And finally, they could bring back the last missing member. John was so good at making them all feel like a unit, as though they all belonged together, the way he jollied them along, told jokes to the children and played with them.
She had missed that. She had missed John, who did that for them all. She prepared some breakfast for Tom, and he sat, scooping it into his mouth.
‘I’m going to talk to him about all my adventures, Mummy. About coming on the train and finding my way across London. I know that I shouldn’t have done it, and you were very angry with me, but I think he’ll find it interesting, don’t you? And I think I’ve grown,’ he continued, jumping up and standing up next to the table, stretching up his neck. ‘Don’t you think, Mummy?’
She nodded.
‘I’ll also tell him that I’ve taken care of you. That I’ve managed to be the man of the house while he was gone,’ reaffirmed his small voice, the last sentence making Julia smile. Tom had her heart, all right. The boy who loved everybody, whose family was the most important thing to him.
Once Abigail was up as well and dressed, Diana joined them. She had the morning off, and had offered to come with them. She came down with little Union Jack flags for the children.
‘Look what I found,’ she said, handing one each to Tom and Abigail. ‘You can wave them when the train arrives.’ As the children practised waving their flags, Diana came over to talk to Julia. ‘How’s Lizzie today?’ she asked in a quiet tone.
Julia nodded. ‘She’s all right. She wants to go back to Kenley tomorrow. She feels she needs to get back on the horse. And between you and me, I think it’s a good idea. Her commanding officer, Sergeant Wheaton, came by to check on her yesterday. As she told us stories of what was going on, Lizzie felt as if she was missing out a little bit. I think getting back will help keep her mind off Jack.’
Diana nodded. ‘It will be good for her.’
Once they had finished breakfast, they all started to get ready, and Julia counted with relief. It had been three days since the last bombing campaign over London. They hadn’t stopped, but they seemed to come more periodically now. Not every day, as they had during 1940. Still she couldn’t believe they’d been bombed for fifty-six days out of fifty-seven when it had been at its height. And there was still so much to clear up in the city, but at least now they could get a full night’s sleep occasionally. And her husband was coming home. God, she hoped this war was turning.
There was talk at work of Hitler withdrawing his armies from France. She hoped it was true. Maybe he’d given up on his hopes of invading their island.
Once they were all ready, they made their way up the street. And they were a happy band, the children waving their flags, Lizzie with Abigail, and Diana and Julia arm in arm.
‘How are you feeling?’ asked Diana.
‘I am so excited, I am beside myself. I’ve had butterflies in my stomach all morning. You know how it is when you first fall in love?’
Diana nodded. ‘I’m the one that’s getting married.’ She smiled.
‘I know,’ said Julia, ‘but I’ve missed him so much. There was so much I took for granted when he was here all the time. Little things I didn’t even think about. And my family doesn’t work right when he’s not here. It doesn’t feel right. It feels out of step somehow.’
Diana nodded, understanding.
Julia had called Maggie as soon as she’d heard and told Rosalyn what was happening and when John would be arriving. But when they got to the station, she hadn’t expected to see Maggie and Rosalyn waiting for her on the platform. They must have left the Cotswolds at the crack of dawn to make it in time for John’s train.
‘Surprise!’ said Rosalyn as she came up and hugged Julia. And Maggie threw her arms around her mother’s waist, squeezing her so tightly, Julia had to release her grip so she could breathe.
She pulled her daughter into her arms and hugged her so deeply. ‘Maggie, I’ve missed you so much.’
‘I have so much to tell you,’ responded Maggie. Instantly, Julia sensed Maggie had grown up. This wasn’t the little girl she had put on the train ten months before. There was an independent