by Linda Ellen
A knock came from the front door. “Come in!” Vic called, before burying his face in Louise’s neck for another loud smooch.
“Hey, don’t you guys ever give it a rest?” Billy teased, his blue eyes glinting with mischief as he trooped in and flopped down in the overstuffed chair. Brushing back a lock of his thick brown hair, he helped himself to an apple from a bowl on the coffee table.
Vic grinned and winked at him as he tightened his arms around Louise and gave her an adoring squeeze. “You just wait, Billy Boy. Someday I hope you’re lucky enough to find a girl as swell as your sister, and then I’ll be teasin’ you that you can’t keep your hands off her.” Louise blushed that Vic was saying such things to her little brother.
Billy chuckled and waggled his eyebrows. “A girl came in Caufields, Friday, that I wouldn’t mind gettin’ to know that way. Man, she was a looker,” he added with a hearty wolf whistle.
Louise grabbed a dishtowel and flung it at her brother. “Willis, Junior! You mind your tongue. Gentlemen don’t talk about girls that way in mixed company. Mama’d skin you alive if she heard you,” she admonished in her sternest big sister tone, not realizing she was admonishing her brother for something her own husband had just done.
Tommy came running down the hall just then, flinging himself into his uncle’s arms as he squealed, “Unkee Biwwy!”
Billy caught him and hauled him up on his lap. “Heya squirt.”
“Thomas Joseph, what did Mama tell you about that squealing?” Louise fussed, shaking a scolding finger at her son. “You know Old Miz Despaine doesn’t like that. You don’t want her coming down here in a tizzy again, do you?”
Tommy’s eyes grew round as saucers and he shook his head, clamping both of his little hands over his mouth. They’d just had another dressing down by their infamous landlord, and the name of the woman was enough to strike trepidation in his heart…at least for a few minutes until his attention went on to something else.
The adults had to clamp their lips to keep from grinning at him as he leaned over and snuggled against his uncle’s chest while Louise related the highlights of their most recent visit from their overbearing landlord.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d swear she’s got something personal against us,” Louise sighed, wishing she could get to the bottom of things. There always seemed to be something, some piece of information she didn’t know regarding their treatment by the old grouch. Like the old hag had a personal vendetta against them.
“You seen the floozies lately?” Billy asked with a sly grin.
“Floozies? What floozies?” Vic inquired as he leaned against the arm of Billy’s chair.
Louise pursed her lips. For some reason, she had kept that tidbit of information from her new husband. Perhaps it was the thought that she didn’t want him spending time thinking about women living on the top floor of their building who made their living…well, doing that. The same reason she never discussed with him what Fleet’s mother and grandmother were.
In measured tones, mindful of little ears, she gave him an abbreviated explanation, to which he grinned raucously and laughed out loud, then laughed again at the glare she sent his way. How he loved teasing her.
“Mama said she’d be on up in a few minutes,” Billy casually mentioned a few minutes later as his nephew climbed down off his lap and plopped down on the floor to play with his blocks. “She’s finishing up the dishes. Had to get the landlord to unstop the sink again.”
“Seems like there’s one thing after another at your place…” Louise worried, knowing how her mother would concentrate on the bad.
Billy affirmed the fear. “Yep, and Mama’s been on the warpath all week about it, too.”
Vic and Louise exchanged a look, both hoping Lilly would get in a better mood before she came over.
Finished with the folding, Louise handed her husband a pile of towels, asking him sweetly, “Will you carry these to the closet for me, Vic?”
“Sure babe,” he murmured as he took the stack.
Billy guffawed, “Aw man, she’s already got you trained! Gonna get a ring in your nose next?”
Vic just laughed and shook his head as Louise opened her mouth to make a retort, but she was interrupted by a knocking on the outer door, followed by Lilly opening it to come on in.
“I declare there is just no end to the problems,” Lilly launched right in. “A body would think that an apartment merely the size of one room couldn’t possibly have so much go wrong with it, but if it isn’t one thing, it’s another!”
Vic turned his back and met Louise’s eyes, rolling his.
“That sink…” Lilly barreled on, but paused as an announcer cut in to the song that was playing on the radio. “We interrupt this broadcast with an important news bulletin just in from our affiliate WCAE in Pittsburg, relaying a direct contact report from Honolulu, Hawaii.”
His words caused gooseflesh to rise on every adult in the room, as they all knew news bulletins never interrupted for something good, and each one knew that Pearl Harbor was the site of a large American naval base. Previous news bulletins regarding scattered attacks on US ships and an escalation of the war in other parts of the world instantly came to their minds.
Now, the family members moved closer to the radio in rapt attention. They heard a crackling sound, and then a recording of an unfamiliar announcer came on. It sounded more like an overseas telephone call, which in fact, it actually was. For the balance of their lives, the family would never forget where they were or who they were with when they heard the following words:
“We have witnessed this morning an attack on Pearl Harbor and a severe bombing of Pearl Harbor by army planes, undoubtedly Japanese. The city of Honolulu has also been attacked and considerable damage done. This battle has been going on for nearly three hours. One of the bombers dropped within 50 feet of the radio tower. It’s no joke. It’s a real war…”
The message was abruptly cut off and the recording stopped with a loud crackle. Moments later, the WHAS announcer came back on. “WHAS will keep you informed the minute we hear further news…and now, back to our regular programming.”
Swallowing nervously, Louise moved near Vic, relieved to feel his arms slip around her as her eyes met her mother’s.
Lilly, her eyes wide with fear and dread, one hand fluttering unconsciously with the collar button of her dress and feeling as if she were reliving the start of World War I, whispered, “It has begun. God help us all.”
*
The bottom had dropped out of Louise’s stomach when she had first heard the news about Pearl Harbor being attacked. There were so many young men who would possibly be sent across the wide ocean to join in the fight against the enemies of America – Alec, Earl, Sonny, and of course, Vic, although he had tried to reassure her that he would not be called up, at least right away, because of his service in the C’s. Still, that nagging little voice inside that said she didn’t deserve to be happy whispered that their perfect life would somehow be snatched away. She tried to reason with herself, and had prayed numerous times that the people she loved would be spared – but she knew that everyone who believed in God was praying the same thing. No one wanted their loved ones to be the ones who served. But…someone had to do it. Someone had to go and fight so that America would be triumphant.
The attack was all anyone could talk about the next day – on the bus going to work that Monday morning, on the streetcar, and while at work and on lunch break, everyone seemed to have an opinion, a prediction, or a gripe about the situation. Most wanted to spout gloom and doom. The more everyone talked about it, the worse Louise felt. She had a lump of fear the size of her fist lodged in the pit of her stomach that wouldn’t go away. Even sleeping the night wrapped in Vic’s arms hadn’t totally made it dissolve.
Monday evening, the family assembled again in Louise and Vic’s apartment, along with Sonny and his family. After finishing a light supper, they waited for the scheduled broadcast of President Franklin D.
Roosevelt’s speech to Congress, where he was sure to declare that the United States was in a state of war.
Right on time, the announcer set it up. They once again gathered around the old Westinghouse radio, Lilly seated in the overstuffed chair, the others sitting on the floor, the settee, and the arms of the furniture. Although it was a scratchy transmission, through the miracle of radio waves, they heard their President’s voice coming all the way from Washington, DC. If asked, they would have all said he had a marvelous radio voice, distinct and clear, and very presidential. Indeed, everyone in the country was accustomed to hearing him speak on the radio, as they had listened faithfully to all thirty-one of his Fireside Chats. He seemed like a familiar trusted friend; a father figure. His distinctive voice had always engendered confidence and a feeling of hope and security. Now, they once again unconsciously sought those same feelings in the face of such unspeakable terror.
“Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives,” Roosevelt began. Each adult listening unconsciously swallowed nervously. “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”
Just the way their President had stressed those words suddenly and deliberately, sent shivers up everyone’s spines. Sonny and Sara sat close, with their baby girl on Sara’s lap, nervous tears in Sara’s eyes. Louise exchanged glances with Vic, squeezing his hands that were securely entwined with hers. Billy sat on the floor, his arms around his knees, biting his lip. The President continued…
“The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And, while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.”
Learning that piece of information made every adult in the room feel a wave of righteous anger, that America had been subjected to a sneak attack – and by a country with which we had been at peace! It made no sense. All of the lives lost and the unbelievable destruction in that beautiful far-away island seemed like a personal insult – as if every person in America had been slapped in the face.
“It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.”
Sonny and Vic exchanged glances. Being strong, brave men who protected what was theirs, it galled them to suffer that feeling – as if America – their homeland – had been caught in the bathroom with its pants down. It’s a feeling hard to describe, but it made red-blooded men all over the country want to rise up and go storming out after the cowards who dared to attack unsuspecting targets on a sleepy Sunday morning.
“The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.”
Those words shocked the assembled group. “San Francisco! That close?” Sara gasped as she pressed her fingers to her mouth. To Louise and Lilly, it felt like the world was coming to an end. Irrationally, they almost expected to hear the engines of the Japanese planes flying overhead any moment, it was so real, and so terrifying.
“The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation. As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense, that always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people, in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory.”
Arms folded across their chests, teeth unconsciously worrying their lips, the assembled family members all nodded in agreement with their President’s words.
“I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us. Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph. So help us God. I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.”
As their esteemed President’s speech ended, Vic leaned to switch the radio off, followed by several moments of silence as the adults mulled over the information they had just heard. The only sounds were the cooing of the baby on Sara’s lap, and the clinking of blocks in Tommy’s hands. They were all thinking the same things…how long would the war last…and how many young men would die? Would anyone they know and loved be among them? Vic and Sonny once again met one another’s eyes, each wondering if he would be called to go and fight.
Vic glanced around at the worried faces of his mother-in-law, his brother and sister-in-law, and his wife, and he wondered what the future would hold for them all.
‡
CHAPTER 20
Christmas, Old Friends, & Louise’s Most Embarrassing Moment
The following week, the people in the city forced themselves to go about their lives, in spite of the fact that everyone knew the world as they knew it might change drastically in the near future – and in ways they couldn’t now fathom.
Christmas was coming, their first as husband and wife, and Vic and Louise were determined to celebrate. So, one night after work, Vic took Louise and Tommy down to Vetter Produce Company on East Jefferson to pick out a tree for their apartment, as well as a small one for Lilly. There were quite a few pine and spruce varieties to choose from, in various sizes, all mounted on stands made of two pieces of wood fastened to the bottom in the shape of an X.
Tommy, being his usual animated self, scurried from one to the next, squealing, “Kissmas Twees! Kissmas Twees!” while Vic and Louise took their time selecting just the right ones.
After much deliberation, they settled on two and gave the attendant the addresses for delivery.
Once that was completed, huddled in their coats against a sharp wind that seemed to carry within it a hint of snow, Vic swung Tommy up in his arms as they walked back to the car, playfully tipping him upside down as the little boy giggled and screeched.
“Oh, I do wish we had ornaments to put on our tree…although I suppose popcorn strings will work again,” Louise lamented as she settled in the car with Tommy on her lap. Remembering back to how her family had never been able to afford Christmas decorations, and then her tightfisted ex-husband never allowed her to purchase any, she added with a sigh, “When I was little, I remember we had some pretty ornaments…but Daddy pawned them when things got bad…”
Vic started the Coupe and cast her a sideways grin. “I was thinkin’ about ornaments… somebody told me today that Taylor Drugs on Fourth and Chestnut got in a big shipment last week.” Omitting the fact that he had already planned on taking her there.
She turned to him, her eyes alive with excitement, and he was instantly struck with how much this special girl – now his wife – meant to him. He loved those moments when the young girl she had been when he first knew
her sprang to the surface for him to glimpse. Just then, she seemed fifteen again, or even a bit younger as she begged, “Oh Vic! Let’s go see…please?”
He laughed and turned the wheel to head that way, thinking if his pockets contained the wad of bills he had seen his boss with that morning – big enough to choke a horse – he’d probably buy her the whole store.
Once there, amongst many other customers who’d had the same idea, they perused the shelves and displays of shiny colorful balls, bells, and other shaped decorations, all covered in sparkling glitter. Vic held tight to the rambunctious child in his arms, making sure the shiny, fascinating items were out of reach of grasping little hands. Tommy’s big blue eyes were huge with wonderment as he pointed and chattered.
Then on a high shelf, Louise spotted one box of a different variety – in silver and gold, and pastel shades of pink, blue, and green. They were a delicate oblong shape, fashioned from paper-thin mercury glass, pointed at both ends, and decorated with artistic swirls and curlicues of sparkling glitter.
“Oh look Vic, those are different,” Louise pointed to the box and he reached up to retrieve it for her to see closer. “Ooo, aren’t these beautiful? I’ve never seen anything like them,” she added softly. They were a bit pricier than the others, and as Louise opened her mouth to say something else, a clerk walking past interrupted as he noticed the item in her hands. “Those are a few years old. Only had one box left, we found it when we rearranged the backroom this morning,” he explained. “They’re imported from Great Britain,” he added, answering their unspoken question about the price, which he must have been asked a dozen times that day.
They thanked him, and when he walked on, Louise gazed up at her husband, her expression pleading. “Oh Vic…please, let’s get them…”
“We still need lights and garland, and a tree skirt, and wrapping paper…” Vic pointed out, ever frugal with his money. But he just couldn’t refuse her when she gave him that look. His eyes softened as he gazed down at her, and his heart jump-started as he suddenly, irrationally wished they were alone so he could give in to an almost uncontrollable urge to knock everything out of the way, crush her in his arms and kiss her senseless. He chuckled as he pictured that – ornaments crashing to the floor and him having to pay for a dozen boxes of broken glass bulbs.