The Lake Inn had company that night, and her hands were full. Every chair in the joint was occupied, the dancing was shoulder to shoulder and the skirts were flying. One of the Air Force pilots held on to Marina’s hips as they rocked with her chachacha. Joy Lynn was doing some wild thing with another pilot and he moved his feet spastically, just to keep up with her. Neither man looked much like he was resting. Louise was being pushed and pulled across the dance floor by a little cowboy that looked to be half her size.

Bet and Liddy sat at a table talking with three dolled-up country boys. A big Texan approached the table and positioned himself at Bet’s side. “Hello, Miss, I’m Farrell Stark. Would you like to dance?” he asked Bet timidly.

Liddy gave Bet a little shove. “Go on, girl. Then we better get going back to base.”

Bet reached for her drink and Liddy covered it up with her hand. “Just go dance. You’ve had enough.” Sweetwater sat in a dry county, but only in the sense that the spirits couldn’t be sold there. Bringing in your own bottle was allowed or overlooked. Where the bottles came from didn’t seem to matter—no one went thirsty. Liddy never touched the stuff. She didn’t like the idea of not having hold of herself at all times, but Bet had indulged, and Liddy suspected it may have been the first time.

Liddy watched Farrell Stark guide the wobbly little redhead, who didn’t stand past his shoulder, away to the dance floor. And bobbling through the crowd toward her, she saw Instructor Gant staggering across the room as he ricocheted off the dancers. He stumbled to the table and caught himself on Bet’s empty chair. The chair bucked back and took Gant to the floor. When he pulled himself up, he rose like a three string marionette. “Now, Trainee Hall, these are not Army personnel persons you’re schmoozin’ with, are they?” Gant fell onto Liddy’s shoulder as he tried to take a seat.

One of the boys rose to take care of the drunk.

“It’s okay,” Liddy assured the willing bouncer.

The man sat back down.

“I could get your butt kicked out of your little Waspy program for that, kicked right out,” Gant slurred.

“The rules apply to you too, ya know. No socializing with WASP trainees. You could be fired without recommendation. You might want to find another place to park it. You know how people can talk.”

“She is a spark, do you know that, a god damn spark,” Gant spittled at the men and then swung his attention along with his swaying posture back to Liddy. “I wouldn’t try to have you booted. You know why?” Gant sputtered before he got his next sentence out. “Because you’re the best damn pilot I’ve ever seen.” He looked back at the men. “Cranky disposition, though.”

“Maybe you can help me with that. You’re such a beacon of grace and gentility.”

“Yeah, I’ll help you, Hall, anyway I can.” Gant’s eyes opened wide as if he’d just got a shock in his seat. “And I can’t be fired because I got orders, Hall. I’m goin overseas.”

Liddy saw desperation in his eyes that took her back to the day she said goodbye to Rowby in front of Tully’s Grocer.

“See, that’s what you’ve done to me. Why do you think I’m here wasting my time with you damn women? It was supposed to be a deal. I would teach, not that I can teach you anything and that would be my service to my country. But they don’t need me here anymore. They’ve got you damned women to deliver the planes, teach how to fly them, test them. You’re doing it all. So they’re sending me there.”

Gant clumsily poked out a finger with a straight arm and pointed across the room. Then he rubbed his head in his hands, leaving long strands of hair at tilted attention. “They’re sending me there to fight the bloody fight.” Gant pointed in the other direction then collapsed onto the table in an emotional pool. His sobs were violent, but brief, and then he popped up with a hateful look in his face and grabbed Liddy by the arm. “I don’t want to go. Do you hear me?”

All three of the men were up this time ready to toss Gant when he released Liddy’s arm and smoothed himself out. “What’s the big damn deal? Right? Nothing could be as dangerous as flying with you crazy women, especially you. What are you gonna do without me, Hall? None of the other instructors want to take you up. It was my curse.” Gant swung his head to the men. “She’s the best damn pilot, but craaaanky, woo-whee, cranky.”


At the end of the night, Liddy agreed to join her baymates on the floor for one last dance—the Bet dance. After that, getting the women out of the inn and into the car was like herding ants, but finally they were headed back to the base. Joy Lynn’s eyes were closed and she was softly humming something that sounded like a combination of Mary Had a Little Lamb and Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree. She and Bet were sandwiched between Liddy and Louise in the back seat. Marina and Carla sat in the front between the driver and his buddy. What song had been their favorite on the juke and how many turns they’d had on the dance floor, and with who, kept them chatting quite happily.

The car rumbled down the road, washing the alcohol over Bet’s brain. “Hey, Liddy, Farrell asked me out.”

“That’s nice, honey.”

“He’s never been to college.” Bet tried to center her finger over her lips. “Shhh, don’t tell my parents.”

“Okay, I won’t.” Liddy smiled at Louise.

Bet laid her head on the back of the seat and closed her eyes. Her head rocked with the washboard of the road. “I love Texas. Don’t you think the friendliest people live in Texas?” When no one answered her query, Bet lifted her head and demanded a response, “Don’t you?”

“Oh, definitely,” Liddy wrinkled her brow and nodded her head in agreement.

“Don’t you?” Bet barked at Louise.

“I do,” answered Louise.

Again, Bet let her head fall onto the back rest and continued talking with her eyes closed, “So, am I here because I want to be here, or because they don’t want me to be here?”

“I don’t know,” said Liddy.

“Could it be the same thing?” Bet’s eyes popped open. “Whatever the reason…” She raised her head and drew close to Liddy’s face. “… I met you.” She turned to Louise. “And you and Joy Lynn.” Her head collapsed back again. “She’s a joy isn’t she? Joy’s a joy, and pretty Marina and sweet Calli. Her baby is going to be so beautiful, don’t you think?” She flipped her head back up and asked impatiently, “Don’t you?”

“Gorgeous,” said Liddy.

“A regular beauty queen,” said Louise.

“Or beauty king maybe,” Bet added with a giggle.

“My parents said I was the most pretty, perfect baby, that’s what they said about my brothers too. But I wasn’t a pretty baby and my brothers were down-right scary little creatures, crinkly for months. There are lots of pictures to prove it. They think a woman shouldn’t be a pilot, not just me, any woman. Have I told you that?”

“No,” said Liddy.

“So here I am, not so perfect anymore, am I?”

“Nope, you’re a mess,” confirmed Liddy.

“Thank you, Liddy.”

“You’re welcome, honey.”

Then Bet flopped over onto Liddy’s lap and passed out.


It was eleven thirty when the baymates were dropped at the entrance to the base. Liddy and Louise got out of the car.

“Now what?” asked Louise.

“We get to the bays as quietly as possible and hope there hasn’t been a bed check,” Liddy said matter-of-factly.

“Us maybe, but them?” Louise looked back at Joy Lynn and Bet who were staggering out of the car and talking in the amplified tones of the inebriated.

Getting the sloshed sisters back to the bays was like escorting sacks of live potatoes. The four sober women staggered under the weight of their drunken friends and Marina snapped a heel and cursed.

“What was that, Uptown?” Joy Lynn laughed and opened her mouth with shock. “Miss George, was that a curse word I just heard come out of your hoity-toity mouth?”

“Oh, shut-up, Joy Lynn.” Marina stopped and looked for her heel, but she couldn’t see anything in the dark. So she squatted down to look and ended up on her hands and knees as she brushed her hands over the ground.

“No really, did I hear profan-ni-profan-nanitty from your perfect, uppity little mouth?”

“So help me, Joy Lynn, if you don’t shut-up, I’m gonna smack you.”

“Go for it, sister.” Joy Lynn stuck her chin out toward Marina.

Marina stood up and cranked her arm back and Liddy grabbed her. “Whoa, missy, let’s just get back to the bays and you can settle your differences there.”

The language could get pretty rough at Avenger, and it found its way into the mouths of most of the trainees. Marina wasn’t a most though, and she took pride in not joining in, for a while. Then she let it slip like the rest of them. But every time she did it bothered her, for a while, and then she found that propriety had no place in this life. She’d made a commitment she would return to graciousness when she was delivered back into the outside world. The troop continued on, now with Marina doing her own little lop-sided stagger and cursing the whole situation under her breath.

Joy Lynn broke into song, “We’re the HPs of Avenger Field…”

Bet joined in, “…Wings of silver will be our shield.”

“Shut it, ladies,” Louise ordered.

As they passed the admin building, Liddy saw Major Trent standing at his office window watching the violation. When he lowered the blinds, Liddy could see the curtain of the WASP program closing on them all.

Chapter Fifteen