The War That Saved My Life

Susan prepares a large supper at home. Ada is astonished by the amount and variety of food, but Jamie refuses to eat and throws a fit. Ada is furious at Jamie for his behavior and attacks him, attempting to force-feed him his supper. Susan breaks the fighting siblings apart and carries Jamie upstairs to bed. Ada, still furious at Jamie, remains downstairs and cleans up the mess from their fight.

Ada awakes in the middle of the night to find Susan still in the chair beside their bed. They share a conversation in which Susan explains that Becky, her best friend with whom she used to share the house, died three years ago of pneumonia. Susan hasn’t slept well since Becky’s death, which is part of why she didn’t originally want to take in Ada and Jamie: “It’s nothing to do with you” (59). The conversation with Miss Smith puts Ada at ease, and they all sleep together with Jamie between them in the warm blankets. In the morning, Ada and Susan awaken to discover that Jamie has wet the bed. England and Germany are officially at war.

Jamie wants to return home to London, but Ada does not. London has not been bombed yet, and Jamie misses what’s familiar to him. Susan encourages the children not to worry and to play outside instead, giving Ada another opportunity to engage with Butter. Jamie refuses to eat supper again. He continues wetting the bed in his sleep and expresses his desire to go back to what he’s always known: “I want to be like always. I want to go home” (66). Ada, however, does not want to return home. She escaped once already and vows to run away again if necessary to avoid returning to confinement and abuse.

Susan stays in bed all day on the anniversary of Becky’s death, but Ada is able to provide basic care for Jamie. Meanwhile, an airfield is quickly built across the road from Butter’s field. Jamie continuously tries to see the airfield and is eventually brought home by an officer.

Despite the war escalating, many of the evacuated children are returning to London. Jamie’s friend Billy White, Stephen White’s brother, is among those going home. This triggers another fit from Jamie, this time in public at the train station, and Susan carries Jamie home screaming. Ada begins to wonder whether perhaps Mam does miss them and whether Mam would be happy to see that Ada can walk now.

Ada reveals that she has been “messing with Butter” (77) since her first encounter with him and tries to ride him for the first time the day Susan stays in bed. She’s been teaching herself about riding horses through trial and error and a book she’s found in the old stable. Butter quickly throws Ada off his shoulders when she finally attempts to ride him, but Ada immediately gets up to try again.

Jamie still wants to return home, and Ada demands to know why. She doesn’t want to return to a place where people think she is simple or “a monster” (81), but Jamie proposes that Mam probably won’t treat Ada the same way now that she has crutches and can walk. Ada insists that crutches don’t change who she is and that her life is much better here where people don’t treat her as an outcast. She tells Jamie that he needs to stay here with her so that she can continue keeping him safe.

Although Billy White returns to London with his mother, Stephen White decides to stay and continue living under the care of a Colonel who took him in. Ada approaches Stephen when she sees him in town, leaving Jamie and Susan to talk about the meanings of words on war posters, and the Colonel invites Ada to join him and Stephen for tea sometime.