What did it matter if she didn’t have a dad, especially one like Ron Lyons! She and Tommy had each other, and for Sarah that was enough. She began walking again, only now she was prouder than ever, and soon she’d be working and would be able to give Tommy all the things she’d missed out on.

Especially love, Sarah thought. Yes, especially love.

Chapter 21

‘George, stop fussing about like an old mother hen and relax, will you. It’s only Sarah coming for tea, not the Queen Mother,’ Lena said as she stood over the gas stove, poking a knife into some potatoes on the boil.

‘Yeah, I know, Mum. I was just having a bit of a tidy up,’ George replied as he scanned the kitchen.

‘You cheeky bugger! Are you trying to imply that my house ain’t clean enough?’

George laughed. ‘No, of course not,’ he said, and walked across the room to kiss his mother on the cheek. He checked the clock on the kitchen wall. Sarah would be here any moment.

‘George, do me a favour, love, and plump the cushions on the sofa. Anything to get you out from under my feet.’

George walked into the front room but instead of plumping the cushions, he stood in front of the green-tiled mantel and stared at his reflection in the mirror hanging above the hearth. Who was he trying to kid, he thought to himself. His scars covered most of his face. His bottom lip was swollen, and part of his ear had burned away. He only had patches of brown hair on his damaged scalp, and his nose was almost flat to his face because of the scar tissue. His skin felt tight, and though he rubbed in creams every day, it still caused him discomfort. Sarah would never want to be with him. If she did, it would be like Beauty and the Beast – and that, though the story was fantasy, gave him hope.

George heard a knock at the door, and his mother call out, ‘Can you get that, George?’

He opened the door, and Tommy immediately threw his arms around his legs. ‘I’ve done you a painting, George. Mum’s got it. I’m at school now.’