England and Other Stories

MRS KAMINSKI

‘MRS KAMINSKI?’

‘That’s me, dear.’

‘I’m Dr Somerfield. I need to take some blood.’

‘Take as much as you like. It’s no good to me.’

‘We need to do some tests. Are you feeling more comfortable?’

‘You should work in an English hospital, dear, a nice girl like you. The National Health Service, it’s the best in the world.’

‘This is an English hospital. It’s St George’s, Tooting.’

‘It’s the way to Poland.’

‘Are you Polish, Mrs Kaminski?’

‘No, but I’m on my way to Poland.’

‘I need to ask you a few questions. Do you know how old you are?’

‘Ninety-one.’

‘Date of birth?’

‘March the 4th, 1923.’

‘And your first name?’

‘Nora.’

‘Can I call you Nora?’

‘Please yourself. How old are you, dear?’

‘Twenty-five. Do you know where you were born, Nora?’

‘Carshalton, Surrey.’

‘Do you know what month it is?’

‘Why?’

‘You had an accident. A funny turn. A fall, in the street. You were brought here. We’re trying to find out what caused it all. Do you know where you live?’

‘Flat four, Romsey Court, Neville Gardens, Mitcham.’

‘You just said you were on the way to Poland.’

‘That’s right. Haven’t you noticed all the Polish people? They do the plumbing, the cleaning, the central heating. They mow the lawns. They do it all for us.’

‘Do you live alone there, at the address you just gave me?’

‘I don’t live there any more, do I?’

‘Do you have a husband, Nora?’

‘Yes.’

‘Where is he?’

‘He went to Poland.’

‘When did he go there?’

‘1944.’

‘1944?’

‘June the 18th, 1944.’

‘That’s a long time ago. You said you were going there too.’

‘That’s right. I’ll soon be seeing him, won’t I? I just have to find him. Or he’ll have to find me. Perhaps you can help us, dear.’

‘Do you have any sons or daughters, Nora? Brothers, sisters?’

‘Relatives, you mean?’

‘Yes, relatives.’

‘I have a son. Ted.’

‘Where does he live?’

‘He went to Poland. He’ll be with his father. He’ll be there too.’

‘We should let your son know that you’re here.’

‘Of course you should. And his father. They’ll both want to know I’m here. You should go and find them for me, dear.’

‘I mean we should let your son know that you’re here, in hospital, that you’ve had a funny turn. If he’s your next of kin.’

‘Kinski. People sometimes just called us the Kinskis. He went to Poland. 1964.’

‘You mean he’s really living in Poland?’

‘He got a job as a boilerman. In a hospital. He had to keep the boilers going that kept the hospital warm. They gave him a boiler suit.’

‘This is a hospital, Mrs Kinski. Sorry, Kaminski.’

‘It’s the way to Poland.’

‘You’re confused. You’ve had a nasty turn.’

‘He hung himself in the boiler room. He hung himself by the legs of his boiler suit. He went to Poland. He went to join his father.’

‘I’m getting confused, Mrs Kaminski.’

‘You said I was confused, dear.’

‘What did your husband do?’

‘He was a pilot. He went to Poland. 1944.’

‘He flew there?’

‘He flew into the English Channel. Haven’t you heard of all the Polish pilots? There were lots of them. They came over here. They shot down Germans for us.’

‘So your husband was from Poland.’

‘Lodz.’

‘Lots?’

‘The white cliffs.’

‘The white cliffs?’

‘The white cliffs of Dover. The English Channel. They never found him. Little Teddy was born after. He never knew his dad. But he’ll know him now, he’ll have known him for a long time. They’ll be getting ready to see me. You must tell them where I am. It’s been such a long time. It will be so lovely.’

‘I’ll take that blood now. It won’t hurt. I’ll just dab your arm.’

‘Pour it down the sink, dear, when you’ve finished. Down the sinkski.’

‘What was your husband’s name?’

‘Ted. He was Teddy too. I had to call little Teddy by his dad’s name, didn’t I? But his real name was Tadeusz. It’s a Polish name.’

‘Tadeusz.’

‘Tadeusz. Ted’s easier. Ted Kaminski. My two Teds, they’ll be here somewhere. Do you speak Polish?’

‘So you have no relatives, Nora? No living relatives we can inform?’

‘We’ll all be together. If you just run along and find them for me, when you’ve finished with that blood.’

‘We have to do some tests.’

‘He flew into the drinkski.’

‘Mrs Kaminski—’

‘It was a flying bomb, dear. It wasn’t the Battle of Britain. He got through all that. Do you remember the Battle of Britain?’

‘I’m twenty-five. I wasn’t born.’

‘Nor was little Teddy. You’d like little Teddy. I can see it, you and him. But I was the lucky one, I had his father. Not for long. Tadeusz Kaminski. He flew into the Channel. I married a Pole. I didn’t mind at all. The Germans invaded Poland. And we’ll all be in Poland soon, we’ll all be together.’

‘This is England, Mrs Kaminski. It’s Tooting.’

‘A flying bomb. He shot it down. He blew it up, then he flew into the sea. That’s what they told me. But it doesn’t matter now. We’ll all be together.’

‘Nora—’

‘They were coming over by the hundreds, nasty buzzy buzz bombs. It was worse than the Blitz. Nothing you could do, except not be under one. Fifty, a hundred people gone in a flash. If they landed on a school. Or a hospital.’

‘Mrs Kaminski—’

‘Just think about it, dear, just thinkski. If one of them dropped right now on this hospital. I know it’s a hospital. You must have a boiler room somewhere. But I’m not here for long, I’m on my way to Poland. Just imagine. If one of them drops we’ll all be gone. You, me, doctors, nurses, all gone in a flash.’