Fraser's Line by Monica Carly Page A

First Austria fell, then Czechoslovakia. It was clear Poland would be next.
    ‘My people are enduring the most terrible sufferings,’ he said. He did not need to say any more. She knew what he was thinking.
    For two days he neither ate nor slept. He paced round the house and garden, and she knew his torment. She also knew what he would decide.
    At last he came to her.
    ‘I have to go,’ he said. ‘I cannot ignore my countrymen when they are enduring such terrible things.’
    ‘But what can you possibly do?’ she cried. ‘You are not strong enough to do anything on your own. You will only get killed!’
    ‘I have to go,’ he said. ‘I am so very sorry.’
    In order not to prolong the agony he made his arrangements speedily. On the last night they lay clinging together as though both their hearts would break. There were tears, but then they tried to be strong for each other.
    She stood at the door to watch him walk away down the street – a solitary man, carrying a small, light suitcase but weighed down by an unbearably heavy heart. She watched until he had gone out of sight, and even then she did not move for a long time. Finally, she turned and went back into the house.
    She never saw him again.
Chapter 6
    Fraser arrived about 11 o’clock on Sunday morning and greeted his mother warmly. She looked very frail, and it tore at his heart strings, but her smile was as warm and lovely as ever.
    ‘Hello mother, darling! How are you?
    ‘Well, thank you, Fraser dear. I’m well.’
    ‘What about those swollen ankles? Has the doctor been able to suggest anything?’
    ‘Oh, I’d forgotten about them. They really don’t trouble me.’
    Fraser was about to say something but Marjorie cut in to stop him. ‘Now don’t fuss, please Fraser. There’s nothing wrong except that I seem to be getting more muddle-headed than ever. Do you know what I did yesterday?’
    ‘Tell me,’ said Fraser, settling into the armchair opposite her, and immediately making the room look cosy.
    ‘You’ll think me very silly. Well, I thought of two things I needed from the shops, and as it was such a nice, bright day I thought I could manage to go round to the corner shop. I do so love the little corner shop, even if it is difficult to find what you want. So much better than those huge supermarkets. Anyway, Celia, my neighbour, does my shopping there for me once a week. Isn’t it kind of her? She’s so good to me.’
    Fraser nodded. He’d heard this refrain many times before.
    ‘There were just two things I wanted, and I knew perfectly well what they were when I set off.’
‘Did you write them down – the way we discussed before – to help you remember?’
    ‘Of course I did, dear. I always try and do what you tell me. But when I got to the shop I couldn’t find the piece of paper. I must have left it behind. Well I knew what the first thing was – that was butter – but I could not think of the other thing, no matter how hard I tried. So I wandered about the shop, pretending I was looking at the displays, and then suddenly I found myself in front of a tin of treacle – and so I knew!’
    ‘You wanted some treacle?’
    ‘No, of course not, dear. Whatever would I want treacle for?’
‘I thought you said…’ Fraser wasn’t sure he was following.
    ‘It was the T – that was what I wanted, Tea!’
    ‘Oh!’ cried Fraser. ‘How clever of you! I don’t think you’ve been a silly muddle-headed lady at all!’
    ‘Well, yes I was, because you see, when I got home, I found I hadn’t got the butter. So I bought the thing I’d forgotten, but I must have forgotten what I’d remembered.’
    ‘Yes, I see, I think. Never mind, mother, I’ll slip out and get you some now. It won’t take long.’
    ‘Get me some what?’
    ‘The butter you came home without yesterday.’
    ‘Oh no, you needn’t trouble yourself doing that. I’ve got plenty of that.’
    Fraser gave up. Before he could say anything Marjorie spoke again. ‘Dear