“I can’t dance, Muldoon.”
I grabbed him by the scruff an’ hauled him off to one side so we were at least outta the way of the other fellas wanting to come in. “What the hell are you doing at a dance if you can’t dance, Anderson?”
“I didn’t think there’d be anybody I could dance with! I thought maybe I could watch and get an idea of what to do!”
“For cryin’ out loud, Andy, Monterey’s got Negros who ain’t in the Army. What, you thought none of ‘em were dames? An’ you didn’t think to ask somebody to teach you to dance?”
“Who was I going to ask—Sarge?”
That made me grin. I smacked his shoulder and he rubbed it, looking sour. “That’s what would’ve happened if I’d asked Sarge, too.”
“Yeah, forget it. Look, you go ask one of those girls down there to dance. One of ‘em has gotta take pity on you, soldier.”
He said, “Look,” and I said, “Listen,” and a pretty, petite blond walked up and said, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help overhearing that you wanted to learn to dance. I’m Anne Marie Macready, and I don’t expect anybody can learn to dance until someone gets us on the dance floor,” and offered me a hand.
I fell in love with her right then.
Turned out Annie Marie Macready didn’t have to dance with a fella to teach him how. Instead she led me through every dance she knew at half speed or slower, making sure Andy followed along once he got himself a partner. I didn’t hardly get a word in, ‘cause she was concentrating so hard, but I didn’t reckon I needed to. I was happy as could be, doing slow steps and admiring her teaching lessons. She was perfect as a picture in a lacy green dress with a straight neckline an’ wrist-length white gloves, and it didn’t matter to her that she was twelve inches shorter than me: I went where she led, so Andy could see how it was done. After a couple times around the floor, another girl tapped his partner’s shoulder, and he got a couple inches taller for not looking like a fool. After a bit the floor filled up and we couldn’t see ‘em anymore, and Annie let me go even if I didn’t much want to be. I spent the next couple hours tryin’ ta catch sight of her again, and did: she never left the floor, always dancing with other fellas. I guessed I couldn’t complain, ‘cause I was dancing with other girls and she didn’t even know my name, but I felt prickly over it anyway.
Least I did right up until she tapped the shoulder of the girl I was dancin’ with, and cut in. Me and the girl were equal parts surprised, and she stepped outta the way looking like she only did it because it was the done thing. Annie stepped into my arms without missing a beat, and I grinned at her all the way around the floor.
“Private Garrison Matthew Muldoon out of Seattle,” she said when the music stopped. “It’s nice to meet you.”
I felt like a fool, grinning so much, but she had the bluest eyes I’d ever seen and a smile that would stop traffic. “Miss Anne Marie Macready outta Monterey,” I said back. “Nice to meet you too. What else did the guys tell you about me?”
“That you don’t have a girl back home, and that you’re all right.”
“It’s true I don’t have a girl back home, but doll, I’m a whole lot better’n ‘all right’.”
Annie Macready laughed out loud, and I spent the rest of the night tryin’ ta get her to do it again. Turned out it wasn’t so hard. She liked to laugh, and wasn’t afraid of people turning to look when she did. She only got solemn when she said somethin’ about school, and I asked what she was studying. “Nursing. I’m going to be a nurse.”
“Lotta long hours on your feet. Pretty girl like you could—”
“Get married straight off, instead of working? I know. I’ve been asked three times. Four if you count your friend Mick over there.” She smiled real quick, showing off dimples, an’ I made a fuss of standing up straight to look for Mick with a glower. We were off the dance floor by then, leaning in a corner and drinking fruit punch, and I gave up searching for Mick to lean again.
“So why’d you say no? I’m only asking so I know what not to do when the time comes.” I kept a face straight enough to be kidding, but I thought maybe I wasn’t.
Annie lifted an eyebrow high, like maybe she thought I wasn’t, either, but she answered anyway. “One of them couldn’t imagine a wife who went to college, much less had a job of her own. Another one liked the idea of an educated wife, but I think that was all he liked about me. I was pretty enough and smart enough. Nothing else mattered. So I didn’t like him very much.”
“Can’t imagine why. What about the third?”
Annie looked away, soft blond curls blocking most of her expression. Then she looked up again, smiling, but her eyes were sad. “Well, I was only thirteen, and I’m sure he didn’t mean it. He was my oldest brother’s best friend, and he didn’t come back from Europe.”
“Oh, darlin’.” I couldn’t say why, but a pang shot through my chest. “I’m sorry. So he’s why you’re studying to be a nurse?”
“No.” A quick shake of her head set those curls swaying again. “No, that’s…my brother did come back. He’d been shot, but he was all right. And for two years he didn’t say a word about the war, but he talked about his nurse. He worked, and he saved up, and he got on a boat and went back to Europe, and found her.”
I put a hand over my heart. “An’ they lived happily ever after?”
Somethin’ wicked sparkled in Annie’s eyes. “Well, no. She’d gotten married and had twin girls and another baby on the way, but that’s a happy ending too. And George met another girl while he was over there, and they’ve gotten married since, so it was all okay. But it made me think about how a person can affect another, and how if I got married and settled right down, how I might not get the chance to be that important to someone. I’m sure I would be to my husband, of course, but it’s not quite the same, is it.”
“I don’t reckon it is. You’re a remarkable woman, Annie Macready.”
“Oh, I’m Annie now, am I? Not Miss Macready, not even Anne? Annie?”
“’fraid so.”
“Then I suppose you’ll just have to be Gary, won’t you?”
“’til the day I die, sweetheart. D’you mind? Me calling you Annie?”
She smiled again, crazy sweet smile that was gonna haunt my dreams. “Not at all. But I see Private Anderson over there stumbling over his feet with another young lady, so I think I’ll go find your friend Mick and lead him through a dance or two so Private Anderson can learn them and look good.”
“I’d be happy to let you lead an’ teach Andy a thing or two, darlin’.”
“I couldn’t have that. I wouldn’t want everyone to start imagining I’m the stuck-up sort who lands a handsome soldier and then won’t dance with anybody else.”
“’zat mean you think I’m handsome, doll?”
She only laughed an’ walked away, which coulda killed me. I watched her bring Mick out on the floor and between the two of ‘em they showed Andy what to do and pretty quick he did look good again. I danced with a couple other girls whose names I forgot as soon as I heard ‘em. Somewhere ‘bout one in the morning I caught a glimpse of Annie getting her coat, and had one a’them moments where it seemed like my whole life was gonna hang on whether or not she was the kinda girl who liked a guy to play it cool. For a couple seconds I couldn’t get my feet going right, or anywhere at all. Then I said, “Ta hell with that,” loud enough to shock the girl I was dancing with, an’ like a cad left her on the floor so I could chase after Annie.
I caught up with her a couple steps outside the door. She was wrapped up in a fuzzy-looking thing that was mostly collar and sleeves. I was in shirtsleeves, having run out the door without stopping at the coat check, afraid the time spent waiting there would lose me the girl for good. “Mind if I walk you home?”