Under the Bridges (13 page)

Shona blushed.

‘Oh, I don't know.'

‘You're so enthusiastic and interested in everything, Shona. You must be a great teacher, really inspiring.'

Shona was silent, embarrassed.

‘But what about you, Walter?'

‘It's been great living and working here.' He nodded. ‘But yes, I'll be moving on. There's a project in Australia and I've had an offer. I'm thinking seriously about it.'

Shona caught her breath. She hadn't
expected
this—Australia! It was so far away, she would never see him again.

She tried to keep her voice steady.

‘What a wonderful chance for you!'

‘Yes, it certainly is. Though I haven't quite made up my mind yet.'

Walter turned to her.

‘Let's walk on a bit further.'

‘I'll only be gone six months,' he said. ‘Maybe—' he hesitated—‘maybe you'd write to me while I'm away.'

Shona's heart lifted.

‘I'd be glad to. And—will you write back?'

He grinned.

‘Of course!'

‘You see . . .' Shona smiled. ‘I have some keen stamp collectors in my class and they'd love to have the stamps from your letters.'

‘I hope you might like the letters too—not just for the kids.'

‘Yes, I would.'

Suddenly he stopped and pulled her towards him. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her gently.

It felt right to be in his arms, and she looked up at him with a smile.

‘I'll miss you, Shona,' he said. ‘But it's only six months . . .'

‘We'll all miss you, Walter. It's like you've been a real part of Mrs Mackay's family.'

‘It's been quite an experience,' he said. ‘Working on the bridge, hearing Grandpa's
stories
of the rail bridge. I wouldn't have missed it for anything. And meeting you, Shona.'

* * *

‘Is that Mrs Mackay?'

The voice on the phone was slightly breathless.

‘Yes?' Nancy was puzzled. ‘Who's speaking, please?'

‘It's Agnes Morgan . . . . Pete's mother.'

‘Oh.' Nancy wondered if something was wrong. She said quickly, ‘We—Joe, my husband, and I—we're really pleased about your Pete and our Lorna. I hope you are too.'

‘Oh, yes.' The voice at the other end sounded a little hesitant. ‘I thought—well, as we haven't met, maybe you and I could meet up in the town for a cup of coffee? Lorna said you work in Dunfermline. Perhaps after you've finished, before you get your bus?'

‘Yes, I'd like that.' Nancy thought quickly. ‘What about Maloco's café—you know it? At the upper bus stance.'

‘That would be fine. Would Wednesday suit you?'

‘Yes, I finish early on Wednesday.'

They fixed a time.

‘I'll look forward to meeting you, too, Mrs Morgan.'

As she switched on the iron and took Joe's
shirts
out of the ironing basket, Nancy thought about the conversation. Pete's mother had sounded a little hesitant. Why? Weren't they altogether happy about the young people?

Lorna had said several times that Pete's family and hers were quite different. Was it right for Pete to move away from a familiar background—a mining family going back generations—to be ambitious about having a career?

* * *

On Wednesday, Nancy found it hard to concentrate on her work, and kept glancing at the clock. She slipped into the cloakroom before she left and repaired her make-up, adding a touch more dark red lipstick.

At the café she glanced round quickly. There was a small woman in a tweed coat and a headscarf, sitting by herself at a table near the window. Nancy went up to her.

‘You must be Pete's mother,' she said.

‘And you must be Mrs Mackay.'

‘Nancy, please.'

‘Then it's Agnes.'

Nancy sat down opposite Pete's mother.

‘What would you like—tea, coffee?' she asked.

‘No, this is on me,' Agnes said.

Nancy spooned more sugar into her coffee than she usually took, and stirred it vigorously.

‘I'm
glad . . .' she said.

‘We're pleased,' Agnes said.

They both spoke together then laughed.

‘I think,' Nancy went on, ‘that what we're trying to say is that we're both happy for the young ones. Isn't that right?'

‘She's a fine girl, your Lorna,' Agnes said earnestly.

‘But lucky to find Pete,' Nancy added.

‘He's a good lad, I'll say that.' Agnes smiled. ‘He's never been the least trouble.'

‘You want them to be happy, but you can't plan their lives, can you?' Nancy said. ‘All you can do is try to set them on the right path, then stand back and hope they'll make a go of things.'

‘I know exactly what you mean,' Agnes said with feeling. ‘When they're little, it's easy, they listen to every word you say, but now, it's “Oh, Mum, you don't know anything”. And you wish you could warn them.

‘But then, we were young once ourselves, Nancy. And I didn't listen to my mother.'

‘Neither did I! They didn't want me to marry Joe. I was too young, he didn't have a steady job then, and there was likely to be a war. Looking back, I think my mother was anxious for me—but, then, I just thought she was trying to stand in my way. But anyway, we got married. And I've never regretted it.'

‘They're right for each other, I think, though . . .' Agnes paused. ‘We were a bit
anxious,
and I think your husband was, too. Maybe you thought our family wasn't—well, wasn't good enough for your Lorna.'

‘Oh, no!' Nancy protested, and then remembered that perhaps that thought had come into their minds earlier on, before they knew Pete's background.

Suddenly, looking at this kindly, sensible woman, Nancy felt ashamed.

‘We're just ordinary folk like yourselves,' she said quickly. ‘There's nothing grand about us.'

‘I know,' Agnes said calmly. ‘From the day I met Lorna, I could tell she had a good caring family, and there was nothing snobbish about you. And I can tell you, she'll be made welcome in our family.'

Nancy smiled. She felt drawn to Pete's mother, and she felt if the rest of the family were like Agnes, she need have no anxieties at all about Lorna.

‘Oh, there she is!' Agnes looked out of the window.

‘What a surprise!' Nancy exclaimed.

‘Not really.' Agnes smiled. ‘I asked her to pop in here after work. Join us in a cup of tea.'

The door opened and Lorna, her cheeks pink from the fresh breeze outside, her eyes sparkling, came across to join them.

‘Sorry I'm a bit late,' she said. ‘I had a letter to finish—it had to be in the post tonight. Well,' she asked, as she took off her jacket,
‘and
what have you two been saying about me?'

‘Nothing but good, dear,' Agnes said. ‘Isn't that right, Nancy?'

‘Quite right.' Nancy smiled across at her daughter. ‘Nothing but good.'

* * *

‘Oh, how disappointing!' Nancy drew back the curtains and looked out into the mist. ‘Today of all days.'

And it had been such a wonderful summer.

‘I can't even see the bridge,' she said. ‘September the fourth—and we've waited such a long time for this day.'

‘Cheer up, Mum,' Lorna said. ‘There's time yet. Maybe the mist will lift.'

For weeks now, Nancy had been looking forward to the opening of the bridge. She felt somehow that the bridge belonged to her and her family, in a way, because they'd all been so close to it for so long. And now the Queen was to open the bridge, driving across from the other side, and unveiling a plaque on the north side.

‘I know it's silly,' Nancy said to Joe, ‘but I'm dressing up for the occasion.'

Joe smiled at her. He was looking his best today too, and he was giving his shoes an extra-special shine. He hoped to have a good view of the
Queen Margaret
as the Queen and
the
Duke sailed on her back to the south side of the river.

It was a historic day, and all these years on the ferries—it had been hard work. An early start in the morning, sometimes before seven o'clock. And a lot to think about—making sure the cars and lorries and buses all fitted into the space on the ferry.

But he'd made a lot of good friends.

It was a grand job, he thought. He wouldn't have missed it for anything.

‘Last time it was the Prince of Wales who opened the rail bridge,' Grandpa said. ‘It was an awful day with the wind blowing a gale. The train stopped so that he could drive in the last rivet and then they went on to the south pier, for him to make his speech. But it was that wild, folk could hardly stand, so he just said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I declare the Forth Bridge open.” And he got back into the train!'

He chuckled.

Shona was listening.

‘Whenever I went over the rail bridge, I used to throw a ha'penny out of the window—for luck,' she put in.

‘You'll not do that on the road bridge,' Joe said, mock sternly. ‘It's against the bylaws to throw anything over the side.

‘And they're telling folk, if you break down on the road bridge, don't try to get out and fix the trouble yourself. There's to be a breakdown service.'

‘Not
that we'll be driving over the bridge,' Nancy added, a little wistfully

‘There'll be thousands,' Joe predicted. ‘Everyone in Scotland will want to drive over it.'

Young Roy was as excited as anyone, and he couldn't wait to watch the fly-past. Every day during the school holidays he and his friends had been talking about the fly-past, about the new bridge and the final preparations for the opening.

He was looking forward to adding the new commemorative stamps to his collection—the threepenny stamp showing the skeleton bridge in the early morning, and the sixpenny stamp with the view from the south bank of the main span, showing the rail bridge.

But there was a disappointment in store for Roy and his friends. The bad weather meant the planned fly-past had to be cancelled.

‘Never mind,' Joe consoled his son. ‘You'll hear the twenty-one-gun salute when the Queen arrives.'

‘If only the mist would lift,' Nancy said wistfully.

* * *

‘There's cars going over the bridge already,' Grandpa said.

‘That's the VIPs from Fife,' a man, standing behind Nancy, said. ‘They wouldn't get across
by
the ferries in time for the opening—the mist's too thick.'

‘Just listen to what they're playing,' one of the people watching said, listening to the military band. ‘That's a bit much—“The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise”.' They laughed as they recognised the tune, but there was no sign of the mist lifting.

* * *

‘It's amazing!' Joe and his crew looked up from the ferry. ‘I've never seen such crowds.'

It seemed strange being down below looking up at the bridge high above. Soon, the ferries would be gone.

‘A different way of life,' Joe's mate, echoing his thoughts, said. ‘Times change. At least we've all got jobs on the tolls.'

They could hear the sound of cheering coming from the south shore, high above.

‘Sounds like she's arrived,' Joe said. ‘Pity about the weather. It would have been grand to see a bit more.'

It was still misty and the lamps had been lit on both sides of the bridge.

Then came the twenty-one-gun salute. Flocks of wild ducks and other birds, startled by the noise, flew into the air.

* * *

Grandpa
was wearing his best jacket for the occasion and a new tie. Lorna and Shona, and Jenny, Nancy's best friend, were all dressed in their finery. Nancy shivered a little, but maybe the sun would shine later on . . .

Shona pointed into the distance.

‘Something's happening on the other side.'

‘I can hear cheering.'

‘They must have arrived!'

‘If it was a clear day, we could see the car.'

And then, as Nancy and her friends stood shivering a little with the chilly day and the excitement of the occasion, the Royal car bringing the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh appeared on the bridge, and suddenly a shaft of sunlight broke through.

‘Isn't that wonderful—just in time!' Nancy exclaimed. ‘The weather's going to change.'

They all clapped and cheered as the Royal car moved slowly across the bridge towards the north side.

‘Oh, doesn't she look lovely?' Jenny said, as the Queen got out of the car.

From where they stood, Nancy and her family had a fine view as the Queen unveiled the plaque.

‘That's a beautiful outfit,' Shona said, admiring the Queen's sapphire-blue coat. ‘And such a pretty hat.'

‘What's happening now?' Grandpa craned his neck to see.

‘They're going back across by ferry, by the
Queen
Margaret
,' Nancy said. ‘Oh, I hope Joe has a good view.'

The
Queen Margaret
, sailing from North Queensferry Pier, was flying the Royal Standard. Joe watched from the other side, and felt proud of the ferries.

‘They've served well,' he said to his mate. ‘Good weather and bad. '

* * *

‘The best bit,' Shona said later, ‘was when the sun broke through the mist, as they drove across the bridge and the children all cheered like mad,' she added.

‘I liked the car best,' Roy said.

It had been great to see the bridge opened. What an exciting day! Joe had said Roy could go with his school friends to see the bonfire in the public park, in Dunfermline.

Grandpa didn't say anything. It had been one of the most important days in his life, that was all.