‘Maybe, I hadn’t thought of that. To be honest, I don’t really want to go to the fair with George tonight, but I couldn’t think of an excuse to get out of it and I didn’t want to let Tommy down. I just hope I haven’t given him, or Roger, the impression that it’s a date.’

‘No, I wouldn’t have thought so, especially as you’ll have Tommy with you.’

They walked to the Junction with a few stops now and then to admire goods displayed in shop windows. It had been a long time since Mo had felt so carefree, and wasn’t preoccupied with looking over her shoulder for one of her brothers or her dad.

They bumped into Tommy’s friend Larry and his mum, and after several pleas from the boys, Sarah allowed Tommy to go off with them. She watched them leave and then said to Mo, ‘Fancy a tea and bun in Arding and Hobbs?’

Mo hesitated, but then said, ‘I’m not ready for fish and chips, so yeah, that sounds like a good idea.’

The large department store stood grandly on the corner of the Junction, and apart from the bargain basement, it wasn’t a shop Mo would normally frequent. Her only concern was that she knew her brother often visited the store on a Saturday to buy a record from the music department and as they walked towards the entrance, she looked around her nervously.

‘Now it’s my turn to ask you if you’re all right?’ Sarah asked.

Mo thought she’d hidden her worry well, but Sarah must have seen through her act. ‘You can read me like a book,’ she answered and tutted. ‘Yes, I’m OK, just a bit nervous in case I see one of my family. I’m sick of hiding away and being cooped up in that room, especially with Sam working. It’s great to be out and about, and I shouldn’t let them get to me and spoil my fun.’

‘Surely they wouldn’t make a scene in front of me and in such a public place?’