The day wore on, and it was almost six o’clock when, at last, he saw the familiar rolling hills, the chalk cliffs and the sea. He leaned out of the window as far as he dared as the train slowly chugged into Cliffehaven Halt, and breathed a sigh of relief as it came to a stop.

Grabbing his bags, he jumped down, and through the steam saw a blur of blue rushing towards him.

‘Jim! Oh, Jim!’ Peggy cried, throwing herself into his arms.

Jim dropped the bags, catching her just in time to hold her close. He lifted her from her feet and kissed the very breath from her until he realised they had a laughing, cheering audience. The pair of them giggling and blushing like school children, he set Peggy back onto her feet and grasped her hand, almost afraid to let go of her now she was by his side again.

‘Welcome home, Jim,’ shouted Stan above the cheers of the disembarking passengers.

‘Thanks, Stan. It’s good to be back.’ He nodded and grinned in acknowledgement of the welcoming smiles of the other passengers, and slipped his arm around Peggy’s narrow waist. He bent low to whisper in her ear, ‘I didn’t realise there’d be a welcoming committee.’

‘Of course there is,’ she murmured back, her love for him lighting up her eyes. ‘But you wait until you get home, Jim. Bob and Cissy are both waiting for you with all the others.’

Jim shook Stan’s hand, grabbed his bags and walked with Peggy out of the station, which he noted had changed beyond recognition since he’d left. ‘Good to see you’ve got the old car going again,’ he said, dumping the bags into the boot and settling happily into the passenger seat.

Peggy cupped his face and kissed him softly. ‘Welcome home, my love, my darling man. I’ve missed you more than words can say.’

He hugged her to him, noting how small and delicate she’d become, but how radiant and beautiful she was. ‘I’ve dreamed of this day for so long, I can hardly believe it’s real,’ he murmured against her lips. Then he sat back and grinned. ‘Let’s get home, Peg. I can’t wait to see everyone – especially Daisy and my boys.’

Peggy drove down the High Street pointing out the new Woolworths, W.H. Smith, Boots the chemist and bingo hall which now filled the site of the old Odeon Cinema where Jim had worked before the war. Jim noted that the ancient Mermaid Inn was gone, and an ugly three-storey block of flats was going up in its place, but the Crown was still there, looking very smart in its fresh coat of paint – and Gloria was her usual flamboyant self as she waved an enthusiastic welcome from the doorstep.

He returned her wave, and as Peggy turned into Camden Road, he felt a shiver of pleasurable anticipation as they passed the new school and the Anchor pub. He was almost home.