“Excuse me, could you help me locate Nurse Salzberg,” I hear a muffled voice from around the corner holding me frozen in place between a set of tiled walls.
“I believe she was heading to the nurse’s quarters.”
My body feels heavy, as if weighed down by cement, and I can’t move. “Lizzie.”
I try to inhale but my throat tightens, my eyes widen, and I clutch my chest as I turn toward the voice. He’s nearly unrecognizable, his clothes are soaking wet, sticking to his skin. His hands are black with dirt and oil. His face has smudges of grease and soot, and his hair is falling over his left eye.
“You’re alive,” I whisper as a statement rather than a question, but I feel the need to reach out and touch him, so I’ll know I’m not hallucinating.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t find you sooner.”
My eyes strain and ache as I refuse to blink. I cup my hand over my mouth, holding back the sob quaking through my chest. Everett reaches forward and takes my wrist in his hand, tugging me in toward him. He presses the side of my face against his chest and loops his free arm around my back, holding me firmly within his trembling grip.
“I didn’t know if you made it here, but I crossed paths with your father about an hour ago. He thought I hadn’t made it off the tugboat.”
“You’re here,” I mutter against his wet shirt.
“I was so scared, Lizzie. I’m still scared. We only had a few planes left, and I was too late by the time I got to the airfield. I found weapons and fired until ammunition ran low. I don’t know if it was all in vain. Then I helped rescue more of the trapped men on the ships. So many more died than those rescued.”
I squeeze my arms around his torso, wishing there was a way to be closer than we already are. “Are you hurt?”
He rests his cheek on the top of my head. “Just a couple of burns and superficial scratches. I’m fine. Are you okay?”
What is the definition of being okay? “Physically, yes, I’m fine.”
“I can’t stay here, doll-face. I’m on duty and supposed to report to the captain at zero-nine-hundred, but I needed to find you first.”
“I understand,” I say, swallowing hard against my aching throat.
“I will come back for you tonight. Don’t leave the hospital. We have activated martial law and must evacuate all civilians from base.”
I want to tell him I’m scared too but hearing those words would do him no good. There’s no guarantee I’m safe here in the hospital or if it’s any safer outside, but we don’t know what life has in store for use beyond this hour. “Please don’t leave,” I beg. There’s a sudden vulnerability I’ve never shown him before. I’ve always wanted him to see me as an equal—strong and independent, but everything is different now and I can’t hold back my feelings. “I know that once you walk away, I’ll wonder if this moment was real or if I’m hallucinating from sheer exhaustion. Everett, I’m not sure how much more I can take.” I’ve never sounded so subdued and unpretentious, but I want to hold on to him now more than ever. I know it’s not possible, though. Feeling safe and content is no longer within reach for either of us.
“Look at me, doll,” he says, slipping his finger beneath my chin.
I tilt my head back to glance up into his eyes. His gaze appears unfocused, as if he can’t see anything but what is directly in front of him. The memories of what he witnessed will remain crisp and clear, never erased by time. I don’t know if we will get to see life as it used to be—light and carefree, like a warm, tropical breeze, or if images of the horror branded into our brains will overshadow every future thought. I place my hands on his cheeks, feeling the day-old stubble tickle the insides of my palms.
“I can only see pain. Is that all that’s left for us?” I ask.
Everett shakes his head. “No, Lizzie, you shouldn’t talk that way. We’re both still here, and we’re going to make it through this. Do you hear me?”
“What if it isn’t over?” I question. I knew the moment I let the fear seep into my brain, it would suffocate me entirely. “What if this isn’t real? Maybe I’m already dead and this is our last goodbye. Is that possible?”
“Shh,” Everett hushes me, sweeping a strand of hair away from my forehead. “You aren’t dead. I’m not dead. Everything will be okay. You’ll see.”
“I want to believe you more than I’ve ever believed anything in my life,” I say, my voice croaking as a testament of exhaustion.
“You must,” he says, placing a kiss on my cheek. “You need to have faith.”I squeeze my arms around his back, coaxing a quiet groan from the bottom of his throat.“I will be back as soon as I can.”
A tear escapes the corner of my eye and spills down the side of my cheek, but I swat at it with the back of my hand as if the weakness is a sign of surrendering. “Are you sure you are okay, Everett?”
He leans down and touches his lips to mine, inhaling sharply, then holds his breath for a long second. I would give him all the air in my lungs if I could. “I am now.”
For the first time in the longest day I have lived, my body fills with a hint of warmth, protection, and safety.
“I love you, Lizzie, always and forever.”
“I love you too, Everett.”
