A Girl Divided

by Ellen Lindseth

  “I wouldn’t know. Howie never talked shop when he was home.”

  “No, I suppose not. Say, do you have any more film? Just in case.”

  “Aboard the ship.”

  “I may need it later. Come over here, Genie, and let me see if I can use the park as a background.”

  “Wait, you’re going to take a picture of me?”

  He peered over the top of the camera at her, his dark eyebrows arched in bemusement. “That was kind of the point of my borrowing Bess’s camera.”

  “Oh no. Don’t.” She backed away, horribly aware of how unfashionable she looked next to Kitty and Bess.

  “Genie, a story like this needs a photo to do it justice. And you’ll look just fine. Trust me. Taking people’s photos is what I do for a living.”

  “But my dress . . .”

  “Is exactly what the public would expect a missionary girl to wear.” He took her hand and pulled her around to face the sun. “Kitty, Bess, do you want in the photo, too? It wouldn’t hurt to add a famous socialite and wife of a diplomat to the portrait of our intrepid heroine.”

  Kitty studied the polish on her fingernails. “I’ll pass.”

  Larry gave Bess a little push. “Go on. Here’s your chance to get your picture in the papers.”

  “But I don’t have any connection to the story,” Bess said with a frown as she came up beside Genie.

  “I’ll say you’re keeping her company on the voyage home.” Dick raised the camera to his face.

  “Wait, what about Larry?” Genie asked. “Shouldn’t he join us?”

  Kitty burst into laughter. “Oh, please do, Larry. And make sure to have your arm around Mrs. Whitcomb for good measure.”

  “That’s not funny, Kitty,” Larry said coolly.

  “But the irony is so delicious. A sweet, innocent missionary girl and . . . well, us.” Kitty’s blue eyes glittered as she swept her hand to include the other three Americans.

  “Stow it, Kitty,” Dick said, his voice taking on an angry edge. To Genie’s surprise, Kitty bit her lip and turned slightly away, as if hurt.

  “Maybe taking a photograph isn’t a good idea,” Genie said cautiously, still not quite sure what had just happened.

  “Nonsense,” Dick said, back to his normal cheerful self. “I know you want to get back, but all I need is one measly photograph. One snap, and it’ll be over before you know it.” He raised the camera to his face again. “Smile, girls!”

  Bess slid her arm around Genie’s waist and gave her an encouraging squeeze as the shutter clicked.

  “Excellent.” Dick wound a little lever on the top and then raised the camera again. “And one more for good measure.”

  Another click, another wind of the lever. Genie’s cheeks ached from holding her smile.

  “And that feels like the end of the roll,” Dick said with a satisfied smile, looping the camera strap around his neck. “Can you kids get Genie back to the ship for me? I want to get this roll developed today, or by tomorrow morning at the very latest.”

  “Sure,” Larry said as Bess came back to link her arm through his. “Cutting it kind of close, though, aren’t you? We’re scheduled to sail at noon tomorrow.”

  “Got it covered.” Dick caught Genie around the shoulders and pulled her close enough for her to smell the not-unpleasant musk of his sweat beneath his cologne. Then he released her. “And don’t worry; I haven’t forgotten that you want a paper. I’ll pick one up and give it to you when we meet later to go over that copy.”

  Chapter 21

  Starving for breakfast and nearly out of time before the galley closed, Genie clattered down the outer deck stairs as fast as she dared. She had stayed up way too late poring over the newspaper—the one Dick had brought her in exchange for the hopelessly boring story she had written on her meeting Ted and the Chiangs—and had completely overslept. Not that she had gotten much rest for all that, for the news reports from Burma had been troubling, with Japanese and Chinese forces massing on either end of the country, preparing for all-out battle.

  One short article had mentioned an air fight for control of the skies over Burma and that the Allied side had been victorious despite being horribly outnumbered, but there was no description of the casualty rate or who had taken part, except for a mention of the planes: Hurricanes and Tomahawks. She didn’t know a lot about airplanes, but she could’ve sworn the Tomahawk was the kind of plane the AVG flew.

  Her stomach growled as she spun on the landing, heading toward the next set of steps. She almost ran over the top of someone in the process. Two people, in fact, who were coming the other way. To her surprise, one of them was Lavinia.

  She grabbed the railing to catch her balance. “Oh heavens! Sorry, Lavinia.”

  She turned to Lavinia’s companion and blinked in surprise. It was Kitty, with a cigarette in hand and a silent dare in the arch of her perfectly drawn eyebrows. Genie’s hand reflexively tightened on the stairs’ handrail.

  “Kitty?” Genie glanced between the two women, her stomach sinking at the slow realization that Lavinia and Kitty were not in the same place by unhappy accident. They had been walking together.

  Oh no, no, no. It was bad enough that she had to tolerate the blonde’s presence when she was with Dick. She really didn’t want to share Lavinia, too.

  Be nice, Genie. We are all the Lord’s children.

  “Genie.” Lavinia looked startled. Then she smiled brightly. “Have you met Miss Van Nuys?”

  “I have, but only in passing.” She stuck out a hand and pasted on a smile for Lavinia’s sake. “I’m Eugenia Baker, but call me Genie.”

  Kitty exhaled a stream of smoke to the side and flicked an ash from her cigarette onto the deck. “Miss Baker, how nice to see you again.”

  So that’s how it’s going to be, Genie thought, letting her hand drop to her side. And to think I’m risking starvation for this . . . “I didn’t have a chance to thank you for your help yesterday. So thank you.”

  Kitty eyed her coolly. “It seemed the least I could do, since you’re helping Dickie.”

  Lavinia’s brow puckered as she looked from Kitty to Genie and back. “What are you two talking about?”

  “I didn’t get a chance to tell you last night, but it turns out I needed to have my ticket in addition to my passport to get back on board. Which wasn’t your fault,” Genie added quickly when her friend paled. “I didn’t think of it, either. I mean, how were we to know? In any case, they weren’t letting anyone on without a ticket, so my only option was to have someone run aboard and look for Nathan—you can imagine how keen I was on that idea.”

  “Or else be vouched for by someone who had a ticket. Someone who could sway the soldiers’ minds.” A slight smile curved Kitty’s red lips as she flicked another ash. “Namely me.”

  “Yes.” Genie’s smile faded. The whole episode had left a horrid taste. Watching Kitty blur the young men’s minds with lust for a second time had been depressing enough. When she found out later that what they had done wasn’t just against the rules but had been outright illegal and that the soldiers would be court-martialed if anyone found out, she had nearly thrown up.

  “How lucky for you, Genie,” Lavinia said, eyes wide in honest concern. Then she turned to Kitty, her expression softening. “And thank you for helping her. I had totally forgotten about the ticket.”

  Something flickered behind the blonde’s cool facade. “I did it for Dickie, but you’re welcome. And honestly, I didn’t remember, either.”

  “Wait, you both were in on getting me ashore?” To her surprise, a feeling very like jealousy pricked Genie.

  “I asked her for advice after Nathan turned out to be more stubborn than expected,” Lavinia said, the concern coming back into her eyes. “But she won’t tell anyone, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  Genie shot a look at Kitty, who merely raised an eyebrow, daring her to question Lavinia’s claim. With an effort, she tamped down on her irritation. “I guess
I didn’t realize you two were friends.”

  “We met not long after the ship left port. She was the one who suggested I might cut my hair to be more fashionable.” Lavinia’s face brightened as she continued, “Did you know she designs clothes to be sold in her father’s department stores? That’s why she was in India—to find inspiration for next year’s swimming suits. Which is how we got to the subject of women knowing how to swim and, in particular, how you never learned. Can you believe it? She offered to loan us a couple of suits so I could teach you!”

  An utterly different emotion gripped Genie. “Wait, I never said I wanted to learn.”

  Lavinia started to frown. “Don’t you want to? Think of all the fun we could have. Whenever we’re bored, we could go to the pool instead of attending another Bible study or hymn sing.”

  “I’d rather take up cards.”

  “Genie, I’m serious.” Her friend’s chin took on a familiar stubborn tilt. “It’s dangerous to be on a boat if you don’t know how to swim. You’re going to learn, and that’s final.”

  “Learn what?” Nathan asked suddenly from behind Genie, making her jump.

  “To play deck tennis,” Lavinia said without missing a beat. “Miss Van Nuys was just inviting us to play in a friendly tournament. Oh! I’m sorry. Have you two met? Nathan, this is Miss Van Nuys—”

  “Call me Kitty,” she said, holding out a gloved hand.

  Nathan hesitated and then shook it. “Kitty.”

  “Nathan is my fiancé,” Lavinia continued.

  “You’re a lucky man,” Kitty purred in a husky voice.

  Nathan cleared his throat and released her hand. “Er . . . thank you. I agree.”

  “Well, I must be off. I’ll see you all later.” Kitty’s cool gaze rested on Lavinia for the barest of seconds before she turned away.

  “Eugenia,” Nathan said after Kitty had left, “I’ve been looking all over for you. I wanted to apologize. You were right; your father would have wanted you to experience Cape Town. There’s not much time left before we leave port, but if you’d like to go down to the dock and at least have a look around, I’d be happy to accompany you.”

  Disbelief and anger left her momentarily speechless. “My, how . . . generous of you.”

  “Not at all,” he said, completely missing her sarcasm, which didn’t surprise her. His ego was a fortress, unassailable. “Besides, it’ll give us a chance to talk. I feel like our relationship has become strained over the course of the trip, unnecessarily so, and I think it’s high time we worked on repairing it. We have less than a month before we reach the States and I deliver you to your aunt, a transition that will go much more smoothly if we’re on friendlier terms. Don’t you agree?”

  She briefly closed her eyes as she struggled for composure. A good person, perhaps a better person than she, would accept the olive branch he was extending, no matter how delayed or stunted or pathetic. Nor could she refuse to go after making such a fuss yesterday. Not without arousing suspicion.

  And much more important, her father would demand she accept it. “Fine. When would you like to go?”

  “Now, if you’d like. Lavinia, darling, would you like to come with us?”

  “No, thank you. Now that we have plenty of water again, I’d like to wash my hair.” Her friend edged backward, and Genie narrowed her eyes as Lavinia’s gaze flicked in the direction of Kitty’s departure. Or maybe not. It could all be in her imagination. “I’ll see you two later.”

  “Lavinia said you had some letters you wanted to mail?” Nathan asked, pulling her attention back to the matter at hand.

  “I already sent them with someone else.” Which was close to the truth, if not true exactly.

  “Oh. Good.” He seemed at a loss as to what else to say. Gesturing for her to lead the way, he waited until she moved before falling beside her. A strained silence fell between them as they descended the stairs to the deck with the gangway.

  Finally, she couldn’t stand it any longer. “It looks like you and Lavinia are getting along,” she said as a kind of peace offering.

  His shoulders relaxed as he smiled. “Oh, Genie. I never thought I could be so happy. She’s like a miracle, a gift from heaven. We see eye to eye on so many things.”

  Genie rather doubted that. More likely her friend was only telling Nathan whatever he wanted to hear. And while it wasn’t her place to criticize her friend’s strategy, it did leave her uneasy. In her mind, marriages should be built on honesty. “So when’s the happy day?”

  “Not for a while yet. I want to ask her father’s permission first, when we go to visit him.”

  Alarm shot through her, and she almost missed the next step. “Does she know this?”

  “Yes and no. We’ve discussed the matter, but I haven’t told her my final decision. Truth be told, she was being rather unreasonable about the whole thing.” He glanced at her. “Has she said anything about it to you?”

  “Only that she has no desire to return home.”

  “Yes, well, I think that’s patently ridiculous. Family is one of the Lord’s sacred institutions. Whatever her misgivings, we will overcome them.”

  “You might want to tell her,” she said carefully. Especially since avoiding her father was the only reason she agreed to marry you.

  “If the need arises. Otherwise, it is my decision to make, and I would ask that you not upset her unnecessarily.”

  She stopped at the top of the gangway. “You’re asking me to lie?”

  He stopped as well. “No, I’m asking you to not bring it up.”

  “And are there things you tell her not to bring up with me?” she asked, her temper sparking. “Decisions about my future that you feel I’m better off not knowing?”

  “Of course not. I think we’ve always been perfectly frank with each other.”

  “But you won’t extend that same courtesy to your future wife?”

  He hesitated. “My relationship with Lavinia is different.”

  “For which I’m eternally grateful. I would hate being lied to, especially by someone who professed to love me.”

  Anger flashed in his eyes. “You’re awfully quick to judge, considering.”

  “Considering what?”

  “Do you really think your father told you everything? Hardly.”

  “What don’t I know, Nathan? You’ve told me about my aunt and about his wanting us married. What else is there?”

  “Nothing.” He took a deep breath as if reining in his temper and gestured toward the gangway. “Shall we?”

  So much for improving their relationship. She hesitated, debating whether to press him on what her father hadn’t told her. Then she decided he wouldn’t tell her anyway, so she stalked onto the swaying platform, her gaze firmly on the soldiers at the end and not on the foaming water below. They were checking documents of people waiting to get on the ship. A whole long line of people carrying suitcases. More people fleeing the war. Where they were going to stay on the already crowded ship, she had no idea.

  As she got closer, she recognized the soldiers as the ones she had talked to last night. For an instant she was overjoyed to see them, because it meant they hadn’t been court-martialed. Then the other shoe dropped, and her heart stuttered. They were likely going to recognize her, too. And say something. Which meant Nathan would find out she hadn’t stayed on the ship yesterday.

  She immediately reversed direction. It wasn’t that she was afraid of his reaction to the news, but of her own. Her self-control was too frayed to deal with another one of his temper tantrums.

  Nathan caught her. “Where are you going?”

  “I’ve changed my mind. A few minutes walking on the pier isn’t worth my missing breakfast.”

  He refused to let her go. “This is your one and only chance. If you head back now, I’m not asking again.”

  She shook off his hand. “Don’t worry.”

  “And you have to tell Lavinia that this was your fault, not mine. I won’t have her angry
at me because of your intemperance.”

  She stilled, suddenly putting two and two together. “This wasn’t your idea, was it? This whole ‘take Genie ashore and repair our relationship’ thing. That was Lavinia’s suggestion, wasn’t it? Only you’re getting around to it a day late, and now you’re trying to appease her.”

  “There is no appeasement necessary,” he said stiffly. Then he added, “All the same, you will tell her?”

  Deliberately, coldly, she turned away from him without answering and ran up the gangway. Even though her appetite had fled, she headed toward the galley. Whirling around the stairway corner, she almost ran smack into Dick.

  “Hello, again,” he said, catching her by the arms to steady her. “I was hoping to see you at breakfast, but you weren’t there. Are you all right?”

  “Fine. In fact, that’s where I’m headed now. I got a late start is all.”

  “Then I’d best not keep you. You’ve got ten minutes.” He edged past her, turning the whole time to keep talking. “And I’ve got to hurry if I want to wire the story before the ship sails. By the way, the photo turned out spectacularly, in case you wondered.”

  “Wait, did you need me to look at—”

  “No time. I’ll show you the final copy when I get back. I will see you, won’t I?”

  “Why wouldn’t you? It’s not like I’ll be anywhere but on the ship.”

  “Good, because there’s something else I want to show you, something I think you’re going to like.”

  “Like what?” she asked a little warily, hoping she hadn’t given him the wrong impression yesterday.

  “Don’t worry,” he teased. “What I want to show you are magazines. Lots and lots of them. You said you wanted to learn more about American culture, and here’s your chance. A whole stack of Life magazines, chock full of ads and photographs, all for your enjoyment. And some newspapers, too, in case yesterday’s wasn’t enough.”