War Girls Complete Collection Chapter 306

Chapter 25: Tom

Northolt Airbase, West London

T

om walked across the tarmac, happy to be on British soil once again. It had been almost a month since he’d been home and he was looking forward to seeing his parents and catching up before going back to Germany.

“Westlake, I want to talk to you,” an angry voice called out behind him.

Tom sighed and turned around so that he could wait while Bronson caught up with him. This awful man seemed to follow him wherever he went. The base commander at Gatow had decided it would be a good opportunity for the two pilots to mend their rift when on home leave together. The commander seemed to believe their personal tension was a result of the general stress presented by the Soviet presence in Gatow.

“What do you want, Bronson?” Tom kept his voice professional, even though the deep-rooted hatred in the other man’s eyes made it difficult. Bronson hadn’t forgotten their altercation at the bar.

“That little stunt you pulled at the bar gave me a black mark on my personnel record, while you got off scot-free, thank you very much. What kind of strings did you pull for that?” Bronson made an obscene gesture.

Tom felt the vein in his temple pulsating fiercely as he stared at the rotten piece of garbage! “Look, Bronson, I got off without any disciplinary action because you started the fight, not I. And now bugger off.”

Wanker.

“Like hell I will. While you’re out there fraternizing with the enemy…”

“Peter is Polish, you idiot. You saw the MP check his papers just like everyone else in the bar did that night. Let it go.”

Tom turned his back and headed for the flight hangar, anxious to fill out his paperwork and then get off the base. His leave officially started in the morning and he was planning to head straight to his parents’ place.

“Hey, what’s up? How’s life in Berlin?” Willie, his friend and former boss, asked when he saw him returning to the barracks.

“Great.” Tom gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder and grinned. “I saw her.”

“Seriously? Tell me details.” Willie gave a juicy grin.

“She’s living in a tiny village near Munich.”

“Munich? That’s not exactly next to Berlin.” Willie looked at his wristwatch. “I have a meeting with the boss. Beer at five? And you can fill me in on your misdeeds.”

“Alright.” Tom nodded. He’d gone out less and less with his comrades, because all they talked about were their amorous conquests. Many of them had German mistresses in Berlin and took great pride in boasting about them. But Tom had no interest in finding a Berlin girlfriend and refused to join the men when they were heading to the social clubs in search of willing women.

And he sure as hell didn’t want to talk about Ursula, for she wasn’t a fling that provided sexual release, but a serious relationship. She was the woman he wanted to marry – as impossible as that seemed at the moment.

He finished his paperwork, took a shower and then went to their favorite watering hole, waiting for Willie to arrive. He was actually looking forward to confiding in his best friend, since it was taking a toll on him keeping all his problems bottled up inside.

“Hey, Tom. You back from Berlin?” one of his fellow pilots asked.

“Nah… on leave for a week. Going to visit my parents in the morning,” Tom replied.

“Are the German Fräuleins as willing as they say?”

“It’s still forbidden to fraternize,” Tom said, taking a sip from his beer.

“Don’t believe a word he says, boys.” Bronson had entered the bar and overheard the last comment.

Tom scowled at the newcomer and shook his head. “Looks like it’s time for me to get going. The mouth has arrived.”

“Can’t take the truth, Westlake?” Bronson asked with a sneer as he stopped at the end of the table.

“And what truth would that be?” Tom asked, running out of patience with this guy.

“The truth is, chaps, he can’t tell you about the girls because he’s batting for the other team. He’s openly paraded his Polish lover through the bars of Berlin.”

A hissing went through the room and Tom could only see Bronson’s smirking face, intent on ruining Tom’s reputation. Something snapped, and before Tom knew what was happening, his fist took on a life of its own. It connected with Bronson’s jaw, sending the man flying backwards into a nearby table.

Moments later Tom felt two strong arms holding him back and Willie’s stern voice commanding, “You cool it right now. Both of you. Or I’ll call the MPs.”

“He attacked me out of the blue,” Bronson whined.

Tom wanted to lunge at him, but Willie increased the pressure on his shoulders and Tom raised his hands in defeat. “I’m calm. Promise. Not going to ruin my career for this vile piece of shit. I’m out of here.”

Willie let go of him, and Tom made his way to the exit. He headed back to the barracks where his friend later caught up with him.

“You have to be more careful, man. I heard about the brawl in Berlin and you’re lucky you got off lightly, but make no mistake, you’re under observation.”

“No idea what Bronson has against me, but he shows up everywhere I go, doing his best to make my life miserable.”

“I could have you transferred back here,” Willie suggested.

“No!”

Willie chuckled. “Now tell me everything about your girl.”

Tom nodded and recounted how he’d found Ursula’s sister in Berlin, convinced Mitch to give him a ride to Munich, how Ursula was even more beautiful than he remembered her, the initial hostility of her brother. Then he took a deep breath and said, “I have a daughter.”

“What?” Willie almost fell off the bunk he was sitting on.

“Evie is the cutest thing I’ve seen in my life. She’s adorable. I could kiss her chubby face all day long.” Tom smiled at the vivid image of his daughter forming in his mind.

“Man, you sure?” Willie wasn’t half as excited as Tom was.

“Very sure.”

“Bloody hell. You can’t tell anyone. They’ll immediately post you away from Germany.”

“I know.” The elation left Tom’s body and he suddenly felt like a filthy criminal. “You’re the first one to know. Ursula hasn’t even told her family, although after my showing up on the farm they must have put two and two together.”

“That’s quite the mess you’ve got yourself into. I don’t envy you. But if you ever need my help…”

“Thanks.”

The next morning,

Tom took a bus to Maidstone in Kent, where his parents lived. They owned a beautiful country house about one hour away from the capital, where they’d relocated after their flat in the city had been bombed out.

“Tom. We’re so glad you’re home. Come inside,” his dad said, shaking his hand.

“Where’s Mother?”

“Making tea.” His father grinned.

Tom entered the house where he’d spent many summer holidays but had never actually lived. His mother had much preferred the hustle and bustle of London and the flat with its modern amenities.

She came out of the kitchen. “Look at you!”

He half expected her to say, “You have grown,” and took a step forward to hug her. He towered over her by almost two heads. She was thinner than he remembered. A result of years of rationing. “It’s good to see you, Mother.”

Teresa, the housekeeper set a platter of sandwiches on the table and greeted him, before she vanished into the kitchen again.

“Are you safe in Germany?” Mother asked him.

“Very safe, Mother. The war is over; we’re not fighting anymore.”

Except for the odd saber-rattling with the Soviets and fisticuffs with an obnoxious colleague.

They settled around the table. “Do they give you enough to eat?” his mother asked.

“Yes, Mother. No need to worry about me. How are you?”

They told him about the smaller problems in the village and the general ones in the country, carefully keeping up a chipper face, until his mother casually said, “I have invited Lina over for supper.”

Tom’s head snapped around. Lina was the neighbor’s daughter, two years younger than him and since his adolescence his mother had pointed out what an adorable, and suitable young girl she was. He groaned inwardly at her continued attempts to make a match between him and Lina.

It wasn’t that he disliked Lina. She was a charming, well-educated, intelligent girl, but his heart belonged to another woman. He’d been debating whether to tell his parents about Ursula, but now his mother had forced his hand.

He swallowed and then wiped his mouth with a napkin before he quietly said, “About that. I’m in love with another girl.”

“Oh, that is wonderful. When will you introduce her to us?” By the glitter of joy in her eyes he could see she was already planning his wedding and counting the grandchildren.

“Umm. She might not be able to visit, at least for a while.”

His father gave him a suspicious glance. “She’s not in the army, is she?”

“No, sir. She is German.”

His father slammed his hand down on the table. “A Jerry? Haven’t we fought those bastards for six long years? And now you want to bring one of them into our house? Over my dead body!”

Tom ran a hand through his hair. This was clearly not the reaction he’d anticipated. He turned his gaze to his mother, who pressed her lips into a thin line.

“How could you?” she hissed.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to cause you distress.” Tom shook his head and decided to keep quiet about the fact that they had a half-German granddaughter. “Mother, your garden looks stunning.”

His mother cast him a gaze like a wounded doe, but leaped at the buoy he’d thrown her to keep up pretenses and move the conversation onto safe ground once more. Neither he nor his parents would mention the

German girl

for the rest of his leave. He knew they hoped his infatuation with an unattainable woman would soon die a natural death.