On hearing the doors swing open at the other end of the ward, Maddy glanced up. She recognized the girl, and the young man, as her student neighbors. But who was that with them? That big, broad-shouldered man with the graying hair, almost running up the ward… was he making for her? For one wonderful moment, she thought it was Brad.
But this man couldn’t be Brad, could he? This man was older, slightly heavier. And yet… A strange sensation came over her. She tried to swallow, but the lump in her throat got in the way. And now he was in front of her, and he was crying. Brad was crying! And try as she might, she couldn’t even open her mouth to speak.
Suddenly he reached out and she was in his arms, and all the sorrow and trials of these long years simply melted away in the warmth of his love. “Oh, my darling! I’ve watched for you every day,” he sobbed, and there was desperation in his voice. “You went away, and you never came back. Oh Sheelagh, why did you never come back to us? We missed you so much.” He laughed tearfully. “Donald missed you too!”
Then he held her at arm’s length, reaching up to wipe away her tears; he looked long and hard at her; into those melting brown eyes that had stolen his heart, and the face he had cherished in his dreams. And he could hardly believe that she was here, in his arms. He pressed her close to him.
“I love you,” he whispered. “I’ve loved you since that first day at the garage, and I’ve loved you every minute since!”
“And I’ve loved you,” she whispered brokenly. Hold me.” With both arms she clung to him, as though someone might come and drag her away. “Brad, please… never let me go.”
Watching this amazing, tender scene, the young couple were made to wonder at the pain these two had suffered apart; and they were deeply moved, so much so that for a long time they stood and watched, holding hands, and loving each other all the more.
Gradually, loath to intrude, Robin came forward. “Hello, Sheelagh,” he said shyly, a little boy again and asking for a birthday cake.
Maddy looked up, her eyes alight with recognition. “Hello, Robin.” She hugged this fine young man, then held out her hand to Betsy, who came to sit beside her. “I’ve seen you two,” she said softly. “I’ve watched you from my window, not knowing who you were. But I know, like me and Brad… you two belong together.”
At her desk, Nurse Cathy too, had witnessed this tender reunion. “You’ll be all right now, my mystery lady,” she whispered. “Now that you have your family about you.” Checking her watch, she went about her work, leaving them to catch up on all those wasted years.
Maddy pushed her hair back to show Brad the scars. “What scars?” he said, feigning ignorance. “I can’t see any scars.” All he could see were those wonderful dark eyes, and the beloved face of his darling Sheelagh.
Beyond that, nothing else mattered.
Maddy smiled. There were still many things to deal with, confessions to embark on, and people to see – especially her own beloved son, Michael. But she was not afraid any more.
Nothing in the world could be worse than the hurt and pain of what she had already endured.
Twenty-five
With Ellen and Michael strong in her thoughts, Maddy spent a few wonderful weeks recuperating with Brad, telling him the true story of her life, revealing that she was not Sheelagh Parson but Maddy Delaney – the Songbird. Eventually, it was time for her and Brad to travel north, to Blackpool, in order for her to start putting the past to rest and laying down a future based on truth and unconditional love.
When Nora saw the couple knocking on Bob’s door, she came out, walking awkwardly with her stick to ask, “Are you looking for Mr. and Mrs. Clark? They’ve gone out for the day.”
“Hello, Nora.” Smiling broadly, Maddy opened her arms to embrace the old lady.
With poor eyesight, it took Nora a moment before she recognized Maddy, and on seeing who it was, she was beside herself with excitement. “Is that really you, young Maddy? How wonderful! I never thought I would see you again.”
When the greetings and introductions were over, she welcomed the couple into her house, where in a serious tone she addressed Maddy. “I’m so very glad you’ve come. I didn’t know where to find you… or Ellen.” She paused, looking flustered and awkward. “Oh my dear, I’m so sorry.”
She sat them down, and made a pot of tea. “Your son isn’t with you then?” she asked, looking about. “Oh, I suppose he’s grown up now, isn’t he? My! How time does fly. I remember when he was a weeny little thing.” She hoisted herself up and stomped painfully over to the sideboard.
“Here, you’d best have these.” Collecting a bundle of documents from the drawer, the plump little woman put them on the table in front of Maddy.
She appeared nervous, and Maddy guessed that there was bad news to come. And why wouldn’t there be, when nearly twenty years had passed? Nothing stayed the same; nothing was forever. She braced herself.
“These are Bob’s belongings,” Nora began. “It was a year ago, lass. I’m afraid he had another stroke, and this time they could do nothing to help him. He died in the ambulance. He had an earlier one – soon after Ellen left, it was. Oh, but he did fret over her, especially when she never contacted him after that.”
While Maddy was taking in the shocking news – both of Grandad Bob’s death and of Ellen’s disappearance – the old woman went on, “I suppose by rights these are Ellen’s, but as she isn’t here and you’re the next nearest thing he had to a living relative.”
She pushed them toward Maddy. “These are private documents – letters and such. I had to deal with his estate, along with the solicitor, as he asked me to after the first stroke, should anything happen. But I haven’t opened any o’ these.” She was adamant. “The official things I had to deal with – but the letters are personal things, d’you see?”
Maddy could not begin to cope with the news that her son had vanished all those years ago, with Ellen. A cold horror clutched at her. True, in her period of madness, she had not written, or given her new address in Bedford town, but she had pictured her boy growing up here, loved and nurtured by those two good people. It was another blow, another sorry illusion.
Putting her fears aside for a moment, she told Nora how sad she was not to have seen Grandad Bob for so long, but that there had been a lot of trouble in her life, and she had been unable to travel. The old woman could see from the threads of gray in her hair and the marks of suffering on her face that this was true.
Maddy felt Brad’s hand over hers, and she spoke calmly again. “It must have been so hard for you, Nora,” she said. “Thank you for your kindness to him, when we both let him down so badly.”
“Well, like I said, he had that first do just days after Ellen had gone. It got so he was having difficulty looking after himself, so in the end I persuaded him to move in here – as a lodger, you understand?”
In other circumstances, Maddy would have grinned at the thought of what Grandad Bob would have had to say about this. So Nosy Nora had got him in the end!
Number 8 Ackerman Street had been sold, and Grandad had turned most of his pension over to Nora, to pay for his keep. The £15,000 he had received for the house had gone into his bank account, and was still with the solicitor, while they attempted to find the beneficiaries.
The old lady leaned forward and lowered her voice confidentially.
“Just before his second stroke, you see, love, he asked for the solicitor to come and see him. Must have felt it coming on, I reckon. That was when he changed his will: he left half his money to you, and the other half to Ellen. He made me a token gift of his Rover, and do you know, I learned to drive an’ all! I even took him out in it a few times, although he was as nervous as a kitten.” She chuckled.