Page 62 of The Girls of Pearl Harbor
Grace tried not to laugh, looking first at Eva, then her sister. She’d thought they were about to be told off, and instead they were being asked for dinner!
‘I told you the other nurses had been asked to have dinner with a family,’ Grace whispered.
‘Well,’ April started.
‘We’d love to,’ Grace said, ignoring her sister and speaking loudly. ‘Thank you. It’s an honor to be asked.’
‘You go over there,’ he said, pointing back toward the way they’d come. ‘I’ll meet you, walk you to our house.’
Grace made arrangements with him, but she noticed Eva moving closer, smiling at the man.
‘Your son, he is very polite,’ Eva said, stepping toward him. She saw her reach her hands out and then quickly drop them and wrap them around herself. ‘You should be proud of him.’
The man nodded an acknowledgement before walking off. They all looked at one another and laughed.
‘Well, we wanted different food. Now we have it!’ Grace said with a grin.
April smiled. ‘We’ll need to bring a gift for them, to say thank you. It must be a big deal for them to offer strangers food when they don’t have a lot.’
‘Do we need to cover our heads in his home like the women here do, out of respect?’ Eva asked.
‘I think we should just wear our uniforms,’ April said. ‘They know why we’re here, that we’re nurses, and I think that shows respect, don’t you?’
They took their food and walked away, heading for the beach to see if they could swim. It was an hour before they got there, and Grace looked out at the ocean and felt like she’d been transported back to Hawaii. She shut her eyes, inhaling the familiar smell of the sea and imagining the water washing against her feet. She could see Poppy running, splashing through ankle-deep water, chasing after her as April watched.
‘Hello, ladies.’
Grace opened her eyes and blinked away tears as she braved a smile and turned. She quickly wiped under her eyes when she saw the soldiers sitting farther down on the sand.
‘Hi,’ she called back. ‘Have you tested the water?’
The four men laughed, and they all stood, pants rolled up past their ankles, bare feet lost in the sand.
‘It’s mighty good in there,’ one of them said, his British accent making Grace grin.
‘You’re a long way from home, soldier,’ she said.
‘Not as far as you, love,’ another said, making all the boys laugh.
Eva had sat down on the beach, looking out to sea, but April was still standing, one hand raised to block out the sun.
‘You look familiar, actually,’ April said. ‘I don’t know why, but—’
‘The train!’ Grace interrupted. ‘You passed me coffee through the window of the train when we were stopped!’
The fair-haired one of the four laughed and came closer, holding out his hand.
‘You’ve got me. You know, you owe me for that. I got in big trouble for giving away our coffee rations!’
Grace smiled. ‘Really? And what exactly can I repay you with, soldier?’
The men on either side nudged him in the ribs, and she held his gaze, trying not to look away, enjoying their banter.
‘Well, how about we go out for dinner one night?’ he said, his cheeks turning a dark shade of red.
Grace glanced at her sister, who was looking like a mother about to drag her infant away from danger. She chose to ignore her.
‘Why not? I’d love to go out with you.’
