Page 35 of The Girls of Pearl Harbor
‘Do we know numbers?’ she heard April ask.
‘Only that there are many dead, maybe hundreds, and it was worse at sea.’
‘Do you think they’ll come back for us?’ another nurse asked.
Grace bit down hard on her lip.Wouldthey come back? Was this just the start of something much, much worse? Their president had sounded so confident in his announcement, but if they hadn’t anticipated this attack, would they know about another?
‘What if they’re waiting for us? If they’re planning on coming back to take us all?’
Grace fought the urge to rock backward and forward, her arms clasped so tight around herself now as she imagined them coming for her, the Japanese making a surprise attack in the night and taking each and every one of them.
‘They won’t,’ April said firmly, as if she somehow knew more than all of them. But Grace knew what it was. It was her sister’s way. She believed in taking charge, in holding her head high and refusing to give in, refusing to buckle no matter what the stakes. No wonder she’d been so capable throughout all of this. ‘If they were going to come back, they would have by now. They might have caught us unawares here, but America is in the war now. There’s no way they’ll ever get away with anything like that, ever again.’
‘I’d go straight to the ocean,’ Grace said, surprising herself when her lips moved, the thoughts in her head suddenly shared with the room. ‘I’d rather drown in the water than be taken a prisoner of war.’
She could feel April looking at her and knew she wouldn’t approve. But she wasn’t brave like her sister; she couldn’t deal with ever being taken or facing more atrocities.
‘I’d run for the caves,’ said another nurse. ‘The ones we explored when we first arrived. We could hide there!’
April cleared her throat, and the others fell silent. ‘I’d fight them to the death if they came for me,’ she said, her voice deep, dark, and angry. Grace didn’t ever remember her sister sounding so menacing. ‘I wouldn’t let anyone capture me and take me alive, and I’d rather die fighting for what I believed in.’
And just like that, she’d managed to show them all that suicide or hiding wasn’t, or shouldn’t be, an option. Her sister was prepared to face the enemy head-on, despite what they’d seen, but Grace was still sure that she’d rather throw herself into the water and face her fate in the ocean.
‘Ah, sorry to interrupt, ladies, but I thought you’d all want an update.’
A deep, strong male voice spoke behind them, and Grace turned slowly.Teddy!She locked eyes on him and gasped, fresh tears brewing as she saw the man standing there, on both legs.Alive.
Grace wanted to run to him, but instead she sat, wrapping her arms tight around herself as she stared at him. He was alive! Teddy had made it!
‘The USSSolaceis the only ship to sustain no damage. Every other vessel in the harbor was either sunk or badly bombed, and Hickam Field took a direct hit by dive-bombers. There are hundreds dead and just as many wounded, and Schofield Barracks, Wheeler Field, Ewa Marine Corps Air Station, they were all hit too.’ He took an audibly ragged breath, his eyes bloodshot as he ran a hand through his hair. ‘We had the aircraft all packed wingtip to wingtip on the field, and it made them an easy target. They strafed and bombed all our planes.’
They all sat, listening, and Grace finally found her way to her feet and slowly crossed the room as the women around her started to mutter between themselves, some crying, some talking, and some staring blankly as if they were simply in shock still.
‘Teddy,’ she rasped, shaking her head as she held out her hands to him. ‘I can’t believe you’re here.’
He stepped forward and opened his arms, pulling her against him and holding her tight. She clung to him, inhaling the smell of smoke and war on his shirt as she buried her face into his shoulder.
They didn’t say anything; they just stood there, immobile, as nurses came and went, as April touched them and whispered as she passed, as the radio continued to broadcast the news.
When he finally let her go, he stared down at her, and she cried all over again. It was impossible not to.
‘I saw her,’ she finally blurted, needing to tell him. ‘They brought her body in.’
Teddy nodded as a single tear fell down his cheek. Guilt overwhelmed her then; she hated that she was in his arms instead of Poppy, wished she’d never hoped to be with Teddy when her best friend had loved him so much.
‘I’m so pleased I didn’t lose you too,’ he whispered, drawing her close again. ‘You’re like a little sister to me, Grace. It would have killed me.’
Little sister.The words washed over her. A few days ago, she would have been furious to hear him describe her like that. Right now, though, she was just grateful to be in his arms, to have someone protecting her when the world felt like it had tipped upside down.
But just as she looked up to tell him how sorry she was, as she was about to step back and force herself from his arms, Teddy’s eyes flickered, and she felt his body go. He was too heavy for her to do anything other than slightly break his fall as his eyes rolled back and he hit the ground.
‘No!’ she yelled, collapsing beside him and feeling for a pulse. ‘No, Teddy.No!I can’t lose you too.’
‘Teddy?’ Grace whispered, bending over him as she wiped his forehead with a damp cloth.
He’d stirred before and not woken, but this time he opened his eyes, looking alarmed before throwing his arms in the air and trying to leap from the bed.
‘What happened? What time is it?’
