Page 86 of The Spitfire Girls
Ruby started to laugh, imagining Lizzie telling poor Jackson exactly that, and May chuckled beside her. ‘She’s brutally honest, isn’t she?’ she said. ‘I mean, who else would say those things?’
‘I think Lizzie says whatever’s in Lizzie’s head, whereas most of us have a special filter that tells us when to say things out loud or not.’
They both laughed again, and Ruby wished she could thank Lizzie then and there for putting a smile back on May’s face.
‘I know it’s early to be talking marriage, but I keep making it very clear to him that I’m not the marrying type, because I don’t want him getting any fancy ideas that he can be the one to make me settle down. My darling mother would adore him, but honestly, I can’t imagine anything worse than being tied to a man for the rest of my life. Imagine him trying to tell me what to do! It would be preposterous. Anyhow, things are going mighty well here, aside from Jackson still trying to throw his authority around and making my girls march everywhere like little tin soldiers.
Keep those chins up, girls. We’ll never forget who we lost, but she would want us to be happy, right?’
Ruby lowered the letter. ‘I miss Polly so much,’ she said. ‘I still can’t believe she’s gone.’
‘Me too.’ May said. ‘I don’t think I’ll ever get past it, that pain of knowing she’s gone and we’re still here.’
Ruby hesitated, then decided not to hold her tongue any longer. ‘I know,’ she said in a low voice. ‘And after everything, I mean ...’ She sighed. ‘You’re always here for us, May. But who’s here for you? If you need someone to talk to, about what happened, I want you to know that I’m here.’
May nodded and smiled, but Ruby could see the tears glistening in her eyes. ‘We’ve all been through a lot,’ she said, ‘but I’m fine. Ben was— Well, he’s been there for me. I actually feel better than I have in a long time.’
Ruby let out a breath. ‘I’m happy to hear that. He’s a good man, and he’s good for you, May.’
May squeezed her hand and headed back to her desk. Ruby folded Lizzie’s letter and tucked it into her pocket. She also had a letter from Tom squirrelled away that she’d read at least three times already; it didn’t look like they were leaving anytime soon, so she unfolded it again and stared at his familiar handwriting.
Dear Ruby,
I’m in some sort of hell. Honestly, I know hospital was bad, but I’d do anything to be back there and not under the same roof as my mother. I’ve tried, honestly I’ve tried so hard, but sometimes she’s insufferable. My poor father! Please promise me that we’ll never be like this with our children? I don’t know how I ever listened to her about you. Please accept my apologies a hundred times over!
She is most upset that I’m at home convalescing and you’re still away flying, despite me trying to explain to her that you’re not exactly gallivanting around having fun instead of caring for me! I honestly don’t know why she’s still bleating on about your decision to fly. Remember that I will stand by your side no matter what, even if it means constantly telling my mother that she doesn’t know what she’s talking about and needs to show you more respect.
The one nice thing has been getting to know your parents better, although I can tell it must be hard for your delightful mother being with me when she’s so worried about you. But the look on her face when she talks about you, or when she tells someone that her daughter and son-in-law are pilots, is something to behold. She’s a wonderful woman, and I can see that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Your father is fantastic – we had a whisky or three the other night and toasted our marriage, and my father came along too.
Stay safe in the air, my darling. I’ll be back on base again within the week I expect, and perhaps then you can arrange leave to visit me? Or even just figure out a way to fly into my base so I can make all the other officers jealous again.
Tom
Ruby read the letter one more time before carefully folding it into a small square and slipping it back into her pocket. She fingered the ring she still wore on a chain around her neck, smiling as she thought about Tom, and imagining a time when the war was over and they were back flying together. She wanted to perform acrobatics in the sky and challenge him to races, or fly in a two-seater and just enjoy being in the air for fun.
Her pulse raced as she thought about him getting back in the sky again, knowing how much more dangerous his role was than hers. He was engaging in air attacks, whereas her biggest enemy was the cloud.
‘Time to go, ladies!’
Ruby picked up her small bag and stretched out her back; these days she felt so stiff and achy all the time. It was going to be a long day with a Spitfire to fly to the first base, then a Halifax further afield, and if the weather held long enough she’d be bringing back a Lancaster before having to make her way by train to Hamble, with her bag, parachute and maps in tow. Central Operations at Andover had a horrendous job, trying to shuffle planes and ferry pilots all over the British Isles, and she seemed to be regularly logging three flights instead of two each day as more planes were needed.
‘Oh, listen!’ one of the other girls called out, turning up the volume on the wireless. ‘Our boys bombed Berlin last night! Twice!’
Ruby gasped and swelled with pride, wondering if the four-engine bomber she’d delivered the day before had been the one to do it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
TEXAS,EARLY1943
LIZZIE
‘Captain!’ Lizzie called out, seeing Jackson walk past her office. His head appeared in her open doorway and she beckoned him in.
‘Well, don’t you look like the cat that got the cream,’ he said, eyebrows raised. ‘What is it?’
‘I’ve just received a letter from General Arnold,’ she told him, still clutching the paper like a lifeline.
‘And what exactly did your good friend Hap have to say today?’
