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asked roughly. ‘You get your own way and we look after Ma?’
    â€˜I don’t like asking you to, but to be fair neither of you are planning to leave, eh? So, if I am, I hope you won’t mind if I do. And maybe Ma will rally anyway. I don’t see why not. She’s been doing well at the café lately. Folk do get better, you know.’
    Roz and Chrissie exchanged glances, then looked at Dougal.
    â€˜Want anything to eat?’ asked Roz, rising wearily.
    â€˜Wouldn’t mind.’
    â€˜Make the tea, then,’ ordered Chrissie, setting down a plate of sandwiches on the living-room table. ‘I found a bit o’ ham in the larder cupboard – you’re in luck, Dougal.’
    â€˜Listen,’ he said earnestly, ‘you don’t think too badly of me, eh? Joining the army, it’s something I have to do.’
    â€˜We’re family,’ said Roz. ‘Just let’s leave it at that.’
    While their mother slept on, deeply and without dreaming, the three siblings sat together, drinking tea, eating ham sandwiches and still feeling like a family – of sorts.
    At least, thought Roz, I’ve had something else to think about apart from who’s going to take over Tarrel’s property department.

Nine
    Having taken to her bed, Flo refused to speak to Dougal, just turning her face to the wall whenever he came in to see her, and telling the girls she felt too ill to forgive him.
    â€˜Oh, Ma, that’s silly talk,’ Roz sighed. ‘You can’t go on like that. He’s been thoughtless but if he really wants to be a soldier you’ll just have to let him go.’
    â€˜He knew how I’d feel about it and he just didn’t care, that’s what hurts. Now he’s put me right back to where I was before and it’s so unfair!’
    â€˜He does care, Ma, but he thinks he has a right to make his own career, and he has a point, eh? Why not just accept what he’s done and see how things go? It’s true, he’ll be in the peacetime army – it’ll be less of a worry than if there was a war.’
    But Flo refused to be comforted and the doctor, prescribing more bromide to calm her down, said they’d just have to be patient. In his view, she wasn’t as bad as she’d been, and if she took her medication and thought about things for a bit, all might be well.
    â€˜Aye, and in the meantime we’re rushed off our feet at Café Sunshine, with one of us having to take a turn with Mrs Abbot doing the cash desk,’ Chrissie complained to Roz. ‘And Mrs Abbot is none too pleased about it, as you might guess.’
    â€˜Cheer up, you’ve got your young man, and you have a good time when you go out with him, don’t you?’
    â€˜Oh, I do, Roz!’ The worried lines disappeared from Chrissie’s youthful brow and her blue eyes sparkled. ‘He’s wonderful, he really is! Next thing he wants to do is take me out for a meal, instead of going to the pictures. Somewhere different from the Café Sunshine, too.’
    â€˜Well, I’m glad one of us is happy,’ Roz murmured. ‘Meanwhile, I’m in suspense, waiting to see what happens at work. Everything depends on what sort of chap they take on for Mr MacKenna’s job.’
    â€˜Might be a woman?’ suggested Chrissie, but Roz shook her head.
    â€˜No, it wouldn’t be and it isn’t. I’ve just heard that three men have been shortlisted. There’ll be interviews in a couple of weeks.’
    â€˜Could be someone nice.’
    Roz’s face remained glum. She couldn’t see anyone as nice as Mr MacKenna being appointed again. Folk weren’t usually lucky twice.
    Aware of how much it mattered to her who got his job, Mr MacKenna told Roz, after reviewing the shortlisted candidates’ applications, that she really needn’t worry.
    â€˜I’m confident you’ll get on with whichever one is