A Girl Divided

by Ellen Lindseth

  Ignoring the chatter around her, she spread the pages out on the breakroom table and began to read over the rooms to let. Caring whether Gloria had been seen going into a motel with Skip over the weekend seemed so petty compared to what the rest of the world was going through.

  Of course, maybe that was the point. Worrying about things one had no control over—like whether her village still stood, or if all the people she had met on her journey through Kunming and Calcutta were safe, or if the war would drag on forever until everyone she cared about was gone—was a sure path to madness. She should know, having stared into that dark maw for the past few nights.

  She made herself read again and had managed to circle two likely prospects when Charity pulled out the chair next to her and sat. Not feeling up for company, Genie tried to ignore her, too, but Charity didn’t seem to catch the hint. The girl continued to stare at her expectantly, her painted fingernails tapping the tabletop.

  Genie sighed. “What?”

  “I’m trying to figure out why you’re so eager to find a new place when you’re perfectly welcome to stay with us.”

  “I’m not so sure your roommates would agree. It’s only been four days, and already I feel like I’m wearing out my welcome.”

  “I disagree. But if you’re that worried about it, why not move back to your apartment? I know you’re not happy that Mr. Pelton forgot to mention he was married, but that doesn’t mean you have to move out. Most landlords are married. Just stop going out with him, and problem solved.”

  “He didn’t forget. It was deliberate.”

  “So spit on his rent check before you mail it. There’s no need to cut off your nose to spite your face.”

  “He never charged us rent.”

  A fact that, while it had made affording flight lessons that much easier, left her despondent now. Without knowing it, she had let him turn her into a “kept woman” in appearance, if not in deed. And the latter wasn’t for lack of trying on his part.

  “Which reminds me, why haven’t you invited Lavinia over? She’s probably lonely over in that apartment all by herself.”

  An image of Lavinia and Sheila cuddling together popped into her head, but she immediately brushed it away.

  “I doubt it,” she said, not wanting to think about her former friend at the moment. Lavinia’s betrayal still hurt too much.

  “Do you mean you haven’t talked to her?” Charity sounded confused. “I thought you two were best friends, travel buddies who had sailed the world together.”

  Pain slid between her ribs like a knife as a searing wave of grief and anger washed over her. Fighting tears, Genie pushed back from the table. “Drop it, Charity. I don’t want to discuss it right now.”

  “Wow. Someone is in an awful mood.”

  “I’m sorry.” She took a deep steadying breath, aware of the stares from the other girls. If she didn’t calm down, questions would be raised, and Lavinia’s secret might be exposed. “It’s not you. I’m worried about my father, and the war, and finding a place to live, and . . .” And the fact I trusted the wrong people, but she didn’t say that part aloud.

  “Did you and Lavinia have some kind of falling out?” Charity asked, refusing to let it go. Not that Genie was surprised by that. Her friend’s doggedness was one of the things that had gotten her through flight training.

  “Let’s just say we didn’t see eye to eye on the landlord issue.”

  Which was true, in a way. And she hoped it would keep Charity, and everyone else, from speculating too much on the collapse of their friendship. While devastated that Lavinia had lied to her, and shocked by her illicit behavior, Genie still cared about her former friend and didn’t wish her any harm. The hard reality was that Lavinia would certainly lose her job, if not be jailed, if her proclivities were exposed. And Genie wouldn’t allow that to happen.

  She had too many sins of her own to atone for.

  She began doodling along the edge of the paper. “I was also thinking I should get serious about finding a church to attend.”

  “You don’t have one?” Charity said in surprise. “I guess I assumed you already . . . I mean, you being raised by missionaries and all.”

  “No.” The lapse haunted her, too. She couldn’t quite put her finger on when she had stopped caring about her faith, but her father would be appalled by the result. She was appalled. Nathan was likely dancing in spiteful glee, wishing he had an earthly presence with which to say, I told you so.

  Her pencil stilled as it suddenly occurred to her that she had left something in the apartment. In the front closet, to be exact.

  “You can always come with me to my church,” Charity was saying. “I go to the Wednesday night services, since the sermon is shorter. I figured with the war and all, He might forgive me if I spent my Sundays flying instead.”

  “Likely,” Genie said absently, her thoughts more concerned with what to do with Nathan’s grave marker. All her extra funds had gone toward flying lessons instead of securing him a memorial plot. Maybe she should reconsider her priorities. Not that she was superstitious or anything.

  Charity suddenly smiled. “Hey, I know what will cheer you up. Let’s go flying after work. The weather is perfect.”

  “I can’t. I need all my pennies to pay my share of the rent this week.” Temptation pulled at her, though, weakening her resolve.

  “Come up with me, then. We’ll fly around together! It’ll be fun.”

  It would be fun, and it wasn’t like the grave marker was going anywhere. She could pick it up later, once she had a place for it. Once she could face Lavinia without remembering a topless Sheila bending over her.

  “Break time is over,” Skip announced coldly from the door. A flushed and nervous-looking Gloria stood just behind him. She smoothed her skirts, not making eye contact with anyone. It didn’t take a genius to decipher what activities had likely just taken place in her boss’s office. Genie’s jaw tightened with disgust, though not with Gloria. No, her ire was firmly centered on Skip, who, despite his latest conquest hovering nervously behind him, was openly staring at Genie. The big jerk.

  As soon as she got a new place, she was definitely looking for a new job.

  “So I guess you girls are going to have to find a new flight instructor,” Flo said cheerfully. “Because there’s not a chance of me turning this down. Who would have thunk it? Women flying for the army. Not this gal, that’s for sure.”

  “Not me, either.” Charity handed the letter to Genie. “Do you think it’s for real, Flo?”

  “I certainly intend to show up and find out. What’s the worst thing that can happen?”

  “You miss two weeks of instructor’s pay? It’ll take you a week to get to Delaware, at least, with the trains as crowded as they are.”

  Genie skimmed the letter. It was a personal invitation from a Mrs. Harkness Love to apply for one of twenty-five spots in the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron. “Too bad you don’t have at least five hundred hours of flight time, Charity, or you could apply, too, since you have your commercial license now.”

  “I’d need to get rated for high-performance engines.”

  “Which isn’t hard to get,” Flo said, taking the letter back. “Just expensive, like everything else in flying.”

  “I can’t even imagine having five hundred hours,” Genie said glumly. “Let alone nearly a thousand like you do. I’d have to fly ten hours every weekend for almost a year. And that’s not even counting all the money it would take.”

  Flo cuffed her lightly on the shoulder. “That’s why you should become a flight instructor, so someone else pays for the plane.”

  “I call dibs on taking Flo’s spot,” Charity said, her face alight with excitement. “I think it would be fun to be an instructor.”

  “As long as you don’t mind students trying to kill you,” Genie said drily, remembering Ted’s story from last Friday. It seemed like a lifetime ago. So much had happened since then. She wondered what he was up to, wh
ether she would ever see him again.

  I don’t want any gal getting too attached . . .

  “Aw, you’re just sore because you don’t have your commercial license yet,” Charity said, mistaking the reason for Genie’s sigh.

  “Speaking of which,” Flo interrupted, her expression serious, “I’m not leaving until the first of September. If you can get in here at least a couple more times a week before then, I could have you ready to take the test before I go.”

  “I wish I could. Oh boy, do I wish it. But I’m not sure I’ll be able to afford any lessons for a while.”

  “Why not?”

  Charity rolled her eyes. “Because she had a fight with her roommate and her landlord and thus is looking for a new place to live, one that likely requires rent payments.”

  Flo pinned her with a hard look. “When did this happen? Over the weekend? This isn’t because of anything Lieutenant Younan did—”

  “No,” Genie said, horrified. “He didn’t do anything. He was a perfect gentleman.”

  “Well, that’s good. Otherwise I’d have to take him aside and give him a stern what-for.”

  “Wait.” Charity glanced from Genie to Flo and back. “Genie went out with her Flying Tiger, and no one told me?”

  Genie held up her hand. “It wasn’t a date. He drove me home Friday night, that’s all.”

  “This last Friday night, the one where you showed up on my doorstep, crying and hysterical?”

  “I was not hysterical, and it was totally unrelated to Ted. Well, mostly,” she amended at Flo’s sharp look. “He’s the one who told me Mr. Pelton was married, but I’m not mad at him. I’m thankful, if anything.”

  Flo looked relieved. “Well, good, because I was going to invite him and some of the other army boys to my going-away party, but I’d happily leave him off the list if it’d cause problems.”

  “No, it’s fine. I’m always happy to see Ted.”

  Which she realized was the absolute truth, even if it meant facing the fact that she would never mean as much to him as he did to her.

  Charity’s frown didn’t fade. “We still have the problem of trying to get Genie her commercial license. It just seems a crying shame that some jerk’s marital problems are going to cost her like this.”

  “It’s fine, Charity. It’ll give me more time to go to chur—”

  “I’ll see if I can get her a better rate than the one Vultee’s got,” Flo said, rubbing her jaw. “I’ll see if I can waive my instructor’s fee, too.”

  “And you’ll stay with us for another couple of weeks,” Charity told Genie sternly. “No arguments allowed. Think of it as your own personal sacrifice for the good of the country. Because this country needs more pilots to support the war effort, and that means female pilots, too. Even if Uncle Sam doesn’t realize it yet.”

  “Though that could be changing,” Flo said with a smile even as Genie’s eyes filled with tears of gratitude for her two friends. “And we’re the start of it.”

  Chapter 39

  “Genie, phone’s for you.” The voice of Audrey, one of Charity’s three roommates, floated in from the other room.

  “If it’s Mr. Pelton again, I’m still not here,” Genie called back as she rummaged through Audrey’s closet for something to wear on her blind date tonight. It would be her first dinner out since that awful night two months before, when Ted had told her about Dick being married and her world had fallen apart.

  Not because she missed Dick, the lying rat. It was the fallout of that discovery she regretted, because not only had it destroyed her friendship with Lavinia, it had apparently also swept away Ted, too. She hadn’t heard word one from him since he had dropped her off. Not that she was all that surprised. After all, she had cried all over him, thrown up, and generally made an utter fool of herself. Her behavior had all but screamed that she was the kind of girl who would get attached, which was the exact opposite of what he wanted.

  Luckily, she had her work and flight lessons to keep her busy, so she couldn’t dwell on how she might have handled that night differently. And she had new roommates she adored, which also took up time, since she was bound and determined to do her fair share of chores—as well as pay her part of the expenses—so as never to be a burden.

  She pulled out a Hawaiian print skirt and held it up for consideration. Even though it was way past Labor Day, her mood begged for something more summery than her old standby blue dress. It was time to come out of mourning . . .

  “It’s not. It’s some woman,” Audrey said.

  Genie’s heart leaped as she turned around. Lavinia? “Did she give a name?”

  She hadn’t seen or heard from her former friend since their falling out, something that had been weighing on her conscience more and more. In the past two weeks, she had even started varying her arrival and departure times from the plant, hoping to run into the elusive girl, just to make sure she was all right, but it hadn’t happened. Perhaps Lavinia had noticed, though, and was finally trying to get in touch?

  Genie could only hope. There was so much she wanted to say . . .

  “It’s not. It’s a Mrs. Sharkey. She says she’s your aunt?”

  “My aunt?” Shock and disbelief raced through her, her sadness over Lavinia temporarily displaced.

  “I’m just reporting what she said, but I’d beat feet, chickie. It’s long distance.”

  Genie tossed the garments aside as excitement raced through her. “Coming!”

  Flinging open the bedroom door, she dashed over and snatched the receiver from Audrey. “Hello, this is Genie.”

  “Eugenia Claire?” a woman asked hesitantly, her voice scratchy and thin through the earpiece. “I’m trying to reach the daughter of Reverend Eugene Baker.”

  Tears filled her eyes. She had waited so long to hear her aunt’s voice. Her heart pounded with excitement and even a little fear. “Aunt Hazel?”

  “Oh, thank the Lord!” the woman exclaimed. “Yes, child, yes! It’s me, your father’s sister. I’ve been trying to find you ever since I saw the article in the newspaper. You could’ve knocked me down with a feather when it said you were on your way to the States. Eugene was quite remiss in not warning me.”

  “We didn’t have your new address,” Genie said, still not quite believing her aunt had found her, and through Dick’s article, no less. The Lord truly did move through mysterious ways, though it struck her as ironic that the man who had led her the furthest into sin was also inadvertently responsible for bringing her family back to her.

  “My father didn’t even know you had married,” Genie continued. “I tried to find you. I went up to Bakersfield, but no one knew where you and Uncle Art had moved.”

  “Didn’t Eugene get my letter? Oh, but never mind that now. Long distance is so expensive I should cut right to the chase, as Arthur would say. Though I guess I should say Uncle Arthur.” Her aunt’s voice warmed in obvious affection that gladdened Genie’s heart. “We want to come see you, if that’s all right.”

  “I would love that,” Genie said honestly. “When?”

  “Thursday? It’s the only day your uncle could get tickets on the train.”

  “Do you know what time? I might have to ask off from work.” Which Skip would just love, but she didn’t care. She would take her lumps, because family was more important. Her father had taught her that.

  There was a pause on the line. “You’re employed?” Then her aunt rallied. “Well, of course you are. Well, don’t worry, dear. We can talk about that when we see you. That, and when you’ll be able to come home with us.”

  “Wait, what?”

  But her aunt was talking again. “Uncle Arthur says we won’t arrive until one thirty-five, so maybe we can go out for a late lunch afterward and catch up on all your experiences. Oh, and he says we’ll be coming into Union Station.”

  Genie gave herself a little mental shake. “How about I meet you at the train?”

  “Perfect, and don’t worry—as long as you still
look like your photo, we’ll be able to pick you out.” The smile in her aunt’s voice told Genie that she thought there would be no change at all. Before Genie could say otherwise, her aunt was saying goodbye and promising to see her next Thursday.

  Genie hung up the receiver, a little dazed. While thrilled to know her aunt was alive and well, she wasn’t sure she knew how she felt about having family so precipitously dropped into her lap. She hadn’t missed Aunt Hazel’s beat of hesitation when Genie mentioned having a job. Then there was her aunt’s assumption that Genie should move in with them, which could be heaven knew where.

  Maybe once, when she had first arrived in the States, she would have been relieved by such a proposition. It was what her father had intended all along. But now, after having lived under her own supervision for six months, she wasn’t sure she wanted to give that up.

  Charity breezed in from the bathroom on a cloud of perfume. “You’re not ready yet?” she asked in surprise as she adjusted an earring. “We’ve only got fifteen minutes until the boys arrive.”

  “Oh shoot! Just give me two shakes of a lamb’s tail.” Genie flew back into the bedroom. Tonight she was still Genie Baker, secretary and pilot. Later she would worry about her upcoming family reunion.

  “You look swell tonight, Genie. Every fellow here will be green with envy.” Tom, her blind date, winked as he held the door to the diner for her.

  “Thanks.” She gave him a wide smile. “You don’t look so shabby yourself.”

  And he didn’t. His army flight cadet uniform was freshly pressed, his cap perched confidently atop his soft-looking, sandy hair. With his thin, foxlike features, he wasn’t exactly her type, but his brown eyes were friendly and intelligent. She was even coming to terms with his thin brush of a mustache that he no doubt hoped would make him look older.

  He smiled back, and they went inside. Charity and her date were already sliding into a red leather booth. A gum-chewing waitress waited impatiently for Genie and Tom to sit. The Ink Spots crooned in the background, courtesy of a brightly lit jukebox.