The High Calling

by Gilbert, Morris

  “Let’s sit down over here, children, and I’ll tell you a story,” Kat said.

  “Can’t we have something to eat, Miss Katherine?”

  “It’s rather crowded right now. Let’s wait until things quiet down a bit.”

  “Tell the story about the porcupine,” Evelyn piped up. She was an adorable child with the same blond hair and blue eyes as the rest of the children. Her cheeks were rosy, and since she was only five, she did not grasp the seriousness of the situation.

  “No, I’ll tell you a brand-new one,” Kat said quickly. She had already forgotten the story about the porcupine she had made up, but her fertile imagination began to work, and soon all the children were gathered around her listening to the stories of a raccoon named Henry.

  She was well into her story when they heard the muffled booms of bombs going off. The children were beginning to look frightened, so Kat picked up the tempo of the story. “Henry knew that he had to get the giant to leave his castle so he could get in and take the treasure back home. . . .” She spoke quickly, gesturing with her hands, and was reassured to see the children’s eyes were on her again.

  The bombing seemed to go on for a long time but finally it mitigated, and Kat wrapped up her story. “Now let’s go get a sandwich and some tea.”

  Eating occupied the children for a time, and as Kat nibbled on a sandwich, she tried to comfort the weary mother.

  “I just don’t know what we’re going to do, Kat.”

  “God will be with you. He’s always with us.”

  Edna shook her head. “I can’t believe our home is all gone. Everything! When Jack comes back there won’t be any of the pictures or the furniture that he loved.”

  “But you’ll be here and so will the children.” Kat leaned over and put her arm around the woman. “God spared your lives and his. This won’t last forever. One day you and Jack will have a new place and the children will be with you, and it’ll be wonderful.”

  Edna laughed and shook her head. “Now you’re telling me fairy tales that you’re making up just like you do for the children.”

  “I’m not doing any such thing!” Kat protested. “I really believe that we’re going to survive this. You and the children and Jack.”

  Edna’s eyes glistened in tears. She said in a tight voice, “You’re a blessing to me and my children, Kat.”

  The two women sat there until the all-clear sounded, and then Kat accompanied them back to the abandoned factory. Kat gave Edna and the children each a hug and then left. Her mind was reeling with the problems this family faced, and there were hundreds more just like it. Kat had learned to admire the courage of the Londoners who were enduring the worst that Adolf Hitler and his henchmen could send at them. “They’ll get through somehow, God. Please be with them and help Jack to come home safely.”

  ****

  Parker spotted the 109s far over to his left. There were eight of them, four pairs, in a long saw-toothed line. At once he passed the information to the squadron—half a squadron, actually. Only the red and blue flights were taking this patrol. “Bandits! Do you see them?”

  “I see them, Red Leader.” Sailor Darley’s voice came through loud and clear.

  The Spitfires banked and then angled down, and the formation of 109s turned and headed toward them. The action came quickly then, with everyone firing at the same time. Bullets flew between the two formations and then the planes broke up into individual dogfights.

  Parker made a hard turning climb, and a yellow-nosed 109 showed its belly to him. He went after it, but he was too slow. The 109 rolled and dipped and then slipped away.

  Parker had no time to think. He heaved his Spit on its side in an effort to drag it around, and for a moment the strain dimmed his vision so that he could not see. All around him were dogfights, and he looked desperately to find the other two members of his flight. He saw Zarek Dolenski engaged in a furious battle on the tail of a 109. He couldn’t see Alan Miller, the man who had replaced Dick Summerton. Miller didn’t have as much combat experience as some of the other men did, and Parker worried about him.

  For a few seconds the action went on furiously, but such things could not last long. A Spitfire had ammunition enough to fire for only fifteen seconds. Most of those were in short bursts. Fifteen seconds was not much time, and the Messerschmitts carried about the same amount of firepower.

  “All right. Let’s go home,” Parker said, and the two flights fell into formation. He saw that Miller had survived and heaved a sigh of relief. But he knew he would not have missed that 109 if it had been two weeks ago. The strain of Veronica’s death had slowed him more than he could have imagined, and his timing was lousy. He had thought once of grounding himself, but they were short of manpower, and now as he led the squadron home he felt weary and drained.

  The twins were just beginning to understand that their mother was gone forever. At first they’d had the idea that she had only gone on a short trip, but now the reality was beginning to sink in, which made a double burden for Parker’s parents, who had taken over their care completely. He could not help with this burden, which made him feel miserable. As the Spitfire streaked toward home, he had nothing to look forward to but a brief rest and then another encounter in the sky.

  ****

  Brodie climbed out of his plane, and Keith Poe was there at once. “Did you take any bullets, sir?”

  “Not a one, and she’s running like a watch. Good job, Keith.”

  “She’s a fine craft, sir. You just be careful.”

  Brodie slapped the diminutive mechanic on the shoulder and then joined the others who were going into the debriefing room. When they were dismissed, the pilots made their way to the truck and the table that Meredith had set up. She was smiling at them, warmth and welcome in her eyes.

  Brodie took the doughnut and the cup of tea she offered. “Where’s Kat?”

  “She went inside.”

  “To see Parker?”

  “Yes.”

  “He’s having a hard time.”

  “Death is never easy. Especially when it’s your spouse.” She handed a doughnut to another pilot. “Was it bad up there today?”

  “Oh, just the usual stuff.” He took a bite out of his doughnut. “I wonder what they do with the holes.”

  “The holes of the doughnut?”

  “Yes. I mean, do they mash all the holes together to make one giant doughnut?”

  She grinned. “I have no idea.”

  She served the other men until everyone had their fill, and then she began to clean up. Brodie watched and sipped his tea, and finally she came and sat down beside him.

  “I’m worried about Parker,” Brodie said. “He hasn’t been the same since his wife died.”

  It was the opening that Meredith had been waiting for. “No, he hasn’t. And you haven’t been the same since Bernard Cox died.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”

  “You’re living for revenge, and that’s not a good idea.”

  He shook his head. “Nothin’s really changed.”

  “That’s not what the other pilots say. They say you’re taking enormous chances up there, Brodie.”

  He knew he had been throwing himself into battle in a reckless fashion. He was always careful to guard Sailor’s back, for he was determined not to lose another friend, but whenever he had the chance, he would take on the enemy with the wildest abandon.

  “One of the guys told me that you attacked eight German planes all by yourself.”

  “Who said that?”

  “It doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t do that.”

  “I know it sounds bad, but I had the height on them. I came down and made one pass, and they had no chance at all. I got one of ’em too.”

  Meredith did not understand much about aerial warfare, but she knew about people. And now she studied this tall American, thinking how fragile his life was, as were the lives of all of them. She felt a sudden start of fear at the idea that
he might have been shot down on the sortie this very day. She had been meaning to speak to him more directly about becoming a Christian, and now she said quietly, “I know you feel bad about Bernard Cox. Nobody can help that. But you can’t let your sorrow dominate you. You can’t change the past, Brodie, but you can do something about the present.”

  He well understood what he was doing and knew that it was wrong, but like a drunk who couldn’t refuse one more drink, he could not seem to get rid of the hatred that burned in him when he saw a German plane. He felt that each German he attacked might have been the one who killed Bernie.

  “I would so love to see you come to the Lord Jesus,” Meredith said.

  The simplicity of her words and the clearness of her eyes and everything about this woman seemed to fit into a pattern that Brodie found admirable. He chewed his lower lip for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders. “Kat’s been preaching to me about Jesus for years.”

  “You should have listened to her.”

  “Maybe I will.”

  “I don’t . . . I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  He was surprised at the unsteadiness of her voice. “Nothin’s gonna happen to me, but it’s good to know you care.”

  Meredith was a very straightforward person—too straightforward for some people’s taste. She looked at him and said bluntly, “I think I might be falling in love with you.”

  Brodie was completely taken aback. He gave her an astonished look and said, “Well, that’s comin’ right out with it!”

  She laughed. “There, now you can start running away. Kat tells me you do that when women fall in love with you.”

  He grinned. “Well, you don’t want for grit, I’ll say that for ya.”

  And then Meredith grew serious. “But I can’t let myself fall in love with you, Brodie. I couldn’t spend my life with a man who doesn’t love God.”

  This might have offended him at another time, but he knew he was talking with a woman who had a great capacity for love. She was also full of fire and had a temper that could swing from laughter to anger. He knew she was proud too. It couldn’t have been easy for her to admit her affection for him. “You’re some woman, Meredith.”

  “I know you don’t need any husband-hungry women chasing after you.”

  “Wait a minute,” he said, growing serious once again. “Tell me more about how you came to know God.”

  Her eyes opened wide with surprise. “You really want to hear about it?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Well, I was thirteen years old and had no more idea about God than a rabbit. . . .”

  ****

  “You didn’t come, so I brought you some doughnuts and tea. No extra charge for the personal service.”

  Parker had been staring out the window when Kat came in after a quick rap on the door. He took the doughnut wrapped in a napkin and put the tea on his desk. “Thanks, Katherine.” He bit into the doughnut. “That’s good.”

  “Well, I didn’t make them. I don’t know how to make doughnuts.” She sat in the chair across from his desk as he settled into his own. “You look so tired,” she commented.

  “We’re all tired, Katherine.”

  “How are things at home?”

  He shook his head and stared at the doughnut. When he lifted his eyes, she saw the misery in them. “Paul and Heather are just beginning to understand that their mother’s not coming back. At first they didn’t. It was like she was gone on a vacation, but it’s beginning to sink in now.”

  “The poor babies!”

  “And Father is down with a cold or something, so the burden’s all been on Mother.”

  “I wish I could do something.”

  “Well, there might be something you could do. The kids would love to see you. They miss your stories.”

  “I’ll try to get out to see them, Parker. How is the squadron doing?”

  “Everyone is doing fine—except me.”

  “Why, that can’t be true!”

  “It is, though. I made a bad mistake this afternoon. I could have brought great harm on myself or one of my men. I don’t have that fine edge anymore.”

  Kat knew this must have been hard for Parker to admit. “Can’t you take a little time off?”

  “There are no time-outs in a war, I’m afraid.”

  Kat watched while Parker finished his doughnut, although it didn’t look as though he was even tasting it. “I know that you must grieve over Veronica.”

  He lifted his head and something flickered in his eyes. She could not tell what it was. He shrugged his shoulders wearily and said, “We were going through a bad time. I feel awful that I didn’t do something that could have helped her.”

  He gazed into his tea as if there might be some comfort there. “I didn’t really have the love for her that a man should have for his wife. I should have been much kinder.”

  Kat wanted to put her arms around him but knew this was not the time. “We always say that after we lose someone.” She sought for more words and finally said, “I know it sounds foolish to tell someone to be careful in a time of war, but please do try to take care of yourself.” She stood up. “I’ll make some time to go see Paul and Heather.”

  ****

  As Parker brought the Spitfire in for a landing, he felt groggy. They had scrambled four times in the past twelve hours. They had been engaged in combat on only one of the sorties, but the fatigue was always there even if there were no enemy fighters to contend with. As he came in for a landing, he was thinking about Paul and Heather, wondering how he could spend more time with them. Suddenly a voice crackled in his ear, “Red Leader! Red Leader!”

  It was Brodie Lee, but there was no time to respond. Suddenly, instead of wheels hitting the ground, there was a crash of metal. Instantly Parker knew he had committed the stupidest error a pilot can. He had forgotten to put down his landing gear!

  He hauled back on the stick to try to gain air space, but the propeller smashed against the ground and skewed the plane around. Desperately Parker held on, but he had no control now. The plane was only obeying the laws of physics as it skidded along the runway, and Parker could do nothing.

  As the Spit shot along the field, the tip of one wing dipped, and it spun the plane around in the opposite direction, throwing Parker to one side.

  He never saw the pole that he hit, but he heard the crash of metal, and then he was flung forward and a terrible pain struck him right in the forehead. He knew nothing more.

  ****

  He came out of the darkness shivering and with a feeling he was falling. He started to twist, and his head seemed to be splitting open.

  “Take it easy.”

  He opened his eyes and could see a blurry face.

  “Lie back, Wing Commander.”

  Parker obeyed, closing his eyes again, and his memory came swimming back. “I piled it up, didn’t I?” he gasped. He tried to reach up and touch his head, but a hand seized him. “Leave your head alone. You’re all right, but you had a bad bump.”

  Parker obeyed. He opened his eyes again, and this time he recognized the flight surgeon, a tall man named Peterson.

  “Something’s wrong with my eyes, Doctor.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I can see two of you.”

  “You’ve got double vision and a bad concussion. Close your eyes, Parker.” Peterson’s voice was soothing. “You’re going to be all right. I’m going to give you something to make you sleep.”

  “But I can’t see.”

  “That’ll take care of itself in time, but in the meantime you’re not flying.”

  “But I’ve got to.”

  “No. Darley will take your place.”

  Parker could not think clearly. The double vision frightened him. He had always had excellent eyesight and now that was gone. “What if my vision doesn’t get any better, Doctor?”

  “It will. I promise you. You’re going to take at least a week off, so make up your mind to that. Y
ou need it.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  A Call for Help

  The phone rang abruptly, breaking the silence. Kat sat straight up in bed and looked at the clock. Eight forty-five. She had worked until midnight last night and had been sleeping soundly. She picked up the phone as her head started to clear. “Yes? Who is it?”

  “Katherine? This is Parker.”

  At once Kat grew alert and lost all grogginess. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

  “Yes. Really there is.”

  “Tell me!”

  “Well, it’s several things all come together. You heard about my crash yesterday?”

  “Oh yes. I’m so glad you were all right.”

  “Stupid thing to do. I can’t believe I forgot to put my landing gear down. The greenest pilot in the squadron can laugh at me now.”

  “How do you feel?”

  “Not too bad. But I’m having trouble with my vision and I feel pretty tired. The flight doctor grounded me for a week, so I’m recuperating at home. I’m wondering—” He broke off and then continued in a voice tight with strain. “The twins are sick, Katherine. I don’t think it’s serious, but you know how kids are when they’re sick. They require a lot of care, and of all things, my father is down too with bronchitis, and the housekeeper had to go off and help her daughter, who’s having a baby. Sounds like a bad movie, doesn’t it?”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry, Parker. Your poor mother. Would you like me to come over and help?”

  “Could you?” he asked with relief. “Even for a day or two until we can find somebody.”

  “Don’t worry about that. I think I can get off from the mission, and I’m not due to work any shifts the rest of this week at the hospital. Has a doctor seen the twins?”

  “Yes, and he says it’s the mumps. Not serious, but they’re very fussy.”

  “I’ll come at once.”

  “Did you have the mumps when you were a child? We wouldn’t want to expose you to something you haven’t had.”