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<\/figure>String of Pearls<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
by Melody Carlson<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n By 1943 the world is in the thick of war and the home-front continues to play a vital role. The Mulligans of San Francisco do their part in the war effort, but hardships and deprivations are taking a toll and each the four Mulligan sisters are tested in their own way. The war years urge young Molly to grow up quickly. Besides playing family<\/a> ‘war correspondent,’ Molly manages the victory garden, finishes high school, and takes an internship at the newspaper. Meanwhile Bridget, an Army nurse in a dangerous region of the South Pacific, is attracted to a young doctor but so are all the other nurses. Margaret runs the family store, but suffers the loneliness of a single parent as she cares for her young son and frets for the welfare of her husband Brian as he serves on the European front. As an up-and-coming movie star, Colleen’s life might appear glamorous, but film making comes with its challenges she tries to conceal her grief over her lost flyer as she helps out in the famous Hollywood Canteen. Each of the Mulligan sisters grow stronger more capable as the war wages on working and hoping and praying for victory. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n January 1943<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Molly\nwas flying high as the airplane landed in San Francisco, but as she disembarked\nthe sleek silver craft, she felt a definite letdown. It wasn\u2019t that she didn\u2019t\nwant to see Mam and Dad again, as well as Margaret and the baby, but she wasn\u2019t\nthe least bit eager to return to her \u201cnormal life.\u201d Not that she\u2019d wanted to\nremain in Hollywood forever\u2026but any excuse not to return to high school seemed\na good excuse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Molly wasn\u2019t even excited about seeing her\n\u201cfriend\u201d Dottie anymore. Back in the old days, she would\u2019ve been eager to tell\nDottie all about her Hollywood visit. But Dottie had been dating Bill Brimfield\nsince last fall\u2014she was head over heels for the guy\u2014and Bill was Charlie\nStockton\u2019s best friend\u2026and Charlie was a dirty rat! As a result, Dottie and\nMolly had been a bit estranged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The wind whipped against Molly and, tightening\nthe belt of her wool trench coat, she waved at Margaret, hurrying across the\ntarmac toward her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWelcome home, world traveler!\u201d Margaret hugged\nMolly, kissing her on the cheek. \u201cI missed you, baby sister.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThank you\u2014and thanks for picking me up.\u201d She\nlinked her arm in Margaret\u2019s as they scurried over to the terminal. Molly\ncouldn\u2019t help but wonder whether Margaret had truly missed her or simply missed\nher help as her part-time nanny. \u201cWhere\u2019s Baby Peter?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWith Mam at the store. It was too cold to bring\nhim out.\u201d Margaret slowly shook her head. \u201cAnd I hate to admit it, but I don\u2019t\nmind having a little time off from motherhood. I never knew that babies could\nbe so demanding.\u201d She turned to peer at Molly. \u201cBut forget about that and tell\nme everything. How was Hollywood? Did you see anyone famous? Did Colleen let\nyou go to the movie set with her? And has she heard anything from Geoff? Did\nyou\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSlow down.\u201d Molly held up a hand. \u201cI can\u2019t\nanswer everything at once.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSorry. It\u2019s just been so quiet around here lately.\nAnd I\u2019m curious about life down there.\u201d She scowled. \u201cTo be perfectly honest, I\nwas a little envious over your visit. Just this morning, I found myself wishing\nI were in your shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen you\u2019d be the one sitting in Mr. Barnes\u2019\nboring old algebra class tomorrow.\u201d Molly grimaced. If only she could trade\nplaces with Margaret!<\/p>\n\n\n\n As they collected her luggage, Molly described\nColleen\u2019s compact apartment. But, not wanting to feed her sister\u2019s envy, she\nplayed down the modern appliances in the kitchen, trying to make the place sound\nless glamorous than it actually was. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo it\u2019s really tiny then?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes\u2026although the grounds are pretty. And\nthere\u2019s a swimming pool,\u201d Molly confessed as they hurried across the parking\nlot. \u201cBut I only used it once. It really wasn\u2019t hot enough to enjoy a swim.\u201d\nShe shivered. \u201cAlthough it was a whole lot warmer than here.\u201d She smiled at\nMargaret. \u201cBy the way, happy New Year. Did you do anything special last night?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe had the Hammonds over. They stayed up until\nmidnight, playing bridge and merry making like old people do. But I was a party\npooper. I went to bed with Baby Peter.\u201d Margaret sighed as they put the luggage\ninto the trunk. \u201cMy life must sound terribly boring. I bet you and Colleen had\nfun. What did you girls do last night?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe went to the Canteen!\u201d Molly couldn\u2019t hide\nher enthusiasm now. \u201cIt was my third time to visit\u2014but it was still absolutely\namazing, Margaret.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou mean the Hollywood Canteen? That\u2019s like a\nUSO club, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes. It\u2019s for the servicemen down there. But\nit\u2019s so glamorous! So exciting! Naturally, Colleen insisted on dressing me up.\nI got to wear this dreamy satin gown of midnight blue with silver sequins\naround the neckline. Someone from her agency gave it to her when she did her\nscreen test. But, honestly, I felt just like a starlet in it. Colleen warned me\nthat since it was New Year\u2019s Eve, the Canteen would be crawling with\ncelebrities. Mostly starlets, of course. Although I nearly fell out of my\nshoes\u2014rather, Colleen\u2019s shoes\u2014when James Stewart walked in.\u201d Molly fanned\nherself like she was swooning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo kidding? James Stewart was really there?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn his air force uniform.\u201d Molly let out a loud\nsigh. \u201cSo handsome! And he had Hedy Lamarr on one arm and Judy Garland on the\nother.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHis costars from Zigfield Girl<\/em>,\u201d Margaret said in an awed tone. \u201cOh my! I just love\nJimmy Stewart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cColleen begged me not to gape at him.\u201d Molly\nlaughed. \u201cBelieve me, that was not easy. Oh, you should\u2019ve seen the lineup of\nstarlets coming through the door, Margaret\u2014all dressed to the nines. Lana\nTurner, Ava Gardner, Joan Fontaine, just to name a few. Honestly, it was hard not\nto stare. But I did my best not to embarrass Colleen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, my goodness! I\u2019m sure I would\u2019ve made a\ncomplete fool of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone guessed I\u2019m still in high\nschool. And the servicemen I danced with assumed I was an actress too.\u201d She\ngiggled. \u201cAnd since it made them happy to think that I was famous, I sort of\njust went along with it. I mean, I didn\u2019t lie\u2014I did tell them my real name. But\nif they acted like they recognized me from the silver screen, I simply kept my\nmouth shut.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat must\u2019ve been so fun!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd, oh yeah, I got to meet Miss Bette Davis\ntoo. You know she really helped to get the Canteen going in the first place.\nShe\u2019s such a nice lady.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDid you actually speak to her?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, just barely. She was pretty busy\u2014but she\nwas very polite to me, treated me like I was just as famous as any of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt all sounds like a dream. I still can\u2019t\nbelieve our own Colleen is really an actress, living in Hollywood\u2026making a\nmotion picture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou know what was the most fun about being at\nthe Canteen?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJust seeing all those servicemen. You know how\nthey always look so strong and capable in their uniforms, so devoted to the war\neffort. But then I\u2019d catch one of them being star-struck by an actress. It\u2019s\nhard to explain, but it was really sweet. It made them seem so human.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, of course they\u2019re human.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know. But I usually think of servicemen as\nbeing so mature and grown-up. You know how those uniforms make them seem so suave\nand polished, but last night I got to thinking about how a lot of them were\nbarely older than me. For all we know, they could\u2019ve been fresh off the farm,\nbarely out of high school, the kid working at the local gas station last week.\nAnd now they\u2019re getting ready to head off to war.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut last night, I was watching them more\nclosely. Like when this sailor came in and instantly recognized Rita Hayworth.\u201d\nShe chuckled. \u201cIt reminded me of a Loony\nTunes<\/em> cartoon. Like when Daffy Duck\u2019s eyes pop out of his head.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Margaret laughed. \u201cI can just imagine that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd last night, I got seriously worried that a young\nsailor I\u2019d been talking to was about to faint when Judy Garland asked him to\ndance. The poor guy was totally speechless and barely breathing. I had to\npractically push him into her arms. Fortunately, she caught him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n They both laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDid you take any photographs?\u201d Margaret asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cColleen wouldn\u2019t let me take my camera to the Canteen,\nbut I got lots of other pictures of Hollywood. I can\u2019t wait to get them\ndeveloped.\u201d She let out a happy sigh. \u201cI just loved being down there with her,\nMargaret. Don\u2019t tell Mam and Dad, but I really didn\u2019t want to come home today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Margaret looked slightly alarmed now. \u201cDon\u2019t\ntell me you\u2019ve got the Hollywood bug now! Are you thinking about becoming an\nactress too?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Molly shook her head. \u201cNo, of course not. That\nwasn\u2019t it at all. I just liked feeling, well, sort of grown-up\u2026you know?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Margaret scowled. \u201cDon\u2019t be so eager to grow up,\nMolly. It\u2019s not nearly as much fun as you\u2019re imagining.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Molly considered this. Maybe adulthood wasn\u2019t\nfun for Margaret, but Molly felt fairly certain that Colleen was having a good\ntime. And the idea of leaving her immature high school peers behind her was extremely\nenticing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat about Geoff, Molly? You haven\u2019t mentioned\nhim. Has Colleen heard anything?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Molly grimly shook her head. \u201cNot a word. And\nshe even called Geoff\u2019s mother last night, to wish her Happy New Year\u2026but no\nnews.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPoor Colleen. As relieved as we were to learn that\nGeoff survived getting shot down, it\u2019s horrible to imagine him in a Japanese\nprison camp right now. Honestly, I just shudder to think about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know. And I could tell that, even though\nColleen doesn\u2019t talk much about it, she\u2019s worried for him. I pray for Geoff\nevery night. Actually\u2026I pray for everyone I know that\u2019s serving overseas. I\nhate to admit it, but every time I read the news lately, well, it sounds worse\nthan before. Sometimes it feels like we\u2019re fighting the devil himself. I don\u2019t\nunderstand how there can be so much evil in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know. Hard as I try, I still can\u2019t take too\nmuch news. I don\u2019t want to be an ostrich with her head in the sand, but a\nlittle bit goes a long way with me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Molly\nknew how anxious Margaret could get over the war. Mam too. Certainly it wasn\u2019t\neasy for any of them, knowing their loved ones were right in the thick of the\nfighting. \u201cDid we get any letters while I was gone?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe got a nice one from Bridget. It was short, because\nshe said they\u2019d been very busy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m sure there must be a lot of wounded\nservicemen in her area.\u201d Molly had just read the newspaper on her flight.\nThere\u2019d been many devastating battles near the Philippines\u2014the number of lives\nlost, as well as the wounded, was overwhelming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDespite the workload, Bridget sounded in good\nspirits. She really loves nursing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat about Brian?\u201d Molly asked tentatively. She\nknew that Margaret\u2019s greatest anxiety was probably related to her husband.\nBrian was serving in the army, where his unit, the Mulligans suspected, had\nbeen recently relocated to North Africa. According to the news, the fighting\nthere was fierce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI haven\u2019t heard from him since the V-mail I got\nbefore Peter\u2019s christening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019s probably got his hands full.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019ll be pleased to know you\u2019ve got a letter\nfrom Patrick waiting for you, Molly. I actually had to control Mrs. Hammond\nfrom opening it last night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Molly blinked. \u201cReally? She would open someone\nelse\u2019s mail?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cProbably not. But she hinted that since it was\nfrom her son, she should have the right to read it. Anyway, I put it in your\nroom. Of course, that probably just made her even more curious.\u201d Margaret\nchuckled. \u201cHonestly, she was acting like you and Patrick have some kind of\nsecret romance<\/a> going on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, not\u2014not really!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\nreminded her that you\u2019re not even seventeen yet. And that Patrick is seven\nyears your senior! Of course, Mr. Hammond simply pointed out that he\u2019s nine\nyears older than Mrs. Hammond.\u201d She glanced at Molly with a slightly suspicious\nlook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of responding to this, Molly began to\ntell Margaret about visiting the movie studio with Colleen. \u201cIt was so\ninteresting to see the sets and how they make films.\u201d She described how the\nscenery worked. \u201cIn person you can easily tell that it\u2019s fake, but when you see\nit on film, it looks real.\u201d She explained how a cinematographer actually let\nher look through his camera lens. \u201cYou know, Margaret, if I did get bitten by\nthe Hollywood bug, it would be to control one of those huge movie cameras. Now\nthat would be fun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo you mind if we go straight to the store?\u201d\nMargaret asked as she turned down Market Street. \u201cI told Mam I would stop by\nthere first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot at all. I\u2019m surprised the store\u2019s even open\ntoday. Isn\u2019t New Year\u2019s Day usually a holiday?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt always has been for us. But Dad insisted on\nopening. He got it into his head that we could get some new customers by being\nopen when everyone else was closed. And I have to admit that we\u2019ve been somewhat\nbusy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Molly suspected Dad was getting overly concerned\nabout finances again. She knew that, despite Colleen\u2019s help with Margaret\u2019s\nhospital bills related to Peter\u2019s birth, their family\u2019s finances were still in\nperil. She\u2019d never heard real numbers, but she knew that Dad\u2019s long stay in the\ntuberculosis sanitarium had set them back considerably. \u201cAnd I can work at the\nstore this afternoon,\u201d Molly offered. \u201cSo you and Baby Peter can go home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, that\u2019s okay. I plan to stay and work on the\nbooks this afternoon. But, if you don\u2019t mind, I\u2019d like you to take Dad home\nwith you.\u201d Margaret frowned as she turned down the back alley behind the store.\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to alarm you, Molly, but Dad didn\u2019t seem too well this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, no\u2014it\u2019s not TB again, is it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, no. I don\u2019t think so. I mean, after all, he\ngot a clean bill of health last fall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat was wrong then?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe just seemed a bit pale.\u201d Margaret turned off\nthe engine. \u201cNaturally, he played it down. Dad said he was worn out from\nstaying up too late last night. But I\u2019m not so sure. It seemed he had trouble\ncatching his breath after he carried a case of green beans out of the backroom.\nAnyway, I don\u2019t want to make scene, but I hope you can talk him into going home\nwith you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll do my best.\u201d Molly felt a rush of concern.\nShe had enjoyed getting closer to Dad over the past several months. She\nrelished their chess games and discussions about the war and perusing the atlas\ntogether. What if his TB were back? And what if he had to return to the\nsanitarium?<\/p>\n\n\nChapter 1<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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