Page 2 of The Girls of Pearl Harbor
‘Do you think we’ll ever see war? My grandfather said no one wants to see our boys sent off,’ Poppy said as they all lay, three in a row, arms outstretched. ‘He doesn’t think it’ll ever happen.’
‘Let’s just hope we get to stay here for at least a year,’ April said with a yawn. ‘This is the life. Nothing’s going to happen to us here—it’s the safest place in the world for us to be.’
Grace couldn’t imagine war ever coming to Hawaii; from the moment they’d stepped off the boat, it had seemed impossible for anything terrible to ever happen on the picturesque island of Oahu. Until now, home was all she’d known, but this? This was something else.
‘Daddy told me that America was pretending the world wasn’t at war but that they couldn’t stay out of it for much longer,’ Grace said, remembering what their father had said the night before they’d shipped out. But when April turned, clearly poised to contradict her, she wished she’d lied and pretended she’d thought it all on her own.
‘There’s no reason for us to join the war—not yet—whatever Daddy says,’ April said, her voice full of authority, as always. ‘Besides, we’re definitely safe as a church here. I heard it’s far too shallow for an aerial torpedo attack, and there’s too much fighting in Europe for them to ever bother with this little island.’
‘How about we just have fun,’ Poppy said, rolling her eyes as if they’d already bored her to tears. ‘We can let our leaders in Washington take care of the threat of war while we’re here sunning ourselves and enjoying the beach. And how on earth do you know aboutaerial torpedoattacks anyway?’
‘Hello, ladies,’ said a deep male voice, distracting them all.
Grace tipped back, hand raised to block out the sun, and quickly tugged down her skirt with the other hand when she locked eyes with not one but two navy boys in their starched white uniforms. They looked good, but she still preferred the green uniform with golden wings pinned to the lapel that Teddy and the other flyboys wore.
She rolled over and pushed up to her knees before standing, giving April and then Poppy a hand up. ‘Hello, Officers,’ she said, smiling at the handsome young men.
‘When did you lovely ladies arrive?’ one of the men asked.
‘Just today,’ April said at the same time as Grace opened her mouth to speak. April was always doing that, speaking for her, and it wasn’t the first time Grace had to bite her tongue to stop from arguing with her big sister. April was only eighteen months older, but sometimes she made it feel like years. ‘Our ship docked this morning.’
Grace fingered the flower lei around her neck as she studied the men, wondering if they tried the friendly welcome routine on every new nurse they met.
‘Have y’all been invited to the party tonight?’
‘Yes,’ she said, before April could answer for them. ‘Will we see you there?’
The men nudged each other and smiled. ‘You sure will.’
Poppy had lost interest and was taking her sunglasses from her bag, the big white-framed fashion statements pushed high on her nose. Grace waved goodbye at the same time as her sister and turned back to face the water.
‘Shall we head back to the hospital, then go explore the island and meet up with the other nurses later?’ Grace asked.
‘Yes. Then we can all get dinner together before we head out,’ April said.
Poppy nodded her agreement, and they all started walking, watching as some aircraft performed training drills in the near distance, darting back and forth. The planes didn’t seem real with the towering palm trees as a backdrop, their skinny trunks extending so high in the air, but then nothing about being posted to a tropical island seemed real. When she looked one way, it was sand and water; the other, it was trees and lush green grass, as picture perfect as possible.
‘I hope we actually get to save some lives here,’ April said.
Grace fought the urge to roll her eyes again. Save lives? She was far more comfortable doing some light nursing duties, meeting handsome officers, and kicking her heels up like a newborn foal every night. April might have grander ambitions, but then her sister’s stomach was a lot stronger than hers.
‘Anyone up for a swim?’ Poppy asked, her perfectly painted eyebrows raised in question.
‘You’re insane,’ April said, hauling Poppy along to stop her from leaping into the water. ‘Absolutely not!’
‘Tomorrow,’ Grace whispered in Poppy’s ear. ‘We’ll leave Miss Prim and Proper behind, and we could ask one of the boys to teach us how to surf!’
She held tight to Poppy’s hand as they made their way back toward Tripler General Hospital to get their shift schedules and find out exactly how many hours a day they’d have to make the most of Hawaii. The other nurses would be milling about, and she couldn’t wait to see if they were all going to the party, not to mention what their barracks were like and where they’d actually be living for the next year or two. It was going to be the best time of their lives—she just knew it. And maybe she’d finally be able to step out of her big sister’s shadow.
‘Let’s go, ladies!’ Poppy announced, swinging around the room, her pretty skirt flaring out around her. Her hair was pinned up high on her head, her full lips painted red again, cheeks rouged just enough to enhance her high cheekbones.
Grace finished sweeping pink lipstick across her lips, smacking them together as she snapped her compact shut and hoping she looked even half as good as her friend. The little mirror had been almost impossible to do her makeup in, but she was finally done. She touched her hair, the blonde curls just skimming her shoulders, and picked up her purse.
‘Ready,’ she announced, trading grins with Poppy. There were other nurses busy chatting and getting ready, too, and across the room April was zipping up her dress, her arms twisted at odd angles as she struggled.
Grace crossed over to help, tugging the zipper to the top and gently putting her sister’s hair back over her shoulder so it could fall down her back. They were both blonde, almost the same shade as their mother had been, but April’s hair was long and wavy, so much easier to curl than Grace’s and so impossibly thick. But she knew that to anyone else they looked very much like sisters, their eyes the same deep blue, although April was taller than her and not quite as petite.
‘Thank you,’ April said as she turned. ‘Excited?’
