“Brrrr.” Josephine laughed. She hopped out of the car, went around to the rear luggage rack, and unstrapped the wicker hamper.
“I’ll bring the towels,” Ruth said. She looked over her shoulder at Millie and Varina, who hadn’t moved from the backseat. “Come on, you two.”
Millie climbed out of the car, followed by the younger girl, and they trailed after Josephine to the spot on the beach where she unfolded a large woolen blanket.
Josephine sat down on the blanket, promptly removed her shoes, and dug her toes into the soft sand. “Ahhh.”
The other girls followed suit, except for Varina, who was uncharacteristically quiet.
“Look here,” Josephine announced, opening the picnic basket. “Champagne!” She produced the bottle and popped the cork, sending a plume of champagne into the warm night air.
“Not for me,” Millie said. “I had more than enough last night.”
“I’ve got whiskey too,” Josephine said, displaying a pint bottle of Jim Beam. “Gardiner gave it to me this morning, as a goodbye gift.”
“No, thanks,” Millie repeated, shuddering.
“Don’t be such a party pooper, Millie,” Ruth said. She found a tin cup in the basket and held it out to Josephine. “Guess I’ll just have to drink her share.”
Josephine tipped the bottle and filled her friend’s cup, then gestured toward the youngest member of the group.
“Varina? Have you ever had champagne?”
The girl shook her head vigorously. “No, ma’am. You know my daddy is a Church of God preacher. He doesn’t hold with drinking spirits.”
“But your brothers drink,” Josephine said, taking a sip from the bottle. “Papa always gives them beer after they’ve been working at Shellhaven.”
“It’s different for girls,” Varina replied. “Everything’s different when you’re a girl.”
“Just take a sip,” Josephine insisted. She poured some into a cup and held it out.
“Leave her be, Jo,” Millie said sharply.
“Spoilsport,” Josephine said. She crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue at her best friend, then emptied the cup of champagne in one long swallow, with Ruth following suit.
“What else have you got in that basket?” Ruth asked. “Lunch was hours and hours ago, and I’m famished.”
“Let’s see what old Dorris gave us,” Josephine said, inspecting items as she lifted them from the basket. “Fried chicken. Ham biscuits. Some kind of little sandwiches left over from the party. Oooh. Chocolate cake!”
“Yum.” Ruth found tin plates in the basket and helped herself to a ham biscuit and a slice of cake.
“Come on, you two,” Josephine said, handing plates to Millie and Varina. “This is a party, not a funeral.”
When they’d eaten their fill, Josephine sprawled out on the blanket and stared up at the sky. “Just think,” she said. “Pretty soon, Gardiner will be up there, maybe flying across the Atlantic, to drop a big bomb on those dirty Nazis.”
Millie set aside the plate with her half-eaten sandwich. “Aren’t you afraid for your brother? What if something happens to him?”
“Nothing’s going to happen to Gardiner,” Josephine declared. “He’s too good a pilot for that. You wait, he’ll be one of those flying aces in no time.” She downed another cup of champagne. “Okay. Let’s go swimming!”
She stood up and slipped out of her dress, kicking it aside, and stripped down to her satin-and-lace-embellished panties and bra. Ruth followed suit, leaving Millie and Varina huddled together on the blanket, still fully clothed.
“Well?” Josephine said impatiently.
“Somebody might see us,” Varina said, turning and surveying the deserted beach. “If my daddy found out I was swimming naked, he’d skin me alive.”
“Nobody’s going to see us,” Ruth retorted. “And your daddy doesn’t have to find out. We’ll never tell.”
“You two go ahead,” Millie said. “I’ll stay here with Varina.”
