Free Claire Gulliver #04 - Cruisin' for a Bruisin' by Gayle Wigglesworth

tastes. There is no one here who compares with you. Surely you have time for one dance with a lonely flier lad before he’s shipped off to fight for you and your country.” The smile was lazy but the glint in his eyes was pure devilment.
    She laughed, unable to refuse his outrageous flattery and so found herself in his arms and on the dance floor. There, in spite of him being more than a foot taller than her and almost twice her weight, they seemed to float to music as if they were one entity. So of course they danced another one. She was very tempted to follow him for a third song, but fortunately she remembered the rules in time.
    “Sorry, Captain, but we’re only allowed two dances with the same person before changing partners.” She smiled with regret, explaining, “It’s so everyone gets a chance to dance, you see.”
    “But can you dance with me after a break?”
    She nodded, suddenly wanting another dance very badly.
    He slipped his arm through hers and steered her toward the punch bowl. “Let’s have a drink and you can tell me all about yourself.”
    Flo actually blushed, responding to his charm as she hadn’t to anyone else. Later they both admitted they suspected even then they were going to be seriously connected.
     
    *  *  *
     
    “Oh, that sounds so romantic.”
    Mrs. Bernbaum nodded. A dreamy smile touched her lips. “It was, but it wasn’t easy. There were rules you know. Women in the USO weren’t supposed to date men they met at the functions. It was a good rule. It was to keep the activities wholesome, entertaining and not a dating service. Oh, I know, many people ignored the rules. I couldn’t, you see, because I was in charge. I had to set an example. But suddenly I found those rules very depressing even though Nate understood.”
    “But how did you get together?”
    “Nate. He took care of it. He found someone who knew someone, who knew someone else and somehow got invited to a charity benefit I was attending the next night. He was introduced to me properly, in front of many witnesses, completely away from any USO activity and the rest was history. He only had five days before shipping out again and we took advantage of every minute. We would have married before he left, but we just didn’t have enough time. So we decided as soon as we were together again it would be the first item on our agenda. And he promised me he would return.”
    Mrs. Bernbaum clasped Millie’s wrist tightly, so she couldn’t leave before she finished what she wanted to say. She leaned her head forward. “I had been married before, but I didn’t know love until I met Nate. I thought I had been happy. I thought I was heartbroken when my first husband died, but it was as if I had been living protected from real life by a gauze screen. When I met Nate everything was so intense. The sun was brighter, the clouds were darker; my love could barely be contained.
    “Oh, and I worried so. He was going to England to fly missions over Europe. It was so dangerous. I didn’t know how I would live with him gone, but there was no choice. He had to go. I had to be brave for him. We all had to do what we had to do. It was expected in those times.
    “We hoped he would get leave again, but he didn’t. Thank God, when the war ended he was still alive. But even then he wasn’t released immediately. And we waited. He wrote me the most beautiful letters. I still have every one of them. It seemed like our lives were on hold forever.
    “Do you remember those years?” she asked peering into Millie’s eyes.
    Millie shook her head. “I was a toddler. What I remember were the books and movies of that time, but written later, and of course the stories I heard.”
    Mrs. Bernbaum relaxed, letting go of Millie’s arm, and sat back in her chair. “You know, my dear, the worst thing about getting old is finding you can’t share your memories with anyone. Suddenly it is as if you were the only person alive who remembers certain