Chapter VI
August 4, 1942.
"You don't need to worry about a thing, Grace. I've already got everything taken care of, including dates for you and Steve." Bucky stood in the Rogers' apartment. He had arranged for himself, Grace, and Steve to all go out dancing since Grace was shipping out in two days.
"What can't Steve and I just go to together?" Grace sighed. "You know that it doesn't matter how little you tell them up front, our dates always slip away with someone else twenty minutes in."
"I can't really speak for Marjorie's friend, but I can speak for Davy Mattlock. I met him at bootcamp. He loves dancing, and so do you. You'll get along fine."
"If you say so." Grace shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I'll go get ready."
"That's the spirit." Bucky grinned while Steve just rolled his eyes. Steve was about as optimistic about these dates as Grace was, but for his sister's night, he would deal with it. Bucky had secretly arranged for a cake at the dance hall they were going to so that they could celebrate Grace's October birthday before she left. So, he went and changed into a newer shirt, a nice tie, and a suit jacket.
Thirty minutes later, Grace emerged from her room wearing her beaded black dancing dress. It had been their mother's before she died, so it was a little old-fashioned, but Steve and Bucky thought Grace looked great in it, nevertheless. The sides of her hair were held up by tortoiseshell combs that belonged to the Rogers' grandmother, the rest of her shoulder-length curls free. A thin line of winged eyeliner edged her eyelashes, and lipstick colored her lips a fashionable deep red.
Bucky looked her up and down. "Wow, lookin' ritzy there, Babydoll,"
"Well, thanks, Sarge. You boys clean up pretty well." She smiled shyly, using the her new nickname for him. She turned to Steve, who was tying his tie for the fourth time.
"I can't get it straight," He moaned. She batted his hands away and tied it for him, making sure it was straight and his collar laid flat. Taking a step back, she straightened his suit and brushed away invisible lent and wrinkles.
"Very spiffy," she grinned up at him.
"Thanks."
"We ready, kiddies?" Bucky asked. "We still have to pick up Marjorie, Nora, and Davy."
"Are we all gonna fit your car, Bucky?" Steve asked.
"Well, I figure we fellas will fit up front and the ladies can have the back."
"Still sounds a little tight, but okay," Steve shrugged.
The threesome went down and piled into the Barnes family car, boys up front, Grace in the back. First, they picked up the girls. Marjorie and Nora seemed nice enough, though a little bit air-headed. Then, the picked up Davy, who also seemed nice even though it was clear that Bucky was the only person there he knew.
At the dance hall, Bucky help Marjorie out of the car, and Steve did the same for his date, Nora, but she seemed uncomfortable with the fact that he was three inches shorter than she was. Davy seemed more concerned at first with Grace's age.
"Uh, hi, Barnes didn't tell me that you were…uh…so…young." He smiled patronizingly as he extended his hand to help her out of the car.
"I'll be nineteen in October, Mr. Mattlock," Grace replied, placing her small hand in much larger one.
"Oh…um….pardon me…." He floundered as she slid out and let him closed the door behind her. "It's just you…look…."
"Much younger than that?" she finished. "Don't worry about it. It is a common mistake." She smiled and tried to put him at ease by placing her hand in the crook of his elbow. He tried to draw her arm further through his, but found that he had to awkwardly lean over in order to do it. The three pairs made it inside and found a nice, relatively quiet corner.
"Would you know the Charleston, Miss Rogers?" Davy asked as the band struck up lively old 20's number.
"Does she know the Charleston," Steve scoffed good-naturedly.
"It's Grace, and yes, I do." Grace grinned and took his hand.
"I'm gonna tell you right now, Mattlock," Bucky added. "Miss Grace here is well named; she cuts a mean rug*, pal."
"Is that so?" Nora asked. "What about you, Mr. Rogers?"
"I'm not nearly as good as Grace, but I can try, if you'd like." Steve honestly answered.
"No thanks, I think I'd like a drink first," Nora absently replied as she turned back to Marjorie. The raven haired girl whispered into the red-head's ear and slipped away to the bar. Bucky asked Marjorie to dance, and she readily agreed, leaving Steve alone at the table to watch. Quickly, he spotted Grace and Davy. They seemed to be having trouble. It looked like he was thrown off by her size difference, and she kept trying to match his rhythm to no avail. After a dance which would have usually left Grace breathless and smiling, the pair came back to the table with an air of slight frustration. They sat out one dance, making small talk with Steve, then Davy asked Grace for the next one.
"We struck out before; maybe we can hit a homerun with a foxtrot," he nodded toward the dancefloor.
"Maybe we can," Grace smiled widely and let him lead her away from the table. However, they had no more success with the Foxtrot as with the Charleston. Davy kept stepping on her toes because he kept forgetting to shorten his stride to accommodate his partner. Grace lengthened her's as much as she could, but it did not help much. Once again, he could not seem to keep the right rhythm, so Grace tried to help him, but it was to no avail.
"This just isn't working, Davy," she huffed. "Why don't you just go back to the table for now? I'm going to run to the powder room for a moment." In the ladies' room, Grace dabbed her hairline with her handkerchief and adjust her hair combs to make sure that they did not fall out. Leaving, she soon found Bucky and Davy in a corner. Smiling she made her way towards them, but stopped in her tracks as she heard what Davy was saying.
"What's with setting me up with the kid, Barnes? She dresses a bit fuddy-duddy*, and she looks younger than my sixteen-year-old sister. Shorter than Patty too."
"Grace is not a kid," Bucky answered. "And that dress was her mother's. They've been through a rough last few years; she doesn't have money for a bunch of new dresses, Mattlock."
"If she can't dress for the occasion, why bring her?" Davy huffed. "And far as dancing goes, I don't know what daydream you're in, pal, but she's a pretty dead hoofer*."
Bucky, who had been smiling politely until now, dropped the pretense. "Back in Mrs. Rogers' day, that dress would actually have been considered a bit swanky* for a place like this," he said in a carefully even tone, trying to hold back his anger. "And for the record, I think Grace looks pretty darn swell in it. As for her dancing, I've danced with her for years; geez, I taught her most of it. She's never been a 'dead hoofer' a day in her life."
Davy rolled his eyes, "Then she's all yours, Barnes." He turned away to go back to the table, but Bucky stopped him.
"She's the reason we're here in the first place, you know," Bucky said in a serious tone.
"Oh?"
"Yeah. She's shipping out in two days with the Army Nurse Corps. I think a girl that brave is worth celebrating."
Instead of looking ashamed, or even just discomfited, Davy just shrugged. "Whatever you say, pal. I was just looking for a good time."
"Well, you can do just that until you're shipped over, Mr. Mattlock," Grace quietly spoke up. "I wouldn't want you to feel obligated to be my date if I'm not good enough for you."
Davy turned to find right behind him. "Gee, thanks," he answered sarcastically and headed to the bar. Grace, who had been staring down at her shoes the whole time, slowly raised her eyes to Bucky. He could see them glistening with unshed tears.
"Oh, Grace…" He instantly engulfed her in a hug. "Don't listen to anything he said. He's just a big idiot. I'm so sorry,"
"I tried, Bucky, I really did."
"I know, Babydoll. I saw you two." He took the hankie from her hand and gently dabbed her tears away. "I say we prove this wise guy* wrong," He said with grin and nodded towards the dance floor. "You've learned that new-fangled Jitterbug, right?"
Grace nodded. "It's just a variation on the old Lindy Hop, according to my co-worker, Lorraine. She taught me."
"That's what I thought." Bucky's grin widened. "Means we're almost old hats at this. We can….embellish it some; show off a bit."
"We can." Grace's grin grew to match his.
"Then let's do it." Bucky grabbed her hand and drew her out onto the floor. After minute or two, they settled into the rhythm, and began throwing in extra steps here and there, soon marking them as one of the most skilled pair of dancers there.
Steve watched them with a soft smile. He did not know what happened, other than Bucky and his Army pal seemed upset with each other. Marjorie, Nora, and Davy returned with drinks from the bar a few minutes later.
"Have you seen Bucky?" Marjorie asked.
"Yeah, he's out there with Gracie." Steve answered, pointing to the couple.
The two girls eyes widened slightly. Nora glanced over to Davy. "Dead hoofer, huh?"
"Well, she certainly couldn't keep her feet out from under mine." He defended. "and her timing was way off."
"Actually, it was your's that was off, Mr. Mattlock," Nora politely pointed out. "I watched you two from the bar."
"She's amazing, " Marjorie commented. "How is it that she and Bucky can dance so well together? There's only an inch or so height difference between Bucky and Davy."
"They've been at it since Mrs. Barnes started giving me and Bucky lessons. We were about twelve." Steve answered. "I've always had two left feet, and he wanted someone else to practice with, so he pulled my little sister into it. She was seven or eight."
"Ten years' practice will do it." Nora said wisely.
Out on the dance floor, Bucky and Grace moved in perfect synchronization. They did not miss a single beat, but moved seamlessly from one step to the next, even the improvised ones. Both wore huge smiles. Davy just sat watching with a disgruntled frown.
"Yeah," Steve grinned. "Practice will do it."
A few minutes later, the dance was over. Bucky and Grace returned to the table, laughing and slightly breathless.
"And that, ladies and gents, is how it's done," Bucky announced as he seated Grace, sending a pointed look to Davy. "I'll be back in a minute, there's something I've got to check on." Several minutes later, he returned with a small round cake, iced with white frosting. "Happy Birthday, Grace" was written in the middle with pink and blue icing. Nineteen candles were evenly lined up around the edge. Bucky proudly set it in front of Grace, then straighten, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Hey, everybody, I've got an announcement!" he shouted. The hall quieted. "As you all know, a lot of us fellas are being sent over to the war, but it's not just us fellas. Many women are going too, as nurses. One such little lady is Grace Rogers. She ships out in two days with the Army Nurse Corps. Tonight, we're celebrating her birthday before she leaves us." As if on cue, the band struck up the birthday song, with everyone in the dance hall joining in to sing. As they finished, Grace, who had been sitting there trying not to cry, jumped up and threw her arms around Bucky's neck. The hall erupted into cheers as he slipped his arms around her waist and spun her around. Steve just sat back and smiled knowingly.
Before he set her back on her feet, Bucky whispered into Grace's ear. "Happy birthday, Babydoll."
40's slang:
Cutting a rug: to dance
Fuddy-Duddy: old-fashioned
Dead Hoofer: poor dancer
Swanky: elegant, same as "ritzy"
Wise guy: smart aleck (negative connotation)
Note: the Jitterbug, though usually associated with 50's was done in the 40's. If you go on YouTube, there are lots videos of all the dances mentioned. I can PM links for the basic videos I found to anyone interested.
For those who don't know, Memorial Day is to honor those who have died in the defence of our country. Remember those have given the ultimate sacrifice so that we can live in freedom. Don't let the fallen be forgotten.