“Jim, you’ve never believed in all that tommyrot.”
“Definitely. The message is here. It shows two people sitting apart.” He looked up. “It says you mustn’t get too fond of him. In wartime it’s best not to get too fond of anything or anybody if you can manage it. Nothing’s permanent.”
“Nothing’s permanent in peacetime either, is it?”
“No. But then things do tend to stay the way they are long enough to create an illusion of being permanent. That counts for something. Are you friendly with the neighbours? I expect all those women on their own jump at the chance of company.”
“Oh, the neighbours. Yes, of course. I try to be friendly with them all. But you know how it is. I don’t have that much in common. And they all seem to have paired off. But I do organise the parties and get-togethers.
