The Day After V-J Day (Victory Over Japan)

September 3, 1945

Downtown Memphis

Roof Top of the Peabody Hotel

The funny thing is that you don't realize how bad things are until after the fact. Just like when I discovered that we won the war the day before, I knew that it was at someone's cost. Our victory cost 100,000 Japanese lives and counting. The thing was it bothered me when I heard it on the radio. But what really bothered me was when Charlene brought it up the night. Apparently, her childhood friend was Japanese. Charlene was drunk, too, and the mayor just about slapped her silly talking bad things about our country like that. But I was the one who followed her to the ladies' room before Grandmother could stop me.

6:35PM

East Memphis

I stood in front of the mirror in my room admiring the dress that I had picked out so long ago for that very day. The dress came down mid-calf; it was the style in those days. The dress was short enough to still be trendy but long enough to be decent. My hair was rollers as I raced around my room trying to find the few make-up items that Grandmother would permit me to wear, a light shade of lipstick and blush. I also had a pair of eyelash curlers hidden in the drawer of my desk. My silk stocking clad feet caused me to slip around.

When my hair was appropriately styled into place, as well as it could be, anyway, I slipped on my short heels. I raced over to the mirror to see the final product. This was the outfit I always imagined myself in when I met Anton again. Hopefully, I would get the chance to re-wear it, such a pretty dress. My face in the mirror was slightly flushed making the blush appear darker than it actually was. I hoped Grandmother wouldn't notice.

While standing there, I tried out a few German phrases. "Hallo, Anton. Es ist gut, dich zu sehen." Hello, Anton. It's good to see you again. The phrase sounded to stiff and formal, but I didn't know what terms we would meet upon next. The phrase was the most diverse. It could be taken many different ways. I just hoped it didn't sound as nonchalant to him as it did to me.

Grandmother called me from down the stairs, and I huff out a sigh in frustration and embarrassment. I grabbed my purse and hurried down the stairs trying not to trip in my heels. I just wanted to get out the door before Grandmother could stop and comment on my hair or something. She was a little like Mother in that way.

At first, it seemed successful until we were on the short drive to the Peabody. Without turning around, my Grandmother stated, "Patricia, you look rather red this evening." And in that moment, she sounded more like my mother than I had ever heard before.

7:15

The Peabody Hotel

It was lit up from top to bottom. It seemed as if all the guests in the hotel had conspired together and decided to turn their lights on at the exact same time. We had entered through the front door and stood in the lobby talking with all of the other guests, those invited to the party and those from out of town. Dinner was to be held first in the restaurant up top, and then dancing in the ballroom was to take place shortly there after.

Many people milled about in the lobby trying to catch the next elevator up. No one dared to get his or her finest clothes mucked up by taking the stairs before the lobster was even served. It truly was a wonder what people could find when the war was over. Cakes and pastries were pulled out from left and right while champagne was served to the adults. Grandmother let me have a glass as well. There were several boys my age, only a few that I actually recognized from school. But, they didn't even catch my attention much save for when they manage to find paper to make a paper airplane. Which they, then, proceeded to toss my way. I narrowly avoided it, and it swooshed into the fountain in the center of the lobby. That's where they normally did the duck shows. I had seen them on multiple occasions. It really was a sight, seeing a group of ducks in such a grand hotel being herded out of the elevator.

There were excited whispers even before we got to the top of the Peabody that the mayor was joining us for dinner. It was most likely that he would be sitting at a table with his family though. This fact left a number of guests a bit disappointed.

The tables were covered in white linen and every type of glass, fork, spoon, plate, bowl, and napkin was set at each table seating only about seven to a table. The glasses were quickly filled up with some alcoholic beverage, even mine. Grandmother seemed content with turning her cheek the entire night even with the mayor sitting a few tables away.

At our table, Grandpa sat next to Grandmother who sat next to me. I sat next to Charlene who sat next to the editor of Commercial Appeal. There was a photographer floating around some place, too, but he didn't get to par-take in the meal. Finally, next to the editor was his wife and their son who was about a year or two older than me. I quickly tried to wipe off some of the blush and lipstick when no one was looking while cursing myself for looking so appealing tonight. It's not that the boy was ugly or anything. It was the fact that he was attractive, but in the snooty way where he knew he was attractive. It was also the fact that he was staring at me as if I were the sundaes that were placed all around the table for dessert.

By that point, I was dreading the dancing and was counting on Charlene not to leave my side the entire night. She didn't seem so interested in boys, either, and they didn't like her for her hot-headedness. But after a dance with his wife, the editor asked Charlene to dance which she could not refuse because he was her boss. Grandmother and Grandpa were somewhere across the room dancing with each other or their friends' spouses. It was just me and the editor's son who I discovered was named John, but everyone just called him Johnny.

I was avoiding Johnny's steady gaze trying to come up with an excuse to leave the table. But he beat me to the conclusion which was there wasn't any sort of way I was going to get out of dancing with the editor's son. The editor was my boss, too. For the moment, I was in his good graces; I wanted to keep it that way. So when good ole Johnny offered me his hand, I feigned tentativeness and let him pull me out of my chair.

By then, the music was in full swing. If I hadn't agreed to dance with Johnny, I would have been one of the only girls in the room without a dance partner. I tried not to feel too relieved at that fact just as I tried to keep a reasonable distance between me and Johnny. But he seemed to want to make that distance smaller and smaller with each step. I stared at the place just past his left ear while trying not to seem too tense. His hand on my back slipped down just a bit, and I 'accidentally' stepped on his toe. His hand didn't stray after that.

More drinks were passed around, and the mayor finally stood in front of the band. "Good evening, ladies and gentleman. It is my pleasure to celebrate this night with you in our victory over the Japs!" I winced at his crass term. Next to me, Charlene stood stiffly with a young man that had one hand wrapped around her waist. It seemed he couldn't take his eyes off of her, but I couldn't say the same for her of him. She was glaring at the mayor as he continued speaking. I could tell he was slightly drunk. "Those bombs certainly did us a whole lot of good. Well, I'll let everyone get back to dancin'." He hiccupped as he left stage. His wife attempted to steer him out of the room toward the open-air of the roof top where other guests were congregated.

Charlene slipped out after them, and I immediately knew nothing good would come of that. I rushed across the dance floor with Johnny trailing behind. I picked up the pace hoping to lose him. Out on the roof top, I was met with a cool breeze blowing and the city lights glistening around us. Music spilled out of the door behind me. Immediately, I heard Charlene yelling.

"…and those poor innocent people! Our feud was not with them, but with their government. They should not have had to suffer because America wasn't getting its way."

The mayor was spluttering. "What do you propose would have ended this goddam war? I bet you would just sit back and let those Japs take over this country."

Charlene was red in the face and looked like she was about to start throwing punches. Many people were gathered around them; I had to use my elbows to push past them to try and get Charlene's attention.

"They are people, too! And they are Japanese, not Japs! Why don't you say their whole name instead of trying to step on them with your oversized shoe like you do everything else," Charlene's voice was low but still carried across the roof top.

I stepped in seeing that the editor and his wife were also apart of the circle as well. Didn't she know that both of our jobs were at stake if she didn't walk away soon?

"Come on, Charlene." I grabbed her arm which was placed on her thrust out hip. "Let's go."

"Patty, stop! He needs to hear this!" She tried to brush me off.

"Miss Madlee-" The editor cleared his throat. It seemed more like a warning to me than anything else.

I finally found a good hold on Charlene and escorted her through the crowd to the ladies' room. She huffed over to the mirror and ferociously dabbed red lipstick onto her lips while going on and on about how her childhood best friend was taken to go live in one of the camps. Then, she dropped it into her bag and slumped against the counter, head in her hands. I decided to wait and see if she wanted to talk about it.

"Patty, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. You don't deserve this. I'll probably get fired." Charlene rolled her eyes and huffed, "So much for freedom of speech."

I shrugged because I couldn't argue with that and leaned against the counter next to her. "It's been really great, Charlene. I have been so wonderfully happy to have this opportunity. My life has really turned around in the past year. Shoot, this time last year, I was back in school in Jenkensville."

"Oh, Patty, I've been meaning to tell you." Charlene looked guilty then. She sighed, "I got offered a job in Boston."

"Oh, congratulations," I said. I didn't know how else to respond.

"Well, and no one turns down a job out of Boston," she stiffed. There were tears in her eyes.

"You already accepted it, didn't you?" I sighed when she nodded.

"But maybe you can still have an internship, but it can be for Boston. I'm sure they would love to have some news from down South. You could be the eyes and ears of this place. What a wonderful idea!" Charlene's demeanor was brightening up by the second.

Then, it hit me, Boston. That was one of the places where Anton was trying to go to catch a ship back to Europe. There are lots of ships in Boston. My plan was already formed before I could even accept Charlene's offer.

"I'll just have to get it approved, but that won't take much because of your experience," she was going on and on, happy that she had found a solution to what seemed to have been a terrible problem. But, really, that job in Boston was the best thing that could have happened. It brought me one more step closer to Anton.

We both left the ladies' room smiling while others eyed us warily including the editor and his wife. Little did he know that we would be giving our notice the very next Monday. That night, after all of my make-up had been wiped off, I whispered to the ceiling a phrase Edmund taught me, "Wir warden bald wieder zu treffen."

We'll meet again soon.