She’d called in after work, needing to talk. Em had been very kind and listened to her troubles but now she needed her mum and dad. There were two days before the 29th and Pearl hadn’t slept a wink. ‘I don’t suppose he had a choice, love,’ said her mother calmly. ‘You can’t be angry with him.’ ‘But he wants to go.’ ‘He doesn’t want to leave you, obviously,’ reasoned her father, folding up the newspaper and sticking it down the side of his chair. ‘A man’s got his duty to do.’ ‘But he was doing it at the council,’ Pearl protested. Everyone saw Jim’s point of view and not hers. ‘I read all about them new tanks,’ her father said. ‘Not details, of course – no, they don’t give those. But they sound pretty formidable. And Jim knows his onions when it comes to engineering.’ Ruby sat beside her. ‘I’m sorry, Pearl.’ She seemed to be the only one to understand. ‘I won’t let him go,’ Pearl said fiercely. ‘I’ll think of something to stop him!’ ‘Now, now, ducks,’ reproved Amy as she got up from her chair and closed the heavy curtains.
