Chapter One - Twelve Hours

Twelve hours.  That's all it took.

August, 1943 - Saturday Night

Vera Houtton really didn't want to have Mary Lou tagging along to the dance.  After all, Vera was, at 19, two years older - which meant that she would be responsible for her kid sister.  Which in turn meant that she would have to abide by Mary Lou's 11:30 curfew, instead of being able to stay out past midnight. 

Besides, Mary Lou was the looker, the one the boys all jostled to get close to, the one whose dance card was always full.  Who needed a night of holding your kid sister's Coke?

It was the last big dance of the summer at the roller rink.  Two bands, playing non-stop Glenn Miller and Count Basie and Artie Shaw and Jimmy Dorsey.  Lots of local boys, of course, but with the war going on, even more handsome young men from the Royal Canadian Air Force base nearby.  Always more young men than young women, and after all, this was the last big dance of the summer, so there was no way Vera was going to miss it.  And when their Dad, old Hugh Henry Houtton, bowed to Mary's pleading (as he always did), Vera didn't have much choice.

As they left the house, each of the girls slipped a "friendship band" onto the ring finger of her left hand.  This was strategic:  when the boys outnumber the girls, you got to choose.  But you don't want to hurt a young man's feelings, so you could ruefully flash your friendship ring, telling the unsuitable suitor you were being true to your "boy overseas".  The fact that there might be no "boy overseas" or even "boy across town" at that particular moment was none of anybody's business.

By 9:30 the dance was hopping.  As she had feared, Vera was spending a goodly portion of her evening babysitting Mary Lou's lemonade, holding her sweater, and glumly watching her little sister trot out every dance move Vera had so painstakingly taught her.  The local boys were lined up to put their names on Mary's card.

A stir from the main doors; a bus had pulled up and unloaded a couple of dozen airmen from the base.  Vera took the chance to pull Mary off the dance floor, give her back the sweater she'd been holding, and hustle her off to the powder room.  It was time for Vera to outshine her baby sister - at her age, their parents wouldn't approve of Mary Lou being squired around by a serviceman,  but at 19, it was - well, almost a patriotic duty for Vera.  After all, these boys were going "over there" to serve the country, and who knew what might happen to them?

Even the local boys seemed to understand, and were almost deferential as the dashing flyboys swaggered into the dance hall.  And didn't they cut a figure?  It was enough to make a girl swoon.  A man in uniform.  Sigh.

Vera's dance card began to fill up.  She'd look over from time to time to catch a glimpse of her sister, having dance after dance with a handsome, blue-eyed young serviceman who had crossed the floor to Mary Lou the moment he'd walked in.  Vera glimpsed a pair of wings sewn above his breast pocket.  A pilot, no less - but how was that possible?  He looked barely older than Vera herself.

Vera looked at her watch: 11:15.  She caught Mary Lou's eye and pointed to her feet - their sign, a play on Cinderella and her mad dash from the ball.  Mary nodded and whispered something to her pilot.  He whispered something back, she nodded, and they crossed to where Vera was standing.

"Vera, this is Justin," said Mary Lou.  "He'll walk us home."

Comments

[The Kept Woman]

The fact that you even know this much detail about your parent's meeting and courtship is very, very cool.

Thanks for sharing and that cliff-hanger was not cool...some of us lack in the Patience Department. :)-

[Bucky Four-Eyes]

Please don't hunt me down and smack me around for saying this, but I have to agree that your mom was a knockout!
This story could totally be a movie plot.

[Laura]

Ohhhhhh, so cool :) Your parents must have told this story often while you were growing up, or did they?

There was no shortage of stories such as this one during the war, and it's rare when you can find someone today who is able to describe in so much detail what you did here.

[CircusKelli]

Love this story, LOVE IT.

[Sarah]

*swoon* This is wonderful.

[gora_kagaz]

aww...that's such a wonderful story. can't wait to hear more. i love your writing. :)

[wordgirl]

This must have been what it was like for readers of "The Strand" magazine when they had to wait for the next installment from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...except...this is a love story. A TRUE love story. And I'm loving every single word. The combination of a fascinating story and great storytelling is hard to resist. Next up...the walk home.

[ToadyJoe]

Linky Loving at my site, to this story... so more people can follow along. Thank you!!!

[whfropera]

I'm going to cry with happiness before this story is over, aren't I?

whoops. too late.

[Squirl]

Well, I didn't see a picture of your aunt, but, yep, your mom's a looker. :)