1. Just Doing Her Part


    Date: 8/16/2015, Categories: Historical, Author: Adamgunn, Rating: , Source: LushStories

    go with them, I wouldn't mind," Alice told Harold. "That's kind, but I'm fine right here." "You mean you don't want a girl?" Seeing the semi-shocked glance he returned, she continued, "Oh, I know where they're going. The whole town knows where the red-light district is." "Well, it's not that I don't like girls, mam'n," -- he was nervous now -- "but not that sort, I guess. My mother always told me to stay away from their kind, and I guess I see her point." "You're a good boy, Harold, I'm sure your mother would be proud of you." In an attempt to save face, Harold ordered another beer, and the conversation returned to other, safer subjects. Half an hour later, when the beer was down to the final swallow, Alice looked at her watch and cried, "Oh, my goodness, look at the time. I really must be getting along. Harold, you're a dear, would you mind walking me home? I suppose it's very safe, but I'd just feel better if you'd escort me." Of course he was pleased to assist her, and after passing the blackout curtain, they made their way through the darkened town, proud brick storefronts built near the harbor over the last hundred years, until they came to a store advertising cleaning and laundry. "Is this where you work?" Harold asked, a little nervously. "Um-hmm. I collect the clothes, and a truck comes and gets it from the main plant further in town. I live up here," she said, placing a key in the door next to the shop, revealing a staircase leading to the second floor. "Would you ...
    like to come up for a cup of coffee?" "Well, I really don't know . . ." "Please?" she interrupted him, "It'll only take a minute to make, and it's the least I can do to thank you for walking me home." He acquiesced, and after shutting the door to ward off the escape of light into the night, she flipped the light switch. At the top of the steps he found a clean apartment of two rooms, the first a combination living room and tiny kitchen, just large enough for house keeping. Through the interior door, he spied the bed, almost completely filling the tiny bedroom. If the rugs and paint were perhaps a bit dingy, it was made up for by the fastidious arrangement of furniture and knick-knacks. As she turned the radio on and the room filled with the music of big band swing, she called "Make yourself comfortable while I put the water on to boil." As he waited for her, his eye landed on two photographs, almost a shrine. In one, a handsome sailor beamed brightly, his dark hair slicked and his hat tilted rakishly. The other was a wedding picture, the bride Alice, and the groom seemed to be the sailor in the picture. In front of the picture a votive candle and a small china bowl festooned with an image of a rose was on display. Inside the bowl were two copper stars, the type you might find in the sewing section of a five-and-dime to use for decorating a garment. "Are you married?" he asked. "I was," she admitted in a mirthless voice. "Johnny joined the navy right after Pearl Harbor. We'd ...
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