They stood at the side, looking across at the changing cubicles, and tried to talk, though it was difficult over the noise. Katie kept seeing her friend Pat’s blonde head in the crowd, dancing with a huge, stocky bloke she’d met that evening. Once they danced past quite close, and Pat gave Katie a cheeky grin and a wink.

Terence told her he worked at the Austin. They got on well that evening, and as they were leaving, he asked if Katie would like to go out with him again. Shyly she agreed, though with misgivings as to how she was going to explain this to her mother. Vera was so fiercely over-protective that she didn’t like Katie doing anything.

‘Who was he?’ Pat asked as they left the dance hall. ‘He looked nice – all puppy-eyes!’

‘He’s called Terence Flowers,’ Katie said.

Pat snorted. ‘Good job his first name’s not Colin – Collie Flowers, get it?’

‘Ha-ha,’ Katie said. ‘Anyway, what about that hulk you were dancing with?’

‘Oh . . .’ Pat wrinkled her nose. ‘I shan’t see him again – he smelt terrible.’

Katie laughed. ‘Well, I s’pose that’s as good a reason as any!’

It was difficult going about in the blackout, but she did see Terence a couple more times. One evening they went out to the Alhambra Cinema on the Moseley Road. Katie loved going to the pictures and the Alhambra was very exotic, with a big glass bowl lit up against a blue ceiling to look like the sun, and pretty-coloured tiles. They watched a funny film called The Man Who Came to Dinner and she found herself laughing as much at Terence’s infectious chuckles as at the film itself. She came out of the Alhambra feeling very fond of him.

Another night they even went over to Selly Oak and met his mom, a nice, welcoming lady from whom Terence had clearly inherited his brown eyes and dark arched brows. They sat and drank cocoa together and chatted, until Katie was horrified to realize how late it was.

‘Oh, my word!’ she leapt to her feet, heart thudding. ‘I must get home. My mom’ll be having a fit!’

‘Don’t worry,’ Terence said, seeming puzzled. ‘It’s only just gone nine. I’ll see you home.’

It took them quite a while to get from Selly Oak to Sparkhill. The bus across from the Bristol Road was running late and, standing in the dark Edgbaston street, Katie found she was getting more and more wound up. She could never relax, where Vera was concerned.

‘I’m not half going to get it in the neck when I get home,’ she said miserably.

‘It can’t be that bad, surely,’ Terence said. ‘Here, I’ll come in and explain that we were at mine and we forgot the time.’

‘Don’t you think I can manage to explain that for myself?’ Katie snapped sharply. She was immediately ashamed. ‘I’m sorry, Terence – but the last thing you must do is come in. You don’t know my mother. She gets herself in a right state.’