Thir wis monie o thaim efter the war. Teachin in the schuils, the yins they caad ‘spinsters’, weemen o uncertain age, leevin their life day efter day wi nae evident pleisurs or companions. They mebbe gaed tae the kirk on a Sunday, or juist hame at the end o a schuil day, bidin there till the neist yin.
Why sae monie? Some hud lost sweetherts in the war, some hud tae remain single acause the nation didnae want mairit weemen in the professions avaa – jobs that wis supposed tae be fur the men returnin tae civie street. Fur ithers, mebbe a life wi’oot men suited thaim, but fowk didnae speak aboot yon in thae days, sic an inclination bein aginst the naitural order o things.
Miss McG wis a spinster. We wis petrified o her. Takkin the schuil lines in the mornin, a soor-ploom face and a reputation tae gan wi it. The thing wis, she'd aye been gien the ‘B’ cless – the dimwits (as it wis thocht in thae unenlichtent times). The ‘A’ cless wis the preserve o the main maister, Mr J. And that wis the cless we wis in.
Then, in oor last term in P7 cam a miracle, un unco thing, a ferlie. The maister wis taen awaa, secondment fur somethin, naebody said whit – mebbe fur dryin oot? Onyweys we wis laundit wi Miss McG. Oh the horror o it!
And whit wis mair o a miracle, she wis lovely. We kent she hud been in a Japanese prisoner o war camp durin the war. Dinnae get me wrang, she wis nae saint. She cuidnae resist some mentions o ‘little yellow men’ in a tone o bitter, fu-oan sarcasm. A think we neither approved or disapproved o yon. In oor ain wey we understuid.
Yon term wis grand, the caum afore gaun tae saicondary schuil. Nae tawse, nae haurd wuirds tae onybody. And yin time she invitit me and a pal roon tae her hoose in the evenin fur tea and scones. Wee teacher’s pets? Aye, nae doot, but we enjyed the food and the talk, and A jalouse, she did and aa.
Whit A think is this: It wuid be easy tae streen a poignancy oot o her; that she wis a lanely sowl, a bodie tae be peetied. But yon’s no the wey A see it. She wis a survivor – aye, and a camp survivor – and she got oot o life whit she cuid. She wis a plant that juist needit a bit o licht tae blossom noo and then. We leeve and then we dinnae leeve, but in-atween guid things come tae us, wi a bit o luck and a readiness tae accaipt thaim.
And A’m gled, fur juist yon pairt o yon year, tae hae kent her.