For All Our Tomorrows Read Free Page A

legs to fondle her possessively. She pushed him gently away, laughing as she half glanced over her shoulder to the windows that looked out over the street. ‘Be careful, someone might see. If Nora Snell walks by, she’ll have a heart attack.’
    ‘We could slip upstairs for half an hour.’  
    Chuckling softly, she dismissed his optimism with a kiss on his nose, then turned away to search for her purse. ‘I have to go and collect the children, and they’ll be bursting to tell you all about their exciting day so do try to be patient with them.’
    ‘Make them damn well wait for once. I’d forgotten how much I fancy you,’ he said, his voice urgent now, thickening with need. He pushed her back against the bar but Sara easily evaded his grasp.
    ‘It’s good to know that you do still fancy me, but I really don’t have time right now.’
    The smile instantly faded and his tone turned peevish, like a spoiled child deprived of a treat. ‘You never do have time these days, or else you complain you’re too tired.’
    She was stung by the accusation, which Sara felt to be largely unjust. Hugh seemed to avoid intimacy far more than she did. ‘I’m sorry if you think so, but I do work hard, Hugh.’  
    ‘Is that some sort of dig at me?’
    ‘No, of course it isn’t. We both work hard,’ she added hastily. ‘Perhaps we should both try harder to inject some romance back into our marriage.’
    ‘You’re saying I don’t do enough in that direction, are you? You want me to bring you flowers every day?’
    ‘No, no, of course I don’t. Look, this is a stupid argument. I was simply agreeing with you that we should find more time for each other, for romance.’
    ‘Did you see someone you fancied on those trucks then?’
    Sara shook her head at him in a gesture of despair, even as she felt her cheeks grow warm. ‘Don’t be silly.’
    ‘Oh, silly is it, to want to protect my wife from those louts? I’ve told you, Sara, I’m not having those Yanks in The Ship.’
    She was already on her way through the back door that led out onto the church path. ‘Look, I must go. We can talk about this some other time and perhaps later I will be able to convince you that there is no other man for me but you, my lovely husband.’ Blowing him a kiss, she hurried away, still smiling. Hugh remained where he was, scowling at the closed door.
     
    The Yanks came in their dozens, noisy and happy, raucous and loud, complaining about the beer, the accommodation they’d been allotted, the black-out, even the food, and Hugh was helpless to stop them. He could do little to prevent them leaning on his bar and ordering service, not without creating a scene which could easily turn nasty.
    Hugh kept a close eye on them, scowling while they happily played darts or dominoes, joked and teased each other in big loud voices, chewed their gum and even burst into song now and then. They’d call a pack of cards a deck, demand checkers when they wanted to play draughts, and ask for potato chips when really they meant crisps.
    And they constantly chatted to his lovely wife. They told her how pretty she was, asked if she’d care for a stroll by the river later, if she was free for dinner tomorrow, if she liked sailing by moonlight. Sara laughingly countered all offers but after a while, unable to bear it any longer, Hugh ordered her upstairs.
    ‘Go to bed, Sara, I can manage.’
    ‘How can you manage? The place is heaving. What will it be, sir? Well, if you don’t care for the beer, have you tried our local cider?’
    ‘I’d fancy a bourbon but you ain’t gonna have such a thing, right?’
    ‘Sorry, there is a war on, you know. I could let you have a small shot of Irish whiskey, which we happened to come by the other day. Only a small one, mind, and expensive.’
    Hugh snatched the bottle from her grasp. ‘Go on, get upstairs. I’ll deal with this lot.’
    ‘Don’t be silly,’ Sara hissed at him under her breath. ‘You need me here.’