Audrey felt a shiver of unease. “What if your parents don’t approve of me?”
“They may be disappointed that I’m not marrying Linda, but I don’t think they’ll stand in our way. I’m their only child. They want me to be happy. No, the biggest hurdle right now is that all foreign marriages are forbidden until after the invasion. But I’ve been thinking about it all day, and if you’re willing to marry me, I think we should submit the paperwork right away. We’ll stand a better chance of it being approved by the time the war ends.”
“Such beautiful words, Robert—us being married and this war finally ending.”
“It will end. The Allies are making steady progress. . . . But you look so worried, darling. Is something else bothering you? Am I moving too quickly?”
“No! I would marry you today! But how will you break the news to Linda? What will you tell her?”
“I’ve been trying to prepare her for this event ever since you and I began writing to each other, because I knew then that I was falling in love with you. I’ve been very honest with Linda all along, since before I left home. I’ve told her frequently and emphatically how much I dislike the country-club life, playing tennis and golf, sailing expensive boats, spending money. She keeps saying I’ll change my mind. I’ve been telling her in my letters that I’m becoming more and more certain that I don’t want to become a lawyer after the war and live the way our parents do. She says I’m talking nonsense. I’ve also reminded her that we left our relationship open when we parted and that we’re both free to date other people. I even told her that I’ve been seeing you. She insists I’m the only man she’ll ever love. She’s living in some sort of fantasy world and believes she’s going to get her own way, because she always has.”
“I feel sorry for her, Robert.”
“I do, too. But now that I’ve fallen in love with you, I realize that I was never in love with Linda. I never felt this way about her. She and I both would have been cheated if we’d married.”
“Is there no other way to soften the blow for her?”
“She’s friends with Louis’s wife, Jean. Louis knows how I feel about you, so he asked Jean to talk to Linda, help her see that we want different things in life. That we’ve always wanted different things.” He pulled Audrey into his arms again, and it felt so right to be nestled close to him. She never wanted to leave his embrace. “I love you, Audrey. I can’t say it enough times. From now on, we’re going to dream about a future for the two of us.”
“I’ve been trying to imagine how I would live my life if I was starting over,” she said. “If I didn’t have to go back to the life my family expects of me. The truth is, I don’t think my father cares what I do or who I marry. The only person he has ever cared about is my brother, Alfie.”
“Oh, Audrey . . .”
“I don’t say that so you’ll feel sorry for me, but to tell you that I’m the only one who is putting limits on what I’ll do after the war. Mother is gone. I don’t have to live up to her expectations.”
“Is that a frightening thought for you?”
“No. It’s liberating. There’s so much uncertainty with the entire world at war. Such horrible things are happening, and we’re seeing the depths of evil that man is capable of. Somehow, it seems wrong to be as happy as I am right now. Are we crazy to plan a life together when the future is so tenuous? Only God knows our future.”
“You’re right—we don’t know the future,” he said, kissing her again. “But we can continue to pray and trust God. The most hopeful, faith-filled thing we can do is to plan our life together.”
That felt right to Audrey. Blissfully, wonderfully right.
20
ENGLAND, JUNE 1944
The knock on Audrey’s dormitory door came just as she was waking up. “Meeting for all drivers in fifteen minutes!” She sat up in bed, rolling her shoulders to loosen the knots, pining for the luxury of a long, hot bath. Her ambulance unit had moved to a post near the southern coast to transport casualties from the D-Day invasion. The tension, along with the horrors of what she’d seen, had exacted a toll. She dreamed of clanging ambulance bells in her sleep—when she was able to sleep.
“Fifteen minutes?” Eve groaned as she climbed from her bed. “Good thing we learned to dress quickly in basic training.”
“Right. And to use the loo in sixty seconds.” Audrey pulled on the same pair of coveralls she’d worn yesterday and they hurried out of the dormitory together.