“I can come back another day,” the man in front of me says. He’s holding a notepad in his hand, gripping it so hard his hands are pale. I take a moment to study his face, wondering why I can’t think of his name.
“Well—you’ve come all this way.” The thought of being rude to this man makes me feel terrible.
“Gran, I live just down the street. It’s no trouble at all.”
An unexpected cough gums up my throat while I try to interpret the reason why this man is referring to me as his grandmother. Maybe he’s confused or at the wrong house. “Down the street?” I question.
The man smiles, and a quiver in his lip shows a great deal of nerves. “Yes, Makena didn’t want to be too far away, and you know how much she loves the beach just like you.”
My granddaughter.They must be friends.How nice.
“Of course.”
I glance inside at Keiki pulling down the covers on my bed. “Can I help you up?” the man asks, offering me his hand.
Without hesitation, I allow the man to help me to my feet and he guides me inside, embracing me as if I were a fragile piece of glass teetering at the edge of a tall shelf. I pass walls full of portraits, some constructed with oil paints, others with film. They make me smile and offer me a sense of warmth. “That man,” I say, pointing at the grandest of hanging art, “I knew he was trouble from the very beginning.”
“Is he the reason you couldn’t date any of the men on base?” the man asks before I lower myself down onto the edge of my bed.
I stare into the perfect portrayal of his eyes painted with such detail. “No, he was not the reason. He was the lesson I had to learn.”
“I’ve told you many times, love will blind you, Elizabeth. You are here to be a nurse. That must be your priority right now. You must save as many lives as possible. If you focus on your heart and your heartache, then those men in the room behind you will not make it,” Dad said to me at a painstaking moment when I needed to hear that everything was going to be okay. I was desperate to know that love was not for nothing, and that it was worth fighting for.
“You don’t understand, Dad,” I said to him, as I stood on the blood-stained floors of the hospital while struggling to speak over the wails of pain. “I need to find him.”
“Forget about that boy and go save some lives, Elizabeth. Do you hear me? You must be stronger than you think you are. Life does not reward us when we break.”
I had never felt so much anger for Dad than I did in that moment, but it turned out he was right.
9
July 1941
With slow,long strokes from my hairbrush, I gaze out the window, trying to remember the last time I went on a date with a boy. Whatever dates I have been on, have been in secret because of the ridiculous rules Dad has in place. Maybe these rules haven’t changed because Lewis and James don’t bring any women home to meet Dad. I’m not sure if they are dating in secrecy or aren’t interested in anyone on base, but it’s never spoken about.
I can imagine the different scenarios of what might happen when Everett Anderson rings my doorbell, but I can’t visualize a good ending. The arguments between Dad and me are useless. It’s as if I’m talking to a wall when I try to reason with him. It’s fair to say he’s caused me to be secretive about my social life and extracurricular activities. I wonder if he thinks I’ll never grow up enough to leave this house. If that is the case, it makes me feel sad for him. I don’t want him to be alone for the rest of his life. Surely, Lewis and James will find wives and settle down. The guilt burns through me, but if I don’t do what’s best for me, no one will.
A knock on my door startles the ever-living daylights out of me, and I drop my hairbrush to the ground. “Elizabeth,” Dad calls from the hallway. “Do you have a moment?”
He might wonder why I’m not in the kitchen waiting on the chicken casserole to finish baking. Any other night, I would have my eyes glued to a training manual on the countertop while I arrange side dishes for whatever I’m cooking. “Of course, Dad.”
The door to my bedroom opens and Dad surveys me with a look of curiosity, as if he’s trying to piece together an unsolvable mystery. I’m dressed in casual evening attire, my favorite red and white polka-dot tea dress, and the powder on my face is fresh. “Are you going somewhere?”
I stare into Dad’s eyes for a long moment, debating my decision on how to carry out my plan. His matching hazel eyes to mine glisten below the hanging Tiffany’s lamp above his head. There’s something bothering him. I can see there’s something swimming through his thoughts. He must sense I’m up to no good, not to his standards anyway. “Well, I’m going to the movie cinema with Audrey tonight. The casserole should be ready in about thirty minutes, though. I didn’t want you three to go hungry.”
“What are you girls planning to see? I didn’t take notice of what was playing tonight?” he continues.
It’s a good thing I took notice on my way home.
“Citizen Kane is showing tonight. I have been wanting to see it for some time and we are both free tonight.” I could have left the last part out of my explanation. Audrey and I find ourselves bored silly most nights because we have little of a social life here on base.
“Citizen Kane, huh?” Dad responds. “I didn’t think you would find interest in a murder mystery.”
“Well, the picture is about the murder of a publisher. I find the plot to be intriguing.”
“Good, I hope you enjoy it, then. Shall I expect you will be home before ten?”
He must know I’m too old for a curfew. As much as I want to tell him this again, it will lead me nowhere. “Of course.” I glance at the bedside clock on my nightstand. I have less than fifteen minutes to figure out how to stop Everett from approaching my front door.
