Peggy dug into her apron pocket and pulled out her packet of Park Drive. Lighting a cigarette, she glanced at the clock. It was now almost midday, but as she wasn’t due to meet Kitty and Charlotte at the Red Cross distribution centre until two, she had time to relax, read her letters from Jim again, fix her hair and catch her breath. She let her gaze linger on the photographs she’d lined up on the mantelpiece and was drawn, as always, to the one of Jim. He smiled roguishly back at her, looking tanned and fit in his tropical-issue uniform, and at first glance appeared younger than the man who’d left Cliffehaven all those many months ago – but on closer inspection she could see there were deeper lines etched around those dark blue eyes which now held the shadows of stark experience and knowledge. Whatever he’d witnessed or been involved in had lent him an air of strength and gritty determination which had been lacking in the Jim she knew and loved. He was no longer the scallywag with a roving eye, a carefree nature, and a nose for a shady deal, but a man honed by vigorous training and imbued with pride for what he’d become.

Peggy bit her lip, wondering what he’d seen and done, and how he would settle back into his old life again once the war was over. Cliffehaven might prove too tame for him after all the excitement of Burma, and he could find it impossible to pick up the threads of hearth and home again – especially as the cinema had been blown up along with his job as a projectionist.

She knew he loved her; knew he was longing to come home, but he wasn’t the only one to have changed since they’d parted, and their separate experiences must surely have widened the gulf between them. And then there was his little Daisy and the grandchildren growing up with only photographs and stories to remind them of who he was. He would be a stranger to them – and maybe even to her – and that thought made her shiver.

Peggy swallowed the lump in her throat and blinked away her ready tears, cross with herself for being so pessimistic. They would find a way to get through, for they were strong and invincible as long as they had each other, and she had to keep faith in that, and never let it waver.