“Ahh honey, love ain't got a compass,” Adele laughed pulling a handkerchief from her overalls. “If'n it did, I wouldn't be with Mathew. That boy’s dummer than dirt,” she laughed shaking her head. “If he survives this war without blowing his own darn head off I'll be shocked,” she patted Adrienne's thigh.
Adrienne smiled gratefully at Adele.
“Thank you,” she mouthed.
“Oh don't thank me,” Adele shook her head and handed Adrienne the bar of chocolate back. “You're gonna need that for energy cause we're gonna be spearing your ass for details all night!” she grinned getting comfortable on Adrienne's bed.
***
Lily lay on her cot, the sound of her sleeping friends providing a comforting soundtrack to the night. She cursed herself for the amount of cola she'd drank over the course of the evening, the volume which was now providing her with the dilemma of getting out of her warm bed to go to the john or staying where she was and trying to ignore the painful pressure on her bladder. She opted to stay and try and find a more comfortable position. She turned over to face Helen, frowning at the empty and stripped bed beside her. She sat up looking around the room in confusion for the blonde woman. Spotting a soft light coming from underneath the bathroom door she got up and padded towards it. Opening the door gently she sighed at the sight that greeted her. Illuminated by candle light was Helen sitting in the bathtub swaddled in her bedding, her nose buried in her Ground School notebook.
“What are you doing?” she whispered closing the door behind her.
Helen, who had been so engrossed in her studying that she didn't hear Lily approach, jerked in surprise. She gave Lily a defeated smile, “I'm studying.”
Lily gave a soft laugh as she sat on the toilet. “At this time? It's the middle of the night Helen,” she whispered from the john.
“I'm going to fail Liliana,” Helen whispered in response, her eyes filling with tears of frustration. “I'm going to get washed out cause of navigation, I'm just not getting it,” she thumped the book down onto her lap.
Lily flushed the toilet and washed her hands, as she turned back towards her friend she noticed the tears flowing down her cheeks.
“Wait there, don't move.”
She left the room, retuning moments later carrying her blankets and pillow. “Scootch forward,” she indicated to Helen with her pillow. Doing as instructed, she watched as Lily threw her pillow into the tub, swung her blankets around her shoulders, and climbed into the tub. Nestling in behind Helen, she plumped her pillow behind her back then pulled the smaller woman back so that she could see over her shoulder, “Now tell me what you're struggling with.”
Helen sat back snuggling against the warmth of Lily's body and the two of them worked through the night picking apart the aspects of navigation that Helen wasn't getting until the candle's flame extinguished.
As dawn broke Adele padded towards the bathroom, hopping as her feet met with the cold floor, she entered the bathroom only pausing slightly at the scene in front of her. Lying asleep in the tub were Lily and Helen nestled against each other.
“Ain't that a sight for the minds camera,” she murmured smiling before remembering the urgent nature of her visit.
***
The following four weeks were spent continuing to build up their airtime and skills; they had progressed to the point where they had been allowed to fly buddy flights with a fellow WASP to practice instrument flying, which both Lily and Helen savored. Following their first time flying together, they were giddy for days at the shared experience. Helen had received one hundred percent in her navigation test following continued tub study periods with Lily during the night when the rest of the bays were asleep. The whole bay had celebrated with some whiskey that Adrienne 'acquired' when they passed their BT army checks and had been promoted onto the Advanced Trainers AT-6 Texan, which had been a peach of a plane to fly. They had now moved onto their final trainer plane, the AT17.
When they had arrived, every woman had looked at the aircraft and wondered whether they would ever see the day when they got to fly the twin-engine planes that could carry passengers. Theirs was now the only bay in their class that still had a full complement of filled beds. Two of the classes in front of them had graduated and they, along with all other cadets, had proudly taken part in the ceremonies, marching and saluting to the assembled dignitaries at the passing out parade.
Texas was now in the grip of winter and the women were now donning the heavy flight suits and boots for their flights. When Adele had first put hers on, it appeared to drown the small woman and she practically had to lift her legs with her arms to be able to walk.
They had rapidly been building up their air time on the AT completing cross country flights, desperately cramming in as much time as they could in the air to hit the air time requirement in addition to studying for the remaining Ground School tests that would allow them to graduate. Something that for them, was now only a matter of six weeks away.
They sauntered into the ready room with the carefree ease of old timers; smiling at the eager faces of the newer cadets who were still finding their feet at the base. Adrienne nonchalantly gazed over their orders posted on the notice board along with what plane they were to take. Her eyes widened in excitement as she spotted the letter RON on the order sheet. She jumped in the air and spun around towards her arriving bay mates.
“We're going to Atlanta in the AT-6’s,” she grinned, her brows furrowing as she didn't get the reaction from her friends that she expected. “We’ve got RON orders. We're going to Atlanta.” When still they didn't match her excitement she threw an exasperated hand in the air, “Overnight. We're to remain overnight.”
The women smiled in response their chatter becoming more animated as they discussed the possibilities.
“Ladies,” Foster smiled coming up behind them to pin something onto the notice board. “You've seen your orders, go get packed,” she laughed shaking her head as the six women ran off playfully pushing at each other as they went.
***
Adrienne strained her neck, looking down from the cockpit and spotting the easily identifiable control tower at the Atlanta base.
“Tower, this is Red Devil, permission to land?” she said into her radio.
The radio crackled and a voice responded, “Permission denied Red Devil, we only take orders from the pilot, can you put him on, over.”
Adrienne hooted loudly, “Tower, I am the pilot, now give me God-dammed permission to land. Over!”
A sheepish voice came back on the radio, “Permission granted Red Devil. You have permission. Can you roger that.”
“Roger tower. Red Devil, coming in. Over.” Adrienne lined up for landing still chuckling to herself. “Put the pilot on,” she scoffed.
Forty minutes later and their whole class had landed and were shrugging off their heavy leathers as they waited for the army pilot who was accompanying them. Captain Ward landed shortly after and joined them. “Ladies, the base has no bays for women so we're staying in a hotel in Atlanta and, if you're asked, you're a baseball team.”
The women looked at him in surprise, “I know, don't yell at me, but it's just a damn sight easier if you just tell ‘em that.”
The women gave him a filthy look before stowing their leathers and parachutes in the ready room allocated to them on the base before changing into their civilian clothes and being transported to their hotel in downtown Atlanta.
They pulled up outside a hotel and Captain Ward ushered them out of the bus and into the hotel, where they waited to be checked in. The Captain was handed a sheet from the hotel receptionist.
“You're sharing rooms so come forward and get your keys when your name is called,” the blonde haired man shouted.
The women stood patiently listening for their names, “Richards and Richmond, Rivera and Rosecroft, Simpson and Stott.”
They moved forward to collect their keys and headed towards the allocated rooms.
As Helen unlocked the door to their room and entered Marjorie hung back and turned to Lily. “If Hollywood starts with one of her nightmares, I don't know what to do,” Marjorie whispered her tone full of worry.
Lily smiled, “It’s okay you go share with Adrienne, I'll share with Nighthawk there.”
Marjorie grinned. “Thanks, see you in a bit,” she called over her shoulder, running after the taller woman. “Hey Adrienne wait up, my legs are shorter than yours.”
Shaking her head Lily entered the room.
“Marjorie there's a bathroom! One bathroom for just of two of us,” Helen shouted coming back out of the bathroom and looking puzzled at Lily standing in the room instead of her expected roommate.
“Marjorie said you snore, so we swapped,” Lily smiled, tossing her suitcase down onto the bed. “There's only one bed?”
Helen laughed, “Yes, but look at it!” She took a run and leapt at the bed. “It's a proper bed,” she giggled, bouncing up and down on it. “I can't feel the springs.”
Lily chuckled and pushed her case onto the floor before jumping onto the bed. “It doesn't creak or squeak either,” she remarked lying down beside Helen. They lay side by side looking at the ceiling for several moments before Helen turned onto her side and propped her head with her hand.
“So was it ‘cause of my nightmares that you swapped?” she asked quietly.
“What? No!” Lily responded unconvincingly, she looked at Helen who had raised an eyebrow. “Okay. Yes, it was the nightmares.”
Helen chewed on the inside of her mouth and nodded, “Thank you, for stopping them.”
Lily turned to face her, “You want to talk about them?”
Hesitating, Helen shook her head. “No, not really, they're fine,” she dismissed the topic with a wave of her hand. “I just never said a proper thank you before. I am surprised that I manage to wake you up with them since you manage to sleep through most everything else.”
Lily shrugged, she had wondered the same thing herself and in the end concluded that it was just another indication of how attuned she was to Helen. Her hand toyed with the edge of the pillow, “You know the night we found out about Adrienne's husband?”
Helen nodded flopping back down onto her back, “Hmmm?”
She paused unsure whether to continue the conversation she'd started, they'd been living side by side for four months now and there was only a few weeks left before their final tests and graduation and Lily didn't want those final weeks to be filled with an atmosphere, but she couldn't hold it in any longer. She was sure that somewhere along the line that it was more than a girlish crush and that she had fallen in love with Helen. When they shared a bed or during their study sessions, the heat that suffused her body had become almost unbearable. Her body thrummed with a need that she had never felt before. She had to find out whether those feeling were in any way reciprocated before they finished at Avenger Field and were posted.
“Adele said something about love not having a compass.”
“Yeah, I liked that,” Helen took her bottom lip into her mouth, she knew without a doubt that she was in love with Lily and that she was fooling herself that Lily felt anything other than friendship for her. Following the period after their dance when things had become strained between them, Helen had followed Peggy’s advice that having Lily in her life as a friend was better than not having Lily in her life at all. However, the physical closeness between them was driving her insane. She was constantly in turmoil, trying not to read too much into the sleeping in the same bed or the bathtub study session where they would sit cuddled up under their blankets. She felt as though she was constantly battling not to accidentally blurt out her feelings for Lily.
“Me too,” Lily took a quick intake of breath. “Helen I...” Whatever she was about to say was cut off as their room door flew open and the rest of the Bay Four girls entered giggling.
“You got a huge bed!” Marjorie groaned. “I should have stayed with Nighthawk.” She passed Helen an open bottle of whiskey and flopped down onto the bed, “And it's comfy.”
They were soon joined by Adele, Adrienne and Lucy.
“How is it even when we're not in the bay, all six of us end up in the same room?” Lily grumbled shifting to create space for the other women.
“It’s love is what it is,” Adele grinned, taking a swig from the whiskey bottle. “That'n it's time to go eat downstairs.” She jumped back off the bed and took a swipe at Lily's stocking clad legs bringing them with her, “So gerrup’ cause I could eat a horse with scabies right around now.”
“Let's hope that's not on the menu,” Lucy moaned pulling her sister off the bed by her arms.
“Or grits!” Adrienne remarked, placing the whiskey bottle down on the nightstand and following the others out of the room. “I've had enough of grits to last me a lifetime.”
***
An hour later, after dinner, they traipsed back up the stairs to their rooms.
“Grits, what is it with the South and grits!” Adrienne grumbled. “Always with the grits.”
Adele pushed her up the hall towards their room. “Stop yer whining, you love ‘em, see y'all in the mornin’,” she called over her shoulder.
Marjorie and Lucy grinned after the Addies.
“Goodnight,” they called.
Lucy turned the key in their door. “Night,” she called to Lily and Helen who continued on to their room.
“Night,” the two women replied as they reached their door which Lily unlocked. They entered and Lily locked the door behind them throwing the key down onto the nightstand where it clinked against the bottle of whiskey left by Adrienne.
“Ooo, we have the whiskey,” Helen smirked, a gleam in her eye as she picked up the bottle and headed off to locate glasses from the bathroom. She returned holding the glasses above her head victoriously. “We have glasses, you want a nightcap?” she asked pouring herself a glass.
Lily pulled her shoes off and walked over to Helen enjoying the feeling of carpet under her feet for once.
“That would be lovely.”
She took the glass from Helen, “What should we drink to?”