The CBB :: View topic - Absence makes the heart grow fonder

#1: Absence makes the heart grow fonder Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England

Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 12:51 pm

Jo finished her story, then rose with the sleeping Sybil in her arms as Primula, Peggy, Rix and David scampered quietly to their beds. By the time she had tucked Sybil up, they were all in place, and she went round each one to give them a goodnight kiss. For once, David and Rix, knowing that Auntie Jo would be going a long way away tomorrow, did not object to the caress, while Peggy flung her arms around her aunt’s neck and hugged her tightly.

When Jo arrived down in the salle to announce that the children were all safely in bed, her eyes were suspiciously damp. Tactfully, and knowing her sister’s hatred of demonstrating emotion, Madge did not comment on it, but instead suggested some music and went to the piano. A sing song followed, in which everyone joined in, then Daisy begged Auntie Jo to sing for them ‘because I won’t hear you again for a long time’ and she sang a couple of solos for them before Margot decreed it was Daisy’s bedtime.

“You’d better go to Robin, you’ve got an early start tomorrow.” Madge said, and without demur Robin got up from the stool she had been perched on and went round to wish everyone goodnight. “You’ll come up and say goodnight, Tante Margeurite?” she asked, giving that lady a kiss.

Accordingly, Madge disappeared upstairs shortly after. Margot was seeing to Daisy, and the phone called Jem from the room, leaving just the two of them.

“You’ll be missed, Jo.” Jack said.

“I shall miss everyone here, too.” Jo replied. “But it will be topping to see Dick and Mollie again. It’s going to be quite an adventure.”

Jack opened his lips to say something but she continued before he could begin.

“And it will be such a relief to get away from Dr Hunter. He really would not get the message however much I told him. And he couldn’t keep his hands to himself. I hate to be pawed!”

“Not all men are like that you know.”

“Oh, I know. There’s lots of decent ones, like Jem, and you f’rinstance.”

“Thanks for the flowers.” Jack grinned, his heart lifting at the compliment.

“Well, you are.” Jo assured him. “And one day you’re going to make some women a wonderful husband.” The eyes turned on him held nothing but friendship, and Jack’s heart plummeted again.

~~~

And so she had gone. Halfway around the world, without the slightest idea of how he felt. The house felt empty without her there, despite its numerous occupants. If only he’d had the chance to let her know that he would be waiting for her. But given her vehemence against men at the moment, and her certainty that she would never marry, maybe the timing wasn’t the best it could have been. But what was he going to do while she was gone. He threw himself into his work, and found that while he was concentrating on his patients he could put her from his mind, but the moment his mind was free from them she took it over again. What was she doing? Was she well? Was she happy? When a letter eventually arrived he gleaned snippets of it from Madge’s conversation, but all it seemed to do was feed the ache inside him, making him miss her all the more.

~~~

She was so glad she had Robin with her, otherwise she would have been really homesick. As it was, she found herself missing the Sonnalpe, picturing the children, wondering what antics they were getting up to. Wondering if Madge had changed anything while she was gone. What new words had Sybil learnt? Had Jacky’s tooth come through yet? What mischief had Rix been getting up to? Had Madge finished that shawl she was knitting for Gisela? What had Jack been doing?

She just hadn’t expected to miss him so much, if at all. But he kept creeping into her thoughts at unexpected moments. An amusing episode at dinner on the ship had her thinking ‘how Jack would laugh at that!’ Or someone would say something that would remind her of him. Surely it was just because they were friends that she thought of him. But Frieda was not in her thoughts as frequently.

~~~

He wanted to hear the sound of her laughter as she played with the children, he wanted to see her with inky fingers and hair, ends sticking out in all directions, after a session wrestling with her latest book, he wanted to hear her whistling as she wandered around the garden, he wanted to see her smile when she greeted him, he wanted to know what latest slang word she was going to try to shock Madge with, he just wanted her to be there. To see her doing every day things, to spend time with her, teasing her, talking about whatever came into their heads, laughing over the story of the latest exploits at the school. Just to be with her, and to hope that one day she would want more than friendship.

~~~

Once they were in India and had plenty to do and see she would soon forget about him. Only, if anything, she found she thought about him more. She didn’t speak of him, didn’t mention his name to anybody, but it was in her mind daily.

Why did she miss him so much? They were good pals, they always had been, yet she felt the lack of his presence far more than even Madge’s, despite the fact that she’d never before been separated from her sister by such a distance or for so long. But it was Jack she wanted to tell the anecdotes she related in her letters to Die Rosen. It was his laugh she wanted to hear when Dick cracked a joke, his smile she wanted to see across the table at dinner.

It was ridiculous! She was just blowing things out of proportion. It must be the heat, or the spiced food, or the … something!

~~~

The days until her return seemed endless. Every evening he would open the drawer by his bed and take out the snap he kept there and look at it for a long time. Not that he really needed it – her image was burned into his mind, appearing in front of his eyes regularly throughout the day; he knew it better than he knew his own. He knew each and every look that passed over her expressive features, the way laughter lurked in the depths of her dark eyes, and how they could soften with sympathy in an instant. He knew the grin that told him she’d been up to mischief, and the frown that meant her characters were not doing as she wanted. He knew the spring in her step as she walked, and the movements of her hands as she emphasized what she was saying. He knew the look of worry when someone she loved was ill, and the gentle care she showed them. He knew the love that shone out of her eyes when she looked at Robin or Madge, and wondered if she’d ever look at him with a different love in her eyes.

~~~

She was looking forward to going back. Much as she had enjoyed her visit and it had been wonderful to see Dick and Mollie and the second twins, she longed to go home. She wanted to see Madge again, and find out how much the children had grown. She wanted to visit Mademoiselle and see if she was any better. She wanted to find out how Juliet’s wedding plans were going. She wanted to see Grizel and Stacie and Frieda again. And, deep down, she admitted it to herself, she wanted to see Jack again.

She’d never missed anyone the way she was missing him. Why was he different? There wasn’t anything particularly special about him was there? Of course, there was the way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled, or the way they would fill with worry over a patient. There was the way he could sweep three or four children up in his arms at once, and yet be so gentle as he held a tiny baby. There was the way he teased her mercilessly about her mistakes, but listened sympathetically when she needed to unload her worries. He wouldn’t keep pestering her or put pressure on her. In fact, it might be quite nice to be pestered by him. The thought crept into her mind and caught her unawares. Would she like to be ‘pestered’ by Jack. She certainly didn’t feel revulsion at the idea. But, and it was a big but, it would change their friendship if he did, and she wasn’t sure she wanted it to change.

~~~

She was coming home. He was practically floating he was so elated. Just a few more hours and she would be there. Each minute seemed like an hour as time ticked slowly past. What if she got delayed? He wasn’t sure he’d be able to bear it. What if she had met someone while she was away, or on the boat, you did hear stories of shipboard romances. What if that had happened? He had to stop thinking like that. Remember what Granny used to say – never trouble trouble ’til trouble troubles you. Just focus on the fact that she was coming home. He would be able to see her every day. Bouyed by the thought, he tried to wait patiently for her arrival.

Last edited by LizB on Tue Apr 11, 2006 9:53 pm; edited 1 time in total

#2: Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England

Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 12:52 pm

Home. She was nearly home. As the Sonnalpe grew closer she grew more and more excited at the thought. But under the excitement she was surprised to find she also felt nervous. She was unaccountably shy at the idea of seeing him again. Which was silly. She had just got carried away while she had been in India and they would carry on being friends as they always had been. Nothing was going to change. There was no reason for it to ...

#3: Author: Róisín, Location: Gaillimh, Eire

Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 12:59 pm

Hurrah! Great to see this again Very Happy

#4: Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester

Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 1:23 pm

Nice to see more of this Very Happy

#5: Author: Mia, Location: London

Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 1:31 pm

Luffly thanks Liz

#6: Author: Fatima, Location: Sunny Qatar

Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 5:45 pm

Nice to see this, Liz. It's just so lovely and sweet. Just what the doctor ordered!

#7: Author: Kate, Location: Ireland

Posted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 6:33 pm

Aww, I feel all fuzzy and warm. Thank you Liz!

#8: Author: LizB, Location: Oxon, England

Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 9:53 pm

She was home. There was a clatter of feet on the stairs as the children rushed down to welcome Auntie Jo, and she knelt down to hug them to her. Over a silvery and an auburn head she saw him waiting in the doorway to the salle. She caught a look in his eyes that made her duck her face down among the small ones raised to hers, to hide the colour that rose to her cheeks. But not before he had seen an answering look flash through her eyes. A look he had never seen before and had only imagined seeing. He knew now that he would not be hoping in vain.

She rose to her feet as the children released her.

“Hello, Jo. It’s good to have you back.”

“Hello, Jack. It’s good to be home.”

Simple words, but they both understood what was not yet ready to be said. And both were content with the promise of things to come.

#9: Author: Pat, Location: Doncaster

Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 10:08 pm

Aaahh! That's lovely Liz.

#10: Author: aitchemelle, Location: West Sussex

Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 10:45 pm

Lovely and awwww just fabulous Liz! Thanks Very Happy

#11: Author: Cath V-P, Location: Newcastle NSW

Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 11:19 pm

Thank you Liz - I was fascinated to see how this developed even though they were apart.

#12: Author: Chair, Location: Rochester, Kent

Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 11:51 pm

Thanks, Liz. It was so wonderful to see that they immediately realised how the other felt when they laid eyes on each other.

#13: Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 4:49 am

That's lovely - thanks Liz.

#14: Author: Alison H, Location: Manchester

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 6:40 am

Thanks Liz, that was lovely.

#15: Author: MaryR, Location: Cheshire

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:42 am

Bless you, Liz, for a tender little love story - with so much hope at the end.

#16: Author: Mia, Location: London

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 9:48 am

Thanks Liz, that was really sweet.

#17: Author: Róisín, Location: Gaillimh, Eire

Posted: Wed Apr 12, 2006 11:16 am

That was so lovely Liz, thank you Smile

#18: Author: Dawn, Location: Leeds, West Yorks

Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 12:53 pm

Just read this and it made me all goosebumpy - thankyou Liz

#19: Author: Josie, Location: London

Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 1:01 pm

Awww - that was so lovely!

Thanks Liz. Definitely recommended lunchtime reading! Very Happy

#20: Author: Kat,

Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 2:28 pm

Awww!! *feels all snuggly*

#21: Author: Vikki, Location: Sitting on an iceberg, freezing to death!!!

Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 3:47 pm

Liz, that was beautiful, and just perfect! Thank you sweetie!

#22: Author: Chalet_school_lover, Location: Gloucester

Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:36 pm

I just caught up on the end of this! Absouluty beautiful! Thanks Liz! Very Happy

#23: Author: Rosy, Location: Gloucestershire-London-Aberystwyth

Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 10:02 pm

Awww. That was lovely. Thankyou Liz!

#24: Author: Fatima, Location: Sunny Qatar

Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 11:55 am

Thanks, Liz, that was so beautiful. I've really enjoyed it.

#25: Author: Lizzie, Location: A little village on the Essex/Suffolk border

Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2006 6:19 pm

Aha! I knew I'd it'd be in here somewhere! I remembered this story from before the Great Deletion of '06 and couldn't remember who wrote it or what it was called.

Thanks Liz, so glad I found it!

L x

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