We'll Meet Again. Patricia Burns

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      ‘I nearly didn’t. I had to cycle like billy-o all the way,’ Annie told him.

      Her hair was longer. That was it. And done in a different way, except that the cycle ride had blown it about. It looked nice like that, all wild round her face.

      She saw him looking at it. Her hand went to her head, smoothing her hair down.

      ‘I look a mess.’

      ‘No, you don’t. You look very nice. Very … pretty.’

      He stumbled over the compliment and felt even hotter. Why couldn’t he be suave and sophisticated, like someone in a film? He fiddled with the gear lever on the handlebars of his bike.

      ‘You look older. And you’re taller, too. I have to look up more than last year,’ Annie commented.

      It was true. Sometimes he felt all legs and elbows.

      ‘It’s nice,’ she added. ‘I can’t really believe you’re here. I thought … I was really hoping you would be able to come, but when you said your family weren’t … and then all this about the cycle club and coming here instead, and I thought you’d never be able to make it but …’

      ‘Here I am!’ Tom said.

      ‘Large as life and twice as natural!’ Annie cried.

      And then they were laughing, and it was all right. It was just like last year. Tom knew he could say anything and Annie would understand, just as it had been then.

      ‘I suppose I’d better go to the youth hostel first, and make sure there’s a bed for the night,’ Tom said.

      ‘Right. It’s up this way,’ Annie told him.

      They walked along together, wheeling their bikes, talking away nineteen to the dozen. There was so much to say, all the things that they had written to each other to be expanded and explained. A mother with a pushchair passed them. Tom moved to let her by and his hand touched Annie’s. Her fingers clasped his. He stole a glance at her and saw that her face was pink with pleasure, and knew that his was just the same.

      So much to say, and so little time to say it. After he had dropped his things at the youth hostel, Tom rode with Annie to where the farm track met the Wittlesham road.

      ‘See you tomorrow, then. Where shall we meet?’ Tom asked.

      Annie considered. He watched the way she screwed up her face a little when she was thinking.

      ‘Silver Sands!’ she said. ‘Where else?’

      ‘Of course. Silver Sands,’ Tom agreed.

      He hesitated. He knew what he wanted to do. Then he took a breath and swooped forward, planting a kiss on her cheek.

      ‘See you tomorrow!’ he said, and jumped on his bike.

      All the way back to the youth hostel, he felt as if he could conquer the world.

      All the next morning, Annie was bursting with energy, despite the fact that she had slept very little the night before. Whatever her father asked her to do, she breezed through it with ease. His bad temper just slid off her. The only problem was appearing as if everything was just the same as normal when the whole world was glowing with possibilities. She caught herself singing as she washed her hands for dinner, despite the fact that her father was scowling and growling behind her. Her mother shot her a puzzled look.

      ‘You’re cheerful,’ she whispered, when Walter was in the scullery.

      ‘Oh, well … it’s a nice sunny day,’ Annie said.

      She sucked in her smiles and helped her mother bring the food to the table. During the meal she kept her eyes on her plate and concentrated on eating. But it was hard, when what she wanted to do was to dance round the room.

      Through the long afternoon, she wondered what Tom was doing. Was he all right? Was he lonely? It wasn’t as if Wittlesham was much of a resort any more. At least it was nice weather, and he could be outside.

      The evening chores had never seemed so lengthy. Annie seethed with impatience as her father checked that she had done everything right. As usual, he took issue with her over details and she had to do things again, but at last she was free.

      ‘I think I’ll just go for a walk down to the water,’ she said, as offhand as she could manage.

      ‘Waste of energy,’ Walter growled. ‘What about your ma? She want anything doing?’

      ‘No, no. I asked her and she said not.’

      ‘You sure?’

      ‘Yes. Completely sure.’

      ‘Go and check.’

      Annie swallowed down her howl of frustration. If she let him see how much it meant to her, he would invent something for her to do, or even simply forbid her to go.

      ‘All right,’ she agreed, and went to see her mother.

      At last she was released. At lightning speed, she washed, changed, ran a comb through her hair and smoothed on some of the new lipstick. And then she was off, running across the fields towards Silver Sands as if her life depended upon it.

      And there was Tom, waiting for her by the gate.

      ‘Seems funny to see the old place all shut up,’ he said after they had gone over their news of the day.

      They were sitting on the sea wall, but not in their old place, the sea side. This time they were on the landward side, overlooking Silver Sands.

      Annie lay back on the long dry grass. It was lovely to rest after the day’s work, to feel the last of the sun on her face, to have a soul mate to talk to.

      ‘It’s been shut ever since your family left. I was so mad when my dad didn’t buy it from Mr Sutton. I don’t even know who owns it now but, whoever it is, they haven’t done anything to it. I suppose they’re just waiting for the war to end before they can let it again.’

      ‘Might have a bit of a wait, then,’ Tom said.

      ‘Yes,’ Annie sighed. ‘Nearly two years now.’

      ‘At least we weren’t invaded. Remember last year, when the Germans were just over the North Sea?’

      ‘And the Battle of Britain was going on in the sky?’

      ‘We won that.’

      ‘We did. Good old RAF.’

      ‘I’m going to join the RAF.’

      ‘You said that last year.’

      ‘I know. I meant it then, but it seemed a long way away. Now it’s just over four months.’

       ‘What?’

      Fear jolted through Annie. She sat up and stared СКАЧАТЬ