As you probably know by now, all of our hard work has come to fruition. We did it, sweetheart! We did it. And now we can share everything. No more secrets, no more clandestine, middle-of-the-night meetings. Now I can explain everything. Now I can share that what we’ve been doing here was creating the fuel for the bomb that brought the Japanese to their knees. Now they will have to surrender, and our troops can come home. You should be so proud of what we—what you—did, darling.

Oh, my love. There are so many places I want to show you, so many things I want us to do together. I can’t wait to get started! I want to give you the world.

You must be out running errands. I know it’s crazy to brave the crowds, but I have to see you. I’m going to Jackson Square to find you, even though I imagine it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

If I somehow miss you there and you get back here and I’m not here… WAIT here! I’ll come back for you. I can’t wait to hold you in my arms.

All my love always.

Nora sealed the envelope. For once, she wished she could throw caution to the wind and sign the note, but they were ever mindful of someone else finding their correspondence.

She exchanged her dress for practical slacks and a blouse, and her high heels for saddle shoes. Then she propped the note up on the table where she knew Mary would see it and headed back out the door.

The crowds were so thick she couldn’t see her own feet. Still, she kept pushing forward. People she didn’t know hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.

“Did you hear? We won the war!”

“And Oak Ridge is on the map!”

“Uranium! We’ve been making uranium!”

“We got the Japs good! We brought ’em to their knees!”

Nora let the words wash over her. She looked left and right. She squeezed through the tiniest of openings. She finally reached the bank’s front door, only to find that the place was mobbed. After multiple tries, she was able to get inside. She searched every teller station and line—no Mary.

She left the bank and worked her way around the square to the grocery store. The crowd was dozens of bodies deep. She couldn’t even get close.

“Nora! Hey, Nora!”

She whirled around. “Mary?”

Rosalie grabbed her by the hand. “Isn’t it great?”

“It is. Have you seen Mary?”

“Who?”

“Mary. Have you seen her?”

“Oh! Sorry, I couldn’t hear you with all this noise. No, I haven’t seen her. If she’s in this mess, good luck finding her.” Rosalie got carried away by the swell of the crowd.