The Echo Of Youth

Chapter Fifty Six; The Echo of Youth

That evening our dining table is filled. Every seat in the house has been dragged in and for the first time since before we left all those years ago, we were whole.
A whole family.
A whole person.
A whole lot of love.

Tiny Beatrice rest quietly in my arms, her big green eyes staring up at me and I fall more and more in love.
"My dearest, most infuriating Clancy." Elsie kisses me softly, before taking her seat beside me.

"My darling, resplendent Elsie." I mutter, kissing her back.

Ned sits beside me, his tiny son Ollie cuddled to his chest. Kate smiles down at the two of them. Tom and a heavily pregnant Kate sit across from us and all our parents, brothers and sisters all congregate around our huge dining table.

Mum wanders around, a plate of lamb in one hand and Alice follows close behind with a bowl of vegetables, including peas.

"Load it up Al," I grin holding up my plate as she spoons carrots, potatoes and other various vegetable onto it.

"Clancy, I've missed you." She giggles before moving onto Ned.

Elsie rests her head upon my shoulder, she seems content, like nothing could waver how at peace she was feeling.

"I've missed this, this whole set up, our whole family, this house, this table, everything." She whispers.

"Believe me," I reply, "you're not the only one."

"Right! Everyone sit down so we can say grace, Arthur put that lamb down!" She orders, Arthur quickly drops his fork and everyone laughs.

Mum prays; "Okay, dear lord, we Thankyou for the food we've been blessed with today, for the sheep who gave its life so we can prosper. Lord we Thank you for the beautiful children we've been blessed with, the new and the old, may they forever know how much they are loved. Lord thank you for answering our prayers, for bringing home our children, Elsie, Ned, Tom and Clancy and for guiding them through the hardest chapters of their lives. May the sacrifice of their youth never be forgotten. Amen."

"Amen." We all murmur before the clatter of cutlery fills the room.

We munch on our meals until there isn't a morsel of food left on the table. We laugh at old jokes and sip at wine we found in the cellar.

"Okay, I would like to make a toast." I rise to my feet and everyone turns their attention on me.

"Ill begin with a toast to our families, the the Stewart's, the O'Dwyers and the Taylors. You've all endured one of the most excruciatingly long and tiresome waits of your lives. You didn't forget us and you continued to love us through every up and down, especially our mothers." I smile and all of our mums smile back.

"Now a toast to Kate, Mary and Elsie, three of the most demandingly beautiful, strong and patiently women in the world. I never in a million years think we'd find ourselves together again, but here we are, and I tell you what, I've never ever been more grateful. Thank you for loving us." I kiss Elsie softly.

"I've got more!" I announce.

"C'mon Clancy!" Arthur calls out.

"Arthur and Alice. You lost your older brothers but somehow you both made it out alive. Especially you Art, I'm so proud of how you both over came what you did."

Alice blushes and Arthur wipes a tear away.

"And finally, to Ned and Tom. My forever brothers. The two men in the entire world who somehow manage to understand my inner workings, who have stuck by my side through mental illness, physical illness, bombs, bullets, blood and storms so wild, sometime we thought we wouldn't make it. Somehow, we're back here, sitting at this same table, eating the same Echo Valley Station lamb, only this time we have so much more to be thankful for." I raise my glass, and everybody follows, "to family, to life and to love."

"Cheers!" We all chorus clinking our glasses together.

I wrap my arm around Elsie, holding her close, her heart beating in sync with mine. How lucky did we get?
We came home.
We're still alive.
We're still smiling.
We came home.

I scan the room, I see the happy faces of my family seated around the table and see the peas on my plate.

"Oi Alice." I smirk before firing a pea at her off my fork, just like I did all those years ago.

"Hey!" She fires one back and she purposely hits Elsie, obviously recalling our last pea encounter.

"Alice Marie!" Elsie exclaims, laughter fills the room as she sends a pea at Arthur.

"G'on Art, in the mouth." Ned points to his open mouth.

"Don't mess it up Art, you made it last time!" I say breathless from laughing.

Arthur aims, and sends it perfectly into Ned's mouth. Art and Ned jump up, pumping the air with double fists as the whole table claps and laughs.

In that moment.
The war is forgotten.
Love is evident.
Laughter is loud.
The war is forgotten.

But is it?
No one will forget us.
No one will forget the men who sleep soundly in the dirt of foreign shores.
No one will forget the guns and the bombs.
No one will forget the wooden boats that delivered us to Gallipoli.
No one will forget the nurses who cared for us.
No one will forget the mateship displayed through the First World War.

And although distant, the echo of youth will never go unheard.