“Excuse me, Chief Wren,” Alice said, her voice unusually meek. “Our families and friends will wonder where we are and what we’re doing. How are we to answer them?”
“You must help them believe that your position is a very dull one. You take dictation, you type reports, you get coffee for your boss, and you pass on unimportant memorandums. You will convince them that there is nothing exciting in your life.”
The room was still as Chief Wren Alder gave the women a momentto decide what to do with the rest of their lives, and to sort through a lifetime of emotions from before this moment and after. Signing this oath would alter their lives forever. It would change the core of who they were. Dot would be forced to lie to everyone she loved until she was almost sixty years old.
It was back: the crippling anxiety that had gripped her for so many years. The impulse to escape the room shot through her veins, and the remedy was simple. All she had to do was tell these people she’d changed her mind, then she could race home to safety.
Or, she could keep her mouth shut and help save the world from a crazed dictator.
Practically every poster said it:LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS. The world was already knee-deep in secrecy. Why should Dot be excused from that? When she thought of the war, she pictured Fred and Gus. There was nothing she could do for Fred, but maybe by doing her job and keeping quiet about it, she could help keep Gus safe. That’s what this oath was all about.
Gus’s open expression returned to her, from that day long before when he’d said that she could change if she wanted to, but she didn’t have to. He loved her either way, he’d said.
It was up to her.
From somewhere within her claustrophobic dome of panic, an unexpected strength rose. Her heart slowed, beating with purpose now. She would not run. She had come this far, and she had earned the privilege to do something important. She was being trusted in a position of such confidentiality that the wordtreasonhad been uttered. Yes, it would be difficult to hide the truth from her family, but by working in a special wireless station, she could make a real contribution.
Chief Wren Alder’s black heels clicked on the wood floor. “Does anyone have a problem with signing this? You can tell me now, and there will be no penalties. You will simply be reassigned.”
No one spoke, and Dot felt a weight lift from her shoulders. She was not alone.
“Excellent. Please raise your right hand and repeat after me,” Chief Wren Alder said. “I, state your name, solemnly and sincerely swear…”
“I, Dorothy Lillian Wilson, solemnly and sincerely swear…”
Her mouth was as dry as the paper the Chief Wren held, and her pulse pounded like a drum in her throat. The moment Dot signed that paper, no one would know where she was or what she was doing. It was for all the right reasons, but it was the hardest thing she’d ever done.
“…so help me God.”
I’m sorry, Dash.
She pressed the tip of her pen to the paper, and the ink curled and crossed as she signed,Dorothy Lillian Wilson.
Looking at her signature, Dot felt a shift within. Months earlier, she had trembled in fear when her sister even hinted that she might leave home without her. She had never imagined she might one day do that herself. Then she’d worked her way up through sheer determination and a refusal to fail. Now this.
Nothing in Dot’s world would ever be the same.
But she was no longer afraid. Never again would she wait for someone else to take care of things, because she understood now that she could do it herself.
She set down her pen and stood straight again, ready to fight.
twentyDASH— Oshawa, Ontario —
Merry Christmas, Mom!”
Dash gave her mother a big smile, but she knew she looked a sight, standing in the doorway of their house. She’d lost her hat on the streetcar, and the blizzard had turned her hair into a melting drift. Her scarf hung loose around her neck, and though her cheeks were cheerfully red from the cold, she knew her eyes looked dog-tired. She’d been up all night, unsure what to tell her parents.
Her mother blinked. “Well, Merry Christmas to you, too! What are you doing here? We didn’t expect you for two more weeks. Come in, come in, before you catch your death out there. Oh, let me have a look at you.”
Dash stepped inside and took off her boots, not wanting to track in snow. As she set down her suitcase, she took in the familiar kitchen and was surprised by a hot push of tears behind her eyes. How could it feel so good to be home, and yet make her want to disappear out of humiliation?
Her mother took her coat. “I’m so happy to see you. But was I wrong? Weren’t you coming in about two weeks?”
I failed, Mom. I was fired.“Yes, that was the plan, but things changed, so I thought I’d come home early. I hope that’s all right.” She’d have to explain, but not yet. Her fingers went reflexively to the high neckline of hernew turtleneck. She’d bought it especially, wanting to hide any bruises. “Where’s my hug?”
She escaped further conversation by agreeing with her mother that she looked tired, then she hauled her suitcase to her bedroom. When she pushed open the door, she felt even worse, because the room looked so empty without her sister in it. Dropping her bag, she went to her bed and sat, her back to the wall, knees hugged to her chest.
Dot would know everything soon. Dash had written to her the night she was fired. She’d told her about Jim and the awful helplessness she’d felt, then about Mr. Eisen’s accusation, and the way he’d roaredGet out!so furiously that the hair on her neck had stood on end. She had told her everything. She had to. She never kept secrets from her sister.
