‘Don’t,’ said Fitz. ‘Anyway, Marjorie just told me he was fine.’
‘Spoilsport,’ said Elsie. ‘He was very nice. In fact, you might have competition the next time he turns up.’ She gave her friend a wink.
‘Be my guest,’ said Fitz with a smile.
‘Yes. Don’t let a nice lad like him anywhere near Fitz. She’s more than a match for him,’ said Marjorie. ‘Now, Fitz, get ready, otherwise you’re going to miss breakfast. You know how Mrs Temple is a stickler for mealtimes.’
Although Fitz’s heart was heavy with the news she’d received about Johnny, she reminded herself of her promise to live life to the full and not to waste any days she had on this earth.
‘It won’t take me long to get ready,’ said Fitz, hopping out of bed. She might always be the last one up, but she was never late and within ten minutes she was washed and dressed, following her friends downstairs to breakfast.
Fitz’s day turned out to be a busy one as she ferried planes from Hamble to Essex and then on to Manchester. She was away for three days in all and was grateful to get back to the lodgings where she was billeted.
The few days away had given her a chance to think about the letters she’d got from home and that evening, she penned her reply to Michael.
Dear Michael
I hope this letter finds you well. Thanks so much for your letter. It was so nice to hear from you.
I haven’t flown over Badcombe yet, but when I do, I’ll be sure to let you know. Now that I’m qualified to fly, I’ve been billeted in a house near to the ferry pool in Hamble with two other girls – Marjorie and Elsie. My new address is as above so make sure you write to there in future.
My favourite plane to fly is the Tiger Moth and as you know I was already flying that before I joined the ATA so that has been very simple and straightforward for me. I’ve enclosed a photograph of me standing in front of the aircraft with my uniform on. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so proud.
I promise as soon as I have a day free, I’ll come and visit or if I fly into Bassingbourn airfield I might have time to see you at Badcombe. We only get two days off a fortnight so it doesn’t leave much time I’m afraid.
Don’t worry about what you heard Cook and Annie talking about. They do like a gossip sometimes. I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t even about your mother.
The house will be jolly full with everyone who is coming to stay, but it will be good for you to have someone your own age to play with. I do hope it all works out well.
Anyway, must dash.
Love from
G
She hoped Michael would be appeased by her explanation of what Cook had meant about his mother. Fitz didn’t want to make a big thing out of it and by simply explaining it away, shehoped Michael would forget all about it. She didn’t want him worrying and it wasn’t her place to explain what Cook meant, especially as she had no idea if it were true or not.
Nor did she mention Johnny Fisher’s passing to Michael in case their father hadn’t told him. She didn’t want to burden the boy with anything else to fret over.
She folded the letter and slipped it into an envelope which she addressed and placed next to the one she’d already written to her father the day before while she had been away.
‘Oh, there you are, Fitz,’ said Marjorie coming into the bedroom that they shared. ‘Elsie and I are going down to The Three Feathers, fancy coming?’
‘Oh yes. I’ll come. I need to post these two letters to Michael and my father so I can do it on the way.’
‘Don’t you ever write to your stepmother?’ asked Marjorie, glancing at the two letters on the bureau.
Fitz looked up at her friend and gave a shrug. ‘No, but then she never writes to me.’
‘I suppose one of you has to write first.’ Marjorie fixed her with a gaze. ‘Why don’t you like your stepmother?’
‘It’s not that I don’t like her, it’s more that she doesn’t like me,’ said Fitz, getting to her feet and checking her reflection in the mirror above the fireplace.
‘You know that for a fact?’
‘I do as it happens. She wanted to send me off to Scotland. She couldn’t wait to get rid of me. I was just glad I got in the ATA before that happened.’ She smoothed down her hair and then applied her red lipstick. ‘Anyway, what’s with all the questions?’
‘I just wondered,’ said Marjorie. ‘You don’t talk about her much.’
