Nancy caught sight of herself in the mirror hanging on the wall of the quiet pub and thought that she looked all right, or as good as she was likely to manage these days. She was pleased. She’d wanted to appear as glamorous and attractive as she could for Gary, who was treating her to a romantic meal. Her hair shone, she’d used some of her precious reserves of proper make-up, and even her nails were freshly painted with deep red varnish. She felt she should pull out all the stops and show him British women were as good as anyone he might have known on the other side of the Atlantic. Not that he’d ever mentioned having anyone special on the other side of the pond.

She was only too aware that plenty of people resented the American servicemen, and complained they were ‘overpaid, oversexed and over here’, angry that they had more money to spend and better access to luxury goods than the boys from home. They were never short of female company for those very reasons, but Nancy wasn’t with Gary because of that. Yes, it was nice to have someone who could treat her to drinks and entertainment that others couldn’t, or who gave her little gifts that she couldn’t have hoped to have otherwise. But the real reason she liked being with him was that he was such a gentleman. Some people said all the Yanks were brash and boastful, but she knew Gary wasn’t like that at all.

He made his way back to her, carrying their drinks and smiling broadly. She noted how mature he looked compared to anyone else she’d ever been out with; it was another mark in his favour. She was tired of young men who – when it came down to it – were little more than boys, always thinking of themselves and not treating her right. Gary was a proper man and not afraid of the fact. He was confident in who he was – he didn’t have to put on a show.

There were few other customers to notice his staff sergeant’s uniform, and nobody seemed to object. They had chosen this place because it was away from the city centre and in the opposite direction to Bootle, so lessening the risk that anyone would recognise them. Nancy hadn’t told Gary she was married, and hadn’t mentioned her son Georgie after that first night, but she let it be known that her WVS colleagues might frown on her being taken out by a soldier who had used their services, particularly when he was an officer. Gary had accepted this and had praised her discretion and modesty. That had made Nancy smile. Not many people had used those two words to describe her behaviour before.