“I can’t say that I do. I’ve never known anyone who died until now. I’ve never even been to a funeral. Have you?”
“Sure—several of them. Including my granny Maud’s.” Eve spoke the name with reverence. And love. She lowered her eyes for a moment, then looked up again and linked arms with Audrey. “So we won’t get separated,” she said as they surged toward the Underground with the rest of the crowd. “Whenever someone in our village died,” Eve explained as they walked, “everyone would leave school or stop working and go to the funeral. The vicar always made heaven sound like such a wonderful place that you almost envied the dead person. I guess King George is up there now, too.” Eve pointed to the gray, low-hanging sky.
Audrey envied Eve for having been raised in a community that grieved together. Who, besides Alfie and her parents, would attend Audrey’s funeral if she were to die? “Do you believe we go to heaven after we die?” she asked.
“Of course! Doesn’t everybody?”
“I know very little about heaven. It certainly isn’t part of the curriculum at my girls’ school. Nor have my parents or Miss Blake spoken much about it. Father took Alfie and me to church on special occasions like Christmas and Easter.”
“I know. I used to see you there. The whole village would start whispering whenever you walked in.”
Audrey was afraid to ask what they had whispered about.
They slowed as they approached the entrance to the Underground and the crowd had to file down the narrow stairs. Audrey couldn’t bear the thought of being jammed together with so many people. “Maybe we should take a taxi instead.”
“Ha! Everyone in London is looking for a taxi,” Eve said. “But my boardinghouse isn’t far. We could walk there and wait until the streets clear.”
“At least we’ll be out of the cold.” Audrey didn’t have anywhere else she needed to be. Her coat might have been fashionable, but it wasn’t keeping out the January chill, and her silk stockings did nothing at all to keep her legs warm. They walked for what seemed like miles and finally arrived on a block of shabby brick row houses on a narrow back street.
“This is home,” Eve said, leading Audrey up the steps and through the door. She towed her into a front room with dusty knickknacks, a threadbare Turkish rug, a pair of overstuffed chairs, and a worn chintz sofa. The fire in the grate had burned low, but the room felt warm compared to the wintry temperatures outside. Eve sank onto one of the chairs, rubbing her hands together to warm them. Audrey sat down on the sofa and removed her kid gloves. “I’ve been thinking,” Eve said. “Whenever someone in our village died, we would mourn their passing at church. But after the burial, everyone gathered at the deceased’s home or in the pub to celebrate his life. We should do something to celebrate King George’s life.”
Audrey felt another prickle of envy. When had she ever felt a sense of belonging? Or celebration? “What do you suggest?” she asked.
“Do you like to dance? There’s a little dance hall nearby where my friends and I sometimes go to have a good time and maybe meet some boys.” When Audrey didn’t reply right away, Eve laughed. “You probably only know the waltz and all those other ballroom dances, right?”
What was it about Eve that always made Audrey feel prissy and stiff? She longed to enjoy life as much as Eve did, to try new things. This time her envy inspired her to action. “I’m willing to learn if you’ll teach me. Let’s do it, Eve. Let’s go dancing tonight.”
Eve leaned toward her, staring as if to see if Audrey was joking. When she saw that she wasn’t, she jumped to her feet and offered Audrey her hand. “Come on, let’s go up to my room and change clothes. You can borrow some of mine this time. They’ll know you’re not one of us if you’re dressed like that.”
Once Audrey got used to the dim, smoky dance hall with its loud music and boisterous patrons, she was surprised to find herself having fun. The social events she usually attended were formal and contrived with everyone sizing each other up to an exacting set of standards, trying to gauge how much money they were worth. Eve seemed to be having such a good time on the dance floor that Audrey let her teach her the swing dance and the shag so she could join the fun. The music came from a recording, not a real band, but the lively beat made it impossible to sit still and not tap your toes. The fun seemed contagious. Audrey was even more surprised as young men approached from time to time, inviting them to dance or offering to buy a lemonade.