sure. But they are all babbi—” She said the word with a snarl. “The rest of Italy—the real Italy—had no interest in fighting anyone. Certainly not the Americans, who were our allies in the Great War.”
Gertie turned to Marcie in surprise. “‘Our allies’? Is your family Italian?”
Vi could have kissed the girl for asking. Even though she already knew the answer, having the knowledge out in the open would make her life so much easier.
“No!” Marcie said. Then she added a touch defensively, “And even if they were, would it matter? We all came to America from somewhere.”
Not exactly a definitive answer. But perhaps close enough that if Vi accidentally let something slip, Marcie wouldn’t be suspicious.
“I guess I never thought about it,” Gertie said slowly. “But I suppose not, since we’re all on the same side now.”
Silence descended over the trio for a few minutes as the mountainous shoreline got closer. It looked deceptively peaceful and bucolic.
“Is there still any fighting going on in Italy?” Gertie asked. “I mean, we liberated Rome months ago, and since Rome is the capital city, the war is over for them, right?”
“We’re on a ship full of soldiers, Gert,” Vi pointed out dryly. “I doubt Uncle Sam is bringing them to Italy for a vacation.”
“I know that,” Gertie said with something approaching irritation. If she was even capable of such an emotion. “But Frances said the men were only here to join up with other units on their way to France.”
“I heard that rumor, too,” Marcie said before Vi could question the veracity of Frances’s source. “But if you had read the papers before we left, you’d know our men are still fighting hard to push the Germans out of northern Italy.”
“Really?” Gertie’s eyes widened. “The front page only mentioned France and the Pacific. I guess I thought that meant Italy was conquered. Kind of like North Africa.”
“No,” Vi said gently, even as Marcie rolled her eyes. Vi understood her travel buddy’s impatience with Gertie’s ignorance, but not everyone had relatives in Italy, so not everyone paid attention to the situation over here.
And she also was sensitive to what would likely be Gertie’s next thought.
Sure enough, the dancer started to pale. “Then we . . . I mean, I knew the USO sometimes went to the front lines . . . but I thought, when we passed Spain, that we would be going somewhere—”
“Safe?” Marcie interjected. “If you wanted to be safe, you shoulda stayed home.”
“Marcie!” Vi shot her a hard look. “Be nice. Or did you forget we’re all supposed to be a family? And to be honest, I’m not particularly keen on going into a war zone, either. You might be looking forward to some excitement, but I, for one, would really like to get back in one piece.”
Marcie threw up her hands in disgust and turned away. Vi inwardly sighed. Sometimes she forgot how “young” her travel buddy was, despite their almost being the same age. Likely it was the hard lessons of the past five years that left Vi feeling at least a decade older. Living on the street could do that to a gal.
Frances drifted over. “Hiya, Gertie. What gives?”
Gertie attempted to smile. “Nothing. Vi and Marcie here were just telling me about the fighting in Italy.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” her friend said. “We’ll probably be stationed in Rome, where all the best theaters are, and get to sightsee on our days off. And think of all the soldiers just dying to see pretty American girls like us!”
“When they’re not literally dying, fighting Nazis,” Marcie said under her breath. Vi shot her another sharp look.
Providentially, Sue called to them at that moment, telling them to gather their things and to meet in the wardroom ASAP. Vi held her tongue while Frances and Marcie traded murderous looks. Keep your head down, Vi. You don’t have a dog in this fight.
But that was wrong, she reminded herself. She was no longer Lily Lamour, looking out for only herself. She had Marcie’s well-being to look out for, too. It was time for her to start being the sister she had never been for Fern.
And maybe, in the process, she could finally begin to balance the scales between herself and the universe . . . and her older sister.
Chapter 12
“Welcome to Naples!” Lieutenant Guilford said with a pearly-white smile and a sweep of his arm. “We were expecting you yesterday, but never mind. You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.”