Читать книгу All We Left Behind - Danielle R. Graham - Страница 11

After the altercation with the Bauer boys, I vented my frustration by hauling crates of jarred plums and apricots. Ma was head of the craft fair committee and judge for the pie-baking contest, so after I finished helping her army of volunteers set up the tables, she let my sister and me both taste a few pie samples. Mrs Campbell’s blueberry was by far the tastiest because she made it tart the way I liked it. But there was a tangy lemon flan that was going to give her a run for her money.

Rosalyn’s mandated-by-our-mother volunteer-job had been to display the entries for the quilting category on rods suspended with wire from the rafters, but she was also entered as a contestant in the art category. One of her landscape oil paintings was on display on an easel near the stage, and she appeared nervous as I wandered around the hall to view her competition – two other oil paintings, several watercolours, an intricate wood carving of a whale, a blown-glass vase, and something that could only be described literally – a broken doll dipped in ceramic and then adorned in barnacles and gold enamelled butterflies. Oddly interesting in a circus-sideshow type of way.

‘What do you think?’ Rose asked me as she tugged at her lip and leaned in close to study one of the other oil paintings. ‘I don’t think my chances are good. This woman’s brush strokes are more skilful than mine.’

I squinted, not convinced. ‘Does it really matter what her brush stroke is like if her apples resemble pumpkins and her grapes are the size of watermelons?’

Rose chuckled and swatted my arm. ‘Shh. Don’t be cruel. Someone might hear you and I’ll be disqualified for poor sportsmanship.’

‘The prize for the winner is one of Ma’s zucchini loaves. You can just eat one when you get home.’

Rose rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at me like when we were little kids. ‘It’s for bragging rights, not the prizes.’

‘Well, you definitely have the best oil painting, but you’re going to come second to that ghoulish doll thingamajig.’

‘It is a curiously striking aberration, isn’t it?’ She laughed, then wrinkled her nose. ‘Second place wins a jar of Mrs Auld’s pickled beets.’

‘Mmm. My favourite. Save me some.’ I poked her arm playfully, stole another sample from Ma’s pie-judging table, and then headed back out to the fairgrounds.

Chidori was seated on a stool at their booth, writing in one of her journals, but she put it down to assist two women who approached the counter to purchase carrots. My best mate Joey lounged on the hill beside the Agricultural Hall with his steady gal, Donna Mae. I wandered over and sat down on the prickly dry grass next to them to listen to the church musicians struggle to play a jitterbug song for the crowd.

‘Hi Hayden,’ Donna Mae said. ‘The gang’s all meeting down at the point for a bonfire tonight. Do you want to tag along with us?’

‘I’ll meet you down there.’

‘Ooh.’ She clutched the crook of my arm and shook it excitedly. ‘Do you have a date?’

Not sure if I could swing it, I shrugged. ‘Maybe.’

‘Chidori?’

A smile crept across my face as I said, ‘I hope so.’

‘That’s swell. It’s about time the two of you finally took the plunge. You’re perfect for each other.’ Donna Mae sipped ginger-beer soda from a bottle and snapped her fingers along with the beat of the song. Her reddish-brown curls bounced on her shoulders as she bobbed her head from side to side.

Joey glanced over at me with concern and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. ‘If Chidori agrees to be your date, maybe you two should catch a ride with us. In case there’s any trouble with the Bauers.’

‘Thanks, but they don’t concern me. And Chidori won’t feel comfortable when you two spend the entire night carrying on in the back seat.’

‘We won’t,’ Donna Mae promised. ‘We’ll be on our best behaviour, won’t we, Joseph?’

He raised his eyebrows in a comical way. ‘Maybe you should drive yourselves.’

Donna Mae slapped his thigh. ‘Don’t listen to him. We won’t embarrass you in front of Chidori. I don’t want her to think I’m fast or something.’

‘She’s known you her entire life.’ Joey poked Donna Mae’s ribs to tease her. ‘She’s already heard that you’re fast.’

Donna Mae shot up, brushed the dust from the seat of her wide-leg trousers, and stormed off in a huff.

‘Donna! Don’t be sore. I was only kidding,’ Joey called after her. He laughed and reclined back on his elbows. ‘In all seriousness, are you sure about Chidori? Nobody cared when you were just kids hanging out as friends. But dating? Not to mention marriage and having babies. Some people might not approve of that these days.’

‘People can’t tell me who to love.’

‘No. But now that Japan is our enemy, some folks might make your life difficult. Is that the kind of trouble you want for her or your future kids?’

I glanced over at Chidori as she served a frail, silver-haired customer named Mrs Wagner. The woman dug through her pocketbook, searching for coins. Chidori handed her the basket full of garlic, tomatoes and potatoes, and since Mrs Wagner was recently widowed, Chidori refused to take her money. Tosh and Kenji had always teased Chidori for giving away more vegetables than she sold. Her father wasn’t overly thrilled that her charitable generosity put a dent in their profits either, but it’s hard to get cross with someone for having a big heart.

Joey opened his mouth to say more about my decision to pursue a formal relationship with Chidori, but he got distracted when my sister wandered up to the front of the amphitheatre stage and danced with a group of young ladies. Joey’s eyes bulged and his grin widened like a hound that spotted a rabbit. ‘Gosh, I love looking at your sister. Do you mind if I ask her to dance?’

‘Donna Mae might mind. Besides, don’t go getting your hopes up. Rosalyn’s engaged.’

‘Isn’t her fiancé stationed in London? It can get lonely when your sweetheart is overseas. She might be in the mood for some male companionship.’

‘Even if I would allow it, which I wouldn’t, you haven’t got a shot with her. She’s moving to Vancouver in September to start a nursing job. And, by the way, she hasn’t received a letter from her fiancé in a good while, so it’s probably best if you don’t mention him – unless you want her blubbering all over you.’

Joey’s head swivelled like he was watching a tennis match as Rose moved around the dancing area. Her blue skirt spun and the waves of her white-blond hair swayed over her shoulders. He didn’t break his concentration when he said, ‘They brought a navy ship into dock for the fair. You want to tour it?’

‘No thanks. I already know being cooped up in a ship’s hull for months would be no picnic.’

‘Flying a Spitfire in the air force would be a blast, though.’

‘Sure, but killing a person wouldn’t be.’

Joey shrugged as if that part hadn’t occurred to him. ‘An RAF recruiting officer was knocking door-to-door yesterday, looking to enlist boys for duty. Did he drop by your parents’ place?’

‘Yup.’

‘Are you going to sign up on your birthday?’

‘Nope. Why would I want to risk my life just because Germany was sore over how the last war ended and decided to start another one? I can’t believe how many marks fall for the hype and volunteer to get killed overseas.’

‘The Nazis are killing innocent people and stealing power from entire countries.’ Joey tilted his Ivy cap forward to shade his eyes from the August sun that angled through the giant fir trees. ‘You think we should all just sit back and let Germany take over the whole world in vengeance?’

‘The countries involved should fight. I don’t see why Canadians are putting their noses where they don’t belong.’

‘Just ’cause the enemy ain’t on our soil doesn’t mean they ain’t aiming to be. And when they attack our allies, it’s our war too. Besides, if they start conscripting for overseas service you might have no choice, pal.’

I nodded to reluctantly concede and picked at the drought-scorched grass. Conscription to fight overseas was the worst-case scenario. Fighting someone else’s war over greed or pride or power – or whatever it was over, and likely dying doing it, did not appeal to me in the slightest. Especially if it meant being sent so far away from home. But maybe Joey was right. If the fight was about justness and protecting innocent lives, it had merit. And if the enemy ever set foot on our soil, I wouldn’t hesitate to reconsider. But I still believed, perhaps naively, that despite the failure of the League of Nations, calmer heads would prevail. Unfortunately, the news on the radio and in the papers did make it sound as if sending more Canadian boys was inevitable, though. ‘Are you going to sign up?’ I asked.

Joey nearly snorted at the absurdity. ‘I would but they wouldn’t take me. I can barely see you from a foot away. I’d be useless with a gun. But who knows what tomorrow will bring? In case they start scraping the bottom of the barrel for skinny, nearly blind kids, I should probably seize the day while I’m still free to do so.’ He slapped my back, stood, and loped over to ask Rosalyn to dance.

A gang of younger boys chased each other around the dancers in a game of soldiers. They pretended to shoot at each other with their fingers and ran through a group of schoolgirls who huddled together, planning a round of hide and seek. Donna Mae stood up against the Agricultural Hall with her arms crossed, glaring enviously at Joey and Rose as they danced. Her eyes watered and her lip quivered, so I stood and wandered over to her.

Three young ladies my age, and two my sister’s age, noticed me walking over and all turned to face me, eager for an invitation to dance. ‘Hi Hayden,’ they all said in unison as they either flattened the fabric of their skirts or tucked flyaway hairs into bobby pins.

‘Ladies,’ I greeted them but extended my hand to Donna Mae. ‘Would you care to dance, Donna Mae?’

Donna Mae tucked her chin down timidly and glanced at the other girls. ‘You’re a sweet one, Hayden, but you know I dance like a lame horse. Ask one of the other girls.’

‘Just follow me. It’s easy – like walking.’

‘I can’t walk all that well half the time either.’

‘Trust me.’ I pulled Donna Mae by the hand and spun her around a few times. She smiled as I ushered her across the grass in a Lindy Hop. Well, I was doing a Lindy Hop. She was doing more of a wounded Bunny Hop.

We danced for another song, then Joey cut in, which I knew he would. Donna Mae giggled as he spun her around. Chidori was watching me, but when our eyes met, she pretended to write in her journal. I shoved my hands in my pockets and casually strolled over to her stand. A customer beat me to the counter. After Chidori placed two cucumbers into the customer’s basket and collected the money, I leaned in and whispered, ‘Would you care to dance, Miss Setoguchi?’

Her face lit up at the invitation, but then she dropped her focus to the counter of the booth. ‘I should keep working, but thank you for asking.’

‘I think you should take a break. Just leave the vegetables out on the counter. You give most of them away at no charge anyway.’

‘Ha ha. You are quite the comical one.’ Her gaze met mine as she considered it, but then she scanned the fairgrounds and her forehead creased as something else crossed her mind. ‘What was the problem between you, Rory and Fitz earlier?’

‘It was nothing. I’m not here to talk about that. I’m here to convince you to take a break and have a little fun dancing with me.’

She smiled reluctantly with one corner of her mouth. ‘I have to admit you are a smooth dancer.’

I chuckled. ‘Thank you, but I’m still looking for the right partner.’

‘I see.’ Her eyebrow arched delicately.

‘Maybe you could give me some pointers.’

‘You seem to do just fine all on your own, Mr Pierce.’ She bent over to transfer apples from a crate on the ground and restocked a basket on the counter.

‘I’m surprised you noticed. I thought you were too busy to socialize, with all your customers and whatever it is you’re always scribbling in that journal of yours.’

She winked and tied raffia to make bunches of beets. ‘I am quite capable of doing more than one thing at a time.’

‘Good to know. Let’s dance one quick swing before I have to go meet my pop and your uncle Massey at the dock.’

She rolled her eyes in a subtle surrender and placed the beets on the counter. ‘Fine. One dance.’

I nearly jumped out of my shoes in joy, but as she stepped out from the stand, the band announced they were going on a break.

‘Wait!’ I shouted and ran across the grass lot to the edge of the stage to speak to the piano player, who also happened to be the butcher. ‘One more, please, Mr Cooke.’

‘Sorry, kid. We played all the songs we know. Besides, we’ve been at it all morning and I for one need something to eat. There’s a fresh-out-of-the-oven chicken pot pie over there calling my name.’ He hopped off the stage and headed over to the pot-pie table with zero concern for the disappointing predicament he left me in.

As I walked back towards Chidori, I shrugged with my palms facing skyward. ‘Sorry. I tried.’

She returned the gesture. ‘It’s okay. There will be other opportunities.’

I nodded to agree, but truthfully I was disheartened. ‘The Issei Sun is due in a few minutes. Are we still on for a walk later this afternoon?’

‘Yes.’ Her excitement flickered through her eyes first before it reached her lips. ‘Meet me at my house once you’re finished selling the fish.’

‘Dandy. I can’t wait.’