Olivia glanced around the sea of male faces. She had told Maude that she didn’t wish to dance with any of the men because she feared they would make fun of her weight, which was partly true, but the main reason was because of what had happened the last time she had said ‘yes’ to a member of the opposite sex.

The two women spent the entire evening dancing together, and Olivia could hardly believe her eyes when she looked at the clock above the door. ‘The time’s flown by.’

Maude jerked her head towards the table which they were using for respite whenever they needed a break. ‘Shall we call it a night?’

Olivia nodded. ‘Rather! My feet are killing me, although I’ve had a wonderful time. Thanks for persuading me to come, Maude, I’ve really enjoyed myself.’

Maude performed a mock curtsey. ‘You’re welcome. I told you you’d soon get back into the swing of things.’

‘And you were right!’ said Olivia as she sipped the last of her lemonade. ‘Dancing’s thirsty work.’

Nodding, Maude slipped her foot out of her shoe and rubbed her toes. ‘Painful, too!’

Olivia grimaced. ‘Sorry about that …’ She was about to continue when she found herself being interrupted by a man in a corporal’s uniform. She looked up at him. ‘Can I help you?’

He held out a hand. ‘Would you like to dance?’

Olivia looked at Maude, who was pulling encouraging faces. Whether it was the euphoria of the dance which had caused her better judgement to temporarily lapse, Olivia could not say, but to her surprise she found herself taking the man’s hand.

Smiling, the airman led her on to the dance floor. Placing his arm around her waist, he turned to face a group of young airmen, all of whom were grinning at him as though he had just made a hilarious joke. He turned his attention back to Olivia, a grin matching those of his friends etched on his face. In that moment, Olivia knew exactly why they were behaving in such a manner. Not prepared to be the butt of their joke, she tried to push him away, but he held on to her firmly and turned back to his friends. ‘There’s certainly plenty to hold on to!’ he said, much to their delight. One of them called back, ‘Oi, Tony, what are you and Celeste going to call your first kid? Babar?’

Laughing fit to burst, the airman tightened his grip as Olivia squirmed in his arms. ‘Come on, love, give us a kiss.’ Burning with humiliation, Olivia brought her hand back and slapped him hard across the face, instantly quelling his mirth. Holding a hand to his cheek, he returned to his pals, who were now reeling with laughter at the sight of their friend.

Hot tears of humiliation flowing down her cheeks, Olivia left the NAAFI without waiting for Maude.