The War That Saved My Life

Mam doesn’t recognize Ada at first, but she becomes outraged when she realizes that it’s Ada riding a pony, wearing nice clothing, and using crutches to walk. Mam is furious at Ada for wanting an operation to fix her foot and accuses her of thinking she’s above her own mother. Mam tells Susan off and demands that Ada come home with her. Ada turns to untack Butter, and Mam strikes her, then marches the children away before Susan can bring them their new belongings. As they’re leaving, Susan calls out to Ada and Jamie, offering to let them stay with her, promising she can fix things by going to the police: “They’ll listen to you, Ada” (291), she promises. Ada believes that she might be able to stay with Susan, but she fears the police “have no reason to take Jamie from Mam” (292) and insists she must go with her brother.

The train back to London is long, and Ada reverts to thinking about riding Butter again. Ada insists multiple times that nothing is wrong with her foot and that she can walk, which finally leads to Mam slapping her again. They arrive at Mam’s new two-room apartment, and things are quickly go back to the way they were: Ada is confined to the apartment, she must resort to using a bucket again instead of the bathroom, and Mam threatens Jamie if Ada disobeys her.

Mam goes out for a pint, leaving the children alone at the flat. Jamie misses his cat, and he’s confused by Mam’s behavior, asking Ada, “Why’s mam so angry?” (298). Ada is inclined to blame herself for Mam’s behavior but comes to the conclusion that “it didn’t make sense” (298). She thinks back to the past year: Learning to ride and jump a pony, helping Grimes in the stables, learning to read and write, and even catching a spy. Jamie assures her that Susan loves her, and Ada corrects him: “She loves both of us” (299). Jamie agrees, and Ada falls asleep reflecting on her newfound strength.

Jamie wets the shared bed, which infuriates Mam. She smacks him hard, threatening to make him sleep on the floor. Ada offers to help clean up and realizes that her shoes and crutches are gone—Mam has taken them. When Mam and Jamie go out to buy food, Ada “becomes a spy” (302) and searches the apartment, discovering birth certificates for both herself and Jamie. She hears Jamie on the stairs and hides the documents before quickly returning to her chair by the window again.

Over dinner, Ada confronts Mam, who confirms that she never wanted children in the first place and still doesn’t want children now. Ada promises that she and Jamie will be gone in the morning, and Mam grins at the idea of “getting rid” (306) of them cheaply and leaves for work.

Ada and Jamie sob together when Mam leaves, Ada promising that they’ll leave “as soon as the sun’s up” (307). She shows Jamie his birth certificate, pointing out his age (seven years old) and that he’s named after their father, James. They’re ready to leave when morning comes, but an air raid strikes, forcing them to leave the flat.

The streets are chaotic as bombs begin to hit London. Ada and Jamie find a bomb shelter, and strangers pull them inside. Ada’s ears “felt like they’d exploded too” (309), and she can’t hear. The people in the shelter care for Ada and Jamie, offering them tea, wiping the blood from their faces, and wrapping them in blankets. Ada and Jamie stay in the shelter holding one another among strangers.

People clear the bomb shelter in the morning. Ada and Jamie emerge to see “rows of buildings like missing teeth” (311) among the dust and smoke outside. Digging through the rubble, they spot Susan. She rushes to the children and wraps her arms around them, relieved to see they’re alright.

Ada and Jamie return to Kent with Susan. She explains why she got on the first train to London to search for them: “I realized that no matter what the rules were, I should have kept you. Because it was also true that you belonged to me” (313). Ada and Jamie understand this and confirm they were also on their way to find Susan.

Ada no longer has her crutches, so Susan gets a cab to take them home from the train station in Kent. When they arrive, though, the house has been bombed. They find “what seemed like half the village” (315) picking through the rubble, astonished to see them return. Fred Grimes, Lady Thorton, Stephen White, the publican and his wife, the policemen, and pilots are all relieved to see that the Smiths weren’t home when the bomb landed. Susan observes that she’s lucky to have gone after Ada and Jamie: “The two of you saved my life, you did” (316). The novel closes with Ada holding Susan’s hand and recognizing a feeling “like love” (316).