Her Blue-Eyed Sergeant (Soldiers 0f Swing Book 1)

by Linda Ellen

  The threesome stayed in the restaurant for hours, talking, getting to know one another, laughing, and even getting choked up on a few occasions. At Vivian’s declaration on the subject, Gene had met her eyes and then switched back to his never-before-met identical twin.

  “Now I can say it. I’ve always felt like there was something…missing. Like…”

  “A part of you that should have been there, but wasn’t?” Steve finished for him. Once they had made the connection and realized they were, indeed, twins, they had been finishing one another’s sentences and practically reading each other’s minds. It was as if all restraints had disintegrated and now their “twin-ness” had been unleashed.

  “Yes. Exactly. But, I’ve never told anyone.” Gene shook his head with a snort. “I figured they’d think I was crazy. After I found out Mom and Pop had adopted me, I really started to wonder. But – I had nowhere to start to look. And truly, being a twin never really occurred to me, at least not in so many words. I just thought I was missing…well, my folks…my real family. Ahh,” he added with a grimace, “I hate to say it like that. I love my folks, and I’d do anything for my brothers and sisters…” He met his twin’s eyes again, seeing within their depths total understanding.

  “I found out I was adopted when I was about eight,” Steve commented. “My folks knocked about the oil fields in Texas until one day Pop was killed in an explosion. After that, Mom went kind of crazy, she told me they’d adopted me and that she’d always hated it in Texas, on those ‘dirty, nasty oil fields’, and she packed us up and we moved to Carmel, where she’d grown up. Can’t say I had a good upbringing. Things like clothes and food always seemed to be in short supply. So, at eighteen, I went in the C’s and stayed till they booted me out. Been living on my own since then, ’till January.”

  Gene focused on his brother – his twin! – and shook his head sympathetically. “Steve, it hurts me to think about you having it so rough. And to think…we grew up less than two hours apart from one another.”

  “Aw, I did all right. I survived,” Steve grinned.

  Vivian held up a hand. “So…that oil field manager, Mr. Carriker, was it? He must have known you were twins, but he let you be adopted separately! That’s awful!”

  “Yeah,” Gene agreed. “But maybe he had his reasons. That was 1917, the world was a different place then.”

  “I’d sure like to get my hands on that old geezer and shake the truth out of him,” Steve grumbled.

  “You and me both, brother. You and me both,” Gene declared.

  “Well…” Viv began, the corners of her mouth curling at her identical tablemates. “Perhaps we can.”

  The men turned as one and looked at her, and then identical grins slowly took over their faces.

  “I don’t know about you guys, but I think God’s had a hand in getting you two back together. I’m sure He can help you find the answers you need…”

  Gene agreed, his eyes twinkling happily, but they both noticed that Steve didn’t affirm or disagree; he merely gave a small smile.

  For the next thirty minutes, they discussed ideas on how they would try and locate the man who had split them up. They realized it could prove quite difficult to achieve, after all these years. In addition, there were restrictions on travel since the US was in the middle of wartime, and both Gene and Steve were on active duty.

  Finally, Viv looked at her watch. “Oh goodness, my parents are probably frantic.” She gingerly tugged at Gene’s sleeve. “I need to get home. But…” she looked at Steve and held out a hand to him. He took it in his and gently squeezed as she gripped Gene’s with her free hand. Looking between the two, she practically sing-songed, “I think this momentous event calls for a celebration – don’t you boys?”

  “I’m up for that,” Steve happily went along over Gene’s laughter.

  “Somewhere with elegance, wonderful service, and beauty…” Viv hinted.

  Gene wiggled his eyebrows as an idea dropped into his head. “Okay, how about we celebrate at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, next Saturday night?”

  “The Brown…whew…that’s kind of pricey…” Steve began, but Gene interrupted him. “My treat.”

  Steve flashed his identical smile. “Brother, I ain’t one to ever look a gift horse in the mouth. You’re on. But…that joint’s a little formal. I’d need a date and…” he hesitated and pointedly looked at Vivian with twinkling eyes. “I kind of ditched my girlfriend after that little incident at Hankins’.”

  Viv looked at Gene and they beamed at each other conspiratorially as she revealed, “I think I can do something about finding you a dinner companion.”

  Steve groaned, remembering times in the past when he’d been set up with a date that had turned south in a hurry. “Oh honey, have mercy.”

  Gene laughed and slipped an arm around his lady. “Don’t you worry, Brother. I promise, you will have a…roaring good time.”

  With that, the three got up from the table, Gene tossed some money down for the bill, and they walked to his car, making firm plans along the way for a night they would never forget.

  They didn’t have a clue what was just around the corner…

  CHAPTER 17

  The week went by like the speed of sound.

  Gene placed long-distance telephone calls to his twin several times during the week, on the pretext of checking on details or simply to tell him “something”, but really it was just the absolute thrill of finding out about one another after twenty-five years of wondering. Hearing his voice in the receiver, which sounded so much like his own, was still something of an awe-inspiring experience. He couldn’t quite get over that initial shock.

  Vivian was nearly as excited as Gene. Sunday evening, she couldn’t wait to tell her parents all about the wonderful news that – not only was Gene telling the truth – he had met the twin brother he had never known! She also called her loyal and amazing friend Mary June to let her in on the revelation. On the heels of that conversation, when Mary June stated offhandedly, “I’d sure like to meet that guy,” Vivian smiled secretively. “Your wish is my command. How would you like to get all dressed up and go to the Brown Hotel with us to celebrate? You can be Steve’s date.”

  “Steve, huh? Nice name,” her friend replied. “And he looks just like Gene?” Only taking a few seconds to think about it, she gushed, “Heck yeah, I’ll go – who in their right mind would pass up an invitation to eat dinner at the Brown?”

  The girls laughed together, and then Mary June added, “Two questions – is Gene paying, and can I get a Hot Brown?”

  Vivian giggled in sheer joy and nodded, even though she knew her friend couldn’t see her. “Yes and yes. I’ve got to run, we’ll talk about it tomorrow, all right?”

  “You bet!”

  The girls rang off with high expectations of an evening “on the town.” All week, they planned and chatted about the big night. On Friday, payday, they went together to the Lerner’s on Fourth Street and splurged on dresses that were not only very becoming on them, but also on a nice mark-down. Viv’s was a pale green; it looked fetching on her and she knew Gene would like it. Mary June’s was dark blue and she looked stunning in it. They couldn’t wait for Saturday night; their anticipation could hardly be contained.

  The fellows picked Vivian up first and then Mary June in Gene’s car…or was it Steve’s? The girls couldn’t tell since the vehicles were as identical as their owners. Vivian laughed and smacked at Gene’s arm as he teased her, claiming he didn’t know whose car it was. That caused a chuckle. The men were wearing their dress uniforms, and the girls were more than impressed with their escorts. Excitement and anticipation seemed to crackle in the air. Vivian was sure her Sir Galahad would pop the big question on this magical evening – would he get down on one knee right there in the restaurant? Effervescent tingles zipped through her body at the thought.

  All the way downtown, the conversation was lively, with the men sharing other similarities they had discovered d
uring the week – parallel likes and dislikes of food, music, movies, and even subjects in school.

  “I’ve never known identical twins personally before. It’s so fascinating and exciting,” Mary June commented, casting the words in the direction of Gene’s twin. Steve was sitting relaxed against the back cushion, one arm thrown casually behind his date.

  He grinned and sent her a wink. “Me either. I’m still pinching myself that I have a brother after flying solo all this time.”

  “Well, I’m also excited about getting to dine at the Brown,” Vivian giggled. “And with two handsome soldiers in dress uniforms. Every girl’s dream,” she added, her eyes twinkling up at Gene as she scooted closer on the front seat.

  “I’ve been hearing about their food. Can’t wait to try the Hot Brown,” Gene agreed, reaching for her hand and bringing it to his lips for a kiss.

  “Me either,” chorused three other voices. All four could feel exhilaration in the air, as if something unexplainably monumental was about to occur. Gene thought of the object he had stashed in his pocket and pictured a moment during the evening when he would feel the time was right to spring a certain question on the woman seated at his side.

  “I’ve heard that Hollywood celebrities frequent the Brown, but the newspaper always reports on it after the fact. Maybe we’ll see someone famous tonight…” Mary June gushed, her eyes alive with star struck anticipation. “John Wayne…Betty Grable…Henry Fonda…”

  “Not good old Henry,” Steve caught her eye and grinned. “Didn’t you hear he’s serving overseas?” At her expression of surprise, he added, “Yep. He joined the Navy. I heard they put him in as Quartermaster on one of the destroyers.”

  “Gracious,” Mary June whispered. “Well, anyway, I’ve got a good feeling about this night.”

  The others murmured their agreement.

  None of them had taken into consideration the fact that SO many soldiers would be in town – each one intending to dine at the Brown at the same time. Gene hadn’t given one thought to making a reservation. He wanted to kick his own rear end. All of his plans seemed to be on the verge of unraveling.

  “I’m sorry, sir,” the maître d’ said as the four stood together at the doors to the Bluegrass Room. “There are no more tables, and the wait will be at least an hour, possibly more. Perhaps you could try one of the Brown’s other fine dining establishments?”

  They’d already tried the English Grille and the Thoroughbred Room in the hotel, but they were full, as well.

  Gene sheepishly turned to his companions and raised his shoulders in an abashed shrug as they moved over out of the way of people approaching the maître d’ with actual reservations.

  Before he could say a word, however, Mary June’s eyes and mouth rounded into O’s as she watched someone get off the elevator. Shaking herself, she leaned closer and hissed, “Shut my mouth and don’t look now – but I think Elizabeth Taylor’s coming this way!”

  The other three immediately whipped their heads around and stared, but when the woman in question got close enough, they could see she was not Ms. Taylor – although she did bear quite a resemblance to the actress. Gene, Viv, and Steve all burst out laughing, but immediately clamped hands over their mouths in embarrassment. The woman, in a mink and laced in diamonds, cast them a ruffled glance as she glided by on the arm of a well-dressed man.

  Mary June scowled and crossed her arms in an exaggerated pout. “Oh, all right, so I was wrong. But, it sure looked like her.”

  Viv leaned over and put an arm around her friend. “I thought the same thing when I first saw her – no harm done.”

  Mary June chuckled ruefully. “You know, I heard that Bing Crosby and Bob Hope have stayed here lots of times, and Claudette Colbert and Lana Turner. Maybe if we stand here a little longer, we’ll see someone,” she whined. The men ribbed each other and shook their heads at her celebrity fetish.

  “Maybe we’ll see Victor Mature!” she continued, on a roll. “Did you guys know that before he became a famous movie star, he grew up here in Louisville and he worked as an elevator operator right here at the Brown?” The others exchanged brief looks and rolled their eyes at her exuberance, but she went right on. “They say he was a mischievous teen and he was madly in love with a girl who, one evening, was at a dance up on the roof garden. Well, he couldn’t get off that night, so he would put the ‘Out of Order’ sign out, run the elevator up to the Roof Garden, have a dance with the girl, and run it back down, hide his coat, and operate the elevator for a while. Then later, he’d do it again. It worked like a charm all evening, except the last time he was dancing with her, he saw the manager across the room carrying the ‘Out of Order’ sign – and that was the end of his career at the Brown Hotel,” she finished with a giggle, surveying the large foyer as if she expected to see Mature himself striding toward them with his dark good looks and signature bravado.

  “Well, gang. I don’t think management will like it very much if we spend the evening standing around hoping to star gaze,” Gene sighed. The magnificently elegant foyer of the hotel was teaming with people coming and going. All of the plush seats were taken; there was absolutely no place to sit and relax to wait for a table. Guests dressed to the nines were mingling alongside servicemen in various types of uniforms.

  “So, that means we’re going to have to pick another place. I don’t know about you three, but I’m hungry. There’s always Blue Boar, or Kunz’s The Dutchman, I’ve heard their food is great. We could…try the Seelbach. Or maybe even just go to the club dance…”

  The girls had been nodding along to his suggestions until the last one, at which they immediately balked. The indignant expressions on their faces made the guys laugh.

  “Hey, you guys don’t know what that’s like for us girls – be-bopping all evening with dead hoofers – and I’m wearing high heels tonight, so no thank y…” Mary June stopped mid-word to once again stare toward the elevators with rounded eyes and an open mouth.

  Entertained by her complaining over having to dance with lousy dancers, Steve noticed Mary June’s expression and grinned. “Oh no, not again. Who is it this time, babe? John Wayne? Clark Gable? Jimmy Stewart? Or maybe Winston Churchill?” He snickered when she didn’t move or breathe, just continued to stare. Then, shaking her head in the negative, she wordlessly raised a hand and pointed at something past the shoulders of the other three as he quipped, “The President?”

  Gene and Viv, with their heads together, had been trying to discuss where to go when they noticed Mary June’s fascination, as well. They looked questioningly at Steve before all three gave a shrug.

  “Okay, I’ll bite,” the sergeant teased. “Who do you think it is this time?”

  The three of them turned around and froze on the spot – eyes round as saucers.

  Threading their way toward them through the crowd in the lobby were two men, dressed in fine clothing, one older, one younger.

  What had arrested Mary June’s gaze was the fact that the younger man’s features were identical to those of Gene and Steve. The only difference at all was that he wasn’t in uniform.

  The soldiers were instantly struck dumb as Vivian gasped in shock.

  Mary June recovered first, with a whispered, “Heavens to Betsy! How many of you are there?”

  Vivian couldn’t believe her eyes as goose flesh broke out on her arms.

  Just as Mary June had uttered those words, the two men heading their way saw Gene and Steve. Separated by about twenty feet, they stopped mid-stride and balked – the younger one in apparent fascination and shock – but the older one with an expression of dread.

  The six of them stood frozen.

  Oblivious, other patrons walked between the two men and the party of four, but the stares didn’t break.

  Then, finally, the older man made a move. A thought went through Vivian’s mind that he seemed to wilt before their eyes. He turned his head and looked toward the younger man, leaned to say something to him, and the two slowly
came forward.

  Vivian moved a bit closer to Gene and looked up at his face, but he didn’t meet her eyes. His attention was riveted on the man who so precisely resembled he and his twin. A doppelganger this time?

  When they approached, the older gentleman raised his top hat, and in a cultured voice, he said, “My name is Gareth B. Tucker. This is…my son, Gareth, Jr.” Politely meeting the eyes of the girls first, he then turned to the two in uniform as he added, “May I invite all of you up to our suite? I…believe we have much to…discuss.”

  Numbly, the four nodded, feeling as if they had been plunged into some kind of dream world or nightmare from which they hoped they would soon wake up. The girls grasped onto their dates’ quivering arms, and the six walked together to the elevator as if in a daze. Viv and Mary June kept surreptitiously examining the guys’ faces, only to receive quick, unsure glimpses in return.

  It was an awkward ride. The operator of the conveyance couldn’t stop shooting peeks from one to the other of the young men. The older gentleman stood silently, staring at the floor, while the younger glared straight ahead at the closed elevator door, his jaw tightly clamped. Gene and Steve kept making eye contact, eyebrows raised. The girls didn’t know where to look.

  At their floor, Mr. Tucker unlocked the door to their suite and stood back to allow the others to enter. Once everyone was inside and he’d shut the door, his son rounded on him, his eyes angry.

  Viv jumped as he barked, “What is this, Father? What’s going on?”

  Mr. Tucker released a tired, resigned sigh as he motioned for everyone to take seats in the connecting parlor of the two-bedroom suite. “Let’s sit down, son. I’ll explain – something I should have told you long ago.”

  Vivian rubbed the goose bumps on her arms and moved to one of the sofas, with Gene sitting down next to her. She immediately scooted close and entwined her fingers around his arm. He didn’t acknowledge her nearness, but kept his attention on the two men, his gaze shifting from one to the other. She wondered what he was thinking.