Of Love and other Wars by Sophie Hardach

Author:Sophie Hardach [Hardach, Sophie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780857201348
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pack My Unwanted Love into Bombs

1

Grace would spend another week or two at Samhuinn. All they were waiting for was the signal from Somerset, the message that the farmhouse was ready.

Max suggested that they give the yellow paint to his landlord, Mr Morningstar, an architect who would use it to brighten up an air-raid shelter or two. Grace agreed. For all she cared, they could use her unwanted yellow paint in air-raid shelters, turn her unwanted love letters into fighter plane fuel, pack her unwanted love into incendiary bombs. She was spent, empty, as numb as a tied-off limb.

Once she thought: my heart is broken. But the phrase was not hers; it was a phrase from a world of actors and poets that had no place for her. Her phrase was: Grace, dear, now what on earth made you think you were so very special to him?

Max carried away the yellow paint. As he passed her he briefly touched her shoulder and said: ‘I am sorry.’

What did that mean? He did not know about Morten, so it meant nothing at all. His sympathy meant nothing to her.

Yet when he came back, a weak current shivered under the numbness and made her put her hand on his arm. ‘And I’m sorry, too. I’m sorry I never asked . I suppose I didn’t want to intrude.’

‘There’s nothing you could have done.’

‘Have you heard from her?’

He shook his head. ‘I don’t even know where she is. She’s stopped writing. It’s as if . as if my mother has just completely disappeared.’

Max emptied his storage room office. Not that there was much to empty. He packed up the pots and crockery in the kitchen, donations mostly. Grace still remembered how she had collected them from Friends’ House. She would continue to use her office for a while; work in the empty building as long as she could. She told herself this had nothing to do with memories of a night on the fire escape.

A parcel appeared on her desk. A rather big parcel. When she opened it she found a wonky Christmas straw star, a folded card and a gilded pine cone. Two books: War and Peace and the Bible. The writing on the card was tall and lean. ‘Two books – in case you still want to practise (though it is not necessary). (It never was.) Max’.

She ran out but the children were in their classroom and Max was out.

‘Oh, Mr Hoffnung, you crazy man!’ she shouted into the empty corridor, and laughed, and laughed some more, and then noticed that it was the first time since the teapot day that she had laughed.

2

Inge’s belongings she packed last.

‘Promise me you’ll read this book. And then you’ll write to me about it.’

A chewed old teddy bear.

‘Hello, Herr Bear. Listen, you will look after this young lady. And please remind her to write.’

Inge watched with her knuckles in her mouth. But when Grace shook the bear and grunted a reply, she smiled. Grace shook it again.

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.