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"No!" Daisy was shocked. "How?"
"At Pearl Harbor. She was engaged to Woody Dewar, and she went with him to visit his brother, Chuck, who is stationed there. They were in a car that was strafed by a Zero--that's a Jap fighter plane--and she was hit."
"I'm so sorry. Poor Joanne. Poor Woody."
Their food came, and a bottle of wine. They ate in silence for a while. Daisy discovered that Mock Duck did not taste much like duck.
Charlie said: "Joanne was one of twenty-four hundred people killed at Pearl Harbor. We lost eight battleships and ten other vessels. Goddamn sneaky Japs."
"People here are secretly pleased, because the U.S. is in the fight now. God alone knows why Hitler was dumb enough to declare war on the States. But the British think they have a chance of winning at last, with the Russians and us on their side."
"Americans are very angry about Pearl Harbor."
"People here don't see why."
"The Japanese kept on negotiating right up until the last minute--long after they must have made the decision. That's deceitful!"
Daisy frowned. "It seems sensible to me. If agreement had been reached at the last minute, they could have called off the attack."
"But they didn't declare war!"
"Would that have made any difference? We were expecting them to attack the Philippines. Pearl Harbor would have taken us by surprise even after a declaration of war."
Charlie spread his hands in a gesture of bafflement. "Why did they have to attack us anyway?"
"We stole their money."
"Froze their assets."
"They can't see the difference. And we cut off their oil. We had them up against the wall. They were facing ruin. What were they to do?"
"They should have given in, and agreed to withdraw from China."
"Yes, they should. But if it was America that was being pushed around and told what to do by some other country, would you want us to give in?"
"Maybe not." He grinned. "I said you hadn't changed. I'd like to take that back."
"Why?"
"You never used to talk like this. In the old days you wouldn't discuss politics at all."
"If you don't take an interest, then what happens is your fault."
"I guess we've all learned that."
They ordered dessert. Daisy said: "What's going to happen to the world, Charlie? All Europe is Fascist. The Germans have conquered much of Russia. The USA is an eagle with a broken wing. Sometimes I'm glad I don't have children."
"Don't underestimate the USA. We're wounded, not crushed. Japan is cock of the walk now, but the day will come when the Japanese people shed bitter tears of regret for Pearl Harbor."
"I hope you're right."
"And the Germans aren't having things all their own way any longer. They failed to take Moscow, and they're on the retreat. Do you realize the battle of Moscow was Hitler's first real defeat?"
"Is it a defeat, or just a setback?"
"Either way, it's the worst military result he's ever had. The Bolsheviks gave the Nazis a bloody nose."
Charlie had discovered vintage port, a British taste. In London men drank it after the ladies had retired from the dinner table, a tiresome practise that Daisy had tried to abolish in her own house, without success. They had a glass each. On top of the martini and the wine, it made Daisy feel a little drunk and happy.
