Page 70 of All We Thought We Knew
They had no hope of a future together.
None whatsoever.
TWENTY-ONE:AVA
CAMP FORREST, TENNESSEE
MARCH 1942
Gertrude and Ivy Lee were in the kitchen when I arrived home.
The delicious aroma of chicken soup and corn bread filled the air, making my mouth water. While rumors of impending rationing continued to dominate the news, just this week we enjoyed Gertrude’s meatloaf, pot roast, and even a vanilla cake. As far as I knew, Gertrude hadn’t complained even once about preparing meals for our boarder the way she used to complain about cooking for me.
Ivy Lee hadn’t gone to work that morning. Whether she had the day off or had taken it off, I didn’t know, but I now saw the reason for it. She’d obviously gone into town to the beauty shop. Her hair was teased and combed high, and her nails sported a fresh coat of red polish. A new dress hugged her curves, and she lookedready for a night on the town. Although I still hadn’t warmed to our new housemate the way Gertrude had, I did attempt to be more friendly when we were together.
“You look nice,” I said, pushing a smile to my lips. “Is there a special occasion?”
Ivy Lee and Gertrude exchanged grins before she looked at me again. “I should say so. Yours truly has a date with acolonel.”
I might have guessed. The young woman constantly talked about the men she pursued and those who pursued her. On a military installation as big as Camp Forrest, there were certainly plenty of eligible bachelors to keep a girl like Ivy Lee busy every weekend.
“That’s nice.”
Ivy Lee cackled. “Nice? Honey, I’m not talkin’ about some wet-behind-the-ears private. Colonel Paxton is aman. He’s been in the Army for ages and oversees the entire trainin’ facility.” She winked. “If I play my cards right, I might be quittin’ my job and gettin’ married soon.”
From the stove where she stirred the soup in a large pot, Gertrude said, “I hope he won’t want to wait until the war ends. No telling when that might be.”
A sly smile curved Ivy Lee’s ruby lips. “Oh, he won’t want to wait too long. I know how to give a man just enough to keep him interested without givin’ him the keys to the house, if you know what I mean.”
Poor Colonel Paxton. Did he know what he was getting himself into?
I wondered how Ivy Lee met the officer but didn’t ask. I still didn’t know what her job was on base, but it apparently put her in a position to meet plenty of men. She’d had a dozen dates since she moved to the farm.
The woman’s gaze fell on me then, giving me a critical once over. “What about your colonel? I hear he’s available. Maybe we could double-date sometime.”
I frowned. “I work for Colonel Foster. He isn’t interested in me romantically.”
“I bet we could change that with a little makeup and a trip to the dress shop in town.” She tilted her head and examined me. “You do tend to look a bit frumpy. I’d be happy to help you find an outfit that suits you better. Then you’ll have to fight off all the men wantin’ to take you to the USO.”
I offered a stiff smile. “It will be some time before I’m ready to date again.”
The not-so-subtle reminder of my widowhood hung in the air.
“Oh, of course,” she said, looking contrite. “I’m sorry. I... forgot.” She cast an apologetic glance to Gertrude, but the older woman stared into the pot.
We sat down to dinner, although Ivy Lee declared she couldn’t eat much since she had a date later. The conversation moved from eligible men to the war.
“The newspaper says we’re sending fifty thousand of our boys over to Europe every month now.” Gertrude shook her head as she buttered a piece of corn bread. “It ain’t right. Our young men shouldn’t have to fight that German madman.”
Ivy Lee nodded in agreement. “And to think, over two hundred German Nazis are right here in Tullahoma, livin’ on base. It’s positively terrifyin’, I tell you. They’d no doubt kill us all if given the chance.”
My shoulders tensed. While I couldn’t speak for every one of the internees, I knew Gunther’s story. “I don’t believe all the German men being held at Camp Forrest are Nazis.”
“How do you know?” Gertrude’s eyes narrowed. “Anyone who hails from Germany is certain to be loyal to Hitler.”
I thought of Gunther and what he’d told me about his mother wanting him to come to America to become a doctor. “From what I understand, many of the men being detained came to Americato work or go to school. They aren’t soldiers. Some of them don’t want to return to Germany.”
“That’s exactly where they need to go,” Ivy Lee said. “It isn’t safe to have those men in our country. Some of the soldiers I know think they’re spies, pretending to be innocent victims yet all the while gathering information about us and sending it back to Germany. I’ll ask Colonel Paxton about them when we go to dinner tonight.” A dreamy expression replaced her scowl. “He’s takin’ me to a late supper at the Minor’s Restaurant at the Hotel King. He promised we’d have caviar and champagne.”
