When Lizzie felt strong enough to do so, she began flying missions on her own, as the nurse in charge. It forced her to focus. She missed flying with Ed, Pru, Charlie, and Reggie, but she was proud to have a crew of her own. She met up with Ed every day after work, and they either had dinner at the pub or the fish and chips shop. She needed him now just as she needed to breathe air. He infused her with his own strength. They were walking home from the pub one balmy night in late May, and when he kissed her, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. It felt to both of them as though it had happened before, and their being together was their destiny now. It didn’t surprise their friends either. From the moment Greg had died, Ed had become Lizzie’s source of strength and her protector.

They were walking back from the airstrip a few days later when he turned to her to make a suggestion. The idea had been gnawing at him for weeks, and he had talked to Pru about it. She liked the idea too, and told him to tell Lizzie. They talked about everything now: the future, the past, the present, their dreams, their worst fears. Without meaning to or trying, she had found her soulmate.

Audrey was happy for her. She was still dating the RAF pilot she had met a few months before. They weren’t in love with each other, and it wasn’t passionate or even physical, but they enjoyed each other’s company enough to have dinner or go to a movie every few weeks, when he had time off and she wasn’t busy. The other nurses teased her about it, but she didn’t mind. She would have liked to feel for Geoff what Lizzie did for Ed, but she didn’t. She and Geoff both wanted to see what life had in store for them when the war ended, and not get into anything too deeply before that. But they always had a nice time and good laugh when they went out. He had kissed her a few times after the movies, but bells hadn’t gone off in her head, and her heart didn’t pound.

“Maybe we’re just meant to be friends,” she said. He said it was a possibility. Neither of them wanted to make plans for the future, or stop seeing each other. What they had from time to time was enough for now, for both of them. It wasn’t romantic, but it was still fun. Lizzie was disappointed for her, and hoped she’d meet someone else.

The suggestion Ed made to Lizzie the month after Greg died took her by surprise.