Christmas on King Street by Ashley Clark

Author:Ashley Clark [Clark, Ashley]
Language: eng
Format: epub

Eight

1943 - Charleston, SC

The summer humidity had finally relented, giving way to cooler mornings and breezy afternoons. Kit strolled down King Street with her sister Louise.

They passed a soda shop on the corner of the street, and a pang hit Kit—a longing for the days before cocoa was rationed, among so many other things. When the war was finally over, she planned to feast on eggs and cheese and candies.

She knew that food rations were such a tiny sacrifice in comparison to the suffering that many others faced. And yet these rations were a reminder, just the same, that the world they knew before and the world they knew now were two different things.

Though the war may end, somewhere deep down, Kit knew that “before” world was gone forever.

Still, she had much to hope for. The corners of her lips pulled into a smile at the thought of James’s first letter to her.

In the postscript, he had written that he planned to visit in a few months. His father needed major hip surgery, and James had been granted permission to return to help his mother.

Five months, as it turned out, would become six, then seven—for October was now upon them and still no sight of James. His father’s surgery had been postponed.

But he was finally set to arrive in a few weeks. Kit found the closer the calendar drew to his arrival, the slower time seemed to move. So she was grateful for this afternoon on the town with her sister and the welcome distraction it provided.

“Come on,” Louise said, tugging Kit’s sleeve. “Let’s look inside this store.”

Kit followed her sister through the door of a charming shop on King Street. After the Civil War, much of Charleston had been destroyed, but a group of artists and musicians and historians—women, mostly—began a movement to preserve what was left of the old structures. Kit was so glad they did.

She wondered if this war would also bring devastation to the city—talk of U-boats frightened her. She wanted the war to stay across the ocean. But in other ways, when she heard of the atrocities innocent people faced, she wanted to run into the conflict herself and make a difference. Strange how one could feel both things so strongly.

Kit forced her attention back to her sister, knowing that her what-if scenarios did little good in the real world, besides the prayers they inspired.

So instead, she focused on distraction.

Louise held up a strand of pearls. “These are lovely.”

“Like a movie star.” Kit smiled. Her fingers absentmindedly grazed the fabrics of blouses, though she paid little attention to what she touched.

Finding a row of dresses, Louise held one up for her sister’s perusal. They had been repurposing old dresses lately because of fabric rations.

When Kit noticed the silk fabric of the yellow gown, her jaw dropped. The dress may have been made out of real gold for what a luxury this silk was.

The shopkeeper approached Louise and Kit, crossing her arms over her own modest dress.

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