"Are you sure he said eight?" Grace's friend, Elizabeth, sat beside her. "Wes always says eight. He doesn't like eating dinner while the sun is out." Elizabeth stared at her, "I thought I was the only one." Grace stared down at her, "What?" "I feel like dinner is a nighttime thing. If the sun is out it's like a late afternoon snack." "You sound just like Wes." "He sounds pretty smart." Grace curved her brow and looked back away. Elizabeth pulled out a hand mirror and began tussling her dirty blonde hair. Her blue eyes sparkled in the overcast lighting of Club Pearl. "Who does he want you to meet, anyways?" Grace shrugged. "If I knew, I wouldn't have come." "So this is purely out of curiosity?" Grace smiled, "Of course. I've only ever been on dates to see if Wes actually has decent taste." "In men?" "In people." Grace watched the doorway swing open, but sighed when it was a group of lower class gunmen. "Is Wes the boy that Marilyn is constantly going on about?" Grace's head snapped to face Elizabeth, "Marilyn is going on about someone?" "One of your brothers. She said he's been here for years." She put the hand mirror away. "She said she met him when she went to wait with you at the airport for your other brother." Grace shook her head. "Wes is the one we were waiting for- he's only been here three weeks. She must have either been talking about Harvey or Marvin-." "It must have been Harvey, everyone knows Marvin has been around with Sandra Green." Grace smiled, "Harvey and Marilyn would get along well if they would only talk to each other. They're the type of people who expects the other to make the first move." "Harvey should make the first move," Elizabeth smiled, "He's the man." Grace eyes Elizabeth, "Maybe you should be having dinner with Marvin instead of Wes." Elizabeth smiled, "I'll have dinner with anyone if they make the first move." "Well, you'll like Wes, then. He's chivalrous down to his core." Elizabeth smiled, "Well what more could a girl wish for?" Grace was about to make a response about wanting a career more than a chivalrous beau, but the door opened and revealed Wesley before she could. He spotted them and crossed to the table. He sighed when he saw that Grace was still in her nurse's uniform. "I thought I said to dress nice." Grace smiled sarcastically, "But this is the nicest thing I own!" Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "After Grace got back to the hospital, Dr. Cihlar had her shadow him. We got out of there fifteen minutes ago." Wesley seemed to notice Elizabeth for the first time. He quickly put out his hand, "I don't believe we've met. I'm Wesley, and you are-?" "Elizabeth Foster." She said, taking his hand and shaking it firmly. "So, where is this person I'm supposed to meet?" Grace said impatiently. "He saw some friends outside and stopped to talk to them. He'll be in soon." Wesley said as he sat across from Elizabeth. "So he's not very considerate of other people's time." Grace whispered to herself. Elizabeth laughed, "You're one to talk." She turned to Wesley, "She practically begged Dr. Cihlar to let her shadow him all the way back to the aid's home, just so she could see what it would be like to be a real doctor." "That's a bit of an exaggeration." Grace turned to her friend. Elizabeth grinned, "You just wanted to get out of this date." "Now that's not an exaggeration." Grace said sternly, ignoring Wesley's narrowed eyes. "I wouldn't go so far to say it's a date," a low voice made Grace and Elizabeth jump. Grace turned to see a tall boy, taller than Wesley, with plain brown hair and plain brown eyes. He held his hand out to Grace, "Billie Joe Dukes. Cherry calls me Duke." "Cherry?" Elizabeth's brow wrinkled. "Wesley." Billie Joe explained. Grace took his hand gingerly, "Grace." Billie Joe sat down in front of Grace, and Elizabeth started the conversation, "So, are you both in the same class?" Wesley nodded, "Duke was the first person to talk to me on the Arizona. He showed me around and let me fill the empty cot in his dorm." "How long have you been at Pearl Harbor?" Elizabeth continued, looking at Billie Joe. "Three years." He said simply, not even bothering to look at Elizabeth, he raised his hand and waved down a waitress, "One hurricane, please." She nodded, "And for the rest of the table?" "Same." Wesley said. "Make that three." Elizabeth smiled. "Water." Grace didn't look at the waitress. Her eyes were burning into the side of Wesley's face, anger overwhelming her. The waitress nodded and walked away. Wesley turned to Billie Joe, "So Duke, Grace got recommended for first class today." Grace tried not to blush. "It's nothing." "That's something I hate." Billie Joe said simply. Wesley looked taken aback, "What?" "First class isn't easy. Don't blow it off like you didn't work your ass off for it. There are plenty of nurses who would kill for a position in first class. You're not a better person if you're humble and never take pride in your accomplishments." Grace's and Wesley's eyes were wide. After a moment of silence, Elizabeth's laughter filled the booth. "What's so funny?" Billie Joe turned to her. "Grace being proud of being a nurse," Elizabeth laughed, "We all know she hates it." Billie Joe's eyes turned to Grace, whose face was flushed in embarrassment. "Then why join?" Grace's eyes caught Wesley's, and he interrupted the conversation, "You know, Duke, I bet there are only a few nurses who actually like dealing with blood all over their uniform- let's pay it no mind." Billie Joe shook his head. "Then none of them should be here," He turned his head and stared sternly at Grace, "This is a naval base. Soldiers want to be here. They are risking their life, but the nurses don't even want to save them? That's cowardly, and I won't stand for it." Grace pushed her chair back. She could feel the warm tears gathering in her eyes, but she would not give Billie Joe the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She turned on her heel and stomped out of the bar. "Grace, wait!" Elizabeth called and hurried after her, "Oh," She turned back and walked to Wesley, "Can we try this again sometime, just the two of us?" Wesley nodded, too distracted by Grace's march out. Elizabeth followed her friend, leaving the sailors alone. "Duke, that wasn't the way to get on her good side." Billie Joe shook his head, "No matter what I said, I would have been on her bad side. She didn't want to be here, so I figured I'd give her a reason to dislike me." "Well, it worked," Wesley said, still wide eyed. "I'm sorry, she's got this weird thing against being set up on blind dates." Billie Joe nodded, "I could tell. Why did she take so much offense to what I said?" Wesley slightly chuckled to himself. "Grace is one of the most patriotic people I've ever met- I think she gets it from my dad." He paused, "I don't think the rest is for me to say. Not many people know Grace's other half. I'm the only one of her seven brothers that she bothered telling anything to. It's why she hardly talks to Marvin, and lets Harvey get away with so much. She's complicated." The waitress came back to the table and placed the two hurricanes in front of the boys, "Will they be coming back?" They were quiet for a moment, and Wesley's eyes hardened, "Yes." The waitress put the drinks down and walked away. "I don't think they're coming back," Billie Joe said, glancing at the door. "They might if you go after them." Wesley shoved him slightly. Billie Joe shook his head. "I shouldn't have been so rude." Wesley nodded, "It's a shame. I think she really would have like you, but she's not really the forgiving type." "I'm the same way. If anyone ever questioned my national pride, I wouldn't take it well either." Billie Joe sighed. "She seems too intelligent to believe that I wasn't being me." "That's the strange part, though," Wesley looked at his friend, "I think you were being yourself." Billie Joe's eyes narrowed, "How so?" Wesley shook his head, "I don't know, Duke. You just seemed way to into what you were saying to come across as fake. You seemed so comfortable judging her opinions on being a nurse." "Well, maybe I did mean it." Wesley said blankly, "Nurses should want to be here as much as soldiers do." Wesley shook his head. "She has her reasons, I want you to know that." "But you're not going to tell me what they are?" Wesley shook his head. "If Grace wants to trust you with her reasons, then that's her decision. I won't sell her out." Wesley stood and dropped cash on the table, "I do think you should apologize to her, though. Be the Duke that I know, not the hard ass you just tried to pull off. I think you'd both be very fond of each other." Billie Joe held his gaze until Wesley turned and followed his sister out of the club. Billie Joe stared down into his drink, and sat in that club until all three hurricanes and the water were drained.
YOU ARE READING
The Kids Are Alright
Historical FictionGrace Becker and her brothers all had their reasons to leave home, but when they were all assigned to work at Pearl Harbor, a naval base in Hawaii, none knew what their fate had in store.
