Page 62 of The London Girls
‘We’re desperately in need of more dispatch riders,’ Ava told her. ‘The last two nights have been just horrendous, but let’s hope we get a reprieve tonight. The last thing I want is to be stuck in a shelter when I’m full to popping with food!’
‘It is good to see you smiling, Liv,’ Florence said. ‘I know how hard life can be after trauma.’
‘Actually, girls, if I’m honest, I’ve had this feeling as if life has just started to pass me by. I know it’s only been a short time, but I know I need to start living again,’ Olivia said. ‘It’s the strangest thing, but I don’t want to give up just because Leo is gone. I can’t keep questioning why it happened, why he was in the wrong placeat the wrong time; all I know is that there’s nothing I can do to change it.’
Florence nodded, placing a hand on her arm as she watched Olivia brush her cheeks dry.
‘You’re so brave, you both are,’ Ava said. ‘Especially so soon after what happened.’
‘Actually, a letter arrived for me,’ Olivia said. ‘Leo sent it, sometime between when we were married and when he returned. It’s what made me realise I couldn’t hide in my parents’ house and cry forever.’
‘What did it say?’ Ava asked, as Florence gave her an exasperated look.The poor girl might not want to share the contents!
‘One day I’ll share it with you, but for now – well, he pointed me in the right direction. He made me remember what I wanted before the war, and who I was before everything changed. Why I have to keep going, even when I doubt myself.’
Florence nodded. Sometimes she felt like she needed a reminder of what she was like before the war too; what she’d dreamed of and what she’d wanted to do.
‘Anyway, what’s the news? Surely you girls have some gossip for me?’
‘Well, I’d like to know what’s really going on between Florence and Jack,’ Ava said. ‘Flo, you can’t honestly tell us that the two of you arejustfriends.’
Florence glanced over at him, studying Jack’s features as he leaned forward in the chair and rolled the dice. For a man who’d taken so long to smile in her company, he was certainly making up for it now, despite the rather large secret he’d arrived with. Perhaps it was her grandmother, or maybe it was simply that he felt he could be himself in her home. Whatever it was, she liked seeing him so relaxed, the polar opposite of the man she’d met her first day on the job.
‘He’s been through a lot,’ she heard herself saying. ‘You could say we have a shared understanding, although he certainly took me by surprise tonight.’
‘A shared understanding that you’re falling in love?’ Ava teased, which made Olivia giggle.
‘Oh, ha ha, very funny,’ Florence said, rolling her eyes. ‘But I’ll take it if it means hearing Olivia laugh.’
Olivia gave her an impromptu hug, and Ava elbowed her in the side.
‘I thought you said he was a burly man of few words?’ Olivia asked, as she appeared to watch him. ‘What changed?’
Florence quickly glanced away when Jack caught her looking at him, studying her hands instead. ‘It seems his gruff demeanour was just his way of protecting himself. He’s been through a lot, just like I have. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hurt that he kept his son a secret. I honestly thought he’d opened up to me about everything.’
‘Flo, one thing I’ve learned is that life is too short,’ Olivia told her. ‘If you have feelings for the man,’ she whispered, ‘take a chance, have some fun. Lord knows you deserve it. And don’t forget that sometimes people keep secrets to protect themselves from getting hurt. The fact that he brought his son here tonight ... well, maybe that was his way of showing you how much he trusts you?’
‘I agree,’ Ava murmured, as she and Olivia both stood. ‘I’m going with thelife’s too shortpart. All the men I’ve met were bastards, so I highly approve of this one!’
‘Ava!’ Florence scolded.
‘What? They have been.’
‘George isn’t a bastard,’ Oliva said. ‘And neither was Leo.’
‘Well, I’ll give you Leo, but George doesn’t count. He’s hardly my type.’
‘Your previous type was married,’ Florence said bluntly. ‘I’d say it should have been clear what type of man he was.’
Ava sighed. ‘Fair point. But it doesn’t matter anyway. I’m not going near another man, not for a very long time.’
Florence took a moment, watching as her friends went to join whatever game the others were playing. They were right – of course they were right – but she had so little experience with men, and somuchexperience with heartbreak, that it made her overly cautious.
The rest of the evening passed quickly and Florence marvelled at how well everyone was getting along. Olivia had been quiet in the beginning but had really come out of her shell, seeming to find comfort in talking to William, and Ava was as animated as ever, keeping both her grandmother and Jack entertained. It was nice seeing her grandmother’s face light up with so much joy so often throughout the night, and to hear Jack’s deep laugh that she’d rarely heard before. As for her, she liked keeping watch, smiling whenever anyone turned to her, and dipping in and out of conversations, but mostly just content to watch everyone else. And she’d become expert at staying just far enough away from Jack that she didn’t have to strike up a conversation with him.
‘Well, it’s time I went to bed,’ Ava announced with a yawn. ‘It’s not often I’m the first to leave a party, but I have to be at work early and I’m already exhausted.’
Olivia looked like she was about to fall over her own feet from exhaustion, too.
