Eyes on the Stars

by Lynn Ames

  “What about you, Jessie? Is that sweet, red-headed boy coming to see you march?”

  “Search me.”

  “Say, we’re all planning to have a picnic at Sweetwater Lake after the ceremony. Why don’t you invite the boys along? We’ve got fellas coming too,” Annabelle said.

  Jessie busied herself polishing the buttons on her jacket.

  “I don’t know,” Claudia said. “The boys probably have plans. Matt is due to ship out tomorrow.”

  “You’ll never know unless you ask,” Janie said. “What have you got to lose?”

  Everything. Jessie swallowed hard. It wasn’t enough that she had to contend with Claudia’s parents, now she would have to worry about Matt too.

  “Step lively, girls. It’s show time.”

  The six women joined the rest of their class on the parade grounds. As they marched in formation, crowds cheered from either side. There were friends and family, an incoming class of WASPs, other WASP classes that were at various points in their training, instructors, and townspeople.

  Jackie Cochran pinned on Jessie’s silver wings, and for the first time in a long time, Jessie missed her mom. She wished she could have been there to see her standing tall and strong in her dress uniform. She hoped her mom would have been proud.

  When the class was dismissed for the last time, everyone threw their berets up in the air and let out a whoop. There were hugs, pats on the back, and tearful goodbyes.

  Jessie looked for Claudia but didn’t see her. She started to walk toward the barracks, when she heard someone call her name.

  “Jessie? Over here.”

  Jessie turned in the direction of the voice and spotted Mrs. Dunphy waving an American flag. Perfect. Jessie didn’t want to be rude, so she waved.

  Mrs. Dunphy motioned her over.

  “Hello, dear. You look splendid. I’m so proud of you and Claudia. Oh. Matt and Jordan are here too. I sent them off to find Claudia.”

  Although Mrs. Dunphy’s mouth continued to move, Jessie stopped listening. She excused herself and jogged off to find Claudia herself, hopefully before the boys did.

  It didn’t take her long. Claudia was standing with a striking woman who looked like an older version of her, a dashing man in an expensive business suit, and… Jessie’s heart sank. Matt, in all his spit-shined, AAF-uniformed glory.

  “Jess,” Claudia called when the crowd around them thinned. “Come meet my folks.”

  Jessie took a deep breath, painted a smile on her face, and straightened her already-perfect uniform jacket.

  “Mom, Dad, this is Jessie Keaton. She’s the best pilot this program has ever known, except for maybe Jackie Cochran, herself. Jessie, this is my mom and dad.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Jessie said, stiffly.

  “Claudia’s been raving about you,” Mrs. Sherwood said. “She tells us you’ll be stationed together in Las Vegas.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Take good care of our daughter.”

  “I will, ma’am.”

  “Enough of that, Elizabeth,” Mr. Sherwood said. “Matt, tell us about what’s going on with our boys in the war.”

  Jessie faded into the background as Matt blustered on about fighting the Germans in the air and facing off against the vaunted Luftwaffe. Mr. Sherwood seemed to hang on every word. Jessie had never felt more superfluous.

  As soon as she was able, she made her excuses and headed back to the barracks. On the way, she encountered Jordan.

  “Congratulations, Jessie. I think it’s neat.”

  Jessie wanted to dislike him, but it was hard. He was so innocuous. “Thanks.” After an awkward silence, she said, “I’m a little surprised to see you here.”

  “Yeah, well, Matt promised me a piece of his mother’s apple pie if I came, so…”

  “Ah, that explains it.” Jessie started to walk away, but Jordan put a hand on her arm.

  “I, um, I really do like you, Jessie. I think you’re swell. It’s just…I’m shy, you know?”

  “Yeah. That’s okay, Jordan. You’re a nice guy, and I appreciate that you’re not…” Jessie searched for the words.

  “Obnoxious like Matt?” Jordan supplied.

  Jessie laughed. “Something like that.”

  “He’s not as bad as you think. Really. I’ve known him since we were in diapers. He watches out for his buddies…doesn’t let anybody take advantage of us or anything.”

  “That’s nice.”

  “Sort of like what you do for Claudia, if you think about it.”

  Jessie didn’t want to think about it. “I’ve got to run, Jordan.”

  “You know Matt is shipping out tomorrow, right?”

  “I heard.”

  Jordan shrugged. “So Matt heard about the picnic at the lake this afternoon, and he’s pushing me to come along.”

  “I bet.” Jessie narrowed her eyes as she imagined Matt trying to get her out of the way so he could be alone with Claudia.

  “I won’t go if you don’t want me to.”

  Jessie looked at Jordan. He was so earnest, so honorable. “Nah, come along. It’ll be fun.”

  “Okay.” Jordan’s face brightened. “I’ll see you there. Thanks, Jessie.”

  “You’re welcome.” Jessie shook her head and continued on her way to the barracks. She tried to convince herself that if they could make it through today, tomorrow she and Claudia would be on their way to Las Vegas and home free.

  She quickened her pace. “Man, I wish it was tomorrow already.”

  “I wish you would’ve stayed longer, Jess.”

  “Your parents weren’t interested in me, Claude. They were too interested in Matt.”

  Claudia sat down on Jessie’s bed. “Daddy, maybe…you know, that man-to-man stuff. But Mother really wanted to get to know you.”

  “I’m sorry. I just felt like an outsider.”

  “I wanted my folks to get used to you being around. You know, so that it seems natural when I invite you home with me.”

  Jessie shook her head. “Someone like me doesn’t belong in that kind of environment.”

  “Nonsense,” Claudia said. “What does ‘someone like me’ mean, anyway?”

  Jessie fiddled with one of her buttons. “Come on, Claudia. I’m the girl who chops your wood and starts your fire, not the one you invite in for afternoon tea.”

  “First of all, you can start my fire anytime, sugar,” Claudia’s voice dropped to that melodious, deep register that set Jessie on fire. “Second, we don’t have afternoon tea.”

  “You know full well what I mean. Don’t pretend you don’t.”

  Claudia stood swiftly, hands on hips. “Do I strike you as being elitist, Jessie Keaton?”

  “No, but—”

  “But nothing. You’re not being fair to me, my parents, or yourself. So stop it right now.”

  “Matt and Jordan are planning to be at the picnic,” Jessie said, deliberately changing the subject.

  “I heard.”

  “I wish we could skip it.”

  “Everybody’s going to be there, Jess. It will look really bad if we don’t show.”

  “We could tell them we have to leave early for Vegas.”

  “We have train tickets for tomorrow. Where would we spend the night tonight? You’re not being realistic.”

  Jessie sighed. “I know.”

  “It won’t be so horrible. It’s the last chance to spend time with all the girls in one place, there’ll be sandwiches, cookies, and pies, and we can go swimming together.”

  “But I can’t touch you.”

  “Not today, no. But tomorrow night when we get to Las Vegas…”

  Claudia didn’t have to finish the sentence for Jessie’s imagination to run wild. Now, if they could only get through today.

  The gathering was in full swing by the time Jessie and Claudia arrived. Picnic blankets were spread out everywhere, bodies were bobbing in the water, the girls were singing songs, and everyone seemed to b
e enjoying a last hurrah.

  “Hey girls, over here.” Rebecca, Shirley, Annabelle, and Janie and their dates had commandeered an area under a shade tree not far from the water’s edge.

  “Isn’t this grand?” Janie asked.

  “Swell,” Claudia said.

  “Dig in, we’ve got enough food to feed the entire Army Air Forces.”

  Jessie was famished, so she was only too happy to accept the invitation. She was halfway through a bologna and cheese sandwich when Matt and Jordan came strolling over.

  “Hiya, girls. Mind if we join you?”

  “No, of course not,” Shirley said. “Get yourselves something to eat and have a seat.” She patted the spot next to her, even though she already had a boy sitting on her other side. “You don’t mind, Claudia, do you?” She playfully batted her eyelashes.

  Claudia laughed and formally introduced Matt and Jordan to the girls and the other guys, leaving Shirley for last. “Watch out for that one.”

  “I can see that,” Matt said. “Sorry…Shirley, was it? I’ve only got eyes for that pretty little thing.” He pointed to Claudia.

  “Too bad,” Jessie muttered under her breath. She nodded a greeting to Jordan and ignored Matt completely.

  After a while, Rebecca suggested they all take a dip in the lake to cool off. “We can all run in at the same time and see who gets there first.”

  “No fair, the boys have an automatic advantage,” Annabelle complained, as they all stood up and readied themselves to go in.

  “Actually,” Matt said, grabbing Claudia’s arm. “We’re going to take a walk around the lake.”

  “Ooh, a nice, romantic stroll. You two love birds have fun,” Shirley said, before Jessie could get a word out.

  Jessie tried but failed to catch Claudia’s eye as Matt pulled her in the direction of a wooded path.

  She started after them, but Janie called, “Come on, Jessie. Let them go.”

  Jessie was torn. More than anything, she didn’t want to let Claudia and Matt out of her sight. But there really was no plausible excuse to follow them. With a heavy heart, she waded into the water.

  While everyone else was splashing around and having fun, Jessie kept her eyes trained on the tree line. The path around the lake wasn’t visible from the water, but still she strained to catch a flash of clothing, a shadow—anything that might reveal the whereabouts of her lover.

  “Aren’t you going to play with us, Jessie?” Rebecca asked. “Jordan here isn’t having much fun without you.”

  “I’m not much of a swimmer.” It was a lie, but Jessie was in no mood to play.

  Just when she decided she couldn’t stand it anymore, Claudia emerged from the trees alone. Even from her vantage point in the water, Jessie could see that something wasn’t right. She dashed out of the water and met Claudia before she reached the blanket.

  Claudia had a far away, dazed look that frightened Jessie. “What’s wrong? Claude?” Jessie moved to touch her on the shoulder, but Claudia shied away.

  “Take me home, Jess.” Her voice was shaking and her hair was disheveled.

  “Where’s Matt?” Not that Jessie cared about him, but she couldn’t help wondering why Claudia had returned alone. “Did he do something out there? Did he hurt you?” Jessie narrowed her eyes and curled her hands into fists. “If he touched you, I swear I’ll tear him limb from limb.”

  “N-no.” Claudia absently straightened her blouse. “Please, Jess. No more questions. Just take me home.”

  “Okay. I’ll get our things and tell the other girls we’re going.”

  Claudia didn’t answer or react.

  Jessie thought about saying goodbye to Jordan, but she was too worried about Claudia to bother.

  She ran to the water’s edge and yelled to Annabelle that they were leaving. Then she jogged to the blanket and gathered up their towels and her clothes. She fumbled with her pant legs before managing to get dressed and put her shoes on. When she looked back, Claudia was staring straight ahead. Something was very wrong. Apart from Matt hurting Claudia, Jessie couldn’t imagine what it might be, but she’d already asked that, and Claudia had denied it. Whatever it was, Jessie wanted to get to the bottom of it. “Are you okay?” she asked, when she returned to Claudia.

  “I need to go home.”

  “Okay, I’ll take you there right now. Here we go.”

  Jessie tried to sort through the possibilities in her mind. She noted that Claudia walked slowly, stepping carefully—a definite contrast to her usual energetic pace. She kept her eyes straight ahead, never once glancing at Jessie or engaging in conversation.

  “Everything okay?” Jessie asked, when they were halfway back to the base.

  Claudia moved off to the side of the road and vomited.

  When Jessie started rubbing soothing circles on Claudia’s back, Claudia jumped at the contact. “All right, Claude.” Jessie turned Claudia to face her. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing.”

  “This is not nothing.” She made a sweeping gesture to encompass Claudia’s appearance. “Look at me, Claude.” Jessie waited until Claudia made eye contact. “I’m going to ask you one more time, and this time I want a straight answer. Did that jerk do anything to you? Did he hurt or manhandle you? Force you—”

  “No!” Claudia cried. Her eyes were wild and wide as saucers.

  Surprised at her vehemence, Jessie took a step backward.

  “I already told you no, why can’t you just believe me? Why must you push me?” Claudia touched a trembling hand to her blouse.

  “I just—”

  “Well, don’t just. Asked and answered.” Claudia closed her eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Claude. I only—”

  “Take me home, Jess.” Claudia’s voice shook as she pleaded. “I’m not feeling well. Please, just take me home.”

  Jessie’s heart ached to see her girl in such a state, so she relented. “We’re almost there, honey.”

  When they got back to the barracks, Claudia said she needed to take a shower. She gathered up some fresh clothes and a towel and disappeared into the bathroom.

  Jessie heard the shower turn on, and she busied herself packing her duffle bag for the long train ride ahead. She smiled to herself. By this time tomorrow night, she and Claudia would be settled into The Last Frontier temporarily while they found a place to rent off base.

  Jessie was folding her last uniform blouse when she realized the shower was still running. She checked the time. Claudia had been in there for nearly twenty minutes—far longer than the usual seven to ten it took her to shower.

  “Claude?” Jessie knocked on the door. “You okay in there?”

  There was no answer.

  “Claude, hon? It’s me, Jessie. Everything okay?”

  Still no answer. Jessie started to get nervous. What if Claudia had fallen and hit her head? Jessie chewed her lip. “To heck with it, if she wants to be mad at me, she can.”

  She cracked open the door. Claudia was sitting on the floor of the shower, still fully clothed in the outfit she wore to the lake. “Claude!” Jessie entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She turned off the faucet and squatted next to Claudia.

  Claudia didn’t move.

  “Claude? You’re scaring me. Talk to me, honey.”

  Claudia’s teeth were chattering, and her lips were blue. Jessie grabbed the towel.

  “Can you stand up? You want me to help you? Are you feeling light-headed?”

  Slowly, Claudia rose.

  “Let’s get you out of these wet clothes.” Jessie reached for the top button of Claudia’s blouse, but Claudia took a step back. Stung, Jessie dropped her hands.

  “I’ll do it,” Claudia said, her voice so soft Jessie barely heard her. She turned away from Jessie and unbuttoned her blouse. “Go ahead back out there. I’ll be out in a minute.”

  “This is a heck of a time to get modest on me, Claude. What if you throw up again or faint?”

  Claudia r
eached back and took the towel from Jessie. “I’ll call you if I have a problem.”

  “You’re sure?” There was something dead, something foreign in Claudia’s eyes. It was unsettling.

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. I’ll be right outside.”

  Claudia nodded but made no other move, and Jessie realized with a start that she was waiting for her to leave before getting undressed the rest of the way.

  Jessie paced the length of the bay. She’d never seen Claudia act like this. Then again, she told herself, it had been a long and emotional day—first the graduation and her parents, then the picnic and Matt… Where had Matt gone? Jessie figured he’d be stuck to Claudia like glue. But then, if she’d gotten sick on their walk, it wouldn’t be the least bit surprising for an oaf like him to abandon a damsel in distress.

  Damsel in distress—wasn’t that the term Hutchins had used? This was all her fault. If she hadn’t stuck her nose in, there never would’ve been a Matt, and Jessie would’ve been the one walking in the woods with Claudia when she fell ill. Damn.

  Maybe Claudia had the flu or food poisoning, or maybe it was just nerves about the move. Whatever it was, Jessie hoped she’d be feeling better soon; otherwise, it was going to be a difficult trip tomorrow.

  As Jessie got closer to the bathroom once again, she could have sworn she heard the shower turn off. Hadn’t she done that when she went into the bathroom earlier? She stood in front of the door, debating whether to knock again, when Claudia opened the door and emerged.

  Her hair was shiny like she had just washed it, and her skin was pink as if she’d rubbed it too hard.

  “Feel better?”

  Claudia nodded.

  “Where are your wet clothes?”

  “They were ruined. I threw them out.”

  “You…” Jessie took a step into the bathroom.

  “Where are you going?”

  “You don’t just throw clothes away. We’ll wash and dry them, and they’ll be good as new.”

  “No!” Claudia seemed on the verge of panic. “They’re ruined. Leave them alone.”

  “Okay.” Jessie held up her hands in surrender. “The girls will be back soon. Do you want a hug before they get here?”

  Claudia ignored the question. “I’d better pack.” She removed her suitcase from under her bunk.