My father’s decision not to let me get involved made me angry, yet I knew he was speaking out of pain and fear. Everything was spiraling out of control, and he was trying to grasp onto something he could command. It just happened to be me. Not only was he dealing with the disappointment of the war, but I had just told him I might die here in five months, and it would be because I had chosen another life over him.
The front bell rang, and I quickly wiped my eyes, afraid Gray had arrived and he would find me crying.
Joseph exited the kitchen and made his way to the front door as I stood to receive my caller. My eyes were probably red, and I was not fit to receive company, but I wanted to see Gray. His very presence seemed to give me strength.
“Can you please give this to your mistress?” someone said at the front door.
“Yes, sir.” Joseph closed the door and entered the parlor with a note. “This just came for you.”
I accepted it with a quiet thank-you. Joseph excused himself.
The note was from Gray, and it was brief.
Dear Maggie,
I deeply regret that I am unable to come to you this evening. My work has called me away, and I do not know how long I will be detained. I was looking forward to seeing you again, but I cannot deny my country at a time like this. Please know I am thinking of you and will call the moment I am able.
Yours respectfully,
Gray
My tears fell in earnest.
17
JULY 23, 1941
WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA
A few days had passed since Dr. Philips asked Anna and me to go to Pearl Harbor. My heart had been so heavy after my conversation with Papa that I was distracted in each of my paths. He was determined to enter the fight, and no matter how much I protested, I could not change his mind. Virgil was healing well, for which I was thankful, but Gray had not come to visit, and I had not received another note from him.
But today was a new day, and I had a whole different set of problems to deal with in 1941.
The sun was setting on the horizon as the train pulled into the depot at Williamsburg. It had been three months since Anna and I had left, but to me, it was much longer, and I missed Mama and Daddy.
“It was nice of Dr. Philips to get us a pass to come home,” Anna said as she gathered her belongings. “I think he’d do almost anything for you.”
I lowered the netting of my hat over my face and smoothedout my skirt before I rose to leave the train. “He’s eager for us to join the USSSolace, that’s all.”
Anna gave me a knowing look as we walked down the aisle and out onto the busy platform.
“There they are.” I waved to Daddy, Mama, and Teddy, who were waiting for us. They all waved back and moved through the crush of people to wrap us in their arms.
After hugging Mama and Daddy, I went into my older brother’s embrace. Teddy was five years older than me. His father had died in WWI, and because Teddy was so young when Mama remarried Daddy, Teddy knew no other father. The only thing that really set him apart was that he was the Marquess of Cumberland, the heir of a beautiful manor house in Whitby, England, and divided his time between Whitby and Williamsburg. Though, with the war approaching, I wondered what would become of him. Would he fight? He was only twenty-five years old, with his whole life in front of him. I didn’t want to think of him fighting.
“Hello, Maggie,” he said, shaking his head as he held me at arm’s length. He was so handsome, with Mama’s coloring and an aristocratic bearing that had been born into him. “When did you grow up and stop being a kid?”
“Be careful,” I said with a facetious smile. “I’m much older than you in time and experience.”
“Almost sixty-three years now?” he asked with a laugh. “No matter, you’d be more mature than me even if you occupied only one path.”
“Come,” Mama said. “I’m eager to get the three of you home where you belong.”
It felt good to be crushed into the back of the Studebaker with my siblings again. Soon we were on the Palace Green where our dear, familiar house stood next to the reconstructed Governor’s Palace.
As part of the restoration project of Williamsburg, Mamaand Daddy had purchased the house where Daddy lived in 1775 with his parents. They had returned it to its original appearance, but though it looked like a museum, it had always been a warm and comfortable home to grow up in.
I was eager to speak to my parents alone about Pearl Harbor, but Mama had prepared a late supper, and then we all sat around the dining room table to visit. It wasn’t until much later that I finally found a moment to talk to my parents without my sister and brother able to overhear.
