The Girls of Pearl Harbor

by Lane, Soraya M.

  ‘Chocolad!’ the first little boy yelled. ‘Chocolad! Please!’

  ‘Hello!’ a pretty girl said, coming closer and stroking Grace’s arm. ‘Smoke?’

  Grace smiled down at her, staring into beautiful dark eyes that were blinking back up at her.

  ‘Aren’t you sweet. And you speak English! Maybe I have something for you.’

  ‘No,’ Eva said sternly, her hand closing over Grace’s pocket.

  When she looked down, she saw the child’s hand was caught, and she realized what she’d been about to do. The girl was a thief!

  ‘Well, aren’t you full of surprises. You don’t need to steal,’ Grace told her, waving her finger at her and shaking her head. ‘No stealing. I would have given you something.’

  ‘Chewn gum! Chewn gum!’ the other children shouted, holding out grubby little hands for treats.

  ‘Here you go,’ Grace said, giving some gum from her pocket to the girl.

  She was expecting a smile, maybe even a thank-you, but the second she gave her the gum, the girl snatched it, poked her tongue out, and started yelling something that Grace couldn’t understand. Was she cursing at her? After she’d been so generous?

  Most of the others ran off when they realized there was little being offered, but the boy who’d originally approached couldn’t take his eyes off Eva.

  ‘It’s your hair,’ Grace murmured. ‘He’s never seen hair the color of flames before, I bet.’

  Eva stepped closer to him and bent, dropping to her knees. The boy hesitated, then moved forward and carefully touched Eva’s hair before throwing his arms around her and giving her a quick hug.

  ‘Pretty,’ he said, his cheeks flushing.

  ‘Where have your friends gone?’ Grace asked.

  The boy shrugged, but he stood to attention as Eva placed something in his hand and then closed his palm around whatever the gift was.

  ‘Here, have some cigarettes too,’ Grace said, handing them over.

  The boy grinned and gave them a wave, before darting off, running fast in the direction his friends had gone.

  ‘I think he’s in love with you,’ Grace teased.

  ‘If a little boy wants to be in love with me, then I’m okay with that,’ Eva said, shrugging, and Grace couldn’t help but smile. They’d tried so many things to draw Eva out of her shell these past few months, and then a little boy full of innocence had stroked her hair and touched her face, and suddenly there was a lightness about her again. Maybe for only a short while, but it was there. She only hoped that being around Arthur and seeing him suffer wouldn’t send her straight back into sadness again.

  ‘What is the little ponytail for?’ April asked. ‘All the younger boys seem to have shaved heads with little ponytails at the back.’

  ‘It’s in case they die,’ Eva said quietly, taking Grace by surprise. ‘Arabic boys are circumcised when they turn thirteen—it’s a religious thing—and the pigtail is to signify to the angel of death that they’re little boys who haven’t yet turned thirteen. The angel lifts them by their pigtail to take them to heaven.’

  ‘It’s so unusual; how different their customs are,’ said Grace.

  ‘Different is always hard to understand, though, isn’t it?’ April replied, still staring after the children, fascinated by the myth behind their hairstyles. ‘I like that it’s so different here—it makes you realize that we’re all fighting for the same thing, even though we’re so far removed from one another.’

  ‘Going back to the topic of being in love,’ Grace said, changing the subject as they continued to walk. ‘How’s your love life going, April? Has the dashing Dr. Grey asked you out on a date yet?’

  ‘Grace! Nothing is going on between me and Dr. Grey.’

  ‘Nothing yet,’ Grace said smugly, loving how quickly her sister had become defensive. ‘There’s nothing to be embarrassed about; he’s a gorgeous surgeon who happens to like having you on his service with him. You’d have to be a nun not to be attracted to him, and he clearly likes you right back. You should, I don’t know, try to get trapped in a supply room with him or something.’

  ‘Stop!’ April begged. ‘Please, stop. Yes, he’s handsome, yes, I like him, but nothing has happened. If he asked me out, I’d say yes, but he hasn’t even hinted that he’s interested, so can we please just leave it?’

  Grace shrugged. ‘Fine, but are we going to buy food, or are we just going to go for a swim?’

  ‘Food,’ Eva chirped. ‘I think we should go straight down there and get something to eat, then swim.’

  They walked casually into the Arab quarter of town, elbowing their way past more people than Grace had ever seen in one space, the narrow streets and alleys packed with bodies and hungry-looking dogs with their ribs poking out. There were even donkeys tethered to doors, their eyes shut and their lower lips drooping as they waited for someone to return for them.

  There was everything presented for sale, from rugs and handbags to shoes and copperware, and smoke billowed out into the alleyways, filling the air with smells that merged with the thick sweat emanating from the men shouting and laughing loudly at one another.

  Grace’s heart beat fast as she looked around, amazed all over again at how a regular girl from Oregon had somehow ended up on the other side of the world, in a place so different she couldn’t have even imagined it in her wildest dreams.

  ‘Here,’ April suddenly said. ‘Let’s stop here.’

  A street vendor was cooking what looked like vegetables and rice with some sort of meat, and Grace decided not to ask what it was. Perhaps she’d rather not know and just enjoy the taste of something other than army rations.

  ‘You,’ someone said to them from behind.

  Grace turned. ‘Are you talking to us?’ she asked politely.

  ‘You, you give my boy cigarettes and candy,’ the man said.

  Grace glanced at Eva, not about to point the finger and tell him exactly which of them had given out the treats to the little boy earlier.

  April was the one who nodded. ‘We did. Yes.’

  His smile took Grace by surprise. ‘You must come to our home for dinner. Tonight. We cook you a feast.’

  Grace tried not to laugh, looking first at Eva, then her sister. She’d thought they were about to be told off, and instead they were being asked for dinner!

  ‘I told you the other nurses had been asked to have dinner with a family,’ Grace whispered.

  ‘Well,’ April started.

  ‘We’d love to,’ Grace said, ignoring her sister and speaking loudly. ‘Thank you. It’s an honor to be asked.’

  ‘You go over there,’ he said, pointing back toward the way they’d come. ‘I’ll meet you, walk you to our house.’

  Grace made arrangements with him, but she noticed Eva moving closer, smiling at the man.

  ‘Your son, he is very polite,’ Eva said, stepping toward him. She saw her reach her hands out and then quickly drop them and wrap them around herself. ‘You should be proud of him.’

  The man nodded an acknowledgement before walking off. They all looked at one another and laughed.

  ‘Well, we wanted different food. Now we have it!’ Grace said with a grin.

  April smiled. ‘We’ll need to bring a gift for them, to say thank you. It must be a big deal for them to offer strangers food when they don’t have a lot.’

  ‘Do we need to cover our heads in his home like the women here do, out of respect?’ Eva asked.

  ‘I think we should just wear our uniforms,’ April said. ‘They know why we’re here, that we’re nurses, and I think that shows respect, don’t you?’

  They took their food and walked away, heading for the beach to see if they could swim. It was an hour before they got there, and Grace looked out at the ocean and felt like she’d been transported back to Hawaii. She shut her eyes, inhaling the familiar smell of the sea and imagining the water washing against her feet. She could see Poppy running, splashing through ankle-deep water, chasing after her
as April watched.

  ‘Hello, ladies.’

  Grace opened her eyes and blinked away tears as she braved a smile and turned. She quickly wiped under her eyes when she saw the soldiers sitting farther down on the sand.

  ‘Hi,’ she called back. ‘Have you tested the water?’

  The four men laughed, and they all stood, pants rolled up past their ankles, bare feet lost in the sand.

  ‘It’s mighty good in there,’ one of them said, his British accent making Grace grin.

  ‘You’re a long way from home, soldier,’ she said.

  ‘Not as far as you, love,’ another said, making all the boys laugh.

  Eva had sat down on the beach, looking out to sea, but April was still standing, one hand raised to block out the sun.

  ‘You look familiar, actually,’ April said. ‘I don’t know why, but—’

  ‘The train!’ Grace interrupted. ‘You passed me coffee through the window of the train when we were stopped!’

  The fair-haired one of the four laughed and came closer, holding out his hand.

  ‘You’ve got me. You know, you owe me for that. I got in big trouble for giving away our coffee rations!’

  Grace smiled. ‘Really? And what exactly can I repay you with, soldier?’

  The men on either side nudged him in the ribs, and she held his gaze, trying not to look away, enjoying their banter.

  ‘Well, how about we go out for dinner one night?’ he said, his cheeks turning a dark shade of red.

  Grace glanced at her sister, who was looking like a mother about to drag her infant away from danger. She chose to ignore her.

  ‘Why not? I’d love to go out with you.’

  He grinned and stepped forward, his blue-green eyes full of sincerity. ‘I’m Peter, by the way.’

  She took the hand he held out and smiled as he gently shook it. ‘Grace.’

  ‘Well, Grace, how about you meet me on Saturday night? It’ll be my last night of leave.’

  She nodded. ‘Where?’

  ‘There’s a place we all go, a place on the edge of the Arab quarter with a green sign out in front. There’s plenty of British and US soldiers there every night.’

  ‘I guess I’ll see you then.’

  When he let go of her hand, the other men grabbed at him, and Peter took off as they chased, darting through the ocean and sending water flying. Grace watched him for a while, then turned back to April.

  ‘What?’ she asked.

  Her sister looked unhappy. ‘It doesn’t feel right, Grace. You don’t even know the man.’

  ‘He’s a soldier; we’re all fighting on the same side,’ she said, shrugging. ‘What’s to know? And I’m not exactly going somewhere isolated with him—there’ll be plenty of people around.’

  ‘I just feel nervous about it; that’s all.’

  Grace met April’s gaze and bumped shoulders with her, standing close as they both looked out at the water.

  ‘Remember how you said you weren’t going to mother me?’ Grace asked gently.

  April sighed. Loudly. ‘I know. But I can’t help worrying about you.’

  ‘I promise I won’t intervene if the doctor asks you out.’

  ‘Grace!’ April glowered at her. ‘Can you please stop with the doctor talk?’

  Her flushed cheeks were a giveaway; Grace knew how much her sister liked the man. ‘Fine. I just wish Poppy were here with us. She’d be teasing you mercilessly, and she’d be the first to encourage my date with the gorgeous soldier.’

  April groaned. ‘She would have. It’d be me against two of you if she was here.’

  ‘She’d be setting me up on dates at every opportunity. Did you know she tried to set me up with one of her patients just before the bombing? The one we played cards with?’

  April laughed. ‘No, I didn’t. Typical, though; Poppy was always trying to matchmake everyone.’

  Talking about Poppy made Grace think of Teddy. They’d been so happy together; Poppy was always hanging on to his arm and gazing up at him, and Teddy was smitten with her right back. She hated that she’d been so in love with him herself, her infatuation with him never disappearing no matter how much she’d tried, and now that Poppy was gone, even thinking about it made her feel guilty. And ever since his letter, those old feelings had flared up again. If they’d ever gone. She needed this, a night out with a gorgeous foreign soldier, because being there for Teddy was one thing; falling still more for him was something else altogether.

  ‘Are you two done squabbling?’ Eva asked.

  Grace turned and saw Eva by the water, waiting for them.

  ‘For now,’ she replied, winking at April, who only groaned at her in response.

  Less than four hours later, Grace was smoothing out wrinkles in her uniform in their tent as the other two waited for her. She hastily applied some lipstick and opened her bag to find some chewing gum to give the family they were visiting.

  ‘What are you two taking?’ she asked.

  April held up gum as well, and Eva produced some chocolate from her pocket. ‘I figured they’d like some American things. This will be enough, won’t it?’

  Grace shrugged. ‘I hope so. Let’s go.’

  They walked back down the hill toward town again, the heat still stifling despite it being early evening, and Grace swatted at bugs that continued to land on her skin. She loved the thrill of being stationed overseas, but the flies and biting bugs she could do without.

  ‘There he is,’ April said, gesturing toward a man waiting for them. He nodded and beckoned for them to follow him, and they walked behind him to a modest house that seemed more like a hut to Grace. She plucked at her jacket and wondered why they’d decided to wear their hot class A uniforms. Most of them lamented frequently about the suitability of their clothes; the thick, buttoned-up jackets were hardly appropriate for somewhere as hot and dry as a desert!

  ‘Come in,’ the man said. ‘Come in and sit.’

  They walked in, past a cat with some young kittens lounging by the front door, with April in the lead. They all stopped the moment they were inside, greeted by the woman of the house waiting for them, her hands clasped together as she smiled and nodded, and the little boy, along with two older sisters, standing beside their mother.

  ‘Thank you,’ Grace said, ‘for having us in your home. Thank you.’

  April and Eva echoed her thanks, and they were ushered to the table, where there was only enough room for the adults.

  ‘My daughter,’ the woman said, pointing to her eldest. ‘She was sick, and one of your doctors, he helped her.’

  Grace beamed at the woman, wondering who it might have been. ‘We have good doctors. I’m happy he helped you.’

  ‘And our son, he said you were very kind.’

  This time it was Eva smiling as the young boy came forward. She bent to talk to him as Grace stepped forward and took her place at the table.

  ‘This doctor, what was his name?’ she asked.

  ‘Evans,’ the man said, nodding. ‘Dr. Evans. Good man.’

  ‘I don’t know him personally, but I’m sure he’s a very good doctor.’

  ‘We have food now,’ the woman said, moving toward the little kitchen.

  The house was so humble, smaller and more basic than anything an American would expect to live in, but it was impeccably clean. Grace thought back to their first impressions of North Africa and its people; they’d all been horrified at how primitive their lives were. Locals seemed to relieve themselves wherever they wanted to, with no hygiene to speak of, but she could see now how much pride this woman had in her home to keep it so orderly.

  ‘Can I help?’ April asked.

  ‘No!’ the woman said. ‘I have daughters; we cook for you.’

  Soon they were being presented with a dish put in the center of the table, some type of vegetable, and Grace reached for the food first as the man beckoned her to do so. The others followed suit, and she was surprised at the flavor, wondering what spices might
have been used.

  ‘Many plates,’ the woman said. ‘You try everything.’

  Grace wasn’t sure what she meant until the woman reappeared with another dish, and after that another. There was rice and more vegetables, things that brought Grace’s taste buds to life, and she could barely remember ever being so well fed.

  ‘This is our last dish,’ the woman announced. ‘Please enjoy.’

  Grace was baffled at the plate that was presented. It was a small creature, cooked whole with its head intact, and she studied the little catlike ears and wondered what on earth it was. Whatever it was, though, it smelled delicious, and she glanced at her friends to ask what they thought it might be. But irritation rose within her as she saw Eva’s worried expression.

  Grace smiled for her hosts before glaring at Eva. ‘Stop looking like you’ve sucked a lemon,’ she whispered under her breath.

  ‘But it’s a whole animal,’ Eva whispered back.

  ‘It’s no different from eating meat at home; it’s just a different way of presenting it.’

  She looked over at April, pleased that at least her sister didn’t seem concerned by the plate on the table.

  The knife was passed to Grace, but she shook her head. ‘Please, cut for me,’ she said, making the motions of cutting. ‘I’m not sure where to start.’

  The woman laughed at her and patted the bottom of the animal. ‘This part is best.’

  ‘The bottom? Is it nice and juicy?’ April caught Grace’s eye, and she erupted into giggling, the entire table suddenly laughing as Grace’s cheeks flushed and she laughed along with the others.

  ‘Some bottom for me, then,’ she said, rolling her eyes at her sister and trying not to laugh again.

  The woman nodded, her face eager as she leaned forward and sliced the meat while Grace held out her plate. She kicked Eva until she lifted her plate, but when she noticed that Eva had tears in her eyes, she reached for her hand under the table and gave it a little squeeze.

  ‘It’s okay,’ she whispered. ‘Just be gracious and eat a little. Just think of it as beef or something.’

  Once they all had some meat, their host family waited for them to begin, and Grace smiled as she took her first mouthful, surprised at how tasty it was. It might look peculiar, but she wasn’t complaining.