THE WAR BRIDE CLUB Read Online Free PDF Page B

Chinese, but there are a few differences.”
          June giggled as the girls sat like school children, crowded around her. “No peeking,” she instructed. She held the magazine high against her chest. “All right, an easy one to start with. What’s the name for a sweet biscuit?”
          Betty thrust her hand into the air. “Cookie.”
          “Well done, Miss Betty.”
          Alice groaned again and shut her eyes. The other two clapped politely.  
          “How about lavatory?”
          “As in I’d rather be in a lavatory right now?”
          “No, Alice! What’s the word? No one in America will know what you mean if you ask where the lavatory is.”
          They all looked back at her like they had no idea what she was talking about.  
          “Toilet.”
          “Oh, I knew that one!” Betty sat up straighter. “Come on, more.”
          “What is a scone?”
          “Biscuit!” yelled Madeline.  
          A sharp look from an official made them drop their voices.  
          “Verandah?”
          They all stayed silent.  
          “Porch,” Madeline whispered.  
          “How about you read to us and we’ll just listen?” suggested Alice.  
          June flicked through the pages and then dumped the magazine on the table. “I think you all need to read it anyway. I’ve done enough talking for the day.”
          A plop of rain hit Alice on the forehead and she squealed. “Quick, to the cabin!”
          June helped Betty to her feet, then linked arms with her and Madeline. They followed Alice as she fled, heels starting to skid on the deck as rain fell with fury from the clouds above.  
     
    Alice grimaced as she peeled her wet cardigan from her body and strung it up on the line hanging across the room. She re-tucked in her camisole and reached for a woollen top.  
          “I guess we’re stuck here until dinner?”
          Alice looked up as Betty spoke.  
          “We could go to the lounge?”
          June shook her head and tucked up under the covers. “I think we should stay right here.”
          “While you read us out passages from Good Housekeeping?” teased Madeline.  
          “No, while one of you tells us your story.”
          They all looked in opposite directions.  
          “Come on! You made me tell mine, so now it’s someone else’s turn.” June glared at them all.  
          Betty pointed at Alice. “Make her do it,” she said. “I just get all emotional talking about my Charlie.” She rubbed her belly, eyes downcast.
          Alice straightened her shoulders and stretched her back, before slipping a scarf around her neck to combat the cold and sitting on the centre hammock. “You really want to hear my story?”
          “Yes,” affirmed June.  
          “How long do I have?”
          “Until dinner,” said Betty.  
          Alice gave a dramatic, arms spread wide pose, then lay on her stomach, elbows propping her up. She blocked out the murky cream walls and peeling paint, and let her mind wander. It wasn’t hard, she thought about her man constantly, remembered everything about him. Every moment they had spent together.  
          “My father always said that to sit idle during the war was to not make an effort at all. If you believed in your country, no matter how old you were or what your standing, then you had to do something. So I joined up with the Red Cross, trained as a nurse, and started to look after our men as they came home. Or any men really, any soldiers who needed medical assistance.”
          She cupped her chin with her palms and closed her eyes. It still felt like just yesterday…
     
    * * *
     
    Alice would never forget the day Ralph Jones grabbed hold of her wrist. She was walking between the beds, refilling waters and checking