“It’s a custom,” Ella explained, “welcoming home a victorious army with a victory arch.”
It was still too early for the parade when they reached their destination, but already thousands of people were crowding the curbs. His flag borne proudly aloft, Charlie held tightly to Papa’s hand.
The streets wore a holiday air. Banners floated from office buildings and brownstone houses, with red, white, and blue decorations everywhere. And the Victory Arch! Right in the middle of the Square it soared, dazzlingly white in the sun, a magnificently ornamented central arch supported by smaller arches on either side. On top was a statue, colossal in size, of a large chariot drawn by six spirited horses and bearing a triumphant figure carrying a flag. On the smaller arches were placed four figures, representing Peace, Justice, Power, and Wisdom. Elaborately carved pillars lined the roadway leading to the entrance.
“Look, Charlie,” Papa pointed upward, “how’d you like to take a ride in the sky?” Charlie stared heavenward at two giant balloons that floated from the top of the central arch.
They waited and waited. “When are they going to start the parade?” Charlie kept asking.
“I’m getting tired standing,” Gertie complained.
Mama spread a newspaper on the curbstone, and grownups good-naturedly moved aside to let the youngsters sit down. Suddenly, from a distance, they could hear “Boom, boom, boom!” and the sound of stirring music. “Here they come!” “Look at them!” The crowd surged forward, pressing against the lines of policemen.
Up the avenue they came, twenty thousand strong, with flags flying and bands playing. In the lead rode their general, mounted on a white horse. The people broke into wild cheers and waved frantically.
As the troops passed in review, there were many who showed the scars of battle; some limped and some had their arms in slings. But they stepped forward beneath the forest of flags with a pride that thrilled everyone. It was as if they were saying, “We saw it through!”
All the while, Ella was searching for Jules. He must see her to know how proud she was of him. Her eyes lit on a face that seemed familiar; it was lean and tanned a ruddy brown. Was it really Jules? My, how manly he looked! The family leaped about, yelling excitedly, “Jules! Jules!”
But Jules, every inch the soldier, marched stiffly by without once turning his head or missing a step. In another moment, he and his comrades were passing through the Victory Arch.
At the end of the procession, a large flag covered with gold stars came into view, and the onlookers grew still in memory of those who had given their lives for their country. Papa shook his head sadly. “There must be a star for Bill,” he said.
“Carry me upstairs, Papa,” Charlie implored as they approached the stoop. “I’m tired.”
“We’re all tired,” said Papa, giving Charlie’s nose a little tweak. “So why don’t you carry me upstairs?”
Charlie giggled and yawned at the same time as Papa lifted him in his arms, and the weary family plodded into the hallway.
The Healys’ doors were wide open. Something unusual was going on. As they passed, they could hear shrill and excited talking and what sounded like weeping. What was the matter? The family exchanged startled glances. “Something terrible must have happened!” Mama cried out in alarm. She rushed into the Healy parlor, everyone at her heels.
Mama stopped short, bewildered at the strange sight before her. Grace was on the couch, hands covering her face, sobbing convulsively. Mrs. Healy was standing beside her, exclaiming over and over, “Glory be! Glory be!” Mr. Healy, his face as red as a beet, was hopping around the table and shouting.
Catching sight of the family, Mrs. Healy waved a piece of yellow paper at them. “It’s wonderful, wonderful!”
Grace lifted her head. Her face was tear-stained but happy. “It’s a telegram from Bill! He’s alive! He was in a German prison camp all the time!”
Later, when the family was gathered around the supper table, Papa said, “Now that Ella’s young man is back, I guess I’ll have to give up smoking.”
Mama glanced at him skeptically. “What do you mean?”
“Well, after all,” Papa’s eyes twinkled, “I have to start saving every extra penny for her dowry.”
“Papa!” protested Ella, her face flaming.
“Yes,” Henny added, “from now on, all we’ll hear around here is Jules, Jules, Jules!”
“You know what I think, Henny,” Sarah teased, “you’re just jealous because you don’t have a boy friend of your own.”
“When I grow up, I’m going to be a soldier and march in parades,” Charlie announced.
Gertie patted his head fondly. “I thought you wanted to be a fireman.”
Charlie cocked his head and thought a moment. “Well, maybe I’ll be a cowboy instead,” he decided.
“Can you imagine the fascinating stories Bill will be telling, being in a prison camp and everything?” Charlotte exclaimed.
“What a miracle!” Mama said fervently. She put her hand to her cheek. “I still can’t believe it.”
“Yes, Mama.” Papa nodded his head. He lit his pipe and looked around at his family. “God has been good to us. We have managed to live through all this terrible time, and now the world is at peace.”
All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown Page 10
