"Oh my word, would you look!" Lucy squeals excitedly. I hunker down slightly to get a better look out the front window. I nearly lose my breath as my vision is clouded by hundreds of twinkling colorful lights.
"Oh my," I breathe. Hoards of young teens and couples walk past the car, skipping towards the entrance. A lit up ferris wheel whirls against the dusky twilight sky while brightly colored flags wave on top of a sea of pitched tents.
"You two are quite easily pleased," Niall teases as he throws the car into park.
"Hazel, I wonder if that isn't true for our taste in men then?" Lucy asks me as we hop out of the car.
"Oi," Niall says as he shuts his door. "Doll face!" he calls out to her, his arms spread open pretending to be offended. His smiles gives him away though.
"Just wondering," Lucy replies, twisting her body daintily so that her chin touches her shoulder as she smiles.
Niall's mouth twists into a grin as Lucy takes my hand and together we walk forward giggling. We make our way into the center of the park where we try to figure out what we'd like to do.
"Alright lasses, what'll it be first?" Niall asks. He tucks his hands into his pockets and gives a friendly little shrug. His eyes linger on Lucy and I know he must really want to spend some time with her.
"Why don't you two give the ferris wheel a whirl?" I suggest.
"Come with us, Hazel! We can fit three on a seat," Lucy replies kindly.
Niall nods along and jokingly adds, "I'd be a lucky man to have such company." He smiles.
"I'll join you guys for the next one. Besides, I'd love to have a look around."
"You sure?" Lucy asks, her eyes scanning mine to make sure I'm really okay.
"Yes, of course. Now go, go!" I tell them and usher them forwards. Niall raises an eyebrow at Lucy who shrugs her shoulders in reply. They turn to walk away, but before they completely disappear in the crowd, I see Niall throw his arm around her shoulder. Lucy looks up as her body melts into his side and it's just about the sweetest thing.
I chuckle a little, and then begin to roam around the park. I slowly sift my way through the crowds, admiring the couples who walk hand in hand and the small children who run around with little treats. The night is alive with the shouts of delight and the whooshing of a wooden rollercoaster, illuminated all by colorful lights and smiling faces.
Eventually, I find myself making my way down an aisle of fun booths. From little treats to strange knick-knacks, I take my time to mosey about and appreciate all the little things to look at and admire. As I near the end of the first row, a loud voice catches my ear as it calls above the crowd.
"Ladies! Don't let the fighting up to just our boys! Our country needs us!"
I glance over to see two young gals, not much older than myself, standing in front of the last booth of the aisle. Armed with handfuls of fliers, the two girls call out to the crowd around them trying to grab anyone's attention. I walk closer to the table, not really interested in stopping, but curious to get a better look at their sign, when a group of four young men stop in front of them.
"What've we got here, lads?" One of the men says to his other three friends. Tall and lean, he leers over the two girls. They straighten up instantly. "You two lasses ought to be havin' a bit of fun," he says in a mocking tone. I frown at the sight, hating how easy it is for some rude boy to suddenly have power over someone else.
"What's this nonsense?" says one of his buddy as he grabs at the papers in the one brunette gal's hands. His bundles of clothes hang sloppily off of his weak shoulders and from the paper bags that each of the four men hold, I'm sure they're well on their way to being drunk.
The brunette snatches back her pamphlets before snapping, "We're providing a service for our country and if you don't mind it, we'd like to get back to doing so."
The four of them all stand about laughing as if this is somehow funny. They continue to taunt and tease the two gals until I shout, "Hey!" The four turn around and stare at me with dopey smiles.
"Knock it off!" I demand, marching up to them. They scoff in my face, amused and unbothered.
The ringleader smirks at me and simply says, "Gladly." The lot turns around to keep walking, but right as he passes by the two girls, he reaches out and smacks the leaflets out of the brunette's hands. The men burst into laughter as the papers are sent flying about.
I rush over to help the girls as the four troublemakers walk off snickering. "What a bunch of goons," I say, gathering the stack of papers from the ground.
"Thank you," the brunette gal says softly. Even though her face is mostly soft features, anger hardens her rounded jaw.
As I hand the stack over to her, my eyes scan over the top paper. "Women's Voluntary Service for Air Raid Precautions," I read out loud without thinking.
"Would you be interested in joining?" the brunette's friend asks. A mousy looking gal, her thin lips spread into a wide smile as she stares at me. "We'd love to have someone bold like you," she chirps.
"You think there will be air raids?"
"Suppose we can't really know for certain," she begins, her voice more noticeably nasally. "But when you take a look at the times, it sure does seem quite possible doesn't it? And wouldn't it be better to be prepared than not?"
I glance back down at the paper, a knot growing in my stomach. "I'm Mary," the mousy girl says, shooting her hand out to shake mine. I take it politely and smile back. "And this here is Ida," she says gesturing to the brunette gal.
"It'd be great if you wanted to join up. We're doing lots of great things," Ida adds, now clutching the papers to her chest.
I shrug slightly. "I'm afraid I wouldn't know about the first thing about raids and such." Never mind the fact that just the thought of war makes me want to hurl.
"Oh well you don't need to." Ida explains, "We'll send you off to training, and even then it's mostly just visiting different chapters to gather donations."
"But, we do all sorts of work if you're interested in helping in general!" adds Mary.
"Really?" I ask.
"Well you should know that our slogan is that the WVS never says no! We're up to any task!" Ida says proudly with a little nod.
I smile, enjoying her dedication and enthusiasm. "What kind of work are you currently doing?" I ask.
"Have you heard of the Kindertransport coming in from Germany? There was a great program on it this past week on the BBC Home Service," Mary says.
"I'm afraid I must have missed it," I say a little guiltily. I've been so caught up with my daydreams, I've completely neglected the outside world and I'm not proud of it.
"Well you see," Ida replies, "after that terrible night last November in Germany, the British government's allowed for children from German controlled areas to enter England as refugees."
"Thing is," Mary continues for her, "we still need people who are willing to pay for their transport and even offer up places for them to stay."
My mind floats immediately back to a month ago, sitting around the house thinking about the horrors described in the newspaper. I had felt so certain that I should do something, and yet here I was, a month later, without any real action to take credit for.
"Wait, just children?" I ask, now processing their words.
"'Fraid so, miss. Government's said that bringing in their parents would be some sort of liability," Mary replies tenderly.
"That's terrible," I say. Here I was, across an entire ocean feeling lonely as hell at times, but I knew my family was safe and I was welcomed into a warm and loving home. How terrified must these young kids be to be sent off all on their own, leaving their families behind to who knows what.
"We've still got to make the most of what we can." Mary says, handing me my own flier. "If we have any means to help, aren't we obligated to do something?"
Her kind words hit me hard in the gut. I know she's right. I open my mouth to speak, but a bright voice cuts me off. "Oi, oi! Chapman!"
I look up groggily from the paper, my mind and conscience fully consumed by the reality of the world we live in, when through my haze, I make out Louis leading a group of people my way.
I turn back to Mary and Ida. "I'd actually really like to help. Is it alright if I take this?"
"Absolutely!" Ida says bursting into a smile. "If you look on the back of the sheet, we've printed all the chapters set up around this area. You can contact the one closest to you to get started."
"Thank you," I tell them honestly. "Really, thank you."
"Thank you!" Mary sings back. "Oh and when you sign up, tell them that Ida and Mary found you!"
"Chapman!!" I hear Louis yell louder now followed by a burst of laughter from his crowd.
"I will, I promise," I smile before turning to go find Louis and the group. In chatting with the two gals, I've nearly forgotten that Harry should be with Louis. My mind already consumed by guilt and concern is sent into a summersault with the realization that Harry should be close.
"What'ya doing over there?" Louis laughs, clearly having already had a drink. "Get over here!" he shouts happily, but right as I start to laugh, I realize that Niall and Lucy aren't apart of the Louis' entourage. Instead, it's a group of those catty girls that I met on my first visit to the factory. My stomach drops when my eyes finally find Harry trailing behind everyone else. Attached to his right arm is Kitty, perfect and beautiful Kitty, gazing up lovingly into his face as he grins at her as if they make the most perfect couple.