Page 47 of The Girls of Pearl Harbor
Grace blushed and felt her cheeks ignite, but she just waved the compliment away. In the past it had been Poppy who’d received the lion’s share of the attention. But those boys were off to fight, and all she’d done was give them a little wave. Within minutes they were lined up once again to board, and before she knew it, six of them were crammed in a tiny compartment.
‘Do you think they could have split us between two trains instead of this?’ she grumbled as they all tried to stow their things. ‘We can’t even all sleep at the same time in here!’
April looked as unimpressed as she felt. ‘I suppose we can take turns on the seats and floor when we want to sleep,’ she said. ‘Oh, and look! Two of us can definitely fit in the overhead.’
Grace’s brows shot up. ‘Theoverhead? That’s for luggage, you fool.’
April shrugged. ‘Come nightfall, I bet we’ll all be grateful to lie down on anything instead of stay standing.’
‘I’ll take the overhead,’ Eva said. ‘April’s right; it’s better than nothing.’
Grace shrugged. ‘Fine. But we’re not staying stuck in here for two days; we need to explore once we’re moving.’ She wanted to shake Eva. Why would she offer to sleep in the overhead? The Eva who’d given that soldier marching orders the first night they’d met, when he’d had his hands all over Grace, wouldn’t have so easily given in to sleeping rough without at least demanding a coin toss to decide the loser.
‘What’s there to explore?’ asked Kelly, one of the nurses who’d ended up in their compartment.
‘No idea,’ Grace said. ‘But I’m not about to get cabin fever and stay stuck in this tiny closet for forty-eight hours with barely enough room to wriggle, let alone breathe.’
Two days later, Grace was about to explode. The train had been moving so slowly she wasn’t convinced they’d moved more than a few inches in the past hour, and she was on the verge of hysteria. There was only so long she could take being in such a small space, and her stomach was roaring with hunger. What she wouldn’t do for a hot bath or even a warm facecloth to wipe across her forehead and down her neck, or an ice-cold glass of water. Being stuck in their compartment was torturous.
Thump.
‘What the heck?’ Grace rolled sideways as something large landed on her with a thwack. ‘Eva!’
Eva pushed up, groaning as she tried to get off her. ‘Ouch.’
‘Oh, honey, you poor thing! You fell out of the compartment!’ April was suddenly on her feet, hauling Eva up and checking her over.
‘What about me? I’m the one who broke her fall and got squashed!’ Grace protested.
They all looked at one another and burst out laughing, just as the train groaned and ground to a complete halt.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’ April muttered under her breath.
Grace walked over to the window and pushed aside the flimsy curtain, taking a peek outside.Well, isn’t that a sight for sore eyes.Another train was right beside them, and she knew the drill by now. There was only one line, which meant they’d have to wait for this other train to get past. The fact that it was filled with soldiers was the only thing that made it bearable.
‘Girls, I think you need to see this,’ she said. ‘Or should I say seethem.’
April, Eva, and the other three nurses came up beside her, and they all peered out the window as Grace pushed it open, grinning as she waved and called out. They usually had the windows closed, despite the heat, to keep the insects out, but this was worth letting a mosquito in for.
‘Yoo-hoo, boys!’ she called as the others giggled beside her.
One of the soldiers suddenly leaped up, and she watched as he nudged his friends in the sides and then jimmied his window open. Next thing they were all hanging out the open side, and more soldiers started to join them.
‘Where’re you girls heading?’ one of them asked.
‘Mateur,’ Grace called back. ‘It’s slow going, though.’
‘Fancy a ride? You’re welcome over here!’ another called.
Grace glanced at April and then shrugged, batting her lashes. Meeting men at dances in Hawaii had been exciting but terrifying at the same time, but this was different. There was something fun, something exciting, about being able to flirt from a distance.
‘If you have some hot coffee, well then, we might just take you up on that offer.’
April slapped at her shoulder, but Grace just laughed.
‘Whaddya say, fellas?’
‘Hot coffee, coming right up!’ one of them yelled back.
