by Murray Pura
An aircraft flashed out of the sun at Raven’s Piper. Becky’s mouth opened. It was a P-40 painted army green. She knew Raven would have to be as startled as she was but he kept his cool and waited until the P-40 was on top of him before dropping quickly and making it tear past just as Jude had been forced to do minutes before. Then he was up and on the Warhawk’s tail. This lasted only a second before the P-40 streaked away. But now both Jude and Flapjack were on Raven’s back.
“That isn’t right!” Becky was shouting. “These souped-up J-3s can only go one-forty tops. The P-40 can go twice as fast!”
Lockjaw chewed. “Actually the Warhawk can go more than twice as fast—three-sixty.”
“It’s not fair! How can he fight against that?”
“War’s not fair, babe. Let’s see how he does.”
“See how he does? Three against one, and the P-40 goes almost four hundred miles an hour?”
Lockjaw chewed rapidly. “Don’t worry. It’s Billy Skipp. He was an ace too. He knows what he’s doing.”
The P-40 roared over Raven’s Piper as it fled Jude and Flapjack and then banked to come back for another pass. Raven decided to go into a corkscrew, diving and spinning away from the Piper J-3s and the Warhawk. Billy Skipp went after him, diving sharply on the spiraling yellow plane.
“Are they crazy?” Becky yelled. “They could kill someone!”
“The whole area’s been cleared. No one’s on the ground. No other Pipers are up. In fact no other aircraft are allowed in this zone.”
“What if Raven heads out to sea and over the beaches?”
“They’ll go after him. But they’ll stay high.”
“These guys are all cowboys! Who knows what Skipp will do?”
“Who knows what the enemy will do? The Zeros are fast and can turn on a dime. Same with the Messerschmitts.”
“How can Skipp be sure he won’t ram him?”
“Well. He’s pretty sure. Skipp’s quite the aviator.”
“What if Raven jigs instead of doing the jag that Skipp expects?”
Lockjaw only chewed and did not respond.
The tumbling and turning and twisting and diving went on for another fifteen minutes before Skipp waggled the P-40’s wings and vanished. First Jude landed and then Flapjack. Raven waited until they were down, circled the airfield once, then suddenly streaked in low and buzzed the two men as they climbed out of their Pipers. They ducked and Flapjack went sprawling.
Lockjaw laughed. “Cheeky brat! They’ll spank him for that!”
Becky’s eyes flashed. “It’s no more than they deserve.”
“Don’t be too hard on your dad. When the day comes this kind of training could save Lover Boy’s life.” Lockjaw glanced at her. “And the lives of others.”
“I’m going to him, Lockjaw.”
“That’s the right thing to do.”
Becky started to run. Raven brought his J-3 in while she ran past her father and Flapjack. He had hardly leaped onto the tarmac before she hurtled into his arms and pulled him close.
“Hey. Easy.” He laughed. “You trying to finish the job for them?”
“I can’t believe they did that to you. Are you okay?”
“It was quite a party. And the P-40 takes the cake.”
“You took the cake. I’m so proud of you.”
“All I did was hang on by my fingernails.”
“Three on one. They’re crazy.”
“The infantry and the Marines crawl under barbed wire while guys fire machine guns over their heads. I guess I’m lucky the P-40 didn’t make it a live-fire exercise.”
She drew back to look at him. “You aren’t upset?”
“Well, I—” He grinned. “I haven’t had so much fun since I barnstormed on my own. Before Timmy Dynamite and the old man’s wild ideas.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“I felt like I was alive.” He tilted up her chin with a curled finger. “Almost as alive as when you love me up.”
“But not quite.”
“Not quite.”
She looked behind her. “They’re being gentlemen. Dad and Flapjack are waiting by the office to talk to you.”
“Come with me to the other side of the plane.”
“Why? Do you have a bullet hole to show me?”
“Hey. I’ll have to check.”
They walked under the wing to the side facing away from Jude and Flapjack and Lockjaw and he suddenly pinned her up against the fuselage and put his arms under her jacket and around her white T-shirt.
“Listen. I want to tell you how good you look.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“I don’t care if it’s a black bathing suit or Hawaiian skirt with a seashell necklace or your flying gear with a jacket big enough for two men to climb into. The first thing I thought after the dogfight was, Great! I get to see Becky Whetstone.”
“A woman likes to hear that. I spend a lot of time picking out my clothes every morning.”
“Yeah?”
She smiled and put her head against his chest. “No.”
“Of course you could wear a sack and look stunning.”
“You and your superlatives. Why don’t you just kiss me? Isn’t that why you hauled me out of sight behind this Piper?”
“I like the word superlative. I should use it more.”
“You use superlatives enough, believe me.”
“Of the highest order or quality or degree. Surpassing or superior to all others. Isn’t that it?”
“So are we in college or behind an airplane in Hawaii?” She reached up for his dog tags and yanked on them. “Hey? What does a girl have to do to get some attention around here?”
“A girl like you? Not much.”
His kiss was slow and deep. When it ended he immediately began another. She tried to say something after that but a third kiss, longer and more penetrating than the other two, took away her words. He was going to start a fourth when she put her fingers on his lips.
“You’ve proved your point,” she said.
“You want me to stop?”
“No, I don’t want you to stop. But Dad and the other two are still waiting by the hut and if we don’t go there soon I know for sure they’ll cross the runway and show up here.”
He began to kiss her neck and ear. “So can we get together after you finish with your students?”
She closed her eyes as he kissed her. “Christian Scott Raven, I am trying to convey the sense that we need to get somewhere else quickly before somewhere else comes to us. You’re not helping.”
“One more kiss then, and we’re off.”
Long and sweet. You remind me so much of Moses. He pulled me behind an airplane so he could kiss me too. And he kissed me until I had no more strength. You do the same thing. I don’t care if my father and Flapjack show up. Let them come. I’d rather be here in your arms. I’m blessed here.
“Lieutenant Raven.”
It was Billy Skipp.
Raven jumped back from Becky and saluted. “Sir.”
“I was going to say as you were, but perhaps not.” He smiled and put his hands on his hips. “I landed the P-40 at Wheeler and had Skinny drive me back here. I think it’s important to talk to the aviator responsible when a Piper J-3 gives a P-40 Warhawk grief.”
“I’d hardly say I gave you grief, Colonel. Sometimes a slower plane just makes it harder for a fighter aircraft to react appropriately.”
“I see. Thanks for the tip.”
“You had me dead to rights a number of times, sir.”
“And you dodged me a number of times, Lieutenant.” Skipp looked at Becky. “So here we have your trainer, Miss Whetstone.”
She was standing at attention beside Raven. “Sir.”
“Lord knows how I’d love to have you in uniform and in a cockpit.” He waved his hand. “Both of you stand down.” He put out a hand. “I was being rough, bouncing you with a P-40. But you were being tricky. Well done.”
Raven shook Skipp’s hand. “Thank
you, sir.”
“Becky. You put everything you had into this pilot. You helped him break through a lot of barriers. I had no doubt you could make the difference. Now he’s on his own.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I may have a few other air force pilots to send your way. Think you can handle it?”
“I can handle it, sir.”
“You don’t need to fall in love with them. Just teach the boys to do barrel rolls quick and tight.”
“I’ll do my best, sir.”
“I’m sure you will.” He snapped them both a salute. “We shouldn’t be saluting one another, Whetstone. But it only seems right. Carry on.”
Skipp walked off, ducking under the engine and heading back across the runway.
“Hey,” said Raven. “He kind of indicated that you fell in love with me during training. Is that true?”
She grinned and punched him on the shoulder. “Shut up, Thunderbird. If it ever happens, trust me, you’ll be the last to know.”
SEVENTEEN
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I’ll ask Mr. Whetstone to say grace.” Lyyndaya smiled at the pilots seated around the table. “He used to be Captain Whetstone.”
Jude stood up. “Twenty years ago I was a lot of things. Now I’m a flight trainer and the happily married father of two. Let’s give thanks.”
After he had prayed the food began to make the rounds. Besides family there were Shooter, Lockjaw, Juggler, Wizard, Whistler, Batman, and two naval men, Harrison of the Coast Guard and his buddy, Dave Goff of the USS Arizona. Everyone was seated at a large table set up outdoors on the patio. Becky had invited two of her Hawaiian women students, Kalino and Hani, as well as one of the new Hawaiian pilots Flapjack had hired, Manuku. Flapjack and his wife, Shirley, sat next to him. Raven had been seated as far away from Becky as he could possibly be placed, with Nate on one side and Jude on the other.
“I love these dresses you ladies are wearing,” said Wizard. “Muumuus—right?”
Lyyndaya nodded. “That’s right.”
“Bright and flowery. All of you look swell.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant.”
“Mrs. Whetstone,” Juggler spoke up between mouthfuls, “this is just like a good old homegrown Wisconsin meal. Where did you get a bird this big in Hawaii? Nobody breeds turkeys on Oahu, do they?”
Lyyndaya smiled a small smile that made everyone think of Becky. “You just have to know where to look, Juggler. I’m glad you like the meal. It’s actually very Pennsylvanian. With a few Hawaiian touches.”
“Thank goodness for that.” Manuku grinned. “It’s great to see the kalua pig dish and the blue marlin. Who grilled the marlin?”
“Why?” responded Lyyndaya.
“It’s top-notch.”
“The guy sitting beside you. Your boss.”
Manuku stared at Flapjack in surprise. “You’re kidding me.”
Flapjack dug into his white turkey meat. “I’ve lived here long enough to know how to grill like a kanaka maoli.”
“Most nonnatives would have overcooked the marlin, boss. They always do. It’s traditional for them to burn it.”
“I started a new tradition. This kama’aina does it like a local.”
“Well, boss, I guess you’re pretty local now.” Manuku spooned up some soup. “You make the saimin noodle soup too? And the poke with the tuna and red cabbage?”
“Not me. Kalino did the poke—”
“No, my mother,” Kalino interrupted.
“Excuse me. Kalino’s mother did the poke. And Hani—or her mother—did the soup.”
Hani smiled. “My grandmother.”
Flapjack lifted his knife and fork high in the air. “There you have it. Authentic Pennsylvania Amish cuisine meets authentic Hawaiian delicacies.”
Manuku pointed with his knife. “What kind of pie is that?”
“Too soon for pie, Manu.”
“It’s shoofly pie,” answered Ruth. “A molasses pie.”
“A molasses pie.” Manuku looked doubtful. “Will I like it?”
“You’ll love it. I’ll cut you a Hawaiian-sized piece when you’re ready.”
Manuku smiled at her. “Thank you, ma’am. I’ll burn through this plate and be ready in five.”
“Ruth. Not ma’am.”
Manuku inclined his head. “Ruth it is. A great name. What does it mean?”
“Lifelong friend.”
Manuku stopped eating. “Lifelong friend? I love that.”
“Thank you. And what about your own name? Manuku?”
“A bird. Moving in the air like a bird.”
“Well. That’s appropriate for an aviator.”
“I used to be afraid of planes. The ones with two wings. Monoplanes looked better to me. Safer than cars. So Mom and Dad paid for my lessons instead of sending me to college.”
Ruth looked down the table. “What about Kalino? And Hani? What do they mean?”
Kalino was buttering bread. “Bright one.”
Hani was dipping into a mixture of cabbage and potato. “Hani means to move lightly.” She smiled at Becky. “So I want to move lightly in the air and please my instructor.”
Becky winked. “You’re doing very well, Hani. And, the truth is, you do have a light touch. So do you, Kalino. It’s a pleasure to go up with you both. Pretty soon Mr. Peterson will be offering some more contracts for instructors and the pair of you will be first in line.”
Kalino glanced at the pilot next to her. “Some names are harder to understand than others.”
Lockjaw still had his Ray-Bans on. He grinned. “Kalino. Trust me. If you knew me you’d know my name was easy to understand.”
“And Wizard? Whistler? Batman?”
Batman looked up from his grilled marlin and poke. “Bite me.”
She laughed, her dark eyes flashing. “What?”
Whistler downed the last of his punch. “Now you know. Bats bite. Some draw blood.”
Flapjack wiped his mouth with a red napkin. “It’s amazing you’ve been able to put all these mainland dishes together, Lyyndaya, considering the shortages in the shops.”
“I couldn’t find anything I needed for a dessert I wanted to make,” Shirley, his wife, said. “So I picked up coconut and pineapple and bananas instead.”
“The ships are bringing in defense material.” Jude put his empty plate to one side. “Airplane parts. Aviation fuel. Ammo. Rifles. Trucks and jeeps. There’s no room for much else. The shopkeepers are pretty sore.”
Flapjack reached for a toothpick from a glass cup. “What do they expect? Every week things get worse with the Japanese. What was it the ambassador from Japan promised the secretary of state a few days ago?”
“Nomura told Cordell Hull they would pull some of their troops out of China in return for a normalization of relations between the US and Japan. Some of their troops, not all of them. The White House said that wasn’t good enough so it was no deal.”
Nate spoke up. “Will there be other offers, do you think?”
Jude glanced at his son. “From Tokyo? I hope so. Cooler heads sometimes prevail.”
“What will it take?”
“From where America stands? Complete withdrawal from China. Nothing less.”
“Will we get it?”
“I don’t know.”
Ruth stood up. “Let’s try and keep things lighthearted, shall we? It is Thanksgiving Day.” She began gathering up plates and Becky rose to help her. “Who wants dessert?”
Manuku raised a hand. “Shoofly pie, please, Miss Ruth.”
“Hang on to your extra fork then.”
Nate turned to Raven and whispered, “Do you think they will land an army here like they did in China?”
Raven shook his head. “I’m no expert, but if they land troops anywhere it will probably be in the Philippines. We have a big base there.”
“You’re positive they wouldn’t come here?”
“Not positive. But Hawaii’s pretty isolated and doesn’t
have the resources they need. There’s really nothing they want. The Philippines have iron, copper, and nickel as well as good anchorage, and they’re a lot closer to Japan.”
Nate’s face was pale. “Would they send you there? Or my sister? Or father?”
“No. Your dad isn’t in the military anymore. And your sister never was. They’re not going anywhere.”
“What about you?”
“I don’t know. They might move planes and pilots to the US base there if things get worse with Japan.”
“They’re not getting any better. Excuse me.”
Nate got up from the table and left the patio. His father noticed. And Becky, who was serving pie. She set down a plate and came toward Raven.
“What’s up with my brother?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. He seems pretty worried about the Japanese invading Hawaii.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That there’s nothing here. They’d be more likely to put an army in the Philippines. Then he got anxious about you or me or your dad being posted there. I reminded him that you and your father were not in the military and couldn’t be sent anywhere. But it didn’t seem to calm him down.”
“Come with me a minute.”
They left Ruth chatting with Manuku and the pilots hovering around Hani and Kalino while Flapjack and Jude sat with Harrison and Goff. Nate was sitting on a bench under a cluster of tall palms about a hundred yards from the house. Becky took Raven’s hand.
“I’m worried about him. Instead of getting better he’s been getting worse since we moved to Hawaii.”
Raven watched Nate put his head in his hands. “I’m no Army shrink but I can see what’s eating him. He’s afraid of getting caught up in another Nanking. Or those he loves getting caught up in one. So whether the Japanese land troops here or in Manila Bay or anywhere in the world it doesn’t matter—it puts fear in his gut. He’s even treating me like family, worked up I’ll get shipped to the Philippines or somewhere else in harm’s way.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
“Neither do I, Beck. But you and I have both bottled things up that took the heart out of us. He’s doing the same thing. Nanking is chewing on his soul like a worm.” He began to walk toward Nate. “Let’s try.”
He sat beside Nate. “Is it okay if I park myself here?”
