Page 14 - The Spirit of Christmas 1940

Chapter 2

second guess these things.”

“Yeah, I know that but who is he? Why does he keep coming to
this station? And who was that woman? It don’t make sense to
me. Maybe he’s a spy, maybe he’s getting information from that
woman. All seems a bit iffy to me.”
Rose laughed. “You and your imagination, Jimmy. I bet it’s
totally innocent and I also bet it needs no help from us two gossip
mongers”.

The soldier stayed sat down for a while longer as if he was
carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Rosie and
Jimmy had been right, he had visited the station regularly over the
past few weeks. It was as if he had a mission there. A mission
that only he could carry out. Maybe that’s why he was alone.
Only time would tell.

Jimmy was troubled. Not because of the strange actions of
the soldier but more because he didn’t quite seem to fit into the
surroundings. There was something very odd about him. Even
though there was a war on, Church Street was doing it’s best to
keep the Christmas spirit alive. As most places around town,
things appeared cheerful and festive. That was the British way,
keep smiling and knickers to Hitler. Christmas must go on. But
there was a air of sadness around the soldier. It was if everything
around him was in a shade of grey that was impossible for Jimmy
to understand. Jimmy’s wise ways of the world, or at least
London, made him very aware of anything out of the ordinary.
And this soldier was standing out more than anything or anyone
he’d ever seen. But for now, he wouldn’t say or do anything. He
knew it would upset Rosie and that would kill him. Best just keep
an eye out and make sure nothing happens.

There was another concern in the back of Jimmy’s mind.
Everytime he looked at the soldier, he couldn’t help but feel for
the families of those lost in the war. He knew so many that had
been touched by tragedy. In fact the whole country was in the
same boat. Everyone knew someone who wouldn’t be coming