‘He lost a lot of friends in that battle, in quite horrible ways – the way you lost your friend Terry, but many times over. All his medal does is remind him of living through hell, and the men he knew who never came home. It’s hardly surprising he didn’t want to think about it.’
‘But he gave it you, didn’t he?’
‘To look after on behalf of us all, yes. I think his new wife might have helped him make his peace with it, but the main reason was for the sake of his grandchildren. So that when he’sgone, they’ll have this to show them their grandad was a brave man.’
‘And he kept it secret all this time,’ Jake said wonderingly. ‘Why’d he take it if he didn’t want it? I guess he had a choice.’
‘I’m not sure he understood himself until recently. He came to the conclusion that it was never for his own sake, because how he felt wouldn’t matter once he was gone. It was for the sake of those who came after.’ She smiled. ‘That includes your baby too. And I’m sure he’ll be just as proud of his dad as he is of his grandad.’
‘Wish I’d seen this before,’ Jake murmured. ‘Wish I’d seen it when I was a kid.’
‘I wish you had too. But Dad was always a brave man, Jake. It doesn’t need a decoration to make that true.’ She pressed his shoulder. ‘It just needs us to understand that there’s a difference between fear and cowardice. Even the bravest man’s nerves will break after he’s been through horrors. That’s not weak or womanish or shameful. It’s natural, and it’s more common than you know.’
Jake summoned a shaky smile. ‘Reckon I ought to know that, after the stuff I’ve seen.’
‘You’ll stay for dinner, won’t you? Take Kathleen to meet Dad?’
‘All right.’ He gave the medal a last lingering glance before handing it back to her. ‘I guess Kath’d like that. And… I’d like to see Dad.’
‘Good lad,’ Bobby said with a smile. ‘Now go back to sleep. You’re getting married tomorrow.’
Chapter 30
Jake and Kathleen’s wedding was a quiet affair: just the bride and groom, with Bobby and Charlie as witnesses. The groom was in the same crumpled battledress he had been wearing since he arrived, and Kathleen wore a loaned twinset and skirt: the outfit Bobby had adjusted for Mabs Jessop’s wedding when she had been at a similar point in her pregnancy. Celebrations could follow another time, when it would feel more appropriate.
And yet, rushed though the whole thing was, it was as moving a wedding as Bobby had ever been to. She didn’t often cry at weddings but she cried at this one, even though the ceremony barely lasted ten minutes. The young couple’s eyes were so filled with love as they said their vows that she couldn’t help letting slip a tear.
Charlie smiled at her as they waited for Jake and Kathleen to sign the register.
‘They grow up so fast, eh?’ he whispered.
‘I’m just glad it’s done with,’ Bobby whispered back. ‘Nothing says true love like a race against the clock to legitimise your baby.’
‘Don’t pretend to be cynical. I saw you having a little weep.’
‘You looked rather damp around the eyes yourself, come to that,’ Bobby said with a smile.
‘Well. They’re sweet, aren’t they?’ Charlie’s gaze drifted to the young couple. ‘They ought to be happy together.’
‘Yes, it’s worked out as well as it could given the circumstances.’ Bobby glanced at him. ‘Thanks, Charlie.’
‘For what?’
‘For being so helpful with my family crisis, getting the wedding arranged. You’ve been a real pillar of strength.’
‘Well, your family’s my family. I’m sure you’d have done the same for my brother if he’d turned up with a pregnant girlfriend and the Redcaps on his tail.’
She laughed. ‘What, Reg?’
‘All right, if I had another brother.’
Bobby looked up into his face. ‘Are you OK, love? You were a little quiet on the bus.’
‘I’m OK. Just in a thoughtful sort of mood.’
‘What are you thinking about?’
The newlyweds had done their bit now, and the registrar was beckoning Bobby and Charlie over.
