Page 61 of Coming Home
He was stationed in Kabul and it was there, in what he described as a random and totally shit piece of luck, he stepped on a landmine and as a consequence lost a limb. He was evacuated and once back in the UK the road to recovery was long, mentally and physically. Being medically discharged from the army was devastating; losing his career and military family another cruel blow. He’d struggled to come to terms with it and suffered terrible bouts of depression.
But out of adversity and after rehabilitation came a new beginning and with the help of military charities he had slowly got back on track and rebuilt his life. His army brothers had stood by him, encouraging him, being there through the really bad times and were there to cheer him on in the good. He’d made new friends when he began cycling for a team of ex-servicemen and had a good job working with a sports education charity, travelling around schools and colleges, inspiring as many young people as he could with his story and achievements.
He’d taken part in the Sydney Invictus Games, winning a silver and then a team gold in the Tokyo Paralympics. His flat was full of mementos, service and sporting medals, photos of him and his military family and in one special box that he looked inside from time to time, was a silver bracelet with a V charm dangling from a hook.
And no matter how much he told himself to forget the bonkers redhead he’d met six years before, he couldn’t get her out of his mind, or the strange feeling that somehow, until he found her, his heart would also be dangling on a hook. Not that he told Violetta that part when he got to the end of his story although he was quite pleased to see how moved she seemed by it, reaching out and touching his arm, just for a moment.
* * *
Violetta laid her hand on his arm. It was impossible not to. She moved it away though, in case he thought it was too much. ‘Oh Gabe. I can’t believe you’ve been through so much.’
And I wish I’d been there for you, but I was probably giving birth to our daughter while you were being flown home from Afghanistan.
‘Hey, don’t worry. Some had it worse than me and I have a great life now, and, in a way, it brought me here to see you.’
Violetta felt herself blush but didn’t care because as much as she tried to be sensible, she was so happy to see him and secretly thrilled he’d sought her out, and dying to find out how he’d managed to track her down. ‘I’ve been meaning to ask that. How did you find me?’
‘Well, even though that whole night seems a blur to you, I did remember that over dinner – I did buy you dinner, by the way – you told me that your mum owned a garden centre in Cheshire. I hold my hands up to not remembering the name but I did know it had something to do with apples.
‘One of my teammates lives in Manchester and invited me to stay for New Year and before I left, I grabbed the bracelet and decided to stop putting it off and to track you down. It was a long shot but I found this place easily online and then I wondered if Appleton was your surname too. I searched for you on social media but drew a blank so thought sod it and got in the car and took a drive over here. I had intended just to make enquiries and if it was definitely the right place, leave it with someone and hope you’d get in touch.’
Gabe leant across and tapped the envelope and with a grin said, ‘All my contact numbers are in there, home address, blood group, national insurance number, just to be sure you could get hold of me.’
If she wasn’t sure he felt the way she did, after all this time, after a one-night stand, Violetta was in no doubt about it now. ‘Okay, okay, let’s swap numbers before you go. In fact, how long are you here for and where do you live? There’s so much I want to ask you and there’s stuff I need to tell you, too, but now’s not the time.’
‘What, like you’re married with two kids? You’re not wearing any rings so please, don’t break my heart and tell me you’re spoken for.’ He was clutching his heart and laughing but there was something in his eyes that was serious, telling her he meant it.
Wording her next sentence very carefully, Violetta put him out of his misery. ‘No, you fool. I’m not taken but you still haven’t answered my question.’
‘Ah, that is good news. Okay, so I live in Oxford and I’m here for two weeks. Me and my mate are going to do some training at the velodrome in Manchester so if you’d like to meet up, you have my numbers, all of them.’
‘You really are determined, aren’t you, so yes, I would love to meet up and then we can have a proper chat but right now, I’m going to have to get back to work. Even the boss’s daughter can get in trouble.’
Gabe looked relieved as he went to pick up the envelope. ‘Okay and here, before you go, let me put your bracelet on. Don’t want you losing it again.’
Violetta nodded and watched as he slipped it from the envelope and fastened it around her wrist. The feel of his skin against hers made her shiver and their eyes connected for a second once it was done. After shoving his details into her overall pocket she offered to walk with him to the door, ignoring the curious look from Rosina who just happened to be passing by.
Minutes later, after giving him her number and promising to text later, Violetta gave him a hug that lasted longer than expected and waved him off, watching transfixed as his jeep disappeared from view. Once he was gone she smiled as she held her gran’s bracelet up to the light and spoke out loud, not caring if anyone heard her.
‘Thank you, Gran, for bringing him back to me and Darcy. I don’t know how, but I’d bet you a packet of ciggies you had something to do with all this, you crafty old sod.’
Turning, she was almost blown through the doors by a gust of wind that sent leaves rushing across the car park, swirling and skittering in her wake. Violetta knew she was pushing her luck and had work to do, but the days of keeping things to herself were gone so she headed straight towards Rosina’s office to tell her the news. And then with the help of Leonora and her mum they could all work out the best way to tell Gabe he had a daughter. And tell Darcy that Santa had been listening when she sat on his knee. Once again, he’d made a little girl’s wish come true.
32
Carmen
Appleton Farm
New Year’s Day
‘Daddy’s little darling, Daddy’s little girl. Daddy’s little sweetheart, Daddy’s little pearl.’Carmen read the words on the back of the blue paper and smiled.
The bedroom was quiet and peaceful, save for the crackle of the fire interspersed by Bern’s piglet snores and if she strained her ears, the owl in the tree outside. Carmen was seated in her armchair, warming her feet by the grate, her eyes tired from rereading the letter that she carefully folded and placed back in the tatty box. She didn’t want to substitute the battered boot box with a fancy one from the gift shop, preferring to cherish the journey it had made and the markers of history, smiling whenever she saw the pre-decimal price tag.
She was taking her time reading the letters from her dad and with each one, wrote down the answers to his questions and went through them on the phone and filled him in with her life, step by step. She’d reached 1971 where he’d mentioned a place called Walt Disney World in Florida and that one day he’d love to take her there. This had set her mind racing because even though it was too late for him to take her, perhaps they all could go together and make some memories as a family.
It was hard to believe that he was actually there, under her roof just across the landing. Him and Sam in Rosina’s old bedroom. It wouldn’t have been appropriate for them to stay in her mum’s, not unless she wanted to be haunted by the spirit of Saint Sylvia for all eternity.
