“It can’t be long,” Delphine said. “If relief work is already underway, they’ll be getting people out of there—just like we’re doing here.”
Martha nodded, wishing she felt as certain as Delphine sounded. What if, as in Poland, the Communists took control of China? Would anyone be allowed to get on a boat out of Shanghai in those circumstances? She tried to push those thoughts out of her mind. “You’ll want to tell Charlie. He’s not on duty today, is he? You can call him if you’d like to.”
They left Kitty alone to make the call. It took a few minutes of waiting before the operator at the base managed to locate him and connect her.
“Sorry, honey—I was in the major’s office.” He sounded flustered. “What is it? Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I got a letter from my parents! I couldn’t wait to tell you!”
There was silence at the end of the phone.
“Charlie? Are you still there?”
“Yes . . . that’s wonderful . . . I . . .” His voice faded away.
“Charlie?”
“I . . . I’m sorry. It’s the best news—you must be . . .” She heard him blow out a breath. “It’s just that . . . I’ve had some news, and it’s not good. They’re shipping me out next week.”
“Shipping you out?” She stared at the phone.
“The army’s winding things down here. They don’t need as many troops. They’re sending a bunch of us back to the States.”
“But . . .”
“I know, honey. We can still do it, though. There’s enough time—just about . . .” His words hung in the air between them. “I don’t want it to feel like I’m rushing you. God knows it couldn’t be a worse time. But if we don’t do it now . . .”
She didn’t need him to spell it out. “It would be all over for us, wouldn’t it? They wouldn’t let me into America.”
“Well, they might, but right now, it’s anybody’s guess when that could be.”
“It could be years from now.” She felt as though someone else’s voice was coming out of her mouth—a calm, rational voice, weighing it all up—while hers was trapped inside, screaming at the unfairness of it all.
Martha and Delphine had been to the warehouse to see what they could find for an impromptu celebration. They went back to the office clutching a bottle of Coke.
“Sorry it’s not champagne,” Delphine said, as they came through the door. “Oh, Kitty, what’s the matter? What’s happened?”
The two women listened in horrified silence as Kitty told them.
“I don’t know what to do. He says the army chaplain at the base could marry us, but it would have to be the day after tomorrow. Charlie’s due to catch a train to the coast the next day, and he sails the following morning.” She buried her face in her hands.
“You still want to marry him, don’t you?” Martha’s hand was on Kitty’s shoulder.
“Yes,” she mumbled. “But how can I?” She lifted her head. “He says it would be a while before I’d get official permission to join him—a few months, maybe. But what if my parents managed to get out of China during that time? Where would they go?”
“Do you think they’ll want to return to Vienna?” Delphine bit her lip.
“I don’t think so. I saw what it was like.”
“Would they want to live in America,” Martha said, “if you settled there with Charlie?”
“I think they’d be happy anywhere, so long as we were together. But would they be allowed in? It’s not as if they’re his parents—it might be different if they were. In the eyes of the immigration people, they’d be foreign refugees, just like our DPs. They’re banned from entering the States, and who knows if that ban will ever be lifted?”
“What does Charlie say about your parents?” Delphine reached across the desk for Kitty’s hand.
“He says they’d be welcome to come and live with us whenever they get out of China.” She shook her head. “He even offered to get his mother to write to the authorities in Shanghai—she speaks Chinese, and he said it might speed things up. But . . .” She heaved out a sigh that made her lips quiver.
“The problem is, at this moment, you have no control over what happens in China. You don’t have time to wait for any letter to Shanghai.”
“I know. So, what do I do?”