Dottie smiled as she stretched her legs and toes across the sandy beach, a picture of bliss at this indulgence. George had offered to watch Joanna so that Dottie, Gladys, and Margaret could spend the day together, as it was expected to be one of the first tolerable ones after a blazing hot summer. Margaret and Gladys had been picking up extra shifts at the Navy Yard because production on the USS Coral Sea was in full swing, and the Navy was hoping to put it in action as soon as possible. It was the first aircraft carrier that Margaret had had a chance to work on, and every time she saw it, it took her breath away.

“A monkey’s uncle? That makes you one as well, then.” Margaret laughed, nudging Gladys in the ribs with her elbow.

“It takes one to know one.”

“Oh, you two,” Dottie laughed. “You’re both the furthest things from a monkey, even if your eyes are droopy these days.”

Gladys pulled a compact from her beach bag and dabbed some powder all around her face. “I blame the Coral Sea. She is a demanding lady.”

“I’m sure she is. Gosh, an aircraft carrier. I can only imagine what she will look like when she’s done. I don’t think I’ve ever seen George this excited over a ship.”

“Don’t worry, Dottie. You’ll always be his best girl.”

Dottie giggled. “I know that. He tells me every day.”

“And bought you the house to prove it. With views of the river in the poshest part of Brooklyn. And five bedrooms! Do you plan to fill them all with babies?”

“In due time, certainly. Joanna is plenty for now. But enough of that. We were talking about Margaret and William.”

Margaret smiled in appreciation of Dottie’s thoughtfulness. Usually, she loved this kind of banter, but Dottie had George and Gladys had Oliver and for the first time, Margaret had someone of her own to swoon about.

“I’m sorry, Mags,” said Gladys. “Please continue.” She adjusted her towel, lathered some oil on her skin, and lay back.

“Well, I’ve read the letter to you. What do you think?”

She was not surprised by Gladys’s answer, nor the fact that she had an opinion at the ready. “I think it’s romantic and all. I really do. But I wouldn’t cut off your options. You haven’t even seen the boy. How do you know you’ll, you know, want him like that?”

“Gladys!” Dottie admonished.

“Oh, come on, Dots. You’re one to talk. You may act prim and proper, but which one of us got knocked up first?”

Margaret started choking on the sip of Coke she’d just taken, the drink fizzing down her throat and mixing with the roaring laugh that wanted to come out.

Dottie held her ground. “So you’re telling me that you and Oliver never…”