“I’d rather give flying lessons,” he said, and she laughed.
“Yeah, me too. I love delivering children. I’m not sure I’d want one of my own.”
“Why not?”
“The world seems like such an uncertain place now.” He didn’t disagree with her.
“I can’t figure out if I want to live in London or Yorkshire. The life of a gentleman farmer, or go into business and work in the city, or be a barrister. My father’s generation didn’t worry about it. Now we’ve got choices, that can be confusing.”
“I’ve never lived in the country. I grew up in the city,” Emma said, thinking about it.
“I wonder what Pru would have done,” Max said thoughtfully.
“She wanted to work in a hospital in London. Trauma or something like that.”
“I wondered if she’d want London.”
“We were going to rent a flat together,” Emma said wistfully. “It wouldn’t be the same now without her.”
“She didn’t have a man in her life, did she?”
“She was afraid of what would happen if she did. You fall in love, and the next thing you know, the guy gets shot down over Germany and your heart is broken.”
“And instead she’s gone, and our hearts are broken,” he said, and Emma nodded. “I miss her,” he said, and he looked so sad that she reached out to him and touched his hand.
“Me too. She’d be happy that we’re here, having a glass of wine, talking about her.” He nodded. He was thinking of his brother too. Suddenly, he was an only child.
“If I move to London, will you have dinner with me?” he asked her, and she looked surprised.
“Of course. Do you know one of the things I loved about Pru? She didn’t care where I grew up, or that I sound like the East End. It never mattered to her. As soon as I met her, I thought she’d be a snob when we started working together, and she wasn’t. She didn’t give a damn where anyone came from.”
“I don’t give a damn either,” he said, and looked at Emma with the same gentle eyes as Pru. And their mother had been just as kind to her.
“I think the war did change some things, or it should have. We’re all in this together,” she said, and wondered what it would be like to go out with him.
“Would it be all right if I visit you here from time to time?” It was the reason why he had come. The journal had only been the excuse. She looked surprised when he asked her.
“Of course.” She smiled at him. “We can talk about Pru.”
“We can talk about you too. I want to know more about you…the firebrand.” The smile in his eyes lit up his face.
Emma laughed. “I don’t know why she called me that.”
“Because you say what you think. I like that about you. You’re not afraid to be who you are, no matter what people think. You’re brave, the way she was, and you have a good heart, like hers. I can’t believe you took the train all the way to Yorkshire so you could hand my mother Pru’s journal in person, and you were going to take the train back the same night. I don’t know another woman who would do that.”
She thought about it for a minute. “It was the right thing to do.”
“Most people don’t care what that is. They do what’s easy. Pru was like you. She always did the right thing. That’s what matters, Emma. That’s what makes you different.”
“I’ve never thought about it that way.”
“She didn’t either. Doing the right thing came naturally to her. That’s why everybody loved her. Do you want to have dinner with me next week?” he asked her. “I’ve got a mission early tomorrow morning, or I’d buy you dinner tonight.”
“I’d like that, just do something for me.”
“What’s that?”
“Stay alive till we’re out of this mess. Don’t be stupid and be a hero. Your parents need you, and I might too.” She looked at him mischievously, and he laughed at her. Her bright red hair was sticking up all over the place after her day’s work, and she didn’t seem to care. His sister had been that way too. She was beautiful, but had been totally unaware of it, and never really cared how she looked if she was busy.
“I’ll try to keep it in mind and not do anything stupid.”
“Thank you. I’d appreciate it.” He paid for their wine and walked her back to the barracks. He was smiling and so was she. He liked just being with her. There was something calming about her, and fun at the same time. He liked her courage and her spunk.
“I might remind you of the same thing,” he told her. “Try not to get shot down or go missing. My sister said you’re rubbish at reading maps, and you had her walking all over France, trying to find your way home.”
“That wasn’t my fault. And maps never make sense to me,” she said, embarrassed.
“Good, then keep your ass on the plane, and don’t screw up our dinner plans.” He sounded just like Pru when he said it, and Emma laughed at him.
“Oh God, you’re going to turn out to be just like her, aren’t you? She was such a pain in the ass at times, and so stubborn.”
“And you’re not?” He was laughing again.
“I’m only stubborn when I’m right,” she corrected him.
“Which you are most of the time?”
“No, all the time!”
“I can see this isn’t going to be easy. You’re going to be an enormous headache.”
“Just do what I say, and everything will be fine,” she said, and he pulled her close then and kissed her on the cheek.
“Damn stubborn girl. Behave yourself, and don’t get shot out of any damn airplanes, do you hear me?” She nodded and kissed him on the cheek too.
“You too. Goddamn Luftwaffe. See you next week for dinner.” He watched her run up the stairs, and she waved at him and disappeared into the building. He was smiling as he walked back to where he had left the car he had borrowed. She was such an interesting girl, and he was looking forward to their dinner.
* * *
—
Alex had another letter from Dan in April. He was vague about his whereabouts again, as he had to be. She knew he was on a ship somewhere, but he said they would be coming into port soon. He reminded her of his earlier invitation to meet him in Paris, and said he might drop by to see her at the base if she couldn’t. But Paris still sounded good to her. The Germans had left it eight months before, but the war wasn’t over yet. The Allies were reclaiming most of Europe. There were constant rumors now that the fighting was almost over.