The third triplet

Dust motes danced in the sunbeams shining through the attic window.  Boxes were piled up with old suitcases, some broken furniture that might one day be repaired but never had been and old wine bottles.  Just looking made Tina sneeze.  It was too good a summer day for clearing out. 

Gingerly she poked at a disintegrating plastic bag and pulled out some clothes. They were fifties and sixties styles, retro for her.  Excited, she held up a dress, navy, short and slim line with long sleeves and a Dollyrocker label in the neck. 

‘This is great.’Ten minutes later there was a pile of clothes and she grinned, ‘Mum won’t like me keeping all these.’  As she picked up the last bag she saw a small suitcase underneath. 

Curious, she sat down and pulled it towards her. The locks clicked and Tina was intrigued to see photos. To a modern girl the people all looked so old fashioned in the sepia pictures in the album. 

‘I think that’s great-grandfather James.’ A smart, very serious gentleman with a fine moustache was sitting in an armchair with three tiny babies swaddled up like moth pupae on his lap.     

‘Strange.’ Murmured Tina, ‘I didn’t know we’d had triplets in the family. Twins yes but surely great-grandmother didn’t have five children.’ 

Turning the pages she saw two little girls in fairy dresses, two girls in gym slips, date 1927 and two stunning women in their RAF uniform, one smiling demurely, the other with such a cheeky grin.  The date on the back was 1944.  There was another of a good-looking airman with one of the girls, they were laughing at each other, his arm around her.   

‘I wonder what happened.  There are no photos after 1944.’  Tina placed the album in a bag full of dresses and lowered it down the ladder. 

She left the album on the table and put the clothes by the washing machine: she’d wash them and hope they fitted. 

Paula walked into the kitchen with more bags and took them straight out to the dustbin. ‘What’s this?’ she asked suspiciously looking at the bag by the machine. 

‘Just a few clothes Mum, they’re brilliant. Think of the money I’ll save not buying them in the charity shop.’ 

‘Huh! I need coffee. What’s that?’‘An album Mum, who were those babies?’‘What babies?’‘Them.’ Tina opened the first page.Her Mother paled and sat down. ‘It’s a long story, a long while ago now.’‘Just tell me, while we have a break. I know there were twins once but did Great-Grandmother really have five.’‘No. It was 1919, she had triplets, they were small, but one was tiny.  In those days there were no intensive cares and the little baby died within the week. The two remaining were always called the twins.’‘What were their names?’‘Helen Louisa and Emma Fay.’‘Yes and the other one.’‘Oh, I forget.  Why should I know?’‘Because I think you do.’Paula looked straight at her daughter. ‘Christina Marie.’‘That’s my name.’ She was shocked.‘It’s what your great-grandmother wanted, they were her mother’s names.’‘Why do the photos stop? They were so beautiful, they must have had boyfriends, even got married.’‘They died in war-time. Your great-grandparents, well they hardly got over it.’‘Mum, tell me – tell me what happened.’‘Not now, there’s too much to do.’‘All right, later.’ She wheedled.  

Tina looked at the photo taken in 1944 and took it to the mirror.  Side by side she was their sister, her hair was modern but yes, she was their sister. 

She didn’t forget about Helen and Emma as she thought of them but the next days were busy.  One evening after dinner they relaxed in the garden with a glass of wine.  The house was packed up ready for moving. 

Tina pulled at a daisy, ‘Now tell me what happened to Helen and Emma, please.’ 

Paula gazed into the distance.  ‘This is only what I heard, but they were going back to camp one night when they had an accident and were killed – in their car.  I was a tiny baby at home with your great-grandparents.’ 

‘Hold on, who was your mother, was she married?’‘No, Helen was engaged. Paul, her fiancé was killed coming back from a night bombing raid over
Germany. I came before the wedding ring.  The girls were plotters near here in
Cambridge at Waterbeach RAF base, plotting the aircraft going out and coming home.  Very popular they were, pretty girls, could take their pick.  Paul Lewis and Helen fell in love.’‘I see, Paul and Paula.’‘But what happened that night or day?’‘This is all I know, I was a teenager when your great grandmother died and it wasn’t spoken about.  If she hadn’t had me to take care of I don’t think she would have gone on.  It was summer time, a lovely day, early in the morning.  The girls were driving back to camp in their baby Austin and fog rolled in off the fens, sudden like.  Thick it was, they hit a bridge and tipped over into the river.’ 

Tina felt a chill wash over her.  One minute they were laughing and joking, the next fighting for life in the river. 

‘Could they swim?’‘I don’t know, the car was upside down, on it’s roof and there were no seat belts in those days.’‘Oh Mum, how sad.’‘Well, it’s a long time ago, all forgotten now.’ 

Tina was quiet.  She felt such empathy with those two laughing, golden girls.  Her days were filled with moving house and settling in.  Carl, her boyfriend came over to help with the heavy stuff and she was tired out by bedtime.  She fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow but her dreams were filled with Helen and Emma. 

She saw them linking hands, walking away, calling her, Tina…Tina and she couldn’t run fast enough to catch them.  One night they were in her room, sitting at her mirror, and she was brushing their hair.  It was all so real and she was wearing a 40’s frock she had found and washed and it fitted perfectly. 

Tina was due back at university for her final year and the Friday before she decided to go into
Cambridge for last minute shopping.  As she passed the Registrar’s office she stopped and looked in.   She would ask about the girls’ birth and death records, to see what they say.  She couldn’t call them twins anymore, a third girl – a small shadowy figure had been in the room with them last night. 

The clerk was helpful.  Between them they looked at the summer of 1944 and found the death certificates for Helen and Emma Burwood, aged 25.  Died at Faringdon by Waterbeach on 25^th July 1944.  “Cause of death –  Misadventure, drowning.” 

‘Could you look up Christina Burwood, about 16^th June 1919 please?’ 

That took a while but there it was, ‘Infant, unviable. Pneumonia. Six days old.’ Clutching the photocopies she sat outside in the sun.  It was mellow, getting to the end of summer and she felt as though time slipped and she was back in 1944. Helen was waiting for Paul, with soldiers and airman in their uniforms criss-crossing the square, joking and laughing before death took them.  Mothers carrying shopping bags passed them on the pavement.   Little boys were wearing grey shorts and the girls had cotton frocks and bows in their hair.   

Tina snapped out of her reverie.  There’s only one road to Waterbeach she thought, I’m going out there, it’s a lovely day, it won’t take long.  I must see where it happened. 

Her father walked by, stopped and did a double-take. ‘Christina?  My you look different.  Are you going to a party?’ 

Her Dad was a dentist in
Cambridge, with his second family now.  Her mother called him That Man but Tina liked to meet up for a drink and he was paying her university fees. 

‘I found some clothes in the attic, look – they fit me.  Do you like my hair like this?  Dad, did you know there were triplets?’ 

‘No, they never talked about the past.  Look, I’m sorry, I’ve got a patient in five minutes, let’s meet later for a drink.’ 

Tina looked past him, there was an airman waving to her, it was Paul, she must go.‘I don’t know, I could do.’ She was vague and he frowned and watched her walk away.  She looked dreamy and unfocussed as she got in her car and drove off.  He called Paula on his mobile, there was something odd going on. 

Tina drove out of
Cambridge on a back road.  She crossed the A45 and continued as the road narrowed through the deserted fens.  The river shadowed the road.  Sometimes she thought she heard the drone of an aircraft overhead.   The sun went behind a cloud and the fog rolled in, teasing, thickening and clearing like net curtains blowing in a breeze.  She saw a little car ahead and laughed, she knew it was Helen and Emma. 

She got closer and heard them singing, ‘I won’t sit under the apple tree with anyone else but you,Anyone else but you, anyone else but you,No, no, I won’t sit under the apple tree with anyone else but you ‘Til Paul comes flying home.’   

But Emma sang Joe or John and they giggled.  Helen turned and saw Tina and called, ‘It’s Tina, little Tina, come on our missing triplet.’And Tina sang with them,‘We won’t sit under the apple tree with anyone else but…There was a terrible roaring sound, a plane flew right over them, one engine was on fire, flames licked at the wing and Tina instinctively ducked.  ‘Oh God it’s trying to land on the road,’ 

The fog was a solid murky wall and she saw the
Austin jink and smash into the wooden parapet of a bridge.  In slow motion it tipped over and fell down into the water.   

Modern brakes saved her, she had instinctively slammed her foot down and she stopped within inches. 

Scrambling out she called, ‘It’s all right I’m coming, I’ll get you out.’  She heard a distant boom and thought it must be the plane crash landing but she was scrambling down the bank.  Tina pulled off her shoes and waded in.  The river
Cam was wide but shelved and the water struck cold.   

‘I’m here, I’m here.’  She could see the car was upside down, slowly tipping over and sinking.  There was a white face at the window.  The current tugged at her, the mist smothered her and then she heard a voice yelling, 

‘Tina, Christina, come out. Stop.  There’s no one there.’  It was her father – on the bank, in his white tunic.  He kicked his shoes off and jumped in. 

‘Tina, Tina it’s all right.  Turn and swim back.’ 

Her mother was on the bank looking very frightened.  Her father grabbed her and dragged her to the gravel edge.  She spluttered and gasped, 

‘Dad, I know what happened now.  I saw it.  It was a plane, it flew over so low, it must have given them such a shock.  We were singing and then there was this noise and they hit the bridge.  I wanted to save them.’ 

‘Darling you can’t, they died.   We know what happened, there was an inquest.‘It was Paul’s plane that ditched farther down the road.  He was a navigator in a
Stirling, but they couldn’t get out in time and the crew died in the fire.  He didn’t know Helen was dead and,’ he shrugged, ‘she didn’t know that it was his plane that spooked them.  Come on, let’s get you dry, it’s over now.  We were worried about you acting so strangely and you were driving so fast…almost as if you knew the road well.’ 

Shivering, Tina looked up and saw the third triplet standing at the top of the bank.  The mist was swirling around the spirit of Christina Marie.  The triplets were together again.