Kitty's War

by Barbara Whitaker

  Kitty steered him to a cushioned bench in the little alcove beside the stairs. They both sank down to sit beside each other. Ted grasped her hands and stared at them. He was in as much a state of shock as she was.

  “Can we get you anything?” one of the girls asked.

  “No,” Kitty answered. “Just let us sit here a minute.”

  The two faded away, their voices and footsteps echoing on the stairway.

  “Oh, Ted,” she sighed.

  He drew a deep breath, then stifled a cough. “I…I have to ask you.” His gaze met hers.

  “What?”

  “If you’ll marry me?” His voice pleaded, his face desperate.

  She hadn’t expected him to ask her, not yet. He’d only just appeared out of nowhere.

  “I know it’s sudden, but I don’t have much time.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They’re shipping me home.” He forced a smile. “I’ve got a three-day pass. And the name of a chaplain who’ll help us.”

  “Three days.” Her throat contracted. She fought back the tears. “But you just got here.”

  He nodded. “I know. I know.”

  He looked so pitiful. Nothing like the strong confident man she’d known in England. She pulled him into her arms.

  He held her tightly. “You’re the only thing that kept me going. Thinking of you. Holding you again.” His hand reached up and touched her hair. She knew what he wanted. For her to take it down so he could run his fingers through it.

  “I know it’s sudden,” he continued. “But I love you. And I want to marry you. Before we’re separated again.”

  “Oh, Ted.” She couldn’t think, couldn’t imagine. Get married. Three days. After months of waiting, not knowing if he were alive or dead.

  He pulled away so he could look at her face. Doubt clouded his. “There’s someone else.”

  “No! Oh, no.” She couldn’t believe he thought such a thing. “It’s just…just so sudden.”

  He relaxed a little but still gripped her shoulders. “I can’t lose you.”

  She shook her head. “You won’t lose me. Not ever.”

  A smile crept from his lips to his eyes.

  Her gaze took in his handsome face. She reached up and ran the tips of her fingers down his smooth cheek to his strong jaw line. “I love you,” she whispered.

  Tears welled in his eyes. “I love you, too.”

  His lips touched hers in a gentle caress.

  Someone opened the door, startling them.

  Kitty looked around, aware they were being watched. “Okay, now.” She pulled him to his feet. “First things first. Have you eaten?”

  He shook his head.

  “Then let’s get something to eat.” she said. “After that, we’ll see if we can find this chaplain of yours.”

  ****

  They stood in the chapel waiting. The captain and a small group of WACs stood in the back while the chaplain paced.

  “If she doesn’t get here soon, we’ll have to go ahead without her.” Kitty squeezed Ted’s hand. “The captain won’t wait much longer.”

  He faced her, holding both her hands. “And my ride won’t wait either.” He smiled. “Do you mind too much if she doesn’t make it?”

  She shook her head. “She’ll understand.”

  Ted turned and motioned to get the chaplain’s attention.

  “Are you ready?” the chaplain asked.

  “Looks like we’ll have to go ahead with it. No maid of honor. But then there’s no best man either. Just the two of us.”

  There was a sad finality in his words. She wished some of his friends were here to witness the ceremony, but from what he’d said, most were dead, and he didn’t know where any of the others were, except for Milton, who was thousands of miles away.

  The chaplain signaled to the group of WACs who moved toward their seats. Then he turned to Ted and Kitty.

  “You understand, this is just…well, a sort of pledge. It’s not legal. With all the formalities and paperwork the French require, it just wasn’t possible in such a short time.”

  Ted nodded impatiently. “We know, we know.” He turned to Kitty and smiled. “The ceremony is for us. It means…” His voice broke. “It means a lot to us.”

  Kitty blinked back the tears. He was so determined to marry her. So determined they’d never be separated. He’d insisted they go through the motions, have the ceremony even if it wasn’t legal.

  A commotion outside the chapel drew her attention away from her fiancé. She knew before the door burst open who was causing the uproar. Madge. She’d made it, at last.

  “There you are!” Madge rushed into the chapel and up to them. “Sorry I’m late. We had a little trouble at the airfield.”

  Kitty noticed an Air Force officer who quietly followed Madge into the room. He came closer. “Sammy!” she exclaimed. “Sammy Newman.”

  The airman stepped closer.

  Ted grabbed his hand and shook. “Newman, you son of a gun. Where’d you come from?”

  “Madge here, she told me I had to come. Said you two were getting married.”

  “That’s right.” Ted beamed.

  “Can we get started?” the chaplain interrupted.

  “Sure, Sure,” Ted replied.

  “Sammy, you stand there by Ted,” Madge said in her take charge way. “And I’ll stand by Kitty. I mean Katherine.”

  Kitty hugged her friend. “Thank you.”

  When she released her, Kitty saw tears glistening in Madge’s eyes.

  “I just had to be at my best friend’s wedding.”

  One of the girls handed Kitty a little bunch of flowers to serve as her bouquet.

  “Do you have the ring?” the chaplain asked.

  Ted fished a gold band from his pocket and held it up.

  “If this young man is to serve as your best man, then he should hold the ring.”

  Ted turned to Sammy. “Would you?”

  “I’d be honored.”

  Ted handed the ring to Sammy, then turned to Kitty. He stifled a cough, and she feared he’d have another uncontrollable coughing spell. They came on when he got emotional. Like when they went to her captain to ask for the time off and she’d refused, at first. After he told her he’d been a POW and only had a few days, he’d succumbed to a spell of coughing and almost collapsed right there in her office. He’d managed to gain her sympathy to the point where the captain had helped with the arrangements.

  But no matter what the captain or the chaplain had done, it hadn’t been enough to budge the formidable French bureaucracy.

  So they’d settled for a ceremony that held no legal value. But it meant a great deal to Ted and Kitty.

  One of the WACs stepped forward and handed Ted a glass of water. He took a sip and gave it back to her.

  “Thanks,” he murmured.

  Kitty hoped that was enough to prevent any further coughing.

  “Join hands,” the chaplain instructed.

  Kitty clasped Ted’s hand and the ceremony began.

  Within minutes they’d both said “I do,” and the chaplain said, “Within the power vested in my by God and these witnesses, I pronounce you man and wife.”

  He paused, then with a small smile continued. “You may kiss the bride.”

  Ted grinned at her before he leaned down, pulled her close, and kissed her.

  She clung to him, never wanting to let go.

  The shouts of congratulations from the little group drew them apart. Madge hugged Ted while Sammy hugged Kitty. Then Sammy shook Ted’s hand and congratulated him.

  “I’m really glad you’re here. How’d you do it?”

  “Madge, of course. She ordered me to come.”

  “I did not. I just suggested it,” Madge replied.

  “We’d almost given up on you,” Kitty interjected.

  “We had to catch a plane,” Madge explained.

  “You mean I had to arrange it.” Sammy grinned. “Of course, Madge here
can talk anyone into anything.”

  Ted gave the beaming blonde a big smile. “Oh, I know. She can be very persuasive.”

  The WACs produced a bottle of champagne and some glasses. When everyone had a filled glass, the captain proposed a toast. “To the happy couple.”

  Ted put his arm around Kitty’s shoulders and squeezed as the others drank. Then he held up his glass and spoke. “To all of you. And you’re all invited to the big wedding”—he smiled down at Kitty—“strictly to make it legal, you understand, when we all get back home.”

  He taped his glass against Kitty’s, and they both drank.

  He handed his glass to Sammy. “And you’ll have to forgive us, but we don’t have much time to celebrate. I’m due back, and I have to catch a train.”

  “No, you don’t,” Madge said.

  “What?” Kitty exclaimed.

  “You have to catch a plane.” Madge winked at Sammy. “That’ll buy you a few hours for a honeymoon.”

  “Oh, Madge.” Kitty hugged her.

  Madge reached out and touched Ted’s arm. “It’s the least we can do for my two best friends.”

  A word about the author…

  Barbara Whitaker writes historical romances with a focus on the World War II era. Originally from a small town in Tennessee, she currently calls Florida home.

  http://www.barbarawhitaker.com/

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