THE WAR BRIDE CLUB by Soraya Lane Read Free Book Online

when they arrived in America. It was only day five and they had another ten to go.  
          What she did have time to worry about was how to be a good American housewife. There was the odd list of instructions floating around, but she’d heard their new families had reams of notes prepared for them. Maybe it was a silly rumor. But the magazine Good Housekeeping had dedicated entire issues to foreign brides. It was like all the yanks were expecting untrained native women to arrive in their country.  
          Surely being a good wife in America was the same as in their home country? If you could cook, sew and run a household, what more was there to know?
          “Come on Mads, I don’t want to miss breakfast.”
          Madeline grinned at Betty, who stood with one hand wrapped around her stomach and the other rubbing at her back. Her friend was definitely eating for two.  
          “You go ahead, I just need a few moments.”
          The other girls might think her silly, considering there were only other women on the ship, but she didn’t want to go down without making at least a small fuss over her appearance. Looking well groomed had always been important to her. Something her mother had insisted upon since she was a little girl.
          Her mother had been the most well-kept women on their street. She never left the house without a sweep of lipstick, a carefully swept hair-do and pressed clothes. They have didn’t have a lot of money, but her mother sure liked to appear as if they did. To succeed in life you have to believe in yourself, Madeline. And to succeed you have to look the part. They were words she knew she’d never forget, no matter the time that passed away from her family.  
          “You ready, Madeline?” 
      Alice called out as she passed and Madeline nodded.  
          She placed the last pin into her hair, checked her skirt for creases and followed her friend.  
          “Alice,” she called, catching her up.
          Alice stopped to wait for her.
          “We will stay in touch, when we get to America, won’t we?” Madeline asked her.  
          Alice grabbed hold of her arm and squeezed it tight. “There’s no chance I’m giving up you lot when we get off this blinkin’ boat.”
          “Promise?”
          “Promise!”
          Betty sighed and let her head rest on Alice’s shoulder before they walked off arm in arm.  
          “I’m glad we found each other.” Her voice was so soft she wondered if she’d even spoken out loud.  
          “Me too, Mads, me too.”
     
    The dining hall was crammed full of women. Wafts of perfume and fatty foods cooking added to Madeline’s nausea as the ship rocked back and forth, but the crew were strict about the girls eating. Their plates had to be empty.  
          Madeline giggled as she thought of the most recent letter Alice had entertained them with. She’d been writing letters to her family almost every day – letters she was going to send in one big bundle to her family as soon as they arrived in America.  
           We have four meals a day, us girls. Madeline could still hear her reciting it, having them all in stitches of laughter after dark. Two down, one up! We eat a hearty meal, then we’re generous enough to give it to the ocean for dessert.
          The food had been a shock to the system - eggs, meat, cheese – all the wonderful, delicious things they’d missed while every type of food in London was rationed. Madeline knew she’d never stomach a powdered egg again. But the swaying of the boat and the rich food wasn’t so easy to digest either. She hadn’t been too bad, but some of the girls had taken to wearing big belts around their skirts just to hold them up around their disappearing waists. Keeping food down was the main topic of conversation, besides gabbing about their husbands.