I didn’t see James walk inside the restaurant. I didn’t think he would be downtown tonight. He never goes out on the weekends, never mind a Friday night. Now, I’m the one with my jaw hanging ajar. Everett shoots up from his chair, ready to salute James. “What are you doing here?”
“Me?” he questions, as if I shouldn’t be at liberty to question my brother. “I was out to meet a friend for ice cream and saw you while walking by the window here. Surely, you can understand why I’m confused since Dad told me you were at the movies with Audrey. I should have figured something was up when I saw her outside watering the flowers when I left the house. You should tell her she isn’t an excellent cover story. Or did you forget to tell her about the lie?”
“Thank you, James. Well, I think you should continue on to the ice cream shop so you aren’t late for whoever you are meeting there.”
I know James won’t walk away without taking a moment to introduce himself to Everett. I’m not sure he knows who Everett is since he doesn’t pay attention to the movies or celebrity news, but I’m about to find out.
“Lieutenant Everett Anderson. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir.” He’s calling James a sir. This is just perfect. James will let that go right to his head.
“No kidding,” James says. “No wonder you snuck out.”
“James,” I say, gritting my teeth.
“Don’t worry, sis. Your secret is safe with your big brother. I wouldn’t rat you out.”
James takes a step in toward Everett and drops his hand on his shoulder, whispering something into his ear. I can’t hear what he is saying, but by the look on Everett’s face, I assume it involves a threat of some form.
“I have no intentions of keeping your sister out late,” Everett says in response to the secret.
“Great. Well, I hope you enjoy your meals. I’m going to enjoy my ice cream, and we will chat more about this little rendezvous later.” James’s smile is making my stomach hurt. I know he won’t rat me out, but it doesn’t mean he won’t take advantage of holding something over my head. Certain things in our family will never change, no matter how old we all get.
“I shouldn’t have let you run off with me before meeting your father,” Everett says as soon as James walks out of the restaurant. He can’t take the blame for this after having intentions of doing the right thing by me. I knew how it would end and I wanted to go out with him tonight.
“This isn’t your fault and Jamesis all talk. He won’t tell my father a word about this. You don’t have to worry. My brothers are the only two on base who protect me from my father as much as my father protects me from everyone else.”
“Brothers, as in multiple,” Everett repeats, with a nervous chuckle.
I wonder if he’s going to get up and run now or wait until after we eat our Mahi Mahi.
11
July 1941
James might not be home yet.That would be the best case. The movie won’t be over for another twenty minutes and if we continue driving on this road, I will be home a half hour too early. Dad will know I made up a story. I suppose I could come clean and fight the fight by arguing that he must stop telling me what I can do at twenty years old. Then, he’ll remind me he still pays for the roof I live under and that I can’t support myself, nor will anyone else, and therefore, he has a right to dictate the rules. I could duel him on the subject until our last breaths, but I believe I inherited his stubbornness.
“What are you going to do about your situation?” Everett asks. It’s a question I ponder every morning as I wonder why my life mimics one that would go along with somebody that’s in love and married. The way my life is unfolding isn’t what I want.
“There are three months left of class before I earn my certification. Once that happens, I plan to secure a full-time job and see where life takes me.” There isn’t a response that explains my intent to walk away from the life of a teenage girl playing the role of a housewife. “The idealism of supporting myself is a dream. Traveling and exploring the world is a fantasy. But, finding a man to settle down with is just what it sounds like—settling. I’m not sure I want to slow down and move on to a place of complacency. This may sound crazy and unnatural, but I have a desire to live life to the fullest. I prefer to die while experiencing the wonders of the world rather than end up falling asleep in a rocking chair and never waking up again.”
We’re at one of the few stop signs in the area without another headlight in sight. Everett twists his neck to glance over, the shimmer in his eyes capturing the illumination of a nearby gas lamp.
“There is no worse feeling than settling for less than what you deserve,” he says.
Coming from the mouth that ate off a silver spoon, it seems one of us might view this topic in a different light.
“Men and women have a predetermined path in life. There are paths rockier than others: some lined with red carpets, others have forks in the road. There’s no roadmap to tell us which way to go in life, so we must follow our hearts. What else can we trust?”
His words soothe me like warm honey, making me believe there’s hope for more than what’s laid out in front of me. I don’t want the thought of adventure to be a dream. “What are you saying, Lieutenant Anderson?” I ask, leaning in toward him with a desire for more of his enlightening thoughts.
Everett takes my hand from the leather upholstery of my seat and weaves his fingers between mine. Warmth fills my chest and melts down the center of my core. “I’m saying, let nothing impede your desires or dreams. This is your life, and you are in control of your destiny.”
He lifts my knuckles to his lips and lowers our clasped hands back to the seat. His foot eases onto the gas pedal and we cruise in silence, driving toward a different direction rather than my house. “The movie doesn’t end for a few minutes. I think it might be okay to get a little lost on the way back to your street. I might not be in favor of supporting lies to your father, but I support you doing what makes you happy.”
“Pull up over there,” I say, pointing up the road to an outer bank ledge.
“Yes, Ma’am.” The crackling of the rocks beneath the tires offers me a sense of calm, knowing I can stall a little longer before going home. The cliff overlooks the ocean, revealing an ethereal-looking reflection of deep blues and teals that complement the surrounding greenery of the mountains and starlit sky. “Do you ever tire of the view?”
“Never. As a child, I dreamed of growing up to be a mermaid. It was a sad day when I learned the truth about the mystical sea princesses.”
