Untitled, by Dana-Marie D.
Summer of 1943
Grace Bailey couldn’t believe that this day was finally HERE. It was her wedding day; and this time she would do it right and it would be forever. A few years earlier, she thought she had the one great romance of her life, and she would be alone for the rest of her life. Her marriage to Van was so short and intense she really had no intentions to get married again. She had resigned herself to a life of a widow and taking care of her mother. It was what a woman of her standing did. After returning to Europe, after collecting Van’s remains she had lost trust in men and had wanted to live a quiet life in New Bedford. She had grown up so much in the last few years…. dreams of life in Hollywood and other such nonsense had outgrown her. She was still the same Grace just a little more mature and worldly… So much has changed in New Bedford the last few years…..
It was the summer of 1943 and New Bedford, like the rest of Canada and ,it seemed the world, was changing and they had to change with the times….. There still was the same old faces; maybe just a little worn with the nightly reporting on the radio of what was going on overseas. This town had not escaped the war… many young men were fighting overseas. Many young men from New Bedford were part of the war, including our very own Hub and Fat. But I am getting ahead of myself.
It was about a year ago when both the boys had enlisted, but before they left home a significant event happened in the Sutton household. After many years of struggling and saving, Honey and Max had finally realized their dream of owning their very own home. All the sacrifice had finally paid off and when Max had his novel published their dream came true. He had used his first royalty cheque for the down payment on their new house. It seemed as if the whole town of New Bedford celebrated the news when they bought their house. It was a long journey for them and the whole town was so excited for them. Grace especially knew the journey they had been on as she remembered when the young boys had started that fund when Honey was working as a single mom and looking to get out of Mother Baileys house and into their own place. Well it took longer than they ever thought but it didn’t take away one ounce of excitement as they moved in that December day in 1941. It was especially sweet for the boys to be there and see it before they left. Honey had a room designated for the boys and waited for their return. Impatiently, she waited. She ,of course, was worried but very proud of her boys.
Max was still the principal at New Bedford School and has been working on his second novel whenever has some free time; which he had a little more of since not running again for mayor. But he figured it took him many years to write his first novel, so it would take time to get his second one finished. He had decided not to run for mayor again; between writing his novel and school, they’re really was no time to do a decent job. So now Alden Cramp is the towns mayor and so far has done the job by the book. Time will tell how he does as mayor of New Bedford. Honey has finished school and was now a teacher at the New Bedford school and really enjoyed her work. Now that both Violet and Zack were in school fulltime, both their parents could work and they spent a lot of time at that school. Honey wouldn’t have it any other way as she wanted to stay busy to keep her mind off the fate of her older sons.
Hub had been away at university studying to be a Catholic priest; but when he had met Anna, things had changed. When she had left to go into hiding he did go back to his studies to try to forget her. He had tried to be the best student he could be, but he couldn’t forget her. So he just couldn’t go through with it. When Canada had entered the war he knew he had to fight; he also wanted to go look for her. He had no idea where she was but he had to try to look for her. He would never forgive himself if he didn’t try. So he enlisted… and Fat was next. They both were good soldiers; and before long they were in Europe and the family ,ever since, were holding their breath.
Violet was turning into a beautiful young woman and was a great help to her parents. She watched over her younger brother Zack and , like her mother, was a strong young woman. She helped out wherever she has needed and loved to spend time with her grandmother. Mother Bailey enjoyed the company and was teaching Violet about gardening and Violet, in return, would read her Hub and Fats letters from the war. Mother had recovered well from her stroke, but her eyesight was really failing her now. Violet missed her brothers so much that she slept with those letters under her pillow at night. Zack was an energenetic boy and very much like his father… he was curious about everything and Max tried to encourage him in any way he could. He was very much like Fat in that way….
So what about Hub and Fat? Or Hubert and Henry if you wish. They will always be Fat and Hub to me. With these times I can’t say for certain where they are and what they have done. Sometimes their letters are few and far between, but as far as we know they are both fighting hard for our freedom and their country that they love. War time is an unpredictable time and we are always waiting for the next letter…. Here is what we know… Fat is in France somewhere. He writes about his fellow soldiers and how different France is from home. He doesn’t say it in his letters, but he is homesick. When he signed up for this war, he didn’t think it would be like this…. It is a lot harder than expected. But he doesn’t write about that…. Another thing he doesn’t write about is that he has met a French girl…. Her name is Marie and she is all he thinks about……
Hub, in his last letter, lets us know that he is now in Italy. He descibes a beautiful country but doesn’t tell us about the actual fighting. He talks about the people of Italy and what they have gone through in this war. Hub never changes, he is a person of deep caring and compassion. Even though, he is no longer interested in becoming a priest he still has that faith in people. He tells us of the great sights in Italy he has seen and keeps us entertained with the good news and not the bad news. Just like Hub…..
He hasn’t heard from Anna but knows he will find her. After this war is over, he will go to Austria and he knows he will find her. He figures this war will be over soon and he will search high and low for her. He knows she is waiting for him… he just knows it. He has sacrificed everything for her and he has faith she is still alive and waiting for him.
Toppy and Archie were finally married. They had a small ceremony at the New Bedford town hall. I have never known Toppy to be so happy and , like Max, she also is continuing with her writing career and still has her dress shop. She just had her 5th book published and is now published under her new name. We weren’t sure what Mother was going to think of Toppy getting married to Archie as she would have to finally realize what Bob had done. But she has embraced Toppy as if she was her own daughter and even hosted a dinner party in their honor. Doris has very upset with her mother getting married again, to a pharmacist of all people… Mother tried to talk to her, but to no avail…. But Toppy wasn’t surprised by Doris’ attitude and I think neither was Mother. But Toppy had a beautiful day nevertheless…..
The Cramps still run the hotel, radio station, and newspaper and now of course Alden is the mayor. Callie is still the same selfish woman. Somethings never change……. Ollie still runs the garage and him and Marjorie are quite the family now. Their family consists of their son (whom they adopted from Alice) and just last year Marjorie gave birth to their second son. They are a busy family. Ollie is a great father who adores his sons and Marjorie has found her calling as a mother and has never seemed so happy!
Jim Flett is still teaching in New Bedford and still a bachelor. When Max and Honey bought their new house, he moved into their old apartment. Unlike Fat and Hub, Pritchard is not overseas, but not for lack of trying. He applied to the army, but his bad vision kept him from being accepted. So he enrolled at the University of Toronto in the pre med program. He stays pretty busy with his studies, but occasionally heads back to town to visit. Jim misses Pritchard but is very proud of his son, and even a bit relieved that he isn’t fighting the Nazis overseas.
Alice MacFarlane, after giving up her son to the The Jeffersons, finished high school in New Bedford, and then left town. She never regretted her decision to give up her son to Ollie and Marjorie, but she found it difficult to live in the same small town and see him all the time. She would of never admitted it to anyone, but she just found it too hard. So she took the first train to Toronto after school was finished and enrolled in beauty school. Mr. and Mrs. MacFarlane still live in town, but they don’t ever talk about Alice and they definetly don’t talk about their grandson. Mrs. MacFarlane, if you asked her, would probably say that she was proudest of Alice when she gave up her son, but she couldn’t tell Alice that. Its sad to see the MacFarlanes around town, their eyes are so sad…..
If it wasn’t for Hub and his letters to Alice, we might never have known what happened to Alice. Once she finished beauty school, she started work at a beauty salon, lived in an apartment with a few friends and fell madly in love with a soldier. Six months after they met and a week before he was sent off to Europe, they got married. And now she is like many young girls in Canada at this time… she is waiting. She is waiting for her new husbands letters, she is waiting for the war to be over; she is waiting for her husband to come home….. She keeps busy by working and by writing letters to her husband and to her old pals Hub and Fat……
Masiey is still in New Bedford as well. After school, she went to Toronto as well and studied to become a nurse. She was inspired by Juanita Bascombe to study nursing and she has grown into a beautiful young woman. She came back to town after her schooling and works as a nurse as well as volunteering with the Red Cross on the home front and anticipates her letters from Hub and Fat. She is too busy right now for romance but maybe after the war is over she tells herself….
Grace can’t imagine getting married without her nephews there, but even she knows the realities of war, and so the day must go on as planned…. This time around she let her mother plan the wedding as she would of wanted when she married Van. The flowers, the invitations, the food, and the church….. she just let go and gave her mother what she wanted. She was getting what she wanted… to marry the man of her dreams….. So who do you ask is Grace marrying? Well, who do you think?
She had a chance encounter that would change her life forever. When on a trip to Toronto she ran into an old friend on the train….. Del Sutton. He , by chance, was on his way back to New Bedford to visit Max and Honey and they talked the whole way home… and after a year of dating he proposed to her on Christmas Day and that brings us to this morning….
Mother wasnt exactly thrilled when they started to date, seeing that he had left her once already… but after some time she has gotten to know Del and now knows that this man will take care of her daughter.. and that, is really all that she has wanted for her daughter….. for Grace to be happy…..
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