Everyone claimed to have a grand time, but for Eve, the visit to London felt bittersweet. She remembered her first trip to London and seeing the Unknown Warrior’s tomb with Audrey. And like that visit, which had changed from excitement and anticipation to overwhelming sadness, this journey began to change for Eve, too. The sorrow she felt wasn’t only for her daddy and for her mum, who had died here in London, but also for the city itself, so ravaged by war. Eve hadn’t taken three steps from the train station before seeing signs of destruction from Nazi bombs and incendiaries. Craters and rubble and broken, boarded windows. Antiaircraft guns and barrage balloons. Piles of sandbags. Shattered glass. The grand department stores all suffered from the bombing and from lack of merchandise. Nearly every landmark they visited had sustained damage, from St. Paul’s Cathedral to Buckingham Palace, from the Guildhall to the Chamber of the House of Commons. Bombs had even damaged Eve’s beloved Westminster Abbey. And everywhere—on the streets, crowded onto buses, in the tea shops, and seated at lunch counters—were American soldiers and American MPs in their white helmets and gaiters, trying to keep the GIs in line. This wasn’t the London Eve knew. She felt like a stranger here, and she longed to go home. But where was home?
In spite of the cold, wintry day, Audrey decided they should walk through St. James’s Park to Buckingham Palace. As Eve strolled along the edge of the icy pond, the others laughed at something funny Louis said, their breath visible in the cold. But Eve felt tears stinging her eyes. When they reached the plaza in front of the palace where the Queen Victoria Memorial used to be, she left the others and walked toward nearby Green Park, trying to decide what the odd white lumps in the once-lovely park were. Approaching on one of the paths, Eve realized they were sheep. Sheep! In London! Grazing untended on the wintry-brown grass. She didn’t understand. Where was the shepherd? Had he abandoned his sheep in this perilous, stricken city? She longed to shout her question out loud—“Where is the Good Shepherd in all of this suffering and loss?” She felt as abandoned as these sheep, deserted by Him. Eve turned away, wiping her tears. She shoved her hands deep into her pockets as she rejoined the others, determined not to let them see her pain and confusion.
The train compartments were all crowded on the journey home, mostly with American soldiers. Unable to find four seats together, they split into two pairs. Audrey and Robert sat together, deep in conversation. Eve leaned against Louis’s shoulder and closed her eyes, tired from walking and still upset by all the destruction. And by the sheep.
“Look at the two of them,” Louis murmured after a while. “They look like two lovebirds, don’t they?”
Eve opened her eyes. She sat up. Audrey and Robert bent close, their faces radiant even in the darkened railcar.
“You’re right. They do!” Eve’s sadness had driven away all thoughts of Audrey falling in love, but here was proof, right in front of her. And it also was obvious that Robert was in love with Audrey. “Louis, tell me about Robert’s girlfriend back home.”
“Linda? She and Robert have been together forever. I can’t remember a time when they weren’t.”
“Are they happy? Do they seem well suited for each other?”
“Well . . . Jean and I are good friends with Bob and Linda, you know? I’d hate to talk about them behind their backs . . .”
“Louis, look at Audrey and Robert. They’re glowing! Did he and Linda ever look like that?”
Louis gaped at them. “Um . . . not that I can remember. To tell you the truth, they never seemed well matched to me. Linda is moody. She can be happy and full of fun one day, flying high as a kite, then she crash-lands and lies in bed for days on end and won’t go anywhere. Bob was always trying to figure out what he did wrong and how to make it up to her. Because when Linda gets mad—watch out! I never told Bob, but in a way, I would hate to see him stuck with her for the rest of his life.”
“But he loves Linda, doesn’t he?”
Louis was thoughtful for a moment. “I never heard him say it in so many words. But he’s a gentleman and much too nice to tell her to get lost. I know that both sets of parents hope they’ll get married someday.”
“But look at him now, Louis. I’ve known Audrey for a long time, and I’ve never seen her this happy. She’s always been so serious. But she beams like a searchlight when she gets a letter from Robert. Did you know they’ve been writing to each other?”