Cupidity Read online

  Mae went on and Martha pretended to listen with the odd raised eyebrow or turned down mouth.

  ‘GEORGE. GEORGE. Over here.’

  Martha wished she could put her head in her hands or that the ground would swallow her up. Mae was pretending to beckon her brother, but she was waving in such an animated way, in such a way that her big bouncy breasts would sway and jiggle about. She knew exactly what she was doing but to give her credit; she always got the result she wanted. David clocked the girls and headed over...with one of the other boys. Martha started feeling panicky.

  ‘Mae. Marths. Good to see you. Thanks for coming girls. Marths, this is my good friend Johnny.’

  David had affectionately called Martha ‘Marths’ since they were children. He was the only one who did, but she didn’t mind. What she did mind was being set up but knew there was no getting out of it. Her face burned and she felt like it must be a dark shade of crimson, but in fact it was still her pretty English rose complexion, just a little bit rosier. Johnny took Martha’s hand and kissed it while performing a curtsy in her honour and introduced himself.

  ‘Hello Martha, what a pleasure to meet you. I’m um, I’m uh, my name is... sorry, please excuse me, but I am taken aback by your beauty and those eyes. I’m Johnny, forgive me.’

  Oh, he was good. Very good, she thought but she wouldn’t fall for it. Not that easily. You see, because the Henderson girls had lost their Mum, they had had to make up their minds about the world of romance, love and fairy tales. Their mother was a devoted wife and she loved their father but then she died and their father became a broken man. The girls had no one to guide them and so Jane became the hopeless romantic, Martha became guarded and Susannah showed no interest in men at all, perhaps because their father showed no interest in her. Deep down Martha was pleased Johnny had shown her some attention. It made her feel nervous (again) but in a good way which was an unusual feeling for her. She told him he was silly and that she was a plain thing really, but that she was grateful for the compliment.

  The boys got called over to begin the match. Mae watched Johnny run back to the centre of the field; she was now half interested in the match which was half more than when they had arrived. She was enjoying her quiet daydream about what had just happened when she was interrupted by Mae’s squeal of pure delight. ‘You like him, don’t you? You really like him. I’ve tried so many times to find someone for you but never got it right, but I didn’t give up hope, I knew I would crack it. You’re like a little walnut Martha. A tough nut but you can be cracked. Yes. This is so exciting.’

  More wise words from our darling Mae there thought Martha.

  Martha didn’t consider herself to be anything like a nut but she was happy to stay and watch the game, in fact, she was glad she came.

  Chapter 2

  Martha boarded the train with Willy. She was panicking. Did she have everything? She was sure that she must’ve forgotten something. She had never moved to a new house before. Well, she had moved in with Johnny, but she only had a few bags of belongings then. Now she had packed up a house. A house of memories and a truck loaded with a family’s worth of possessions. Sometimes she would think she wasn’t old enough for this.

  She was, but sometimes it was hard to believe it had come around so quickly. It didn’t seem like long ago that she and Jane would be playing with their dolls, dreaming of the day they would be mothers, wives, all the while Susannah would be in the corner reading. Three sisters, different hopes, different dreams. Jane would always have the grandest of the goals. She wanted the big house, the beautiful wardrobe. She fantasised about not having to do much. She wanted a cleaner. She would be happy to cook because she enjoyed cooking and as such was very good at it. Being the eldest she learned from their mother, and when mother passed she took over, so cooking had never been an issue. Running the house, however, that was down to Martha. She kept everyone organised, kept the house tidy, made sure all their clothes were clean and laundered. If anything, Jane had the easier job, but Martha wouldn’t dare ever tell her that. As far as Jane was concerned, she was the one that kept it all together.

  Martha reminisced and wished that she had enjoyed the easier times more. She never dreamt of being a widow. She never dreamt of running the house, raising the baby alone and she never dreamt of the void that she would be left with. She didn’t mind doing everything when Johnny was away because all she dreamt about then was him coming home. Even when he did, she made sure he didn’t lift a finger. She loved being his wife. She loved showing him her gratitude for everything they had, not materialistically because they didn’t have much regarding possessions, but just how much they had by being together. The love, the bond, their companionship, a friendship that never faded. Would she ever feel content again now that he was gone? She doubted it. How could anyone ever get close to her as she had been with Johnny?

  Her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp squeal and then cries, from Willy. A drunkard had pushed by on the train and hit Willy in the face with his case. Martha cradled him quickly and patted his hair. She then sat him on her knee and looked at his face. He had a mark just under his left eye that would bruise nicely. She looked up at the man who had hurt her son. A rage brewed inside her but when she met the stranger’s eyes, she could see he was inebriated. She held his stare for a moment and then he broke the silence.

  ‘What?’

  He slurred and snarled aggressively. She held his stare for a moment longer and then looked down at Willy. She pulled him in and stroked his soft blonde hair and comforted him. She turned them both away so they wouldn’t have to see the angry drunk.

  She felt so pathetic. The old Martha would’ve been upset enough to punch that brute in the face, but she had lost a lot of confidence since Johnny died. She had always been a nervous character, but that would usually be pushed aside when it came to the protection and well-being of her baby. She felt so alone and each day she was just trying her best to get on with her life. She wished she had said something; she wished she had defended her son but what then? He would’ve retorted probably and then she would’ve been even more scared. She knew that as Willy got older, she would need to toughen up. She didn’t want him thinking she was a pushover and she wanted him to stand up for himself if he needed to. She continued to stroke Willy’s hair and hummed him a tune; he started to drift off. He began to suck his thumb, which generally she would forbid, but on this occasion, she let him.

  As Willy slept Martha wondered what Johnny would’ve done if he had witnessed that drunk. She knew what he would’ve done. She didn’t need to wonder, but she liked to; God she missed him. At that moment, Martha decided that this move was to be a big part of their lives. She knew it was anyway, but if she moved and carried on with her depression, anxiety and thoughts as she had been, then nothing would change. She had to make a conscientious effort to make this a fresh start, a new beginning. She had to make Johnny and Willy proud.

  Eventually, the train pulled in at their station. Martha wondered how long she had been daydreaming while Willy snoozed against her. Everyone was in such a rush to get off. She sat there with Willy and waited for the mad rush to calm down. She gently woke Willy up and pointed out of the window.

  ‘Look Willy, look. We’re here. This is our stop. Look how many trains there are.’

  Willy gently stirred while being nonplussed about the whole situation but she was glad he was awake. Although he was only three, she didn’t feel quite as lonely when he was awake. Almost everyone had departed the train, so Martha took Willy’s little hand and stood up to leave. As she tried to manage their coats and a couple of bags she saw the old drunk ahead continue to be rude and aggressive to the other passengers. At that moment, she was glad she hadn’t become as bitter as him. Whatever had happened to her she had always managed to remain a decent person and she felt good about that.

  She got to the exit of the carriage to join the platform. The drunk was a couple of people in front. She was fixated on him and still
very annoyed that he had hurt her darling boy and then right in front of her she watched him shove an elderly lady out of his way giving her quite a fright.

  The blood in her began to boil. The Martha that had been emotionally asleep for the last two years started to come to life. The noise around her began to fade and the commuters around her became a blur. She found herself marching forward without any control. Her heart started beating faster, her top lip began to bead with sweat and then before she could even think what she was doing she was right up behind him and just placed one foot slightly in front and across of his.

  She watched as he began to tumble, almost in slow motion. She stepped back still holding Willy on her hip. The drunk fell over and his drink left his hand, rolling across the platform. He was so drunk that it didn’t seem to cause any injury. The worst thing for him was that he had lost his drink. A few people began to gather around him to offer help to get him up, but he just shouted abuse at them all.

  Martha stepped back and the hustle and bustle became alive. Instantly, the station had become noisy again. She was shocked at what she had done and began to feel guilty. She turned on her heels and was making her way to the exit when someone grabbed her by the elbow.

  ‘My dear, I saw what you did just there...’

  Martha was horrified but turned to see her accuser. ‘You did? You saw what?’

  The old lady smiled at a very worried looking Martha and placed her hand on her arm.

  ‘Don’t worry, petal. I am glad you did. I saw what that old fool did to your boy. He got off lightly if you ask me. Now, you look exhausted. Will you let me buy you a cup of tea?’

  And with that, she took Martha’s arm and guided her towards a café just a short distance away. At first, Martha’s eyes pricked with tears but then she let out a soft giggle and before they knew it they were both laughing. It was then that Martha knew the old lady had been sent to her. She was a messenger. A shining light to tell her she was ok, she was doing an excellent job, she would laugh again and that perhaps this move wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

  Evelyn, the elderly lady, was just what Martha needed that day. Once they sat down for a cup of tea Martha’s fears and concerns had gone to the back of her head. She was genuinely enjoying herself. This impromptu meeting had become a welcome breath of fresh air for her. Evelyn was so sweet. She insisted on buying them a pot of tea and she bought a little cake for Willy. Martha had wanted to pay, but Evelyn was having none of it. Evelyn was fantastic with Willy as well. She sat him down and told him to enjoy his cake and not worry about making a mess.

  She had two grandsons of her own. She was immensely proud of them and loved being a grandmother. Even when Martha wanted to go to the ladies’ room, Evelyn told her to go. Normally she wouldn’t dream of letting Willy out of her sight, but she knew without hesitation that he was safe with her. She went to the ladies and for the first time in about four years, she felt carefree, light on her feet as she made her way to the back of the cafe. When she reached the ladies room, she felt a sense of release, as if something had lifted, the grey cloud that had been hovering over her had moved on. She hadn’t had a moment alone for such a long time. She was only gone for two minutes, but she felt rejuvenated.

  Then it dawned on her. What the hell had she done? She didn’t know Evelyn. This seemingly lovely elderly lady had taken charge of the situation from the moment they met. She was the one who grabbed me, she realised. She was the one who insisted they went to a café. She was the seemingly natural one with Willy. Oh, my God, what if it was a setup? What if she was a child snatcher?

  Martha’s heart started to pound in her chest. What the hell had she been thinking? Willy was all she had. All she had and now she had left him with a stranger. Her head became hot. She was almost too scared to walk out in case she found him gone.

  Her heart now sounded like a steam train in her ears. She began to control her breathing and walked out into the cafe. She heard Willy’s laugh before she saw him. He was in fits of giggles. Evelyn had him on his back and was pretending to be a doctor while tickling him furiously. He was lapping up the attention and more importantly, he was perfectly alright. Martha leaned back against the wall and the relief that poured over her body acted like an anaesthetic. She made her way back over to the table.

  ‘You two look like you’re having fun.’ She smiled and picked up her teacup and saucer.

  Willy was laughing while shouting ‘Again. Again.’

  Evelyn sat him up and placed him next to her. ‘My boy you are tiresome. I can’t keep up. I’m too old for a young sprog like you.’ Willy’s bottom lip started to go, he had loved the attention of someone new so much and he didn’t want the fun to end, so he started playing on it but what he hadn’t noticed was that Evelyn was playing with him, her hand had formed pinchers and was going straight for his chubby little knee. She gave it a good squeeze and he howled with laughter and wriggled and wriggled. It was then that Martha realised how good it was to have someone around, how good that bit of support would be and then suddenly she felt relaxed that they were moving in with Mae, Peter and Charlie.

  Mae and Peter had Charlie in the same year as Martha and Johnny had Willy. The children had met a few times over various holidays.

  Mostly they got on fine despite the odd spat. Peter was friends with Johnny. They all met around the same time. Peter didn’t play on the rugby team like Johnny and Mae’s brother David, but he was a friend of David’s.

  Peter was far too proud and flamboyant for rugby. He liked sharp suits and was always immaculately presented. He would ever make quips that rugby was for men who had something to prove, perhaps he felt he had something to prove because he was always analysing other men. He was a good man nonetheless and very well suited to Mae. They loved to talk about other people and assume they were better than everyone else but Martha always felt that they would talk this way because they were very insecure about themselves. They might have been, but they didn’t act insecure when they were together. They were always surrounded by people. Always hosting parties, they always wanted to be in the thick of it yet seemed so interested in everyone else and not in a healthy way.

  After Johnny died, Martha received a small sum of money from the army – the remainder of his wages and a small amount of pension. He was only in his early thirties, so the proportion wasn’t huge. When he died, she didn’t care about anything. For someone who worried so much about everything, the wind had well and truly been taken out of her sails and so she gave little thought as to how they would survive.

  Luckily for her, her older and now wealthy sister Jane had offered to help them out and give them financial support. She visited once to break the news but didn’t stay long.

  Martha was still living in a haze at this point; the army pay-out had lasted about three months. It should have only lasted two, but she was very frugal and had to be like many other families at the time. She hadn’t asked Jane for anything. No one in the family had any money apart from Jane, but Martha didn’t consider herself to be Jane’s problem. All the family knew what had happened of course. Jane sent her condolences, Susannah stayed with Martha for a week and her Dad called her, but she couldn’t make out much of what he was saying, he was drunk again she guessed. She never heard from him again.

  But, to her surprise, Jane arrived one day. She remembered it well because she was having a good day. Spring was coming and it was about four months after Johnny’s death. She had woken up, played with Willy and cleaned the house; there wasn’t much to be cleaned, but she did a lot of cleaning that morning and caught herself humming a tune while doing so. For whatever reason, something lifted her that day and she managed to feel slightly upbeat for the first time in a long time.

  There was a knock at the door and Martha was delighted to see it was Jane. Jane looked glamorous and incredibly striking, with long golden blonde hair and green eyes. She had long eyelashes and full lips. She was beautiful. No one could deny her that. Martha ushered he
r in and offered to take her coat which Jane accepted, in fact she was more than comfortable with it. She had let the wealth get to her. She stood there, tall and slender while Martha walked around her and removed her heavy double-breasted military style coat with a fur neck collar. A couple of years ago Martha thought Jane would’ve taken her coat off, but she had clearly become accustomed to her lifestyle. Martha didn’t care really. She was overjoyed with the surprise visit. Jane walked through to the living room and looked at Willy. She kneeled and took his hand and looked at her nephew.

  ‘Look who is a big boy now? My, don’t you look like your father.’ She stayed silent for a minute, they both did. Willy stared at her with his big eyes and then looked at Martha and asked for a biscuit. ‘No biscuits today Willy. We don’t have any left and Mummy doesn’t have any money. She went through to the kitchen and sliced him up an apple.

  ‘Jane, how lovely to see you and so unexpected. I shall put the kettle on and make us some tea.’

  Jane didn’t say anything. She just looked around at Martha’s tired house. It was tidy and neat, but it was looking a bit drab. Martha put the kettle on the hob and shouted out from the kitchen.

  ‘So, what brings you here, Jane? I’m delighted, just delighted to have you here.’

  She wanted to go over and have a big cuddle and for them to squeeze each other tight but she could see that was not the right thing to do. Jane sat there on a dining chair looking like a movie star. Her hair, her makeup, the clothes. She looked incredible. Jane didn’t seem to relax. It was like she didn’t want to be there but she eventually spoke.