Читать книгу The Future Homemakers of America - Laurie Graham - Страница 17

Instead of heading up to Brakey we went over by The Warren, the only little bit of woodland in the neighbourhood, spruce mainly, and came through it on a narrow track, trees pressing in both sides, but I liked it a lot better than having that big Norfolk sky watching every move I made. There was a nice earthy smell in there, too, like spring might be on the move.

Gayle was still quiet, so I just talked to myself.

I said, ‘This is like the fairy forest in one of Crystal’s bedtime stories. You see any handsome woodcutters? No, well, I guess Herb Moon’s still winging his way home with the rest of the boys.’

‘How come nobody ever talks about it?’ she said. ‘Peggy? About crashes and stuff? Like this morning, Benedetto nearly didn’t make it, and we just go to coffee at Betty’s and sit round, asking her why her brownies taste so good? Can you explain this to me, ’cause I just don’t get it? I mean, when you hear there’s a plane down, when you hear those trucks going off, don’t none of you ever get the shakes, waiting for the holy Joe to come creeping up the path, tell you you’re widow of the week? Hell, Peggy, don’t none of you get scared?’

I pulled over.

I said, ‘Well, course we do, hon, but we’re not just any old wives. We’re air force. We gotta stay calm and steady for our boys. You know that.’

She said, ‘But why can’t we talk about it?’

I said, ‘Because the boys never do, and if we did, it’d be like jinxing them. Every day they just go out there and do what they gotta do, and you know what? They’re the best. Benedetto blew it, is all. Whaddya expect from 366 Squadron?’

I could bullshit for the Lone Star State.

‘Peg!’ she said. ‘I’m not so dumb I’d say anything to Okey. But that don’t mean us girls can’t talk about it. Picking through Audrey’s goddamned scarves and Benedetto’s leg’s still out there in whatever’s left of his plane, sitting there like a piece a baloney.’

She had the shakes.

‘Happens to 366, it can happen to 96^th, it can happen to the air force Chief of Staff hisself. What about when the flaps jam?’ she said. ‘What about when the throttle lever seizes? Stuff happens. Ejector seat don’t eject. Hell, sometimes these things just…they just…break. Don’t make no difference then if it’s a combat ace up there or a blind chimpanzee. I’m scared, Peggy. I’m scared it’s gonna happen to my Okey. Then what will I do?’

I just let her cry some, held her in my arms. I caught a whiff of booze on her. She must have downed it as soon as she heard the crash siren.

I said, ‘Honey, you gotta get a grip. You carry on this way, you’re gonna make yourself ill. Then what’s Okey gonna do? Airman without his sweetheart ain’t worth a light.’

‘Yeah,’ she said. She was fixing up her face. ‘I know.’

We carried on, looping up behind Pepper Clump and the sugar factory and then starting to drop down towards Drampton, so we could pick up Crystal. And who should we pass, trudging along in her zip-front boots, but the woman herself.

I said, ‘There’s Kath Pharaoh.’

She ran when she saw me stop for her. She didn’t take any coaxing to climb in and get a ride home that time.

‘Well, fancy seeing you,’ she said.

I said, ‘This is Gayle. Now you’ve met the whole gang.’

‘How do you do, very pleased to meet you,’ she said. ‘You got home all right, then? In all that fog? I’ve been wondering about you.’

I said, ‘But we all came by a few weeks ago. We came visiting but you weren’t home. John said you were working.’

‘Did he?’ she said.

I said, ‘Didn’t you get the stuff we brought? In a box?’

Kath took her eyes off the road for a minute. ‘Biscuits?’ she said. ‘And strong drink? Was that you?’

I said, ‘It was from all of us. Betty. And Lois. The red-head? And Audrey. You remember? The tall one? We wanted you to have a few things.’

‘Well,’ she said, ‘that’s no use expecting a man to get a story straight. John Pharaoh said that was the copper-knob brought it. He never mentioned the rest of you. Was that you brought woollens? And good trousers, hardly worn?’

Seemed like Lois had turned into some kinda angel of mercy. Seemed like she’d decided to fly solo.

‘Well, I thank you very much,’ she said. ‘They were grand biscuits. And them funny sausages in a tin. Champion. Fancy him getting his story wrong. You had a airyplane in trouble this morning, then? We heard the siren a-wailing.’

I tried to signal to her not to pursue that line of conversation, but she was intent on watching me drive.

‘That’s a dangerous thing, flying,’ she said. ‘That’s a mystery to me how a big heavy thing like that stays up in the sky. How they don’t come a-tumbling down every time, I shall never know.’

I was quite expecting Gayle to start up again, but she managed a smile instead. ‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘It’s a mystery to me too.’

There was no sign of John when we dropped Kath off.

I said, ‘I’ll come and fetch you out some time, like I promised? You could come and visit with Betty and see her royal scrapbooks? She’d love that. Drives her nuts, she tells us about all the dukes and princesses and none of us can ever remember who they are.’

‘Well…I could do,’ she said. She didn’t exactly bite my hand off.

I said, ‘Or we could go for a drive some place? Maybe you could take a turn behind the wheel? See how it feels?’

Then you should have seen her smile. It would have lit up the Cotton Bowl.

Gayle said, ‘Are you crazy? She puts a dent in your fender, Vern’s gonna throw a hissy fit.’ I hadn’t really thought about that.

I called in on Audrey, when I dropped Gayle. Told her about the little misunderstanding.

I said, ‘Far as Kath knew, it was just Lois had took the groceries. And she must have been back since, took clothes for them too. Playing the lady bountiful, and never even said a word to us. I’m gonna see her, right now, find out what her game is.’

Aud said, ‘Well, of course, that’s Lois. She has no concept of teamwork. Nor of when enough is enough. I just hope she’s not going round offending people. You know, Peggy, the Pharaohs may be paupers, but I’m sure they have their pride.’

Sandie was drinking red jello from a cup.

‘Don’t know what the hell I did wrong,’ Lois said. ‘Two days in the Frigidaire and it still ain’t set.’

I said, ‘You’ve been visiting John Pharaoh, I hear.’

She looked at me. There was just a flicker. At the time, I couldn’t have said what it was.

I said, ‘You have to tread careful, you know? Audrey was just saying, how you gotta be careful with charity. Give people too much and you might offend them. Or they could just get that they expect more and more.’

‘Yeah,’ she said, ‘I can see the dangers of giving away a couple of Herb’s wore-out shirts. Create unrest and discontent among the natives. Next thing you know, you’ve got an international incident on your hands. There’s probably something in Post Regulations about it. Probably something about putting a fist in Audrey Rudman’s know-it-all face, too, but I may just go for it anyhow. You know how I do love to live life on the edge.’

One thing about Lois. She never bottled things up.