Chapter 45

Helen continued to stare out of the window across St Aubin's Bay, still trembling from the roar of the huge plane that had appeared and flown off with two smaller ones a short time earlier. The sound had been tremendous and had initially scared Bobby, so she had lifted him up and held him high enough to be able to see the planes for himself.

Lowering him to his feet again, she crouched so she was level with him. ‘Wasn't that exciting?'

‘We saw big planes, Mummy.' He spread his arms as wide as they would go. ‘They were that big.'

‘Bigger, even,' she said. ‘And they were here to let us know we will be all right, weren't they?' She had no idea what they had flown over for, but wanted to make sure Bobby hadn't been frightened by the incident. Who knew if more might fly over soon? If one large and two small planes were that loud, she could only imagine how noisy several might be.

She pictured Richard. He would have definitely signed up but she had no idea where, or in which force. Was he flying bombers, too? She hoped he was safe wherever he might be stationed. Her positive mood vanished. How was she going to get word to him that she no longer lived at number 2? She desperately needed to hear from him, from anyone outside the island. This claustrophobic feeling of living in a bubble could be made more bearable if she received word from someone outside it. If only she could go out and send her own telegram. She could send one to her parents, maybe.

‘Mummy, water?' Bobby was holding up the small, tin watering can Ida had found for him somewhere. He knew he needed to ask before pouring water over the plants.

‘Yes, good idea.' She watched her little boy taking care not to pour too much and wondered if he was behaving like other children his age. She only had an older brother and no cousins and didn't have any experience of toddlers. Not wishing to fall into another guilt-ridden mood, Helen decided she needed to find something, a hobby maybe, to keep her mind busy. She had little to write about when their days had no variation, and she was hopeless at knitting or sewing.

Helen noticed Bobby's trousers were above his ankles. Not that anyone outside their tiny circle would see him but that didn't mean she should let her standards slip. She thought of Ida and how she enjoyed spending her evenings knitting or sewing. Helen decided that if she was going to keep her son in clothes, she should ask Ida to teach her how to do these things.

Helen thought of all the things the two of them needed and, impatient to start, rummaged through the trunk holding their clothes. She took out a sweater of Bobby's that was now too small for him and sat down to unravel it. If she was going to ask for Ida's help, she needed materials for them to work with.

As she pulled gently at the wool, winding it round her left hand, her thoughts returned to Richard and how to send a message to him. She would speak to Peggy later and ask if she had any ideas. Yes, she decided, feeling slightly more settled, that's what she would do.

Later that evening she sat with the family in the living room. Tony had been invited, and to ensure he was home for curfew they ate their meal earlier than usual. She gave Peggy the birthday card she had made for her, and Bobby had drawn what could have been almost anything, but which she suspected might be a flower.

‘This is beautiful, thank you.' Peggy beamed at them both and ruffled Bobby's hair.

‘I wish we had something to give you,' Helen admitted, hating not being able to shop for her good friend.

‘There's no need. All I want is for everyone to be safe. There's nothing more important to me.'

‘That reminds me,' Ida said happily. ‘I received this from the Red Cross today.'

They all looked at the flimsy telegram with the now familiar Red Cross logo printed onto it.

‘Is it from your cousin?' Babs asked, excitement in her voice.

Helen had seen photos of their cousin, who Babs had said had left Jersey to join the Royal Navy as soon as war was declared. She wondered how he must feel, unable to come home on leave.

‘It is.' Ida proudly read the telegram. ‘He's a good lad. His parents would have been proud of him if they were still with us.' She wiped a tear from her eye.

Fit, well and missing you all. Hope all coping and safe. To be married. Know you will love Wendy. Hugs and love to all, Martin

Ida held up the telegram. ‘I'd like to meet this Wendy of his.' She frowned. ‘It comes to something when your nephew gets married and you can't be there to witness such an important event in his life.'

Helen saw Peggy and Babs exchange looks.

‘Yes, Mum,' Babs said, going to sit on the arm of her chair. ‘But we now know he's healthy and in love and that although he doesn't have us nearby, he does have someone.'

Peggy nodded. ‘He sounds happy.'

Ida stared at the telegram. ‘You're right. That's the most important thing to remember. Martin is well and happy. We'll meet his Wendy after this is all over, won't we?'

‘I'm sure we will, Mum,' Peggy agreed.

Helen wondered if now was the right time to mention her telegram dilemma. ‘I hope you don't mind me asking for your help about something?'

Four faces turned to her expectantly. ‘What is it?' Tony asked. ‘Please let me know if there's anything I can do.'

‘I'm not sure.'

‘Why don't you go ahead and tell us what's on your mind,' Peggy suggested.

Helen told her about the telegram she had sent to Richard. ‘I was upset when he didn't reply then I realised that if he did send me one he would have addressed it to number 2. And obviously there's no way I can go there and ask if they've received one.'

Peggy groaned. ‘And we can hardly go and ask on your behalf, either. Not if we don't want them to know you're here. What a shame.'

‘There must be something we can do,' Babs said, resting an arm on the back of her mother's chair.

‘I could send one to him,' Tony suggested.

Helen was grateful for the offer but couldn't see how that might work. ‘But he won't know who you are, and you only have twenty-five words to get your message across.'

Tony shifted slightly in his seat and rubbed his chin as he gave the matter some thought. His face brightened after a few seconds. ‘I know. You can tell me the name of his school, or where he worked. Something familiar. He'll see it's come from Jersey and will be able to work out that you're unable to send it for some reason. The difficulty is going to be saying all you need me to.'

She wasn't sure it would work. ‘Maybe I should leave it for now.'

‘I think you should try. There's no point in delaying something during wartime, Helen,' he added, his voice gentle.

Helen wasn't sure what difference it would make if the chances of Richard receiving the telegram were already slim.

Tony continued, ‘My point is that we never know from one week to the next what new changes or restrictions these Jerries will enforce. Who knows, they might find a way to stop us receiving or sending telegrams next. And imagine how you'll feel if you leave it too late to send one.'

Helen hated to think that might happen and knew her aunt would have given her the same advice. ‘I can tell you're a lawyer,' she said smiling. ‘You make a very good argument. Thank you. I will take you up on your offer.'

‘I think you've made the right decision,' Peggy said. ‘Now all we need to do is work out what to say to convey the message in the best way.'

Helen was relieved when Tony read through the final draft of her message and promised to send it to Richard first thing on Monday morning.

‘Read it to us one more time,' Peggy suggested. ‘Just in case we notice something missing.'

Helen lifted her notepad and began reading to herself.

Our friends next-door well. Send best. Missing loved ones and waiting for news. Hoping all fine. Please respond soonest to Ida Hamel. Your schoolfriend, Tony

She reread it aloud. Ida's knitting needles clicked away as she nodded her approval. ‘I can't see what else you might say.' She looked over at Helen. ‘And you think Richard will work this out, do you?'

‘He'll have to, Mum.' Babs patted her mother's shoulder.

‘He will,' Peggy said. ‘It's not as if we can mention little Bobby, when there's not supposed to be a child living here.'

Helen was relieved Richard would receive something. ‘Thank you so much, Tony. It's very kind of you to do this for me.'

He shook his head and took the piece of paper from her as soon as she tore it out of the pad. He slipped it into his trouser pocket. ‘I'll burn this as soon as I'm done with it.' He indicated the scraps of paper with discarded messages that she had torn out of the pad. ‘Those should go in the fire. You don't want anyone finding them if they decide to inspect this place again.'

He was right. She bent to retrieve the pieces she had dropped onto the floor and threw them into the small fire, watching them flare up and burn into ash. ‘Now I just need to wait and hope Richard replies.'

‘This has been such a lovely birthday,' Peggy said, leaning back in her seat. I'm sure you'll hear from him soon. We must keep hoping for the best, it's the only way we're going to survive this mess.'

She was right, and Helen decided that from now on she would do her best to be positive.