trailing after Mikey. When Mikey left for the army, she cried for days. Gary stayed by her side. The army rejected himsome health issue.
Zoe rejoiced. Finally, the girl would leave her boy alone.
One day, Mikeys letter asked why Tammy never wrote. Zoe replied that she saw her dailyfine, not ill. Why wouldnt she write? Who knew?
Zoe knew why.
Tammy did write.
But Sally the postwoman owed Zoebig time. For part of the debt, Zoe had her intercept Tammys letters to Mikey, and Mikeys to Tammy. Zoe took them.
What else? A mother knows best.
Mikey returned from the army. No Tammy.
«Where is she?»
«Gone. Married Gary. Moved to the city.»
Zoe had a nice girl in mindNadias daughter, Lucy. City folk, well-off. Nadias husband managed a factoryhed set Mikey up proper.
«Mum I dont love her.»
«Pfft. Love? Look what it got you.»
At the wedding, the groom sat stone-faced.
Never mind. Love grows, Zoe thought. Hell live in a fine house. Nadias husband will provide. Time softens all.
Years passed.
They say time heals.
No. It numbs. Life piles on chores, pushing pain aside.
Ten years flew like a breath.
Mikey visited with his family. Tammy and Gary came too.
They met by chance, exchanged greetings, but couldnt just part.
«Off for a smoke. Might pop by Stevies,» Mikey said that evening.
«Where?» Zoe blocked the door. «Dont you dare.»
«Mum, whats wrong?»
«Lucy, go with him. No man wanders alone.»
«Zoe, hes seeing a friend. Why tag along?»
«To herthat doe-eyed one? Watch yourself, Mikey.»
«Leave it, Mum.»
She watched him go.
His feet took him to the riverbank. The next day, too. The third, as he turned to leave, a silhouette appeared.
She came.
No accusations, no explanations. Just standing under their old cherry tree, holding each otherloving, wretched. Even the moon hid behind clouds, sparing them its glare.
Ten more years passed. Then twenty.
Never once did they cross the line.
Was it love? Yes. And dutyto those beside them.
Mikey stood by his wifes grave. Three years a widower.
Hed visited his parents. His mother confessedhow shed torn him from Tammy.
He forgave her. The pain had dulled, leaving only an ache.
«Mikey?»
He turned. Tammy stood therefrail as the girl hed known, a scarf at her neck. She sat beside him on the bench.
They talked.
«Lifes gone by, Mikey.»
«Passed us by, Tammy.»
«Not passed. Maybe it wasnt meant to be together. Dont blame Garyhe pulled me from despair. Then I grew to love him.»
«Out of gratitude?» Mikey smirked.
«No. For his gentle soul. His patience. All he endured from me Mikey, I loved you. But years side by side I wanted to askdont hold it against him. Support him.»
«Support him how?»
But Tammy was already gone.
That night, the phone rang.
«Gary? You crying?»
«Tammys gone.»
«Where?» He nearly said she wasnt with him. Then he understood.
«Im coming. Hold on.»
«Thanks mate.»
Two old friends sat shoulder to shoulder.
«Shed been poorly. Told no one. Your wife?»
«Three years now.»
«Hard.»
«Hard, mate. A lifetime together.»
«Aye. Lets stick together. Whos left? Stevie? Tony?»
«Aye.»
«Lifes flown, hasnt it? Yet when I think back its been years. Just yesterday we were bare-bottomed kids splashing in the stream.»
«Same here, mate.»
Maybe Mum knew something. Felt something. But no point dwelling now.
Lifes no stroll through a field
Full of rises and falls,
And the weight of past mistakes,
Littering the path like stones.
(Hope Joyful)
Good day, my dears. Sending warmth and kindness your way. Always yours.
