Battle Hymns (21 page)

Will didn’t answer. He stared forward, his eyes
glazed over.

“Will?” She pulled her hand from his and nudged his
arm until he startled. “What’s wrong? You’re scaring me.”

“I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

She was on the verge of tears. He was supposed to be
excited by her news, not oblivious to it. This kind of behavior was
uncharacteristic for him, and she was afraid of the change,
especially when he pretended as though nothing were different. The
museum air was suffocating, and the bones on display suddenly
seemed morbid. She stood to leave, to find some fresh air.

Will grabbed her hand. “Please don’t go. I’m sorry,
darling. I’ll try to explain.”

She returned to her seat and frowned. “What’s
happening to you?”

Will stared at his feet as he answered. “I haven’t
been sleeping well lately. I didn’t sleep at all last night and
only a few hours the night before. I find myself unable to focus
sometimes. It’s nothing you did or said, I promise.”

Charlotte rubbed his shoulder. “Do you know the
cause? Could it be the house you’re living in? Or maybe you’re too
busy at work?”

“It’s not that.” He raked a hand through his hair.
“I’ve been having nightmares.”

“Oh . . . What happens in these
nightmares?”

Will rested his elbows on his knees and closed his
eyes. “I’m in England, and we’re about to leave on a bombing
mission. Each time, someone tells me that everyone is counting on
me. Sometimes it’s you or one of my fellow officers, or even my
sister.”

He reopened his eyes and fidgeted with his
wristwatch.

“My plane takes off, and the weather changes from
bright and sunny to dark and stormy. I can tell we’ve made it to
our destination as the bombs start falling. All the other planes
vanish. Mine is the only one left. And then my plane disappears
from around me, and I start to fall. Then I wake up.” He
shrugged.

“How terrible.”

“I dread them.”

“How often do you have them? When did they start? I
don’t remember you mentioning any nightmares when you were in the
hospital.”

“I didn’t have them until a few weeks ago, but since
then, about two or three times a week.”

Charlotte pursed her lips. There’d been a number of
soldiers at the Army Medical Center who suffered from war
nightmares, but those men had just returned from the front lines.
Will had been in the crash almost nine months ago.

“Maybe you should go to the VA hospital and talk to a
doctor about it.”

Will shook his head. “It’s probably normal. Besides,
I rarely have the time outside of work. There’s always a plane to
fix and send back to the war.”

“Do you think you’re remembering what happened before
the crash?”

He spread his fingers across his knees and sat up. “I
don’t know. Let’s stop talking about it. I feel like I’ve already
ruined your afternoon.”

She shook her head. “You didn’t ruin my afternoon. I
love spending time with you, no matter what we discuss.”

“I love spending time with you, too.”

Will leaned toward her. Her breathing slowed as she
anticipated his next move. The moment was perfect for a kiss. His
lips parted . . . and abruptly closed as a small
group of children ran past them, giggling.

He shifted in his seat. “Let’s go outside.”

Charlotte smothered her disappointment and agreed.
They went outside and walked the pathway that ran between the
museum and the National Mall, their arms linked.

“What were you telling me earlier?” Will asked.

“I might go to nursing school next year. There’s a
new government program that pays for it, and they desperately need
new nurses.”

“I knew you’d become a nurse. That’s great,
Charlotte.”

She grinned. Will’s endorsement was all she needed.
She shielded the sun from her eyes with her hand. “Do you have any
ideas on what we can do next Sunday?”

“How about a day trip? I’d like to take the train up
to Stamford and see if my plane is still in the hangar. After that,
maybe we can go into Manhattan for dinner and then catch the
evening train. I promise to have you home at a decent hour.”

She smiled. “I’d love to go. I’ve never been to
Manhattan.”

Will’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? Then it’ll be my
turn to show you around for once.”

They reached the bus stop. Charlotte didn’t want her
time with Will to end. Waiting a full week to see him again was
torture, and it only grew worse the closer they became. They
unlinked their arms and stood before each other.

“I’ll see you next Sunday then,” she said.

“I’ll give you call later in the week with details.
We’ll need to leave early.”

“That’s fine. I’ll be counting the days until I see
you again.”

Will looked at her with such intensity that Charlotte
felt she should avert her gaze. Before she could, he pulled her
into an embrace and pressed his lips to her head. She closed her
eyes and savored their growing intimacy.

“Sundays are my favorite day of the week,” she
whispered into his collar.

Will sighed. “Mine, too. I wish they’d never
end.”

Twenty-Seven

B
y the time Charlotte
arrived at Union Station the following Sunday, Will was waiting for
her on the platform with two muffins in hand. The light from the
rising sun streamed through the windows and illuminated his
profile. His hat was tipped to the side, and the sleeves of his
white shirt were rolled to the elbow, exposing his forearms, tanned
and muscular from work.

With a wide smile, she hurried over to him. “Good
morning.”

They embraced just long enough for her to smell the
mint scent of his soap. When they parted, Will gestured toward the
express train that would take them to Connecticut. “We can get some
coffee onboard if you’d like. I already bought your ticket.”

They boarded the train and sat at a small table in
the dining car. After ordering two cups of coffee, Will placed one
of the muffins in front of Charlotte. “It’s a homemade blueberry
muffin. My landlady gave them to me on my way out this
morning.”

Charlotte removed her gloves and set the muffin on
her napkin. “She’s kind.”

The waitress returned with their coffee. As Charlotte
took her first sip, she studied Will’s face, searching for a vacant
look in his eyes or lines of exhaustion to see if his nightmares
still plagued him. This morning, however, he looked as lively as
she’d ever seen him.

“How was your week?”

“Not bad.” He took a sip of his coffee.

“Did you have any more nightmares?”

“Monday night. Since then I’ve been able to sleep
pretty well, though.”

Charlotte nodded. “That’s good to hear.”

“I’m feeling great right now.” Will leaned forward
and reached for her hand. “I’m also looking forward to spending the
day with you, so that might have something to do with it.”

She smiled and squeezed his hand in return. “Well,
I’m glad you’ve been sleeping.”

As they finished their breakfast, the streamliner
departed Union Station. Will and Charlotte gave up their seats to
another couple waiting for an available table and headed for the
passenger cars. Though the morning train was crowded, they were
able to find a bench near the back. She scooted toward the window
and he settled in next to her.

She’d been looking forward to this day all week.
Multiple scenarios had unfolded in her mind, and she longed for the
one in which she and Will would finally kiss. Even if it didn’t
happen, this trip was a significant step forward in their
relationship. Will trusted her enough to include her in finding
what he loved the most—his airplane. She’d also get to see both
cities where he’d lived.

Charlotte interrupted his newspaper reading with a
light touch to his arm. “Will?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you sure you want to go to Manhattan? You once
told me you wanted to avoid it because of your father. I don’t want
you to feel like you need to visit because of me, just to show me
around.”

Will folded the newspaper and set it on his lap.
“It’s a big city, Charlotte. I don’t want to live there because of
my father, but visiting for a few hours won’t be a problem.” He
smiled and placed his hand over hers. “You shouldn’t worry about
it.”

She dropped her voice to a whisper. “Will you tell me
what happened between you and your father?”

Will frowned. “Do you really want to know?”

“It’s an important part of your life and the only
thing I don’t know about you. But if you don’t want to tell me, I
promise not to ask about it again.”

He sighed. “I don’t want to keep any secrets from
you.”

Charlotte shook her head. “Me, neither.”

“All right . . . I have no complaints
about my childhood. My father was good to my sister and me. We
never wanted for anything, and he was instrumental in helping me
achieve my dream of becoming a pilot. We were a happy family, the
three of us . . . until Margaret became
engaged.”

“The man she moved to London with, right?”

Will nodded. “Not until wedding preparations were
underway did Margaret mention to my father that her fiancé was
Jewish. My father’s not a religious man, so she assumed their
differences in faith wouldn’t matter to him. It shouldn’t have. But
his prejudices ran deeper than religion. He forbade Margaret from
seeing her fiancé again. When they eloped and moved to London, he
disowned her.

“I was livid when I discovered what had happened. I
told him that if my sister was disinherited for something so
unreasonable then so was I. In his stubbornness, my father agreed.
He cut off my college tuition and my allowances, and I was forced
to abandon my degree at Yale. I hadn’t spoken to him in five years
until he showed up at the hospital a few months ago with an
apology.” Will shook his head. “He didn’t mean it.”

Charlotte rested her chin on Will’s shoulder. “Thank
you for sharing that with me. I can’t imagine how hard it must’ve
been for you, how hard it must still be.”

Will shook out the newspaper. “And now you know. My
father’s bigotry set off a chain of events that later killed my
sister and sent me to war.”

She leaned back into her seat. “Not that it condones
his actions, but it also led you to me.”

“True,” he muttered.

***

A
few minutes past noon,
the train pulled into Stamford. Charlotte and Will grabbed a quick
bite to eat at the station cafeteria and then hailed a taxi cab to
take them to the airfield near Long Island Sound.

As they turned onto an unpaved country road,
Charlotte peered out the car window at the fields of wheat and
livestock. “Did you grow up in this area?”

“No, we were closer to town. My father sold the house
before the war. I used to ride my bicycle down this road to the
airfield all the time. It hasn’t changed in years,” he said in a
quiet voice.

They approached a small airfield with several white,
metal hangars. Will told the driver to stop at the end of the lane
and paid the fare. As the cab left, he took her hand. “Come with
me.”

They walked toward a row of hangars lining the
runway.

Charlotte shielded her eyes from the sun and looked
to the sky. “Will we get to see any planes take off?”

“Maybe.” Will gestured to the second hangar on their
left. The massive door closest to them was open. Charlotte followed
him inside.

A middle-aged gentleman washing the propeller of his
plane paused when they entered and eyed them suspiciously. “Can I
help you two?”

“Don’t mind us.” Will tipped his cap and hurried
their pace.

Charlotte tightened her grip on his arm. “Are we
allowed to be in here?”

He chuckled. “Afraid to get into trouble? Don’t
worry, we’ll be fine.”

Even though the other hangar doors were shut, the
interior was illuminated by sunlight streaming in through the
skylights. As they traversed the length of the hangar, they passed
several types of aircraft of all different sizes. At the opposite
end, Will stopped in front of the plane that was partially covered
in white sheeting.

“I can’t believe it.” He let go of Charlotte, pulled
back a corner of the sheet, and ran his hand along the
yellow-painted body. “It’s still here, after all these years.”

She smiled. “This is your plane?”

Will squared his shoulders proudly. “It sure is. Can
you help me with the cover?”

She nodded and hurried to the other side. Pulling
down on the heavy sheet, she uncovered the body and wings of a
biplane. She didn’t know enough about airplanes to determine
whether it was in good condition, but after a brief inspection,
Will looked more than pleased.

“You should take it out and fly. I wouldn’t mind
watching you.”

He stepped up onto the lower wing and looked into the
second cockpit. “If I were going to fly today, I’d take you with
me.” He picked up a leather aviator helmet. “Exactly where I left
it.”

Will returned to Charlotte, standing so close she had
to tilt back her head to meet his eyes. He placed the helmet on her
head.

“Would you like that?” His voice dropped to a deeper
timbre.

Charlotte’s knees went weak. “Yes,” she
whispered.

Will brought his hand to the back of her neck, his
thumb caressing the sensitive skin below her ear. She kept her eyes
locked on his, daring him to make the first move. Only a few
seconds passed before she lost her patience. She threw her arms
around his neck and pressed her lips to his. He drew her closer,
his arms encircling her waist as his lips opened with hers. He
kissed as well as Charlotte had imagined.

When they pulled away, she beamed. “Sorry.”

Will shook his head. “You have no idea how long I’ve
wanted that.” He removed the helmet from her head and tossed it
back into the airplane. Twirling a lock of her hair around his
finger, he said, “The crosswinds are strong today. Flying wouldn’t
be safe.”