Mrs Hansen, who’d been watching silently, stepped forward. ‘William is right. But take the extra chops, my boy. You young fellows have keen appetites. And give our good wishes to your family. All your family.’
As William left the shop, he saw husband and wife behind the counter. One waving his arms and shouting; the other staring silently into space.
Two of the other men from the factory, Herbert Blunden and Jack Kahui, had to report to the Drill Hall at the same time as William. A corporal greeted them and checked their names. ‘Hayes?’ he went to William. ‘We had a bloke through here last week with that name. Relation of yours?’ Then he seemed to remember something. He glanced at William’s stony face and bent over the form he was filling in. Jack and Herbert gazed at the scuffed floorbo
