Page 86 of The Girls of Pearl Harbor
They gathered up their things and slowly walked back toward the camp, skirting around the edge of the town. The sun was still hot even though it was late afternoon, and Grace had that same strange feeling she’d had the night of her attack—as if she were looking down on her body and watching from above.
She was starting to wonder about her taste in men; at Pearl Harbor, Eva had stepped in when the soldier had been frisky with her, and then Teddy had come to her rescue here. And then there was Teddy. She was lying to herself if she didn’t admit to still being hopelessly in love with her best friend’s boyfriend, the man who’d so fondly told her she was like a little sister to him. What must he think of her now? That she was so juvenile she hadn’t even realized what trouble she was getting into, leaving a crowded place with a man she didn’t even know?
‘What’s going on down there?’ April asked, pointing. ‘Everyone’s watching something.’
Grace stood on tiptoe as they all stopped and stared, hands raised against the sun. ‘We need to go look,’ she said. ‘Quickly.’
They ran down the incline toward the town, wondering what on earth was happening that would bring everyone out of their homes, lining the streets to watch. Then she saw it—two open-top cars traveling slowly down the narrow streets.
‘Is that ... ,’ she started, squinting and wondering if she was imagining the scene in front of her.
‘General Eisenhower and Winston Churchill,’ April finished for her. ‘Oh my lord, they’re so close we could touch them.’
They stood and watched the procession, the men riding in the cars as if there were no danger, as if they weren’t in the middle of a world war.
‘That third man, who’s he?’ Grace asked.
‘General Charles de Gaulle,’ Eva whispered. ‘It’s unbelievable. I wonder what they’re all doing here?’
They kept watching, laughing as the men smiled and gave a wave. But it was the much younger man standing on the roadside among the locals that caught her eye. He was laughing and talking with the villagers, but she could see that he was looking in their direction, and he wasn’t looking at her.
She nudged April with her elbow. ‘I think someone’s trying to get your attention.’
April gave her a funny look.
‘Straight ahead,’ she said. ‘A very handsome doctor.’
She saw the smile on April’s face as she spotted him. Her sister raised her hand, and the warmth on the doctor’s face was unmistakable. He was tall, his legs eating up the ground as he strode toward them, and much younger than the other doctors. His hair reminded her of Teddy’s, pushed off his forehead and to the side, and when he smiled, she could see why her sister liked him so much.
‘Annnndhe’s coming this way,’ Grace whispered.
‘I wonder what he’s doing here with the locals?’ Eva said. ‘Looks like he knows them well, the way they’re all talking with him.’
‘He’s the one who helps them, the doctor that family talked about,’ Grace told her. ‘And he’s the one who’s sticking up for April over this whole suspension.’
They waited as the crowd dispersed and Dr. Evans made his way over, his smile as bright as the sun.
‘Ladies,’ he said. ‘Can you believe what you just saw?’
They all laughed, but it was Grace who spoke. It was usually April who took the lead on everything they did, but for once her sister was quiet. ‘I would have thought they’d be more safety conscious.’
‘It seems not.’ Dr. Evans shrugged. ‘Maybe it’s a sign; the Allies might be turning this war around after all.’
‘Dr. Evans,’ April suddenly said, her cheeks flushed.
‘Harry,’ he said with a laugh. ‘Dr. Evans is my father’s title; it never sounds right when I hear it. Please, call me Harry.’
Grace chewed on her bottom lip to stop from laughing. There was something amusing about seeing her usually unflusterable sister looking so thoroughly flustered.
‘Harry, then,’ April finally said. ‘I wanted to apologize for my involvement in the death of—’
‘Stop right there,’ he said, his smile replaced with a frown. ‘You’re a nurse, April, and that means that you had nothing to do with that soldier’s death. The surgeon is the only person at fault in this case.’
April looked away, and it was Eva who spoke for her.
‘It’s nice to hear you say that, but Dr. Grey is still practicing, and April is the one on suspension. She could be sent home any day.’
Harry’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Suspended? Since when? I wondered why I hadn’t seen you.’
