Page 58 of Heartbreak for the Irish Midwife

‘Ach, everybody thinks their own wain is special, I suppose.’ His eyes danced. ‘But my child definitely is. I’m not biased at all, like.’ He laughed, and Alex remembered how much he’d liked Brian when they were growing up.

‘So what about you, big fella?’ Playfully, he punched Alex’s arm lightly. ‘Any girls on the scene?’

He grimaced. ‘Yes and no. There’s a girl I like at work, but . . .’ He shrugged. ‘Not sure anything will come of it.’ While Maisie had been chirpy and friendly since the September tea dance, she hadn’t even gone last month. Was she actively avoiding him?

‘Ah, that’s a shame.’ He jerked his head towards the traybakes, where the Crawford ladies were chatting with Alex’s mother. ‘What about wee Prudence? I hear you and her might be walking out soon.’

Alex felt his jaw loosen in shock. ‘You what? No, nothing like that! I’ve no notion of asking her out.’

Brian looked nonplussed. ‘That’s not what I heard.’ He glanced towards his wife, Hannah, who was approaching, her son on her hip.

‘Well you heard wrong.’ Alex made a face. ‘I’m gonna have to be blunt with Mother, I suppose. Not something I ever enjoy doing.’

Brian chuckled. ‘Good luck to ya with that one!’

For the rest of the evening, Alex managed to avoid both Mother and the Crawford ladies – though it took ingenuity at times. Brian and Hannah didn’t stay much longer, wanting only to show their faces, make a donation, then get their wee Samuel home to bed. Finally, it was ten o’clock, and the teacups and plates had been washed and tidied away. Mother, who wouldn’t have dreamed of doing similar tasks at home, seemed to enjoy them at church.

Granda never went to evening events any more, and Father hadn’t come, being busy with work meetings this evening, so Alex had driven their comfortable Morris 14 to the city centre. When they emerged, it was dark, and the blackout rules were making driving extremely hazardous. The streetlights were off and his headlights were hooded, which meant it was difficult to track his position on the road or spot other cars and pedestrians. The only safe way to drive was basically at walking pace. Still, it meant there was time to talk.

‘Alexander Lowe!’ Mother was wasting no time. ‘I can’t believe you were so rude tonight!’

Although fully aware of what she was talking about, Alex feigned innocence. ‘Rude? I wasn’t rude! I was perfectly polite to everyone I spoke to, and I made sure not to speak with my mouth full.’

Ignoring his levity, she persisted. ‘You didn’t speak to Prudence once! And you only said hello to Mrs Crawford in passing!’

He frowned in feigned confusion – though she would not be able to see it in the dim interior of the car. ‘The place was busy, Mother. There were loads of people I never spoke to properly – even Hannah, who was one of our gang growing up. Still, I had a good chat with Brian.’

‘Aye baby Samuel is a wee dote,’ she replied, and he heard the danger of grandmother broodiness in her tone, before she snapped back to scheming. ‘But you shouldn’t have ignored Prudence. You should have made the effort to speak to her.’

‘But why? I barely know her.’

‘We talked about this. You should get to know her.’

He shrugged, pausing to let two pedestrians cross in front of the car. ‘Nah. Not interested.’

‘But she’d be a lovely girl for you, Alex!’

‘Mother, seriously. The girl would bore me within a week, and drive me mad within six months. She’s very pretty, but there’s nothing behind her eyes.’

Mother laughed despite herself, then clapped a hand to her mouth. ‘Alex! Don’t be so rude about the poor girl. She’s just nervous and shy.’

‘Aye. And brainless. Sorry, Mother, but could you live with her for the rest of your life?’

There was a pause. ‘I suppose not.’

‘Well then.’ He let that sit, then slammed on his brake as a pedestrian suddenly loomed in front of him. ‘Jesus Christ!’

‘Language, Alexander!’

‘Sorry. But did you see that? This stupid blackout is gonna kill more people than the Germans!’

‘Aye, well hopefully the war will be over by Christmas and we can all get back to normal.’

‘It’s the middle of November, Mother. Can’t see anything getting sorted this side of Christmas. Besides, thon boy Hitler doesn’t seem the type to back down.’

‘No. That’s true.’ There was a silence. ‘Which is partly why I want to see you settled with a nice girl.’

He could hear the worry in her tone. ‘I won’t be conscripted, remember. Awful for the boys that will be, though.’