January 18, 1946
The time had finally come. After far too long holed up in a house in New Jersey, Alice and Nix were heading to see friends. Blanche had been invited as well, as they headed across New Jersey to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Home to Harry Welsh, and home to Kitty Grogan.
Her leg bounced up and down where she sat in the front seat. A couple weeks ago she'd been in a similar spot, stressed in a car. But that had been before seeing her someday father-in-law. A regular jackass, he was. Alice didn't like him one bit. But Ruth Burke, Nix's secretary, she was nice. Alice had liked her, even if their interaction had been short.
But this fear, it came more from anticipation. She'd finally be meeting the woman who had captured Harry's heart. And not just captured, but ensnared. Alice found she couldn't suppress a smile even with the trepidation buzzing through every inch of her body.
Harry had often described her: strawberry blonde hair, hazel eyes, a smile to die for. He'd called her laugh music, her heart as big as he could stretch his arms wide and wit to match. He'd said she had a penchant for rosé wine and sangrias. Tales of her beauty and her kindness and her courage were endless.
Sometimes, Alice wondered if Nix had ever spoken to Harry and Dick about her like Harry had of Kitty. Probably not. But even the thought of Nix trying to be poetic like Harry had often accidentally been was worth the thought if only for a laugh. Nixon could be philosophical, but poetic? She'd yet to see that.
As she watched the sun setting from the car window, Alice smiled. Maybe she'd try to turn him into a poet. It would be funny to watch. Turning from the window, she glanced at him. He looked tired. She couldn't blame him; they'd had to wait until after his workday to set off towards Wilkes-Barre. Even though the trip didn't take that long, about three hours, he deserved rest on a Friday evening.
Not long after, they found themselves passing a "Welcome to Wilkes-Barre" sign. Alice straightened. The drive through the mountains had been pleasant, but she looked forward to stretching her legs, and then resting. The watercolor-like sky had already started to fade as they moved through residential streets. Harry had given them his address, and said they had two spare rooms. As the first to arrive, they lucked out.
Dick was supposed to drive in on the 21st, and Ron and Lip sometime between there and the 24th. It amused Alice to no end that Ron had gotten an invitation; as the rivalry between Ron and Harry that started in Mackall had never really died down. But she supposed they'd become friends despite, or perhaps because of, that. Two years and war would do that.
"This is it." Nix paused for a moment as the car stopped along the dark street. A light hung on either side of the door, illuminating the path through the small yard. Light floated through the edges of the curtains along the windows. With a smile, Nix turned to her. "Ready?"
"Absolutely." She grinned back. Then she turned to Blanche in the back seat. "You?"
She just chuckled and pushed open her side door in response. It didn't take long for them all to leave the car behind and start up the sidewalk. They soon stood at the door, and Nix gave it a firm knock. It swung open a moment later.
Alice had to admit, Harry had been right. Kitty was gorgeous. Her pristine smile only widened as she looked at them.
"Harry!" she called back. "They're here." Then she turned to them again. "So. You must be Lewis, and you're Alice, and you're Blanche. Right?" But she didn't wait for them to respond. She just winked and stood aside to let them in. "Get inside. It's too cold out there. Harry's been bustling around so much you'd have thought he was a professional cleaner. He's not, by the way. That would be my job." She turned down the hall again. "Harry Welsh! Get over here and quit leaving your friends at the mercy of my charms."
Alice couldn't stop smiling. She wore a blue dress, simple but flattering, with a small apron around her waist. In the light of the foyer, she noticed the woman had flour on her hands, making the cracks of her palms whiter than her somewhat flushed skin.
"I suppose I'll have to make introductions myself," she added, raising her voice to shame her fiance. "I'm Kitty, though I'm sure you've already guessed that." Extending her hand, she grabbed Nix's in a handshake first. "It's a pleasure."
"Nice to finally meet the famous Kitty Grogan," Nix said, grinning.
Alice agreed immediately. "You don't disappoint," she added.
Kitty laughed and shook her head. "Blanche, you're Nix's sister, right?" Then she paused, turning back to him. "I'm sorry. Can I call you that? Harry calls you Nix. It just slipped out."
Alice was touched by the genuine concern in her voice. Beside her, Nix just smirked. With a shrug and a glance at Alice, he snickered. "Old habits die hard. It's fine. Speaking of, has your husband-to-be got a stash of whiskey in this house?"
Just as she thought Harry would never make an appearance, the man himself met them halfway through the hall. He skidded to a halt, gap-toothed grin as wide as ever when he saw them. For a moment, Alice feared she would cry.
"Speak of the devil," Nix deadpanned. "Goddamnit, Harry. I thought you'd never show your face. Not that Kitty here isn't better company."
"Don't I know it," was all he managed.
Alice pushed past Nix as Harry just laughed. She grabbed him in a hug. Laughter and tears escaped her as she just held him. "Damn you."
When she finally let go, Alice had to wipe away a few tears. She felt a bit embarrassed, but Kitty just grinned at her. Harry laughed in response, grabbing Nix in a hug, and then turned to Blanche. Nix instantly snapped to attention. He could already see how awkward she felt.
"Harry, meet Blanche. Blanche, meet Harry. He's a disaster," he added. "He encourages my drinking." Harry protested, but Nix cut him off. "Harry, meet my sister. The best of the Nixon name."
That made her smile. "Hello," she said. When Harry offered his hand, she accepted graciously. "Thank you both for inviting me."
"Of course we want you here!" Kitty looked startled. "You're family."
Alice laughed. "Harry, you were right about one thing."
"Yeah? What's that?"
"Kitty's too good for you."
The whole group burst out laughing. With the ice broken and introductions complete, they moved further into the small house. Harry explained that he'd had enough set aside to buy the house soon after he came back to the states, and Kitty and he planned to move in together as soon as they completed their ceremony. Before long they found themselves sitting around the kitchen table, Kitty getting them a plate of cookies she'd apparently baked in anticipation of their arrival.
"These are wonderful," Blanche told her, smiling. She wiped a few crumbs away from the corners of her mouth with a napkin. "Your own recipe?"
"Oh heavens, no. My mom's," she added. "Mrs. Grogan's famous chocolate chip cookies."
Harry nodded, mouth full. When he could finally talk again, he sat up straighter and grabbed another one. "Her baking is unmatched."
A few minutes passed in quiet. Before long, Kitty eyed her fiance, the others, and then turned back to Harry. "Harry, why don't you keep these two company while I show Blanche to her room. You're looking kinda tired, my dear," she added with a laugh.
Blanche just chuckled, a bit self-conscious. "Yes. I suppose I am."
Before long they'd disappeared, chatting in hushed voices, a few laughs here and there. Harry, Nix, and Alice just sat at the table in a few more moments of silence. But when Kitty didn't show back up right away, Harry just sighed, and then smirked. "Whiskey?"
"What else would I drink? Wine?" Nix snorted. "Tell me you've got something good."
With a short laugh, Hary pushed his chair out from the table. He went to a room on the other side of the kitchen, speaking as he did so. "Ah, Lewis, I bought a case of Vat 69 just for you."
"How thoughtful."
Before long, Harry returned with the telltale green glass bottle of Nix's favorite whiskey, and three shot glasses. "You drinking, Alice?"
"Is that a question?" Her small, slightly bitter laugh said enough. "Pour it, Harry."
Soon enough, they each had a glass of the whiskey in their hands. Another stretch of silence, and then Harry finally broke it. "This is a wedding visit. We can't be depressed." Then he grinned, and turned straight on them. "So, when are you two getting married?"
Alice let out a long, deep breath, and Nix did the same. The air tensed. They'd talked about it again a few days before. Neither of them quite knew what to do. They both knew they didn't want to make it a big deal. They knew it needed to be soon, especially after the altercation with Stanhope Nixon. But they had no interest in him coming to the wedding.
"Uh oh," Harry added. "Trouble in paradise, then? Let me guess. Stanhope Nixon?"
Nix scoffed. "The one and only." He downed half his glass in a single drink.
"You two didn't spend almost three years dancing around a relationship to have that man stop you from getting married," Harry declared, leaning back in the chair.
Alice smiled and shook her head. "It's not going to. But we need to think carefully about how to do this."
"The price of fame, huh?" His small laugh and shake of his head said enough. "I'm perfectly fine living in obscurity, having kids, and never seeing another newsreel with my face on it ever again."
"Speaking of newsreels," Alice started, "just how much does Kitty know?"
"About you?" When she nodded, Harry smirked. "Probably too much, if the Army found out."
Nixon laughed as he took another drink of the whiskey. He shook his head and tried to stop himself. "Jesus Christ, Harry. This is why I was the intelligence officer, not you."
"Oh right," Alice scoffed. "Because you took keeping secrets so seriously."
"Hey-"
"Half the time we were working intelligence, I had to remind you to shut your mouth," she countered, laughing, aghast that he would try to claim moral superiority. "Don't pretend like you're the only intelligence officer here, Nix!"
He rolled his eyes, but couldn't stop from smiling at her protests. "Fine, fine. Doesn't change what I said about Harry!"
The man in question just snickered. "Listen, what was I gonna tell her? Oh, by the way, Kitty, there's this girl I met over in Europe who happened to be around us all the time, enough that my friend Lewis fell in love with her, and I want her to come to our wedding. I swear nothing at all strange went on."
They had to admit, he had a point. And if anything, Alice was relieved that Kitty knew at least about her role in the Army. But she wanted to know what else the woman had been told. "What does she know, though." Alice lowered her voice a bit.
Harry sighed. "She knows a lot. She knows you're originally from Germany, and France. She knows that you lost your family in the war. And she knows I think you're one hell of a human being, let alone soldier."
"I don't know about that last part-" When both Nix and Harry scoffed and protested at the exact same moment, she just smiled and shook her head. "Fine. I'll accept the praise if you two know I think the exact same of you."
"Well, you are planning to marry me, so I'd hope," Nix joked.
But Alice just grinned. This was what she missed. The banter, the companionship, the ease. She, Harry, Nix. They needed Dick to round it out. She loved Nix, with her entire being, and loved living in New Jersey with him in their house. But she didn't have friends in New Jersey. Not yet, at any rate. Sitting halfway between Princeton and Nixon, they didn't have close neighbors, and Nixons didn't seem to really have friends anyways. Nix had a few college mates in the Princeton area, but no one in their immediate space.
No wonder Blanche always felt isolated. It occurred to Alice that she'd probably grown up much the same way. Blanche had spoken of one friend in San Francisco, Peg, a woman who she'd met through her mother's charity work. Peg's parents contributed quite a bit to Doris Nixon's various causes, and the woman herself was still living at home while her fiance attended Stanford.
But even her mentions of Peg were tinged with regret. Being a Nixon, and the daughter of the famous Doris Ryer Nixon what's more, meant holding oneself to higher standards and playing the game of social politics. Alice was starting to understand what that meant. And frankly, she didn't like it.
"So Harry, what's the plan until the whole crew gets here?" Nixon refilled his glass.
"The two of us are going over to my parents' place," he told them. "I've got more stuff to move over here, and you're gonna help. Alice, Kitty wanted to know if you'd like to hit the town with her, and I'm sure Blanche as well."
She smiled. "I'd love that!"
"Good. When Ron and Lip show up, we've got to play some poker," he added. "I suggest a shot every time someone folds."
Both Alice and Nix cracked up. That was another thing she'd missed. Poker nights. They'd been excellent ways to relax, spots for conversation and ranting and rambling about various things. Topics had ranged from war news to sweethearts back home in the cases of Lip and Harry, to the stupidity of the Army brass, to what latest stunt the enlisted had pulled.
To be honest, she'd missed everything except the war itself. That was the problem really, though. Each time she tried to think back on the fun moments, they were haunted by pain. But sitting in Harry's kitchen with the off-white and pale green floral wallpaper, the cream counters and wooden table, she tried to imagine that each poker night had been in that space, not in occupied German homes.
Kitty didn't rejoin them. As Alice retired with Nix upstairs an hour later, she found herself agreeing with everything she'd ever heard Harry utter about his fiance. She was smart, and kind, and sharp as a tack. Harry had found someone worthy of him. That knowledge made the adjustment to domestic life just a little easier.