In Love and War

by Natalie Brock

  Louis dragged Michael toward the administrative building. Michael looked over his shoulder at Cathy, who was standing alone, looking like a lost little girl. “Don’t worry, Cathy. Everything’s going to be okay. I promise.”

  Chapter 63

  That night, Sal fell asleep in Louis’s arms after the two of them made love. It had taken her quite a while to be interested in sex again after what Welles did to her, but Sal really missed the closeness she had with Louis. So she forced herself to push past the trauma, and she was glad to finally be able to be with Louis again. In the middle of the night, she groggily opened her eyes and was surprised to find herself lying on Louis’s pillow instead of his chest. She lifted her head. “What are you doing?”

  Louis was pacing back and forth in front of the cot wearing only his briefs. “Thinking.” He glanced at her tired eyes. “Go back to sleep.”

  Never one to take orders from Louis, Sal sat up and dangled her legs over the side of the cot. She was wearing only his tee-shirt. “What’s eating you?” She rubbed her face, trying to wipe the sleepiness away. “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing.” He waved a hand dismissively. “Personnel matters. You wouldn’t understand.”

  Sal dug her fingernails into the mattress, trying to keep her anger in check. “I hate when you do that.”

  “Do what?”

  “Talk to me like I’m a dumb blonde who can’t understand serious matters.”

  He glanced at her again as he continued to pace. “See, this is why I didn’t want to talk. Now you’re mad, and I have more important things on my mind than worrying about you being mad at me.”

  Sal shot up off the cot and picked up her button-down shirt. “That’s it. I’m out of here.”

  Louis caught her arm. “Wait wait wait. Don’t leave. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I’ve just....” He ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind right now.”

  Sal turned to face him. She put a hand on her hip and cocked an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

  “Okay, fine,” Louis said sitting down heavily on the cot. “It’s about Zacharius, that Private who’s become a major thorn in my side. I need to figure out a way to get back at him for making my life miserable.”

  Sal sat down next to Louis. “Oh, him again. You know, Louis, being vindictive isn’t your best quality. Why don’t you just let it go?”

  “Are you kidding me? I’m never gonna let this go, not until he’s suffered the way he’s made me suffer.”

  Sal shook her head. “Okay, fine. Tell me. What’s he done to you now?”

  “What hasn’t he done? He’s making a fool out of me by continuing to ignore the rules, like they don’t apply to him.” Louis held up his hand and counted Michael’s offenses on his fingers. “He’s terrorized the base with his practical jokes, he’s used the public address system for unauthorized purposes on more than one occasion, he stole a military vehicle, he went AWOL ... well, temporarily ... and he took a girl with him.”

  Sal rolled her eyes. “With him, there’s always some girl involved.”

  Louis looked at Sal and saw the opportunity to get some dirt on Zacharius. “Really? Is that a fact? What else do you know about him?”

  Sal shrugged. “Well, I know he broke Mary’s heart. She’s one of the nurses under me. And I know he was involved with a WAC before she was transferred a few months back. Then there’s Suze and Cathy from the Commissary, and I think a couple of USO entertainers.”

  “Including you?” Louis inquired.

  Sal got indignant. “Hell no! Why would you even ask me that?”

  “Well, you’re a girl and it doesn’t sound like Zacharius is overly choosy about the girls he gets involved with.”

  Sal’s eyes widened and she jumped off the cot again. “I can’t believe you just said that to me!”

  Louis got off the cot and held Sal by her arms. “Sal, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it the way it came out. I meant that you’re a very appealing girl, so why wouldn’t he be interested in you.”

  Sal took a step back to get out of Louis’s reach. “It’s obvious what you really think, Louis. And I’m well aware that my reputation may not be as pure as the driven snow, but I don’t sleep around anymore. And even if I did, Zacharius isn’t my type. He’s way too immature and empty-headed for me. And I’m beginning to think you are too.”

  “Hey! I didn’t deserve that.”

  “Bull! You did too deserve that. ... You know what, Louis? I no longer care what you or any other man thinks of me.” Sal pulled Louis’s tee-shirt over her head and was momentarily naked before she picked up her button-down shirt again and started to dress in her uniform. “It’s over. It’s time for us to end this ... this ... whatever it is we have.”

  “What are you saying? You can’t end this. I love you.”

  “That’s nice, Louis, but you’re a married man and you never once talked about leaving your wife for me.” Louis attempted to interrupt, but Sal continued talking. “I keep telling my nurses that people sometimes do things during wartime that they wouldn’t do any other time. Well it’s time for that to stop. I have too much respect for myself to continue to be your plaything.”

  “Sal! That’s not what you are to me, and you know it.”

  Sal was back in her uniform. She cupped Louis’s cheek. “Sometimes I think you really believe that.” She looked into his eyes. “I love you too, Louis, but you’re not the man I once thought you were. The truth is, I don’t need a man. I don’t need anyone.” She turned around and left his room.

  Chapter 64

  “The hand that held the dagger has struck it into the back of its neighbor.”

  -- President Franklin D. Roosevelt

  Michael looked at his wrist watch again. Only an hour had passed, but it felt like a lot longer. He’d been confined to his quarters since the day after he and Cathy spent the night together in the barn. Not seeing her these past couple days had been a living hell. But, sitting here in Sergeant Richards’s office waiting for him to show up wasn’t exactly the change of scenery he was hoping for. Michael knew that Richards had some wicked punishment planned for him, but whatever it was, it didn’t really matter. Spending that night with Cathy was worth any punishment the Army could mete out.

  Finally, Louis entered the office wearing an obnoxious smirk on his face and holding some papers. He noticed Michael looking at his watch. “Yup, time’s up,” he laughed. “Sorry to keep you waiting, Zacharius,” he added sarcastically, “but I had to get the Colonel’s signature on these forms.” He placed the papers on the desk facing Michael.

  Michael looked down at the papers on the desk. “What’s this?”

  Louis smiled as if he’d been rehearsing this entire interaction. “It’s your early deployment orders.”

  Michael looked up from the papers. It took him a minute to formulate a question. “Early? How early?”

  Louis leaned back in his chair and linked his hands behind his head. “Immediately. Today. Just needs your signature.”

  Michael looked back at the orders on the desk and started reading. “I don’t understand. I mean, I’m not scheduled to be deployed for a month. Why ... um ... why ....”

  Louis’s chair creaked as he leaned forward and placed his fingers on the edge of his desk, looking like a tiger getting ready to pounce. “To get you out of my hair, that’s why!”

  Michael pushed the papers away. “Go eff yourself. I’m not signing these.”

  Louis stood up and slowly walked around his desk, stopping to stand behind Michael’s seat. He placed his hands on Michael’s shoulders and spoke calmly. “You know what, Zacharius? You don’t have to sign those papers at all. This is the Army and we can deploy you any time we want, signature or no signature.”

  Michael got out of his chair and faced Louis. “Fine. Do what you want. Just stop wasting my frickin’ time.” Michael started to walk toward the door when Louis shouted.

  “I’m not done with you y
et, Zacharius. I have a few more pounds of flesh to extract.”

  “Go to hell,” Michael said, reaching for the doorknob.

  Louis laughed. “Ha! I just might go to hell. But not until a pretty blue-eyed brunette who works in the Commissary pays for your mistakes.”

  Michael let go of the doorknob and turned to look at Louis. “What are you talking about?”

  “I thought that might get your attention.” Louis slowly walked back behind his desk and sat down in his chair. He was in no hurry to answer Michael’s question. “You’re starting to sweat, Private. Did you know that?”

  Michael walked back toward the desk and angrily gripped the top of the chair he’d been sitting in. “Cathy has nothing to do with any of this. So just leave her out of it. Do you understand me?”

  Louis reached for the papers that were on Michael’s side of the desk. He pretended to be reading them. “I wouldn’t say she has nothing to do with this. Hmmm. Let’s see. First of all, she was an accessory to a crime.” He looked up at Michael. “She was there when you stole that motorcycle, wasn’t she? And she did break the rules by leaving base without permission.”

  “I told you, that was all my idea, not hers!” Michael snapped at Louis.

  “She could have refused to go with you, unless, of course, you forced her.”

  “Yes, that’s what happened. I forced her.” Michael was willing to say whatever it took to protect Cathy. “She’s innocent.”

  “Yeah, right.” Louis rubbed his chin. “I have a feeling she’s not that innocent.”

  Michael lunged toward Louis. “You bastard! Don’t you ever talk about her like that again.”

  “You want to hit me, don’t you? Well go ahead. I’d love to add ‘assaulting an officer’ to your list of crimes. All it will do is get you Court Martialed sooner. And then your girlfriend won’t stand a chance. She’ll be fired and sent back to the states with a black mark on her permanent record. No one will want to hire her for any job anywhere. She’ll be disgraced and dishonored.”

  Michael fumed. “You hateful son of a bitch.”

  “Oh I’m not done yet, Zacharius.” Louis was clearly enjoying this. “How would you like me to tell her that she’s nothing special to you. I can easily tell her about all the other girlfriends you’ve had since you’ve been here on base.”

  “Cathy knows all about my past.”

  “Let’s see,” Louis continued. “There was Liz and Patty from the USO, there was Marilyn with the Women’s Army Corp, then there was Millie, Suze, Mary....”

  “How the hell do you know all that?”

  Louis laughed. “I have my ways.” He laughed again. “You know, I’ve always wanted to say that.” He put on a Russian accent. “Vee have our vays, comrade.”

  Michael sat down and got quiet. He was only 22 years old, but suddenly he felt like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. All the girls that came before didn’t matter to him, but the idea that Cathy might think she was nothing special to him? He couldn’t bear that. Even worse, he couldn’t bear the thought of her being sent home in disgrace. He knew she hated her life in Missouri and he couldn’t let her get sent back there alone. That wasn’t part of his plan for their future together. “This is blackmail,” Michael looked Louis in the eye. “Why are you doing this to me?”

  “Are you kidding me?” Louis snapped back. “You can call it blackmail if you want. I call it revenge -- revenge for all the times you had fun at my expense. Let me ask you something, Private. Do you still think it’s funny? Do you still think it was all worth it?” Louis paused momentarily to let Michael answer, but Michael didn’t say anything. “Hell, I’ve been wanting to get you out of my hair for six months now. You’ve made my life a living hell and I finally found a way to get back at you.”

  Michael ran his hands through his hair. “If ... if I sign these orders, and that’s a big ‘if,’ what kind of guarantee do I have that you won’t discharge Cathy anyway?”

  “None really,” Louis laughed. “You’ll just have to take my word for it. You know what, Zacharius? Unlike you, I’m a man of honor. I keep my word. She’ll get to keep her job here.” Louis picked up a pen and held it up. “So what’ll it be, Private?”

  Michael glared at Louis. He stood up and snatched the pen out of Louis’s hand. He scribbled his signature on the forms, then headed for the door.

  “Halt!” Louis wasn’t done. “You’re not dismissed.”

  Michael closed his eyes and silently counted to ten. He turned back around to face Louis. “What else do you want from me?”

  “Two things.” Louis held up his index finger. “One. You are not to have any contact with Cathy before you leave. And two.” Louis held up his thumb. “You can never breathe a word of this to anyone. This is just between you and me.” Louis leveled his thumb and index finger and aimed them toward Michael, forming the shape of a gun with his fingers. He closed one eye and made a clicking sound with his tongue. “Got ya.”

  Chapter 65

  ~May, 1944~

  Tears obscured her view of the English landscape as Kay stared out the window of the train, watching the farms and fields whoosh past.

  There were no trains running from Southampton to Devon for the past couple of days, so Kay asked James to have the chauffeur drive her to nearby lodging. She stayed in an inn by the sea for two nights. Perhaps it was childish, but she couldn’t bear to be in close proximity to Alexander a minute longer.

  Looking back now, the whole thing seemed like a dream, a beautiful dream that turned sour so fast. She wasn’t even sure what emotions she was feeling anymore. It almost seemed like her anger at Alexander cancelled out the love she felt for him. And she didn’t want those feelings to be erased. It meant too much to her to be able to feel love again. Even though their relationship had been all-too brief, she needed to believe what they had was real.

  It had been hours since she boarded the train, so she knew she must be close to reaching the Devonshire railway station. Kay could hardly wait to get back, and at the same time, she dreaded it. She felt like a different woman from the one who left base a month ago, and the thought of going back to being Dr. Kay Nolan, Medical Unit, 1044th Division, seemed so sad, so mundane, so painful. She dreaded facing a sea of soldiers with varying degrees of wounds, some who she could save, others she wouldn’t be able to. Either way, she had to put on a brave face.

  She got off the train in Devonshire and was met by Ned Jansen. She was surprised by how happy she was to see the familiar face of the young medical assistant. She almost hugged him -- almost, but not quite.

  After Ned drove her back and parked the ambulance in the base garage, Kay went to her dorm room and started unpacking her duffel bag. She left everything else at Merrifield, and James promised to ship Kay’s medical paraphernalia back to base.

  Mary burst into the dorm room and practically knocked Kay off her feet from the force of her bear hug. “Oh my god. Oh my god, you’re back!” Mary was jumping up and down like a little girl, so excited to see Kay. “I missed you so much.”

  Mary’s emotions were infectious and made Kay even happier to be back. She gave Mary another hug. “I missed you too, honey.” She stood back and looked at Mary. “You have to tell me everything I missed, starting with what’s going on with you and Michael.”

  Mary sighed. “That’s pretty much ancient history.”

  Sal came into the room looking for Mary. “Clayton, what are you doing in here? You’re on shift.”

  Mary looked at Sal, then back at Kay. “I know, but Ned told me that Kay was back and I had to come see her.”

  “No, you didn’t have to,” Sal scolded. “You can see her later. Now get back to work!”

  Mary looked at Kay and rolled her eyes, then she looked back at Sal and mockingly saluted. “Yes, sir!” Mary left the room and Sal shook her head.

  “I see nothing much has changed around here,” Kay said, turning back to unpacking.

  “You know how it goes,” S
al said, sitting down on her cot. “Nothing changes. Everything changes. Life goes on.”

  Kay nodded sadly. “For some of us, I guess.”

  Sal stood up and walked closer to Kay. “How was your assignment with that royal guy? Alfred Fielding?”

  “He really isn’t royalty. He’s just ... a man.” Kay started to realize that it would be quite a while before she could think of him without feeling pained. “And his name is Alexander, not Alfred.” Kay shivered. Just saying his name sent chills through her body.

  “Right. Alexander.” Sal nodded. “So what happened? He had a patient he wanted you to take care of. Were you able to help him?” When Kay didn’t reply, Sal tried again. “Did you help the patient? ... Yoo hoo. Dr. Nolan.”