And when she at last came to realize his presence, she turned to face him, splotches of red covering her tear-stained cheeks. But even the puffy eyes, the reddened skin, the windblown hair did nothing to hamper her beauty.
It was her. Again. This time he’d found her right here in his hometown.
Now he just needed to find the right words to tell her everything she’d come to mean to him. James took a deep breath and braced himself for what he was sure would become the first moment of the rest of his life.
Chapter 10
She noticed his shadow first, the way it grew darker as it approached, how his shoulder aligned perfectly with the dates carved into Rico’s tombstone. She assumed he had come to pay his respects to some other fallen solider, but his shadow remained cast across Rico’s grave like some sort of dark angel.
As if talking to the lifeless headstone hadn’t been difficult enough, she certainly couldn’t do so with an audience. She rose to her feet slowly, turned toward the stranger. “Hello, there. Were you a friend of Ricardo’s?”
He opened his mouth but didn’t speak. His eyes glistened with the beginnings of tears, though his expression seemed one of joy rather than grief.
“Did you know my brother?” she repeated. “Did you know Rico?”
He still didn’t speak, and for a moment she wondered whether he understood English. She turned her back to him and looked toward Rico’s headstone once more. She still had so much she needed to say.
Maybe she could take a quick drive around the block, come back after the stranger had done whatever he came here to do, grab a few more minutes of privacy with her brother, say a proper good-bye.
“Look.” She sighed. “He’s all yours. I’m going.” She pushed her purse strap higher up her shoulder and brushed past the stranger, careful not to walk on any of the fresh graves. No matter how hasty her departure, she still needed to show proper respect for the dead.
“W-wait!” the man called, his voice panicked…and somehow familiar. He jogged to catch up with her. When he reached her side, he groped about in his pocket and extended her a small paper with a tear down one side.
She studied him cautiously, ultimately deciding that strange didn’t necessarily equate to dangerous. He pushed the paper toward her again, and she took it into her own hands.
It wasn’t a paper, but a photo—one she recognized instantly as the missing half of the picture from Rico’s album. “This… this is me. How did you get it?”
“Let me buy you a Coke,” he said. “I’ll explain everything.”
Gloria didn’t have to think twice about his offer. She was eager to grab any bits of information about her brother’s last days she could get. Clearly, from the way his eyes swelled with tears and a smile played at the corners of his mouth, this man had one fantastic story to tell.
And she wanted to make sure she heard every last word.
* * *
It took James longer than he would have liked to find his words. But he couldn’t stop staring at the living version of the dream he’d carried with him for so long. She was so much like he’d imagined her, yet so uniquely real at the same time. Her eyes were brighter in life than they had appeared in the photo. She was taller than he’d envisioned her too, more shapely with a fuller chest and hips. And she moved gracefully as he’d known she would.
She studied him for a moment but then agreed. “I’ll be driving myself though. Hope that’s all right with you.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” James answered, his voice came out strong as if any words he had uttered previously in his life were just practice for these, the first in the most important conversation. He walked her over to the station wagon and opened the door for her as his father had taught him to do for a lady.
“Before you go, please.” He said as she sank into the car’s seat. “Tell me your name.”
She stuck the key in the ignition. “It’s Gloria. I am—well, was—Rico’s sister.”
“Gloria.” He liked how the word required him to pucker his lips to get the roundness of the O. “I’m James.”
She smiled as she latched the buckle on her seatbelt. “Nice to meet you, James. Should we head over to the All American?”
“Sure thing. I’ll follow you there.” He jogged to his own borrowed vehicle and started up the engine. It was a short drive to the All American diner, and for that he was thankful. A part of him worried she’d disappear again before he could tell her his story, but she turned into the crowded parking lot as promised and got out of her car before he could offer to open the door for her.
Inside, he ordered them both Cokes and a plate of onion rings to share. He took out the picture again and handed it her way. “I believe this is yours.”
“Well, it was Rico’s actually. I have the other half of it at home.” She laughed wistfully. “I had no idea he’d taken it overseas. Were you with him when he…?” She let the question linger.
“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t have the chance to meet him, although he sounds like a swell guy. I mean, to have a sister like you.”
A confused expression crossed her face, and she bit her lower lip. “I don’t understand. How did you get this picture then? How did you find me?”
The waitress arrived and placed their Cokes in front of them.
James waited for her to return to the kitchen before continuing. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you.”
“I’m listening.” She stirred her soda with her straw and took a sip.
“Gloria, I know you don’t know me, but you saved my life. I will forever be thankful to you—and to Rico—for that.”
Her smiled turned to a frown as she crossed her arms defensively across her chest and leaned back in the booth. “I—I don’t understand. How could I have…?”
Luckily, he had rehearsed this speech in his head many times and knew exactly how he wanted to deliver it now.
Gloria listened silently, warming to him as he continued. She even reached across the table to rub his hand in sympathy when he described the crash of the Saving Grace, being taken into the POW camp.
He stopped at the part where he came home, having resolved to find and thank her.
“Wow,” she whispered when he had finished. “That’s some story. And you did it too. You actually did it. You found me even though you had so little to go on.”
“That picture of you, it saved my life, Gloria. I will always be so grateful to both you and your brother for leaving it there for me to find.”
“You really think it saved your life?” She asked, something like hope in her eyes.
“I know it did…” He reached across the table and grabbed both of her hands in his own. “Gloria—” He couldn’t get past how great her name felt on his lips. “Do you believe that things happen for a reason?”
Her eyes searched his. “Like signs from God telling you where to go?”
“Exactly.”
“Yes, I do, James. Very much.”
“Your picture was a sign, one I couldn’t ignore. I’ve waited for this moment for so long, and now that it’s here I don’t want it to end. Let me buy you dinner, so we can talk longer.”
She squeezed his hands, and a pulsing energy shot through him. “I’d like that,” came her reply.
Chapter 11
Gloria surprised herself by agreeing to stay for dinner. She had so much packing to do in preparation for the family’s move to California, and she still had things she needed to say to Rico, too. But something about James compelled her to stay and listen.
It wasn’t just that he, too, believed in God’s signs or that he had followed them all the way to her. There was a kindness, a gentleness about him that she didn’t often sense in others, especially men.
Speaking with James made her feel oddly connected to Rico, as if by keeping her picture safe all these years had given him a special bond to her brother.
“First I tried calling at least a couple hundred folks,” he explained between bites of his hot t
urkey sandwich and mashed potatoes.
“Wait a sec.” Gloria took a sip of Coke—her third of the evening—to wet her throat. “You called?”
“Yes, a whole bunch of folks from the list. That didn’t get me anywhere though, so I—”
“James, I remember that call. Now I know why your voice sounds so familiar. You talked to me that day!”
“I did?” He smiled and pushed another forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.
“You did. I can’t believe it. If I’d only known, I could have saved you all this trouble in searching for me.”
James chuckled. “That’s not the only time our paths nearly crossed. I saw you get on a bus in California. I tried to get your attention, but I couldn’t keep up.”
“That was you?” Gloria’s jaw dropped in surprise, and she was grateful she’d already finished her meal for the evening.
“That was me.” He winked, and a tingle flew down Gloria’s spine and came to rest near her stomach. Oh, he was handsome with his strong jaw and high cheekbones. Why hadn’t she noticed earlier?
Heat rose to her cheeks as he continued to smile. “So you followed me to Texas from there?”
“No. I waited right by that bus stop for days hoping you’d come back. I came home to Texas to meet my new godson.” He took another bite, helping her to relax back into the natural flow of conversation.
“Home?” she asked, admiring his strong hands as they maneuvered the utensils.
“Yes, home. What brings you to Texas?”
She shook her head, unable to believe all their near encounters. God had certainly intended to bring them together, but why did he have to be such a tease about it? “This is my home, too. I live a couple towns over. Rico is buried in that cemetery, and I was saying goodbye before…” She caught herself and stopped.
James offered her a reassuring smile. His eyes, however, betrayed his worry. “Gloria, what is it?”
She gulped. Why was this so hard to admit when only hours before she’d been absolutely certain going to California was the right decision?
James stayed quiet, waiting for her answer.
“Before I… leave. James, I’m moving to California in a few days.”
She watched as the realization swept over him. “That’s why you were…?”
“Yes, and if things were different, I’d love to spend more time getting to know you. But I have a lot of responsibilities. My mother, she’s sick, and my father doesn’t earn well because…” She stopped herself before revealing her parents’ secret. No matter how much she wanted to trust James, she refused to put her parents in danger. “Then there’s my three younger brothers to take care of, and all on such little money. California could be a better life for us. We’re leaving in three days.”
James nodded. “I understand, and I won’t ask for anything more than you can give. Please, though, can we just have tonight? I’ve waited so long to meet you.”
Gloria looked at the clock on the diner’s wall. She felt guilty about how long she had already been gone. Mama had no idea where she’d gotten off to, and what if they needed the car for an emergency? Still, she so rarely did things for herself these days, and that would be especially true once they went to California and Gloria was forced to leave her few remaining friends behind. Besides, it seemed to mean so much to James—and she really did like him. Things would have been different if…
No, she chastised herself. Stop thinking about what comes later. Just enjoy now.
She took a deep breath and smiled. “I can do that.”
* * *
James was glad she had agreed to stay, because he wasn’t ready to let go of her just yet. They talked, ate dessert, and drank more Coke. It all felt so…natural. That was the only word for it really. And the more she told him about her life, the more he told her about his, the harder he fell for her.
Gloria was the one. He knew it now. So when the diner closed for the night, he asked if she wouldn’t mind sitting outside with him so they could keep talking. And he was overjoyed when she accepted.
“So you really made your little brothers think they had magical powers?” he asked as they sank down onto the cement curb to continue their chat.
“Yes, but only when they sleepwalked. Each night I’d sneak into their room and move things around, make special items appear that weren’t there the night before. And they believed it for, oh, a good couple months before they caught on.”
They both laughed. She hugged her knees to her chest and stared longingly into the night sky. The stars were out in full effect, providing a gorgeous backdrop to their evening.
James watched her as she smiled and launched into a new story about how she’d once tried to count all the stars in the heavens, but had stopped somewhere around two hundred, realizing there were far too many to ever accurately count.
“Gloria?”
“Yes?” She smiled at him, her teeth bright against the dark.
“I’d like to kiss you now. Would that be all right?”
She blushed, but nodded.
James leaned toward her slowly. He’d pictured this moment so many times and wanted to make sure that he got it just right. He pressed his lips first to her rosy cheek and then to her full, beautiful lips. When he pulled away, she had tears in her eyes.
“What? What happened?” he pleaded, pulling her into his side so her head could rest on his shoulder.
“I just like you so much.” The words cut straight to his heart. They implied a but, and he hated that. Things were supposed to be easy now that they were finally together, now that he knew his feelings for her amounted to love and was quite convinced she felt the same way, too.
When she didn’t continue, he gave her a gently nudge. “So why is that a bad thing?”
“I’m leaving, James. This has to be the end, even though it’s only just the beginning.”
James thought back to the night he’d spent with his first love Deborah all those years ago. That, too, had ended the same night it began. He’d shipped off to Korea the next day, found Gloria’s picture, been captured by the enemy, changed the course of his entire life.
Although he was now happy for his and Deborah’s end and the chance it gave him to find Gloria, he also refused to let poor timing take love from him once more.
“Stay,” he said firmly, having made up his mind.
She pulled herself out of his arms and looked into his eyes. “I can’t. I have to take care of my family, and that means moving to California.”
“Not if you marry me instead. Let me take care of them, too. Let me take care of you. I have a good pension and benefits. I could make a good life for you, Gloria. You are the reason I survived that camp, don’t you see? You’re the reason I’m still here. Let me devote the rest of my life to thanking you in whatever way I can.”
She looked at it him as if he were crazy, but also as if she were suppressing a smile. “James, you can’t be serious. We’ve only just met.”
Now was his moment. He needed to get this exactly right. Nothing he ever said again would be anywhere near as important as this. He took a deep breath. “So what? Right is right. Did you know I fell in love with you long before we even met? Being with you now just confirms everything my heart already knew to be true. I love you, Gloria, and I want us to be together.”
James took her back into his arms, felt her heart beating wildly against his chest. The craziest part of his proposal was that it didn’t feel crazy at all. Being with Gloria felt right. It felt logical. It felt intended by something much larger than either of them alone.
Now she just needed to say yes, so they could begin their life together—their wonderful, beautiful, destined life together.
Chapter 12
Gloria wasn’t sure she’d heard James correctly—not until he repeated his proposal. The scariest part? How easily she found herself tempted to say yes.
Love was not something she’d pictured for herself, not when so many responsibilities weighe
d on her shoulders already. But love held a very important place in her life already. Love was what kept her going even when she wanted to stay tucked in bed all day, to sleep her cares away. The most important thing in the world to her was her family—and wasn’t that love?
James said he loved her now, and she believed him without hesitation. The sincerity in his eyes was impossible to ignore. But what would her family think? Would Mama be relieved to see her daughter married off before the sickness claimed her? Gloria didn’t want to be married off, though. Her family still needed her. They could never survive without her. Papa didn’t earn enough, and Hector was too young for such a major responsibility.
But James said he’d take care of them, too—and it seemed like he meant it. This whole evening seemed too good to be true, like the fulfillment of a dream she never knew she possessed. And now that it was laid out before her she wanted nothing more than to see it to reality.
Still, Rico had been the optimist of the family, and look where that had gotten him. Was it foolish to agree to James’s offer? Could it be foolish not to? She still had so much to consider.
She looked up at him. The love in his eyes was unmistakable. It made her feel so warm, so protected, her life suddenly looked full of possibilities. All because of some chance encounter, all because this man—a good man—loved her.
She needed to say something, but she knew either a yes or a no would mean no going back, and she still needed time to speak to Mama and Papa, and to pray for direction.
“James…” she started.
He perked up, his posture now military straight as he waited for her response.
“I will…”
His eyes sparkled brighter than the stars. Oh, how she hated to let him down, but doubt had already killed so much of her happiness before. If she and James were to truly move forward together, she needed to clear it all away so they could have a sunny future together.
“Need some time to consider your offer.”
Cupid's Bow: The First Generation Boxed Set Page 12
