This is War✔

Seventeen

Ellie sat in the kitchen of her new flat. It was dark and lonely without Cora there. Her daughter-in-law had not only stopped living with her, she had also stopped working with her. Ellie thought with shame on what her son had done to his wife. How dare he publicly humiliate her?

   Ellie sighed in discontentment and stood up to peer out the window. Despite the changes the war had brought, life seemed to go on. Of course, many accused the English government of waging a 'phony war',  but Ellie didn't put much stock in conspiracies. This was simply the calm before the storm, a time of in-between.

   Lots of people hadn't been touched by the war as of yet, but that would soon change. As she continued looking out upon the icy city, someone knocked on the door. Ellie answered it and stood before a young man in an army uniform.

   "Yes?"

   He smiled broadly. "Mrs. Brooks. Is Cora here?"

   "No, she no longer lives here. Who are you?"

   "That's right, our families never properly met. I'm Cora's brother, Ben. Where can I find her?"

   "I don't know. I'm sorry."

   "Oh. Thank you anyway, Mrs. Brooks."

   Ellie felt moved to say something else as he turned away. "Ben? Please, come in. I must talk with you."

   "Alright, then." He entered the flat, his brow furrowed.

   Ellie led him to the kitchen table, sat down, and motioned for him to do the same. Ellie didn't beat around the bush. "Cora is pregnant."

   "That's brilliant! I'll be an uncle!" He was ecstatic.

   "The only problem is, Cora seems upset about it and gets angry if I talk about the baby."

   "Oh, I see. What would you like me to do?"

   "I want you to help me find her and talk to her. I'm not brilliant at solving problems and I'm worried about her."

   "I'll help you, I will. Where should we start?"

   "I think I'll speak with Dr. Stanford, her former employer." So she picked up the telephone and requested to be connected to The Royal London. "Hello? Dr. Stanford?"

    "Yes, speaking."

    "It's Ellie. Brooks. I was wondering if you know where Cora is currently living at the moment?"

    For a moment, silence, but then: "Funny you should ask. She happens to be staying with me at the moment. She didn't have anywhere else to go."

   "Oh! Would she be willing to see me?"

   "I'm sure I don't know, but you can come round about quarter to seven if that suits you, my dear."

   "Right. Thank you, Doctor."

   "Of course, Ellie."

   She put the receiver down and began to pace the room. What would she say?

   "Er, Mrs. Brooks? What did he say?"

   "Oh, so sorry. Quater to seven. Um, you can call me Ellie you know."

   "Of course." A lapse of silence and then-- "What are you going to say?"

   "I have no idea and I'm terrified."

   "Has something gone-- wrong? You seem more afraid than one should be in such a mild situation."

   Ellie bit her lip. She wasn't about to tell her Andrew's brother-in-law that he had yelled at Cora in public, so she just plastered a fake smile on her face and shook her head instead. Oh, how she wished she didn't have to deal with Andrew's blunder at the moment! That would have made talking to Cora a thousand times easier.