“Will you come and visit me when the war’s over?” Alice asks as she buttons Billy into his very best dress; the one Mrs Postlethwaite gave him for his birthday. It’s bright yellow with broad white stripes running down it. It boasts a pair of short puffed sleeves in white voile and a white lace trimmed collar, and beneath its full knee-length skirt he wears a voluminous white petticoat.
“I want you to live with me when the war’s over.” Billy replied. “We could all live in a big house like this… but with your mum and dad and my mum and…” he paused to lower his voice, “…no Mrs Postlethwaite.”
“A big house in the countryside.” Alice dreamily added as she tied his broad satin sash in a big fancy bow. “Or a big house in the city?” she asked as she turned him around to face her.