Page 8 of The Girls of Pearl Harbor
‘You’ve been looking after me my whole life,’ she whispered as a single tear slipped down her cheek. ‘If I lose you, if you can’t ever come home to America, how will I survive going back to my father?’
Charlie was the only one who knew the truth about her daddy. The only one whom she’d ever confided in about how cruel he’d been to her all her life. Her brothers would never have believed her—even as grown young men they idolized their father—and that’s why she’d always kept it a secret. Leaving home and marrying Charlie, living with her kind, sweet fiancé, meant more to her than anyone else could ever understand.
‘You know I’d never let that happen,’ he whispered, cradling her closer, holding her tight. ‘I’ll never let you go back there.’
‘You can’t protect me if you’re not here, Charlie. Once you’re gone, we might never see one another again.’
She blinked away her tears, her cheek to his chest. She wasn’t in the habit of guilting other people into doing things for her, and she’d never hold Charlie back from doing anything else, but defying orders to join the war? She just couldn’t let him go, not like that.
‘Promise me you’ll stay?’ she asked, tipping back in his arms to study his face.
He stared down at her, his jaw like steel before he finally softened. ‘For now,’ he murmured back. ‘For now, I promise.’
When he kissed her, she wondered if he was lying to her, if he would be gone by morning, but in that moment, all she wanted to believe was that her Charlie would do as he was told and stay on base.
‘Eva? Earth to Eva.’
She turned, blinking away the memories and quickly wiping at her damp cheeks. Her fingers brushed her throat, too, as she remembered what it felt like to have her father’s hand clenched tight to her skin, choking her, telling her that she’d never amount to anything. When she’d told Charlie he was her lifeline, that he meant more to her than anything else in the world, she hadn’t been lying.
‘You all right, honey?’
Eva smiled at the two other navy nurses standing behind her, nodding as she stepped back to join them. ‘Sorry, I was lost in my own thoughts.’
‘It’s time for supper. Are you joining us?’
She took a long, slow sip of her drink, followed by a deep breath. Charlie would be fine; he was still there at his base, still safe. She had to believe that he wouldn’t go without telling her, that she’d said enough to change his mind.
‘Of course,’ she said. ‘Lead the way.’
Her fellow nurses were a lovely bunch of women, all easygoing and fun to be around, and it was high time she enjoyed herself. Who knew what the future would bring, and so long as she was at sea or in Charlie’s arms, she was happy, and she needed to make the most of it.
Eva made her bed, checking the sheets were tucked in tight and her folds perfect. They weren’t held to the same standards as the navy boys, but they still had regular inspections, and she liked to keep her little space in the sleeping quarters perfect. She reached into her case and pushed aside her gas mask, fingering the ugly brown contraption and trying to imagine wearing it. She breathed deep, the ocean air reminding her where she was, how different Hawaii was from her home in Seattle, which would be so much colder right now. Even in the cabin the air smelled and felt different, and she’d finally started to get used to the stickiness of humidity against her skin. It wasn’t as hot as it had been when she’d arrived a month earlier, and they’d had sudden bursts of rain that had left the air like pea soup at times, but it was still pleasant.
‘Heading ashore in fifteen minutes!’ came a call, and Eva quickly gave her long hair a brush, securing a hair tie around her wrist in case she wanted it later. She loved having her hair out when she wasn’t on duty, but the dampness of her hair against the back of her neck would probably drive her mad within a few hours.
She checked her lipstick and picked up her bag, smiling at some of the other girls as they ran through their last-minute routines and rushed after her.
‘Do you girls have any plans today?’ she asked no one in particular.
‘My man has the day off, so we’re going on a picnic,’ one of the girls said.
‘Really? You sure he doesn’t have a cute friend so we can double up?’ another asked with a giggle, joining the conversation.
‘How about you, Eva?’
She smiled. ‘Well, I’m not seeing my man, that’s for sure. He’s working today, and I don’t think he’ll be getting any leave days this week. But I met some great girls at a party the other night, and I think we’re going horseback riding today.’
They kept chatting as they left their quarters and made their way to the meeting point, climbing down to the smaller boat that would take them to shore. She still remembered the first time, climbing slowly down on trembling legs and holding tight to the side of the little vessel, but now it didn’t faze her.
Once they were ashore, she waved goodbye to the rest of the group and walked quickly toward the beach where she was meeting Grace. They’d organized their day out the night of the party, and she hoped they hadn’t changed their minds. But she hadn’t been waiting five minutes when a familiar blonde came running toward her, a towel under one arm, the other flapping wildly to get her attention.
‘Eva!’ Grace called. ‘Over here!’
She smiled to herself, wondering how on earth Grace thought she couldn’t see her. Eva waved back and put on her sunglasses, before crossing the sand and meeting an out-of-breath Grace where the grass and the beach collided. Grace looked so similar to her sister, with the same shade of blonde hair and beautiful big blue eyes, but whereas April hadn’t had a hair out of place the night of the party, her hair twisted up neatly, Grace’s was wild and carefree around her shoulders. She was very much the younger of the two and far more energetic compared to her sister’s poise. Eva couldn’t help but love her all the more.
‘Sorry I’m late,’ Grace panted, bending over as she caught her breath. ‘I ran all the way!’
‘It’s fine; I was enjoying the sunshine. Where are the others?’
