The high-waisted pants and lavender blouse I had on get tossed in favor of a blue dress Mother bought for my eighteenth birthday, which isn’t until Wednesday. The girls and I planned a party for the following Saturday, but so what! This occasion is far more special than that one, and if I have to wear the dress twice, so be it!
Checking my stockings to make sure the seams are straight, I laugh from excitement and snatch a pair of heels, hopping out the door to put them on.
As I run downstairs Mrs. Cocker says, “Raymond often marvels at the vehicles of today. They’ve come a long way since we were children, haven’t they? I’m excited to see what the future holds. Who knows? Perhaps one day they’ll fly!”
Father smiles, “Don’t you look nice. Is that a new dress?”
I gave his cheek a kiss. “Tell Mother where I went?”
“It’ll be the first thing I say, rest assured.”
“Goodbye Fred! It was a pleasure speaking with you as always.”
“Likewise, Frances.” He steps onto our welcome mat as we hurry off, waving. “Hello Ray! Good to see you! Congratulations on Jerald’s return!”
From behind the driver seat, Mr. Cocker bellows, “Fred, top of the morning to you! Yes, we’re very excited! And where is that lovely wife of yours?”
“Helping a friend care for a sick baby.”
“That’s a fine woman you’ve got!”
“None finer! You all have a safe drive.”
Mrs. Cocker climbs into the passenger seat after I’ve made myself comfortable in back. She calls to him a surprised, “Drive? All that way? Oh no, Fred! We’re flying!”
I nearly combust. “On a plane?!!”
Mrs. Cocker laughs, “Yes, dear, I don’t have wings. Do you?”
Mr. Cocker drives like someone is chasing him. “Good thing I stopped Archie from sending that letter!”
Mrs. Cocker turns to look at her husband. “Whatever do you mean?”
“See the look on Fred’s face? He wouldn’t have let May come had we not steamrolled him!”
“Why Ray! You sneak! You dastardly sneak!”
He chuckles, “Rather proud of myself for that one. Do me a favor, May! Keep this between us, will you?”
“You can count on me, sir!”
“Have you ever been on a plane?”
“I’m afraid I haven’t, but it’s a dream of mine! I’m considering becoming a pilot.”
They react, and since Mrs. Cocker can turn in her seat while her husband cannot, she twists to face me. “A female pilot? That is rare! But I don’t see why not! Women can do anything men can do! Isn’t that accurate, Ray?”
“You’d never hear me saying anything different.” He adds as an aside, “Or you’d have my head!”
She smacks him. “You’d never say anything different because you don’t believe anything different!”
“I know, I know,” he chuckles. “But don’t take away my fun, will you?”
She returns to me, “I’m sure you told Hank of your ambitions. He has wanted to fly since he was a boy! I received a letter from him.”
“How is he?”
She tugs off her gloves with frustration. “They are retaining Hank for the meantime. He joined late, has zero seniority, and much needs to be done.”
Disappointed, especially for Gertie, I ask, “Done?”
“Raymond, you can explain it better than I!”
“When a war ends, May, it isn’t like an argument. I have it on good authority that Japan surrenders today. There will be a ceremony for the official signature if all goes well. America and our allies must ensure our enemies don’t try anything funny. There is also the business of rebuilding. Looters thrive in desolate times such as this. England has been bombed to smithereens. We must support their efforts as they bring London back from the rubble. As much as we’d like to have all of our men returned, the process must take time.”
“I’m sorry I know so little!”
“I’m married to a politician, my dear, and even I know very little! Washington doesn’t explain everything that goes on to the public. It’s far too complicated, which is why we trust the good men and women we elect to hold our best interests at heart.”
Mr. Cocker mutters, “Some good men have to fight some not good men on more issues than they’d like to count!”
Mrs. Cocker waves her glove, “I’m going to let myself be content that at least one of my boys is coming home! This is a day I’ve been waiting for!”
I stare out the window as we leave Albany behind us, thinking, Me too, oh, me too!
37
JERALD
Returning home on a battleship isn’t a bad way to travel, no sir.
The moment land came into view, every available spot to stand or sit was claimed by a sailor or a soldier.
We traveled back to America on cots crammed like sardines as far as the eye could see. We ate in shifts. This morning we passed around countless basins of soap and water to bathe as best we could, changing into our dress uniforms, carting our bags outside to watch Norfolk’s landing dock grow large with each passing second.
I ask David, fellow planesman, a man I steered beside ever since I joined my last crew, “Isn’t that a sight for sore eyes?”
“I’ll say! Can’t wait to see Noreen and the girls! They must be so big by now! How ‘bout you?”
“My folks’ll be there, but I’ll have to wait to see May.”
“That’s a shame!”
“Can’t be helped.” I squint at the sun. “If she were my wife, she’d be there, yessiree.”
“Be your Mrs. soon, the way you talk about her!”
“If she’s still waiting for me,” I frown, staring at the dock where hundreds if not thousands are waiting for our ship. “There’s something about May’s eyes a man could get lost in and never want to be found.”
David claps a hand on my shoulder as the serviceman go wild. Civilians cheer from the dock, raising their hats, shouting hurrah. It’s a sight a sailor won’t soon forget.
We disembark single file, saluting the line of officers with gleams in our eyes. One after the other we break off to find our families and hug them tight. It’s absolute chaos, and I’m grinning the whole while, searching for my folks.
I hear Ma’s voice shouting, “Jerald! Jerald!” and I follow the sound to her joyous face. She’s just behind Pops who waves like a man, two short whacks of the air.
I make my way through the dense crowd with a smile that freezes. “May?!”
She bounces to see me, blue eyes brimming with happiness. “Jerald!!”
“Holy cow!” I push my way through. “I can’t believe you’re really here! Did you get my letters?”
She laughs through happy tears, “Every one! At least, I think so! I’ve counted one-hundred and twenty-one, is that right?”
“Sounds it! Damn, it’s good to see you!”
She throws back to me the very last thing I said to her almost a year ago, “Come now, Jerald, Language!”
Laughing, I lift her up, squeezing her tight as I look to ask Ma, “This your idea?”
Setting May down, I hug my mother as she chides me for not hugging her first.
“My apologies. Guess I forgot myself. Pops!” My Father and I clap each other’s backs.
“Sure is good to see you, son.”
“You look like your old self again — fit as a fiddle! Wow, it’s great to see you all!”
“What do you have to do next? Are you free to go?”
“Listen, I have my locker, and there are forms that need to account for my arrival and all that.” I look at May. “And maybe some letters to pick up?”
Her smile is beautiful. “Of course there are! I don’t think they’re nearly as exciting as yours were, but they’re waiting, just the same!”
On our way to the lockers, Pops throws his arm over my shoulder. “I’d wager few things are as exciting as Jerald’s war stories, isn’t that right? Although your Mother and I have a beef with you. By no means did
we receive anywhere near one hundred letters. Explain yourself!”
“You got me into an awful mess, May!” I laugh.
“Now Raymond, leave the boy alone! We did receive more than I expected we might, and I will have to be satisfied with that.” We all look at her and she throws up her hands. “I’m too happy to be mad!”
It’s over an hour before we’ve completed all that needs to be done, and I wave to friends as we stroll to the car Pops hired, me carrying my bag from the sub, him with the one stored in my locker. Ma is elegantly clicking along at my side and asking questions about lighthearted things like meals, and how we kept ourselves occupied during rest periods. “Cribbage, mostly. Oh, and the fellas enjoyed your book, Gone With The Wind.”
“Is that where that went? I thought I’d lost it on one of our flights to D.C.! I didn’t know you were interested in that novel! What did you think of it?”
As we get in the car, pops up front with the hired driver, I laugh, “I wasn’t interested. It was one of Hank’s pranks!”
My parents laugh.
Though May knows the story, she’s swell enough to let me tell it. That’s real polite of her, and I appreciate it. There are only so many stories I can share with Ma that won’t upset her, and I want to be the one to tell them.
While taking May’s hand, I explain how within four months pretty much every sailor on board had read the book. “We all agreed Rhett Butler was a better man than wimpy Ashley, and we couldn’t understand why Scarlet hadn’t seen that all along.”
Ma laughs, “My word! I never would’ve thought! Had I known, I’d have sent you there with Little Women, too!”
“Oh, they would’ve objected like mad until there was nothing else to read, then watch them turn!”
I tell stories until we arrive at the runway, many I’d shared with May in my letters. Pops thanks our driver with probably the best tip of his life on account of the celebration.
Ma and May walk ahead of us to a small plane, stairs rolled up at its entrance. Pops is last to ascend as he explains with a breeze trying to lift his hat, “Congressman Hardy from Texas loaned me this. Man’s a billionaire, oil. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had three. Captain Wallace, this is my son Jerald, my eldest, the one we told you about! He helped us win this war!”
I shake the pilot’s hand, “Good to meet you Captain Wallace.”
He smiles, “A Navy man! Battleship?”
“Yes sir, that’s what brought us here, but my time was spent on a submarine.”
Ma offers, standing by. “Jerald is a planesman!”
Impressed, he says, “Steering the vessel yourself, very nice!”
“Me and three other planesmen, sir.”
“That’s one heck of a skill.”
“So is flying a plane, Captain.”
He laughs, “Indeed. I’m going to close the door, but if you folks need anything, I’ll be right up here. The weather looks good and we should have a smooth flight to Georgia!”
May and I sit together, my folks in front discussing the merits of owning a plane and how they wouldn’t want to think of storing costs. Or gasoline, what with the rationing, especially.
While they animately talk, I hold May’s happy gaze. Virginia to Georgia isn’t long by air, but it feels like a lifetime until I’ll get to see May alone.
I sure am glad they brought her.
Who needs food or sleep?
I could live on that smile.
Leaning close, I whisper in her ear, “Marry me.”
38
MAY
By the time we arrive at my home, of course it’s very late. No time for dinner together. But that’s alright. I’m just happy I was along for the ride.
Jerald’s mother bids me goodbye, “May, my dear, we enjoyed your company!”
“Thank you ever so much for bringing me, Mr. and Mrs. Cocker, it meant the world.”
“Now don’t forget to keep our little secret,” his father smiles.
“Cross my heart!”
They wait in the car as Jerald walks with me. “What secret?”
“It’s not a secret if I tell!”
The door opens, and we hide our disappointment. Here is Mother with one of her nice dresses on, Father in clean slacks and a pressed shirt, not far behind. How long had they been waiting, I wonder, forgiving them for stealing my moment alone with Jerald.
They greet him with a friendly welcome, tell him he looks well and everyone is glad to have him back in Georgia. Mother has enough sense to know how much I miss him. “Fred, let’s say hello to Ray and Frances!”
Jerald gives me a lopsided grin as our parents, both sets, happily chat outside of the car. But at least they’re way over there.
He’s staring at my lips as he asks, “Can I call on you tomorrow?”
My heart is louder than my, “Yes!”
“What time?”
“I have church in the morning.”
“I’ll be there. Can I pick you up?”
“Oh,” I glance to our folks. “I always go with my parents.”
“Alright then. How about I take you out after? Say a real restaurant for lunch? I’m sure we can find one open on a Sunday. Can’t claim to have another picnic ready by tomorrow, what with it being this late and my getting used to things.”
“Are you sure you want to?”
He frowns, “Want to what?”
“See me tomorrow. You must be very tired and—”
“—Never wanted anything more in my life.”
We gaze at each other, a kiss not far away. Tomorrow we’ll be alone. This look is saying he’ll kiss me then, and how.
Footsteps approaching drag his gaze from my lips. “Mrs. Kearns, Mr. Kearns, it’s awful late and I better be heading off.”
His mother calls out, “Why Jerald, that’s what I just said to you. Didn’t you hear?”
His father chuckles, walking around the car to get behind the wheel, “I think he had other things on his mind.”
My face goes red, only not from embarrassment. That kind of teasing won’t sit well with my folks. They like Jerald, but I’m their daughter. That’s a layered heap of trouble, in their minds.
“See you at church tomorrow?” he politely asks them, but their lips are tight, manner curt and guarded. Jerald glances to me, tips his white sailor’s cap, and strolls along.
Father’s limp is pronounced as he hurries me inside, shutting the door and pacing.
“Fred, now calm down.”
“Did you see how he looked at her? Like a wolf to a lone sheep in the shadows!”
She takes a deep breath, but her frown won’t budge. “Yes, but you must understand it’s nearly a year since they’ve seen each other.”
“Since he’s seen a female at all!”
“Fred!”
“I’m not wrong!”
“I didn’t say you were wrong, I just wish you’d realize that his parents took May all the way to Virginia to be there when he docked. They would not do that for someone who Jerald was not serious about. They are respectable people. The most respectable we know!”
His nostrils might fly away. “We’re not going to church tomorrow.”
I gasp!
Mother waves me to be quiet. “We go to church every week.”
“Not this week, Dot!”
“Every week, to show our devotion to God, whether or not you are losing your mind.”
He glares at her. “We need to let some time pass before he sets foot near my daughter! That boy needs to cool off!”
With love she says, “You are being ridiculous.”
“You don’t understand men like I do!”
“Fred, listen to me!” She slides her fingers down his arms and takes hold of his hands to stop them from swinging. “Jerald is from a good family. They have become friends of ours. We even had them over for several of our barbecues. If we don’t show our faces at church tomorrow, of all days, what will they think?”
“I don’t care w
hat they think! I care about May! And her future!”
“Do you think I don’t care about that?”
“Not in the way that I do!”
Mother sighs, aware he is speaking about my reputation were I to become in the family way before marriage.
While they argue, I walk upstairs, and they do not notice I’ve gone.
Washing my face, brushing my teeth, and rolling pin curls so that when I wake up they look nice for him, happen with a dreamy smile on my face.
I hum my way over to the dresser I’ve had since I was little, change into my nightgown, and slip under the covers for the best dreams of my life, so far.
39
JERALD
C an’t sleep.
It’s like I drank twenty cups of joe, but I haven’t had one since morning.
Wouldn’t matter if I had.
We drank coffee all day.
You hit your bunk you’re out.
Here I am, tossing.
Back home.
In my own bed.
For good, not just on liberty.
Should be relaxed.
I’m about to hit the ceiling.
Don’t like this.
Can’t take it.
Not for another second.
I throw off the covers, walk into the hall in pajama pants and an undershirt. Feels strange here without my brother. Is this how Hank felt when I left, how quiet it was not having me around?
Shaking my hair out with rough fingertips, I head to the galley to fix something to eat.
Galley.
They don’t call it that here.
It’s just a kitchen again.
No more mess hall.
No more fellas talking all hours of the night.
No more alarms sending us to battle stations.
Why do I keep hearing them?
The smell of cigar smoke pulls me toward the drawing room. Door is closed. No mistaking that smell though. Pops is hiding his relaxation ritual.
The one he swore off after the heart attack.
At the sound of creaking hinges, he hurries to stamp out the habit, swearing under his breath.
May Cocker (Cocker Brothers Book 24) Page 13
