Chapter 38

She came out of arrivals pushing the trolley with her suitcase on it, wearing her usual ponytail, jeans and a cotton blouse, her coat thrown over the case. She was looking around trying to find him, her face a mixture of alarm and apprehension. Then she saw him making his way towards her through the press of the new arrivals.

He reached her and for a moment they just looked at each other, her green eyes were glassy with repressed tears. “Hi,” he murmured, then kissed her tenderly and then kissed her again.

“You really have missed me, haven’t you?” She said breathlessly.

“More than you’ll ever know,” looking into her eyes.

“Oh Bobby if only you knew how much I love you, it frightens me some times. The thought that I had lost you just about drove me insane.” She pulled a newspaper from under her coat, “Here you can read this at home, they’ve printed the confession,” she said handing him a newspaper.

“Come on then let’s go home,” he said.

Later that night when she emerged from the bathroom in PJ’s and climbed into bed alongside him, she whispered. “I’m sorry about this darling but I promise to make it up to you.”

“You don’t have too,” he said kissing her gently.

She slotted into his lap in their usual sleeping position with his arm around her. He smelled her hair, felt the warmth of her body next to his and realised that this is where he belonged ... needed to be, with his woman.

The next few days they spent at home, swimming, talking and sunbathing. Robert had made the excuse that he wanted her all for himself for a while longer, and that in any case Pearl would be getting ready for Jeremy’s return from New York, which Terry seemed to accept.

One morning as he was dressing Terry called from the bathroom. “Bobby could you wash my back?”

He entered the bathroom, she was in the shower. He dropped his shorts and entered. Her pale body was covered with soapsuds; she looked at him her eyes bright. “Do you think his Nibbs has had enough holidays?” She asked in a coy voice.

That day, they never left the bedroom, apart from Robert dashing down stairs to make sandwiches; if Hanna did hear Terry’s groans screams and gasps she blithely ignored them.

They were lazing by the pool when Terry asked how he had felt when he saw the papers.

“Next to the death of my parents it was the most hurtful experience of my life, I think I went a little crazy,” he said.

“So you believed them,” she murmured, “you didn’t trust in my love for you.”

“Terry I didn’t want to believe them, but you are so beautiful. I still don’t know what you see in me, and May is very handsome,” he stammered.

“Bobby I love you for your kindness, your inner strength, your sense of humour for a million things and I thank God every day that I have your love, and that will never ever change. May couldn’t hold a candle to you.”

“I guess it was that everything seemed so perfect between us, that such happiness could never last. But the thing it has taught me is I can’t live without you.”

“So long as you know I feel exactly the same as you, whether you like it or not you are stuck with me, till death do us do part,” she looked at him a small smile on her face. “Bobby you will always tell me the truth won’t you.”

“Of course darling,” he replied suddenly alarmed.

“That fight the Para’s had with the Taliban where three A10’s were involved, where were you?”

“Quite safe darling I was on the ground.”

“So you’re getting a DSO for being safe.”

“There must be some mistake,” he stammered.

“According to the paper that you have, the three A10 pilots are being put up for the DFC and their Squadron Leader the DSO, and you are the only ones flying A10’s.”

She looked at him her eyes burning into his, he knew Terry was not stupid. She was aware something was odd, so he told her. He tried to gloss over it, but she kept probing until she had the full story. “Did you get this, then?” Touching the small scar on his cheek from the stone fragment.