by L. E. Waters
“Put your torch on,” Kathrin says as soon as we’re away from everyone.
I look up to the sky. “Of course it’s a moonless night.” I flash the light to see the lie of the land and if there are any obstacles, but then it’s dark again.
“Why did you turn it off?” Kathrin asks.
“We need to conserve the batteries. Lee says they’re impossible to find.” I grab her cold hand. “We can only flash it, then move on memory.”
“I hate this war,” Kathrin says, but moves with me.
When we get to a long stretch of land, we make up good time by jogging, but Kathrin gets the scare of her life when something snorts loudly beside her. She yelps and knocks into me, sending us both to the ground.
“Something growled over there.” She points and my torchlight follows to an old dairy cow chewing grass as she stares at us.
“It’s a Jerry cow.” We can’t stop laughing in the middle of the road in the middle of the night. Not a light can be seen for miles and our laughter carries farther, seemingly to the stars. We don’t hurry to get up, and I check for injuries.
“Looks like I’ll be asking Lee for another pair of stockings too.”
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
After getting out in the world yesterday, Kathrin and I decide to go for a walk to the bridge. On our way back, we pass our nearest neighbor who is having a telegram delivered. Everyone dreads the telegrams, since they’re widely known as the way bad news travels about soldiers. We keep walking but try to peek through the bushes that hide her house from the street. She’s quiet as she opens the letter and collapses into the deliveryman’s arms soon after reading.
“Should we go and help?” I whisper.
“We can’t even speak to her.” Kathrin pulls me toward our house.
Lee is there when we return and we tell him at once about the neighbor. “I bet her son or husband was on the Hood. It just went down a few days ago.”
“That’s horrible.” I look out upon the thriving garden. “I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else in her house. Have you, Kathrin?”
“No, just her dog.”
“Not only did we lose the Hood, but our troops evacuated Crete. We need some good news, soon.” Lee knows where all of our groceries belong and he quickly unloads them for us.
As soon as I get my first harvest, I pack some of it up in one of the boxes Lee brings our supplies in. I wait for dusk to fall and I quietly sneak them onto her front step without alerting the dog. I pause at her front door and stop breathing to hear the song that is reverberating within. It’s the popular tune, God Send You Back to Me. My shoulders drop as soon as I recognize it. I stare at the doorknob but decide to turn and go home.
It makes me feel better to do this once weekly, knowing that she at least has this bit of relief as she grieves. And God Send You Back to Me faithfully plays every time I drop them off.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
June 1941, Germany invades Russia and we gain a much-needed ally. The December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor may have surprised America, but we expected it to happen much sooner. As horrible as it is, America feels what we’re dealing with on a daily basis. Now that America’s vulnerable, soldiers and supplies come pouring into England. England turns into a smorgasbord of the world. It’s not unusual to walk down into town and see Russian, Polish, American, Australian, and Canadian soldiers at every street corner. At one time, all you saw was old men, young boys, and women, and now waves of men in their prime flood every town.
It’s not a very merry Christmas, either, once we hear that Hong Kong falls to the enemy.
In January, Lee comes and brings news that Rommel counterattacked, causing the whole British front to collapse. He says, “What we need is a German general, then we’d make some good progress.”
Just when morale can’t get any worse, Singapore falls as well in February. It’s the worst defeat of the war so far, because 85,000 British troops surrender. The tide finally turns as the weather warms up and the thousand-bomber raid on Cologne is triumphant. This is followed by the Germans’ full retreat after British forces attack El Alamein in October and the Americans land in North Africa. We can’t ask for a better end to 1942 than with the great Russian offensive at Stalingrad. Georg just might be rescued soon.
Chapter 34
With everyone’s spirits high, there are more dances than ever. Every possible venue is turned into a dance hall. With so many men from all over the world present, the girls come out in droves, night after night, fresh from their last shift, rushing home to change and fix whatever makeup they can get their hands on. Lee sweeps in with his usual box of supplies tonight, but as soon as he sets it down, he removes two small bunches of wildflowers off the top and hands one to me and one to Kathrin.
“What’s this for?” I ask.
“I thought that maybe if I brought you two a gift you would feel indebted enough to, I don’t know, allow me to finally escort you girls to one of the dances tonight.”
I put my flowers back down on the table. “Let’s just stay here.”
“What time is the dance?” Kathrin actually seems to be considering it.
“We can go whenever you want to. They go on for hours.” He looks at me now. “I’ve heard they’re a lot of fun.”
“Come on.” Kathrin wraps her arm inside mine and starts to drag me back toward the stairs. “We’ve been stuck inside for months. It will do us good to get out.”
I stop. “But people will hear us talking?”
“The music is so loud there and everyone dances without saying a word to each other.”
“It sounds like you’ve been to one before.” I’m not sure why it bothers me.
“After you girls wouldn’t come with me, I ventured in to see what all the fuss was about and I ended up having a nice time.”
“That means he met a girl,” Kathrin jokes, but I can tell by the light in his eyes that it’s true.
Color rises to his cheeks and he laughs it off. “Come on, now, go get dressed.”
After his reaction, I suddenly decide I will go. I look down at my plain blue dress. “This is the best dress I have.”
“It’s…it’s a lovely dress. I only meant that we should go.”
Kathrin pulls me again. “We can at least wash up and put some makeup on. I still have some I brought from Germany.”
She fixes me up in her room, and when I look into the hand mirror, it’s as if Kathrin’s looking at me. “I should have you do my makeup more.”
“Then we wouldn’t have any left.” She puts on one more coat of red lipstick and throws the tube into her little hand purse with a snap. She looks like the old Kathrin.
I squirt a cloud of perfume on her neck and one on my arm, then rub my wrists together like a cricket. Lee pretends to swoon as we come down the stairs and he takes each of our arms to escort us out to the car. He helps both of us in and closes the door. As we drive a few villages over, I notice there are many more cars than there were before. Slowly life was reemerging as the tides of war turned.
Lee wasn’t kidding. Everyone between the ages of fifteen and forty is at the dance. Half of them are girls in plain dresses like mine, trying to look their best in such a miserable time for beauty. The other half are men in uniform: Russian, Polish, Australian, Canadian, American, and British. Lee is one of the only men not in uniform, except for the old chaperones who carry sticks to keep couples from getting romantic on the dance floor. The room’s a fury of dancers, one huge mass surging in jubilant movement. And, just like every other large venue, the room is covered in a thick haze of cigarette smoke. Blackout curtains hang at all the windows and, instead of bright lights, they’ve lit faint lamps around the edges of the room, which give a sinfully romantic glow.
We really have been missing out on all of this fun.
“What kind of dancing is this?” Kathrin asks in Lee’s ear, since the music is so lo
ud.
“Jive,” he answers. “From America.”
Kathrin pays close attention for the next few songs as we stay glued to the wall. Then, as the next rowdy song starts up, she tries to pull me into the thick crowd with her. I pull back.
“I don’t know how to do that dance.” I go back to Lee’s side.
She flops her hand at me and ventures onto the dance floor without me. I lose track of her for a few minutes, but then the crowd starts to separate around a few dancing couples and my heart nearly stops when I see Kathrin among them. I nudge Lee and point to her, as her tall and handsome dance partner swings her high above his head and then nearly bashes her head on the floor. She follows his lead as if she’s been dancing this jive for years. Lee bends down to my ear and whispers, “Would you like to dance with me?”
“I can’t.” These are the times I wonder how Kathrin and I came from the same egg.
Lee starts to move to the beat next to me and it’s contagious. I can’t keep my feet still. After six jive songs in a row, the music changes to another style and the whole crowd quickly adapts to a tango.
Lee takes my hand unexpectedly and, meeting my resistance, he says, “I’m taking you over to the refreshment table.” He points to a display of sweets and drinks more lavish than I have seen in some time. I let him lead me and he fills my cup with something I’ve never tasted before.
“It’s Coca Cola, from America.”
I’ve never tasted anything like it. The bubbles dance in my mouth and the sweetness coats my teeth. My eyes spin at the assortment of cakes, sweet rolls, and doughnuts, but Lee gestures for the attendant to get us both a scoop of ice cream.
Once the vanilla smoothness melts in my mouth, I say, “Now I know why you had such a good time.”
An announcer says over the speaker, “It’s now time for the blackout stroll.”
A cheer goes out and Lee quickly takes the rest of my drink and ice cream away.
“What’s happening?” I ask and he takes my hand.
“It’s a very fun dance and you’ll pick it up quickly.” As soon as we reach the center, he explains, “We’ll do a romp of three quick steps and a hop and then the lights will go out, and when they come back on you’ll find you’ll have a new partner.”
“I don’t want—” But it’s too late; the music starts and we’re already in the center of a sea of couples. I follow Lee and cringe when the lights go out and I feel Lee drift away, and someone new grabs my hand. The lights come back up to a dark-haired, blue-eyed American who unabashedly stares at me the short time we’re together. The lights go out and I’m surprised to see my partner never leaves. I glance over to see that Kathrin’s laughing with another partner and Lee is with a short, shiny blonde. The GI smiles at me, and I don’t know what else to do but smile back.
When the lights go out, I feel him drop my hand but sure enough, there he is again when the lights go back up. Does he not know the rules of this dance? Again, Kathrin and Lee are with someone new. Lee looks over to see the same man is continually dancing with me. The next time the lights go out, I hear some aggressive words in the dark in a foreign language, and when the lights come back on, Lee is holding my hand once again. I give Lee a bewildered look and I’m relieved to see a new dancer besides the dark-haired, blue-eyed GI the next time the lights return. The music concludes and the fair soldier that I end with claps to me and finds his group. I look for mine, but a waltz begins.
There’s nothing worse than being in the middle of the dance floor alone when a waltz begins, but I spin to Lee standing there with his arms open. I take his hand and he slips his other one around my waist. I don’t think he’s ever touched my waist before. Kathrin’s back to dancing with the amazing jive dancer again, and I’m shocked to see her resting her head on his shoulder already. We make it halfway around the large hall until I hear, “Excuse me.” Lee has been tapped on the shoulder and sure enough, the dark-haired, blue-eyed American cuts in. Lee takes his old partner in his arms reluctantly and the American takes me close to him. He stares again, as if I’m supposed to look back, but I don’t. He chews his gum noisily. He says something to me and this is just what I dreaded. I pretend that I don’t hear him, but he bends in and his lips touch my ear as he says something.
Luckily, another GI has tapped him on the shoulder. He throws him off, but the soldier is persistent and I decide to take his hand. I never make a full turn of the room before another soldier of unknown origin takes my hand. At the end of the waltz, a woman gets on the loud speaker and holds up a wedding ring to claim. What married woman would even come to this dance? I’m appalled by how many ‘single girls’ search their hiding places for their supposedly sacred piece of jewelry. I’m even more surprised by all the service men who keep dancing with them, even after seeing them securing their sacrilegious bands in place. A jitterbug starts up and I move quickly to a safe spot to watch with no risk of getting pulled in. Kathrin shines again and I see her progress from barely knowing the steps to executing them perfectly. Her partner’s glowing at her side, and every time he throws her up, it’s as if he doesn’t want to let her go again. The whole circle stops to watch them and I can’t help but think how much better Carsten would dance. I hope she isn’t thinking the same thing. She finally looks like Kathrin again. I haven’t truly seen her since the day we left Germany. I’ve missed her so much.
More couples join in again with a new song and a group of girls wait for a dance request. I bend in to Lee and say, “I think they’re begging for a dance request.”
“The girls here only have eyes for the men in uniform.” Lee laughs. “I think this is the only time I wish I could say what I truly do.” He points to a new song that’s playing. “The Boomps-A-Daisy.”
“What a strange dance name.”
“Just wait to you see how it gets its name.”
We look on at what looks like any other fast-paced dance of the day, but when the music climaxes, the partners slam their rear ends together.
“How vulgar,” I say, but Kathrin looks to be enjoying it.
It finally ends and the lights flash on and off. I look to Lee. “The last waltz,” he says.
A beautiful melody begins and everyone is asked to dance, it seems. Lee turns to me and I put my hands up to him. I can’t be the only one who sits it out.
I recognize the song from the radio, We’ll Meet Again.
Lee sings in a quiet, sweet voice:
“We’ll meet again,
Don’t know where, don’t know when,
But I know we’ll meet again, some sunny day.
Keep smiling through,
Just like you always do,
Till the blue skies drive the dark clouds, far away.
So will you please say hello,
To the folks that I know,
Tell them I won’t be long, (I won’t be long)
They’ll be happy to know that as you saw me go
I was singing this song.”
Even though Lee is singing, I think of Georg and how much I wish he were here dancing with me. My eyes start to tear and I don’t want Lee to see, so I rest my head on his tall shoulder like so many girls are doing with their partners while thinking of their love in harm’s way somewhere. It’s good to feel him against me, to rely for a moment on someone stronger than myself. My heart needs to pretend he’s Georg, and I let my mind imagine it for just one song.
Lee is tapped on the shoulder, and it’s the same American who wouldn’t leave me in the blackout stroll. Lee grasps my hand and waist tighter and says something to him. The American retorts and flips up his jacket lapel. Lee says something back that makes the GI mad and he tries to break me away from Lee, but I say, “No,” to him and he gives up. Lee shouts out something across a few couples that causes them to turn their heads. Lee brings me back to him, but it’s disrupted the whole peaceful moment. I can’t pretend he’s Georg anymore, and I head off the dance floor an
d out the open doors to get away from the sad song.
More Americans are outside and as soon as they see me, they’re offering all sorts of things to me, like chocolate bars and gum. I shake my head and walk farther away to wait under a tree. Lee is immediately with me.
“That guy wasn’t going to bother us anymore.”
“What did he say to you?”
“Oh, nothing. Nothing I’m not used to by now.”
“Tell me.”
“When I told him he couldn’t cut in, he asked why I’m not in uniform. I told him I was contributing quite a bit. Then he said not to worry since they came over and won the last one. Then I yelled out, ‘It was about time, too.’”
“You didn’t!” I laughed. “I’m surprised he didn’t punch you.”
“I should have punched him after he ruined our dance.”
I feel guilty now for pretending, because it might’ve given him the wrong idea. “Lee—” I try to tell him.
“I wish I could tell people what I’m doing.” The sudden spark in his eyes ignites. “They look at these men in uniform and they see heroes. They see me and suspect I’m just a coward. I wish I could tell them all I do. I wish I could tell you what I do when I’m not visiting you.”
“You don’t have to tell me. I know what you have risked. You are definitely our hero.” The fire dies down once again and he almost smiles.