George waited outside the church for his mum to arrive. Guests had arrived and filled the church. He’d been surprised at how calm Albert appeared, and had left the man standing in the front by the altar, waiting for his bride. He knew that when his mum had married his dad, it had been in a register office, but this time Albert had insisted on a church wedding. He was pleased Lena had chosen this church to marry in. He’d been christened here years earlier, and it was a different church from the one where Tommy’s funeral had been held.

The highly polished grey Austin car pulled up, and George watched as his mother climbed out. He had never seen her looking so glamorous and regal, her smile warm as he walked to her side. Sarah followed his mother. The sight of them looking so glamorous almost took his breath away. He wished it was Sarah in the bridal gown and he was the groom, but he knew his dreams were unattainable.

‘I’m so proud of you, Mum. You look beautiful and Albert’s a very lucky man.’

‘Stop it, you’ll have me in tears and I don’t want to smudge my make-up,’ Lena said with a nervous giggle.

‘Right, let’s do this,’ George said, and indicated to one of the ushers to open the church doors. The organ began to play the ‘Bridal March’, and George proudly walked down the aisle with his mum on his arm, and Sarah behind.

The service went well, with Lena and Albert repeating their vows flawlessly. George looked around and spotted a few tears of joy, then his eyes set on Sarah. She must have felt someone staring at her and turned to look at him, offering the sweetest smile. His heart leaped. He was dating Julie now, but he didn’t think he’d ever stop loving Sarah.

Everything had passed without a hitch, and now, as the car turned into her street, Lena was bowled over by the sight of the long tables and chairs, the bunting and the pretty decorations that lined the road. All her neighbours were ready to greet her, and as she climbed from the car, a loud cheer went up.

‘I present to you Mr and Mrs Bosco,’ a booming voice shouted.

‘Thank you, each and every one of you,’ Albert said. ‘This has made our day perfect. Now, let’s eat, drink and be merry!’

Lena thought it was out of character for Albert to be so loud and extroverted, but maybe, like her, he’d had a couple of drinks to calm his nerves. He’d been so generous with the street party, ordering barrels of beer, with sherry for the ladies, and many of the neighbours had chipped in with home-made cakes, sausage rolls and sandwiches.