‘But I have to be here-’ she gasped.
‘Leave that to me. You haven’t had a day off for too long.’
By good luck, Mark chanced to call that night and she outlined the plan to him.
‘That’s wonderful!’ he said. ‘There’s a little café called The Warren just outside the airfield. Wait for me there.’
Mr Royce was true to his word and for one day she was free to hurry to the airfield and settle down in the café as soon as it was open. She bought sparingly, knowing that it might be a long wait.
After a while the place began to fill up and the woman behind the counter regarded her with suspicion, even hostility. At last she approached her, glaring.
‘I’ve got a business to run. I can’t afford to have people taking up the chairs and not buying anything. You all seem to think you can use this place as a collection point.’
‘All?’
‘You know what I mean, and don’t pretend that you don’t.’
Dee did know and was half amused, half angry. ‘Actually, I’m a nurse,’ she said, ‘and I’m waiting for my fiancé.’
The woman regarded her for a moment. ‘If you’re a nurse, come and take a look at my son. He’s ten and very naughty. He cut himself this morning and he won’t let anyone look at it.’
After that, things went well. The cut turned out to be minor and easily dressed. Her hostess visibly warmed.
‘My name’s Mrs Gorton. You stay here as long as you like, and I’ll bring you something.’
She served Dee a lunchtime snack, on the house, and began to chat with her as the café cleared.
‘Sorry about that, but you should see some of them that come in here. I suppose it can’t be helped. Get a lot of young men together and the “good time girls” are going to…well…offer them a good time, if you know what I mean.’
‘Yes, I know what you mean,’ Dee said.
‘And they do a lot of business, so I’m told. The newspapers don’t tell that kind of story. Oh, no, those lads are heroes so they’re all virtuous, but the two don’t go together, take my word. I could tell you things well, anyway, the girls who flaunt themselves aren’t the ones you have to worry about. It’s the ones that look respectable, like those two near the door. What time will your fiancé be here?’
‘I don’t know. When he can get away. Perhaps never. No-wait-I think that’s him.’
She could just see a figure in a leather jacket coming along the street. The next moment she’d leapt to her feet and hurried out to meet him. Laughing joyfully, Mark enfolded her in a bear hug and for a few minutes she forgot everything else.
‘We’ll have to go back inside,’ he said at last. ‘I can’t move far.’
‘I don’t care where it is,’ she said fervently.
As they entered she saw Mrs Gorton rise and move back to the counter. For a moment her eyes were fixed curiously on Mark and Dee realised she was conveying a warning about the two girls by the window who ‘looked respectable’ but clearly weren’t.
It was plain what she meant. The girls were regarding Mark, wide-eyed, and in all fairness Dee couldn’t blame them. In a short time he’d grown older, heavier, more adult, and a hundred times more attractive. Until now, the boy had lingered in his face, but the experience of confronting death time and again had changed him.
One of the girls seemed about to hail him, then her eyes flickered to Dee and she shrugged and turned away.
Forget it, Dee wanted to say. He’s mine.
A young man at a corner table rose and headed for the door, passing close by. Dee frowned.
‘Pete?’ she queried cautiously.
He stared, then grinned when he’d recovered. ‘Fancy seeing you here!’ he exclaimed.
‘You two know each other?’ Mark asked.
‘We were at school together,’ Dee explained, ‘although Pete was two forms above me. He saved me from bullies once.’
‘Then let me shake your hand,’ Mark said, doing so and giving Pete a good-natured grin.
‘What are you doing here?’ Dee asked him. ‘Are you an airman?’
‘No, I’m a mechanic,’ Pete said. ‘I wanted to fly, but I was useless at it. Not like him.’ He indicated Mark. ‘Regular mad devil, that’s what they say.’
Mark grinned again, not at all troubled by this assessment.
‘I’ll…er…leave you alone, then,’ Pete said, suddenly becoming self-conscious.
‘Yes, do, there’s a good chap,’ Mark agreed, shepherding Dee to a table.
He sat down facing her, his hands holding hers across the table, smiling as he did in her dreams.
‘I can’t stay long, so let’s make the most of it,’ he said. ‘I’ve missed you.’
‘Has it been very bad?’
He shrugged. ‘They haven’t caught me yet and they’re not going to.’
‘But there’s more to come, isn’t there?’
‘I’m afraid so. I worry about you, too. Are you sleeping in that Anderson shelter?’
She made a face. ‘We tried it but it’s so uncomfortable. Mum simply refuses to leave the house now, and we can hardly leave her there alone. To hell with Hitler!’
He touched her cheek. ‘That’s the spirit.’
Silence fell for a few moments and she had the strange impression that he was uneasy, which was rare with him. Then, as if coming to a sudden resolution, he said, ‘I’ve got something for you.’
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box which he opened to reveal a ring.
‘It’s about time I gave you an engagement ring. I hope it fits.’
It fitted perfectly. It was tiny and cheap, with a small piece of glass where a diamond should have been. She wouldn’t have changed it for the world.
‘Hey, don’t cry,’ he chided, brushing her cheek. ‘What happened to my sensible Dee?’
‘She doesn’t really exist,’ she choked. ‘She’s just a pretence.’
‘I hope not. I’ll rely on her to keep me straight when this is over.’
‘When it’s over,’ she said longingly. ‘One day-but when?’ To her surprise, he sighed and for a moment a bleak look came over his face. It was gone in an instant, but she knew she wasn’t mistaken.
‘What is it?’ she asked. ‘I thought you were loving it.’
‘Well, some of it.’
‘Being one of “the few”, having your picture in the paper. After that photo appeared in the national press, the local paper used it as well. Now there’s a copy hanging up in the church hall with “Our Hero” written underneath.’
‘Please, Dee, you’re making me blush.’
‘Nonsense, I know how conceited you really are.’
‘Oh, you do!’
‘Yes, I do,’ she said, laughing as she spoke. ‘And you bask in the spotlight. Oh, Mark, what is it?’ The bleak look had appeared again. ‘Am I being clumsy? I’m sorry.’
‘No, it’s just that…well…it’s not like the romantic picture they give you. When you take off, you never know what’s going to happen.’
‘Of course not, how stupid of me. It must be scary. Are you-?’
‘Am I scared? Yes, but not in the way you think. If you get shot down it’ll all be over soon. I can cope with that. It’s when I shoot one of them down that it gets hard.’
His fingers tightened on her hand and she clasped him back, waiting silently.
‘It’s all right when they’re at a distance,’ he went on. ‘But sometimes it happens close up and you can see them, even hear them scream over the engines as they go down to their deaths.’
‘But otherwise it would be you,’ she urged.
‘I know. You tell yourself it’s them or you but that doesn’t always help. If you see their faces they’ve become real, and you know you’ve killed a man.’
‘A man who was trying to kill you,’ she said firmly.
‘Yes. It’s just a bit of a shock at first. Ah, well, never mind.’
The last words were like a barrier set up suddenly, as though he’d seen where the conversation was leading and didn’t want to go there.