Chadworth - The War Hero

Chapter 10

After 2 weeks they were ready to be graduates. A lot of people from Chadworth's community came. Anabelle had chartered Mr. Allan and Mr. Albert transit vans. Mr. MacCalla had also driven his prestige Rover. Charm was absent because she was on training in England. He had known that she was doing her nurses training. He missed her a lot. She had reassured him that if she could make it, she would come, but to his disappointment was nowhere in sight.

He felt so left out, seeing that all the other graduates with their girlfriend's, but he had none. He was still happy though because Mary and Anabelle were there for him. Oh mama, you are my favorite girl, you haven't deserted me, and he kissed and hug her and Mary. Anabelle looked so lovely; she was wearing a light green dress with frills on the collar and sleeves. It was long almost, to her ankle. She had asked her sister Icilda in England for it, along with one for Mary. They had come quickly in a parcel through the Post Office.

It was a very nice ceremony; the parade was neatly conducted. The parents were proud of their sons; it was batch of eighty graduates. Anabelle looked at Chadworth and felt proud of him, he could be made out distinctly because of his height. He stood almost a foot taller than most of them.

Some of them were awarded for various achievements. Some for all round performance, some for best dressed recruit, some for the best distance runner and one for the best shooter, that one was Chadworth. He had to achieve that, because he had very accurate hands. As a youth growing up, none of his friends could hit him and run, a stone was coming straight at them. Whenever he and Carlton went bird shooting, he would be back with his string of twenty or more while Carlton would shoot just a dozen or less.

He had retained his accuracy and now had it on display in training. After the ceremony and parade, food was available for everyone. Chad came over and hugged his mother and sister. He also shook hands with Carlton and the rest of people from his community. Chadworth had missed his friend Carlton. He had also invited him to do the army test also, but he had declined, saying he was going to stick to carpentry like his father. It was good to see him again. They had remained friends from childhood until now, yet somehow, managed to do so without a fuss or fight.

Chadworth could leave with his mother and sister that evening but had a few tasks to complete. These were, tidying his sleeping area and packing his knapsack. They were told they would be given a week off starting tomorrow. They were very glad for that, and Chad left the next morning for his home.

When he saw Mary's room he was shocked, no one told him about it, it was lovely. During his five months of training he didn't receive much money, only a stipend to purchase supplies. The bulk of the money was saved for after he graduated. He received a cheque the day after his graduation. His eyes bulged from their sockets when he saw the amount. I am rich! He thought. Anabelle too couldn't believe it when he showed her the cheque. He gave it to her to lodge in her account.

Josh had an account in the bank with Anabelle's name on it. When he died, she removed his name and replaced it with Chadworth name. Chadworth knew he could trust his mother with his savings. She was a sort of a miser and could save; Josh never had much control over money and would spend wildly. Chadworth still had his plan for his dream house and planned to save towards it. He had already spoken to Mr. MacCalla about the plan and design of the building. He didn't know when it would be done but with God's will he know it will be done.

The morning after his arrival he woke early and went outside. He was longing to see his friends in the coop, the rabbits. He went to their coop and stood there looking at them for a while, they were still looking good. Those animals actually remembered him and as he stretched out his hand to them they came to him. He scratched their heads one by one.

He then went to the goat pen; Anabelle had sold most of them to Allan the butcher. She had kept back Egbert the Ram and Betty the ewe. As usual Egbert was playful. He started to buck Chadworth and held on to his long horns and pushed, they had tug of war but he was no match for Chadworth. He walked away and headed for his favorite spot, the river. He took off his clothes with the exception of his underwear and dived into the river.

The water was always cold, but he never seemed to feel it. He realized that he had missed the river. He also missed a lot of things around here, like his mother's home cooking, his lovely crowned garden and his animals. He swam for a while and then he came from the water, put on his clothes and headed for the house. Anabelle was awake and was fixing breakfast, Mary and Christina were also up and sweeping the yard.

When he had his breakfast, he picked some lovely fresh flowers and headed to his father's grave. He replaced the stale ones with the freshly picked ones, and then he sat on the grave and spoke,

"Father I wish you were here to see me now, you weren't around at my school graduation and now I have graduated from the training school and you are still not around. I am now a soldier daddy, a fully trained soldier.

I know you are hearing me, and your spirit is with me, but daddy I am going to make you proud, good bye daddy." He was crying and used his handkerchief to wipe his eyes.

"That's wonderful of you Chad, that's very good." He jumped up. It was Anabelle.

"Mama you frightened me out of my wits, I thought it was daddy answering me back." He and his mother had a wonderful laugh. Chadworth decided to make good use of the one week break he had gotten. He knew that when he back he wasn't going to have much spare time. He had known that a war was brewing and Hitler was planning World War2. The Caribbean soldiers were teaming up with the British, Canadians and American soldiers (allied forces) to fight against the Hitler team in the black forest in Germany.