The following couple of nights were less eventful. After Alice managed to calm Mel down – as well as Mrs. Thingtom for that matter – everybody went to bed. But not before Mrs. Thingtom did her usual rounds around the hotel to see whether there were any irregularities like people arguing or babies crying uncontrollably. She liked to keep a tight grip on things. “Nothing will ruin the good name of The Willow, I’ve worked too hard to make it what it is”, she often thought to herself, and also said in front of the mirror each morning, which is how I first heard it. A nice sentiment at its core but somehow coming from her, it sounded slightly menacing and even frightening, especially considering the fired-up expression in her eyes and the straight, wrinkled-yet-not-too-old face that the mirror reflected back at her each time.

It was that exact expression that sent chills down Alice’s back each time she thought about what Mrs. Thingtom would say if she’d only known the truth… Because she was right, there was no husband. Alice was just trying to save some time until she found someone to help her but not knowing too many people, didn’t exactly help. And considering the prejudice around single mothers, finding someone who would cover for her would prove even more difficult.

She thought about being honest with Mrs. Thingtom when she first met her; appealing to her good sense, from one woman to another, and potentially mother to mother, but she quickly realized that was a bad idea when the polite smile on Mrs. Thingtom’s face, was quickly replaced by a soulless, even hateful expression when she mentioned a former visitor, a woman who… became pregnant out of wedlock. She had no choice but to throw her out, she explained, since “The Willow is a respectable place”. This was followed by a pause and uncomfortably piercing eye contact. Alice had to quickly agree since it was clearly a test she needed to pass before even seeing a room key.

On the third day since she became a person of interest for Mrs. Thingtom following Mel’s nocturnal cry, Alice knew she had to do something about the mysterious husband. She couldn’t just tell her what actually happened. Or could she? No no. Should she speak with Mr. Livingston? He’s already done so much, so why drag him into this mess…

These thoughts and a million more were flying through her mind while she was out with Mel buying some groceries down the street. She was lucky enough to find a job as a secretary after Mr. Livingston, a very jolly and warm man close to retirement, found her crying in Central Station with Mel in her arms, just as she got off the train that brought her from the hell that was her life. It helped that she had experience, was articulate, and seemed dependable.

He worked as a clerk in a mail office where the apprentice that helped around with small admin tasks had just quit the day before. It wasn’t much, she only worked four hours a day, for three days a week but it saved her life and restored her hope in mankind. During those three days, Mrs. Thingtom’s niece Anna helped out with Mel since she loved children and her husband wouldn’t allow her to work, nor could she be pregnant with their own children just yet.

Indeed she had met lovely people in this town and that always put a smile on her face, even as she was pointing at which bits of the meat she wanted taken out while the butcher was looking reluctant like he was thinking “What does this broad know about meat?”. Not the father though. The owner, Frank Camaruggio, and butcher’s father was an older man but with less attitude than the son, and more wisdom in his eyes. He recognized the sadness and fear in Alice’s face. They had become friends since she arrived on Willow Street and while Alice was always friendly towards him and never rushed their brief encounters, he secretly wished for more time with her. A thought he only recognized to himself once she made an ambiguous comment about Mel’s father, implying he didn’t come back from the war.

Today he saw a window crack. She was visibly preoccupied with something. Her forehead was ever-so-slightly tense, her nose had subtle wrinkles like she was about to say something or yell it out. Her eyes were smaller like she was focused or worried. She needed to talk to a friend. This might have been his only chance for a more meaningful conversation. He didn’t hesitate:

“Mrs. Alice, while Tony prepares your meat, can I interest you in some fresh coffee? I just made some and it’s such a nice day today, I’m sure Mel would love to be in the sun rather than here.”

“Mr. Camaruggio…” She drew breath in, preparing to gently refuse his kind offer, but then… Her shoulders went down by a few millimeters. Almost invisible to the human eye but plain as daylight to Frank. It was as if her body relaxed and let go of whatever posture she felt she needed to have. “I’d love some coffee”.

“Wonderful. I’ve already poured both our coffees.” He smiled and turned to get them. “Meet me outside”.

The second she stepped outside pushing the baby carriage, and felt the sun on her face, she knew something good was about to happen. It was impossible to be gloomy on such a day.

Frank soon followed and they sat down at the small table placed outside the butcher’s place in the corner, where the employees would sit on the cigarette break. They spoke about the city, the weather, and Mel’s newfound love for a blanket that Anna gave him. In between stories, Frank said:

“Mrs. Alice, I hope my comment doesn’t offend you but you seem… worried about something today. Care to share the burden with a friend? While I’m clearly very young, but I’ve seen a lot in my time and I never judge people. We all have a reason to do what we do.” She smiled and looked down in her lap where her hands were close together, while he smiled facing her. They both knew he was very well over fifty.

“Oh it’s… nothing. I’m just tired. Mel’s going through this…” He stopped her.

“Mrs. Alice… It’s ok to be upset. I promise you’ll feel better once you talk about it.”

“Mr. Camaruggio… Mrs. Thingtom from the Willow needs my husband to settle my bill, and while I have part of the money… I… Don’t have a… husband. She’ll throw us out when she finds out and there’s nowhere we can go.” She said and looked away, chin trembling.

“Mrs. Alice…” He said and smiled at her calmingly. “Yes, you do. I’d be happy and honoured to pretend to be your husband. We’ll say we kept it a secret because of the age difference but that we married in secret a while back. It’ll be implied that was after Mel was born, so she’ll know the mystery comes from there and won’t think to dig deeper. We don’t need a perfect story, just enough details to make it believable. That is if you wouldn’t mind the thought of presenting me as your husband.”

“I…” She said and smiled at him, tilting her head affectionately. “You’d do that for us?”.

“Of course, I’d be happy to lend you the money as well. I have a lot of strong women in my family but they all needed some help at some point and they were lucky enough to find good people along the way. It would make them very proud to know I helped you.”

“Thank you…”

“Then we should start by you calling me Frank.”

They both smiled. Alice felt things turning around for her… It couldn’t have been further from the truth.