The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion (29 page)
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Authors: Fannie Flagg
Dear Billy,
Your pigeon landed back in Long Beach, tired and happy. It sure was great to see you, honey, even if it was for just two days. Maybe next time, we will actually leave the room for some sightseeing. Ha-ha. I doubt it. I’ll tell you, Billy, when I saw you standing there at the gate in Newark, I almost fainted. A visit with you was just what the doctor ordered. But the next time you have a few days off, let me know, so a gal can at least throw on a little lipstick and comb her hair. I must have looked terrible, but it’s hard to look pretty after ten hours of flying. You look great. The navy must agree with you, and those stripes you are sporting don’t hurt, either.
The P-38 I picked up in Newark today had parts falling off of it, but tonight, all the way across the desert, the stars twinkled like diamonds in a dark blue velvet sky, and coming in and seeing all the lights of L.A. spread out for miles, whew! So beautiful. Foul weather, bad gas that funked up the engines, mechanical problems … all forgotten.
Love,
Fritzi
P
OINT
C
LEAR
, A
LABAMA
D
R
. S
HAPIRO GOT A LITTLE LOST ON THE WAY AND WAS LATE FOR THEIR
appointment. And when he did find the restaurant and walked in, he almost didn’t recognize Sookie. She was wearing a long blond wig and big black sunglasses. “It’s me,” she said. He sat down and apologized for being late. “Oh, that’s all right. It’s my fault. I should have given you better directions.” After the waitress had taken their order, Sookie leaned in and said, “Dr. Shapiro, I’m sure you’re wondering why I asked you to meet me here and not at the Waffle House.”
“Well …”
“I didn’t want to tell you this over the phone in case your wife or someone was listening.”
“Ah.”
“But the thing is—we have somewhat of a sticky situation. It seems we have been spotted by somebody. This is such a small town. Anyhow, my mother’s friend Pearl Jeff has evidently heard a rumor … about us … and told Lenore, and she had a fit.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous, but someone must have seen us together a few times, I guess, and now Mother has the idea that I am
running around town, having an affair with a younger man behind my husband’s back. Can you believe it? And it’s not only my mother, but Marvaleen has heard it, too. Of course, she was thrilled about it. She thinks I’m dull. Anyhow, she even offered me her guesthouse, for an illicit tryst, I guess. Anyhow, I don’t want you to worry about it. They have no idea who you are. It’s me they are talking about. But isn’t it just the silliest thing you ever heard of? I told them it wasn’t true, but they wouldn’t believe me. And, of course, the first thing I did was tell Earle.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, and he thought it was the funniest thing he had ever heard, you and me having an affair.”
“Really?”
“Oh, not that he thinks you’re funny. It’s me. I’ve always been sort of a prude about these kinds of things. Marvaleen had always been the racy one. Anyhow, Earle said that I should let them go on thinking it. Of course, I didn’t tell him about the twin sailors I mentioned to Marvaleen, either, but as I said to Earle, I have Dr. Shapiro’s reputation to think about, too. Anyhow, that’s why I’m wearing this wig and the reason I asked you to meet me way out here, in case you wondered.”
“I see.”
“Lenore said that I had to stop seeing you or I would ruin my reputation, but I certainly don’t want to stop being your patient. But after hearing this, if you feel we should not go on, I will certainly understand.”
“No, I don’t want to stop. I’m still game, if you are. And I think the fact that you’re here at all shows great progress.”
“You do?”
“Yes, you are not allowing what someone may or may not think deter you from doing what you want.”
“Even though I wore the wig?”
“Yes.”
Sookie sat back in the booth and thought about what he just said. “Well, I guess that’s true, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Under the same circumstances, some people might not have the courage to continue.”
“No, they wouldn’t, would they?”
Sookie drove home feeling really good about herself. She really must be doing better. But still, just to be on the safe side, next week, she and Dr. Shapiro were meeting at Mrs. Minor’s Café and Truck Stop on Highway 98.
W
ILMINGTON
, D
ELAWARE
Dear Billy,
How’s by you? Excuse the handwriting. It is 3
A
.
M
., and I am sitting in the nurses’ quarters john, where they put us for the night. Stopped in at Sweetwater the other day to check up on all the gals, and Gertrude is doing just fine. She says she got a letter from Sophie, and Sophie is thinking about joining up as well, but I am going to discourage her. This rough-and-tumble life is not for her. Too bad, though, because she is a damn good pilot.
In the meantime, yours truly is busy. Made six deliveries in five days, setting a record. Ahem, gloat, gloat. I did have a laugh along the way. Had one woman ask me if I was in the Mexican Army. Best yet, people still don’t know what to make of the uniform. We have been taken for everything from Girl Scout leaders to stewardesses to Red Cross volunteers. And most good restaurants won’t let us in. When we arrived in Wilmington, looking forward to a steak with all the trimmings, one snooty puffball says to us, “We don’t accept women in trousers,” to which Willy says, “Would you accept a boot in your behind?”
But she said it to us, not him. We are to be on our best behavior, damn it.
Worst of all, the other day when a few of the gals had to land on a base in Georgia, they were held at gunpoint by an eager MP. This yo-yo thought they had stolen a U.S. military plane. When they finally got it straightened out, he said, “Nobody told me about no women flying.” We still seem to be the best-kept secret in the country, even to the army.
Fritzi
Dear Sophie,
I hear from home there are still some rumblings about you threatening to sign up for the WASPs. Hmmm … I know you didn’t ask for my advice, but you are getting it anyway.
Here’s the deal. It ain’t easy. Once you get to Avenger Field, you will be sharing a room with six other girls and a bathroom with twelve others. No privacy. They will work you until you drop. The instructors here are strictly army and tough, and if you don’t wash out and do start delivering, it is worse. You are up before dawn and head out in the cold so you can get to the airport, ready to take off at light. You will most likely be flying in an open cockpit in snowstorms, sleet, and rain or in weather so hot you are a baked potato when you land. And not to be crude, but these planes are designed for men with a built-in tube. Once you’re up, there is no way we can wiggle out of forty pounds of heavy flying suits and parachute, and go to the bathroom, and on those four- and five-hour trips, this can be hell.
Once you deliver, you are on your own to get back to base. Now, because they don’t want any talk about fraternization, they won’t let us hop a ride back on a military plane with the
guys, so we have to go commercial or any way we can. And here is my other big worry. Guys. As good-looking as you are, you are bound to be swamped by every guy here wanting to date you. We are outnumbered by the guys about five thousand to one, and I’m not sure you are ready to handle that. Gertrude is a big gal, and as you know, I have a big mouth, so we can take care of ourselves. But knowing you? You are a sucker for a sob story. In other words, I don’t think this is the place for you. You have always been on the delicate side, and I am not sure you could even get through the physical training. I know you want to help out, but there are a lot of other things you can do. You mean too much to Mom and Pop and all of us, and if anything ever happened to you, I would never forgive myself. Okay?
I’ve had my say and told you the worst, and you have to make your own decisions, but at least you have been warned.
Love you, kid,
Fritzi
P
ULASKI
, W
ISCONSIN
S
OPHIE HAD READ THE LETTER SHE RECEIVED FROM
F
RITZI
,
BUT EACH
day, as she sat in the kitchen with her father listening to the war news, she felt more and more that she had to do something. She knew she was a good enough pilot to at least try to join up at Sweetwater.
Besides, working at the filling station with Fritzi, she had heard bad language and had guys make passes at her. She assured her mother that nothing could change her mind about her religious vocation. “But, Momma, I really believe they need me. I can fly as well as Gertrude, and she went. And if I can free up just one man to fight overseas, it could make a difference.”
Momma sighed. “Well, if you think so, then I guess you should go. It means that now I’ll be lighting four candles, instead of three. Oh, dear Jesus in heaven, I hate this war. It’s taking all my children. Thank God, your sister Tula doesn’t fly or I’d be losing her, too.”
F
IVE DAYS LATER
,
WHEN
Sophie Marie arrived in Sweetwater, Gertrude was waiting for her as she got off the bus. Gertrude was so happy to see Sophie, even though it meant she would have to start getting up
early on Sunday mornings again. Since Gertrude had been away from home, she had been slacking off on going to mass every week, but she had promised Momma to take good care of Sophie. Now that Fritzi had left, she was the oldest sister, so she was going to be on her best behavior, but oh she had loved sleeping in on Sundays.
P
OINT
C
LEAR
, A
LABAMA
A
FTER SHE HAD REPEATEDLY BEEN ASKED NOT TO
, L
ENORE STARTED
watching the local late-night television news again. “It only upsets you, Mother,” said Sookie. And sure enough, a few mornings later, Lenore called Netta and woke her up out of a sound sleep.
