Sentimental Journey (Home Front - Book #1) (19 page)

Johnny lit a cigarette. He offered her one but she shook her head. “He probably can’t wait to get back to work at Wilson.” He met her eyes. “The company means a lot to him.”

“And well it should. He’s worked hard for it.”
And so have I
.

“It’ll be good to see things get back to normal.”

“I can’t wait,” she answered. “I have a thousand ideas for Wilson. If our deal with Mr. Levitt pans out, we can soar into construction the minute peace is declared.” She beamed at him. “It will be so wonderful to work with you and my father.” There was no limit to how far Wilson Manufacturing could go with both her and her father at the helm and Johnny at their side.

* * *

Johnny leaned back against the stoop and listened as she waxed enthusiastic about her plans for the future.
Okay, so it isn’t the right time to ask her
. She was so filled with energy, so optimistic about the world after the war, that he couldn’t bring himself to burst her bubble. Not that a proposal of marriage was a bad thing, but somehow the conversation didn’t lend itself to romantic proclamations.

She’d done well by Tom. The company she would be handing back to him was vigorous and strong. Now it was her turn. She was a woman. She needed a life of her own, a family to nurture, the way she had nurtured Wilson Manufacturing.

She needed a man who loved her more than he’d believed he could ever love someone.

Oh, hell—she needed him.

April 28, 1945

My dearest Tommy,

At last, a moment to sit down and write. So many soldiers arrived at the hospital today that they had to ask the volunteers to help out in the operating room. I was terrified I would faint, but I managed to help out during two operations to set broken legs. I wouldn’t say I’d be the best nurse in the world, but I held my own and I’m quite proud of myself.

We are finally getting back to normal. The stores draped black bunting over the doors to commemorate FDR’s death, and there was such a feeling of sadness in the air that you couldn’t help but wonder how all of you overseas were feeling. What on earth was God thinking when He called the president home with the war so close to an end? Eleanor has been so strong and brave—oh, I can just hear you now, Tommy! “That big-mouth woman—why doesn’t she just stay home where she belongs and let her husband run the country?” Remember how we used to argue about her many trips? It all seems such a long time ago, almost as if it were another lifetime. How my heart goes out to her now.

I feel so lucky to have my family around me and the knowledge that my beloved husband is alive and well. With so many families grieving, God has truly seen fit to bless us and I’ll be forever grateful. A young corporal who’d served with Patton told me the feeling is that the war in Europe will be over in the next few weeks. The plan is that most of the soldiers will be sent home for a thirty-day furlough before being reassigned to the Pacific. He mentioned a new points-system program (I think he called it 85 and Out) that will muster out some very lucky soldiers. I lit a candle tonight on my way home and prayed that young corporal was right. Can you imagine, darling? Home to stay!

Last night I couldn’t sleep. I’d had supper with Edna and Les, and Edna asked me what it was I wanted to do when you came home. A vacation in the mountains? A trip to the seashore? Kick up our heels in a different nightclub every night? Darling, do you know something funny? All I could think of was the way things used to be. All I want is for everything to be exactly the way it was. I’d never ask for anything else.

Nancy is still writing to Gerry. She says she loves him. I try to tell her that it’s just an infatuation—wartime romances are quite appealing. Especially long-distance romances like this. So many times I’ve tried to encourage her to go out and meet people, but she shakes her head and looks at me with those sad eyes of hers and I just give up. I’m afraid our little girl is in for a letdown when the war is over and her Gerry just disappears.

As for Cathy, well, there’s no doubt about it. Cathy and Johnny are in love. They’re two headstrong individuals and there are days when you can actually see the fireworks going back and forth between them. Johnny loves our girl and he’ll make a good life for her. I just wish they’d declare themselves. She deserves a life of her own, a husband and children. It’s what every woman wants and, God knows, I so want it for our daughter.

Oh, Tommy, we’ll have so much to celebrate when you come home! The day is almost here...

Your Doro

When the end came in Europe, it came swiftly.

Adolf Hitler and his mistress committed suicide on April 30, and the Reich that was to live a thousand years drew to a close. V-E Day was proclaimed the very next day and joyous thanksgiving filled the land. It was easy to believe the war was over, that not one more American boy would lose his life fighting for freedom.

Of course, the war wasn’t over, and no one understood that better than Nancy. She was overjoyed that her father would be coming home soon, but that joy was tempered by the fact that, for her and Gerry, the war still raged. Her mother danced through her days, singing at the top of her lungs while she scrubbed every inch of the house in anticipation of the day her beloved Tom came home.

The Weavers were planning a block party for V-E Day. Their son, Mac, would be heading home from the front just as Tom Wilson would be, but no one had any doubt that Mac would be sent over to the Pacific in the first wave of reassigned troops.

Catherine tossed a lunch-hour celebration at Wilson, but warned her employees that the job was only half-over. There was still a war to be won against Japan, and their efforts would have to double the moment the celebration ended.

“So what do you want to do?” asked Johnny that evening as the employees flooded through the gates on their way home. “The block party? Dancing at the Inn? You name it.”

Catherine looked up at him and grinned. “Let’s go into the city. I want to be right there in the middle of the excitement.”

He threw back his head and laughed. “Times Square? It’ll be a zoo. You heard how jammed it was yesterday.”

She nodded. “I know, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime event, Johnny. I want to remember it for as long as I live.”

Johnny hoped she was right as he felt for the small box in his shirt pocket. It was there, same as it had been for the past four days. Hard to believe such a tiny ring could make such a huge difference in the way a man felt about life.
It’s time
, he thought as he waited for her to gather her things. It was more than time. He wasn’t the man he used to be, closed up, with his feelings locked tight behind the bars around his heart. He’d made mistakes with Angie, lots of them. He knew that now. Marriage was more than saying some words in front of a judge then setting up house together. You had to share a part of yourself, expose the light and the dark, give even when there was nothing to be gained from giving.

He could do all that with Catherine. He’d already done it, time and time again. They knew how to fight, but they also understood how to stop fighting and get on with it. More than anything he wanted to give her time to slow down, time to rest and recover that part of herself that had been lost in the war years.

He wanted to give her a home of her own and a life of her own. And he wanted to give her children. Lots of them.

“What are you smiling about?” she asked as they headed toward the subway. “You look like the cat that ate the canary.”

“Just thinking.”

She squeezed his hand. “Good thoughts?”

Cathy waiting at the door when he got home... a hot meal on the stove... their children doing their homework by the fireplace... his Cathy—his wife—turning down the blankets and welcoming him into their bed...

“The best,” he said, patting the ring box one more time. “The very best.”

Johnny was right. Times Square was a zoo. Young men in uniform danced with even younger girls in front of the replica of the Statue of Liberty, and Catherine and Johnny each bought a fistful of Liberty Bonds from the USO workers near a fifty-foot-high cash register that totaled the sales. They joined in a conga line that snaked up and down the Square and laughed uproariously.

Soon, however, the din became too much even for Cathy, and they went on to Longchamps where they dined on sautéed filet mignon and shrimp cocktail, definitely a special dinner. Catherine was in ecstasy. “Beef!” she said with a sigh. “I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed a meal more.”

Johnny couldn’t concentrate on his dinner. She devoured an enormous strawberry shortcake while he smoked cigarette after cigarette, waiting for the right moment. Finally she finished eating and he paid the bill.

“Want to walk for a while?” he asked.

Catherine groaned. “I’d better, or I’ll have to let out my seams tomorrow.”

They strolled through the gathering twilight. From Times Square they heard the faint sounds of music and cheers. Cathy chattered on about the delicious meal and he could only nod and pat his jacket pocket. He felt jumpier than he had in a foxhole with Nazi fire exploding all around him.

The carousel, he thought. Or the little bench near the lake... There had to be one perfect place, one
lucky
place, where a man could propose to the girl he loved.

And then he saw it. A hansom cab waited near the fountain in front of the Plaza. “Come on,” he said, swooping her up into his arms. “Let’s go for a ride.”

Giggling, Cathy found herself carried across the street and deposited in the back seat of the elegant carriage before she could muster a protest. Not that she wanted to protest. Riding through the park in a hansom cab was probably the most romantic adventure she could possible imagine!

The gentle clip-clop of the horse’s hooves lulled her into a wondrous romantic blur. Birds chirped softly high in the trees, and now and again you could hear murmurs and whispers from lovers sitting together on the park benches, hidden now by the blue light of dusk.

Johnny recognized the perfect moment when he saw it. He casually reached into his jacket.

“I have cigarettes in my purse,” Catherine said.

“That’s not what I’m looking for.” He pulled the tiny box out of his shirt pocket and placed it in her hand.

Her eyes widened, then her gaze lowered to the box with its shiny white ribbons.

“Johnny?” Her voice was soft, her tone both puzzled and cautiously delighted.

He closed her fingers around it. His heart hammered the way it had in combat. He wasn’t very good with words. “Open it,” he said, knowing he sounded gruff, but when your heart was in your throat it was tough to sound any other way.

Calm down!
Catherine thought.
Don’t go setting yourself up for disappointment!
A pair of pearl earrings, maybe. A shiny gold locket on a slender chain. A carousel charm for her bracelet. She opened the box.

“Oh, Johnny!” Her breath rushed from her body.

“I’d drop to my knee,” he said, “but there’s no room.” He looked jittery and uncertain, hopeful and terrified, and she loved him more in that instant than she had ever loved anyone.

“Marry me, Cathy,” he said, plucking the sparkling diamond ring from its bed of black velvet.

Her left hand trembled as she extended it toward him.

“I love you, Cathy.” How beautiful the words were! How beautiful they made her feel. She’d never expected to hear them again. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks and she didn’t bother to wipe them away. She was certain her smile was brighter than a full moon in August.

“Yes,” she said as he slipped the ring onto her finger. “Oh, yes!”

The driver let out a cheer, and Catherine giggled and buried her face against Johnny’s shoulder. “I love you,” she said for him alone. “I’ll love you forever.”

We’ll work side by side, Johnny. Things will be the same as they’ve always been, only better.

Johnny felt as if he’d captured the stars with his bare hands.
A brand-new life, Cathy. Before long, you won’t have to work for a living. You can concentrate on being my wife
.

“A toast to the happy couple,” said the driver, passing back a bottle of champagne and paper cups he kept on hand for occasions like this. “May you have a long and happy life together!”

The happy couple clinked glasses and drank to two entirely different futures.

* * *

The lights were on late that night at the Wilson house. Dot burst into happy tears and ran across the street to bring Edna and Les Weaver and their other neighbors over for an impromptu celebration. The block party had just ended and now as engagement party was about to begin. Even Nancy seemed genuinely glad for the two of them, and she raised a glass of blackberry wine and said, “To the two luckiest people in the entire world—may you have a hundred years of joy together!”

Catherine’s tears were tears of joy when Aunt Edna and Uncle Les kissed her and hugged Johnny and wished them both everything wonderful that life had to offer.

If only her father had been there with them, the evening would have been picture perfect.

The next day it was back to business as usual at Wilson. Well, as usual as business could be the day after your engagement. Oh, yes—there was also the small matter of victory in Europe. There were an awful lot of hangovers at the factory that morning and a lot of smiling faces.

Of course, the biggest smiles of all belonged to Catherine and Johnny. Johnny was doing a good job of keeping business and pleasure separate, but Catherine was finding it difficult to tear her gaze from the diamond ring glittering on her left hand. Engaged. She and Johnny were engaged. Out of the most difficult years of her life had come her greatest happiness. The man she loved. Work that mattered.

The memory of another man, another engagement ring, wasn’t far from her mind.
I’ll always love you, Douglas
, she thought, gazing out the window.
You’ll always be a part of me
. Love wasn’t the finite quantity she had once believed; it bent with the wind; it grew in barren soil; it lived even after you’d given up hope.

“You wanted to see me?” Eddie Martin, hands thrust in the pockets of his brown trousers, stood in the doorway. She motioned him inside. “We need to talk.”

“Sounds serious.” He smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. This intense, angry young man seemed almost a stranger to Catherine.

“I’ve been reviewing attendance records, Eddie, and I’m afraid yours isn’t the greatest.” He said nothing. “Is there a problem?” she continued. “If there’s something wrong you have to tell me so we can do something about it.”

“Nothing you could do, Catherine, even if you wanted to.”
Catherine
. Had it come to that? She’d always been Cath or Wilson or some other crazy nickname to Eddie.

“The war’s over, Eddie, at least in Europe. We’re going to have to consider the future.”

He leaned back in his chair. “I hear you’ve been considering your own future.”

She laughed nervously. “The grapevine is in fine shape.” Shyly she showed him her ring. “It just happened last night.”

“Congratulations.”

Her smile wavered. “That’s all? Just ‘congratulations’?”

“What do you want me to say? I’d be lying if I said I think you’ve found a great guy.”

“I know you and Johnny have had a rough patch or two, but he’s a wonderful man. I think you’ll get to like him.”

“So when do you quit work?”

“Quit work! Where’d you get an idea like that?”

“It’s what you do when you get married, isn’t it?”

“Well, yes, it is—I mean, it
was
. I’ve done a good job here, Eddie. I can do even more once we go back to civilian production.”

“Don’t try to convince me. Convince your future husband.”

“I don’t have to convince Johnny of anything,” she said hotly. “He knows how important this company is to me.”

She did her best to bring the conversation back to Eddie’s absenteeism, but his lack of interest was like a splash of icy water in her face.

“I’ve made my position clear,” she said in exasperation. “Things have to change, Eddie. It’s time to put the past behind us and look ahead.”
Talk to me, Eddie. We used to be friends. Don’t let it slip away from us like this
....

“You’re right,” he said as he rose to his feet. “I quit.”

“Eddie, please. You don’t mean this—”

“It’s over, Cathy. Face it. I don’t have a place here anymore.”

“We can work it out. We can—”

He shook his head. “No, we can’t. Everything’s changed, whether you want to believe it or not. It’s over. All of it.” He turned and left the office and for an instant she wondered if she would ever see him again.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said out loud as his footsteps disappeared down the hallway. “He’ll be back.”

But the weeks went by and finally Catherine had to admit Eddie Martin was gone for good.

* * *

One month later Dot stood on the dock, craning her neck to see over the crowd.

“Calm down, Mom.” Catherine laughed and winked at Nancy. “I don’t think the
Queen Mary
will get lost in the crowd.”

“Look at all those tugboats,” Nancy said, pointing toward the flotilla of escorts heralding the arrival of the world’s most famous troopship as it entered the narrows. “I’ll bet Daddy’s up there on deck directing traffic.”

Her two daughters laughed, but Dot was so nervous she was afraid she’d fall apart if she uttered a sound. Johnny patted her on the shoulder and she gave him a quick smile, grateful for his solid presence.
This is it
, she thought, hugging herself to stem her trembling.
Any moment now the ship will dock and my husband will walk down that gangplank and I’ll
—

Dear God, what? Would she run to him and fling herself into his arms? Would she stand rooted to the spot while he strode proudly across the dock to her waiting embrace? Why hadn’t she taken more pains with her hair, pinning it up or brushing it loose or rolling the top into the pompadour he’d always loved. Would he like her new pink lipstick, or should she have rummaged around for the bright red that she’d always worn?

Later on she would ask herself exactly how she and Tom found each other in the teeming crowd of humanity jamming the pier that day in June. She remembered Nancy’s tears and Catherine’s look of joy and the way Tom and Johnny met each other’s eyes, then embraced like father and son, but how it was that she and Tom had found their way to each other—well, only God had the answer to that wonderful mystery.

The weeks and the months and the years without him vanished, and she found herself looking into the eyes of the man she loved, the boy she’d married, the father of her children, as if they’d never been parted, not even for an instant.