I believe you, she thought. No one could say that as you have and not be sincere. "I say this because if you don't mind me asking... Who is going to be his guardian, now that his mother has died? And will he remain at Glenview, or go to live with his new guardian?"
"I'm glad you're Timmy's friend," Barbara said, then caught herself. "It's going to take some doing, to think of him as Tim, he's growing up so fast. You see, I haven't seen him in over a year. I've been... working out of the country."
"Tim told me. You've been helping women pilots in England.
That sounds very exciting, especially since you were over there during the bombings."
He wanted to know more, but she needed to talk about Tim, not herself.
"I'm afraid I can't answer either of your questions," she replied, trying to conceal the anxieties that both presented.
"But I sense that you have Tim's best interests at heart. So I don't mind telling you this... His mother and I were the very best of friends. Do you know she was flying overseas as a stewardess even before we entered the war?"
"Yes, she told me, before taking up the dangerous job."
"She asked me, and in her will specified, that in the event of her death, that I adopt Tim. I agreed, wholeheartedly, although I hoped that nothing would happen to her."
"I can see this isn't easy for you to talk about," Stephen said. "Please don't go on, if you don't want to."
He wanted to comfort her, but did not want her to think he was coming on to her.
Am I?, he wondered. How could I help not to? Barbara appreciated his kindness. "It's all right. You've expressed an interest, which is very good of you, so I'll tell you... His grandparents want him to live with them. They haven't said they would adopt him, but they don't want me to. I'm afraid there will be a custody battle over him."
Stephen Collier looked as if he disapproved of that. "Whom does Tim want to be with?"
"He wants to live with me."
"But can he? Even if you adopt him? Forgive me for asking, but what will you be doing, now that our country is at war? You're such an expert flier, you're valuable to the war effort."
"Oh, I doubt I'm that," Barbara said with sincere modesty, having always hated few things more than false modesty. "But I do plan to join an American women's flying auxiliary that is starting up. I doubt very much I'll be flying planes in Europe. Just over here, relieving male pilots for combat flying."