The Coronation Party by Norma Curtis

Author:Norma Curtis [Curtis, Norma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781405956291
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2023-01-12T00:00:00+00:00

30

Emlyn ran all the way back to Little Green Street, jacket flying, and knocked on Nancy’s door.

‘It’s open,’ she called from the shady hallway.

As he opened the door, the sun shone in, lighting her up.

She was getting ready, putting her lipstick on in the hall mirror. Her yellow dress, patterned with red roses, shone like summer, and she turned to him happily. ‘Oh, hello, Emlyn!’ Her smile faded instantly when she saw his expression. ‘What’s up? What’s happened?’

‘I’ve come to tell you there’s a soldier calling himself Jimmy Green here, in town, in the Hand.’

Nancy’s eyes widened in alarm. ‘No, don’t say that! I don’t believe you!’

‘He’s asking after you. Says you’re his girl.’

‘He’s crazy! But how—?’ Nancy took a deep breath and turned back to the mirror. She put her lipstick in her pocket and patted her blonde hair absently. ‘All right,’ she said, swallowing so hard that the saliva squeaked in her throat. ‘Did you say anything to him?’

‘No, I didn’t speak to him. He’s back from the Korean War. He was doing all the talking and having a right old time of it.’

Nancy sat on the stairs and pulled her yellow skirt tight around her knees. ‘Yes, he’s a talker all right,’ she said bitterly. ‘I don’t understand. After all this time,’ she said, her voice breaking in despair, ‘why would he come back now? What are people going to say?’ She covered her face with her hands, cracked and dusty from her work in the seed factory. Emlyn went to sit next to her. Through the frosted glass on the front door Emlyn could see dark shapes bobbing about on the road outside. His heart went out to her and he looked at her helplessly, wondering the same thing.

What are people going to say?

There was no glossing over the obvious claim this soldier had on her and Flora. But his plain-speaking mother’s unquestioning acceptance of Nancy and Flora all those years ago had acted as a buffer between her and the town. Nancy was fun-loving, no doubt about it, but she was thoughtful, too, and that counted for a lot.

It was one thing to condemn an unmarried mother in theory, but quite another in practice, he consoled himself, especially when it was someone you knew and loved.

‘Look, Nancy – the thing is, see—’ Frustrated, he combed his fingers through his Brylcreemed quiff and it stuck out like prickles. ‘You and me – this soldier—’ he said, agitated. He squeezed his eyes shut to concentrate his thoughts. Then he turned to her and peeled her hands away from her lovely face to look into her blue, watery eyes. ‘I don’t know what’s the matter with me,’ he said, forcing a smile. ‘I’m speaking Morse code in stops and starts.’

He settled his words in order and started again. It was easier now he was holding her. ‘What I mean to say is, you’ve got me now. And I know that doesn’t seem like much to you at the

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.