She reluctantly stripped off the apron and followed him out of the surgery, waiting on the heavily screened veranda while he fetched his jacket and locked the door. It was only mid-afternoon, but the clouds were thick and black, the half-light eerie.

‘It looks a bit fierce out there,’ he said as he came to stand beside her and they looked out to the street. ‘But this is nothing compared to some of the dry storms I’ve seen.’

Her expression was grim as she took in the dust which was being spun into willy-willies – tiny whirlwinds – that twisted down the wide dirt track and deposited heaps of sand on every surface. ‘And you expect me to walk out in that?’

‘It might sting a bit, but you’ll be right if you wear my jacket.’ He helped her into it and kissed the tip of her nose before tugging her hat well over her eyes and taking her hand. ‘Hold on tight, keep your head down and think of it as an adventure.’

They clattered through the outer screen door and were immediately buffeted by the hot wind and the stinging grains of sand that came with it. Sandra clung to his side and battled to keep her hat on as they were virtually pushed down the street. Terence held her close. It was hardly the most romantic of outings, but as Sandra, stumbling alongside him, actually burst out laughing, he revelled in this all too rare moment of intimacy.

The road train was parked outside the general store. The old army truck was high off the ground on enormous wheels, the three vast metal trailers strung behind it, each covered in dusty weathered tarpaulin. The driver and his offsider were sitting at leisure on the bench that stood outside the general store in the lee of large canvas blinds that had been pulled down to shield the boardwalk from the worst of the wind.

‘That’s Jim and Frank,’ said Terence as they drew near. ‘They’ve been on this run since I was a kid.’

‘They certainly look ancient enough,’ she muttered in reply.

He was about to protest when he saw the gleam in her eye that made his heart miss a beat. She was teasing him – and she hadn’t done that since before the war. He grinned back at her and led her through the gathering on the boardwalk. He knew everyone there, but this was no time to stand and talk, for Frank was holding court while Jim sat in morose silence and watched the willy-willies spiralling down the street.