Molly had caught a glimpse of Ruth’s long, pale face and dark hair behind the glass as the train pulled in, and it made her even more jittery. She’d already had a nip of her secret supply of the hard stuff to ease her butterflies. Ruth Chambers, whom she had known in the ATS, was coming to stay for three days – they were like chalk and cheese. Writing letters was one thing, but what on earth was she going to say to her?

But seeing Ruth here, Molly felt a sudden great rush of fondness for her. She was in civvies of course, some rather sludgy-coloured slacks and a short-sleeved white blouse, her long hair tied back in a schoolgirlish pony-tail, just as she always had, and giving her buck-toothed smile. For a second the two of them stood in front of each other, uncertainly, then Ruth held out her arms and they embraced.

‘Well, well,’ Molly joked to cover her nerves. ‘Fancy seeing you!’

Ruth pulled back with a grin, picking up her case. ‘It’s so nice to see you, Molly.’

She looked closely into Molly’s face and seemed about to say something, but held back. As they moved towards the exit Molly said, ‘So – back here in Clacton.’

‘I know,’ Ruth said, excited. ‘It feels so strange. I suppose you’ve got used to it, but I’ve never seen it except with the army all over it.’

Molly smiled at hearing Ruth’s distinctive voice, well spoken and somehow always sounding rather strangulated, as if her throat was tight. But it was truly lovely to see her – one of the people she had shared that intense time of her life in the army with, which she could not talk about with anyone else.

‘It’s still quite busy,’ Molly said. ‘There’s a lot down here on holiday. Our place isn’t the most popular, not being on the main parade . . .’

‘And they do sound a bit sent,’ Ruth said.

‘Sent – how d’yer mean?’

‘You know, overly religious. It’s not what everyone wants, especially if they’re on holiday.’ Ruth was only religious in a reserved, Church of England way.

‘You’re telling me!’ Molly laughed. ‘And they have to put up with my singing. It’s really embarrassing at times. But I suppose you have to hand it to him – it takes some guts. And some people seem to come back specially to hear ’im!’

‘Well,’ Ruth said drily. ‘I can hardly wait.’

They had reserved a single room for Ruth on the second floor, as she had come as a normal paying guest.

‘Oh my goodness,’ she said, seeing the small, simple room. ‘It’s our billets all over again, isn’t it?’

Having her there helped Molly feel that same sense of adventure again, of the army, of moving from place to place, with a purpose, a real job to do. It was as if, in those seconds, they could recapture that.

‘You’ll want the window open,’ Molly said, wrestling with the stiff catch. ‘The cooking smells come up, and it gets stuffy. When you’re ready we’ll go and get you a cup of tea.’