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Chapter Thirty-Two

Izzie beamed up at Jack through the fug of smoke that hung in the pub. They were crammed into two chairs in the corner, Alexandra and Ben across from them.

“How do you think it’s going?” Jack asked, jerking his head toward the other couple.

“He looks smitten,” she said, watching Ben, who was resting his chin in his hand as he watched Alexandra explain in great detail the art of the English steeplechase.

“He’s a good Kentucky horseman.”

“And Alexandra is a horsewoman,” she said with a laugh.

“I don’t know how those people manage to find each other in a crowd, but they always do,” said Jack before leaning over the table. “Hey! Are you two going to stay here for a while?”

“Sure,” said Ben, not taking his eyes off Alexandra.

“Let’s go for a walk, Izzie,” said Jack.

“It’s raining,” Alexandra protested. “You’ll both be soaked through.”

“It’s always raining in this country,” said Jack with a laugh before turning to Izzie. “Are you coming?”

She nodded and shimmied her way out around the table. She let Jack pull her by the hand to the door. When he opened it, she saw that the rain had stopped, and she could smell the fresh scent of damp leaves that surrounded the country pub.

“I love that smell,” she said, breathing deep.

“Can’t imagine that you have much of that in London,” he said, offering her the crook of his arm.

She slipped a hand onto it, tucking in next to him. “No. Our most common weather seems to be the London fog.”

“I’ve never seen a London fog, but I’ve read about it in Sherlock Holmes stories. I’d like to see it one day.”

She smiled a little at the thought of Jack in London, his American enthusiasm brimming over as he took in every bit of her city. She wanted to walk all over the roads, seeing whatever monuments and sights would satisfy his curiosity. She wanted to do completely normal things that she heard other women talk about doing with their admirers, like going to the cinema or dancing.

But it was more than that. She wanted to show him the shop and the flat, to introduce him to Miss Reid and the neighbors. She wanted to show him off to Sylvia.

And then…

She stole a glance at him. She could see a future with this man, and it terrified her as much as it thrilled her.

It was mad, but who wasn’t doing mad things these days? Everyone seemed to have a story about men and women meeting and marrying mere weeks later. No one wanted to be alone during this war.

“I want to show you Iowa,” he said, as though reading her thoughts. “Beautiful prairie as far as the eye can see.”

“Before joining the WAAF, I’d hardly left London except to go to the seaside,” she said with a laugh.

“You’d love it. There’s nowhere more beautiful in the winter when the snow covers the hills around Newton, and when Rock Creek Lake freezes over we go ice-skating.”

“I’ve never ice-skated before,” she said with a laugh.

“I’ll teach you,” he said.

“What if I fall?” she asked.

“You won’t fall. I won’t let you.”

She smiled at that. “What do you do during the summer?”

“The summer is the best. We could go dancing, or we could just sit out on the back porch, watching the fireflies light up the night. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you can watch a storm roll in in the distance and run into the house just before the rain starts.”