Page 84 of The Girls of Pearl Harbor
Grace tucked her head to Eva’s shoulder as they walked, feeling safe for some reason with her friend by her side. She’d been jumpy and tearful ever since that night, and she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Teddy. What he’d done for her, the way he’d saved her and tended to her, was the kindest thing anyone had ever done for her.
‘You’re usually desperate to get out and about,’ April said, catching up to them. ‘Why are you so reluctant, Grace?’
She shrugged, not looking at her sister. She’d never been able to lie to her and get away with it before. ‘I don’t know. Maybe it’s not so exciting being here as I first thought.’
She felt Eva stiffen a little and knew that it was unfair making her keep her secret, but with everything April had going on right now, she didn’t want to give her something else to worry about. She could see that her sister was trying to put on a brave face despite her knock in confidence, and she wasn’t going to add to that.
‘You never did tell us about Peter,’ April suddenly said, and Grace knew that if she turned, her sister would be frowning, her entire face pulled down into a question. ‘I can’t believe it was weeks ago! Are you seeing him again the next time he’s on leave?’
‘Ah, no, I’m not,’ she said, trying not to stammer. ‘Turned out he, ah, wasn’t such great company after all.’
‘Turns out I was wrong to worry about you, I guess,’ April said. ‘Although I bet you took one look at Teddy and you talked his ear off all night instead of Peter’s—am I right? The poor man probably never got a word in.’
Grace forced a smile, knowing her sister was watching her now. ‘You know me too well.’
They walked awhile longer, past huts with roofs that looked too old and patched up to ever keep water out, and past people relieving themselves within plain sight of those around them. Grace averted her eyes, no longer as interested in their surroundings as she had been. To start with, she’d felt so alive, so energized at how different everything was and how free she felt, but right now she was craving the familiarity of home.
‘What’s that?’ Eva asked, pointing down the road. ‘What are they carrying?’
There were navy men up ahead, carrying boxes, and as they got closer, they called out.
‘Ladies!’ one of the men shouted. ‘You hungry?’
Grace held both Eva’s and April’s hands, one on each side of her, and they ran toward the navy boys.
‘What have you got?’ April yelled.
‘Fresh food! We’ve got fruit!’
‘Navy ship just came in!’ another shouted back.
Grace’s lips tingled, and her mouth watered just thinking about fruit. Aside from the one orange they received once a month as part of their rations, she hadn’t eaten fruit since they’d left home.
They each took apples and oranges from the boys, thanking them as they went on their way, but Grace didn’t even wait to say goodbye before she went straight ahead and crunched into her apple.
‘This is heaven,’ she whispered. ‘Pure heaven.’
They all sighed and munched, walking side by side without saying a word. Soon they were at their destination, and Grace stared out at the ocean and wished it didn’t remind her so much of Hawaii. She shut her eyes as she thought about Teddy; she could almost feel his arms around her again, the steady, effortless way he’d carried her and brought her to safety, the warmth of his cheek when he’d leaned in to say goodbye.
He won’t ever touch you again, Grace. You don’t want to tell anyone, that’s your business, not mine.
His words washed over her, echoing in her head as she remembered the way he’d looked at her that night.
Don’t let one guy ruin your time here, Grace. You have every right to go out and have fun on your nights off.
But it was all very well Teddy saying that to her. Finding the courage to go out again and face the world was a different matter altogether. She touched her hip, her fingers resting gently there. The physical pain was gone, but the ugly purple bruises were a reminder of what she’d almost lost that night.
‘Are you thinking about home?’ April asked, coming up to stand beside her.
‘Yes.’ It wasn’t a complete lie; she had been wishing she were home less than an hour earlier.
‘Me too. Only I’m praying I don’t have to go back, not yet.’
‘They’ll never send a nurse like you home, April. There’s no way they’d be that stupid.’
‘The only stupid thing here is me, for ever trusting Dr. Grey in the first place.’ She made a noise in her throat that Grace guessed was the sound of disgust. ‘I can’t believe he led me on like that, complimenting me and kissing my cheek. It makes me feel dirty that he behaved like that when he has a wife at home.’
They all sat down, and Grace started to slowly peel her orange. ‘It’s him who should feel dirty about that, not you.’ Just like Peter should be the one feeling awful about that night, not her. But shedidfeel awful, and she knew she’d always blame herself for ending up in a position for him to almost rape her.
