‘And what about you?’ Kathy questioned Thomas, who was looking nowhere near as smart as he had when she’d left him at school that morning.

He beamed up at her as he picked his nose. Normally she would have told him off but just for today she decided she would let him get away with it. ‘Me an’ the other lads played football in the playground at break time.’ It was quite a novelty for Thomas to have boys his own age to play with and he intended to make the most of it.

‘Don’t worry, I kept my eye on ’em for you,’ Peggy informed her solemnly and Kathy gave her a grateful smile.

‘That was very kind of you, Peggy,’ she told her, and the child’s chest swelled with importance. As yet there had been nothing more from the welfare department but as Kathy had told Edith, ‘No news is good news!’ and now all they could do was keep their fingers crossed that Peggy would be allowed to stay. Somewhere along the line she had become very much a part of the family and they all adored her.

When they reached Treetops, Edith and Cissie were waiting for them with glasses of milk and little rock buns straight from the oven.

Sunday, who was sitting by the empty fireplace, watched them tuck in with a smile on her face, and said nostalgically to Kathy, ‘I don’t know, it doesn’t seem more than a minute since it was your first day at school. Make the most of every moment, darling, because before you know it, they’ll be grown and flown the nest.’

Kathy sighed as she thought of her mother’s words. As yet their true father had never even seen them and she doubted now that he ever would, so he would never know what he was missing. It was doubtful he even knew of their existence but suddenly it didn’t matter anymore. Had he intended to ever come back he surely would have long ago. She could accept the fact now because she realised that if only David could come through the war unscathed the twins would have the chance of growing up in a real family unit. Thoughts of David brought a smile to her face and she wished she had realised what a truly wonderful man he was years ago. Now all she could do was wait and pray that he would stay safe because she couldn’t picture her future without him.

Chapter Forty-Two

On the following Monday morning, after first dropping the children off at school, Kathy caught a bus into town and reported for duty at the hospital. It felt strange being back in her nurse’s uniform, but she was looking forward to working again.