Page 72 of The Women of Oak Ridge
“I’m sorry.”
I wasn’t exactly sure why I felt the need to apologize, but I did. Not for being white, but for not being able to do anything about the prejudice and harm she and her loved ones had to endure every single day.
She seemed to understand. “Me too.”
We spent the next hour chatting over coffee and graham crackers. She told me how she met Roonie and about their hope to start a family as soon as the war was over. I told her about Mama, Pa, and Harris. She shared about the time she and Roonie saw the Gulf of Mexico, and I described the beauty of the Appalachian Mountains of east Kentucky. Never once did our jobs at K-25 come up for discussion, nor did I mention anything about thesituation with Sissy and Clive. In fact, some of the heaviness I’d carried all day evaporated in the warm, relaxing atmosphere. It was nice to simply enjoy easy conversation with a friend.
As the sun dipped below the hills, Velvet walked me to the gate. A Black man stood on the other side of the fence. He looked surprised as we approached.
“Mae, this is my husband, Roonie. Roonie, this is my friend, Mae.”
He blinked, then nodded politely. “Ma’am. It’s a pleasure meetin’ you.”
“And you.”
“Men aren’t allowed in the women’s area,” Velvet explained. “Roonie comes to get me when it’s time for supper.” She faced me. “I enjoyed visiting with you, Mae. Thank you for doing me the honor of coming to my home.”
“Thank you for inviting me.” I wanted to give her a hug, but the guard waved me forward.
I boarded a bus bound for town a few minutes later while Velvet and her husband walked in the direction of the unfenced hutment area. As I settled in the seat for the thirty-minute ride, I whispered a prayer of thanks for my new friend.
Garlyn was waiting for me when I arrived at the maintenance shop the following morning.
His eyes sparkled when he saw me. “Hi, stranger.”
I attempted a smile, but I hadn’t slept much all night. Worries about Clive, Sissy, and MPs kept me awake, fretting until I was ill.
“Hi, yourself. I figured you’d be home, fast asleep by now after working the late shift.”
He followed me into the shop office. Thankfully Mr. Colbywasn’t there, nor was the supervisor who took over when Mr. Colby was off duty.
“There was an emergency just before my shift ended. We finished fixing it a little while ago, so I decided I might as well hang around and say hello to you.” He grinned. “Hello.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Hello. Is the emergency anything I need to know about?”
He shook his head. “Nah. Just the usual.”
I studied Garlyn. Now that I knew about the top secret project and how the work being done here in Oak Ridge would eventually lead to a bomb, I wondered how much Garlyn knew about it. Like Clive, he was an SED with the Army. I didn’t know his clearance level, but he seemed to have access to every area of K-25, including all of the smaller buildings scattered throughout the complex.
How I wished I could tell Garlyn everything that had happened, but I couldn’t say a word. A lowly errand girl like me wasn’t supposed to know about uranium and the location of yet another secret city. I had no solid proof Clive was a spy or that the papers I’d seen in his trailer were important. I didn’t even know if his story about Sissy returning to Georgia was true or not. If I spilled the wild tale now, I would sound crazy.
“I heard there’s a Christmas concert at the Grove Recreation Hall at eight o’clock tonight.” He closed the distance between us. “I thought, if you’re interested, we could have dinner and then go to the concert together.”
Warmth filled my face at his intense look. “I’d like that.”
He seemed pleased. “The newspaper said other musical events are lined up in the coming days. The brass and woodwind choir is playing at the high school. Traditional carols will be sung at the Robertsville School. There’s even a performance of Handel’sMessiahat Chapel on the Hill. That’s one of my favorites.”
“I guess everyone is getting into the holiday spirit. It’s hard to believe Christmas is almost here.”
“There’s also a dance on the twenty-third, as well as one on New Year’s Eve.” His gaze held mine. “I’d sure like to ring in the new year with you, Mae.”
I was about to respond when Mr. Colby appeared in the doorway. He glanced between us. “Can I help you, Mr. Young? I thought the repair was finished.”
“It is, sir.” Garlyn stepped away from me. “Miss Willett and I were just talking about the upcoming holiday.”
My face was on fire, and I didn’t look at either man.
After a moment, Mr. Colby chuckled, then said, “Miss Willett, I believe you’ve got work to do.”
