I'll Be Seeing You
Hi everyone. Thank you so much for such lovely reviews for chapter 20. It was a hard chapter to write, but you guys have given me lots of confidence for the future! Here's another chapter - I'm bowing to pressure from a very cheeky monkey! 'Chocks away!' S&L xx
Chapter 21
Joey walked up the rest of the stairs, deep in thought. Had Chrissie been alluding to Charlie and if so, who was the GI?
She tapped on the hotel room door. After a few moments, Charlie opened the door, with a smile.
"Hello you, had a good day?" Charlie asked.
"Yes, fine, thanks." Joey replied and walked past Charlie feeling dejected.
Charlie's eyes followed Joey; watching as the Wren flung her coat and bag onto the bed.
"Joey? Is everything alright?"
"Yes. Why wouldn't it be?" Joey replied, tartly.
Charlie heart lurched in her breast.
"I-I just thought you seemed a little, tense?"
Joey ignored Charlie and sat in the chair and closed her eyes.
"Is Helen alright?" Charlie asked, trying a different way.
"Yes. She was quite cheerful." Joey replied, running her fingers through her hair.
Charlie sat on the edge of the bed not knowing what else to say.
After a few minutes of silence Joey said,
"Did you enjoy your day?"
"Yes, it was fine. I managed to get one or two bits; sent some post cards and got us some apples!"
"And did you meet anyone interesting?" Joey said, opening her eyes.
Charlie swallowed. Suddenly she realised what it was about. The ATS girl on the stair; the first day she arrived. She was the girl she saw in town.
"I saw Brad."
"Brad? Brad as in Brad - the GI?" Joey said, looking up at Charlie in surprise.
"The very one."
"How did he know you were here?"
"He didn't! He was actually looking for you!"
"Me, why me?"
"Think he was trying to get in contact with me through you."
"The cunning little shit!" Joey spat, getting out of her chair and kicking off her shoes.
"Joey! He's a lonely soldier from overseas, he..."
"So you thought you'd..."
"NO! Joey! For God's sake! When are you going to trust me!"
Joey was shaken by Charlie's outburst.
"I-I'm sorry." She said, quietly.
"Joey! Oh! Joey, come here." Charlie said, taking Joey into her arms.
"My love, I told him I loved another and he accepted it and walked away. He's a nice young man, but far from home and he was looking for some comfort and reassurance. I couldn't give him either. I felt guilty because I couldn't. I would for anyone who was about to ship out and fight this war. As for you! I should smack your bottom, hard!"
Joey chuckled, still embarrassed by her silly jealousy.
"I'm sorry, Charlie. You can't blame me for being selfish with you?"
"Joey, you don't have to feel like this about me. I'm nothing special. I'm just me, who is so in love with you that she doesn't know what she's about most of the time!"
"Nothing special!" Joey choked, "Charlie, do you not realise just how special you are? You can't walk into a room without every man in it leaving a trail of drool behind!"
"Oh, don't be daft." Charlie said, blushing.
"I'm not being daft and I know I'm right. Forgive me?" Joey said, leaning her head on Charlie's shoulder.
"Well, maybe to make up for it, you should take me out for a fish and chip supper!" Charlie said with a grin. "And afterwards; and this is only if I've forgiven you; maybe we can...play cards!"
"CARDS!" Joey cried in horror.
Suddenly her face beamed.
"Only if we're playing 'Strip Poker'!"
"Well, luckily I don't know how to play it." Charlie said, poking out her tongue.
"Well, luckily I do! I can show you!"
Charlie's arms wrapped around Joey.
"I had something far more interesting in mind!"
***
Charlie was applying lip stick when Joey came back from the bathroom, wearing only a towel.
"Did you enjoy your bath?" Charlie asked, watching Joey's reflection in the dressing table mirror.
"It would have been better if someone hadn't used up all the hot water!" Joey said and gave a little involuntary shiver. "You wait 'til I see those ATS girls. They know it's my night for a bath!"
"Poor you." Charlie said, walking over and rubbing Joey's arms to warm her up.
Joey became quickly aroused at Charlie's touch and pulled her in for a kiss.
"You smell and taste all soapy!" Charlie grinned.
"We don't have to go out just yet, do we?" Joey asked undoing a couple of Charlie's blouse buttons.
"Uh, yes we do! We've time to play later! All the best fish will be gone if we don't hurry! So come on, get your skates on! I'm starving!"
"Spoil sport." Joey muttered, walking away.
Charlie caught hold of Joey's towel and pulled it off with a wicked grin.
"Charlie Buckton!" Joey said in shock. "You bad girl!"
Charlie giggled, enjoying the contours of her lover's nudity, but becoming scared when she saw the lusty look in her girlfriend's eyes. She threw the towel back at her as she ran around the other side of the bed, giggling.
Joey growled and started to stalk Charlie.
"NO!" Charlie cried out in mock horror. "Don't you dare come near me!"
Joey growled again, this time leaping across the bed and grabbing hold of Charlie and dragged her down onto it.
"No! Joey!" Charlie screamed.
But it was too late! Joey had already commenced manoeuvres.
***
Later that evening, they sat in a little Fish and Chip restaurant in town, eating their supper.
"Lovely bit of fish, this." Joey commented as she tucked in.
Charlie giggled and Joey looked up.
"What's so funny?" She enquired with a frown.
"How you can calmly sit there and discuss food after what we've been up to, I'll never know!" Charlie whispered with a grin.
"If music be the food of love..."
"Who was talking about music?"
"Just listening to your voice is like listening to the most beautiful symphony in the world!" Joey said, looking deeply into Charlie's eyes.
Charlie blushed and blinked a couple of times; not knowing how to reply. She picked up her knife and folk and continued to eat, casting a quick look in Joey's direction. Joey grinned, knowing she'd won that round and continued eating.
"How do you fancy a drive out tomorrow?" Joey asked, placing the knife and fork down on the plate.
"A drive out?"
"Yes, I've got to take an engine part up to Kings Lynn tomorrow. What if I sneak you in the lorry and we go together?"
Charlie was all smiles.
"You like the idea?" Joey said, thinking ahead. "I can get us some lunch to take, from the canteen, then, we can take a nice leisurely drive; just the two of us! You can read the map."
"Sounds like my idea of Heaven!" Charlie sighed.
"God! You're so easily pleased!"
"I've led a very sheltered life." The Policewoman said innocently.
Joey just looked at her with one eyebrow raised.
"Don't look at me like that!"
"To what can you be alluding?" Joey asked, her index finder supporting her chin.
"Anyway, I don't care what we do as long as we're together." Charlie said, running her hand along Joey's thigh.
***
Later that evening, the girls were wrapped in their little cocoon of love. Joey was lying in Charlie's arms and looking up at the ceiling.
"Joey." Charlie said quietly.
Joey did not reply.
"Jo? Are you alright?" Charlie said, slightly shifting in their narrow bed.
"What? Oh, sorry darling. I was just thinking." Joey said, at last.
"What about?"
"About us and how lucky we are – to have each other." Joey said, with a smile. "And about Andy Aden. I can't believe he's gone, Charlie. All that life that has been taken from him. He was such a nice a guy. Doesn't seem right, does it?"
"I know. He was a good friend to you."
"Remembering how he took care of me after the thing with Robert Cruze." Joey said, shuddering. "And if it hadn't have been for Andy, we wouldn't be here now." Joey said, thoughtfully.
"How d'you mean?"
"Well, he was sort of instrumental in bringing us together, wasn't he?"
Charlie was silent for a moment, thinking.
"You know, I think we'd have been here anyway." She said at last.
"Do you?" Joey asked incredulously.
"I do."
"But how?"
"Because I was attracted to you from the first moment I laid eyes on you; that night in the pub. I kept thinking about you afterwards and I'm sure it wasn't just because I was worried about you. I think you awoke something in me that I haven't been able to put to sleep again, since. No, Joey, we would have been here anyway."
Joey looked into Charlie's eyes and smiled.
"I'm glad." She said and snuggled up closely to Charlie.
***
The next morning, the girls awoke early. Charlie put on a pair of slacks and a jumper and Joey wore her overalls.
"Now, I can't take you to the base with me to pick up the part, but I'll pick you up along the sea front at say, eight fifteen." Joey said, checking her watch.
"Okay." Charlie said. "I've broken out in goose-bumps just thinking about it!"
Joey laughed at Charlie and kissed her on the lips.
"You do get so easily excited, don't you?"
"That's what 'comes of hob-knobbing with the likes of you!" Charlie said, hugging Joey to her.
They kissed again, this time more passionately. Joey drew away.
"I'm going now, before this develops and I'm late for work!"
Charlie pulled a face.
"I'll see you at eight fifteen!" Joey said, pulling on her jacket and walking to the door.
"I'll be seeing you!"
"I'll be seeing you!" replied Charlie, with a smile.