by Gordon Ryan
“It was just a movie, Bess,” Tommy said, putting his arm around her and pulling her closer as they walked.
“But it was like life, don’t you think? Many of us are unable to keep our promises, and it’s not always our fault. Circumstances sometimes combine to prevent us from doing what we know we should.”
“Maybe it works the other way, too. Take you for instance. You said you became a doctor because your brother said you couldn’t.”
“Oh, that was just a family rivalry. He didn’t mean it. Maybe you’re really thinking about yourself?”
Tommy thought silently for several moments about why he had originally joined the Marine Corps and how it had ultimately shaped his life.
“We take different paths, I suppose, Bess, perhaps as a result of what others wanted or didn’t want for us. Take that actress, for instance,” he said, smiling at her. “What did you think of her?”
“A beautiful woman, but more than that. You could almost see her soul. She was beautiful inside, if you know what I mean.”
“I do. But, of course, she’s a Callahan,” he laughed.
“Right,” Bess laughed in return. “And what about your soul, Major Callahan? Is it beautiful, too?”
“Marines don’t have souls, Doctor Rossiter. They’re not standard issue, I’m afraid. And if they were, they would probably need to be polished and readied for inspection twice each month.”
“C’mon, no more evasion, if you please. What do you believe, Tommy?” Bess asked as they continued walking along the ocean front.
“About what?”
“About things, people, medicine, war, the hereafter, love ... anything that matters in this life.”
“Introduction to philosophy, you mean?”
“I mean ... what do you believe?” she repeated.
He stopped walking and turned to face her, lifting her chin so that she faced him directly. He leaned down and tenderly kissed her lips, then pulled his face back and looked into her eyes.
“I believe that you are an extraordinary woman, Elizabeth Rossiter, and that I’ve never met anyone quite like you. I believe that you are beautiful, intelligent, conscientious, caring, spontaneous ... and that you have excellent taste in men,” he added.
“Wow! Flattery and conceit in one sentence. I’m impressed.”
“By the kiss or by the words?” he teased. “Or would you prefer a chance for a second opinion?”
Instead of answering, Bess turned and started walking again, pulling Tommy along by wrapping her arm inside his. They walked for a couple of minutes, saying nothing but watching the cluster of stars that occasionally broke through the intermittent cloud cover and enjoying the sound of the waves. At the end of the walkway, they turned inland and headed back toward the hotel.
Entering the lobby, Bess stifled a laugh at the sight of two elderly men, who were seated in front of the fire in a dense haze of cigar smoke. Both men looked up at the younger couple and then resumed their conversation.
“I think I’d best get some sleep, Tommy. I got off shift this morning at six, just before you picked me up. Sunshine tomorrow, I’m sure of it,” she smiled.
They walked up the staircase and stopped in front of Bess’s room. With only a slight hesitation, Tommy leaned to kiss her again, holding her cheek in his hand.
“As they say, you Yanks really are a brash lot,” she said, a slight smile on her lips.
“I guess we are, especially with a beautiful woman. Oh, and regarding what I believe. I believe much the same way Abigail did in the film tonight. We do have an obligation to honor our promises and to do right by others. In fact, Abigail learned that from me.”
“Oh, really?” Bess said, her tone mocking.
“Yes, really,” he smiled. “You see, Teresa Callahan, Abigail, is my younger sister. My twin sister actually. I taught her everything she knows, though she probably wouldn’t agree.”
“You’re joking,” Bess said, her sleepiness suddenly gone.
“I seldom joke about anything to do with Teresa. Her married name is Stromberg, and she has three children.”
“Why didn’t you tell me during the movie?”
“I didn’t think it was important,” he said.
“Of course it’s important,” Bess said, punching his arm.
“Maybe that’s not quite true,” he laughed. “I wanted to see if you liked the movie and the actress before committing myself.”
“How devious. If I’d said the film was terrible and the actress dreadful, you’d never have told me she was your sister, would you?”
“Probably not,” he admitted. “See you for breakfast?”
“Not too early. These lazy mornings are quite rare. When I can sleep in, that is.”
“Goodnight, Bess. Thank you for coming.”
“Other than the rain, it’s been perfect, Tommy,” she said, inserting the skeleton key into the lock while Tommy stood close behind her. She opened the door and then turned quickly, kissing him lightly on the lips, smiling at him, and then just as quickly stepping inside and closing the door behind her.
Inside her room, Doctor Elizabeth Rossiter leaned against the door frame and breathed deeply, clutching her hands against her chest.
“This cannot work, Lizzie,” she said softly to herself.
“You’re on a path to nothing but heartache, and you’ve got to get control of yourself and stop it while there’s still time.”
She undressed, pulled on a heavy, flannel nightgown and climbed between the cold sheets. She pulled the down comforter up around her neck and turned on her side so she could look out the small window toward the ocean.
“A second opinion he wants,” she chuckled. “Hmmmph.”
At eight o’clock sharp, Bess was roused from a deep sleep by a gentle but persistent knock on her door. She rose, pulled on a bathrobe and slippers, and went to the door.
“Yes, who is it?”
“Breakfast call,” a familiar voice called out.
“Tommy, I’m not properly dressed.”
“Nevertheless, bangers, eggs, and hot chocolate are standing here on a tray waiting for someone to devour them.”
Bess cracked open the door and peeked out. Tommy stood in the hall behind a small wheeled cart and a tray containing several dishes of food, cups and saucers, and a small silver pitcher.
“Thomas Callahan,” she laughed in spite of herself, “a man is supposed to know that a woman needs time to herself in the morning.”
“I could leave the tray, ma’am,” he grinned.
“Five minutes, Major Callahan, if you please.”
“The hot chocolate will get cold.”
“Too bad. You should have thought of that before launching your assault. Five minutes I said, and I mean it.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied. “I’ll just nibble out here in the hallway. Oh, and by the way, the sun is out.”
“You’re impossible,” she said, closing the door.
In about three minutes, a touch of lipstick on, her hair hastily combed, and her robe adjusted properly, Bess reopened the door ... to an empty hallway. She looked up and down but there was no sign of Tommy. Then she stepped across the hallway and knocked lightly on his door.
“Yes, who is it?”
“Tommy,” she said, looking about to see if anyone was in the hallway to see her in her robe, knocking on a man’s door, “open up this minute.”
The door opened and Bess quickly stepped in to see that the food had been placed on a small table next to the window.
“Breakfast is served, madam,” he said, closing the door. “It’s not often I have a beautiful lady demanding entry into my room so early in the morning.”
“Even with only one good arm, you’re a handful, Thomas Callahan.”
“I hope so, Bess,” he said, sliding the chair back for her to take a seat. “And by the way, you look absolutely beautiful this morning. And I need no second opinion.”
On Friday morning, a
fter spending four days in Brighton, they checked out of the hotel, loaded the car with their few possessions, and drove away from the seaside village. The weather had cooperated for the final three days, and they had enjoyed their stay. On one of the mornings, with the sun out, they even ventured to go swimming in the ocean. Given that all the other people on the beach were bundled in sweaters and jackets against the coolness of the breeze, they should have known better. In a show of bravery, and holding his cast out of the water, Tommy took a brief plunge in the frigid water but quickly came sputtering back to shore, shivering uncontrollably. They’d only been able to tolerate an hour on the beach, during which they kept themselves swathed in towels, trying to imagine the air was getting warmer.
During their stay in Brighton, they did manage to get in two picnics, one horseback ride, and even a short trip out into the English Channel, made possible when Tommy chartered a small fishing boat, complete with a two-man crew.
On the last night of their holiday, following dinner and a long walk, they had paused in the darkness before going into the hotel. With Bess leaning against a tree, Tommy had kissed her softly, then more urgently. Yielding to the moment, Bess at first responded ardently, but then suddenly broke off their embrace and pushed past Tommy toward the hotel entrance. It provided an awkward moment, and knowing he’d somehow offended Bess, Tommy followed her.
He caught her inside the hotel, where a number of people sitting in the lobby turned to look at them. Taking Bess’s arm, Tommy turned her toward him. Not wishing to be overheard, he said quietly, “What is it? Are you all right?”
Glancing at the hotel guests who were staring at them, Bess said nothing but shook her head. Then she pulled out of his grasp and quickly went up the stairs to her room. Wondering what had happened, Tommy could only stare after her.
Bess was quiet during most of the drive home, responding to Tommy’s questions or comments, but remaining silently contemplative the rest of the time. As they neared the village of Camberley, Tommy asked if she would like to stop at the Star and Garter for dinner before going home.
“I don’t think so, Tommy. I’ve got to wash my hair, finish a few things, and get ready for another shift starting at six tomorrow morning.”
He drove straight to her apartment where he lifted her bag out of the boot and saw her to the door as he had the first night he had walked her home.
“Tommy,” she said, her voice sounding hesitant and tentative, “I’ve had a wonderful time this week, truly. But perhaps we should take time to consider where we’re headed.”
“I’m headed right here, every chance I get, Bess. What do you mean?”
“Well, this is all so sudden. I’ve still got two years of long hours and hard study if I’m to get through this residency.”
“I don’t mean to interfere with that, Bess. What do you really mean,” he asked.
She looked directly at his face, then lowered her eyes.
“That is what I mean, Tommy. I’ve had a good time, but I can’t, uh, I just ...”
“Are you telling me you don’t want to see me anymore, Bess? I thought we had a good time and liked each other. If it’s about that kiss, I—”
“It’s not that. At least not only that,” Bess said. He could see that she was struggling to say what she was feeling, but the implications did not seem to be favorable.
“I’m tired. I really need to get upstairs. Please understand.”
“Bess, if you want the truth, I don’t understand at all.”
“I’m sorry, Tommy. Really. We’re from two different worlds. I’ve been thinking about it all the way home. Since the first day, actually. I do like you, but—”
“Two countries, Bess, not two worlds. And I admire your country and its people. My brother even lives there, and he married a Kiwi.”
“But I think we’re moving in two different directions ... in life, I mean.”
“I really don’t understand that. But if that’s what you really want, Bess, I’ll not call you again, but it doesn’t make sense.”
Again she glanced at him, and he could see the glistening in her eyes as she appeared to fight off the tears. She touched his cheek with her hand and then opened the front door and quickly stepped inside. After the door closed, Tommy stood there for a moment before returning to his car, starting the engine, and driving down the street. On impulse, he stopped at the Star and Garter and went inside, where he was met by Mrs. Proctor.
“Good evening, Mr. Callahan. Just one for dinner tonight?”
“Just one, Mrs. Proctor. And I’ll have a bottle of your best red wine if you please.”
“Certainly, sir. I’ll bring it right out.”
Reprisal
The Callahans
Book Five
Copyright 2011 Gordon Ryan
Pegasus Publishing
Chapter One
Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst
Camberley, Surrey, England
September, 1935
Major Thomas Callahan thought it made no sense. Doctor Elizabeth Rossiter liked him. He knew she liked him. There was no faking that kiss during their trip to Brighton. But still, once they returned from the holiday weekend, she’d told him she didn’t want to see him anymore. Women were crazy. There was no getting around it.
Two weeks before Christmas, Tommy received a letter from his brother, PJ, a successful sheep rancher in Canterbury, New Zealand. Tommy marveled at the recently released New Zealand airmail stamp in the upper right-hand corner. Six months months earlier, in the southern hemisphere summer of 1935, Pan American’s new Clipper had opened commercial air routes to the Far East and the South Pacific . These flights had begun carrying mail across the Atlantic to Europe. Within a year, letters that had previously taken three months to transit from New Zealand to England by ship through the Panama Canal were making the trip in three or four weeks. The world was getting smaller each year, it seemed.
PJ’s letter was full of family news, including details of his oldest son’s riding exploits. At fifteen, Clinton Callahan had taken the under-eighteen Canterbury equestrian championship, and PJ took the opportunity to skite a bit about his oldest son. But it was the brief comment toward the end of the letter that caught Tommy’s full attention. He read PJ’s statement several times, finally understanding what had eluded him ever since Bess had declared they should no longer see one another.
... regarding the young woman you mentioned in your last letter, Elizabeth Rossiter, I do indeed know the family. In fact, I met her father, Trevor Rossiter, some months ago at a gathering of priesthood leaders in Christchurch. He’s been the branch president in the Scottish community of Dunedin for well over ten years, and ...
Tommy set the letter on the table and stood by the window of his quarters, gazing out at the parade ground and the cadets forming up for evening assembly.
What had she asked me in Brighton ... What do you believe, Tommy? Clearly that’s the problem Bess was having with me. Not knowing where I stand on religion, she was trying to give me an opening to discuss my beliefs and convictions. She was trying to do some missionary work on me.
Suddenly Tommy was sure of it. Bess felt she couldn’t pursue a relationship with a man who had no interest in her way of life. Any committed LDS woman would hesitate to allow herself to fall in love with a nonmember. Even his mom had initially rejected his father for the same reason.
He shook his head as he remembered what had happened—drinking coffee, offering Bess a glass of wine, and not responding when she asked him what was important to him in life. There was no way she could have known that he had any knowledge of Mormons—that he was himself a Mormon! He smiled to himself. He couldn’t blame her. What were the odds of meeting another Mormon in England, outside of actual Church activities? Especially if that man was a career Marine?
Thinking about what Elizabeth had done, Tommy found all the more reason to admire her, for sticking to her convictions, despite the fact that she was—in his
opinion—strongly attracted to him. Was she strongly attracted to him? Of course she was, he assured himself. Why else had she responded so warmly to him at first?
Since September and returning from their trip together, Tommy had written two brief notes to Bess and mailed them to the hospital. Only one had been answered, and that only to thank him again for his generosity on their holiday in Brighton. She had not been unkind, but it had been clear—she was focused on completing her residency and then returning to New Zealand. There was nothing to indicate any further interest on her part.
Tommy left his apartment, taking the steps to the lower level two at a time. He hurried across the quadrant toward the officers’ dining hall, continuing around the side of the building to the enlisted side of the facility. He stopped two sergeants who were entering and asked them to please locate Corporal Townsend. In a few moments, Townsend came outside.
“Sir, may I be of assistance this evening?”
“Sorry to interrupt your tea, Corporal, but I need you to do something for me.”
“At your service, sir.”
Tommy explained his request and Corporal Townsend nodded compliance.
“I’ll get on it immediately, sir. Actually shouldn’t be too difficult. I have a suspicion it will be down to Aldershot, though.”
