“And you’re here?” Bet questioned.
“My boyfriend Stephen, I mean husband Stephen has gone overseas, I want to fly…” Calli kicked in a Southern accent, “… and it was this or attend every event of the Atlanta social season with my dahlin’ of a mother-in-law.”
“You from Atlanta? I’m from Atlanta,” the third woman drawled with a genuine Southern spice.
“No, actually, Steven’s family is. Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to…” Calli tried to make amends for the mimickery.
“Please, if I never see another woman smothered in cotton candy chiffon again in my whole entire life, it will be too soon.” She bowed to the room and introduced herself. “Joy Lynn Calbert—debutante fugitive and rebel pilot.”
Joy Lynn’s clothes were in piles on the bed like they had exploded out of her suitcase, and she towered like a goddess in the middle of the room. The Southern belle’s blonde hair curled in loops and rested on her shoulders. She had full pink lips and big blue eyes. The cap sleeves of her sheer blouse met a groove of her defined bicep. Her waist was wrapped with a wide belt around a skirt that fit short and tight.
Marina had her suitcases open and was sorting their contents back and forth and muttering. Then she plopped on the bed, opened a compact and touched-up her make-up in the little round mirror. Unaware of the conversation swirling around the room she asked, “Did you see those women? Not a stitch of make-up.”
“I saw some lipstick.” Louise goaded.
“Well maybe, but please.” Marina snapped her compact closed and tossed it on the bed. “And did anyone notice….” She pointed toward the bathroom. “… One mirror—one.”
“Marina, you’re from Hollywood, an actress?” Louise speculated.
“New York. I was an airline stewardess.”
“I’ll take cashews and a ginger ale,” teased Joy Lynn.
“I’m sorry, didn’t I say, I ‘was’ a stewardess?”
“One of the senior trainees was a Hollywood stunt pilot,” Calli informed.
“Who?” Marina asked.
“Jenna Law, that curly topped beauty who was in the rec hall,” said Calli. “Word’s that she’s the hottest wings here.”
Joy Lynn added, “But of course they haven’t seen me up yet.”
“You can have Hollywood. A career in the Army is what I want, getting to fly the newest, hottest planes. And can you imagine being an officer?” Louise dreamed aloud.
“A captain,” Marina chimed in.
“A major,” said Louise.
“Generals run in my family.” Joy Lynn stood at attention and saluted.
The trainees got acquainted as they unpacked and dressed for their checkrides. Liddy fastened the strap of her new aviator watch onto her wrist and slipped Jack’s into her pocket.
Joy Lynn grabbed her hand and whistled. “Now that’s a beauty.”
“Thanks,” said Liddy and she tucked it under the cuff of her sleeve.
Liddy, Louise and Joy Lynn had the height to fill out most of the length of their suits, but the other three women had to cinch and roll to try and achieve some kind of fit.
Bet looked herself up and down. “My mother would be so proud,” she said. And then she jerked and jived around the room. She bounced up and down, twisting her toes in a little pivot on the floor, taking little steps in between. Her shoulders shook like a geyser was about to escape from the top of her head, which sent her red curls shooting up and down like they were trying to lift off as she twirled herself about. Then she’d do it all over again, exactly the same way. “Think the zoot-suited Harlem crowd would be impressed?”
“I think the zoot-suited crowd would think you were having convulsions,” said Marina. “What are you doing?”
“The Lindy Hop, it’s a Jitter Bug,” answered Bet.
“Yeah, I know the Lindy Hop, and that’s no Lindy Hop,” Marina took the floor and tried to show Bet the steps. But Bet was insistent that she had it right. Soon she had all of the baymates on their feet doing the funny little Bet dance until they heard the call outside the barracks to line up. Marina was the last one in the room and she took one last look in the mirror and straightened her pearls.
The class marched to the mess hall and dug in to some of the finest home cooking in Texas. Rationing wasn’t part of Army life apparently. At the table, Liddy watched Bet pick at her food and leaned to her and asked, “You feeling okay?”
“Yeah, I don’t eat much before I fly. When I go up, so does the food, if you know what I mean.”
Liddy smiled. “You’re gonna be skipping a lot of meals, little Betsy.”
“I’ll make up for it.”
“I’m sure you will.”
Chapter Nine
Military life wasn’t something most little girls had laid in bed dreaming about during the first half of the twentieth century. It was as far from their thinking as building a barn or fighting a duel. Their brother’s playtime was charging the hill, and taking the enemy. Girls, on the other hand, had their dolls, dress-up and notions of being mommies and wives. But when flying got hold of a woman, her world opened up long before the lot of her generation. It opened up in a way that let all kinds of possibilities line up on the doorstep of her mind.
Liddy’s world had always been open, so she was not hemmed in by convention. Still, the restraints and rigors of the Army way were not familiar to the free wander of her spirit. Down the line, looking military was a stretch for the new class. They gave it their all though. Assembled in ranks before the base command, their backs were straight and their knees were tight; they were to be military pilots.
Liddy’s pulse raced when she saw that Major Reid Trent was among the officers. He wasn’t the same man she remembered from the train, but still her mind raced with her pulse. What did this mean? Even if he had walked away from her because of his position at Avenger, the way he walked away still burned her. Or was it that she wasn’t accustomed to being walked away from at all? She thought she knew the ins and outs of herself and how to keep in check, but the yearning that returned had a way of its own. Trent stood with Colonel Lawrence Wate, army officers, a collection of enlisted pilots and civilian flying instructors, a few of whom were women.
Colonel Wate was a big man. The plumpness behind his rosy cheeks and in his form told of the celebration with which he lived life. His smile was wide and exuded anything but military formality. He adored the trainees and was one of the WASP program’s biggest supporters. He greeted the women with words of drill and discipline, but the tone was warm and enthusiastic.
“Attention trainees. I’m Colonel Lawrence Wate. This program has proven to be very successful and I trust this class will continue to display the high standards of past and present trainees. To my right are Major Reid Trent and Captain Ellis Charles. Both have completed three aerial combat tours overseas. Major Trent will be your director of training and in charge of all flight instruction. Captain Ellis Charles will be your ground school supervisor. Major Trent will now call out your first checkride instructions. Major.”
The Major seemed to notice no one. The light was gone from his eyes and his face had a firmness that Liddy didn’t recognize, and it held nothing that appealed to her. Yet something had left her and was floating where she couldn’t get control of it. The sound of his voice, however, she did recognize, and she fought the urge to close her eyes and see the face from the train as she listened. He spoke in lists, the way military people do, and it was odd to hear the cadence and the voice together.
“This is a five and half month program. Although you are not enlisted Army Air Force, you will be flying for the United States Military. Therefore it is expected that you will learn, in that time, to fly the Army way…”