Free Brides of War by June Tate

this?’
    Valerie looked. It was a programme about a drawing class, opening in the village. Valerie was puzzled.
    Bonny looked at her. ‘I heard about you buying a painting and when Ross first came home and told us about you, he mentioned that you liked sketching.’
    Valerie remembered that Ross had seen some of her drawings when they’d started seeing each other. She looked at the details – it looked interesting, especially when she saw that it included a class for watercolour.
    ‘Thanks, Bonny. I’ll look into this. It’s just what I need to keep me busy. Without a green card I can’t work.’
    With a broad grin, Bonny said, ‘You don’t have to work! For goodness’ sake, the Johnson family are wealthy,’ she chuckled. ‘We can meet up regularly and you can tell me about England, I’ve never been and would like to take a vacation there in the near future. You can help me choose the places to visit.’
     
    When Valerie arrived home, she put away the programme and started to prepare dinner and when Ross walkedthrough the door soon after, he was so full of what had happened during the day that she forgot to mention it to him. However, the following morning, she decided, she would go to the Village and find out more about the classes on offer.
    The studio was large and light, she discovered. The person in charge was taking bookings and when Valerie told her of her interest in the class for watercolour, she enthused about the tutors.
    ‘We are so lucky,’ she said, ‘the tutors all give their time voluntarily. They are all professionals, so we are extremely lucky.’ She gave Valerie a list of things she would require and the address of an art shop where she could purchase her canvas and paints.
    ‘Then you’ll be ready to roll!’ she said.
    Valerie thanked her, signed on for the class, paid the fee and, holding the list, found her way to the shop and came away with a huge bag, filled with the necessary items. The first class started the following week.

Chapter Nine
    Gracie Rider was in her element, settling into her new home. She’d scrubbed every room from top to bottom, been to Woolworth’s, or the five-and-dime store as it was known in the States, to purchase bright cushions to liven the furniture, bought pretty ready-made curtains and a bunch of flowers.
    She and Jeff had sat down to work out their finances and she insisted on having a weekly housekeeping allowance. Then they put aside rent money and cash to cover the bills. Jeff wasn’t earning a large wage, but it was enough for them to live on and, if they were careful, they could save a little towards their own home. He hadn’t been too happy with the arrangement.
    ‘My father didn’t do this,’ he complained. ‘My mother asked for money when she needed it.’
    But Gracie was adamant. ‘Well I don’t want to keep coming to you for money, I want to know exactly how much we have so eventually we can save to buy our own home and the only way to do that is to budget.’
    Seeing the determined look in her eye, Jeff gave in, after muttering, ‘It doesn’t seem manly to me.’
    ‘That’s the way we do it back home,’ she insisted. ‘In fact my father hands over his pay packet to my mother unopened and she doles out the money.’
    That was too much for him. ‘Well that ain’t going to happen in this house!’
    She laughed at his outrage. ‘No Jeff, that’s not what I asked for, we will do things our own way.’
    ‘Your way you mean,’ he muttered as he walked outside and lit a cigarette. He sat on an upturned case. Things hadn’t worked out the way he expected, he mused. He thought they’d stay with his parents, which wouldn’t have cost much and save until they could buy a house, but Gracie had changed all that and now, she was taking over again. It was an alien concept to him. Men had always been in charge and the women had to go along with it. He was finding his new wife’s ideas hard to stomach and his ego was badly dented,