‘Hate to disappoint you but I’m not. I live in Virginia when I’m not at sea. My folks are on the Chesapeake. What we call the Northern Neck, little town called Kilmarnock.’

‘Northern Neck,’ I said, mimicking the way he’d said it. ‘VurGINyuh.’

‘Are you making fun of me?’

‘No—I’m just trying to say it right, so people can understand me.’

Jim grinned, scratching his cheek beneath the ear. I could see that he hadn’t had a chance to shave since he boarded the train and there were little flecks of black stubble on his skin. It would feel like rough sandpaper, like a cat’s tongue.

I shook the thought out of my head and stared back out at the wheatfields. ‘I’ve never seen such flatness.’

‘You ought to keep your accent,’ he said, ignoring my last comment. ‘It’s nicer than ours. We’re all hard r’s and swallowed g’s. It sounds like music when you talk.’

‘What else is in Virginia?’ I didn’t bother saying it their way this time. It was easier to speak when I didn’t have to think about every word.

‘Geographically speaking? Mountains and rivers, farms, cities and such?’

‘No, for you. Are you staying in the navy or have you got another job?’

Jim looked at me now; he’d been staring out at the fields too. His eyes were soft, velvety around the pupil, flecked with strands of gold. ‘How about I tell you over lunch? The dining car’s about to open and it’s first in, first served. Being back on solid ground makes me hungry.’

I suppose I felt fine sitting to eat with Jim because he was the only person I knew from the Mariposa; all the others were strangers. Jim knew about Jack, I didn’t have to explain myself to him. I could just sit and listen to him talk about his family and his home town and his boats and his high school girlfriend who’d married someone else while he was off at war. I cleaned my bowl of soup and ate a sandwich that looked unappetising but tasted divine, layered with crisp bacon and tomato, lettuce and mayonnaise.

‘What’s this sandwich called? It’s the best thing I’ve tasted in weeks.’

‘You mean you’ve never had a BLT?’

‘A what?’

‘Bacon, lettuce and tomato. You Aussies are strange. I couldn’t stand your bacon, all soggy and pink. We never eat bacon if it isn’t crisp. And this is the best way to eat it, right here. Soft bread, juicy tomato, crunchy lettuce and mayonnaise.’

‘You’re on to something. The combination is delicious.’