Hope for a better life

By Amy R Murray

Margaret Holden, having grown up in England during World War II, comes to America to live with her aunt and uncle in search for a better life. With a promising new job, and while beginning to develop a life for herself in a new country, she is brutally attacked. As a result of the attack, Margaret's life is forever changed. A courageou

• Language: English
• Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
• Release date: Aug 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9798822927599

Amy R Murray

Amy R. Murray is an adopted child who grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. She is also the author of five educational resources for elementary school teachers, counselors, and parents. She and her husband, Steve, currently reside in Greenville, South Carolina.

Book preview

A Beginning

M

argaret sat in the rocking chair on the back porch of the Christian Children’s Home as she had done every day for the past six months. It was a very sunny afternoon in February, but a cool breeze made the fifty-degree temperature feel more like forty. Margaret pulled her heavy blue coat as snugly around her as she could. Her large and cumbersome middle now made it almost impossible for the coat to reach around her. Margaret was glad that this nightmare would soon be over.

What are you doing out here again, Margaret? asked Mrs. Vincent with her usual smiling, but concerned face. I would hate to see you catch a bad cold!

You know I like this quiet time outside, away from everybody, stated Margaret as she reached towards the table to turn off the transistor radio music. Last week we had snow, and so I’m taking advantage of being able to sit out here this week. Margaret was thinking she sure would be glad when winter was finally over. It had been an unusually cold and snowy winter in North Carolina this year.

Mrs. Vincent continued to smile but looked at Margaret in her genuinely concerned way.

Margaret liked Mrs. Vincent. Mrs. Vincent was the only person whom Margaret felt she could talk to since arriving at the home last August. Edith Vincent reminded Margaret of her mother whom she missed so much since leaving England almost three years ago. Mrs. Vincent was very tall and thin with blue eyes, like Margaret and her mother. However, Mrs. Vincent had brown hair, while Margaret and her mother had black hair. Edith Vincent’s hair was styled in a curly permanent much like Margaret’s mother wore her hair. What most reminded Margaret of her mother were Mrs. Vincent’s smile and caring manner. Margaret and her mother had been close; they could talk about anything just as Margaret and Mrs. Vincent could. Margaret didn’t know how she could have made it through the past six months without Mrs. Vincent. After what Margaret had been through, she needed someone to talk with—someone who cared.

I promise I’ll come inside if I get cold, stated Margaret returning a smile to Mrs. Vincent.

Okay, dear...but don’t stay too long, Mrs. Vincent said quietly and then returned inside.

Margaret cherished this time outside by herself. Being twenty-six years old, she wasn’t like the other girls who were here. They were young and immature, having been swept off their feet by some young man, and now found themselves here in a most worrisome predicament. Margaret turned the radio back on to escape the thoughts about to enter her mind in a flood.

Love Me Tender was playing again. Anytime the radio was turned on, an Elvis Presley song was being played. Elvis was the star of the day. His recent hits had included Don’t Be Cruel, Hound Dog, When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold, and Peace in the Valley. Suddenly Margaret heard a door bang and there was Sally singing along Love me tender...

When Margaret looked at Sally, she stopped singing and announced, Oh, Elvis is so wonderful! I love his voice, and he is so good-looking. Wouldn’t you love to have a husband like him someday?

Not particularly, stated Margaret flatly. Although I do like to listen to him sing, she added. Margaret knew she would never forget how crazy Sally was about Elvis Presley. Last month when all the girls watched Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show, Sally screamed right along with the girls in the audience.

Oh, I dream of having a husband like him someday! He is so very handsome! Sally continued excitedly.

I don’t plan on ever getting married, Margaret stated firmly. Honestly, Sally don’t you just want to get out of the mess you are in?

Well, I am going to have this baby and put it up for adoption, so the child can have a good family, said Sally sounding older than her 16 years. I am going to have a life after this though, you know, she said shrilly.

Sally was one of the youngest girls at the home, and she was always asking Margaret what Margaret thought about this and that. Margaret guessed Sally was always questioning her because she was the oldest girl there. Sally was petite, with blonde curls and dimples. Sally was so sweet but lacked common sense, Margaret thought. Margaret cared about Sally a lot, partly because Sally admired her and was always seeking her advice. Sally was like a younger sister to Margaret.

The door banged again, and there appeared Kathryn. Kathryn was the peacemaker of the group. She wanted everyone to be perfectly happy all the time. Kathryn had a round, plain face, framed by her short light brown hair with bangs. Kathryn loved to eat and was a little chubby, even considering her condition. She had only been at the home for two months but was a welcome addition with her ability to maintain calm and order.

Are you two debating again? asked Kathryn.

Sally’s dreaming about Elvis again, teased Margaret.

It’s cold out here and almost time for supper, stated Kathryn. Aren’t you both ready to come in?

I am, let’s go in, said Sally looking from Margaret to Kathryn.

Margaret said, I’ll be in soon; you two go on ahead.

Margaret leaned her head back on the rocker and closed her eyes. Margaret was relaxed and happy to have a few minutes to herself once again. Elvis was still singing on the radio. This time it was Peace in the Valley. As Margaret listened to Elvis sing she felt content. Occasionally her thoughts would remind her of that awful attack and the reason for her pregnancy. Margaret knew There’ll Be Peace In the Valley For Me was originally written and recorded by Tommy Dorsey. Somehow she was always comforted by the way Elvis sang it.

That night after dinner the girls played a game of Scrabble as they often did. Scrabble was Margaret’s favorite game, and so it had been her idea to play again. Kathryn was a right smart girl and could put together some interesting words, but Sally always needed help forming words and insisted that Margaret look at her letters. As usual, Margaret won the game. The girls often accused her of wanting to play the game because she was so good at it. The truth of the matter was that Margaret liked words. That might seem a bit odd to many people, but Margaret loved to read books and enjoyed learning new words. She had hoped to be a teacher one day, but there had not been money for college. Now that Margaret was already twenty-six years old and in a new country, becoming a teacher was out of the question.

As Margaret stretched out in her bed trying to find a comfortable position, she felt the baby move inside her. Placing a hand on the upper part of her swollen belly, she felt the movement again. Was it a hand or foot? Margaret couldn’t know for sure. During the past two months, she had felt the baby move more and more. The baby was due on March 1. Margaret marked each day off the calendar looking forward to the day when she would finally be free of this burden she carried. A burden, yet a baby should be a joy. When Margaret was a little girl, she had always planned to get married one day. Not now, she thought. Not ever!

Margaret closed her eyes, trying to get rest. It had become more difficult to sleep this past month. As she often did at night in bed, Margaret began thinking about her life and wondering how it had come to this.

All of Margaret’s family was from London. She could go back several generations on both her mother’s and father’s sides and find they were all born and raised in London. Having grown up in London during World War II, Margaret had always planned to leave London when she became old enough. Times were hard in England before the war, but afterwards London was not the city she knew or wanted to live in.

Margaret had been born in 1930, the youngest of four children. Theirs was a family full of love that shared everything they had out of necessity. Their home was a flat in the borough of Westminster just outside the city. They felt fortunate to have three bedrooms for their family of six. Margaret’s mother grew lovely poppy flowers in a window box. The clothes were washed and hung on the balcony of their flat. Homemade bread was baked every other day. Margaret’s mother was always home tending to the needs of her family while Margaret’s father worked. Her father walked one and a half miles each way to his job in a machinery plant. As hard as their lives were, her parents never complained. It was clear that they wanted better lives for their children, and education was the key they were always told.

When Margaret was five, she began public school. She walked to school, as it was only one quarter mile, with her brother and two sisters. As long as she could remember, she loved school. Margaret loved to read; it was the way to learn about the world. She would never forget receiving a book of poems for reading the most books during her first year of school. Margaret had decided at age six that she wanted to go to the University of London and become a teacher. Fate would not allow that to happen.

Everything seemed to go wrong after Edward VIII abdicated his throne to marry Wallis Warfield Simpson. It was 1936, and Margaret was sitting in her desk at school, when the teacher announced, It’s time for a prayer. I’ve just heard that Edward VIII has abdicated the throne for love. A King has never renounced his people! From that time forward, England was in a struggle.

The worst years were yet to come with World War II. In 1939, Hitler’s armies invaded Poland. Great Britain, along with France, declared war. Margaret knew she would never forget that day, September 3, 1939, when Prime Minister Chamberlain announced to the country that they were at war with Germany. It seemed almost immediately; her brother George was called to serve in the British air force.

By June 1940, France had surrendered, which left Britain standing alone. It was difficult to listen in school or sleep at night with the war planes overhead. Food was very scarce because of the armies to feed. Margaret’s mother amazingly maintained her calm, even though her husband was working round the clock at the machinery plant, and her son was serving in the Royal Air Force.

Margaret was a sensitive child and aware of all the danger surrounding them. It always helped when she would come home from school and find Grandma-ma, her mother’s mother, at her flat. Grandma-ma briefly helped her forget the war by having a project for them to work on. Some days they knitted socks; other days they were mending clothes. Margaret didn’t care what the project was; she always loved the time spent with her Grandma-ma.

Another memory Margaret cherished was when they ate Welsh rarebit for supper. After helping her mum bake bread, they would make cheese sauce to put on the fresh bread slices. Her mum would tell them they were eating Welsh rarebit, a delicacy, only available in the most up-scale restaurants. Sometimes her mum would light a few candles at the table to make the atmosphere festive.

In late 1940, Britain prevented a German invasion through a victory in air. Great Britain had been successful in building one of the strongest air forces in the entire world. (Later they would learn that George was flying one of the Spitfire planes in the Royal Air Force.) While the citizens of Great Britain felt a bit safer for a time, they still had to contend with the constant noise of planes overhead and the never-ending war.

From 1941-1945, World War II was at its height. Civilians were constantly at risk as bombs continually dropped on London. The national debt tripled to cover the cost of the war. Food rationing was more restrictive as the war continued. Margaret found herself becoming more involved in the Church of England. One of the few places Margaret felt safe from the bombs was the church located right across the street from her home. When Margaret was scared, she often went there to pray. The massive church blocked much of the noise from the bombs, and the stained-glass windows offered much comfort to her during this time. Some days the bombing was so bad that school was cancelled, but the bombing never kept Margaret from scurrying across the street to the church. By the time the war ended, large parts of London had been destroyed, and more than 60,000 civilians had been killed.

In the years following World War II, Great Britain continued to struggle. Though the war was over, the country was heavy in debt, and food became even scarcer. Many children quit school early to help earn wages for their family. Margaret’s parents valued the importance of a good education and were determined that their children would graduate high school. Mary, the second oldest, had graduated in 1943. Anne would graduate in 1946. Margaret would continue with school until 1948 when she graduated high school at the age of 18.

Margaret began to work at the Church of England immediately following graduation with the hope of saving money for college. She answered the telephone, typed sermons, and completed any other tasks as