Unexpected Returns
by
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It seemed that there was not one inch of space on the train. Young soldiers who had just barely started to shave were bragging to each other about their conquests while they were home and yelling out to the girls who were on their way to visit their loved ones. Some young soldiers sat and stared out the window. These young boys were only a few years older than her Peggy and Tommy Clancy. The weather was bitter cold and the snow clouds hovered all around. The car was full of cigarette smoke and the smell of stale beer. Two of the girls were vomiting from drinking too much. At each station stop, more young people pushed their way into the car. After the third stop, there was standing room only. The girls were trying to keep their hats on their heads and the young soldiers were laughing and offering their laps for seats. The air was filled with self confidence and gaiety. Every soldier in that car knew in his heart that we would win the war and probably not one of them every doubted that he would come home. A group in the rear of the car started singing bawdy songs. One of the young men who was sitting next to Kate rose and offered his seat to a young girl, who was obviously very pregnant. The young woman told Kate that she was eighteen and had two children at home in Tennessee. She was on her way to see her man and hoped he would be at the station because she had used all her money for the train. She then asked if Kate were on her way to see a son. Kate looked around and realized how old she must look to these young people. The furthest she had ever traveled at their age was to Niagara Falls on her honeymoon. That was the only trip she had ever made. She thought to herself that the war was changing all that was familiar. Most of the young soldiers and girls on this train probably would never have left their hometown. They would have married someone from that town, raised their children, and died there. Some of the girls from her own hometown had already married English sailors. Kate wondered what would happen to these marriages and romances when the war was over. The train slowly chugged its way into the station which was crowded with soldiers waiting for their sweethearts and wives. Kate hoped that she could find Red in the masses. It seemed that a million arms were waving in greeting and all the girls on the train were trying to push their way to the windows facing the platform. Amid a sea of hats falling off, trampling feet and straining necks came tumultuous sounds of "There he is". With his head thrown back and laughing, Red swept Kate off her feet and almost squeezed the breath out of her. "Kate, oh Kate, how I love you! I'm so glad you decided to come. He looked down and said, "I've got a room. Is it okay? I paid a fortune for it for the weekend. It's an army town and it's almost impossible to get a room." "Yes, oh yes," answered Kate. "Why do you think I'm here? Why do you think I almost got trampled to death to get here? It's the first time I realized I'm not getting any younger. Red, these soldiers and their girls are hardly older than our own kids. Besides, I didn't come all this way for a cup of tea and a chat." "For the weekend, we're going to forget our kids and just be us," answered Red. "We'll pretend we're twenty years old and on our honeymoon. Just think, we might be parents again next year." They rushed out of the station plaza to free themselves of the crowds. "Oh, Red, please don't even think that." "Only kidding," laughed Red as he hugged her shoulders. "I'll take care of it. Come on, let's move, Hon; it's freezing." "Let's go and get some supper," continued Red. "There's a nice little restaurant down the street - home cooking. I hope we can get a table 'cause everybody goes there." They hurried along, holding hands. When they left the restaurant, the leaden clouds were depositing a fine snow on the streets. The wind was biting and couples, arm and arm, were rushing to the warmth of any shelter. Kate and Red caught the trolley which was heading toward the boarding house. As they passed the train station, Kate saw the young girl from Tennessee standing under a light, still waiting. She had on a worn, lightweight coat held tightly around her large belly, no gloves, and a straw hat which had been updated with some flowers. "My God," thought Kate, "That girl should be home with her family. This war is playing havoc with our lives." "Kate," whispered Red, as they entered the house, "are you sure about this? I don't want to pressure you if you’ll be sorry later on." "Oh, hello, Mr. Clancy," called Mrs. Jason, the owner of the house. "This must be Mrs. Clancy. I left an extra quilt in your room. It's going to be bitter cold tonight and the rooms get cold during the night, saving on the coal you know. We all got to do our part for our country. Now don't we Mr. Clancy?"
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About the Book
On an early, rainy morning during the early 1960s, Kate Moran Mack receives a telephone caller with an English accent, asking if he has reached the correct Mack home. Charles Jeffers, a close friend of her deceased husband, with whom they had lost contact prior to WWII, is in the States on business. After much ado about hearing a voice from the past, Kate, with tears rolling down her face, arranges to meet with him. She steeps another pot of tea, and reminisces, traveling back to the 1920s, her husband, Tom, her only child, Peggy, and her beloved father, Joe Moran. Nostalgia envelopes Kate remembering the devastating Depression, the downfall of her husband, his humiliating death, and their tremendous losses. She wipes her tears and wonders if she made the right choice, meeting Charles and bringing back all those memories. During the 1940s, the war years, Kate succumbed to the pleas of her WWII sweetheart, Red Clancy, and joined him for a weekend before he's shipped overseas. Toward the end of the war, Kate's daughter, Peg, presents her with an unexpected granddaughter, Kitty. Kate's thoughts wander through the 1950s and the turbulent 1960s. Dancing around in her head were the wonderful Melios, Bridie, her close friend, Maureen, the daughter who leaves the convent after many years, the young priest who comes home with her and of course, Paddy Ryan. At a 1970 New Year's Eve party, Kate and her deceased mother's best friend, Meg, toast each other, remembering all the unexpected returns of friends and lovers in all of their lives. Danny Melio walks toward her with his arms open, ready to wish her a Happy New Year. This is a tale about the way we lived!!
About the Author
M.P. Reardon, originally from New Rochelle, NY, resides in Venice, FL. She is a graduate of Iona College, and the College of New Rochelle. Prior to her move to Florida, her last employ was as a legal assistant with the law firm of Hyman & Gilbert in Larchmont, New York. She is now a volunteer for Hospice of Southwest Florida and Literacy Volunteers. This is her first novel and she is presently working on her second. Ms. Reardon lived through most of the decades about which she writes and felt she had to put it down on paper.