Sarah didn’t argue and quickly drank the second glass as Lena said, ‘I know it doesn’t seem the right thing to say, but the weather is good. The day I buried your father, George, do you remember? It was chucking it down, bloody awful it was. Tommy was a little ray of sunshine, so it’s appropriate that the sun is out to see him off today.’

‘Well said,’ Albert commented.

‘Thanks, George. I think the brandy has helped to dull the pain,’ Sarah croaked.

‘That’s good. I’m glad.’

‘Sarah, love,’ said Lena. ‘I know you’re hurting, and you will for some time yet, but this time next year, things will seem a little better.’

‘I’ve been trying to stay positive for Tommy but it’s so difficult. I keep thinking of all the bereaved mothers who come in the shop. They buried their sons and husbands during the war, but the way they’ve got on with their lives is an inspiration to me, and so are you, Lena.’

‘That’s the spirit, love, every time it hurts, let it hurt. Let it hurt ’til you can’t cry no more. That pain will never go away, but in time you’ll find yourself going for longer and longer periods of just living and doing day-to-day stuff.’

‘Yes, I’ve been told that time heals, but it doesn’t feel like it at the moment,’ Sarah said sadly.

‘One day you’ll find you can put a sticky plaster over the wound, but there are times when it will still weep. When the plaster falls off, you’ll feel the pain again, but yes, with time it will become easier,’ Lena said. She saw George discreetly wipe a tear from his eye, and Albert bowed his head. As for Sarah, Lena was impressed at how brave the girl was being. She knew it wouldn’t last though. When the hearse arrived and she saw the coffin, she was bound to break down. Lena remembered how difficult it had been for her to walk out of the house when the hearse was waiting outside with her husband in it. She was sure that’s when it would hit Sarah, and when it did, they’d all just have to be there for her and hold her up if she threatened to fall.

The hearse pulled up outside. George had struggled to get Sarah out of the door, but she’d eventually relented. One look at the small white coffin though, and her legs went from under her. It was agonising to see, but they managed to get her into the car, where they followed Tommy on his final journey. As though her emotions were frozen, Sarah sat woodenly, staring ahead, while Lena quietly dabbed her eyes.