Over the next few weeks Jimmy became a regular visitor to the Ward household. He always brought gifts, sometimes staples, often more exotic things like lollies, which always pleased Betty. Jimmy didn’t disappoint her parents either; he somehow managed to find material for her mother who had been complaining about the lack of any decent fabric to sew up some new dresses. Then there was the occasional drum of fuel that her father found out the back near the shed. That in itself was worth a small fortune, fuel rations being what they were. When her parents protested that what he had brought them was too much, he just smiled and shook his head, saying that just to be part of a family for a little while and have some small comfort of home was worth far more than a few sweets and lengths of material.
Often Jimmy would be waiting outside the Red Cross building when Evelyn finished her shift and they would stop for a milkshake or something to eat on the way home. A few times Dolly accompanied them, and the outings were great fun. For all her flirting and brashness, Dolly was good company. Evelyn always felt better if Dolly, or even her sister, was with them during their outings. That way she could push away the niggle of doubt she always felt whenever she was with him. He’s just a close friend of the family, our adopted Yank, she’d tell herself firmly. But she never was much of a liar and it was growing harder to keep up the charade with each passing day.
Over Sunday lunch, after the whole family had returned from church, Jimmy casually asked her father if it would be all right if Evelyn accompanied him to an upcoming dance. ‘If I had an escort I would be less likely to be harassed by some of the more determined local women,’ he said as a way of pleading his case. Evelyn held back a snort at that. Very few servicemen complained about the attention local women paid them, but in his defence, Jimmy did manage to look extremely pained about the situation.
‘Well, I suppose that would be acceptable,’ said her father eventually.
‘Can I go?’ Betty chimed in hopefully.
One look from their father soon silenced her and she lowered her head and went back to her meal.
The afternoon of the dance Evelyn took her best Sunday dress from the wardrobe and laid it out on her bed. When Betty walked in she studied her choice critically. ‘Is that what you’re wearing?’
‘Yes. Why?’
‘It’s a little bit . . . well, maybe you could ask Dolly for a lend of something?’
‘A little bit what?’
‘It’s . . . boring.’
Boring? ‘It’s a perfectly good dress. I wear it to church all the time.’
‘Exactly. To church,’ Betty emphasised pointedly. ‘This is a date.’
‘It’s not a date. It’s a dance.’ Evelyn looked at the dress apprehensively. Did she really want to look boring? She had only been to a handful of dances, working alongside ladies from the Red Cross or occasionally with her mother’s church ladies.
‘I guess maybe I could borrow something from Dolly,’ she relented.
Dolly was more than happy to lend her something, although Evelyn declined most of the outfits, knowing there was no way her father would allow her to leave the house dressed in them. In the end Dolly handed her a gauzy grey and pink floral dress. The fitted sweetheart bodice had gathered short sleeves and a lightweight A-line skirt that floated to her knees and swirled when she turned.
‘It’s beautiful,’ Evelyn whispered in awe as she smoothed the skirt down gently.
‘But it’s so . . . dreary. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather the blue one? It would be stunning with your dark hair.’
Evelyn sent the discarded frock on the bed a nervous glance. Her parents would have a fit if she wore that. It hugged every curve of her body and left nothing to the imagination . . . at all. ‘No, this one’s perfect,’ she beamed. ‘I’ll get it back to you tomorrow.’
Dolly waved a hand briskly, ‘Keep it. I only bought it to wear for a job interview once.’
Betty seemed mildly satisfied by her dress choice when she arrived home, and asked, ‘How are you doing your hair?’
‘My hair? I don’t know, down I suppose,’ Evelyn said as she wiggled into the frock.
‘Sit down.’
Her younger sister’s tone surprised her, and Evelyn found herself doing as she was told. Armed with a magazine, hairbrush and bobby pins, Betty went to work. When Evelyn looked at the end result, she was flabbergasted. Who was this woman staring back at her? Her dark hair had been parted and twisted and pinned into an elegant chignon at the base of her skull.
‘You look beautiful,’ Betty whispered as she stood behind her and admired her handiwork in the mirror.
‘Are you sure it’s not too much?’
‘It’s perfect,’ her sister said with a frown, ready to protect her creation if Evelyn tried to touch it.
A wave of nervous anticipation fluttered to life, and she placed a hand over her stomach. This was just a dance, it was not a date, she repeated firmly and tried to ignore the lingering doubt which continued to hover in the background, quick to pounce if she allowed it an opportunity.
When Jimmy arrived to pick her up, Evelyn’s breath caught at the sight of him in his dress uniform. He looked like a movie star with his dark hair slicked back and his medals gleaming.
‘Wow,’ Betty breathed beside her, and Evelyn couldn’t have agreed with her little sister’s assessment more.
‘All right, off you go then,’ her father’s gruff voice broke the appreciative silence. ‘Stay away from any trouble out there.’
‘I’ll take care of her, sir. You have my word,’ Jimmy promised, shaking her father’s hand firmly.
It wasn’t a frivolous warning on her father’s part. Fights were commonplace at night in this disturbing new culture of loose morals and outrageous behaviour.
Evelyn tried hard to contain her nervous excitement. The warm night air was heavy with the sweet smell of hibiscus and bougainvillea, and she could smell something else—the tantalising scent of soap and aftershave on Jimmy’s skin. He was walking closely beside her and suddenly her stomach was aquiver with butterflies. As they neared the main street and approached a group of GIs gathered around a parked vehicle, Jimmy pulled her closer against him, keeping his arm around her securely.
They entered the Red Cross recreation hall and Jimmy led the way across to a long table that had been set up wtih drinks, offering her a glass of fruit punch. They weaved their way through the crowd and finally spotted Dolly, who was waving them over to a saved table. She looked stunning in her tight red and black polka-dotted dress. It clung to her voluptuous curves and drew admiring glances from the uniformed men. Her date for the evening, Teddy, was yet another in her long list of acquaintances, and he looked as though he could hardly believe his luck.
It was nice to forget the war for a little while, and the rest of the problems that went along with it. For the next few songs, Jimmy and Evelyn were content to sit and watch the others dancing as they sipped their drinks. However, when she’d finished her drink, Evelyn slid a sideways glance across at Jimmy and was surprised to see he looked strangely nervous. ‘Is everything all right, Jimmy?’
‘Sure. Everything’s just dandy. Are you having a good time?’
Evelyn nodded enthusiastically. She was. This was so much better than a quiet evening at home in front of the radio. She watched the couples on the dance floor as they twirled and spun around; part of her longed to be able to dance like that, but she was too terrified of making a fool of herself to ever attempt it.
‘Would you like to give it a go?’
‘Oh, no,’ she shook her head. ‘I couldn’t dance like that.’ The men were throwing their dance partners in the air and sliding them between their legs on the floor. It all looked a little daunting.
‘We wouldn’t have to jitterbug,’ he chuckled. ‘Come on, I’ll teach you something simple. I’m no Fred Astaire but I can get by.’
Evelyn briefly resisted his tug on her hand as he got to his feet, before reluctantly allowing him to lead her onto the dance floor.
‘Just follow my lead,’ he said, pulling her close and beginning to move to the fast tempo of the music. ‘There ya go, you’re a natural,’ he beamed down at her as she slowly lost her initial anxiety and began to enjoy herself.
She wasn’t sure what dance they were doing exactly, but at least they were having fun. When dances were announced that she was more familiar with, like the good old Pride of Erin, she felt far more confident, but then a slow song came on and she felt the butterflies flood back as Jimmy stepped closer, wrapping her tightly in his arms as the singer crooned something soft and gentle into the microphone.
Evelyn felt a little self-conscious with her arms trapped against his chest, until Jimmy reached down and placed her arms around his neck. The sudden contact with his chest sent an unfamiliar quiver through her. Nothing more than a thin layer of clothing separated their bodies, and through the fabric Evelyn could feel the warmth of his skin imprinting against her own.
She’d never felt this way before; her body’s reaction was both exciting and alarming. They were only dancing, yet somehow it felt as though they were doing something far more intimate.
When the song finally ended, Evelyn found she couldn’t immediately step away from him. They stood there, oblivious to the crowd, still trapped in their own bubble as the band launched into another upbeat rendition and couples danced on around them.
Eventually Evelyn dropped her arms from his neck and took a small step back, trying her best to avoid his gaze as she returned to her seat. She was grateful that Jimmy didn’t try to talk about what had happened, she wasn’t sure she even knew herself. They sat out the rest of the dances, content to chat to other people they knew, and after a while Evelyn managed to relax again.
‘I don’t want to go home yet,’ Dolly protested after the announcement of the final dance for the night.
‘Then don’t. Let’s go for a coffee. The cafe across the street’s still open,’ Teddy said, his Brooklyn accent making Evelyn smile.
Stepping outside the hall the air was cooler but still warm, and the moon hung in the black sky, bright and beautiful.
The sirens cut through their chatter as they stepped off the kerb to cross the street and for a moment the four of them stared at each other.
‘Air raid!’ Teddy said, grabbing Dolly’s hand and hurrying towards the closest of the slit trenches, dodging the crowd of people who’d evacuated the hall at the sound of the siren. People were milling around in the street, some blatantly unfazed, looking skyward curiously, while others were taking the shouted advice of the air-raid wardens to head for shelter. Jimmy and Evelyn followed the wardens’ instructions and climbed down into the cement, pit-like fortress. The steps were narrow and steep, and Evelyn tried not to focus on how claustrophobic it felt all squashed together in the dark trench. There had been two previous, uneventful attempts at bombing over the last week with no real damage resulting, unless you count the coconut tree south of town that was hit. Locals were becoming a little blasé about the Japs being a threat in the bombing department, but her father had remained wary, despite the unconcerned attitude most people were displaying. ‘Lucky the Japs couldn’t hit the side of a barn, because the clowns running the show in town wouldn’t have a clue what to do if they managed to hit a target.’
Looking up, Evelyn saw that the night sky was clearly visible through the slits in the box at street level. Eventually a low droning sound became audible and Evelyn held Jimmy’s hand tightly. It didn’t feel real. Townsville couldn’t be bombed, surely? This had to be some kind of drill. Despite the war being so visible in Townsville, it still somehow didn’t seem real. And yet here they were, huddled together in a bunker, with a Japanese bomber circling overhead. Evelyn shivered slightly, despite the humidity.
Jimmy slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side. Her trembling stopped, but her heart rate continued to pound, for different reasons now.
‘What is it doing?’ Evelyn asked. The plane sounded as though it was circling the city without dropping any bombs. Bright searchlights held the aircraft in their beams, following its every move.
‘They’re taking their time and getting their bearings,’ said Jimmy quietly.
Machine-gun fire rattled in the distance but it was obvious the plane was too high and it was doing nothing to deter the enemy.
The sound of another aircraft approaching soon had everyone searching the night sky to locate it. ‘There,’ Jimmy said, pointing slightly to the left as the American plane got close enough to identify. ‘It’s a Bell P-39.’
The machine-gun fire continued, despite the fact it seemed to be having no impact on the big plane. Then bright red tracer bullets erupted from the smaller P-39 and a burst of light exploded as it made contact with the tail of the Jap plane. A loud cheer went up inside the bunker.
Jimmy slid his arm back around Evelyn’s shoulder and pulled her close to his side. She found herself studying his strong jawline, no longer interested in the drama in the sky above them. She felt safe and protected; the heavy weight of his arm across her shoulders and the warmth of his big body beside her chased away any fear. There was no other place she wanted to be.
He looked down at her, but his expression seemed to change as he read something in her eyes she hadn’t even been aware was visible. Everything around them ceased to exist. The other people, still watching the spectacular light show provided by the bomber moving out to sea, were oblivious to the exchange happening between them.
Slowly Jimmy lowered his head towards her. There was nothing and no one, only Jimmy’s warm coaxing lips and the heady sensation of freefalling into the darkness.
There was another cheer and the spell was broken. Evelyn looked up to see everyone was still looking out to sea, apparently excited by the hit the Jap plane had taken and the fiery trail of destruction that followed.
She didn’t care about the Japanese and their bombs. If the whole Imperial Army landed on The Strand right now she truly wouldn’t care because at that very moment she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she had fallen head over heels in love with Jimmy Crenshaw.