You know Lexie and her hair-brained schemes. She’ll probably have forgotten all about it by tomorrow when she realises the daftness of it all

Lexie discarded her jacket and gloves, tossing them over an armchair. Annie smiled, although she knew her daughter ran a “tight ship” at the office, she’d never mastered the art of “a place for everything and everything in its place”, at home. “Not bad,” she said with a sigh, still thinking about Nancy’s comment.

Annie looked sideways at her. “You sound a bit fed up Lexie,” she said, “not coming down with anything are you?”

Lexie shrugged. “I don’t think so, just a bit fed up with this war, I suppose, with the streets blacked out and the shops short of everything.”

She picked up the newspaper from the little table beside the sofa, flicking through the pages and looking at nothing in particular.

She was just about to return The Courier to the table when she spotted it.

There was a picture of a girl in uniform with the target emblem of the Air Force behind her and the words: Join The WAAF Today.

She folded the page over and looked at the wording closely: “The newly-formed Women’s Auxiliary Air Force is recruiting women, 18-43 years of age, to join the service in defence of their country.”

It gave the address of the recruiting office in City Square. Lexie stared at the picture of the girl and felt a rush of excitement fill her body.

Apprehension

“What’s taken your eye,” Euan asked, aware that Lexie was fixated on the page of print. Lexie looked up, her eyes gleaming as she handed him the newspaper. “This,” was all she said.

Euan read the advert and felt a chill of apprehension. Lexie was safe here at home with him and her mother, she had a worthwhile job at Baxters and, with any luck, they would all ride out the war safely.

He handed the paper back to Lexie and said nothing. “What is it?” Annie asked, her curiosity aroused by Euan’s silence.

“This,” Lexie said again, pointing to the advert. “There’s nothing to keep me here in Dundee,” she said, hardly daring to believe what she was thinking, “and it’s time I found another way to live my life.” Lexie tore the advert out and folded it carefully. “I’ll be back later,” she said, “don’t hold tea for me, I’ll get something later.”

Euan and Annie gazed in stunned silence at one another. It was Annie who voiced what they were both thinking. “What’s all this about?” Annie gasped, “what’s wrong with the life she has here, with us?”

A knot of fear had already formed in her gut. Euan rose from his chair and crossed the room to sit beside her on the sofa, recently vacated by his stepdaughter.

Although Lexie wasn’t his by birth, it was he who had brought her up when he had married Annie and he’d grown to love her like his own. He took Annie’s hand in his and pressed it to his heart.

“Hush now,” he whispered, searching for words to calm things down. “You know Lexie and her harebrained schemes. She’ll probably have forgotten all about it by tomorrow when she realises the daftness of it all.”

“Do you really think so?” Annie said, barely able to speak.

Gleam

But Euan had seen the gleam in Lexie’s eyes, the excitement in her voice and knew that she had made up her mind and no amount of talking was going to dissuade her. Lexie would be going to war.

Sarah Dawson, Lexie’s best friend from school days, was marking some English homework when she arrived, unannounced at Sarah’s door.

Sarah had followed in her mother’s footsteps and was now an English teacher at Morgan Academy on Forfar Road.

In their youth, Lexie had always been the one who drew men into her life like bees to honey, while Sarah had held back through fear of her mother Josie, whose ambition it had been that Sarah became a teacher, like herself.

Josie had succeeded and apart from a brief encounter with a budding young doctor, John Adams, which her father, Billy Dawson, had abruptly put a stop to, there had been no other men in her life.

Lexie couldn’t keep the sparkle from her eyes as Josie invited her in.

Josie had seen that look before on Lexie but not for a long time now, not since that unfortunate business with Robbie Robertson, which had seemed to knock the stuffing out of her.

“Is Sarah in?” Lexie breathed, “I really need to speak to her.”

Josie stepped back and inclined her head to the door behind her. “She’s in the kitchen, at the table, doing some marking, just go in.”

Lexie hurried through the door while Josie returned to the parlour and her husband Billy, who was reading his newspaper and shaking his head at the carnage that was unfolding on its pages.

Josie watched him for a minute. At 57, age was catching up with him now, his hair almost completely grey and his need for spectacles to read was permanent.

He’d been working long hours at the mill, as general manager at Baxters, the buck stopped with him and keeping his managers focused on production was getting more difficult as their lives became touched with grief.

The arrival of a telegram from the War Office always bringing the worst of news of sons, killed in action and the need to carry on for the sake of those who were the survivors, becoming a daily struggle.

Jealousy

He became aware of Josie watching him and folded the paper.

“Is everything alright?” he asked, reaching for a cigarette and his lighter.

“Sarah has a visitor,” Josie began, “Lexie Melville,” she added tightly, the usual edge to her voice when Lexie Melville or her mother were mentioned, shining through.

Billy waited for her to continue. Despite 30 years having passed, Josie still hadn’t managed to control the jealously she felt towards Lexie’s mother, Annie MacPherson.

She’d been Annie Pepper when Billy had fallen in love with her and she with him but the fates had conspired against the union time and again and Billy had married Josie after Annie had wed Alex Melville.