Chapter Thirty-Two

“Pass the vinegar, please.”

Mary nudged the small glass bottle toward her friend, shaking her head and grinning. “You can tell she’s feeling better.”

“What’s not to feel better about?” Doris asked, upending the vinegar and showering her chips with the pungent liquid. “I’m back flying tomorrow, with thanks to Penny here.” She waved a chip heavy with vinegar and tomato sauce around. “I can forget about Clark Gable’s bloody handkerchief.”

As had become tradition, everyone was around at Betty’s for a Friday evening supper of fish and chips, courtesy of their American millionairess. This evening, they were joined by Celia, Walter, and Mary’s boyfriend, Lawrence. There wasn’t enough room around the kitchen table, so everyone was in the lounge. All the chairs and seats were taken, so Doris and Walter were happily curled up together on the floor.

“Careful with the chip, love, it could go off,” Walter joked. “By the way, you do remember you hate vinegar?”

With a look of horror, Doris instead fed Walter the chip. “Shut up and eat,” she told him. As Walter did so, she swiftly swapped her chips for his, shaking her head in wonder. Doris hated vinegar and normally pushed it as far away from her as possible.

“Ignore her,” he announced to the room, being at least sensible enough not to make any more of the vinegar incident. “She’s a little annoyed with me. I told her it wouldn’t be a good idea to drop a handkerchief tied around a rock onto Polebrook. Especially with her message written in red lipstick—I told you I never did it!”

The room erupted into laughter, and Doris did her best to treat everyone to a glare, which didn’t work. The more she tried to appear annoyed, the more everyone laughed. Walter made the mistake of joining in, which got him a dig in the ribs by her elbow before Doris took his head between her hands and kissed him until he forgot about the pain in his sides.

“Seriously,” Betty began, once she’d got herself under control, “not the best of ideas. Clark Gable himself phoned up Jane yesterday afternoon.” This got everyone’s attention, apart from Doris and Walter, who were oblivious to everyone and everything going on around them.

Until Penny threw a chip at them. “Hey, you two! Pay attention.”

“Yes. Children present!” Celia pointed to herself, then held up an arm as Lawrence pretended to grab for a handful of chips.

“Has everyone finished?” Betty asked. “Then I’ll begin. He wanted to first thank Penny again for, and I quote, sleuthing of the highest order. He said he’s going to try to put it into a movie when he gets back to the USA.”

Mary immediately blurted out, “Do you think Vivian Leigh would play me?”

“She’s a brunette,” Celia pointed out.

“Heard of hair dye?” Penny asked. Her sister poked her tongue out at her.

“As I was saying,” Betty interjected. “Clark, as he’s known to his friends”—cue much rolling of eyes and mugging from her friends—“said he may not be in England for much longer, and he’d love to thank Penny again and say sorry to Doris in person. He doesn’t have an exact date yet, but he’s going to arrange another hangar dance, and it will have to be as soon as possible.”

Everyone was paying full attention by now, including Celia. Penny noted the expression on her little sister’s face and knew she’d have to break her heart. With a deep sigh, she admitted to herself she’d left talking to her for too long. In the week or so she’d been living with them, Celia had fitted in like she’d never been anywhere else. They’d never got along better. What she would have to say would likely hurt her, but she now knew Celia was older than her years.

“Sounds like the least he can do,” Doris stated, and then, much more like the Doris everyone knew, she continued, “I’d rather have a part in one of his movies. What do you reckon? Clark Gable’s leading lady?”

Whilst everyone else saw the funny side, as she intended, Walter kept a straight face, right until the moment he got down on one knee.

“What the hell?” Doris exclaimed, jumping to her feet, her eyes wider than anyone had ever seen. She barely managed to hold onto her bag of chips.

Immediately, everyone fell silent, except for Walter. Putting a hand into his trouser pocket, he pulled out a small square box. He reached up and took her right hand, stroking her palm with his thumb. “Doris Winter, you’re crazy. You say what you want no matter what. You’re also the most wonderful person I’ve ever met. You’ve turned my life upside down. Okay, you have an obsession with fish and chips.”

Cue nervous chuckles from Doris, who was fretfully jogging from foot to foot.

“I can’t imagine my life without you. If there’s one thing this war’s taught me, it’s that life’s too short to second-guess anything, especially the important things.” He took one more deep breath and flipped open the lid of the box, holding it up so Doris could see.

Her free hand flew to her mouth.

“Doris Winter, will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”

****

“Oh, come on, sis!” Celia moaned. “Why do we have to miss the party?”

Celia wasn’t happy with her older sister. An impromptu engagement party was about to start when Penny had decided now was as good a time as any to have a girl-to-younger-girl talk. She’d whispered in her ear, and they were now strolling down beside the river. Both were comfortable enough in short sleeves despite the coolness of the evening, with a jumper thrown over their shoulders.

“Because it’s time to decide what to do about you,” Penny stated.

Celia had dug her heels in, literally. “What if I don’t want to go?” she pouted, correctly guessing what Penny wanted to talk about.

Where they’d come to a stop, Penny knew a fallen tree lay somewhere around. Taking her stubborn sister by the hand, she yanked her the few feet to it and sat down, pulling her down alongside her. “Look at me,” she said, and repeated, until Celia reluctantly met her eyes. Despite her words and demeanor, Penny could see she was right. Celia was in actuality resigned to the inevitable. She could still sweeten the pill, though.

She squeezed Celia’s hand. “We both know you have to go back to school. I’m quite prepared to make the phone call and sort things out with the headmistress. I’ll even call Father and tell him what’s happened.”

“I don’t want anything more to do with him!” Celia shouted, scaring a few ducks and setting a goose or two to flight. She looked around before turning her attention back to her sister. “Pen, the time I’ve had here… It’s the best, happiest time I’ve had since…”

“Since mother died,” Penny automatically finished for her.

Celia nodded and laid her head upon Penny’s shoulder, accepting the arm around her waist in return. “I don’t think—no—I know I can’t live with him anymore. Please don’t make me!”

Penny dropped the pill. “Bear with me on this. Here’s the deal. Like I said, I’ll sort things out with the school and Father. When you come to the end of the summer term, you don’t go back to his home.” Penny couldn’t recall ever having described the place where she’d grown up as anything other than “home.” But Celia was right. It wasn’t home and hadn’t been since long before she’d left. “You come and live here, with me.”

The expected wide grin and hug didn’t materialize. Instead, Celia proved, again, she was older than her age. “I hope you don’t mind my asking, but wouldn’t I get in the way? Don’t you want to live as man and wife as soon as things settle down?”

Penny had been asking herself the same question for a while now. They’d married on the spur of the moment, not giving a thought to anything as simple as living arrangements. Ever since, she’d been waiting for one or the other of them to bring it up. The holiday had seemed the perfect time. She had to stifle an ironic snort of laughter. Holiday! Well, she doubted any wartime holiday destination would be much fun anyway. Of course, with Tom being wounded now would be the best time to indeed bring it up. She hoped he’d understand she wouldn’t be leaving the Air Transport Auxiliary. In her small way, she knew she was making a real difference to the war effort.

Her head resting upon her sister’s head, Penny told her, “Trying not to think about it.”

****

“There you are!” Doris shouted as Penny and Celia came back into the room.

“How long were we gone?” Celia asked, looking around Betty’s lounge.

In the time they’d been talking, the front room had acquired two crates of Doris’s favorite Guinness, and two extra guests, Ruth and Shirley. Two bottles of what looked like champagne had also mysteriously appeared.

Penny went and hugged Doris, then turned to her sister and advised her, “When it comes to Doris, I find it best not to ask, but just to accept what she brings forth.”

“Good girl!” Doris declared.

“It also helps she’s as rich as avarice!”

Celia spluttered her lemonade all over the floor. “What? Oops, sorry, Betty,” she added when she realized what she’d done. Celia was now looking at the American in the same way everyone did when they found out she was a millionaire.

Leaving her sister trying to wrangle the story out of Doris, Penny went into the kitchen for a rag, mopped up her sister’s mess, and then sat next to Betty, clinking a bottle of Guinness against the one Betty was holding. “I need to ask a favor.”

“If I can do anything, you’ve only got to ask,” Betty happily replied. “Is it anything to do with the youngster?” She nodded toward where Doris was trying to hang onto her new fiancé’s arm, engage him in conversation, and at the same time, fend off Celia’s questions.

Betty also appeared to be able to read her mind. “Yes, actually. Celia finishes school next summer. Neither of us wants her to go and live with our father. Would it be all right if she comes and lives here?”

After thinking it over for barely a minute, Betty nodded and said, “It may be a bit of a squeeze, but I’m sure we can work something out. Even if it means partitioning off the loft,” she added with a twinkle in her eye as Mary walked by.

“What about my loft?” Though firm friends with the others, Mary preferred the solitary life afforded by her choice of sleeping in the bedroom in the loft spaces of the cottage.

“Just something we may have to do next summer,” Betty told her with a smile.

Mary noticed her friends looking over at where Celia was still making a nuisance of herself with Doris. From the look on Doris’s face, the girl was on the point of pushing the American over the edge. “Come on.” Mary pulled Betty and Penny to their feet. “Let’s go and rescue Doris.”

“Or Celia.” Penny laughed. She could remember how persistent her sister could be. “Leave her be,” Penny advised Celia.

“But she won’t tell me how much money she has,” Celia moaned.

“Because it’s none of your business,” Penny stated, seeing the need to be firm with her sister.

Celia flicked her eyes back and forth between Penny and Doris, torn between her curiosity and her desire not to upset her sister now the two had finally become real friends. Sighing, Celia hung her head and turned to Doris. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so curious.”

Doris laid a hand on Celia’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, kid. Don’t do it again, though, or I may have to kick your ass.”

Celia’s laugh was a little nervous, not totally certain Doris was joking.

Doris noticed Shirley and Ruth had their heads together, and soon they both left the room and made toward the kitchen. Curious, she unhooked her arm from Walter and, joined by Penny and Mary, followed.

“Why didn’t you tell me this?” Shirley was asking Ruth.

The girls were a little shocked to see Ruth had a faraway look in her eye. In her hands was a letter. After hesitating slightly, they came and joined them, taking seats at the table.

“What’s wrong, Ruth?” Mary was the first to ask.

Instead of speaking, Ruth slumped into a seat and pushed what was a POW letter toward her. Assuming they all had permission, Penny and Doris both crowded in and read along with Mary. When they’d finished, they all flopped back against their backrests.

“Bloody hell!” Penny uttered.

Doris asked the question everyone was thinking. “How’s he going to manage on one foot in a POW camp?”