”I am so sorry but she is... little Elizabeth, like the queen.” he said and smiled. ”To think that she shares her name with the Queen.” ”Oh yes...” Ruth said. ”But Elizabeth is common, is it not?” Maltravers only nodded. ”I hope that she will grow up to be a intelligent woman...” he said, and the child made an adorable sound. ”And that she will know love, and marry a man she loves.” Ruth nodded this time, the man could be odd sometimes, but so where her own father. It was probably the first war, sometimes she wondered if her William was ever going to stop having bad dreams every night. ”Of course she will.” she said and smiled. ”But don't spoil her though, Mr. Maltravers.” Maltravers looked up at her. ”You know, you could call me George, if you want to.” She nodded and turned to the stew again. ”You could call me Ruth, if you want to George.” They where quiet for a while, and then Maltravers opened his mouth. ”Do you love my son, Ruth?” She smiled, and turned around again, to find George slowly rocking little Liz. ”Of course I do George. I love him more than anyone... well, not more than Liz, but more than any other human.” ”I remember how that feels like.” he said. ”To love someone with your whole heart.” ”Do you miss Mrs. Maltravers?” she asked. She didn't now much about Mrs. Maltravers, her William said he didn't remember her that much, she had died when he was six years old. She knew that Mr. Maltravers had moved from London, to Newcastle, to get help with the children. ”Yes. Yes I do.” he said. ”But, to be honest with you Ruth...” he began. ”Elizabeth wasn't the love of my life.” She just smiled and sat down at the table. ”That's alright.” she said. ”It wasn't common, to marry for love then, was it?” ”No.” he said. ”And I miss... the love of my life, every day.” She looked at him. Closely. ”Was it a man, George.” she asked. He looked up at her, with eyes large and scared. ”It's alright, my brother is homosexual.” He hugged the laughing baby who was half covered with her own saliva. ”Well, yes. But don't tell William, please?” ”Of course not, we don't talk that much about other stuff than Liz and the mortgage.” she said. ”Well, society is more open today.” he said. ”Could I get a cup of tea?” he asked her. She nodded and got up again. ”I met him, his name is Albert... at the boarding school.” Suddenly he felt like a large stone was lifted from his heart. It was the first time, ever, that he had talked about Albert, with anyone. ”We, stuck together... lived together before the Great War, fought in the war together... for six months, we got separated after the christmas truce.” He looked down at his granddaughter. ”If he had been a girl, I would have married him in a heartbeat.” ”If he had been a girl you wouldn't had liked him.” she said and prepared two cups. George smiled. ”I guess. I haven't seen him... in two years now, last time was at the reunion. And that isn't even that long.” ”Go see him then! What is keeping you here? Both of your children are married and happy. Go see him, George.” she put down the cups on the table. ”Shall I take her?” ”Please.” he said and handed her the baby, who was just as happy as always. She put her in the moses basket, that stood on the floor. ”I can't go, why should I?” ”Because, you just said that he was the love of your life.” she said. ”He is but... I don't know. He lives in London, doesn't it take forever to get down there?” ”It doesn't take that long, I say go, isn't there a bank holiday comming up soon?” George looked down at his cup of coffee. ”But I am so old. We are both so old.” ”Nonsense, you are not even 60!” He smiled. ”Next year I am though.” ”Well, then go before you are 60 then.” she said and smiled. It was a reassuring, warm smile. George had never really payed that much attention to Ruth, but she was really wonderful after all. He nodded. ”Maybe I should go visit him.” he said, almost dreamingly, running his fingers along with the the pattern of the tablecloth. ”I really should.”
Re: Unprompted: Blenkinsop/Maltravers - They Owe Us A Life 19b/20
”Oh yes...” Ruth said. ”But Elizabeth is common, is it not?”
Maltravers only nodded. ”I hope that she will grow up to be a intelligent woman...” he said, and the child made an adorable sound. ”And that she will know love, and marry a man she loves.”
Ruth nodded this time, the man could be odd sometimes, but so where her own father. It was probably the first war, sometimes she wondered if her William was ever going to stop having bad dreams every night. ”Of course she will.” she said and smiled. ”But don't spoil her though, Mr. Maltravers.”
Maltravers looked up at her. ”You know, you could call me George, if you want to.”
She nodded and turned to the stew again. ”You could call me Ruth, if you want to George.”
They where quiet for a while, and then Maltravers opened his mouth. ”Do you love my son, Ruth?”
She smiled, and turned around again, to find George slowly rocking little Liz. ”Of course I do George. I love him more than anyone... well, not more than Liz, but more than any other human.”
”I remember how that feels like.” he said. ”To love someone with your whole heart.”
”Do you miss Mrs. Maltravers?” she asked. She didn't now much about Mrs. Maltravers, her William said he didn't remember her that much, she had died when he was six years old. She knew that Mr. Maltravers had moved from London, to Newcastle, to get help with the children.
”Yes. Yes I do.” he said. ”But, to be honest with you Ruth...” he began. ”Elizabeth wasn't the love of my life.”
She just smiled and sat down at the table. ”That's alright.” she said. ”It wasn't common, to marry for love then, was it?”
”No.” he said. ”And I miss... the love of my life, every day.”
She looked at him. Closely. ”Was it a man, George.” she asked. He looked up at her, with eyes large and scared. ”It's alright, my brother is homosexual.”
He hugged the laughing baby who was half covered with her own saliva. ”Well, yes. But don't tell William, please?”
”Of course not, we don't talk that much about other stuff than Liz and the mortgage.” she said.
”Well, society is more open today.” he said. ”Could I get a cup of tea?” he asked her. She nodded and got up again. ”I met him, his name is Albert... at the boarding school.” Suddenly he felt like a large stone was lifted from his heart. It was the first time, ever, that he had talked about Albert, with anyone. ”We, stuck together... lived together before the Great War, fought in the war together... for six months, we got separated after the christmas truce.” He looked down at his granddaughter. ”If he had been a girl, I would have married him in a heartbeat.”
”If he had been a girl you wouldn't had liked him.” she said and prepared two cups.
George smiled. ”I guess. I haven't seen him... in two years now, last time was at the reunion. And that isn't even that long.”
”Go see him then! What is keeping you here? Both of your children are married and happy. Go see him, George.” she put down the cups on the table. ”Shall I take her?”
”Please.” he said and handed her the baby, who was just as happy as always. She put her in the moses basket, that stood on the floor. ”I can't go, why should I?”
”Because, you just said that he was the love of your life.” she said.
”He is but... I don't know. He lives in London, doesn't it take forever to get down there?”
”It doesn't take that long, I say go, isn't there a bank holiday comming up soon?”
George looked down at his cup of coffee. ”But I am so old. We are both so old.”
”Nonsense, you are not even 60!”
He smiled. ”Next year I am though.”
”Well, then go before you are 60 then.” she said and smiled. It was a reassuring, warm smile. George had never really payed that much attention to Ruth, but she was really wonderful after all.
He nodded. ”Maybe I should go visit him.” he said, almost dreamingly, running his fingers along with the the pattern of the tablecloth. ”I really should.”