Come What May

chapter 14

By the time mid April rolled around Mary and Bert had settled into their new home nicely; the moving process hadn't been too much of a headache since the home was already furnished…and with the exception of his chalk, paints and endless pieces of artwork, Bert didn't have many possessions. The house itself seemed perfect, still relatively small but miles bigger than Bert's old apartment; the walls gave the place a cosy feel and the small drawing room was illuminated by the large bay window. There was a small kitchen area that lay adjacent to the drawing room – which was fitted with a small round dining table. The drawing room itself was fully furnished with a comfortable sofa and armchair plus a large fireplace that dwarfed the one that lay in their old apartment; they didn't have much in the way of décor, but they preferred the simplicity. Upstairs was very simple a bathroom, a spare room and a master bedroom furnished with a well made bed – which they made full use of on their first night in their new home, for their physical desires for each other never died throughout the course of the pregnancy.

Bert soon got to work on the nursery. Over the light coloured walls he had painted several murals; he painted forests with smiling cartoon animals, meadows with blooming flowers accompanied by dazzling sunshine, the midnight sky with the most brilliant stars, but Mary's favourite was perhaps was stunning painting of a lone cherry blossom he painted by the window. It gave the nursery such a sweet atmosphere as Bert had put his heart into each mural. They had, of course, bought a crib and a few toys in preparation for their new arrival – like the rest of the house, the nursery was simple but charming.

They made sure to give their new address to their closest friends – including the Banks family - and Uncle Albert often found himself visiting Mary during the day – something she was glad of. She was more than happy with the extra time she had during the day, she could spend her days doing whatever she pleased, she often found herself reading or knitting, but she – naturally – preferred it when Bert returned home from work. They would mostly spend their evenings embracing on the sofa – in front of a roaring fire if it was cold – and talking about nothing in particular. Of course, these discussions almost always ended up with the joining of their lips; their new home had given them such a refreshing feeling along with the excitement of having something new – it almost made them feel like love sick teenagers.

One afternoon, Mary's attention was drawn away from her book when she heard a somewhat timid knock coming from the door; she pondered for a moment before finally getting to her feet and to her surprise, she found Winifred Banks was responsible for the knock. They had not seen each other since Mary's 'final farewell' – so to speak – and so Mary beamed at the arrival of her unexpected guest.

"Oh, Mrs Banks, how lovely to see you again!" Mary greeted with a smile.

"Please, Dear, call me Winifred" she chuckled.

"Of course, please come in" Mary gestured.

"Oh, I do hope I'm not disturbing you"

"Of course not, Mrs Banks -" the two women smirked at each other, "- Winifred" Mary corrected herself.

"You see, I was just on my way back from a meeting with the girls and I thought that since I was passing through it would only be polite to come and visit"

"Well, it really is lovely to see you again…would you like some tea?" Mary offered.

"Oh, please don't go to any trouble"

"It's no trouble at all" Mary insisted as she began to make the tea. Winifred sat at the dining table.

There was a different atmosphere between the two women now, things felt less stiff and formal between them, Mary suspected that it was because Winifred was no longer her employer, but she still held a high level of respect for the woman – so much so that even calling her by her first name seemed strange. Perhaps the seeds of this new dynamic had been planted long ago? After all, Mary had put a lot of trust in Winifred when it came to her pregnancy and her relationship with Bert, she had trusted her with her secrets and the more personal details of her life; plus, Winifred had been a tremendous support. When it came to the case of Winifred Banks, Mary held three very strong emotions for her: Trust, Respect and Admiration. Perhaps Winifred was now more of a friend to her than a previous employer?