Cynthia laughed. ‘Yes, it was a good day. Dot looked happy – she and Lou suit each other, they really do.’

‘Our Joyce’ll be next,’ Em said. ‘She’s a proper one for the boys, but she’s been knocking around with Larry for a long time now . . . Hang on’ – she cocked her head – ‘that’s Robbie calling me, isn’t it? Back in a sec.’

She reappeared with a very feverish-looking little lad in her arms. Hot and half asleep, he cuddled up against her, hardly seeming to notice that Molly was there. Em stroked his head.

‘Hello, Robbie,’ Molly said. ‘Oh, he does look poorly. His hair’s lighter than I remember, Em – more like yours?’

‘Yes, I think it is a bit,’ Em said, attentive to every tiny detail about her son. ‘Course Norm and I are about the same, colour-wise. Come on, Robbie – have a sip of water before you go off to sleep again.’ She looked up at Molly. ‘He starts school in a few months – you wouldn’t believe it, would you?’

‘Where’s Norm now?’ Molly asked. ‘Any sign of him coming home?’

Em shrugged. ‘I hope so. But I don’t know – they don’t tell you, do they?’

‘D’you need a bed tonight, Molly?’ Cynthia asked.

‘Yes, please – if that’s all right,’ Molly said. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t warn you I was coming.’

‘Well, you couldn’t have done, could you? Don’t be daft – it’s nice to see you.’ Cynthia looked concerned. ‘Are you going to look for a job then, Molly? Settle down?’

‘I don’t know,’ Molly said bleakly. ‘To tell you the honest truth, I’ve got no idea.’

It was nice to be there, she thought, lying in Sid’s old bed that night. Good to see them all. Joyce was really grown-up now, at nineteen, quite sassy and full of it, and Violet, the babby who was fifteen, had grown into a very pretty girl, sweet like Em and quite studious, with more confidence than her older sister.

She had had some time to talk alone with Em, and Em had poured out her heart over Norm, how she knew he had been in Italy, how much she had longed to have him back, but that now the time was growing nearer – and she blushed confessing this, with a frankness that surprised Molly – she was also frightened of it, dreading it almost.

‘Sometimes I just long for him to be here and take me in his arms, and for us to be a proper married couple again. But then I worry that we shan’t have anything to say to each other and everything’ll have to change. I suppose we’ve got quite settled here now, into a routine, just Mom and me and Robbie. We’re all used to it. And Norm’s been away for so long – he might be quite different.’ She looked across at Molly helplessly. ‘All I can do is wait and see, isn’t it?’