She pulled free, avoiding eye contact, and set the glass on the bench beside her. “Yes, well, now that I’ve delivered the message…” Kitty started to get up, but he caught her arm and stopped her.
“Don’t go. You might as well stay. We could talk a while.”
“Well, if you want to.” Her voice squeaked, so she cleared her throat and forced herself to relax, at least a little.
He turned up his glass and emptied it. The faint shadow of stubble on his jaw reminded her of that day on the beach. What would it hurt? A few minutes, sitting here talking to him. “Madge did say you were upset about something.”
“Upset! Ha! Why would I be upset?” He waved the empty glass in the air.
She’d said the wrong thing. Now what?
He turned and glared at her. “You gonna’ drink that?”
She picked up the glass and hesitated before taking another sip. He took it from her and grinned again, just before he turned it up and chugged the contents.
Kitty waited, her insides clenched tight. She hated drunks. The alcohol added a layer of uncertainty to her underlying discomfort around men, making them unpredictable.
He set the glass down beside the bench and turned back to her, his smile barely disguising a seething anger. “I’ve been relieved of duty.” Sarcasm dripped from his words. “How’s that for a laugh? I’m foot loose and fancy free.” He frowned a bit, looking away. “Well, not exactly free. I’m stuck here on this base. Nothing to do. Just wait and wonder.” His anger dissolved into disgust, with a hint of disappointment. He studied the empty glass for a few seconds. The muscle in his jaw flexed. “And drink.”
He stood and grabbed the other empty glass. “I’m going to get another drink. And I’m going to get you one, too.”
Before Kitty had a chance to say no, he was gone, without a backward glance. She thought about leaving…no, running away. But Madge would want to know what he meant by being relieved from duty. What had he done to get in that kind of trouble?
****
“Pardon me, boys.” He pushed his way past several officers entering the club. A good work out and two beers still hadn’t been enough to settle his seething anger. So he’d switched to something stronger.
And he had to face her.
Kitty sat waiting for him. She looked a bit lost, like she’d rather be anywhere but here, talking to him. Not that he blamed her. He hadn’t handled it very well.
He made his way across the patio until he stood looking down at her. “It’s just beer.” He thrust the dripping glass toward her.
She took it from him and shot a wary glance his way. He sipped a little of the Old Fashioned before sinking down onto the bench beside her.
A wave of fatigue flooded over him. Some instinct told him to pull her close, to hold her warm body in his arms. Comfort. That’s what he needed. And if Madge was sitting here beside him, he wouldn’t hesitate. But Kitty was different.
In one sense, he barely knew her. In another, she peered into his very soul, exposing every fault. Was she keeping him at a distance because she didn’t like what she saw? Or was it because of Madge?
He’d convinced her to stay and talk. That was something. Now he just had to figure out what to say to her. He didn’t really know how to talk to a nice girl. Then, maybe, she was just like any other girl.
He stretched his arm out along the back of the bench, resting on the wooden back, but close enough for him to feel the heat from her shoulders. He angled his body toward her so he could watch her, see how she reacted.
She took a sip of the beer, and her lips pursed before she forced herself to swallow. Either she didn’t like beer, or she was extremely uncomfortable in his company.
“What’s this about being relieved of duty?” she asked, without taking her eyes from the glass.
Her question stabbed him like a knife. His fury flared in response. He jerked his arm back, leaned forward, and clutched the drink with both hands.
“It’s a bunch of crap. Just because I talked to some old German guy when I was in the village, the intelligence boys are investigating.” He stared into the dark liquid and clenched his teeth as the scene in Snyder’s office flashed into his mind.
“Do they think he’s a spy?”
“Hell if I know. They wouldn’t tell me anything. Just asked me a bunch of questions and left me sitting on my hands.” He took a long drink hoping the alcohol would calm him.
Her silence hung between them. He turned to look at her, and their gazes met. In that moment he desperately needed her to believe in him. “Do you think I’m an informer?”
“I…uh, I don’t know,” she stammered, quickly averting her eyes. “I don’t know you that well.”
“You know me. You know things about me no one else knows.”
His comment startled her into looking at him. “What do you mean?”
“That day on the beach. You saved me.”
“But you were a stranger. I didn’t even know where you came from.”
“From a ship…the German’s torpedoed.” He leaned close, so close the faint odor of soap and something floral filled his nostrils. His eyes captured hers and refused to let her look away. “Or did you think I was a spy coming ashore to kill and destroy?”
She smiled, then. That sweet, angelic smile. “That’s absurd. You were barely alive.”
“Yes.” Pure joy bubbled up inside him. “Exactly. That’s what you will tell them.” He raised his glass as if to toast her.
“Tell who?”
“The investigators.”
“Why would they talk to me?”
She sounded as confused as he was. What was he thinking? He had to keep her out of his mess. He didn’t want to drag anyone else into this.
He took another drink and thought about his grandparents. Were they enduring this same kind of crap just because they were German? He knew some German Americans had been interned, like the Japanese just not near as many. And although his grandfather would never write it in a letter, Ted knew they had been questioned and investigated, just as he had been when he first enlisted. Now it had started again.
“Did you tell them? About me, I mean?” she asked quietly as if afraid to interrupt his musing.
“No. Of course not. I never told anyone.” His words came out flat as he gazed into the amber liquid.
“Then why do you think they would question me?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” He leaned back and ran his hand through his hair. “This has got me so balled up, I can’t think.” He drew a deep breath and turned to face her. “They won’t let me go back to flying. They won’t let me work planning missions. They won’t let me do anything.”
“They’ll investigate and find you did nothing wrong. And everything will be okay.”
“You really believe that?”
“Yes, I do. You have nothing to worry about.”
He smiled and leaned closer, wishing he could pull her into his arms. “Are you for real?”
“Of course, I am.” She pulled back, her fingers twisting a button on her jacket. Her face flushed. Something about her shyness had an endearing quality, an innocence he rarely saw.
Seconds ticked by as he soaked up her nearness. Finally he withdrew.
She released a breath and visibly relaxed. He fought the urge to gloat at the effect he had on her. The last thing he wanted was to scare her away.
He finished off his drink and placed the empty glass on the bench beside him. Then he leaned back and slid his arm behind her again, but this time he rested it around her shoulders. Using the slightest of pressure, he pulled her close, but he didn’t say anything.
They sat there quietly for a few minutes until the tenseness of her body relaxed against him. It was nice sitting there together, not talking or doing anything, just being together.
“Hey, Kruger,” a familiar voice called out as a lieutenant approached.
Within seconds Johnson stood over them. Another officer followed.
&nb
sp; Kitty stiffened.
“Who’s the new girl?” Lieutenant Johnson asked.
Ted straightened up, removing his arm from her shoulders. “This is Kitty…uh…Sergeant Greenlee. She’s one of Madge’s friends.”
As he spoke, Kitty jumped to her feet and saluted the officers.
Ted joined her facing Johnson and the other officer. They casually returned her salute while looking her over, head to toe. Their superior attitude rubbed Ted the wrong way. They had no right to look at her that way.
“That Madge is a hot cookie,” the second lieutenant Ted didn’t recognize commented. “Mind if I move in?”
Ted’s immediate instinct was to warn them to stay away from Madge. But he stopped himself. He’d intended to tell Madge today that they should start seeing other people. Instead Kitty showed up, and he couldn’t very well send a message to Madge that he wanted to break up, especially not with Kitty as the messenger.
“Well, what do you say?” the officer asked.
Ted glanced over at Kitty. “You better ask Madge.”
A questioning frown twisted Kitty’s lovely face. He’d give her credit, though. She said nothing.
The man laughed. “All right, I will.” He looked around at his companions, grinning, and then turned toward the Officers’ Club.
“What did you mean by that?” Kitty asked, once they were out of ear shot.
Ted had to figure out what to say to her. It wouldn’t be fair to tell Kitty he wanted to break it off with Madge and then have Kitty go and tell Madge. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them. He strode back and forth trying to decide what to do, acutely aware Kitty watched him intently.
Finally, he stopped in front of her, faced her. “What time does Madge get off?”
Although surprised at his question, she maintained her composure. “About twenty-one hundred, I’d guess.”
“She’s at the women’s mess, right?”
Kitty nodded. “It’ll be lights out before she gets back to the hut.”
“Okay.” He turned away, trying to think what he would do.
“I don’t understand. What am I supposed to tell her?”
“Nothing.” He looked over his shoulder. What if Kitty saw Madge before he did? “You can say I was relieved of duty pending the investigation.”
She took a step toward him, that questioning frown distorting her face.
“Don’t tell her anything else.” It wasn’t how he wanted to handle things. He didn’t want Kitty in the middle of this.
“Madge is my friend. I can’t lie to her.”
“I’m not asking you to lie. Just to give me a chance to talk to her.” He admired Kitty’s loyalty to her friend. And he didn’t want to come between them. But he wanted to be free to pursue Kitty without involving Madge, without hurting her. After all, Madge was a big girl. She’d been around. She knew the score. They’d just been having fun. And it hadn’t really gone that far, even though he sensed that he had been the one holding back, not Madge.
“I think I’d better go,” Kitty said. “I’ll give Madge your message if…when I see her.” She turned and hurried away.
Ted watched her go. He could tell by the way she walked that she knew he was watching. That forced steady pace, that stiff back, head held high. He wondered if once she turned the corner onto the main road and he could no longer see her, if she would break into a run. She looked that anxious to get away from him.
Did he have a chance with her? Did she feel the same…what could he call it? Attraction? Bond? Connection? He didn’t know what it was exactly. He just knew there was something there. Something different. Something he’d never felt before. And he wanted more of it.
****
In the dark outside the mess tent, Ted could hear the muffled voices of the women as they cleaned up after the evening meal. It was hard for him to imagine Madge scrubbing pans. She wasn’t the type. Only try telling that to the Army. Their policy was that everyone pulled KP, every enlisted person that was. Officers like him managed to avoid the unpleasant duty.
He held his wrist up close to his face and drew deeply on the cigarette in his mouth so the ash glowed just enough to illuminate the dial. Eight-fifty, or rather twenty-fifty Army time. They ought to be finishing up.
As if on cue, the light in the tent went out, and someone emerged from the mess hall. Ted’s eyes were already accustomed to the dark, so he saw them before they became aware of his presence.
A small flashlight clicked on and remained focused on the ground.
“Corporal Sorensen?” He said it loud enough for them to hear but soft enough not to startle them.
“Who wants to know,” the familiar saucy voice replied.
“Lieutenant Kruger. I’d like a word.” He tried to maintain an official tone, although the other women surely knew of his relationship with Madge.
“Sure.” Madge’s voice came from one of the shapes moving in the dark. “You girls go on. I’ll catch up.”
She stepped close enough for him to feel her breath on his sleeve but remained silent until the two other women disappeared down the path.
He was watching the tiny light flutter its way into the darkness when her arms slipped around his waist.
“Sorry I couldn’t come earlier. I couldn’t get out of this. You know how it is.”
“Yes, I know.” He gently peeled her hands from his midsection. “We need to talk.”
Even though he couldn’t see her face, he felt her body stiffen. “What’s going on?”
He looked around. There was no where they could go at this time of night. Nowhere that they could go and sit and talk, calmly, frankly.
“I wanted to talk to you. To explain.” He took a deep breath. He had to start somewhere. He placed his hand on her shoulder and steered her down the path toward her quarters. “I’ve been relieved of duty.”
She stopped abruptly. “What?”
He could see her face was turned up to his. “They’re investigating an old German man who lives in Ellingham. I’ve talked to him a few times, so they are investigating me, too.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Yeah, well, tell that to Colonel Snyder.”
“Humph.”
“Right. Anyway I don’t know what I’ll be doing or where I’ll be.”
“It’ll work out, sweetie. Don’t you worry.” She reached up and placed her palm on his cheek. She probably expected him to kiss her, but that wasn’t what he’d come for. He had to finish it now, before he succumbed to her charms.
He removed her hand and almost pushed her to continue down the path. “I think we need to take a break. Not see each other for a while.”
“What? Why?”
Her shock was evident in her voice, and he understood why. He’d kind of hit her out of the blue.
“I just think it would be best.”
“That’s no reason.”
The shock had turned to irritation.
“Look, we’re just having a good time here. Right? And I’m not very good company right now. So you should be free to go out and have a good time with whoever you like.” He didn’t want to hurt her, but he wanted to remind her what they’d said all along. Just for fun. That’s all it was. And now it was over.
“You don’t mean that. You’re just upset. Give it a little time. It’ll all work out.”
“Maybe so. But for now, this is the way it has to be.”
They’d stopped not far from her quarters.
“Good-bye, Madge.” He turned and retreated into the darkness before she had a chance to say anything else.
He knew Madge well enough to know she wouldn’t give up when she really wanted something. He’d keep his distance. After a while she’d find someone else, or a dozen someones, to have fun with.
****
“What do you think you’re doing?” Madge plopped down in the chair beside Kitty.
“Eating lunch,” Kitty replied. “I have to grab something while the general is busy, or I wou
ldn’t get anything. He doesn’t believe in stopping for lunch.” She took a bite of the thick bread, dreading what Madge would say next.
Madge had come in late last night, and Kitty had pretended to be asleep. This morning Kitty got up early and managed to get away before Madge could corner her. She’d been a coward, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t want Madge mad at her.
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.”
Kitty glanced at her friend while still chewing. Madge’s lips were pressed together, her eyebrows furrowed in an expression of anger Kitty rarely saw. After swallowing the near-tasteless bread she asked, “What’s the matter with you?”
“Ted came to the mess tent last night. He said he wanted us to stop seeing each other.”
“Really!”
“Oh, don’t give me that…that surprised look. You know perfectly well why.” When Kitty did not reply, Madge continued “Yesterday. You met Ted at the Officers’ Club. And from the stories I heard you got pretty friendly.”
“Friendly. You sent me there. You said talk to him. We sat on a bench and talked. That’s all.”
“That’s not what I heard.”
“He was a little drunk. He had been relieved, and he was upset.”
“I heard he had his arm around you.” Madge showed no signs of calming down.
“Not exactly.” Her friend’s eyes flashed, and Kitty focused on the pile of mashed potatoes on her plate. “He put his arm around me…on the bench. That’s all.” She cut her eyes around to gauge Madge’s reaction. “It was just out of habit. He didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Well, that’s not how I heard it.”
Kitty could hear the hurt in her friend’s voice. “What did he tell you?”
“It’s not just what he told me. It’s what he told Lieutenant Carver. Ted told him that he could ask me out.”
Kitty tried to remember what Ted had said to the other officers. She couldn’t remember his exact words, but she had been surprised at how he had implied that Madge was available. “He was upset,” she repeated.
“Sure. Upset because he’s being investigated, because he’s been relieved. That doesn’t mean he has to break up with me.”
“Did he really break up with you?” It was hard for Kitty to believe.
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