“Dad, people don’t care what religion I practice, especially, not here on base. Don’t you have enough to worry about? Please stop making such a deal out of my necklace.” I can already assume his response since we have the same argument at least once a week.
“You’re right, Elizabeth. No one has a problem with anyone until they do, and when they do, it’s impossible to hide the truth. Why must we go over this repeatedly?” He knows why.
“It’s because you know it’s wrong to hide our faith. We should be proud, Jewish Americans, but we have to live in fear of a dictator who has no power over us here.”
“What on earth is the matter with you? What would your mother think of this?”
“I’m sure she would tell me to wear my necklace with pride and not give more strength to those who don’t deserve it.”
“Elizabeth, this situation is far worse than what your mother stood her ground for. She would want you to be safe.”
I couldn’t be any more sheltered here, living within a gated community full of sailors, soldiers, airmen, and Marines. In fact, I’m tired of the safety. I much prefer a life outside of these walls.
With reluctance, I tuck my necklace beneath the collar of my blouse, wishing I could change how the world is controlling what I do.
“Don’t forget your lunch, Dad.” Egg salad, an apple, and carrot sticks are what he has been consuming for lunch every single day for as long as I can remember. I made sure not to skip a beat when Mom left us.
“Thank you, dear,” Dad says, meeting me back in the kitchen. “Oh, Elizabeth, you will come straight home after class, correct?” I can give him a good line and say, yes, of course, or I can tell him the truth, which is that I have every intention of sneaking off to the beach with Audrey for a bit. “Please stay on this part of the base today, Elizabeth. I don’t have the bodies to monitor you, and it’s safest here.”
“Yes, Sir.” I allow him to treat me like a child because I don’t have it in me to keep reminding him, I’m old enough to leave home, not when Mom’s untimely death is still fresh, as if it just happened yesterday. He still needs me. “I’m sure I’ll just spend time with Audrey, either at her house or here.” He rarely has an issue with that since my closest friend lives just two houses down.
Dad leans down and places a kiss on the top of my head and nods in James and Lewis’s direction. “Men, I’m sure I’ll see you later. Take care. James, haircut.”
“I got it. Haircut. I know.”
“Don’t use that tone with me, son.”
It’s best if we’re all quiet until we go our separate ways. Otherwise, we will have to sit through another Salzberg family feud. No one ever fought when Mom was here. I don’t know how she kept everyone in line and happy, but it appeared effortless. Some days, I debate if I’ll ever be able to live up to her level of perfection in maintaining a household.
3
July 1941
Audrey is waitingat the edge of her driveway on her robin’s-egg-blue bicycle. With her neatly wound victory rolls pinned above her loose auburn curls, the sheen from her styled hair offers a blinding reflection from the sun. Audrey cups her hand over her eyes as I make my way toward her, shaking her head at me with a cherry-red lined demure grin.
“How do you look so alert and perky at this hour?” Audrey asks. “Your cheeks even look pinched. I must look like a corpse in comparison.”
“What a lovely thing to say, but of course, you are stunning as always,” I compliment my friend.
“I think the bags beneath my eyes are growing their own bags, Lizzie. My glasses are doing nothing to hide the truth. I’ll never snag a guy looking this way.”
“Have you tried coffee?” I ask, knowing the drink has a power to send electrical currents through my blood.
“Oh, Lizzie, you know I can’t get myself to swallow a mouthful of that disgusting beverage. It tastes like dirt.”
“It could help,” I offer, despite her distaste.
“The only thing that will help is to finish these darn classes.”
I debate if working long shifts as a nurse rather than training in the shadows of nurses will be harder or easier. The pressure is a lot and there are always eyes on us, making sure we are conducting every move per the book. I suspect the pressure might be more when there aren’t watchful gazes, though. It sure will be swell to earn a nice nickel for our work.
“Well, just a few more months. We’re close.” Audrey lifts her foot to the pedal, ready to get moving. “Say, what are you doing after class today?” I arch a brow to explain the reason for my question.
“Oh, dear … no, Lizzie. Don’t even say the words. You are such a troublemaker, you know that?”
“You can consider me a menace only if we get into trouble. Plus, we’re grown women now. We don’t need to abide by these silly rules anymore.”
“My parents pay for the roof over my head. I have to follow rules,” she argues.
