There was more thumping, accompanied by a forlorn plea. “Please, let me out!”
The steward pulled back the door, and to everyone’s surprise, Cricket tumbled out into the stunned silence. Katrinka noted the girl’s blackened eye.
Mr. Withers unfastened his harness and stood, his eyes bulging. “What in heaven’s name are you doing here? How did you get in?” He glanced apprehensively around the cabin. “Where is your mother?”
The other women scrambled out of their safety harnesses and seats. Dave the guitar man remained where he was, his face composed.
“Oh, Mr. Withers, I know I shouldn’t have come, but I can do a good job! You said yourself, you were spread too thin, that there weren’t enough entertainers,” pleaded Cricket.
“But we have no funding for another person, no—”
“She can split my salary,” Katrinka said.
You could have heard a pin drop.
Katrinka continued doggedly, “She can share wherever I sleep, and my food. She won’t be a problem. I hardly eat anything at all. I’m on a diet anyway. Honestly.”
Mr. Withers considered the situation. After a few moments, he announced to everyone he would deal with it all in Hawaii. He shot a suspicious look around. “Well, is there anything else anyone needs to tell me? Any other stowaways?”
Tired of being confined to the blanket in Katrinka’s shopping bag, Rolf popped his head up, barking, announcing his presence in the grand scheme of things.
Mr. Withers gawked.
Katrinka blurted out, “I had to bring him. My stepmom is allergic. He has all of his papers and shots.”
Before Mr. Withers could reply to this latest unexpected turn, Annabel emerged from her third visit to the small latrine. With a tearful face, she announced to the group at large. “I want to go home.”
Her best friend, Bunny, rose to stand beside her, glaring at Mr. Withers with defiance. “She’s been sick like this for a month. I told her not to come. I told her she was pregnant.”
At this point, all hell broke loose. Mr. Withers collapsed into his seat, pulling a silver flask from his small travel bag. Unscrewing the top, he called for the steward to bring him a glass. The young women turned from Cricket and rushed forward to comfort Annabel, offering advice.
Dave the guitar man rose to the occasion. Pushing his way through the excited babble, he escorted Annabel to her seat, giving her a few air sickness bags and packet of tissues, instructing Bunny to take care of her. Annabel, he said, would be sent home from Hawaii as discreetly as possible.
He rounded up Cricket and told her she was now replacing Annabel in the review and would be assured her own salary, meals, and bed.
As for the dog, he turned to her and smiled. Rolf would be their mascot. He’d read about a British entertainment group using a clown and a trick dog. The troops went crazy over it. Maybe Rolf knew some tricks. If not, she could teach him some. She could make costumes for him. Evidently, Rolf had all his needed papers and inoculations. He could board at the Dogs for Defense kennels on Hawaii and Guam between tours.
Calm was restored. Mr. Withers had his drink, followed by several others, and lapsed into a deep slumber. Everyone returned to their seats. Bunny came back, giving Cricket’s shoulder a squeeze. “Honey, we’ll all help you out. You’ve got grit and spunk, and we’re darn glad to have you with us.”
She returned to her seat, and Katrinka moved over for Cricket to sit next to her.
Cricket clasped Katrinka’s arm, gazing up at her, “I will never forget this. We will be kindred spirits forever!”
Katrinka guessed that Anne of Green Gables had been one of Cricket’s favorite books.
Chapter 14
The Pacific, 1945
Over the next few weeks, a strong bond formed between the two women. Cricket admired Katrinka’s independence, and the exciting childhood she’d had on board her father’s ship. But Katrinka did not talk about her time in France. Wills had warned her never to speak of it to anyone. Cricket taught her the ropes of the entertainment world, and with a natural flair for music, Katrinka caught on quickly.
On the smaller Pacific Islands, the troupe put on shows in very primitive settings. Privacy was scarce and bathing accommodation limited, with little or no water. They performed in makeshift amphitheaters or on hastily constructed stages with large tarps for roofing. Supply boxes and old oil drums supported the wooden-plank stages. The performers ducked behind vehicles or trucks for costume changes. Sometimes, canvas tents were available for their use. There was little protection from the rain or bugs.
The bathrooms were the same as for the troops—rudimentary outhouses with a hole in the ground and bits of hanging cloth to give them privacy. Their skin turned yellow from the malaria tablets. And there was always the mud, the grime, and mosquitoes.
But the troops were a wonderful audience, no matter what the entertainers sang or danced. They were lonely, homesick men and women, and the sight of anything from the States was welcome.
As Dave predicted, Rolf (stage name ‘Ralph’, since in Dave’s opinion, Rolf was too Teutonic) was a hit with the young patients in hospital wards. With his silly face and valiant attempts at tricks, Rolf reduced the battle-scarred soldiers to helpless laughter. His visits to their bedside were always followed up by reminisces of “the old boy back home”—Butch, or Sparky, or Buddy. Tattered photographs were brought forth for the two women to admire.
Katrinka still had Amelia in her thoughts. Now she was in the islands and had direct contact with military personnel, she took every chance to make inquiries and future contacts. It was on one of these smaller Pacific Islands that two very important things happened. First came the news of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. A few weeks later, Japan surrendered.
Then, while performing on Tinian, she met a Navy lieutenant who invited her for a drink after the show. During their talk that evening, she was astonished to find out that Lieutenant Rigby had served on the USS Lexington before the war. Lady Lex had helped in the frantic search for Amelia and her navigator, after radio contact was lost.
Rigby took a napkin, and began to draw lines and circles on it with a pencil. “We think she might have flown off course as far as the Phoenix Islands. It is such a wide area, too wide for any detailed exploration. Eventually, we had to stop the search.”
“I have maps of possible landfalls,” Katrinka responded eagerly. “I calculated the amount of fuel she had left, and where she might have tried to come down. I don’t think she waited too long.”
Rigby tapped his pencil on a small circle he’d drawn on the napkin. “Howland’s such a little island, just a speck in the blue. The men and I, we all became a bit obsessed with the search. Felt we had to do right by her. The lady had guts, if you pardon my expression.”
They walked back to her barracks tent later, along the sandy beach. Palm trees etched their silhouettes against the black, star-scattered sky. The soft sand made velvety scuffling noises under their shoes, and the waves lapped along the tideline with a gentle swooshing sound.
They exchanged addresses in front of the women’s tent. She promised to contact him when he got back to the States. The man nodded and pocketed the slip of paper. Then bending down, he rested his hands on her shoulders and gave her a quick kiss.
Startled she pulled back, shaking her head. “I have a boyfriend.”
He released her, apologizing, “I’m so sorry. I crossed the line on that one. It just seemed…”
Katrinka placed a hand on his arm. “No, it’s fine. These are strange times.”
“Hey, no need to explain; just my luck. He should be headed home soon? Now the war is over.”
Katrinka did not reply.
He studied her face. “Well, thanks for your address. If we don’t run into each other before you leave, have a safe trip onward. We’re going to find her, you know.”
Katrinka waved to him and went into the tent. Most of the women were asleep, and within a few minutes, all lights flickered out. She lay on her cot in the darkness for a long while, thinking about the kiss. Was this the way it was going to be? The lieutenant had been kind, and they both shared the same keen interest. Why had she clamped down on that exciting sexual arousal? It was her body, wasn’t it? The way she’d understood it, no one had a claim on you unless you were married. Did it end sooner than that? She shuddered, recalling the look in Wolfe’s eyes; it seemed there was an uncharted sensitivity zone. Even if she were right, she had hurt him terribly, and the memory of it pierced through her like shattered glass. Heaving a shaky sigh, she settled onto her hard cot and eventually went to sleep.
* * *
In late September, the show landed in Guam for supplies, rest, and medical treatment. This would be their home base for jaunts to Okinawa and Burma. The war was over, but thousands of troops were still at their posts. Katrinka wondered if Farr was still in Burma, and what he would do now the war was finished.
One afternoon, she and Cricket were visiting patients in the large dispensary before their evening show. As they approached a long row of cots, Rolf froze, his tail pointed skyward in a quivering vertical line. A moment later, he hurtled rocket-like down the aisle, his victim, a pale-faced man sitting up in bed, quietly reading a book. The dog landed on his chest with all fours, and the patient jerked back.
“Bloody hell!” the patient exclaimed.
Katrinka stared. “Wills?”
A nurse appeared, admonishing them to be quiet. Nodding, she and Cricket hurried down the aisle as other patients leaned out of their cots, gaping at the dog wriggling in the officer’s lap.
Pushing Rolf aside, Katrinka flung her arms around the man, avoiding his bandaged leg. It was really him. Hiding her tears, she buried her face in his neck. He smelled like antiseptic. He didn’t smell like Wills.
“Sweetheart, what the hell are you doing here?”
She drew back, brushing a hand across her cheeks. He seemed dazed and glanced at Cricket, who was smiling down at him.
“Wills, what happened? Are you all right? Are you badly hurt?”
He grimaced. “Caught some shrapnel out on one of the islands. The damn Japanese don’t seem to know the war is over. Not a big deal, but it became infected, so here I am. Just a few more days I’m told, then I’ll be good as new.”
He took her hand, clasping it warmly. “Trinka, what is this all about? When Rolf landed on me, I thought the medication was giving me hallucinations.”
“Just a minute. I’ll be right back.”
She stood up, pulling Cricket aside. “Will you finish the rounds with Rolf? My friend—”
Cricket reassured her, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. But you have to promise to explain later; I want to hear everything. That man’s a dreamboat!”
Cricket gathered up Rolf and continued the bedside visits, while Katrinka pulled a small stool next to Wills’ bed. They both sat, grinning at each other.
Nye repeated his question. “Darling, what is this all about?”
So she told him.
* * *
At the end of the week, she and Wills had dinner together to celebrate him getting out of the bandages. He would do a few days of physical therapy, and then begin his job in Personnel. Katrinka’s troupe had four more shows on Guam before heading to Okinawa.
After settling in their seats at the Officers Club and ordering food, he told her about his job. He’d left France soon after her departure and gone back to England for jungle training. Later, he’d received orders for Singapore. But before he could finish training, his orders were changed to the Philippines. After his injury, a new set of orders was being processed for him to remain in Guam, working in the Base Personnel Office to finish up his commission.
He sat back with his pipe and lit it. “So, what are you really doing over here, Trinka?”
She told him about her ongoing inquiries for Amelia, and her recent meeting with the Navy lieutenant.
He nodded, and Katrinka blushed. If he hadn’t known her so well, she might have convinced him her search for Amelia was the sole reason for coming halfway around the world. Turning away from his probing gaze, she poked at the remains of spam on her plate.
“It’s just that I never got to tell him what I really meant. I hurt him,” she explained.
“He knows.”
Her voice was sharp. “Why do you say that?”
“I sent him a message. When he was in Paris.”
“He knew? In Paris?”
“Yes.”
“But he never came to see me. He—”
“What do you mean?”
She told him of her hasty trip with Valentine. How she’d gone to his hotel and left a note.
Nye was silent, and Katrinka could see him struggle with this new information.
“Maybe—”
She held up her hand. “No, Wills, stop. It’s over. It really is, I just haven’t let go yet. Let’s talk of something else. How much longer will you be here?”
Nye frowned, relighting his pipe, and they talked of other things until the club was almost empty.
Katrinka glanced at a clock on the wall. “I suppose I better return to the barracks.”
“Where have they put you?”
“The nurses’ Quonset. It’s cramped, but there’s a roof over our heads and water for bathing.”
He nodded. “Listen, if I can requisition a vehicle, would you like to go out tomorrow night, after your show? There’s a rather nice view from the cliffs outside of town. Called Puntan Dos Amantes or something romantic like that.”
“Yes, please! I haven’t seen much of the island.”
Wills walked her back to the Quonset. It started to rain, so after setting up a time to meet, she ran inside, and Nye sprinted back to his quarters.
* * *
The next night, Wills showed up at the Quonset in a dusty-looking jeep, and they drove out along the cliffs overlooking the bay. After parking the vehicle, they followed the short trail up to the Point. He placed his uniform jacket on the short scrub, and they sat down on it.
“I wanted to show you this. Nice, don’t you think?” he said.
She gazed around, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. A crescent moon hung in the sky, sending its crinkled ribbon of silver across the black water. Thin rows of bioluminescent waves raked the briny-scented shoreline.
“It’s beautiful, Wills.”
They sat for a long time in comfortable silence, watching the constellations wheeling above them and looking out to sea. Katrinka felt the lovely ballet within her body, as her fluids synched with the ocean’s steady rhythm.
Wills spoke quietly in the darkness. “Would you like to hear the legend about these cliffs, and the two young lovers?”
Nodding, she moved closer, wrapping her arms around his waist and shifting to avoid the sharp pebbles. He draped his arm about her shoulders.
He began, “Long ago, when Spain ruled this island, there was an aristocratic family that possessed much wealth and land. They had a beautiful daughter, and as she grew older, the parents negotiated her engagement to a Spanish captain. But the girl had fallen in love with a young Chamorro warrior. The family forbade them to see one another. The two lovers met in secret, and one night before her wedding, they ran away together.”
Katrinka was intrigued, remembering her own impetuous camel ride across the desert with her young lover Mshai, years earlier. “Did they escape? Did they get away?”
“Her father’s men pursued them. Cornered them here, at the edge of this precipice. The warrior took his long, black hair and tied it into a knot with hers. When it was secure, they held each other tightly and plunged over the cliff to the waves below.”
“Oh!”
Katrinka’s disappointment was sharp. She looked out over the ledge, watching the tide crash against rocks. She wondered if she would have allowed Mshai to entwine her hair with his. To take her with him, tumbling over the cliff into that dark and restless ocean.
They sat again for a long while, listening to the waves. Wills reached down, running his fingers through her hair. “We have some unfinished business, you and I.”
The man’s sexual desire settled over Katrinka like a thick, warm mist.
He leaned down, softly kissing her lips. They were as salty and moist as the sea air. He probed her mouth with his tongue while sliding a hand under her blouse, gently pushing it up over her breasts. His fingers were warm against her skin. He eased her down and bent over her, kissing her nipples.
As she arched back, he brought his other hand down between her legs, caressing and fondling. Katrinka was aching for him to be inside her. She reached up, unbuttoning his shirt.
He shook his head, taking her hands. “It’s too unprotected. Just sit up… yes, like that.”
She straddled his lap facing him, feeling his rigidness pressing between her legs.
“Wait. Let me get a—”
She was breathing fast. “No.”
To her dismay he stopped, drawing her face close. “Trinka. You don’t want this.”
“I do.”
“You don’t want a child now. Wait until you’re sure.”
“I am sure.”
“There’s Farr…”
Katrinka drew back, staring at him. He knew her better than she knew herself. “Yes, then. Please, Wills.”
He was quick, and she was back in his lap in a few moments. She raised herself up, undid the buttons of his fly, and helped him with the condom. Then she eased down onto him, and the man’s entire body shuddered. The intense pleasure of him inside her made Katrinka feel faint, and she closed her eyes, wrapping her arms tightly around his chest.
He pulled out as she raised back up on her knees. “Easy, don’t move yet.”
She waited, suspended for a few moments, until he pulled her back onto him. She rocked slowly while his hands slid down her buttocks, separating them with a probing a finger, pushing more deeply into her. She clung to him, hyperventilating.
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