He wasn’t really surprised, for the war in Europe had now been over for a whole year, and his commanding officer had warned all the men that the war in the Far East had been so distant, it had been out of sight and was now mostly out of mind. It was galling to Jim to realise that all that blood, sweat and loss had already faded from memory, but then you had to be there to know what it was like and to appreciate the brutal cost so many men had paid.

He followed the others down the ramp and walked through the vast sheds that housed customs and immigration. He paused to have his passport stamped, nodded his thanks to the official who gruffly welcomed him home, and stepped outside. The sun was finally breaking through the mist, and it looked as if it was going to be a beautiful day.

Jim hitched up his kitbag, gripped the holdall and headed for the station. If all went as planned, he’d be home for tea.

Peggy hadn’t been able to sleep, for she was too excited, and her mind too active with all the things she wanted to do to make Jim’s homecoming special. It wasn’t quite dawn when she finally climbed out of bed, impatient to be getting on with her day. Daisy had crawled in with her around midnight, as she often did when she knew there was something exciting afoot, and was now curled up fast asleep.

Peggy left her there, closed the door softly and went into the bathroom to prepare for the day. She would have a strip-wash now, she decided, and then just before she went to the hairdresser’s, she’d treat herself to a lovely bath with the scented oil Jim had sent from Singapore. Her new underwear was folded within tissue paper in a drawer, and her lovely blue dress and bolero was hanging up in the wardrobe, all ready to step into nearer the time. She wasn’t absolutely sure when Jim would arrive in Cliffehaven, but if the ship came in early, it would probably be around six this evening.

She was grinning with happiness as she went downstairs to put the kettle on and check that she had everything ready for tonight’s dinner. Ruby, Danuta and Charlie had helped her and Cordelia dress the dining room; Ron had rigged up bunting and balloons out the front to welcome him home, and she’d gone through the house yesterday like a dose of salts making sure everything was spotless so he’d approve of all her changes.

She hugged her delight to herself, for Solly had given her two weeks off work, and it felt as if half of Cliffehaven wanted to ensure that Jim’s homecoming was as welcoming as possible. Alf the butcher had kept a leg of lamb aside for her; Fred the Fish had supplied some lovely smoked salmon for starters; Sam the greengrocer had sold her cabbages, potatoes and carrots at half price, and Julie had insisted she paid nothing for her hairdo and manicure today.