When his commanding officer first told him six months ago that he was on the shortlist for the job he was jazzed, but when it was made official a couple of months later he began to feel apprehensive. Up until then he had not allowed himself to think of all the things he would have to deal with, but confirmation brought a myriad concerns, not all of them work related. He had four months to get organised and his first problem was what to do with the house for the two years abroad. He considered selling it, but when he suggested that to Kathryn she went nuts, ranting about how much time and money they had spent getting it just right. Hank knew her horrified reaction was not just to do with the house. He pulled back from selling it and placed an advertisement on the Navy website newsletter offering it up for rental. Kathryn tried to fight that option too. She said the thought of complete strangers living in their home revolted her. Hank totally refused to leave the damn thing empty for two years while still paying the mortgage. She gave in but it was only the start of his Kathryn-related problems.

Janet and Helen, their five- and six-year-old girls, were another concern. He wondered how they would find moving to a new country and a foreign school even though, thankfully, their initial reaction was ‘cool’. Marty Whelan, the guy Hank was replacing, turned out to be a great help. Marty, who had a wife and child, had gone through everything Hank was about to and assured him all would be fine and that in no time at all they would be settled in. He reminded Hank that the posting with the Brits was a couple of decades old and that most of those who had gone before him had been married with kids and managed okay. Hank knew he was getting too strung out about the move and blamed Kathryn for much of his stress. She was by far his biggest problem at the moment. He was afraid this trip was going to test just about every aspect of their relationship. The problem was she did not want to go to England and her reason was deep-seated, family and historical. She hated the English and everything about them. Not that she had ever known a single English person or even been to England before. She had been brought up to hate them.

The captain’s voice filled the cabin announcing that there were twenty minutes before landing. Hank pushed his fingers through his short, brown hair. He had not slept a wink on the flight even after four beers and four Jack Daniels chasers. He prided himself on being able to sleep anywhere, anytime, wet or dry, on rocks or feathers, but the combination of the new appointment and family concerns was more than he had ever had to handle at any one time before. He finally decided the best way to deal with Kathryn’s issues was to ignore them. This trip was about his career and not her problems with the English. He was going to spend two years with the Special Boat Service (SBS). If he did well he could look forward to a promotion to E8 on his return. That promotion was the true source of his concerns. Without it, and it was not guaranteed by a long shot, he could look forward to three or four more years max in the Navy and then it was civvy street. The very thought depressed him. His dream was to be a lifer but it all hinged on how he was going to get on with - and impress - this foreign Special Forces outfit that his own American one was originally based on.

He had received several briefings on what to expect and how to comport himself.The two organisations were related, i.e. both were Navy and played in the water, though not exclusively, but they were also quite different. Americans gave the impression of being more laid back than the British, and in most cases that was true, but the SEALs were in fact a much more rigid structure and more traditional than the SBS. The SEALs were also far wealthier. The SBS had seen more action in the past few decades and boasted a greater number of successes, but Hank was not intimidated by that and proud to be a Navy SEAL.

He knew that if he wanted to return home in two years with an outstanding report he was going to have to impress. The issue was not if he could achieve his goals, but how. He had seen action in the Gulf War even though that was an overall disappointment for the SEALs, who were hardly utilised. His team had retaken a small oil platform in the Persian Gulf to prevent the Iraqis from destroying it, but there had been no resistance and it was basically a formality. He had also been part of the team that liberated the US embassy in Kuwait, but that was just a show for the press, roping down from a helicopter on to the roof while journalists, who had been there days before, filmed the event from outside on the street in a somewhat carnival atmosphere. Somalia was a little more hairy for him but he missed out on the bigger engagements. Afghanistan had looked hopeful but ended up another disappointment. As usual, it seemed, he arrived too late to see the best of the action. It was always about being in the right place at the right time and he never was. Two years with the Brits, however, did not necessarily mean a break in those possibilities.There had been rumours of previous exchange officers seeing action with the Brits, and not just in the Gulf or Afghanistan. He would just have to wait and see how true that was.

Hank checked his daughters were belted into their seats beside him and glanced over at Kathryn the other side of the aisle. She always looked pretty to him, even when she was stressed and unhappy. Her auburn shoulder-length hair shone like it had just been washed. It fascinated him the way it always seemed to fall perfectly into place. But her eyes looked tired as they stared ahead at nothing and there was a slight frown across her forehead. She was still annoyed at having to travel economy class. That was tough, he thought. The overseas allowances made this a good money trip and he was not about to squander it on an expensive upgrade. It annoyed him the way she had no respect for money. Hank’s philosophy was that of a Special Forces soldier: economy and planning, but despite his insistence he reckoned he lost as many fights with Kathryn as he won. The two things he regretted giving into most were the house and the car, both more than they could sensibly afford. It irked him every time he thought of the size of the combined monthly payments. Now the damned car was in storage for two years while they continued paying for it.

He went back to the view out of his window, his thoughts gravitating once again to his new posting. He had no idea what he would be doing once he arrived in Poole town. In some ways, coming to England would be like starting over. That was one of the big pluses for him. Making friends was not a problem. He liked to work hard and party harder, which had been as much a part of his problem as it was his charm. The plan for this trip was to hold off in the party department until he was more familiar with the guys. It was a matter of record that Hank could make an ass of himself when drunk, which was why he almost lost out on getting the promotion he needed to qualify for this job. But this trip was as much about public relations as maintaining the good rapport they had with their cousins over the pond. Hank had learned that his boss had based his final decision on the conclusion that Hank might just fit in with the Brits quite well; after all, the Brits liked their beer too.

‘Mommy,’ Helen said, leaning into the aisle.‘Are we nearly in England?’

‘Yeah, sweety. We’re nearly in England,’ Kathryn replied, wishing her little girl wasn’t so excited. The nose of the plane dipped a little to lose height.

‘Pinch your nose and blow into your ears the way we practised it, honey,’ Kathryn advised. ‘You too, Janet.’ The two girls pinched their noses and blew repeatedly, their little cheeks puffing out.

‘I felt a pop, Mommy,’ Janet said.

‘That’s good, honey.’ Kathryn glanced at Hank, who was still staring out of the window, absently rubbing his palms. She wanted to put her hands on his and tell him he was going to do just fine, but she couldn’t. He may be worried about the next two years, but so was she. She resented him for not understanding her needs. While he was doing his job she was looking forward to two years of hell.

She looked around the crowded terminal at the people, races she had never seen in the flesh before and languages she could only guess at. She heard American voices and craned to search for them. They were easily spotted: a loud, well-fed group in crisp, colourful clothes; retired couples from Texas or Arizona she guessed. She watched as they shuffled towards an exit that promised the coach terminal.

She was really here, she thought. Goddamned England. It was numbing. There was not one single positive aspect of being in England and no end of negative ones. Leaving the house had been unbearable. She hated the people they had let it out to: a lieutenant from SEAL Team 4 on the West Coast and his snooty Californian wife. The woman made it obvious it was beneath her status to rent a house belonging to a mere chief petty officer, but as she kept saying, much to Kathryn’s irritation, ‘there simply wasn’t anything to choose from’ implying Kathryn’s house was a last resort.

Saying goodbye to her friends was almost as bad.The day they left for the airport it should have been her turn to host the wives’ get-together. Hank had accused her of being petty when she moaned about it but it represented all that was important to her. Her social life dominated everything. Most of her friends were Navy wives and young mothers. There was always a birthday party, a baby shower or picnic to attend or plan. Every weekend someone was having a barbeque. She never went shopping alone; a phone call would always find at least one wife to come along and turn it into a day out. Her women’s group was probably the most important event for her.And at the centre of everything were, of course, the children.

Standing there in the arrivals lounge, thousands of miles from all of that, Kathryn felt as if she had been ripped out of her life by the roots. She had even delayed packing to the last minute, hoping and praying the trip would somehow fall apart. Never in her life had she considered coming to England. It irked her even more to think Hank was actually keen on it. His parents were also of Irish descent. Maybe not second generation like hers but what was the difference? When she tried to talk to him about it all he would say was, ‘They ain’t at war with you.’ ‘Tripe’ her mother called his comment.‘The war was against the Irish, and we’re Irish,’ she insisted. Hank said Kathryn was using the Irish thing as an excuse and that it was her friends she really didn’t want to say goodbye to.

Kathryn ultimately gave in because Hank had threatened to quit the SEALs if she didn’t go with him; it was a married and accompanied draft and he would not have been able to go without her. She had never seen him so angry as when she first refused. She thought he was going to wreck the entire house when he came home drunk later that night. If he quit the Navy they would have had to leave Norfolk for him to find work anyway. She had her doubts that he would have carried out his threat but she didn’t want to take the risk. He was capable of doing crazy things at times. Hank tried to console her with stupid comments such as it wouldn’t be quite so bad once she made new friends. He just didn’t get it. She didn’t want anything to do with the English. She was realistic enough to know she could not avoid the other wives completely but she was not about to get pally with any of them.The girls would obviously make friends at school.They would want to bring them home. The mothers would then want to come in for their cups of tea and no doubt ask endlessly stupid questions about what it was like in America. There would be birthday parties and sleepovers. The more she thought about it the more it worried her that she could not keep it up for a week, never mind two years.

‘Mommy? I wanna drink,’ Helen said, looking as if she was close to falling sleep.

‘You’re gonna have to wait, honey.’

‘But I’m thirsty.’

‘Daddy has all the English money.’

Kathryn saw Hank moving nimbly through the crowded hall towards her. A man she vaguely recognised was following him. He must’ve been six three or four, at least a couple inches taller than Hank.

Hank arrived a little out of breath and grabbed one of the trolleys, turning it in the direction he just came from. ‘Hold on, honey,’ he said to Janet, then to Kathryn as he started to push off, ‘We gotta hurry. Marty’s parked in a no-waiting zone.’

‘Hi,’ Marty said with a carefree grin as he arrived and took charge of the other trolley, but in nowhere near the rush as Hank who was already heading off.

‘I told Hank we don’t need to rush so much,’ Marty said in a lazy, mid-western drawl. ‘They ain’t so crazy here ’bout parkin’ out front as they are States side.’

‘Comin’ through here,’ Hank shouted to people blocking his way.

Kathryn plucked Helen off the trolley Marty had hold of, forcing a smile for him, uncomfortable as she usually was with strangers. ‘I’m Kathryn.’

‘We met a couple years back at an open day,’ Marty said. ‘My wife’s name is Kate.’ Marty was broader than Hank and had a farm-boy quality. He was almost handsome.

‘I remember,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry but I don’t remember your wife. Kate, did you say?’

‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘I’d only just dragged her out from Kentucky that week. She was shy about meetin’ new people back then.’

Kathryn decided she liked Marty and his slow, confident way of talking and moving.

Hank looked back to check on their progress. ‘Come on, honey. Otherwise the car’ll get towed,’ he shouted.

Marty politely indicated Kathryn to go ahead. She wondered how well Marty knew Hank. They seemed quite opposite in character. She took Helen’s hand and moved off in pursuit of her husband.

‘’Bout two hours should see us into Poole, maybe more if this jam doesn’t clear,’ Marty said.

‘Is the traffic always this bad?’ Hank asked as they crawled along the three-lane highway sandwiched between a truck and a double-decker bus.

‘There was a bomb scare on one of the bypasses a couple hours ago. That’s why I was late. We’ll be past it soon.’

‘Bomb scare? Who would that be?’ Hank asked.

‘RIRA probably. They’ve been stepping up their attacks on the mainland lately.’

‘RIRA?’ Hank asked, having never heard the term.

‘The Real IRA. That’s what they call themselves. They’re one of the new groups since the ceasefire.’

‘They’re all IRA though, right?’ asked Hank.

‘I guess. You’ve got the official IRA, the old original outfit, and then the Provisional IRA. Anyhow, they’re supposed to be having a ceasefire.Then there’s a group called the Continuity IRA, which are pretty much like the Real IRA. They’re made up of guys from PIRA, the Provos that is, who don’t agree with the ceasefire. But then the Provos were originally formed back in the seventies or sixties by guys who thought the IRA in those days weren’t putting up enough of a fight. Basically not a lot’s changed as far as most of the Catholics in Northern Ireland are concerned. They still want the Brits out.’

‘So why don’t they just leave?’ Kathryn said, almost to herself, not really wanting to get into a conversation on any subject.

‘Problem is the Protestants want to stay British and there are more of them than Catholics and they’ve got most of the power and money . . . Funny thing is the Brits first sent troops into Northern Ireland to protect the Catholics from the Protestants. The first Brit soldier killed was by a Protestant, or was it the other way around? Yeah, I think the first guy the Brits shot was a Protestant. Maybe it was both. Anyhow, nothing seems to have changed, like I said. Except of course since the September eleventh thing. Terrorism, even in Ireland, doesn’t get the same support it did before the towers were hit.’

‘What about the English terrorists?’ Kathryn asked.

Hank rolled his eyes.

‘How’s that?’ asked Marty.

‘Haven’t you ever heard of the famine?’

‘The famine?’ Marty asked.

‘That was when the English tried to wipe out the whole Irish nation,’ she said.

‘Sorry. History ain’t my thing,’ Marty said, eyeing her in the rear-view mirror. He grinned. ‘You ain’t gonna be too popular round here with sentiments like that.’

Kathryn stared out of the window at the traffic, as if she gave a damn.

Hank knew where Kathryn was coming from and kept quiet.

‘What’s a bomb scare, Mommy?’ Helen asked, sucking her thumb, trying hard to stay awake.

Hank leaned around from the front passenger seat and tucked the blanket up under her chin, snuggling her in. ‘It’s when people try and scare other people, honey. You warm enough, cuddles?’ Helen nodded as her eyes spent more time shut than open.

‘Anyone wanna grab a coffee or a bite?’ Marty asked.

The little girls were already asleep. ‘I’m okay.You okay?’ Hank asked Kathryn.

‘I’m fine,’ Kathryn said, checking her watch.

‘Dinner in Poole it is, then,’ Marty said.

Kathryn did a quick calculation and decided that the wives’ monthly get-together finished about four hours ago.

‘I hope it’s okay,’ Marty said, worried Kathryn wouldn’t like it. ‘You can always change it,’ he added.

Kathryn had no enthusiasm whatsoever. The driveway, just long enough to fit a car, was very steep and led up to a garage connected to the house.The garden wrapped tightly around the front and the entire building fitted snugly in between the houses either side with very little room to walk between them.

‘What do you think, honey? It looks fine to me,’ Hank said.

‘It looks fantastic,’ she said dryly.

‘If you don’t like it we’ll grab a hotel, for Christ’s sake,’ Hank snapped. ‘They have hotels in this town, don’t they, Marty?’

Marty remained neutral.

Kathryn pulled a bag out of the vehicle. Marty held out the keys for Hank. ‘The small one’s the front door, the long one’s the back. Why don’t you dump your stuff inside and we’ll head round to my place. Kate’s got a real Southern home-cooked supper waiting for you guys.We live a couple blocks up the road. We’ve got a couple beds set up for you and the kids for tonight.’

Kathryn smiled politely at him in thanks, appreciating Marty’s kindness.

Hank took the key as Kathryn headed up the steep incline. ‘What time are you going to the base tomorrow?’ he asked.

‘You don’t have to come in till next week,’ Marty said. ‘Take your time. Get settled in.’

‘I’d like to get into it right away.’

‘You’re not scheduled to meet the boss till next Wednesday.’

‘Maybe you can show me around, if you’ve got time.’

‘If that’s what you wanna do,’ Marty said, seeing Kathryn waiting impatiently at the front door for Hank to open it. ‘That’s what I’m here for,’ he said as he grabbed a bag and headed up the drive.

Hank was getting annoyed with Kathryn’s attitude but told himself to stick to his guns and let her deal with her problems. He had a job to do and bright and early tomorrow was day one.