Beyond the Horizon

by Ella Carey

  “War can do that too, Evie. Take your faith and make a mockery of it.” He reached forward and held her hands. His voice was a whisper. “I believe in you. I believe you are strong and will be able to cope on your own again soon. Your mother and Jack, they mean well, it’s not that they don’t mean well . . .”

  She looked up at him. Words started to form on her lips, but she couldn’t make sense of them.

  “Eva!” Her mother bustled back through the gate onto the lawn. “It’s time for your bath, dear. And Jack is coming to take you out for dinner. He’ll be here soon. Oh, come on, you two. Chatting away like a pair of birds. How would we ever get anything done with you two running things? Hmm?”

  Her father reached down and dropped a kiss on Eva’s forehead. “Remember what I said. Evie, I know you are tired now, but please . . .”

  Her mother removed the blanket and helped her out of Jack’s low-slung deck chair.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  THE COMMITTEE: Mrs. Forrest, in the light of what you have told us, and in particular now that you will be providing us with evidence of recognition by the air force in the way of a military discharge, we will adjourn now to discuss the matter of WASP militarization. We will make our decision available to you once we have reached a conclusion. Thank you, Mrs. Forrest, for your time.

  EVA FORREST: Thank you, sir.

  “You poor dear.” Eva stood with Jack on the threshold of his parents’ home. Jack’s mother opened the front door wide, and Eva stood in front of her in kitten heels, her side still aching, but at least her arm was free of any slings. “How charming to meet you, Eva.”

  “Hello, Mrs. Forrest,” she said.

  “What a time you’ve had. Broken bones too numerous to imagine, and your poor head.” Mrs. Forrest stepped aside, allowing them to enter her fine home in Hancock Park.

  Jack leaned down and kissed his mom on the cheek.

  “She is beautiful. You are right, Jack.” The elegant middle-aged woman eyed Eva with a knowing look.

  Eva hovered in the unaccustomed baby-pink dress that Jack and her mother had bought for her to wear. Lined with rows of tulle under the full skirt, it was gathered on the décolletage with a silver clasp. Around her neck, Eva wore her mother’s fake pearls. She had no idea how Jack and her mom had managed to procure a dress with so much fabric in wartime.

  “Come in, Eva.” Jack helped her down the hallway. “Mother,” he said when his mother tried to take Eva’s arm. “We’re doing fine here.”

  His mother stepped aside. A slight frown creased her otherwise smooth forehead, her short, wavy dark hair looking as if it had been freshly set at the hairdresser, bright-red lipstick on her rosebud mouth. “I don’t know what to do, dear, how to help.”

  Jack steered Eva into an expansive living room. A baby grand piano sat at the window, and yellow silk sofas were dotted around on a carpet that was like a soft green sea.

  A man turned from the window to pace across the room. “Welcome,” he said, shaking Eva’s hand. “Lovely to meet you.” He seemed to scrutinize her, his strong eyebrows knitting together above his dark eyes.

  “Thank you,” Eva murmured. “Sir.”

  She allowed Jack to help her onto one of the sofas. Thankful, she slipped down into it and rested back a little.

  And her mother’s warning came into her head. “Dear, these people are from Hancock Park. Quality folk. You are a lucky girl for Jack to take an interest in you. Make sure you don’t go upsetting any of them. Particularly his mother.” After that, her mom had squeezed her hands. “This will be a wonderful opportunity for us all. I’ve been working hard to get this happening with Jack, Evie. Don’t blow it. There’s a good girl. You have a wonderful future ahead of you if you play your cards right. Trust me, we’ll make this happen for you.” Eva had stared at her mother. “And remember, you are not well right now, but later on, you will thank me for this. And Jack. You should be forever grateful to him. And you should make the most of his feelings for you. There is no reason you shouldn’t be very happy with him.”

  Jack sat down next to her. He rested his hand in hers. “Mother, Father, I’m so pleased that Eva is well enough to meet you now. She’s had a mighty rough run.” He spoke in clipped tones, differently from how he spoke with her own mother.

  His father brought over a small glass of lemonade and handed it to Eva.

  “Thank you.”

  “Thanks, Father,” Jack said. “Don’t want to be giving her anything stronger just now.”

  “No, I’m sure not.” Jack’s father sat down opposite them, leaning forward, cupping a tumbler of amber liquid in his hands.

  “Did you hear anything about the role, Jack?” his mother asked.

  “Not yet,” Jack said. “Filming starts in three weeks in Malibu. It’s one of those beach gigs they’re doing like hotcakes now.”

  His mother shifted a little in her seat. “I caught up with Lucille’s mother today.”

  Eva’s ears pricked up.

  Jack’s mom sipped from her small glass of sherry. She crossed her slim legs at the ankles. “They’re all about this engagement. This Harry sounds like a nice boy, and a hard worker, which makes up for his background. He will be good for lovely Lucille. Even though he does not come from—”

  “Mother. Please.”

  “The point is . . .” Jack’s father took up the thread. “Lucille’s old man told me he’s got a place for this young Harry at the Royal Academy of Engineering in London after the war. Harry and Lucille will get married, and they’ll go straight to London. Should give the boy a leg up. He’s lucky to have met someone like Lucille, and she’s utterly smitten, so Noel says he’s doing everything he can to help and to make it work for the young couple.”

  “Harry is a friend of yours, Eva, isn’t he?” Jack’s mother asked.

  “Yes. He is a friend.” She was struggling to keep up with the conversation here. Harry was going to London? If only she could let up on the pills from Camp Davis. They were still knocking her around something awful.

  “Lucille’s mother mentioned that some of the other girls from around here will be at the party tonight . . . have you seen Lila or Jane lately, Jack? I saw the lovely young Jane out in the street the other day. She’s delightful. And she asked after you, Jack. I know none of those girls interest you. Although, I do admit, I can see why.” Her last words were a hasty sprinkling of sugar dusting a perfectly baked pie.

  Jack sat up. “I’m sure she did, and I’m sure you were very friendly toward Jane, Mom.”

  “Well, of course I was.” She sounded bristly now.

  Eva patted down the soft fluffy fabric over her knees.

  “So what if you don’t get this role, son?” Jack’s father asked, sounding harder now.

  Eva felt the flicker of something in Jack next to her. The pressure on her hand increased just enough . . .

  “Then I audition for another one, Father,” he said, his voice quiet. “It’s how the industry works.”

  His father cleared his throat. “And you must know that Brian Manning will give you a job anytime, son. You have backup. I’d suggest taking it. You can’t seriously go on with this acting idea.”

  Jack scowled at the floor.

  Eva felt Jack’s hand tighten around hers and cling on.

  His mother brought her hand up to gather the pearl necklace around her neck. No doubt hers was real.

  “A job selling insurance.” Jack’s dad’s voice boomed. “There could be worse things. And there will be opportunities galore in that arena, mark my words, son. After the war . . .”

  Jack stood up to leave. “Father, I only wanted to bring Eva here tonight to meet you both. We must be going. The party starts at eight.”

  His mother stood up too, anxiety sweeping across her face. She glanced at Eva. “I’m sorry we have not had the time to talk with you properly yet, dear. You must think us terribly rude.”

  But her husband was right behind her. “That’s enough, Elizabeth.
”

  Eva bit her lip.

  Jack bent down to kiss his mother.

  “She’s lovely,” she heard Jack’s mother say. “Beautiful, but not sophisticated. We can work to make things a little less rough around the edges.”

  “Sure, Mom,” Jack said. “I understand where you are coming from.”

  Eva gulped. What did she just hear? She could hardly trust her own ears these days. Her head swirled, and she reached blindly for something to hold.

  Jack’s father held Eva’s hand and shook it hard. “Wonderful to meet you, Eva.”

  With Jack’s arm around her, they made their way through the green front garden to his car that was parked on the quiet street. Eva waited while Jack held the car door open for her.

  He drove toward Hollywood Boulevard. The party tonight was in the very hotel where they’d met. She was starting to associate the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel not only with movie stars, but with Jack and his glamorous friends.

  Eva looked at him. “Harry will go to London after the war?” Her voice seemed disembodied. Everything did.

  “It would be a great opportunity for a boy like him, Eva. He will be doing what he loves, designing airplanes, and will have a beautiful wife. All I need to do is get this acting going, and we’ll be sitting pretty too. You wait . . .”

  He pulled into the driveway behind the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel, and an attendant came around to park the car. Eva caught a glimpse of a familiar figure sweeping in the back entrance, her arm hooked in that of a well-dressed man. Lucille. Eva felt a swell of panic.

  Eva allowed Jack to help her out of the car, but her eyes strained after the girl who was disappearing fast into the hotel, her party dress swinging.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  THE COMMITTEE: We are pleased to announce that in light of all the testimonials from the WASP whom we have interviewed over the duration of this hearing, we have come to a decision. We have voted that the WASP be given full military recognition, and this bill will be passed in Congress in the very near future. Due to the fact that we have been provided with evidence that they were regarded by the military as a de facto military organization and due to the fact that they trained and lived in full military fashion while flying air force aircraft in service for their country when we needed them, with thirty-eight women pilots making the ultimate sacrifice for the United States during the war, Congress acknowledges that these women have earned a place in our military and they were not simply civil aviators during a crucial time in our history. We congratulate them. They will not be forgotten, and they should be proud of the service they all gave to our country.

  “Jack!” Lucille leaned into Jack, resting her head on his shoulder. Eva gazed around the ballroom in the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel. Crowds of sophisticated girls chatted with men in uniform. Suddenly, Eva was haunted with memories of the last time she set foot in this grand room, when Harry was dancing so intimately with Lucille. She shuddered, drawing her gaze away from the space where they’d danced, and she tucked her arm into Jack’s.

  “Lucille, you remember Eva Scott?” Jack asked.

  Lucille looked down at her. Eva could have sworn that she shot Jack a complicit glance.

  “Hello there, Eva.” Lucille’s voice softened to Eva’s surprise.

  “Hello, Lucille.”

  A swarm of young men came to surround Lucille. They carried her off to the dance floor. All but a couple of boys who remained standing with Eva and Jack.

  “You haven’t introduced us,” one of them said, giving Eva a grin.

  “Well, this is Eva,” Jack said. “Eva, this is Clyde and Edwin.”

  Eva held out a hand, and each boy shook it. They were in uniform. Eva started at the sight of boys in military dress so close to her. Suddenly, she felt the need for some fresh air. The sound of flyboys marching across the airfield toward planes in Camp Davis beat in her head. She closed her eyes for a moment before forcing herself to come back to where she was.

  Jack started a conversation with Edwin.

  “And where did you meet Jack?” the one called Clyde asked.

  Eva focused on the young man’s face. She swallowed, but her throat closed over and stuck.

  The room seemed too bright, too noisy.

  “Here,” she said. “In this hotel, in this room.”

  “So you’re the one looking after the man who can’t go into service.”

  “Oh, I’d hardly say that,” Eva said.

  “You been doin’ anything during the war, Eva?”

  “I’ve been flying airplanes,” she said. And the moment she did so, she heard the sound of an airplane rattling away in her head. She made a face. It must have been his uniform or something about this guy that was sending her mind back. Triggering something. She frowned at him.

  Clyde let out a chuckle, and then another one. He winked at her. “Ah, that was a good one. For a moment, I thought you were serious!” He laughed again, throwing his head back.

  “But I was.” She looked at him sharply now.

  “A girl flying airplanes! What a joke that is. Hey?” He leaned a little closer to her.

  “Why? What’s wrong with that idea?”

  Clyde stood so close to her that she could see the individual specks of fair stubble on his chin.

  “Tell me, did you fly bombers, Eva? That your game? That what you did?”

  “Yes. Sometimes we flew bombers. We WASP fly every aircraft the air force has. I flew, let’s see, about a dozen different sorts of planes.”

  Clyde let out a snort this time. “A dozen different sorts of planes? You are priceless. Were they paper airplanes, gorgeous?”

  “I’m sorry, but that is insulting.”

  “Next, you’ll tell me you got in and flew a B-29!”

  Eva opened her mouth. But Clyde was sauntering away into the crowd, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

  “Okay there, Eva?” Jack asked.

  She felt Edwin’s gaze on her too.

  “That boy wouldn’t believe me when I said I flew planes just now.” She looked up at Jack. “Why, I never.”

  Jack patted her on the arm. “Evie,” he said. “That’s over now. Sure, some folks won’t believe what you did. But you know that I’m only proud of you, and supportive.”

  “You are?”

  “Of course I am,” he said. He leaned closer to her. “But here’s a little word of advice. Whatever you do, don’t tell people you flew during this war. No one’s going to believe that women are capable of such a thing. You just tell them you volunteered, my sweet. Don’t muddy the waters. You know what I’m saying?” He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Are we clear now?”

  Across the room, Eva caught the glint of the diamond on Lucille’s ring finger, sparkling and shining under the crystal chandeliers.

  After the party, Eva slipped in the front door of her parents’ house, using the key her mother had given her now that she was officially dating Jack and was coming home a little later than she’d ever done back before she left for Sweetwater.

  “That you, Eva?” Her mom’s voice rang out from her parents’ bedroom, stopping Eva dead in the hallway.

  “Yes, Mom.”

  “It’s awful late. Get some sleep.”

  Eva leaned against the wall, catching her breath, her chest heaving. She’d been fighting for air the whole way home. Jack had taken a detour up the hills so they could look at the view over the San Fernando Valley, but all Eva wanted to do was get back and be alone. What she’d started to hear and see back in that ballroom had scared her. Was her memory returning, or was there something seriously wrong? She narrowed her eyes for a moment. What if it was the medicine that had caused her to hear the sounds from Camp Davis? Should she stop taking the pills her mom dished out to her each day?

  Eva almost fell down the hallway to her bedroom. The sounds of her father’s snoring drifted out into the house.

  In the dark, she sat down at her old school desk; hand shaking, she pulled open a dra
wer. Eva pulled out a lined pad of note paper and began to write.

  In half an hour flat, she’d filled pages and pages for Nina and Harry. Tomorrow, she would give them to her mother to mail. In the midst of all of this—Jack, her mom, her mind playing tricks, her injuries—she knew one thing. She needed her old friends.

  Unless this was some nightmare, she was certain they’d both write straight back.

  Three weeks later, she’d not heard a thing. Nothing from Harry was fair enough. He was hardly going to have time for letter writing from where he was stationed in the Pacific, and he couldn’t tell her anything anyway, but still, Eva battled nightly fears that he was not safe. And every day, Eva waited to hear from Nina, and nothing came.

  A month passed. Her mom checked the mailbox daily. Not a letter, not a word.

  “I want to go visit Nina’s mom,” she told her mother one afternoon while her mom sat sewing in the living room. Eva put down the book she was pretending to read and waited while her mom frowned over the pattern she was trying to copy. “I can’t walk all the way there, though. I’ll ask Jack to drive me to see her. I’ve asked him to a couple times, but it’s always too late in the evening by the time he gets here after filming.”

  Her mom put down her sewing. “Nina’s mom has gone away. She’s visiting her sister down in San Diego. I told you that.”

  “Is she? I don’t recall you telling me that, Mom.”

  “Dear, please don’t worry yourself. Everything is fine. Hold this fabric for me while I get my measuring tape.”

  Eva held the bolt of fabric while her mom turned to her sewing box.

  “I really should have taught you to sew. Flying airplanes was the least useful thing you could have learned.”

  Eva sat back in her chair. “Well, I guess I won’t be needing to sew if I end up marrying Jack, now will I, Mother? I’m of a mind to think I won’t be needing to do anything at all.”

  Ruth Scott smiled down at the pattern she was cutting out. “And that, my dear girl, is like a beautiful tune to my ears. You can have a house full of kids and in Hancock Park to boot. Dreamy, Eva. All this has turned out so well. In the end.”