bag and hurriedly tidied her hair and reapplied her lipstick. Kitty stood close to Sammy as he held the boy, and laughed with him as the
child’s fat little fingers scratched at the silver winged badge above Sammy’s chest pocket.
Sammy squeezed Kitty’s hand as they left the shop. ‘I don’t need your photograph – I can see you whenever I close my eyes.’
Later they had lunch in the tearooms where they were served steaming-hot bowls of the dish of the day and tried to decide if it was a thin stew or a thick soup. Kitty drank
tea, but Sammy ordered coffee and then shuddered as he swallowed each mouthful.
‘Wait until you taste my ma’s coffee,’ he said. ‘I’ll ask her to bake us a walnut and maple syrup pie – you’ve got to try that. Ma’s pie with a
cup of strong hot coffee – oh boy, that’s the best.’
‘I thought you said that snow buns were the best,’ Kitty teased.
‘Well, yes that’s correct, they are too.’ Sammy grinned, pleased that she had remembered.
Kitty smiled at Sammy over the top of her cup. He met her gaze but he was no longer smiling. Kitty slid her hand across the table.
‘Come on, Sammy, we’re going to enjoy today, remember? Forget all our worries for just one day.’
‘Yeah, you’re right,’ Sammy replied. ‘I was just thinking, you know, what if we got married straight away – then we could spend all our time together. When
I’m flying out of Europe I won’t be able to see you anyway. If we’re married, then you could go to the States. My folks are going to love you, Kitty, and they’ll take good
care of you. I don’t know – is it a good idea, what do you think?’
Kitty thought. Various scenes – the consequences, both delicious and frightening to imagine, of a hasty marriage and sailing to America alone, vied for attention in her mind. She imagined
meeting Sammy’s parents, seeing his home and being among the things he cared about and the people he loved. Then she saw herself alone and so far away from him. She imagined saying goodbye to
Charlie and the possibility of never seeing him or her mother or Aunt Vi again. She imagined the Atlantic crossing, the steel-grey ship and unfriendly seas.
‘I’m sorry,’ Sammy interrupted her reverie, ‘that wasn’t put in the most romantic way.’
‘Oh it’s not that, it was romantic – it’s just that America is so far away. It’s hard to explain but, even though you’ll be in France or Italy and I’m
in England, I think I’d still feel as though we were under the same sky. When I get up in the mornings, I’ll think of you and it will be morning for you too, and I think I’ll feel
close to you because of that. Do you understand what I’m trying to say? Does that sound silly?’
‘No, that’s not silly at all – you know, Kitty, you say something that hasn’t occurred to me before and I know exactly what you mean and I think that you’re right.
I guess, it’s just that, when I think of home, it is so safe, there’s plenty to eat. No fighting, no bombs – I want to think of you there, safe and away from this war.’
‘We’re not doing very well, are we?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Not thinking about the things that worry us.’
Afterwards they wandered into the park. It no longer had railings, half the grass area was now given over to an air-raid shelter and the flower beds were planted with
vegetables. They sat together on a bench and talked. An elderly woman passed with a cocker spaniel on a lead. Sammy told Kitty about the farm dogs and the little mongrel that he had found half dead
as he walked to school one day. It was a sad story and, as he told it, Kitty leaned towards him and studied his face and imagined the scene: Sammy at ten years old, playing truant from school so
that he could care for the injured puppy. She was relieved when he got to the happy ending and suddenly felt overwhelmed by a mixture of love and pride. Sammy returned her gaze for a moment
child’s fat little fingers scratched at the silver winged badge above Sammy’s chest pocket.
Sammy squeezed Kitty’s hand as they left the shop. ‘I don’t need your photograph – I can see you whenever I close my eyes.’
Later they had lunch in the tearooms where they were served steaming-hot bowls of the dish of the day and tried to decide if it was a thin stew or a thick soup. Kitty drank
tea, but Sammy ordered coffee and then shuddered as he swallowed each mouthful.
‘Wait until you taste my ma’s coffee,’ he said. ‘I’ll ask her to bake us a walnut and maple syrup pie – you’ve got to try that. Ma’s pie with a
cup of strong hot coffee – oh boy, that’s the best.’
‘I thought you said that snow buns were the best,’ Kitty teased.
‘Well, yes that’s correct, they are too.’ Sammy grinned, pleased that she had remembered.
Kitty smiled at Sammy over the top of her cup. He met her gaze but he was no longer smiling. Kitty slid her hand across the table.
‘Come on, Sammy, we’re going to enjoy today, remember? Forget all our worries for just one day.’
‘Yeah, you’re right,’ Sammy replied. ‘I was just thinking, you know, what if we got married straight away – then we could spend all our time together. When
I’m flying out of Europe I won’t be able to see you anyway. If we’re married, then you could go to the States. My folks are going to love you, Kitty, and they’ll take good
care of you. I don’t know – is it a good idea, what do you think?’
Kitty thought. Various scenes – the consequences, both delicious and frightening to imagine, of a hasty marriage and sailing to America alone, vied for attention in her mind. She imagined
meeting Sammy’s parents, seeing his home and being among the things he cared about and the people he loved. Then she saw herself alone and so far away from him. She imagined saying goodbye to
Charlie and the possibility of never seeing him or her mother or Aunt Vi again. She imagined the Atlantic crossing, the steel-grey ship and unfriendly seas.
‘I’m sorry,’ Sammy interrupted her reverie, ‘that wasn’t put in the most romantic way.’
‘Oh it’s not that, it was romantic – it’s just that America is so far away. It’s hard to explain but, even though you’ll be in France or Italy and I’m
in England, I think I’d still feel as though we were under the same sky. When I get up in the mornings, I’ll think of you and it will be morning for you too, and I think I’ll feel
close to you because of that. Do you understand what I’m trying to say? Does that sound silly?’
‘No, that’s not silly at all – you know, Kitty, you say something that hasn’t occurred to me before and I know exactly what you mean and I think that you’re right.
I guess, it’s just that, when I think of home, it is so safe, there’s plenty to eat. No fighting, no bombs – I want to think of you there, safe and away from this war.’
‘We’re not doing very well, are we?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Not thinking about the things that worry us.’
Afterwards they wandered into the park. It no longer had railings, half the grass area was now given over to an air-raid shelter and the flower beds were planted with
vegetables. They sat together on a bench and talked. An elderly woman passed with a cocker spaniel on a lead. Sammy told Kitty about the farm dogs and the little mongrel that he had found half dead
as he walked to school one day. It was a sad story and, as he told it, Kitty leaned towards him and studied his face and imagined the scene: Sammy at ten years old, playing truant from school so
that he could care for the injured puppy. She was relieved when he got to the happy ending and suddenly felt overwhelmed by a mixture of love and pride. Sammy returned her gaze for a moment
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