The Sun Will Shine Tomorrow (40 page)

I was looking forward to my weekly letter from Lily. She was full of the art college news and all the people she and Joy had met up with. It was a life full of interest and happy socialising. The students all seemed to meet up at the weekends and have lively get-togethers to discuss art and the world in general.

I always tried to keep my letters cheery and bright, telling her all the local gossip from the shop and mentioning all the plans I had for hobbies. I was going to start a brand-new life tomorrow with all my interests. The only thing I didn’t mention was that mañana never arrived.

Connie came in during the afternoon and I set off for home. The weather was still damp and murky with spells of heavy rain and I hurried along the wet pavements. I was dying to get the fire on and have a cup of tea. Then I’d spend an evening with the wireless or maybe visit Granny or Rosie. Or maybe I would just sit by the fire like a zombie before going to bed. Or I could visit Danny and Maddie. Maybe.

I saw Lily’s letter on the mat when I opened the door and I went to read it by the window. The river was invisible on a dull afternoon like this. Damp mist hugged the pavements and it was like looking over a sea of greyness. I had barely read half of it when someone knocked at the door. It would be the coalman, I thought. Once a month he came later in the day and I paid for my weekly bags of coal then. Moving to the door like some middle-aged spinster with my purse in my hand, I opened it.

A young telegram boy stood on the doorstep and handed me a telegram. My heart almost stopped beating with fright. Please, not Lily I prayed. Please don’t let something be wrong with her. The boy turned to go and I carried the flimsy missive in my sweaty hand. I knew I was breathing heavily when I sat down by the window, beside Lily’s letter. Had something gone wrong between her writing to me a day ago and now?

Taking a deep breath, I tore the telegram open but shut my eyes, like some tiny child afraid of the dark. Then, steeling myself, I glanced at the typewritten words, ‘Sorry I was such a coward the other night. Will you marry me, Ann? Greg.’

For one dazed moment, I stared at the words – Greg was asking me to marry him. I jumped up and, if there had been anyone in the room, I would have kissed them.

‘Yes, yes, yes!’ I shouted at the wall. ‘Yes, yes, yes!’

I rushed out to the nearest post office to reply. I wasn’t even going to think about all that had happened over the years. Seize the day, Kathleen had said to me. She had certainly seized her day and I was about to do the same.

After sending off my reply, I rushed up to see Granny. It was an emotional meeting.

‘Oh, Ann, I hope you’re both happy after all these years,’ she said.

‘I am, Granny, I am – believe me!’

She was crying by the time I left but she promised to pass on my good news to all the family – Dad, Rosie and Jay and Hattie and Graham.

Meanwhile, I hurried up to see Maddie. She was putting the twins down for a nap when I burst in.

‘Maddie, I’m getting married! Greg has just asked me.’

She was confused. ‘Is Greg still in Dundee?’

I shook my head. ‘No. He’s proposed by telegram.’

Maddie tried to keep a straight face but she couldn’t. She burst out laughing. ‘A telegram, Ann?’ She started to laugh again and I joined in with her. It really was a funny way of proposing to someone, after all.

We wiped the tears from our eyes then Maddie became serious. ‘I’m really pleased for you both and I know Danny will be as well.’

‘I’m writing to him tonight to say we’ll get married as soon as possible. I’m not losing him this time, Maddie.’

‘Good for you, Ann. It’s about time you thought of yourself for a change.’

The next few weeks passed in a whirl of activity of plans and excitement. Greg and I decided to get married in the registry office. Danny was to be the best man and Maddie would be my matron of honour. Because Lily and Joy were to be attendants, the date was set for a few days before Christmas. Lily and Joy would be home for the holiday then. Maddie came with me to choose my wedding outfit but, as I had used up most of my clothing coupons for Lily’s clothes in September, I didn’t have a lot.

Granny and Bella came to the rescue with their spare coupons and I chose a lovely suit in deep pink. It was in the New Look fashion by Dior of Paris and the hem almost skimmed my ankles. I felt like a film star in it. Maddie chose a matching suit in deep blue and I couldn’t get over how much had happened to me over the space of a few weeks.

Choosing a hat was more difficult but Connie said she had just the hat for me. It was a cream pillbox style with a spotted veil that reached the level of my eyes. It made my suit look more like Hollywood than Dundee.

But the best news of all was that Greg had got the job in Dundee as chief librarian although he still had three weeks to finish at Oxford. We were planning to spend that time as our honeymoon before heading back north again.

Oh, I was so excited and, for those last few days, I could barely speak. I had to try hard not to think something would spoil it – as it had done in the years before. Every night before I went to sleep, I prayed that everything would turn out fine. And it did.

Our wedding day dawned very cold with a slight covering of snow but there was a watery-looking sun and a pale grey insipid sky. The family all turned out at the City Square to see us married and the ceremony was beautiful if a bit short.

There was one surprising moment. Just after Greg slipped the wedding ring on my finger, he brought out a small leather case.

‘It’s my engagement ring, Greg!’ I cried, not believing my eyes.

He smiled and placed the ring next to the simple gold wedding band. ‘My dad found it not long after your accident, Ann. I was going to propose to you that night I saw you in the flat. I had this with me but I changed my mind when you told me how happy you were. I thought I had no chance of getting you back.’

Oh, my God, I thought. To think how close I had come to losing him forever. I smiled at him. ‘Well, we’re together now. That’s all that matters.’

We had planned a small meal at the Queen’s Hotel and all the family and friends joined us there: Dad, Rosie and Jay and Alice; Granny, Bella, Hattie and Graham and Dave and Babs Borland; Kit, George and Patty and Ma Ryan; Peter and Minnie and their son were also there – Minnie had given birth to a little girl recently but her mother was looking after her for the afternoon; Nellie and Rita and their husbands plus Jean and her husband were also there to wish us well.

James and Fay Pringle brought Daniel and they arrived a few moments later along with John and Dot Pringle. Connie and Joe came together. Then there was my beloved Danny and Maddie – my friends throughout the years. We had been together through such a lot of heartache and joy.

Lily stood beside me. She was taking her duties as an attendant very seriously and even Joy looked as if she was enjoying the occasion.

Lily gave Greg a big wink and he winked back. ‘I always knew you would get married to Ann. There’s not another person in the whole wide world as great as she is,’ she said.

Greg, bless him, agreed.

Then the speeches were over and we were able to mix with our guests.

Bella came up. She had a large glass of whisky in her hand. ‘This is better than yon wee glasses of sherry you normally get at functions like this. Anyway I’m glad you’ve made an honest woman out of Ann. It took you both a long time, mind you. But better late than never, I always say.’

Greg took this as a compliment and said so. To my surprise she blushed and I gave her a quick hug. ‘Thanks for coming to our big day, Bella, and also for the coupons.’

Then I saw Jean. She had been crying but she wiped her eyes. ‘Sorry to be so emotional, Ann, but I’ve aye looked on you as the lassie I never had. When I think back to the terrible time you had under that tyrant Miss Hood I can cry.’

‘Well, it’s all over now, Jean, and I’m so happy I could cry myself.’ Greg gave my hand a squeeze as if to say all my problems
were
now over.

Connie and Joe left early but they wished us both the best for the future. Connie said, ‘Don’t worry about the shop, Ann. Joe and I will do it together. Just until you get back from your honeymoon and then you can make up your mind if you still want to work there.’

‘Of course I still want to work in your shop, Connie. After all, I have to show my thanks for lending me this super hat.’

As we watched them leave, Greg said, ‘Do you think there might be a romance between those two?’

I laughed. ‘Oh, I hope so.’

Nellie and Rita and their husbands also left along with Connie and Joe.

‘Thanks, Nellie and Rita,’ I said to them, ‘for all your help when Lily was born and over the years. You’ve been such good friends to us all – especially to Dad.’

Rita laughed. ‘Och, it’s been a braw day, Ann, and we’re really pleased to see you join the happy band of married women.’

‘And it’s great to see your dad looking so happy with Rosie and Jay,’ said Nellie.

Indeed it was and it was something I blessed every day.

Minnie came over with Danny and Maddie. ‘I’m so happy myself, Ann,’ she said. ‘We’ve got a lovely house in Downfield and Peter is enjoying his new responsibilities as the head manager of Lipton’s. Isn’t it funny how life turns out?’

I remembered when she had lived at Clydebank with her small son and how devastated we had all been when we thought they had been killed in the terrible bombing there. Now she had another baby and life was looking rosy for them all.

Greg and I then went to sit beside Kit, George and Ma Ryan. I was so pleased she could come to my special day and I told her this. ‘You saved my life, Ma, with your warning of the danger. If it hadn’t been for you I maybe wouldn’t be a bride today. Thank you!’

She gave me a long searching look. ‘You’ve had a lot to bear in your life, lass, but it’s all behind you now. You have a great husband who loves you and he always has – in spite of the parting between you. From now on, the sun will shine tomorrow on all your plans. Oh, I’m not saying it will all be smooth and trouble-free but you’ll both cope and grow stronger.’

Kit said, ‘We’re sorry Kathleen and Chris couldn’t come but they send you all their love. She would have loved to be here on your big day but Chris is going away on a photo shoot to France and Kathleen and Kitty are going with him.’ She sounded so proud of her daughter and the lovely lifestyle she now had – one that was very different to her life with Sammy.

As we got up to move away, she whispered, ‘Did you know Jean Martin has had a son, Ann?’

I shook my head. ‘No, I didn’t know that, Kit.’

‘Well, her father has been in touch with Sammy’s commanding officer and he has to pay her money for the baby. That will put his gas at a peep for a while. That and the fact he’s in the jungles of Malaya. Maggie doesn’t know what to say these days. On the one hand she’s worried about the jungle but on the other she’s dreading him coming back to Lochee to face the music.’ She laughed. ‘Poor Maggie, I really feel very sorry for her.’

Greg and I then went over to speak to his parents and Hattie and Graham. I still felt the glow from all their good wishes.

Graham was telling them they were going to get married as soon as his divorce was finalised. ‘It might take a while yet but it’ll happen, won’t it, Hattie?’

Hattie simply smiled and nodded.

I thanked Babs and Dave for all their kindness to Lily and me and I also thanked Dave for finding the ring.

He laughed. ‘Oh, it was pretty easy to find in the daylight, Ann. I just retraced the steps from that huge stone and there it was – only a matter of feet away. You’ll never make a cricketer with your long throws.’

I blushed but he merely patted me on the shoulder. ‘Greg’s a lucky man to get such a beautiful bride and a lovely wife.’

Then Danny and Maddie joined us and I almost burst into tears. Maddie held me close while Danny chatted to Greg.

Then Danny took my hand. ‘We wish you all the best in the world – you both deserve it.’

Jay, Daniel and Peter were running through the guests, making vroom-vroom noises.

‘I’m going to be a Spitfire pilot,’ said Daniel.

‘So are we,’ said Jay and Peter together. ‘We’ll all be Spitfire pilots.’

Fay and James Pringle looked at the boys with affection. ‘I remember the first time I saw you, Ann,’ she said. ‘It was New Year and I remember I called you the Sunday girls. Do you remember?’

I nodded. ‘Oh, I do! It was Maddie and me and Joy and Lily. We were all born on a Sunday.’

‘Now it’s all boys – Daniel, Jay, Peter, James and Patrick.’

Oh, yes, I thought. It was a new generation growing up and we were all getting older.

I glanced over at Dad and Rosie and I saw she had also been crying. She smiled when she saw me and gave a little wave. She was dressed in a lovely dress of gold crêpe de Chine and her still-dark hair was cut in a short fashionable style. I was so glad she had kept up her smart appearance. Dad was still Dad and he would never change. He liked a pretty face around the place.

He was busy talking to John and Dot Pringle and I was pleased that they seemed to be on good terms. Hopefully Margot’s poison had been exorcised from their marriage. Where was she now? I wondered. I actually didn’t care but I hoped she wasn’t still ruining people’s lives.

I had noticed the two young lads earlier but I didn’t know where they had come from. Lily soon put me right. ‘This is Charlie and this is Colin. They’re at art college with us and they stay in the boarding house next door to us. They live in Dundee so I asked them along. Is that all right, Ann?’

‘Of course it is,’ I said. Greg and I said hello to the two boys who both seemed very young. One had a spotty face and they were both thin and immature-looking.

Joy sauntered over and stood beside us while the two boys went over to the buffet table. Lily and Joy watched them going. Lily gave a huge sigh. ‘Joy and I are not getting married for years and years and years, Ann. Just like you and Greg, we’re going to be old before we get married. Isn’t that right, Joy?’