Chapter 1

Summer in England 1945

I paused to take it all in and let peacetime wash over me, it felt real at last, an American bomber named Enola Gay had ended it all after six years of madness and slaughter.

I lit a cigarette as the train huffed slowly out of the station and looked out over the station car park, how green everything was, how peaceful too.

Picking up my case, I meandered out into the street, I was a fifteen minute walk from home, there would be no Stukas with their insane, banshee screams, no ME109's strafing civilians, but above all no shooting whatsoever!

One or two people looked at me curiously, the scar tissue on my face both attracted and repelled them, across the road the Red Lion pub was just opening it's doors for the trickle of day time trade and I realized how badly I needed a pint.

"Morning" I went in and nodded in reply to the landlord's friendly greeting.

"A pint of your best bitter please George"

He looked up and stared at me,

"Good God, it's Dave Stevens isn't it?"

"As ever George" I smiled,

"We heard you were dead" he pushed the foaming pint over to me and watched as I took a deep, satisfying draught,

"A nasty rumor George" I pulled out a note for the drink but he waved it away, "Not after what you've done"

"Everything I did George, I did to survive, but thanks"

"Is that it then are you out?"

"Don't know yet, they've offered me a job, but I'm having a few days leave to mull it over, anyway I need more surgery yet on my face"

"Yeah you're not very pretty"

I grinned at him and finished my drink,

"Good to see you George, I'll probably be down later on"

"Do that" he held his hand out and shook mine warmly,

"I'm glad you made it mate"

"Thanks" and I walked out into the rest of my life.

The house stood by itself at the edge of a small plantation of trees and bushes, I stood just looking for a minute at the neatly tended garden then the door opened and she was there, my sister, the girl whose face had visited me in my dreams every night.

"David?"

A smile broke out as I nodded unable to speak, then she was in my arms her blonde hair in my mouth, her lips on my face, my neck,

"David" her tears fell on my face to be joined with my own as I held her tightly,

"I thought I'd lost you"

"Shush" I said gently, "You didn't lose me, I'm here Penny"

"Tell me it's over David, please tell me you're not going back"

"I don't know yet, you can help me decide"

The tears fell again and all I could do was stand there holding her until they finally stopped and we went into the house arm in arm.

"How's the face?" she asked quietly, "Does it hurt much?"

"Only when I laugh"

She reached out and touched the scarring,

"They told me it was bad"

"It wasn't a barrel of laughs, that's for sure"

Reaching for my case I sat it on my knee and flicked it open, her eyes widened as she saw the slim packages holding silk stockings, the long packets of duty free cigarettes and the packets of tea and coffee,

"Courtesy of our American allies" I laughed and took everything out to lay them on the table, "They were first into the camp after the R.A.F. had flattened it, it was they who took me straight into one of their field hospitals"

"I've not seen coffee for about four years" she laughed, "I could only ever dream about non service issue stockings"

"Yeah tell me about your job, driving wasn't it?"

"Yes, I was a General's driver" she said proudly, "I only got demobbed last week, but I've been busy in the house, since mum and d--,"her voice cracked then and I reached for her.

"Show me where they're buried"

I'd been in the Nazi prison in Germany under sentence of death when they were killed in an air raid on London, the commandant, a kindly man who hated the Nazis had received word via the BBC world service, (dad was an important diplomat involved in top secret negotiations with dissident Nazis to end the war)

"They're in the cemetery"

She took my arm and walked with me,

"Did they know about us?"

"No" her hand slipped down into mine, "No definitely not"

"They died thinking I was dead though didn't they?"

"Yes" she nodded sadly, "I've only known that you weren't dead for just over a month"

"Amazing isn't it, I survived all that time without injury and then the bloody R.A.F. did this to me?"

"Do you feel bitter?"

"Hell no, I was due to be shot the next morning, the commandant had delayed it for as long as he could"

"Did he make it?"

"Well the Yanks arrested him, but I'll speak for him if he's put on trial, he detested the Nazis, but his family connections kept him pretty safe, I hope he's all right, the Gestapo wanted me shot the moment I was captured, it's only thanks to him that I'm still alive"

We reached the cemetery then and we both knelt beside the graves of our parents, they were well kept with a tiny posy of fresh flowers on each one, I stayed there just thinking about them until my sister stood up and took my hand,

"Come on Dave, don't let's be sad, they went quickly, shall I do us some dinner?"

"That'd be nice" I smiled and realized I'd not eaten since breakfast some five hours ago.

"How are you for food, I've got my own ration books if you need them?"

"I was a General's driver remember?"

"Officers perks eh?"

"We closed down a major black market operation two weeks ago, we've got lots of food"

She showed me a big cupboard like thing in the kitchen and explained the Yanks had given it to her rather than ship it back when they left,

"It's called a fridge" she said proudly, "It keeps things fresh for ages"

"Wow" I laughed, I'd heard of the new fangled invention but this was the first I'd seen and I was hugely impressed, especially when she produced two big T-bone steaks and four eggs!

"How long have you had these?" I asked and looked doubtful when she told me her old boss had sent them three days ago,

"Are you sure they're all right?" I picked one up and sniffed it suspiciously much to her amusement, it smelled fine, so she put them in a pan over a low light and surprised the hell out of me by producing a bottle of Scotch whisky.