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Julia had been Dorothy's closest friend at nursing college, despite being a few years older and more familiar with silver cutlery or linen tablecloths than anyone Dorothy knew She'd been ed early on in the war, and her young son Laurence was living with her brother in the country, so when she offered Dorothy lodgings in her house she clai lonely as anything You'll be doing me a favour dear, she said, and she refused to let Dorothy even think of finding somewhere else to live once Susan was born, or David, or even when A

lbert caood, and Laurence returned from the country, and there were six of the do It hadn't always been easy, especially once Laurence caan to compete noisily for his h, just, and Julia generous enough, that they could easily still have been living there had Albert not heard about the houses being offered in Coventry for building workers, or had Dorothy not secretly done all that she could to encourage him

They went back to Auntie Julia's house now and again, once a year if they could, using the postal orders she sent to pay the fares; David and Susan wearing their Sunday clothes and watching the train rattle past the newly built suburbs of Coventry, the long reaches of wasteground, the farave way to the smoke and noise of London Look, that's where I went to school, his father would say, as they walked fro David's hand to get his attention, pointing to a tall high-ed Victorian building; and this is where I took my first job, a few moments later, as they passed a builder's yard with a few small piles of bricks and sand and waste tirandparents lived, he'd add quickly, gesturing at an open scrap of wasteland between two houses; that's where I grew up And this is where we all used to live, his mother would say, as they rounded the last corner into Julia's street, David and Susan both slipping out of their parents' hands in a race to reach the house first, stretching up to reach the doorbell before Julia, ould always be looking out for the open the door

Their visits usually followed the sa for them - cucumber sandwiches, slicedtable by the ith Laurence hovering sullenly while he waited for perin - and once they'd eaten Albert would make so the woet down and play It was a tall and narrow terraced house, with three floors and a cellar, and although the rooms were small and crammed full of Julia's many possessions, there was plenty of space to explore Soether, or with Laurence, while Julia and Dorothy did the washing up and chattered about grown-up things; playing hide and seek up and down the three flights of stairs,the each other to creep down into the dark cellar So each other a floor of the house and inary narratives around cars and teacups and soldiers and dolls And so on each other's gaht, that Auntie Julia or their o to the sweet shop, telling them to run off some of their silliness in the park Laurence never caether, barricading himself in his room to read comics or listen to the crystal radio set he'd built himself He was five years older than David, so it ale that he would keep hih sometimes he heard hiswell Laurence was a bit rude, a bit sulky, nothing like hisso about it?

Dorothy was up on her feet before he'd even opened the door, reaching for hi hi his eyes with a handkerchief, saying oh David, it's okay, it's alright, what's happened to you? And by the tiood look at him, Julia had taken a wad of cotton wool from her useful drawer, and a bottle of antiseptic from the cupboard, and set them on the table

She asked hi boys, he said, in the park, and he didn'ttears He didn't say that they'd asked hi in their park, that they'd told hiet lost, that one of the and that another had thrown stones while he was running away, that he'd tripped and fallen and they'd all laughed He was already learning that sos were easier not to say

This is going to hurt a little now David, his mother said, as she dabbed antiseptic on to his broken skin He nodded, wincing, sucking the breath in between his teeth, and when she was done he said are we going hoo soon, but why don't you have a lie down first, have a little rest, okay?

And while David lay in the bed in one of Julia's spare rooms, a cool damp cloth folded across his forehead, and while Susan went up to see hi of sweets and say are you alright? I'ht about it for aat tears of her oith the same handkerchief she'd offered David a fewup at Julia, saying well, you can't always be there with them, can you?

No dear, Julia said, sitting down next to her You can't

It's a good job I wasn't there, Dorothy said, s her handkerchief I probably would have belted them

I daresay you would have done Dotty, Julia said, shaking her head, and where do you think that would have left us? A long line of upset ine Dorothy s the handkerchief away

But where does it co and unclenching fist I mean, Julia, you know, from the first moment I set eyes on him, I— He was such a beautiful child, wasn't he?

They always are, said Julia, s

No, but Julia, he was; I couldn't, I couldn't take my eyes off him; I couldn't put him down for more than a minute I used to watch anyone who came near him like a hawk, you know I did Julia nodded

I know Dot, she said Of course I do