The Happiest Day

by Sandy Huth

  He tilted her chin up and smiled down into her eyes. “Why don’t you give me something to fill my time?” he said suggestively, his hand sliding down her back and curving over her bottom.

  “If it were up to you, we’d never get out of this bed.”

  “I haven’t heard any complaints from you, woman.”

  “You’ll never hear me complain. I waited twenty-eight years for you. I won’t nearly have my fill of you for at least that long.”

  He flipped her under him, his intent obvious. “At least that long,” he repeated. “I never want to be apart from you again.”

  “We have years and years ahead of us,” she promised, wrapping her legs around him and receiving him into her body. “We may have a lot to make up for, but we’ve got plenty of time, and then some.”

  Chapter 30

  The year flew by. Alan graduated from high school and chose to enter the Navy rather than going to college. The children finished another year of school and spent the summer in their own pursuits. David and Matthew worked for Rachel at the newspaper, Lorraine took a job as a candy striper at the hospital, Steven spent his time at the stables training a new horse, and the three younger children generally ran wild. The entire family, including Bert and Rose, vacationed at the beach house in South Carolina. Rachel had never felt more content or satisfied with her life. Fall arrived and they began preparing for the holidays.

  Then December 7th came and their entire world changed. Rachel was unable to leave the newspaper due to the rapidly unfolding events, so the family came to her. They sat with her in the printing department with her employees as they all gathered around the radio. Rachel saw Lorraine come in from work, still in her uniform, her face pale. She scanned the room and headed for David. He was sitting on a table, his face set in stone, and his hands clenched. He looked up when Lorraine approached him and his face softened. He held out his arms and she went into them, burying her face in his chest. Rachel watched them for a moment, aware that their apparent burgeoning relationship did not bother her as much as it had a year ago. They had woken up this morning to a new, scary world and she didn’t feel she had the right to prevent anyone from seeking solace or love.

  “What does it mean, Mommy?” Lily asked. She was ten years old and frightened by the events of the day. She slipped her hand into Rachel’s, her eyes wide. “Is Hitler going to kill us?”

  “Of course not.” Rachel pulled Lily up against her. “Your father and I will take care of all of you, like we always have.”

  “What about Alan?” Steven asked and the room grew quiet.

  Alan had worked the past four summers at the newspaper and was liked and respected by all. All eyes turned to Bert, where he sat in the corner, his daughter sitting with him. Their hands were clasped.

  “Where was he the last time you heard from him, Bert?” Peter asked.

  “South Pacific,” Bert said shortly. “It’s going to be all right. I’m not going to assume the worst.”

  “Alan is fine,” Rose said with conviction.

  “We’ll all pray for him,” Lorraine said walking over to hug her friend.

  The next day, though, war was officially declared and Rachel feared that nothing was ever going to be fine again. Christmas was muted and joyless. Then in March, 1942, came word that Alan had been taken prisoner of war. Rachel watched Bert age a decade in just one afternoon. His shoulders sagged as he sat in Rachel’s office, the telegram hanging in his fingers.

  “I can’t lose another person I love. He and Rose are all I have left of Maryanne.” His voice broke. “If he dies, I let her down. That’s the last thing she said to me. ‘Take care of the children.’ If he dies, she’ll know I failed.”

  “He’s not going to die and you haven’t failed anything,” Rachel said firmly. “He’s a prisoner of war. He’ll be treated humanely.”

  “I don’t trust the Japanese,” Bert said bluntly. “God, what if they’re torturing him?”

  “You’re not doing yourself any favors by thinking these things. We have to stay positive.” She looked over at Peter and knew that he would agree to anything she decided, especially when it came to their friend. “I want you and Rose to come stay with us.”

  Bert looked up, dazed. “What? What do you mean?”

  “This family needs to be together at a time like this,” Rachel explained. “I want the two of you to live with us, at least for now.”

  “I couldn’t impose,” he shook his head.

  “Think of Rose,” Peter said. “Think of how lonely and scared she must be. It would be a good thing for her to be with her cousins. They’ll keep her mind occupied so she doesn’t have time to worry herself sick.”

  The thought of his daughter swayed him. “All right. I’ll call her and have her start packing.” Rachel knew she had made the right decision when she saw some of the tension leave Bert’s shoulders.

  They moved in that evening and Peter made the announcement to the rest of the family. “Uncle Bert and Rose are going to be staying with us for a while. We need to come together as a family and be there for each other. I’m afraid that we received bad news today. Alan’s ship was attacked and he has been taken prisoner of war by the Japanese.” Silence descended as the family was frozen, trying to assimilate the news. Then, Lily burst out crying and Rose pulled the younger girl onto her lap.

  “He’s going to be all right,” Rose assured her. “We just have to keep praying.”

  David pounded his fist on the table, shocking everyone. “I hate this war!” he shouted.

  Peter stood and laid a hand on his son’s shoulder. “These are hard times but we have to stay calm. That’s all we can do.”

  David shook his father’s hand off. “That’s not all I can do,” he bit out. “I’m enlisting tomorrow.”

  “The hell you are!” Peter bellowed, showing a rare flare of temper.

  Laurie stood as well. “Let’s all just calm down. We’re emotional and overwrought.”

  David inhaled deeply. “Please listen to me. I have to register for the draft in two months, anyway, and we all know that I’ll be called up, eventually. I’d rather take control of my own destiny instead of sitting around waiting.”

  “I don’t want you to go!” Lily wailed.

  Rose stood, bringing Lily with her. “Why don’t I take Lily upstairs? I’ll read a book to you.”

  Lily knew she was acting like a baby and was ashamed of herself, but couldn’t seem to stop crying. She nodded and allowed Rose to lead her away. Peter looked at Steven, Adrian, and Teddy. “I know you won’t be happy about this, but we need to talk to your brother. Could you three excuse us?”

  “What about Matthew?” Steven asked, his feelings hurt.

  Matthew was their calm thinker, their pacifist. Rachel knew Peter wanted him to stay to sway his brother.

  Laurie motioned to the younger boys. “Come on, the three of you. Let’s say we try to find something worth listening to on the radio.”

  That left Lorraine, and by the look on her face, Rachel knew that would not be able to convince her to leave. She hoped that the girl would have some power over her first born.

  Peter sat down. “It’s true that you have to register for the draft in just a few months. We will deal with that when it happens. I just don’t see any point in rushing the inevitable.”

  “And I don’t see any point in sitting here waiting for the inevitable,” David argued. “Dad, you and Uncle Bert were in the war. Why-”

  “Don’t!” Peter snapped. “War isn’t some kind of god-damned legacy! Yes, we were in the war and it was a fucking hell.”

  “Peter,” Rachel murmured, willing him to stay calm even though her own insides were in turmoil.

  “No, he wants to act like he’s a man and compare himself to me, then fine. I’ll tell him about the things I saw and the things I had to do. David, are you prepared to kill a man? To look a man in his eyes and shoot him or stab him?”

  “As ready as any other man who has n
ever been to war,” David said stonily. “My cousin is sitting in a prisoner of war camp. How do you expect me to wake up every day in a mansion and have my hot breakfast served to me, right before I go off and ride my horse or lounge in the garden? Is that the type of man you wanted to raise, Dad?”

  “I don’t think that you have to give your life as some sort of sacrifice to ensure Alan’s safety,” Peter shot back. “This is not open for discussion. You will not enlist early.” He got up, his chair falling back, and left the room.

  Rachel sighed and stood. “I’d better go talk to him.”

  “I’m sorry, Mom,” David said. “I really am. I am serious about this, though.”

  Rachel could only nod and send a pleading look at Matthew and Lorraine. She left the three teens alone with Bert, who had yet to speak.

  “I don’t want you to go,” Lorraine said softly, her hands clasped in front of her.

  “I’m going one way or the other, you know that,” David argued. “Uncle Bert, you haven’t said a word. What do you think?”

  “I respect your feelings. I really do, Dave. You’ve turned into the type of man that your parents intended on raising.”

  “Dad is so mad at me.”

  “He’s not mad, he’s scared. We’re all scared. He’s right about something, too. Just because he served in a war, that doesn’t mean that he wants you to. We’ve been there. It’s barbaric. It sucks your soul. When you try to sleep at night, you see the faces of all the men you killed.”

  “I came from war,” Lorraine added. “Your Uncle Bert is right. It’s a horror that I’ll never forget.”

  “It’s because of you that I’ve been thinking of doing this,” was David’s surprising answer. “The way your family suffered—we can’t let this continue, this destruction of the world. I’ve got to do my part. The news tonight just made me sure that I am right to enlist now.”

  “Dad won’t let you,” Matthew said. “I understand what you’re saying, but he won’t let you.”

  “Finish school,” Bert advised. “Reality is going to set in soon enough. David…” Bert’s voice broke a little and he swiped at his eyes. “We don’t know how this thing with Alan is going to end. This family has been through so much…I don’t know if we can handle losing two of you.”

  Those were the words that hit the mark. David was quiet and they could tell that his mind was picturing his parents receiving news of his death. Lorraine’s hand crept across the table and clasped his. “Stay…for now,” she implored.

  Upstairs, Peter was still raging. Pacing back and forth, he was having difficulty controlling his emotions. “That stupid kid! What in the hell is he thinking of? He should be hitting his knees and thanking God that no one can make him go.”

  “Yet,” Rachel said quietly.

  He froze and looked at her with raw emotion. “Rae, I can’t lose a child.” He sank to the bed. “In two years, if this damn thing is still going on, we’ll have to watch Matthew go. Then two years later, Steven. Am I really expected to give up three sons? How can we do that?”

  “I imagine this is how Norris and Helen felt. I know that I felt the same terror twenty-five years ago when you and Bert left.”

  “I’m sorry. I never thought that it felt this god-awful.”

  Rachel slid over and wrapped her arms around him from behind. “We have to keep the faith.” She laid her head on his shoulder and they rocked together silently.

  A knock at the door came and David tentatively poked his head into their room. “May I come in?”

  “Of course,” Rachel said.

  He entered the room, looking somewhat shame-faced. “I’m sorry, Dad. I was only thinking of myself and not how the family would feel about my decision.”

  “I’m sorry, too,” Peter responded. “I over-reacted. You’re a man trying to make adult decisions. I just don’t know that I’m ready for it.”

  “I’ll wait until I’m eighteen to enlist. From there, we’ll just have to take it one day at a time.”

  However, it was barely three months after he turned eighteen that David received his notice. The new high school graduate put aside his dreams, kissed his family good-bye, and got on a train for basic training. He was told that it would be months before he was shipped to England but as far as the family was concerned, he was already gone.

  Chapter 31

  The next three years were almost a blur to Rachel. They rarely heard from David, and the letters he did send were brief and void of real information. Each time a missive arrived, however, the family was almost giddy with relief only to wake up the next day to start the entire cycle of worry over again. Matthew followed his brother in the late spring of 1944 and time seemed to stand still. The rest of the children, ranging in age from Lily at thirteen to Lorraine at seventeen, all did their part for the war, volunteering for different efforts and writing their brothers letters, not knowing if they were ever received.

  Although it had been two years since they had learned that Alan had been taken prisoner, they received no further information. Bert had sold his house, he and Rose deciding to live permanently at the estate. Rose worked hard at the university to become a nurse, her intent to work at on a hospital ship for the Navy. Bert had difficulty accepting that he would give up another child to the war, but understood her need to follow her brother’s steps in her own way.

  Lorraine was a blessing to Rachel. She was quiet and introverted but helped with the running of the estate and the daily care of the younger children. At the beginning of 1945, Rachel came home from work late one night and found Lily sitting on the front steps, her face worried.

  “I’m so glad you’re home,” she said, meeting her mother at the car. “Lorraine is in the chapel crying.”

  Rachel’s heart dropped and she felt faint, leaning against the side of her car. “Did a telegram come?”

  Lily’s face was pale and pinched. “I’m not sure. She had a piece of paper in her hands but she wouldn’t tell me what it was.”

  “Oh God,” Rachel breathed. “Where is your father?”

  “He had a dinner meeting. He called and told Smythe he’d be late. Mama, what if…?”

  “Let’s not think the worst,” Rachel advised but wasn’t sure she could take her own advice. “I’ll go talk to her.”

  She gave Lily her briefcase and hurried to the chapel. Lorraine was indeed crying, sitting in the first pew, her head bowed. Her fingers clutched a piece of paper to her chest.

  “Lorraine, what is it?” Rachel asked, sitting next to her. Please God, she prayed. Don’t let it be so.

  Lorraine looked up, her eyes red and swollen. “I heard from David.”

  It wasn’t a telegram. Rachel heaved a sigh. “Is he all right?”

  She nodded. “He’s tired, hungry. He wants to come home.”

  Rachel closed her eyes briefly, picturing her son, suffering daily. “Why are you crying?”

  Lorraine paused and Rachel wondered if she was going to answer her. Finally, she said, “He told me that he…he loves me.” Her eyebrows came together and she re-stated, “He’s in love with me.”

  “Why did that make you cry?”

  “Because I never thought it could be so. I’ve loved him almost since I met him and I knew I was too young for him. He cared about me, I knew, but thought that I would always be like a sister to him.”

  Rachel had to laugh. “Well then, you weren’t seeing the same things I was seeing.”

  Lorraine blushed delicately. “We’ve been close, best friends really. I didn’t feel that there was more than that for him.” She held up the letter. “Now, he tells me this in a letter from thousands of miles away and I may never get to see him again. It made me so angry.”

  Rachel laughed helplessly and pulled the girl into her arms. “Oh sweetheart, you remind me so much of myself. Take my advice, love him with all of your heart and never let anyone or anything get in your way.”

  “Are you speaking from experience?” Lorraine asked, the s
mile back on her face.

  “Yes, I am. You know, I always knew that you two would end up together. In the beginning, it bothered me so much.”

  “Why?”

  “Because the two of you reminded me of myself and Peter. We went through so many unhappy years, both of us in unhappy marriages and wanting something we couldn’t have. I didn’t want my son to feel that same pain.”

  “I would never hurt him,” Lorraine said with quiet passion.

  “I know you wouldn’t.” She hugged the girl to her again. “Anything else in the letter?”

  “Oh, how could I have forgotten?” she exclaimed. “He saw Matthew.”

  “He did?” Rachel cried excitedly. “How is he? Is he all right?”

  “He was fine,” Lorraine assured her. “They got to spend some time together and he said that Matthew is looked better than him.”

  “Well, David has been there a lot longer than Matthew. Listen, Lorraine, this war is coming to an end. The tide is turning.”

  “Do you believe that, truly?”

  “I do. David, Matthew, and Alan will be home before you know it and life can return to normal.”

  “Will it be normal? Was Peter normal when he returned from the war?”

  “He was different,” Rachel admitted. “More serious, I guess. Definitely more moody.”

  “David is already serious and moody,” Lorraine said worriedly.

  “And he is in love with you,” Rachel reminded her. “He’ll have you to help him heal.”

  The war did end and Matthew and David arrived home together. Rachel could hardly believe the difference in them from the last time she had seen them. David seemed taller and unbearably gaunt. He looked tired and battered and in deep need of a good meal. Matthew had matured in the year he had been gone, taller and broader, and looking more like his father than he ever had. He didn’t have the lost look of his brother but Rachel knew that he had seen his fair share of atrocities.

  At the train station, Lorraine held back, shy and uncertain of how she should greet David. After hugging his parents fiercely, he looked up, searching the crowd. His eyes fixed on Lorraine with a hungry, wanting look. He had not heard back from her after his last letter so wasn’t sure of her response. He had missed her so badly that even if she didn’t love him, he just wanted to be near her again.