Every Storm (8 page)

him, holding the door and making the way clear. Lorri sobbed into her hands, saying words that no one could understand.

Someone had turned the light on in the cabin. He went to the bunk he'd given Lorri-his bunk-and laid her down. She tried to curl into a ball, but he stopped her while he worked the buckles of the life jacket, not wanting her to sleep in something so constricting. He tossed it aside and pulled the desk chair close. He sat down and pulled a sheet over her already-curled-up body. At that point, he sat helplessly and listened as she cried herself into exhaustion. Had she cried since it happened? How long had she been holding it all in? So many questions raced through Rigg's mind that he almost forgot to pray.

Not until she slept soundly did Rigg move from her side. He went directly to Click in the control room. His orders were to keep it simple. The message read:

Attention Admiral Archer, U.S. Navy-Have found Lorraine Archer- Will deliver her toSeaford ASAP- Josephine Archer and pilot Clarence Fuller, deceased.

68I

Sfr

hi

m

1

"She
buried her sister on that island?"

"Yeah, and the pilot who flew the plane."

As with all PT boats, crews were small and word traveled fast.
Every Storm
had 12 men and 2 officers! It didn't take long for those who missed Lorri's firsthand account on the island to hear every word.

Ellis had a few words of his own. Anyone who spoke to him about it also got a tongue lashing: "You lusted after that poor girl and she's been through all of
that!
You ought to be ashamed!"

And in truth, some of them were. Almost to a man they envied Lionel's and Rigg's contact with her, but their dreams weren't as risque' as Ellis claimed. Every man longed for a little touch of home. Lorri Archer might have been one of the girls from high school or someone who lived down the street.

Of course, that was easier to imagine before they remembered the identity of her grandfather. Admiral Archer! He was one of the toughest men in the navy and a man who hadn't been many years from retirement when the war broke out. He had stayed on,

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seemingly stronger than ever, ready for battle at a moment's notice. No one even suspected. And as far as they knew, the woman herself hadn't said a word about their connection.

Every Storm
moved swiftly toward the base at Seaford, but not a man forgot about their valuable cargo. They would patrol their way to base, eyes more watchful than ever, probably arriving the next afternoon. What none of them bargained for was a storm that moved in sometime after midnight and more than managed to force their boat to live up to its name.

Lorri woke suddenly, not certain if it was her stomach or the boat that was rolling. She felt her body tipping out of bed and just managed to catch herself before tumbling to the floor. Her stomach lurched again, along with the boat, and Lorri wondered howjong she could take such movement.

She found out a moment later. With no choice but to stumble out of bed and find the head, she scrambled out of the cabin and just made it. It was hard to lose what little she had inside, but the rocking of the craft was more than she could take.

Not sure she could stay on her feet for the trip back, Lorri forced herself to leave the officer's head. She ran into Rigg in the passageway.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, barely aware of the way his arm kept her from hitting her head when they stumbled with the motion. The boat rocked like a child's hobby horse.

"Are you sick?"

"Yes."

"I think you'd better go right back to bed."

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Lori Wick

iiflli

i

V

t

Rigg's hand to her arm kept her on her feet, and when she'd lain down, he found a basin and put it by the bed.

"Don't try to go out into the passage. I've put a container here if you need it."

"I'll do anything," she said cryptically when he stopped talking and stood looking down at her.

"What do you mean?"

"I won't disappear when you're trying to leave." The words were whispered. "I won't go swimming. I'll let you have your bed back. Please just put me off this boat, Lieutenant. Please make the rocking stop."

Rigg couldn't hold his smile. He thought she would have felt seasickness before and was quite impressed at how well she'd done to this point. He would tell her that, but not now. Now she thought she was going to die from the rolling in her gut, and there was little he could do about that.

"I'll send Ellis to check on you. He might have a little something that will help you keep things down."

Rigg braced himself when the boat rocked mightily and reached for Lorri when she rolled toward the edge. As soon as he had his footing, he found a strap and made short work of tying her into the bed. With the strap secure around her waist, he took her hand and guided it over the edge of the thin mattress.

"Here's the basin. Do you feel it?"

"Yes"

"Don't get up. Just reach for it right there."

"Okay" Lorri agreed, but there was no time. She needed it so swiftly that Rigg held it for her. She finished and apologized in a tortured whisper that he ignored. Such things were never a prob- lem for him..

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When she lay back, pale and breathing hard, Rigg put one hand on her arm and one out to brace himself on the wall.

"I'll send Ellis to you," he said.

"I'm going to die, aren't I?" She sounded beyond miserable. "Such irony. I've made it off the island just to die at sea."

Rigg fought the smile that threatened to peek through, gave her a little pat, and went in search of Ellis.

Lorri watched him leave, certain she.had her answer.

He left without a word. That can only mean one thing: He's too kindhearted to tell me I'm going to die.

She'd been singing in the head again. Rigg didn't have the heart to send the men to their duties with a harsh word, but as soon as he arrived in the passageway, they scattered.

Just two hours now. They were limping along, needing more repairs and communications on the fritz again, but they were going to get to Seaford and deliver the woman that had affected every man on the boat.

It was easy to sit in the middle of the Pacific and forget for whom you were fighting. At times it became personal, and thoughts of home and family were very far away. Lorri Archer had changed all of that. She was worth fighting for. An all-American girl, most would have called her. She sang like a bird, was sweet and*uncomplaining, and had experienced the tortures of this war the way few women had.

Rigg knew it wasn't easy to sit at home; that was its own form of torture. But Lorri Archer didn't have to imagine any longer what battle looked like. She had become an eyewitness. She had ridden the waves of a PT boat under attack, both from the enemy and

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miihthe elements. She had tasted the death of a loved one, much the

M! misame way any of these men might be asked to part with a fellow

sailor.

And not a word out of her. Other than feeling as though she needed a bath at an inopportune time, she had been almost invis ible. Not in the physical sense, of course-every man was aware of her-but she made no demands and was thankful for the small

est

act of kindness.

Rigg's mind ran with all of these thoughts as he waited for her to come from the officer's head. He knew his pride was on the line this day and would have freely admitted to anyone that he planned to deliver the admiral's granddaughter in the best shape he could. Just last night she had spent the night losing what little she held, and today he wanted her strong enough to walk off his boat.

Rigg was suddenly aware that the singing had stopped. He stood ready, his eyes on the door. Sure enough, she came out a few seconds later.

"Did I take too long?" were the first words from Lord's mouth.

"No, but I wanted to make sure you're all right."

Tm a little tired is all."

She was more than that, but Rigg didn't comment out loud. She was pale and still painfully thin, her eyes standing out like a frightened doe's.

"Ellis has made a good breakfast for you. We should be in port in about two hours, and I want you to be at your best."

"My grandfather will be there?"

"I'm not sure about that."

"You didn't get word to him?"

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"We did send word, and maybe it reached him. But then the storm hit, and we haven't heard back."

"That's right," Lorri said, speaking her thoughts. "You don't know where he is, do you?"

Rigg smiled before saying, "Navy admirals don't usually check in with me."

Lorri smiled as well. She felt hungry and a little lightheaded, but she was close now-closer than she ever hoped to be.

"Go ahead and eat," Rigg urged her.

"I need to wash the fatigues I used."

"Don't worry about that right now."

Til take care of it after I eat."

Rigg didn't comment on this, but he planned to let her do no such thing. It was the least of their worries.

Seaford Naval Station

Dean Archer paced the confines of Captain Dunlap's office, thinking he might lose his mind if he had to wait any longer. He didn't let himself think about how close the call had been. Within the hour he'd been scheduled to head back out to sea. He'd been headed home to see Ruth and Max, knowing they needed him close. But then word had come. Lorraine was alive. Josephine was not returning.

It had never once occurred to him that only one of the girls would come home. In his mind he welcomed or mourned them both. That the pilot had died as well was almost more than his heart could take. What had Lorri been through? What had she survived? Would she ever be the same again?

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Lori Wick

"I'm going for a walk, Captain," Dean said abruptly, desperate to divert his thoughts.

"Yes, sir."

Til be in plain sight and not far away."

"I'll find you, sir."

Halfway hoping the other man would tell him it would be better to stay, Dean made himself walk out the door.

Every Storm
was headed to dock in an out-of the-way spot. All the men had come topside and were lined up, ready to speak with Lorri. She moved carefully on the shifting deck, Rigg and Lionel nearby.

"Thank you, Ellis," she told the cook. "Everything you did- it was so kind. I can't thank you enough."

"It was nothing, Miss Archer. You just get home and have a good life."

Lorri smiled at him and moved on. She shook the hand of each man, thanked each one, but took extra time with the men she knew a little better.

"One last picture?" Click asked, holding his Brownie in place, unaware that Lorri had not noticed how often he used it.

"Sure," she said with a smile, and Click made a few of the men laugh with his enthusiasm. He took great delight in lining everyone up, positioning people just so, and making them stand there for at least five takes.

They were docking by the time he was done, but Lorri didn't hurry. She took time to thank the rest of the crew, with special words for Lionel, Jack, and Hugh, and then turned to accompany Lieutenant Riggs ashore.

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"Are you all right?" Rigg asked as soon as he could.

"Just a little shaky all of a sudden."

"Ellis tells me you didn't eat much."

"I tried," Lorri said apologetically.

She was pale, her dark hair accenting that fact, but Rigg decided not to worry about it. Her grandfather wasn't going to care how she looked, and Rigg had only one goal at the moment: to see her safely to that man. Even if the admiral wasn't there, he still knew she would be safer at Seaford than on the boat.

Lorri was vaguely aware of the eyes that watched them. Rigg walked her onto the dock and then toward a building and an office. He held the door for her to go inside and waited for her to precede him. The sailor inside had heard about the admiral's situation, and he was swift to make a call to his superior. More calls were made, and in moments Captain Dunlap and an aide were running for a jeep, intent on finding the admiral on his walk.

Lorri sat inside the office and looked out the window. She didn't want to cry but felt tears threatening nonetheless. She had made it. She had made it safely to land where telephones worked and the world didn't rock with every whim of the sea.

She was trying not to think about all that had brought her here when her grandfather walked past. Lorri came to her feet, swaying a little.