Hello again! So let's see how Bella handles that letter, shall we?
May 9th
"Bella," Alice whined, trying to win me over with her doe eyes.
"I don't feel like going out, Alice. I'm trying to save my money," I replied and fidgeted with the book in my hands as I lay in my bed.
She stared me down, the doe quickly replaced with a hawk.
"Bella, you save more money than any of us. How much did you put into the war bonds this week?" she asked.
I simply shrugged. I hadn't realized she had noticed.
"Bella, you hardly eat, you haven't bought a new dress since you moved here. And you never go out with us. Come on. We're not going to the dance tonight. Just a matinee this afternoon and maybe an early supper at the diner," she reasoned.
I was hungry. Mrs. Cope, our landlady and cook for all of us the boarding house was not the best of cooks.
Rose stepped in from the bathroom, dressed in a nice day outfit and her hair was pulled up.
"Did she say yes?" she asked, looking at Alice while she slid her shoes on.
"No, she's being stubborn," Alice pouted.
"I'm not being stubborn. I just don't feel like seeing a movie today," I reasoned.
"Or any day," Alice muttered.
"I went with you to the Lassie movie," I countered and slid down a little further in my bed.
"If she doesn't want to come, fine," Rose said and straightened her hat on her head. "But I won't be the one to tell you what they show us on the newsreels."
The newsreels were the only tangible chance for us to see what was going on overseas, and now that Alice and Rose were writing to Edward's friends, they were suddenly very concerned about what they might be doing. The radio news briefs were far too brief to tell us anything, and the paper Mrs. Cope received every day seemed outdated. I was sure it had the most up to the minute news they could get, but I just felt a disconnect. Seeing it at the movies brought a lot more to the homefront.
I shouldn't have been this concerned, in truth.
I had tried without success to try and stave off my feelings for my corporal.
I had volunteered for more shifts at the hospital, feeling more useful there than alone in the room. But every moment I had a chance to sit and think, I was thinking of him, and feeling the pain of his last letter a little more each time.
It was difficult to explain. I hadn't felt this forlorn over anyone.
But I felt a little lost. Enough that Sam the boys had noticed and requested a radio in their ward. Esme had gladly pulled her own from her house, saying it would do better good in the ward than there. The last couple of days, we had listened to some of the radio shows and music.
Music reminded me of Edward.
There was no getting away from him.
Which perhaps was why it hurt so much. I didn't have the permission to care this much, and yet I couldn't stop.
"We'll be back before the post arrives," Rose said, looking at me sternly.
"Fine," I groaned and slid out of bed, smoothing my dress I had been wearing.
"That's better," Alice said, smiling brightly.
"I just don't want to be out too long," I said, following them down the stairs and outside.
"I promise," Rose said and reached for my arm, linking hers with mine while Alice took my other arm.
I loved my friends.
They knew I needed to get my mind off of him. They had read his letter after all.
It was for the best really. I was glad he had laid out his terms early. No sense getting fanciful ideas in my head.
So when the lights went down and the newsreel started, I tried to avoid thinking of where Corporal Masen was.
What he was doing.
I watched as war planes bombed parts of Italy.
He had said he didn't know much Italian. He wouldn't be in Italy then, right?
They showed the bombed and battered parts of England, and the soldiers there as they shipped out for their next mission.
A brief glimpse of some weary soldiers had my heart aching. I had to wonder if they had girls at home that had gone on with their lives.
Going out wasn't helping.
"Have some of my Hershey bar," Alice whispered, trying to distract me.
I sucked on the square she had given me, trying to appear unaffected.
The newsreel finished only for the feature to start. Thankfully we had picked the right day to come. Tarzan droned away on the screen and for a short time, I was lost in a jungle with Jane and her jungle man.
But the romance drew me once more.
How lonely Edward must be, to push everyone away.
I ate in silence while Alice and Rose talked about the movie and the idea of going to the fabric store to see what they could buy for new dresses. I begged off as soon as our check was paid, not wanting to spend another minute out.
Rose and Alice had succeeded in getting me out on my only day off. But when I stepped into our common room, my heart skipped when I noticed the small envelope on our box.
Another letter.
He had to written me again.
So soon.
Regardless of what he had said in the last letter, I had hope that by getting another letter so soon, he was still willing to write.
I hugged the letter all the way up the stairs, giddy to relax and read his words.
Alone.
Having Rose and Alice hover would have been too much.
What if he was ending this correspondence with this very letter.
I refused to cry in front of Rose. She would have told me that I had held too much towards this stranger.
This stranger that had most certainly taken a hold on my heart.
He wasn't a stranger to me.
I nearly ripped the envelope in two as I tumbled into my bed, turning on the small desk lamp so that I could read.
And immediately I felt the energy in his letter.
Apologetic, fumbling at times. I was sure I giggled at his frustration at his friend, Jasper and how he had told him to clarify.
I knew then that Alice and Jasper would become fast friends.
But Edward's words.
My heart.
It couldn't take it.
-But if I were to have a girl to love, and love me back, I would want one like you. Your kindness has made me hope for a reason to come home. I would be the luckiest man alive to find a girl such as you. The man that captures your heart will be a very lucky man indeed. Do not offer it lightly. Make sure the man you give your heart to is worth it.-
"Oh Edward," I whispered.
He had no idea that my heart was already his.
I felt guilty then, reading his fragile proclamation. He had written this letter a month ago and had not hear my answer, and in truth, I had held off writing every day since his last letter. I had wanted to put a little emotional distance, and now I feared that he would view that as my answer to his latest thoughts.
He had enough to deal with.
I was certain he cared in some way, but was simply afraid to offer any hope.
How many times had I heard that from the boys in the ward?
This was the nature of war.
And if I could be Edward's reason for wanting to come home, I would keep up the cause.
Because my heart was his. I'd deal with the damage to it later when he refused me.
For now, I would be his reason to come home.
~~oo~~
AN: Oh, Bella, you fall hard now don't you... the two of you are made for each other. Can you imagine having to wait a month or more for an answer to an awkward letter? I'd burst...
I mentioned War Bonds in this chapter- so we'll touch briefly on those.
War Bonds of WW2 evolved from the Baby Bonds that were used to safely secure funds for the future of one's children (like savings bonds of today) The Baby Bonds had evolved from the War Bonds of WW1- providing a way for people to do their duty (whether it be for war, defense or their family's future) and save money- it helped to curb inflation as more people found work and increased wages. To help stabilize the economy, these bonds were a means to offer an incentive to save for the future, while safely balancing the economy from ruin.
Prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the defense bonds were called Liberty Bonds. The government had been preparing for joining the war since the Nazi invasions of France, Netherlands, Poland, and Belgium in 1940. A voluntary savings program was implemented, with bonds costing as little as $18.75, that when matured after 10 years, you would receive $25.00.
When we joined the war, those bonds became war bonds to help fund the war and to curb economic disaster with excessive spending when resources were limited- or from hoarding earnings by not spending at all. It was everyone's patriotic duty to buy war bonds. Hollywood, cartoons, and companies with financial stake in a stable economy all pressed the idea of putting away at least 10 percent of one's earnings into War Bonds. This provided the government a much needed source of money to fund the war, and it gave those saving a chance at the future.
If you couldn't put forth the entire $18.75 at once, you could collect stamps to place in a book that once full could be turned in for a war bond. This was a favorite activity amongst children, who felt that they were doing their part by putting those stamps in their parents books- all for the good of the country. (Some of you have shared your stories of collecting the stamps in the booklets for this, TY!)
Many women that went to work to fill the void as the men went off to war invested heavily on war bonds. 10 percent was the minimum expected to offer, but many of these women, making more money than they had ever known- and often cutting their budgets by living in boarding houses or renting out rooms to their own houses, put more than that away- for their country, for their men who fought and for their future. When the war was over, many had enough saved that they could put a sizable downpayment on property (if not buy outright) or start their own businesses.
Everyone did their part. Over the course of the war, 85 million Americans bought war bonds- totally over $185 Billion...
More soon my dears! Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews and stories that you have been sharing. It is such a testament to how much history we all have, just waiting to be told.
MWAH!
steph
