A Mother’s Sacrifice. Kitty Neale

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СКАЧАТЬ Chapter 3

      Friends and relatives of the other patients buzzed around the ward as visiting time commenced. Some carried bags of fruit, probably late apples, and others had newspapers and magazines ready to greet their poorly loved ones with.

      As Glenda lay in bed with the pillows plumped up behind her a little girl tiptoed past, holding her mother’s hand. Glenda tried to raise a smile at the young child but found her face was too tender as a sharp pain shot through her jaw. She winced and noticed the little girl looking back at her with a look of dismay.

      ‘Mummy, Mummy,’ the girl cried loudly so that all in the ward could hear, ‘look at that lady. Why does she look like a monster?’

      Glenda was horrified. She hadn’t seen her reflection in a mirror and had no idea what she looked like – did she look grotesque? Ashamed, she quickly pulled the bed covers high and painfully rolled to her side, trying to hide from prying eyes.

      ‘Glenda, Glenda, love. It’s me.’

      Glenda recognised Harry’s voice behind her at her bedside but was reluctant to turn over and face him.

      ‘Look, I’ve brought you a lovely bunch of flowers. Chrysanthemums, your favourite.’

      No, they’re not, thought Glenda bitterly, daffodils or white lilies are my favourites.

      ‘Here, love, I’ve got you a packet of Jaffa Cakes too. Don’t ask me how I got hold of them,’ he said, ‘but I’d do anything for you, love.’

      Who are you trying to kid? she thought, still unwilling to speak. It’s him that loves them and I bet Maude got them from one of her many cronies. Oh, how bloody thoughtful! She wanted to tell him where to stick his flowers and Jaffa Cakes, but instead she reluctantly eased herself round to face him, desperate to know of Johnnie’s well-being.

      She heard Harry gasp as he saw the state of her face and the bandage wrapped around her head. From what the little girl had said, she knew it was bad. Her lips felt twice their normal size and she had felt with her tongue that two of her side teeth were missing. That’s it, she thought, take a good look. You did this.

      ‘Glenda, oh, baby, I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I’ve put you in here,’ Harry whispered. ‘I bloody hate hospitals, the smell and all that. This place gives me the heebie jeebies so I won’t stay long, but my mum will be up to see you later and I’ve had a word with the doc. He says you’ll be out in a day or two. I promise you, I’ll make it up to you then.’

      He leaned in to kiss her cheek but Glenda turned her face away.

      ‘Come on, girl, don’t be like that. You know I didn’t mean it. Look, I admit I went a bit too far, but you’ve gotta learn that you can’t go running around the streets with a low-life like Billy bloody Myers! What do you reckon all the lads down the Castle think, eh? They’ve all heard about you and Billy, Betty made sure of that, and I can’t have them thinking I can’t control my own wife, now, can I? Come on, give your old man a kiss …’

      Glenda could feel her temperature rising along with her anger. The selfish bastard, she thought, wanting to spit in his face rather than kiss him, but she forced herself to keep calm, still desperate to know about her baby.

      ‘Where’s Johnnie?’ she asked curtly.

      ‘With my mum, of course. I could hardly leave him with yours. The poor old girl can hardly put the kettle on by herself, let alone see to the boy.’

      ‘And is he all right?’

      ‘Course he is, but he’ll be glad to get his mum home.’

      ‘Can you ask your mum to bring him to see me?’

      ‘Nah, she said it’s best not to. There might be all sorts of germs and things in this place and we don’t want him catching anything nasty. Now, how about that kiss?’

      ‘Harry, can’t you see it’s painful for me to talk, let alone give you a kiss? Anyhow, I really don’t feel like kissing you right now!’ Glenda answered huffily through gritted teeth.

      Lips tightening, Harry whispered menacingly, ‘Stop being so bloody daft and just be grateful that I didn’t leave you at the bottom of those stairs.’

      ‘Stairs!’ Glenda exclaimed, her voice getting louder. ‘You and me both know that I didn’t fall down any stairs!’

      There was a bit of a scuffling noise behind Harry and he turned to see what was going on. Glenda noticed a hospital porter in a dark grey coat helping a woman in the next bed into a wheelchair.

      ‘Keep your bloody voice down, will you!’ Harry hissed into Glenda’s ear. ‘If you say one word to any of this lot about how you came to be in here, I promise you, you’ll regret it.’

      Glenda held her breath, terrified by Harry’s threat. She knew exactly what he was capable of now, and she had to stay strong for little Johnnie. ‘OK, I promise. I won’t say a word,’ she said, her heart sinking. This was a fight she was never going to win.

      Harry hadn’t stayed long, much to Glenda’s relief, and just as the final visitors were leaving the ward the woman who had been in the next bed returned with the same hospital porter wheeling her chair. As two nurses helped the woman back into bed, Glenda winced as she turned on her side again, not wanting to engage in conversation with anyone. Thankfully, whoever was in the bed to this side of her had their curtain pulled round, so at least Glenda felt she had a little privacy to cry in peace.

      ‘Excuse me, Miss.’

      Glenda turned to see who was addressing her now, assuming it must be a doctor, but was surprised to see the porter hovering close to her bedside.

      ‘I just wondered if you’d like me to find a vase and some water for your flowers,’ he said, indicating the chrysanthemums on her bedside cupboard.

      ‘Oh, thank you. That’s very kind of you,’ answered Glenda, but in reality she didn’t care if the flowers wilted and died.

      ‘Back in a jiffy then,’ said the man with a smile.

      A few minutes later, true to his word, the porter was back at her bedside and was placing her flowers in the vase he had found.

      ‘There you go, pretty as a picture.’ He smiled at Glenda again.

      She immediately noticed his piercing blue eyes that were emphasised by jet-black hair which he wore greased back.

      ‘The flowers, I meant, not you … pretty as a picture. Oh, no, I mean … you are pretty as a picture, but I didn’t mean that when I said pretty as a picture … but you are. I wouldn’t want you to think I was being forward. I didn’t mean …’

      Glenda hid a smile. He was so nervous, but he was kind too, so she assured him, ‘It’s all right. I know what you meant, and thanks.’

      ‘Sorry, I’ll start again. Your flowers look as pretty as a picture. Did your husband bring them in for you?’

      Glenda’s momentary light mood rapidly darkened again at the thought СКАЧАТЬ