Our Bruised Bodies | Bradley Bradshaw

ACT THREE - PART EIGHT

Welcome back. Cheers!

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"Drinking alone today?" A female voice asked next to Grace, who was sitting in a local bar by the counter, not wearing her uniform other than most of the man in the room, who were serving in the navy as well.

Looking up, she saw a woman about fifteen years older than herself with long raven hair and fairer skin than most of the people original from Guam had, but she could hear it in her accent that she wasn't American like most people in the bar.

"Where is the tall handsome man that normally comes with you?" The woman asked which has Grace narrow her eyes at her slightly before emptying her glass of clear liquid.

"Do we know each other?" Grace wondered, which had the woman slip into the seat next to her, her posture good, even though she was leaning her hands on the counter and leaned forward to gesture to the barkeeper to give Grace a refill, which she took with a nod of thanks.

"I work here, so to say. It's my job to notice who comes here." The woman told Grace, which caused her eyes to widen in realisation for a moment, which caused the older woman to nod.

"A girl has to work." The woman said, before taking a sip from her own drink.

"A girl has to make things work." Grace pointed out, before clicking her glass against the one of the women next to her, who introduced herself as Lila a moment later, causing Grace to wonder if that was her true name, or a name she had given herself to make her work with the American sailors easier.

"Sarah." Grace then muttered to introduce herself, which had the woman look at her with a small smile on her lips, before uttering that she knew that already. Upon being asked how she knew who she was, Lila told her that men like to share secrets in bed, they like to brag about their achievements and share secrets with women they think have no use for their secrets.

"So, tell me, kid. How did you misstep with the good Admiral Kerner." Lila wanted to know, which surprised Grace, not that she let her surprise show on her face. She wasn't aware that men liked to talk this much.

"You know him?" Grace wanted to know, because that would be a scandal after all. Officers were warned not to have relations with the people of the population of the place the base was, for it would be inappropriate.

"Not like that, but his Commander likes to talk." Lila told Grace with a shrug, seemingly not realising that she had just given Grace enough to end a Commander's career for good.

"Twight?" She asked, which had the woman think for a moment before nodding with a smile.

"That one." Lila agreed which gave Grace a hard time controlling her expression.

"Never took him for someone who can't keep his mouth shut." Grace snorted into her drink, which had Lila laugh, knowing something Grace never wanted to hear about.

"Oh, you have no idea." Lila said, only for Grace to pull a face. "So, what did you do?"

"Lost my cool a bit and reacted emotional. Now I feel like he has lost all the respect he had had for me. I'm just a weak woman in everyone's eye." Something about Lila caused Grace to trust her, which she guessed is why that woman had so much information about the base and the people serving there.

"Being a woman is not a disadvantage. Just the way you played your cards was wrong." Lila said that and then she left after excusing herself, using the words again that a girl had to work after all, which caused Grace to grimace after she was sure she couldn't see her face and more. Downing her drink, Grace left the bar to get back to base, but the entre week, what Lila had said didn't let go of her. Maybe she was right.