Page 71 of Neighbors at War

‘Would you like my gift now, or after our walk?’

Peggy pulled him into the living room, sat him down on the sofa and sat next to him. ‘I’d like it now, please.’

Tony laughed. He put his hand into his pocket without taking his eyes off her and took out a rectangular flat package wrapped in newspaper and tied with string. ‘Sorry about the unexciting wrapping.’

She took it from him and ran her hands over it. ‘What is it?’

He pulled a face. ‘Maybe you should open it and find out. I hope you like it. I had no idea what to buy you and there’s so little in the shops.’

She carefully untied the string, wrapping it around two fingers neatly before setting it down on the small table at the end of the sofa. Then, unfolding the newspaper which she planned to use to start the fire in the living room later, she unwrapped the present lying in her lap. It was an oak photo frame with daisies engraved on it. Inside was a photo of the two of them. ‘So that’s why your father insisted on taking a photo of the pair of us. How kind he is.’ She beamed at Tony. ‘I couldn’t love it more.’ Or you, she thought.

The photograph had been taken by his father the month before when she was invited to spend the afternoon at their home. Peggy had been surprised so see her boss with a camera, Only people with a permit were allowed to use them.

‘That was such a lovely afternoon.’ She kissed his cheek, then studied the photo again. ‘Did you ask him to take this especially?’

‘Yes.’ He raised his eyebrows. ‘He was reluctant at first but when I told him it was for your birthday, he insisted that if anyone asks about it, we say it was taken in ’39.’ He sighed. ‘If you ever take the photo out of the frame you’ll see Dad has written that date on the back in pencil in case anyone ever checks.’

‘How typical of your father to think of everything,’ she said, impressed but not surprised. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll remember.’

She carried the frame over to the mantelpiece. ‘I’ll leave it here until we come back then I’ll take it up to my room. I can’t believe I’ll have you with me all the time now.’

He kissed her cheek. ‘I asked him to make a print for me, too, for that very reason.’

Peggy giggled. ‘What, so you have a photo of yourself?’

He tickled her making her squeal in protest. ‘No. Right, shall we go for our walk now? It’s such a lovely day.’

She glanced at the photo one more time before leading him to the hallway. As she straightened the permit hanging next to the front door – a document every household was required to have, declaring who was in the house in case of an inspection – her thoughts turned once again to Helen and Bobby, whose names were of course not on it.

‘When this is all over, I’ll be glad not to have one of these things reminding us that we’re doing something illegal by giving our friends a home,’ she said, trying to quell the anger she felt every time she saw it. Today was her birthday and she was going to do her best to enjoy it.

‘You’re not the only one,’ Tony said, helping her on with her jacket and taking her hand. ‘Let’s go and enjoy some fresh air.’

As they passed number 2, out of the corner of her eye Peggy saw the curtains twitch. She didn’t react, determined not to let whoever was spying on them know they had been spotted. She had thought having nosy neighbours was bad but that was nothing compared to being watched by Nazis.

They had walked most of the way to town when Tony’s hand gripped hers more tightly.

‘What is it?’ Peggy asked, anxiously.

He was looking up at the sky, then pointed. ‘A plane. My God,’ he gasped. ‘It’s American. A bomber. Look.’

She followed the direction of his gaze. Then machine guns began firing. She shrieked and clung to Tony in fright.

‘It’s fine,’ he said calmly, though there was excitement in his voice. ‘Whoever the pilot is he’s making a point to the Germans by flying that low.’

Anti-aircraft guns began pounding as the Germans tried to hit the plane. Peggy covered her ears to block out the noise, then noticed that the bomber was accompanied by two fighters.

Tony stepped backwards instinctively, pulling Peggy with him and holding her protectively as two bombs dropped from the plane and landed in the harbour. ‘This is incredible.’

He sounded like a child on Christmas Day, clearly enjoying every moment.

The sound of the planes faded. ‘Why weren’t you frightened?’ she asked, her heart pounding.

‘It gives me hope, seeing things like that,’ he said cheerfully. ‘Confirms to me that we haven’t been completely forgotten.’ His smile slipped. ‘Are you all right?’

‘Just about,’ she said, forcing a smile to reassure him.

They resumed their walk. ‘Did you hear about the RAF planes that flew over the island at the beginning of the week?’