«Life Passed By»
«Aunt Zoe, wheres Mikey?»
«What dyou want with him?»
«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 hanging round that boy, eh? Youll be chasing after men soon enough, and here you are clinging to a kid. Go play with the girls, leave Mikey alonebe sensible.»
Zoe couldnt stand Tammythat gap-toothed, wide-mouthed, long-legged girl, like a heron in the reeds. Just the sight of her made Zoes skin crawl. The girl was still a child, but so unpleasant. Tammys lips quivered, tears welling in her big eyes.
Ugh, what a mess of a girl. Zoe shrugged and walked off into the yard. Always bothering the poor lad.
Just then, Zoes son, Mikey, dashed out from the shed.
«Where you off to?»
«The woods.»
«Done the pigs?»
«Done em, Mum.»
«Straw laid down?»
«Laid down.»
«And the chickens»
«Mum, Ive been working since dawn! Its summer break, and we planned thisthe lads are waiting!»
«Which lads?»
«Mum, come on! The usualTommy, Billy, Stevie, Pete, and Jack.»
«Forgot anyone?»
«No, Mum, gotta go.»
«And that gap-toothed oneshe tagging along? Girls dont run with lads!»
«Mum, enough! Whats Tammy ever done to you? Shes my mate.»
«Mate?» Zoe grabbed his shoulder, hissing, «Dont get tangled with her, son. Shell wrap you round her finger, mark my words.»
«Mum, whatre you on about?» The boy wrenched free, leapt on his bike, and pedalled off. «Tammy! Tammy!» His voice rang out. Zoe sat down and wept.
Whys that girl so fixated on him? What does she want? In a few years, theyll be courting, and hell drag that gap-toothed thing home, saying, «Mum, Dad, love her like me.» No. Never.
Zoe wiped her tears, stood firm, and marched to the gate. She hesitated, then strode down the street. By the fence, kids played in a pile of sand. Zoe called to a tousle-haired boy.
«Andy, your mum home?»
«Yeah,» he muttered, digging a hole.
«Fetch her.»
«Muuuum!» he bellowed.
Ugh, couldnt he just run? Shouting like thatwhole familys got mouths like letterboxes.
«Oooi!» came from behind the fence.
«Get here! Auntie wants ya!»
Out waddled VeraAndy and Tammys mum, freckled and wide-mouthed, just as long-legged as her daughter.
«Annie, over here.»
«Alright, Zoe? Whats happened? Kids alright?» Vera wiped her hands on her apron.
«Nothing yet. But rein in that Tammy of yours. Shes trailing after my Mikey like a lost pup.»
«What?»
«Shes glued to him. Not right for a girl.»
«Zoe, youve had a bump to the head! Theyre kidsrunning about, picking berries, fetching corn for the rabbits! Remember how you haunted my brother Jake? Your ma chased you off with a switch!»
«I never did!»
«Oh, dont you? I remember you two smoking behind the shed, giggling over those dirty magazines, sneaking off fishingand kissing!»
«I warned you. Keep her away, or shell come home in trouble.»
«You didnt! Or is Paul really Jakes?»
«You daft cow! My kids are my husbands. Yours are the ones with crooked noses!»
«From who? My man loves methats why were happy. Yours sticks cos hes scared to leave! Jake dumped you, and you grabbed the first bloke you could!»
Zoe knew Vera had a sharp tongue. The village women steered clear, but Zoe wasnt one to back down.
Meanwhile, the kids, berries gathered, raced to the stream, stripping off clothes, splashing, laughingno care for who was a boy or girl. Children start pure; the dirt comes later.
«Pete, whatll you be when you grow up?»
«Like me dadtractor driver.»
«Tammy? Singer, eh?»
«Whys that?»
«All girls wanna be on telly! Fi~ve minutes, fi~ve minutes!» Jack mimicked.
Tammy snorted. «You do it. Ill be a pilot or a scientist.»
«Girls dont do that!»
«They do, Jack,» Stevie said quietly.
Zoe fought to pull Mikey from that gap-toothed girl. She sighed in relief when he joined the army. If she saw Tammy, she turned away.
Once, Tammy came crying.
«Aunt Zoe, any letters from Mikey?»
«Got one yesterday. Postie brought it.»
«None for me.» Her lips shook.
«Well, he dont wanna write you, does he?»
«But he always did! Has he»
«Got some bird out there?» Zoe tossed over her shoulder.
Tammy hunched and left.
Wedding bells! GennaMikeys and Tammys old matecouldnt believe his luck when Tammy, tearful, proposed. Just one condition: theyd move to the city after. Gennad do anything for her. Shed never noticed himalways trailing after Mikey. Shed wept for days when Mikey left for the army. Genna, rejected for service due to health, stayed by her side.
Zoe rejoicedfinally, her boy was free.
Mikey wrote home, asking why Tammy never replied. Zoe said she saw her dailyfine, just not writing. Why? Who knew?
Truth was, Zoe had the postiewho owed herintercept their letters. A mother knows best.
Mikey returned from service. No Tammy.
«Gone. Married Genna. Moved to the city.»
Zoe had a nice girl in mindNadines daughter, Lucy. Well-off, factory manager dad. «Hell set you up proper.»
«Mum I dont love her.»
«Pfft! Love? Look where that got you.»
Wedding bells again. But the groom stood stiff as a statue. Never mindhed grow into it. Nice house, connections time would smooth things.
Years flewten, twenty.
Mikey brought his family to visit; Tammy and Genna came to theirs. They met by chance, lingered awkwardly.
«Off for a smokesee Stevie,» Mikey said that evening.
«Where?» Zoe blocked the door. «Youre not.»
«Mum, what?»
«Lucy, go with him. Men shouldnt wander alone.»
«Zoe, hes seeing a friend! Let him be.»
«To her? That moon-eyed thing? Watch yourself, Mikey.»
«Leave it, Mum.»
His feet led him to the riverbank. Next night too. On the third, as he turned to leave, a silhouette appeared.
She came.
No words, no blame. Just them, under the old cherry tree, holding each otherthe moon ducking behind clouds to spare them its glare.
Ten more years. Then twenty.
Never once did they cross the line. Not love? Oh, it was. But duty mattered too. Their spouses, kids, grandkidsnone deserved the fallout.
Now, widowed three years, Mikey stands by his wifes grave. Hed visited his parents. His mother confessedhow shed torn him from Tammy. He forgave. The ache dulled, but lingered.
«Mikey?» He turned. Tammy stood therestill slim, scarf at her neck, like the girl hed known. She sat beside him on the bench. They talked.
«Lifes passed us by, Mikey.»
«Past us, Tammy.»
«Just cause we werent together? Maybe that was meant. Dont blame Gennahe pulled me from despair. And then I loved him.»
«Out of gratitude?» Mikey smirked.
«No. For his gentle soul. His patience. All those years I loved you, but living side by side Mikey, dont hold it against him. Be there for him. Ive got to go. Goodbye.»
She left.
That evening, the phone rang.
«Genna? You crying?»
«Tammys gone.»
«Where» He understood. «Im coming. Hold on.»
Two old friends sat shoulder to shoulder.
«Shed been poorly. Told no one. Your wife?»
«Three years now.»
«Hard.»
«Hard, mate. A lifetime.»
«Lets stick together. Whos left? Stevie, Tony»
«Good.»
«Life flieslike one day. But when I remember no. Years. Feels like yesterday we were splashing bare-arsed in the stream.»
«Same here, mate.»
Maybe Mum knew something, felt something. No use dwelling now.
*Lifes not a field to cross with ease,*
*Its highs and lows and stones that seize,*
*The weight of wrongs that never fade,*
*Yet love remainsthe debts are paid.*
(by Hope Bright)
Take care, my dears. Sending warmth your way. Always yours.
