and he smiled at her.
‘That’s very kind of you. Thank you, Aircraftwoman Downes.’ He slipped on the mac, stepped back outside the booth, and nodded to her before getting onto his bicycle and riding away as Diana watched him.
Before he came back two hours later to return the coat, she tried to make herself look a little more presentable by pulling out her curlers and shoving them in her pockets.
‘Thank you, Aircraftwoman Downes,’ he said, handing the coat back to her, as it had now stopped raining. ‘That helped keep me dry.’
‘Anytime,’ she said, smiling. ‘Corporal…?’ And she waited for him to fill in the blanks.
‘Shelley,’ he said. ‘My name’s Corporal Shelley. Nice to meet you. I hope to see you again sometime. Maybe at one of the dances.’ He looked down at her boots, and she felt very self-conscious. ‘Guess you won’t be doing much dancing in those,’ he joked with her, and Diana knew that she blushed. Why did she have to meet someone this good-looking when she was dressed like someone on a trip to Antarctica?
She shook her head and smiled through her embarrassment. He stepped back out of the sentry box and started to cycle away. As Diana watched him go, she thought how friendly and easy-going he was, and she hoped she might see him again.
When the next girl arrived for the shift, the weather had improved.
‘Sorry, Diana. It looked like you got the rough end of the stick last night.’
‘Not necessarily,’ said Diana. ‘I met some fascinating people.’ And with that, she sauntered off to her barracks, thinking about that warm smile, hoping to get another couple of hours’ sleep before she was out on parade. As she closed her eyes she tested the name for fun: Diana Shelley, yes, that could work she joked with herself if she ever met Sergeant Cary Grant again; and she dropped back off to sleep thinking of those soft brown eyes.
25
When Diana arrived on Saturday, Julia and Lizzie didn’t hear her come in because they were both in the bedroom. Glenn Miller was playing on the wireless in the front room.
‘Are we having a party?’ Diana asked finally, finding them.
Julia shook her head with a smile. ‘Lizzie is going out for the night with that nice airman she met last week. Do you remember? He’s invited her to a dance over at Biggin Hill. So, she started getting into the mood early.’
Lizzie looked at herself again in the mirror. She was trying another one of Julia’s outfits on, a green dress that set off the colour of her hair perfectly and cinched her in at the waist with a black belt, a perfect cut for her figure.
Diana whistled. ‘You look gorgeous.’
Lizzie threw her arms around her friend’s neck, giving her an extra squeeze with all her excitement. ‘I’m going to see that pilot again,’ she said, her eyes wide with the excitement. ‘Keep your fingers crossed that Jerry doesn’t screw it up for us. I just want one dance with him before tonight’s raid, that’s all.’
Julia sat on the bed. ‘Well, it’s not so terrible if you have to go into an air-raid shelter together. You could sit on a bunk next to each other.’
‘We already did that. Don’t you remember?’ said Lizzie with a wink, brushing off her skirt. ‘I want to dance with him now. I’m so nervous,’ she admitted, pressing both her hands into the space in the middle of her ribcage and taking a deep breath. ‘He’s so good-looking and sophisticated. I’m just a country girl from Scotland. I have no idea what he sees in me.’
‘He sees what we all see,’ assured Diana, looping her arms around her friend’s waist and hugging her from behind. ‘You’re so much fun and loving and caring. Plus, you have the best haircut in the world,’ she added, joking with her as they all laughed. ‘You must have a fabulous hairdresser.’
Lizzie felt the apprehension tug at her stomach. ‘I’m so nervous about going there on my own. Diana, would you come with me?’ she implored. ‘Or Julia, could you come?’
Julia shook her head, ‘I promised Agnes I’d keep her company tonight. I’ve been so busy, and she’s been feeling very neglected, she told me yesterday. I promised John that I would spend time with his mother. So, unfortunately, I can’t come.’
‘Diana, do you want to come with me?’
Diana looked down at what she was wearing. It was a smart skirt and a blouse, but she hadn’t