The next day, we all woke up early due to a scheduled delivery from Mr Thompson of several sheep that would fill the upper paddock. March seemed like a strange time for sheep to be moved, but Jonathan had explained to me that many of the ewes - fancy name for a female sheep - had become pregnant in December. We would be able to have our first lambing season.

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, struggling to keep them open and really wishing I was still in bed. Jonathan and Barbara could handle the delivery of sheep themselves and I didn't understand why I had to be there. Still, I didn't say anything and just stood by the fence and tried to stay awake as best I could, but it was a struggle. My chores usually took place earlier in the morning, but we were up too early.

"What time did you get to sleep last night?" Jonathan asked, poking me in the shoulder.

My eyes shot open and I looked at him. "Usual time."

"Really? I could have sworn I heard you talking to Goose past midnight."

"She kept rolling over and kicking me in the leg and then dreamt she was running so continued to kick me. It's hard to sleep when you have a puppy kicking you."

Jonathan laughed and shook his head a little, beside him, I could see Barbara trying not to laugh. "Maybe she should go back to sleeping in her basket if she's keeping you up at night."

"Maybe. Nice to know you're enjoying my pain, though. She might be small, but she has a powerful kick."

"You have to admit, it is funny."

Jonathan wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his side, squeezing my upper arm before letting me go. Goose had only just started to sleep on my bed since we all thought she had reached a decent size, but she would have to go back into her basket. I really didn't like the idea of being a human target for her paws every night; she bruised my back and everything.

Against the silence of the country, the low drone of a tractor engine filled the gap and I rubbed my eyes again to see if it made any difference in how awake I felt. It didn't. Through bleary eyes, I watched the Thompson's tractor appear over the crest of the hill with a large trailer attached to the back of it. It grumbled and groaned up the hill before straightening out on the flat part of the farm.

Mr Thompson brought the tractor to a stop and cut the engine, silence returning to our small part of the country. He climbed off the front of the tractor with Alec following behind him. Alec had apparently been squished up behind him because of the sheep in the tractor and he stood to the side to stretch out his compressed limbs. When he spotted me standing there, he smiled and I felt Jonathan nudge me in the side so I hit him lightly on the arm.

"What are you two up to?" Barbara asked, peering around to look at us when she heard the slapping sound.

"Nothing," I said. Jonathan continued to nudge me in the side. "Stop! You're so annoying."

"Here was me thinking you only took in one evacuee," Mr Thompson said.

"Hm. It turns out I have one child and an oversized child."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Jonathan grinned. "Shall we get these sheep unloaded? They're probably not too keen on being locked up in that trailer for much longer."

"Right. I can back the trailer into the paddock. Alec can open the gate and then the trailer inside."

"Can I?" Alec asked. He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, you can."

Alec sighed. I could have sworn he rolled his eyes a little, but no one else seemed to notice other than me and I had no intention of getting him into trouble. He opened the gate into the paddock and backed up inside of it whilst Mr Thompson climbed back onto the tractor and turned the engine on.

Slowly, Mr Thompson backed the tractor up and steered the trailer through the open gate with Alec waving him through to make sure he didn't knock anything. The job could easily have been managed with just them and I could have stayed in bed that little bit longer, but I didn't say that. Instead, I just scuffed the toe of my boot on the ground and tried not to fall asleep whilst standing up, although that would be an achievement.

Once the trailer had cleared the gate and the fence, Alec reached around the back and undid the latch that kept the door closed. He slowly lowered the back of the trailer and then took a step back so he didn't get trampled by the sheep that came running out of the back and into the paddock. The sheep paused briefly to survey the area before trotting off in search of grass to eat. Alec replaced the back on the trailer and Mr Thompson quickly pulled forward. The moment the trailer had cleared, Alec darted out of the paddock and closed the gate.

I walked forward and leant against the top beam of the fence, watching the sheep move around the paddock and chew on the grass. After six months, the farm finally felt like it was coming back to life and the sheep were the newest addition. It felt nice to know that I had contributed to helping breathe new life into the Goodwin family farm.

"The farm's looking good, Jonathan," Mr Thompson said after he turned off the engine and climbed off the tractor.

"It definitely seems to be taking shape. We might be able to have our crops come harvest."

"All thanks to you," Alec said, joining me at the fence to watch the sheep.

"A team effort. I was just glad I could help; I like being useful."

"They got lucky finding you at the village hall."

I smiled. "Maybe, but I got lucky too. I could have been stuck with anyone, including my old school headmaster."

"I bet that would have been fun." He laughed.

"Sybil! We're heading into the village if you want to join us," Jonathan called.

"Yes, please." I pushed away from the fence.

"Alec, you are welcome to join us."

"Alright."

Mr Thompson climbed onto the tractor. "I'll meet you down there once I've taken the trailer back home."

Alec nodded. Mr Thompson started up the tractor engine and we all stepped back to allow him enough space to back up the tractor and turn it around. Once he had trundled off down the path and back toward his own farm, we set off away from the sheep in the paddock and towards the village.

Barbara and Jonathan stayed back and spoke in low voices whilst Alec and I went on ahead. We walked alongside each other in silence, Alec occasionally becoming distracted by a bird in a tree and stumbling over his own feet. How he manages to get anywhere or do anything is beyond me since he never focuses on where he's going and looks like the type of person to fall over his own feet.

Still, he managed to stay on his feet until we reached the village about ten minutes later. Despite the rationing that had been introduced and the possibility of even more foodstuff being rationed in the near future, the village was still packed. To me, it looked like people were trying to get in additional supplies of various items that were likely to be rationed in the future with children heading into sweet shops or women visiting clothes shops for bolts of fabric, just in case.

We walked through the village square, Alec peering through shop windows and complaining that he didn't have any money to buy a chocolate bar. I ignored him and headed to the window of the Post Office where I peered in through the window and waved at Eva who stood in her usual position behind the counter. She waved at me and I saw her say something to Mrs Williams before shuffling out from behind the counter and exiting the Post Office.

"What are you doing?" she asked, smiling at me.

"Just on a trip to the village. We have sheep now," I said.

"Aunt Margaret has given me fifteen minutes if you want to catch up."

"That sounds like fun."

Eva and I walked over to one of the benches in the square and sat down with Alec floating around nearby, although I didn't know what he was doing. Even though it had only been a short period of time we last saw each other, we somehow ended up with an awful lot to say. I told her about the last few bits of work we had done on the house and farm along with trying my hand at horse jumping. She told me about school and Alice, who she had been getting rather close to in recent weeks.

"Am I ever going to meet Alice?" I asked.

Eva blushed, the redness covering her entire face until she looked like a tomato. "Maybe one day, but we're just friends."

"Right, of course you are. Just really close friends."

"What about you and Alec? I mean, he's giving you horse riding lessons so that's got to be something."

"I'm ignoring you." I turned away from her.

"Come on! You can tease me but I can't tease you? That's not fair."

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he is standing right over there and this is not a conversation I really want him to hear, thank you very much."

"I didn't hear you deny anything."

"What are you supposed to be denying?" Alec asked, sliding over to us.

I glared at Eva who burst out laughing, clutching her stomach and turning away from us so she could laugh as much as she wanted. Alec looked at me with a raised eyebrow, completely clueless as to why Eva had started laughing hysterically for what he thought was no reason whatsoever. I wasn't going to tell him why she had started laughing so I just shrugged and played it off like I had no idea.

Eva managed to calm down about five minutes later and when she turned back to us, she had tears streaming down her cheeks and were tinged pink from all the laughter. She chuckled to herself a few times before finally calming down and clearing her throat. Every now and then, she would take one glance at Alec and begin to giggle again but managed to stifle it before it got out of control. Alec just looked clueless.

Despite Eva's giggling, Alec decided to give a blow-by-blow account of my horse jumping abilities, including a really bad impression of looking terrified. I slapped him across the arm as hard as I could.

"Ouch! What was that for?" he exclaimed, rubbing his arm.

"Making fun of me. You won't get far teaching kids to ride horses if you mock them," I said.

"I won't mock them, I only mock you."

"Do you want me to hit you again?"

Alec darted up and moved just out of reach, striking his tongue out at me like a child and continuing to rub his arm.

"I should go. My fifteen minutes are almost over and Aunt Margaret will come out here looking for me if I'm late," Eva said.

"That's something we don't want; an angry Mrs Williams on the loose," Alec said.

"Are you saying that from experience?"

"Yes. I once put a football through her shop window. Never again."

Eva laughed and stood up, brushing off the back of her dress and shaking her head at Alec's comment. I stood up and walked with her over to the Post Office where we said our goodbyes with a promise to see each other in a few weeks time. It still felt odd that we had to schedule our meetings with one another whereas before, we would see each other all the time. I doubt I would ever get used to it.

When Eva headed into the Post Office, Alec and I moved through the village square until we found Jonathan and Barbara looking through one of the shop windows. Jonathan appeared to be eyeing up a small wooden train, although why he would want one I didn't know. They both turned around when we approached but before they could say anything, they paused and just stared beyond us.

"Hello, Syb," a man's voice said behind me.

I frowned and turned around. My eyes were instantly drawn to the Navy uniform the man wore and the small bag slung over his shoulder. It took a few seconds for me to realise who it was.

"Dad?"

~~~

A/N - Chapter Twenty-Eight is here! This is still a long story, but I think I'm getting there in the first draft. I think.

Questions! Reactions to Sybil's dad turning up?

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First Published - September 22nd, 2021