She swallowed the lump in her throat as she looked down at the dark-eyed man who was laughing back at her from that frozen moment by the harbour. She could remember that day so well. They’d been young and in love, with the whole of their lives stretching before them, their dreams and hopes within touching distance as they’d celebrated his veterinary degree. He’d asked her to marry him that evening, and she’d been so happy she’d burst into tears and couldn’t speak for ages.

She gave a soft smile as she remembered how Adam had understood and taken her in his arms, holding her until she could accept his proposal and tell him how very much she loved him. ‘I miss him just as much as you do,’ she murmured.

Danny shifted on the bed until he was leaning against her arm, his head resting on her shoulder. ‘It’s all right, Mum,’ he murmured. ‘He’ll be back soon and then you—’

‘No, Danny,’ she said firmly as she tilted his chin up to look him in the eyes. ‘Daddy was killed in Malaya.’

‘No, he wasn’t,’ he protested, trying to squirm away from her. ‘He’ll come back, I know he will.’

She held him tightly, willing him to understand and accept. ‘Danny, he won’t,’ she said evenly, her heart aching for the pain and the futile hope he was clinging to. ‘And deep down you know it’s true, because I’ve told you how he died, and I would never lie to you.’

‘That’s what you say,’ he muttered as he squirmed away. ‘But Dad promised me he’d come back – and a promise is forever. You said so.’

‘Sometimes we make promises that are impossible to keep,’ she replied softly, drawing him to her again. ‘Daddy wanted to come home, but in a war things happen that we can’t control.’ She reached into the box and pulled out a letter. ‘You’ve seen this from his commanding officer, and there is absolutely no doubt that your daddy was killed. One day, when things settle down and we can afford to make the journey, we’ll go to Malaya and see the place where he and all those who died with him are buried.’

Danny shook his head furiously as he scrambled away from her. ‘I’ve seen the ships arriving in Brisbane, and there are still hundreds of men coming home from Thailand, Burma, Malaya and Singapore. Our teacher showed us the newspapers, and they say that lots of those men were supposed to be dead, but they were alive all the time and no one knew – not even their families.’

Becky silently cursed the teacher for perpetuating this awful obsession that seemed to have Danny in its thrall. ‘Darling, I know how much you want your daddy to come home – but it’s just not possible, and you have to accept that.’