"Ah ... well, I know how hard that must have been for you."

"Yes, it was. But I've ordered the Poole family coat of arms, and I'll put it up as soon as it arrives."

"Oh, how nice. I'm sure your father will be so pleased."

"And Mother, just so you know ... about your people. I've looked them up, and the Polish are considered to be extremely intelligent and good-looking people, so you mustn't feel too bad about yourself, okay?"

"Okay, honey, I'll try not to, and thanks for the information. I feel better already."

Poor Dee Dee. At least she was trying to move on, and much faster than Sookie had expected.

AVENGER FIELD.

SWEEt.w.a.tER, TEXAS.

Billy Boy,

Sorry I haven't written for a while, but we left Houston and arrived at our new base in Sweet.w.a.ter and have been kept busy twenty-four hours a day. This is the hottest place I have ever been. If h.e.l.l is this hot, then I ain't going. It hasn't been under a hundred degrees since I've been here, and the dust storms are terrible. I have red dust in my hair, teeth, ears, and everywhere the sun doesn't shine. I don't know if I'll ever be clean again. And, oh, have I mentioned the snakes and scorpions and the bugs? It's so hot, a lot of us gals pulled our cots outside to sleep, but you never know what might crawl in bed with you. These d.a.m.n snakes even try to get in the planes for a little shade ... not happy about that. I make them do a good check on mine-don't want any snake copilot.

And they don't make it easy on us girlies. We are doing everything the army way. We train like the big boys, including calisthenics, and we march everywhere ... I'm even marching in my sleep. No fun, but we do it. My new pal w.i.l.l.y says it's just more proof that they will be taking us in the Army Air Corps for real pretty soon. The grub is pretty good. Had my first hominy grits. Mmmm ...

Other than dodging tumbleweeds and spiders and water bugs, I'm just fine. The other girls I have met here are all swell as far as I can tell. We have six girls to a bay. I'm in with Pinks, this real cute little Jewish gal from New York. Her dad runs a big bra.s.siere factory, and we are all sporting new undies, compliments of Mr. Pinksel. I really get a kick out of her and Bea Wallace from Oklahoma, who wears steel-toed cowboy boots and carries a .45 on her hip. What a snazzy-looking dame she is ... brunette, about five foot nine with a million-dollar smile and all legs. She is the only one of us who still looks good in these G.o.d-awful overalls they gave us. None of them fit worth a d.a.m.n. The crotch in mine hits me at the knees, but when she walks by, all the guys' eyes pop out of their heads. And no, you ain't meeting her, so stop drooling. Anyhoo, she must be loaded. She started flying so she could check out the cattle on her family's ranch. Her dad was a great pal of Will Rogers, so we call her "w.i.l.l.y" just to razz her. The other three gals in my bay are nice, but kinda not in my league: girls finishing school, rich debutante types, all college grads, one from Va.s.sar and two from Smith, and they sorta have a snooty air about them, always talking about their la-di-da schools.

Anyhoo, the other night, when we were all sitting around chewing the fat, did I pull a good one. w.i.l.l.y and Pinks were in on the joke, and I casually let it drop that I was a recent graduate of the Phillips School for Young Ladies.

One of the Smith gals looked puzzled and was about to say something when Pinks piped up and said, "Oh, Phillips. Why, I heard Phillips was so exclusive it was almost impossible to get in. How did you ever manage to do it?" And I said, "Daddy did have to pull a lot of strings." Well, that shut them up.

Boy, did the three of us have a big laugh later. Quite a feat for someone who barely made it out of high school, eh?

Fritzi P.S. I see what you mean about cadets. We have a lot of ninety-day wonder boys flying around Texas now. They just got out of flight school and don't have near the flight time hours that the gals do, but they still feel superior to us and like to hotdog it and show off in front of the girls, and it's pretty d.a.m.n dangerous. Some of the boys have been buzzing the gals, playing fighter pilot and trying to scare them. None of us have been given formation training, and a plane flying that close does scare them. When they complained, their CO said, "Boys will be boys, and some of them may be tempted to fly on your wing and horse around a bit with the gals, but it's to be expected." But after a few close calls, he ordered that they were to stay five hundred feet away from us at all times. That rule applies on the ground as well. Our barracks are off-limits to all males. Mrs. Van de Kamp is a nice local lady who acts as a house mother to all the girls here and she makes sure that law is strictly enforced!

AVENGER FIELD.

SWEEt.w.a.tER, TEXAS.

Dear Billy,

We are training every day now. I saw my first real live Mexican and had my first tamale. Pretty good. I am sending you a ceramic sombrero ashtray and a picture of me in the flying rig. They have issued us men's flight suits-they look more like zoot suits on us. Took your advice and made friends with the mechanics. Have a swell one by the name of Elroy Leefers who is looking out for me. I miss you, and congrats on your new commission. Guess I'll have to salute you now.

Fritzi P.S. The town of Sweet.w.a.ter gave us gals a barbecue-sure was fun. These Texans are some of the friendliest people I ever met.

AVENGER FIELD.

SWEEt.w.a.tER, TEXAS.

Billy Boy,

I thought I was a tough guy, but from now on, you have my permission to call me a sissy. Yesterday, w.i.l.l.y and I took off and were in the air no more than five minutes when I look over and see the biggest rattlesnake I have ever seen crawling right toward me. It must have been sleeping in the side compartment, and the vibration of the plane woke him up in a hurry.

Well, you always wonder how brave you will be in a crisis. I've pulled planes out of spins, I've danced on wings in a windstorm, I've done a lot of things ... but Billy ... when I saw that d.a.m.n snake headed toward me, I froze as stiff as a starched collar. My head was telling me ... jump out ... move ... do something ... but I just sat there with my eyes as big as two platters. Then w.i.l.l.y looks over, sees it, calmly reaches across me, grabs that thing by the tail, and slings it out the window into the wild blue yonder. When I could breathe again, I see that w.i.l.l.y is as calm as a cuc.u.mber. She looks at me and starts laughing. She says she never saw a person turn green before. She tried to make me feel better and said I did the right thing by not moving-little did she know it wasn't planned. If I could have moved, I would have. w.i.l.l.y is one swell gal and my hero, but I didn't tell her that.

Fritzi P.S. I'll bet that snake was surprised to find itself flying.

AVENGER FIELD.

SWEEt.w.a.tER, TEXAS.

Billy Boy,

Long time no hear from. Hope you're sending lots of good pilots over the pond to kick their a.s.ses. We are busier than h.e.l.l here. By the way, remember those three college gals I told you about? I have to take it all back. After being around them for a while, I found out they are regular fellers. In fact, they really have the goods. d.a.m.n good fliers. They work hard. Don't complain. And can slug it out with the best of them. Ain't this old war funny? Here I am living and flying with gals that I would never have met in a million years, and I was wrong about thinking they were snooty. I think it was me that had my nose out of joint. Oh, well, wouldn't be the first time ... eh? Anyhow, after a few bars, I finally broke down and told them about Phillips being the name of my old man's filling station back in Pulaski, where the Jurdabralinski sisters majored in grease monkeying, and they had a good laugh. Turns out they were fascinated and made me tell them all about it. Go figure. I think this war is going to change a lot of people's thinking. It's changed mine already. Okay, Billy Boy, time for me to hit the hay. Take care of yourself, and I'll see you real soon, if I get anywhere near you. Even if it is only for a night, and you know what I mean.

Me P.S. I read that in Pensacola the boys outnumber the girls about a thousand to one. No wonder you are lonesome for me. I hate to report that the opposite here is true. Five thousand men to one girl. We sure don't lack for dancing partners. But don't worry, I am being good. Well, as good as I can be.

h.e.l.lO, ALICE.

POINT CLEAR, ALABAMA.

SOOKIE HAD ALREADY FED THE BIRDS, STILL MOSTLY BLUE JAYS, AND done a little gardening before it got too hot. August was deadly, and by eight A.M., it was already so hot and humid outside, you wound up soaking wet. It was Monday, and she thought she would get dressed and run out to the Walmart and do her weekly shopping early and get it over with.

She had just stepped out of the tub when she heard the phone in the bedroom ringing. Her mother was at her garden club meeting, so it was probably Netta. She usually wanted Sookie to pick something up for her at Walmart, so she wrapped herself in a towel and ran in and picked up.

"h.e.l.lo."

"Alice?"

"Pardon me?"

"Is this Alice? I'm trying to reach Alice Finch."

Sookie suddenly recognized the voice and quickly said, "Oh, yes! This is Miss Finch, yes."

"This is the lady from Wisconsin calling, from the chamber? You called a while ago wanting to know about the Jurdabralinskis. I kept waiting for you to call back, but you never did, so I got your phone number off the phone bill. Where is area code 251?"

Sookie panicked and lied and said, "Georgia," and immediately realized that was stupid, but it was too late.

"Oh, well, listen, I have some information for ya, hon. Real interesting tidbits about the Jurdabralinskis. Mom says that three of the Jurdabralinskis were WASPs. How about that?"

"WASPs?"

"Yeah, kinda unusual, don't you think?"

"Yes, I thought they were Catholic."

"They were Catholic, but they were WASPs-ya know, girl fliers during the Second World War?"

"Girl fliers?"

"Oh, yeah. Mom says there were a bunch of write-ups in the paper back then. They were known as the Flying Jurdabralinski Girls of Pulaski. She says at one time, three of the Jurdabralinski girls were in the service, and the one girl that was killed ... died in a plane crash."

"Oh, no."

"Oh, yeah. They had a big funeral for her over at the cathedral and everything, and she was a big hero and all."

Sookie felt her heart sink. "Which sister was it? Do you know ... was her first name Fritzi?"

"Hold on, I've got all the stuff written down. Okay. Hmmm ..." As Sookie waited for her to find it, she felt her heart start to pound. "No ... that's not it. Wait a minute. Oh, here it is ... no, it was another Jurdabralinski sister who died."

Sookie suddenly felt strangely relieved. "Do you have any information on the sister named Fritzi-about what ever happened to her?"

"Hold on ... let me ask Mom. She's right here. Hey, Mom, do you know what ever happened to Fritzi Jurdabralinski?" Sookie heard mumbling in the background. "Mom says she moved off years ago. She thinks to somewhere in California."

"Does she know where?"

"Hold on. Mom ... Mom! Alice wants to know where she moved to in California.... She says she doesn't remember, but it was a Danish town."

"A Danish town?"

"Mom, a Danish town?... Yeah, she says she got a postcard from her sometime in the fifties, and it had windmills on it."

"I see. Does your mother happen to know if she's still alive?"

"Is she still alive, Mom?" More mumbling in the background. "She says she must be or it would have been in the papers. Mom reads all the obituaries. But now here's the other really interesting tidbit. One of the girls went on to become quite a celebrity in her own right. She and her twin sister. They had an accordion act and used to play locally, and Mom says she wrote an awful lot of good polkas. I know she wrote 'I'm Too Fat to Polka' and 'The Wink-a-d.i.n.k Polka' and a lot of others. I can get you a list. I can go down to the newspaper and look up those articles and send you a packet of what all I find."

"Oh, that would be wonderful."

"Okay, then. I'll dig up what I can and send it on to ya. What's your address, hon?"