The Forgotten Chapter (Blaze Collection) by Pam Jenoff

Author:Pam Jenoff [Jenoff, Pam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Published: 2024-02-22T00:00:00+00:00

Shrewsbury, 2019

“Mom?” Grace’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. “What is it? Why would someone send you an engagement ring?”

“Because it was mine.” Paige smiled wistfully.

“I don’t understand. The engagement ring Dad gave you is at home in the safe.”

“It wasn’t from your father.” Paige held up the ring to show her daughter the inscription on the inside. To Paige, I want to read all the chapters of the book. Danny. She took the ring from the box and put it on. It was still too big. But to her, it fit perfectly.

“Who’s Danny?” Grace asked.

Paige paused, trying to figure out where to begin the story. “Remember how I told you that I worked at Selfridges during the war?”

Grace nodded. “Yes, in the bookstore.”

Paige was surprised. She was never sure how much the children had listened to what she said. It was good to know Grace had heard her—and remembered. Paige continued. “When I worked there, I met a young American soldier named Danny. We dated and fell in love. He was scheduled to ship out, but he proposed to me before he was supposed to leave.”

“I didn’t know you were engaged before,” Grace marveled. Paige noticed that her daughter looked at her differently now, as if seeing for the first time the young woman she had been, filled with her own hopes and dreams.

“Very briefly. You see, right after he proposed, there was a terrible air raid, and many were killed, including my Danny. If the bomb had gone off a few minutes later, I would be gone as well.” She told Grace then about the flood and protecting the SIGSALY machine.

“Mom, I had no idea! I learned about that machine in school. The machine went on doing important work until the war’s end. But I’d never heard of the flooding.” Paige had gone uncredited for saving the machine all those years ago. Until now. “Someone should know,” Grace added.

Paige shook her head. “I wasn’t the brave one; it was the men who served.” She held up her hand, which now bore the ring. “This is remembrance enough. It slipped from my finger when I was saving the SIGSALY machine in the flood and washed away. I wonder how they found it.”

“I saw when I was in London a few weeks ago that they are doing excavation work at Selfridges,” Grace replied. “It’s possible that someone found it and was able to trace it back to you using the sales and employment records. I can call and ask if you’d like.”

Paige shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter. It found its way back to me, and that’s what matters. You know, my life went on,” Paige remarked. “I mourned Danny for some time, but I knew he would want me to live. I went on to get married to your father and have you and your brothers. But I never forgot Danny and that wonderful chapter in my life. My love for Danny was very real. I had been alone until then, you see, and he taught me to let someone in.

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