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“I’m in.” Ginny shrugged. “Even if I’ve seen it twice alreadysince it started showing last month.” Movie tickets were the one little luxury she allowed herself.
Avis laughed. “And you still want to see it again?”
“What can I say? Greer Garson is fantastic. Besides, it’ll be different with all of you. Better. Assuming you’re paying.” Ginny was always ready to save a dime, and Martina didn’t have money to throw at things like movies, not with Gio outgrowing his shoes about once every two months.
Was that ... a smile appearing on Louise’s face? Hard to say, since it disappeared a second later. “It seems only fitting, since I suggested the idea.”
Gio let out a whoop like he’d been told they’d all won a trip to Orchard Beach when he heard the news, and even Rosa tugged excitedly at Martina’s hand, pulling her toward the library door.
It was only the original members, plus Freddy and Delphie since they were attached to Louise, who made it over to the corner theater for the matinee, but even so, they took up most of a row by themselves. Ginny claimed a seat near the center, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness.
The booming bass voiceover that cued in the newsreels took the same tone as always: serious but upbeat, like a parade march, as scenes from the week’s headlines passed by. Soviet bigwigs’ secret meeting in DC, the Grand Coulee Dam, even a bit on nursery schools springing up around the country “so Mother can help win the war.” Ginny noticed Louise straighten up at that.
They didn’t talk about it much, the fact that in a few months the library would be shut down, but they all knew it was coming. In the beginning, Ginny hadn’t been much worried. Even wondered if Avis might let her have the storage-room novels for keeps.
But looking down the row of familiar faces in the dim theaterlight, she wondered what she’d do without the twice-monthly meetings.
It doesn’t matter.You’re only here as long as the war lasts anyway, she reminded herself.
As the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lion flickered on the screen with its familiar roar, Ginny sat back, pressing the lumpy seat to get comfortable. It did a girl good, sometimes, to step away from the real world and travel across oceans.
Of all the people clapping as the credits started to roll, Ginny was sure she was the loudest. Hard not to cheer with an ending like that, even if she’d seen it before. Right away, Freddy turned to Gio, on his left, to discuss whether the German uniforms were accurate, so there was no asking him what he thought. Instead, Ginny leaned over to Louise, on her other side, who was delivering a verdict with a slow nod.
“She’s just like you, you know,” Ginny blurted without really thinking about it.
That was enough to pull the older woman’s attention to her. “I’m sorry, who?”
“Mrs. Miniver. Smart, calm, collected. Bet you’d grow roses and drink tea and slap a downed German in the middle of the war without breaking a sweat.”
“I certainly would not. I wouldn’t have any idea what to do.”
Now, that was a surprise. “Really?”
Louise blinked, as if she hadn’t meant to say quite so much. “Well ... yes.”
“Huh.” Ginny considered that a moment. “What about the others?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
How could she explain it? The way the other women always said the right thing, knew all the manners and how-do-you-dos,never seemed to swear under their breath or worry about money or complain.
“You all seem to know what it means to be a woman, that’s all. I could never be Mrs. Miniver, all put together and dignified.”
There, now she’d gone and done it. Given Louise the perfect opening for a lecture on proper womanhood and maturity.
But instead, Louise pressed her thin lips together for a moment, then asked, “Could you be Eliza Doolittle, do you think?”
She thought about the fiery flower seller, determined to make something of herself without selling her soul to do it.
“Gosh, I hope so.”
“Then do that.” Louise nodded crisply, as if it were as simple as that. “There are different kinds of strength. And I, for one, see Eliza’s grit in you, Ginny. It’s something to be admired.”
“You two coming?”
Ginny jerked her head over to see Freddy calling to them, having reached the end of the row.
The credits were over now, and the others were all filing out to where they could talk about the movie without disturbing the folks who just wanted to enjoy the story without tearing it to shreds. Ginny bet Avis had spent half the film making a list of the changes the screenwriters had made from the book.
