Amelia shook her head and Dot’s eyes filled with tears. She could hardly speak.
‘The last letter we had from him,’ Amelia said, ‘explained that he was flying sorties to the French coast. He couldn’t say precisely where because their destination was to be kept secret. The job of his squadron was to provide air cover for the ground troops. That’s all we know.’
‘Then we received this letter a few days ago, from his squadron leader.’ Dot sobbed, handing Tilly an envelope from the desk drawer.
Tilly handed Jemima back to Dot and opened the envelope, fearing the worst.
‘It says he’s been lost in action. That he was shot down south of Dieppe. It doesn’t say any more than that,’ Tilly said. ‘It doesn’t say that he’s dead. It says his plane went down, but he may have survived.’
‘But he could be very badly injured or he could have been captured by Germans and taken to one of those prisoner-of-war camps. We’ve heard such dreadful things about those places,’ Dot replied, biting her lip.
‘We might not know any more until this war is over,’ Amelia added. ‘It’s the not knowing, the waiting, that’s so awful.’
‘Well, there’s not much we can do, except wait and pray, is there?’ Tilly said.
‘You make it all sound so matter of fact, Tilly. This war has made you hard,’ Dot said, wiping her eyes.
‘I suppose it has,’ Tilly replied. ‘I’ve had to become that way. There are so many awful sights that we see as nurses on the front line. We can’t be weeping over everyone. It would soon drivea person mad. In fact, that’s what it does to some of the poor soldiers I’ve had to patch up.’
‘Let’s try not to dwell on it too much. As Tilly says, Ronnie is most probably still alive and he will return to us. How about a visit to the cinema this weekend? The Kings Cinema is showingCasablancawith Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart. I’ve heard it’s a really romantic tearjerker,’ Amelia suggested.
‘I’m not sure I want to go to see a film that makes me cry. There’re enough tears being shed at the moment. And it’s about the war. I’ve seen enough of that first hand. Is there anything else on offer?’ Tilly asked.
‘There’sThe Palm Beach Storywith Claudette Colbert and Rudy Vallée. That’s a comedy,’ Amelia replied.
‘That sounds more like my cup of tea,’ Tilly said.
‘I’m not sure I can see the funny side of things at the moment,’ Dot said. ‘You two go without me.’
‘No, we’re not doing that,’ Tilly said. ‘We must be able to find something we can agree on.’
‘Let’s look in the local newspaper,’ Amelia suggested, fetching it from the kitchen.
She flicked through the pages to the advertisements. ‘There’s a western on at the Royalty in Birmingham Road,’ she read.
‘All that bang, bang and people pretending to be dead,’ Tilly argued. ‘No, thanks. I get enough of that in real life. Well, as we can’t agree, I’ll give in.Casablancait is. Just hope it’s not too soppy, that’s all.’
‘What’s happened to your sense of romance, Tilly,’ Amelia replied. ‘I thought now you’ve met your Mr Right, you might be immersed in all things romantic.’
‘Who said he’s my Mr Right,’ Tilly countered.
‘Oh, come on now,’ Dot said. ‘We saw that sparkle in your eye when we mentioned his name. I can tell a woman in love when I see one. Don’t let that one get away, sis. There are only somany good catches out there. My William was one and if you’re lucky enough to find a man as good as him then don’t let him escape. That’s my advice anyway.’
So,Casablancait was. Amelia asked the new teacher, Miss Watson, to babysit for Jemima and she was happy to oblige.
‘I’m an expert with young children,’ she announced. ‘I helped bring up my two brothers and two sisters. They were quite a handful. I’m sure I can manage one small girl.’
Just before the film started there was a Pathé newsreel. There were personal messages from various areas of the world where the war was still raging. The atmosphere in the audience changed. Silence settled over the crowd. Even though the messages were for families in other parts of the country, those watching could share in the depth of feeling imparted by those soldiers to their loved ones. Although they were talking to their families in Manchester, Hartlepool and Brighton, it felt as if those soldiers were speaking to each of the people there that afternoon. Listening to those soldiers reaching out to the people left at home made the three women swallow back their tears and sigh at the thought of their Ronnie lost out there somewhere in France.
One woman, in the seat behind Tilly, cried out, ‘That’s my cousin, Archie, he’s with the Seventh Armoured Division in North Africa. Look at them all in their shorts. It must be a darn sight warmer there than it is here.’ The woman laughed.
‘It might look as if they’re all smiles on that screen,’ Tilly said, under her breath, ‘but it’s no summer holiday out there. Sometimes I think that the people back here have no idea.’
Dot took hold of Tilly’s hand and squeezed it, and Tilly at that moment felt thankful that she was, so far, one of the lucky ones. She was able to come home and deliver her messages of love directly to her family. Dot and the other people in this audience might not have seen active service, but they hadexperienced the pain of sudden loss. She knew that the fight must go on, but there was a huge price to pay.
When they came out of the cinema, they went to catch the bus home. Tilly was humming the song ‘As Time Goes By’ as they walked along to the bus stop. Dot bit back the tears that had welled in her eyes and, for a while, no one said anything. Tilly had felt Dot’s sadness at the moment that Rick watched Ilsa board the plane with her husband, Laszlo, and they said their last goodbyes. Tilly knew, at that moment, that Dot was thinking of William.
‘Well, what did you think of it after all? Did you enjoy it?’ Amelia asked, when they got home.
