Dorothy Garlock (20 page)

“You be careful now, son,” Robert said, his voice cracking.

“I will, Dad,” Jason promised. “I’ll keep my head.”

“Remember what I told you.”

“I couldn’t forget if I tried. I’ll do just as you taught me.”

“You do that. It’ll get you through.”

“Don’t worry about—” Jason started, but the words quickly died in his throat as his eyes fell upon something over his father’s
shoulder, something in the distance. An audible gasp burst from Jason’s chest as he stood transfixed. Cole and Robert followed
his gaze to find a woman standing at the other end of the platform.

“Mary Ellen…” Jason whispered.

Cole couldn’t help but gawk at the change in Mary Ellen Carter. Gone was the dumpily short, stringy blonde-haired girl, her
gaze perpetually turned to the ground, fated to be picked on and mercilessly teased. In her place stood a stunning beauty,
dressed in a flattering white blouse and dark skirt, her curled blonde hair covered by a pillbox hat, her pale arms pressed
tightly to her chest. This was the woman that Jason had once pelted with mud, the woman who had somehow forgiven him and instead
stolen his heart.

For a long moment, Jason and Mary Ellen stared silently at each other, neither capable of taking even a single step. Finally,
it was she who could resist no longer, breaking from her trance and running toward Jason, sobs racking her chest, a mixture
of rain and tears streaming down her pretty face. When she reached him, she threw her small body into his arms and buried
her face in the crook of his neck. He lifted her off the ground effortlessly, as if she were little more than a doll.

“I can’t believe you came!” Jason rejoiced. “I can’t believe it!”

“I couldn’t… stay… stay away…” Mary Ellen struggled to say through her sobs.

“But you told me that you couldn’t bear to see me leave!”

“I guess… I’m not… a very good… liar…”

“I love you, Mary Ellen!” he said as he twirled her above the ground.

“I love you, too!” she cried in answer.

Through all of the joy of his brother and Mary Ellen’s reunion, Cole tried to give them what privacy he could; both he and
his father moved quietly away, their eyes locked upon the ground, leaving the young lovers alone on the platform for their
parting moments.

Eventually, the couple managed to untangle from each other’s arms, though Jason continued to gently hold Mary Ellen’s face
in his hands. He spoke softly to her, whispering as if he were explaining something that could only pass between the two of
them. When he had finished, he looked at Cole and motioned for him to join them. “I reckon I should reintroduce the two of
you,” he said. “After all, it has been a few years.”

“I remember you,” Cole said to Mary Ellen. “Although I’d be one heck of a liar if I didn’t admit you’ve changed a bit.”

She smiled through her tears. “We all have.” Up close, even though her face was still racked by emotion, Cole could clearly
see why his brother was so attracted to Mary Ellen Carter; she had blossomed into a natural beauty. If Jason were so over
the moon for her, Cole had no doubt she was even more beautiful on the inside.

“Cole’s going to look out for you while I’m gone,” Jason explained. “He’ll be there for anything you need, even if it’s a
shoulder to cry on. He’ll do just about as good a job as I would.”

“I’ll be there for whatever you need, Mary Ellen,” Cole echoed.

“Thank…” was the furthest she got before again dissolving into tears.

Before Jason could offer her any comfort, the conductor blew his whistle and called for all passengers to board. With a resigned
sigh, he picked up his heavy canvas bag, gave Mary Ellen a soft kiss on her forehead, his father and brother one last clasp
on the shoulder, and climbed the steps to the train’s passenger car.

Their eyes followed him down the aisle until he found a seat and threw open the window. He leaned out, rainwater falling down
onto his head, just as the locomotive’s whistle blew and the engine came chugging back to life, its wheels churning ever faster,
destined to take him away.

“I’ll be back!” he shouted. “I promise I’ll come home!”

Watching his brother being borne away from him, Cole started to realize just what he would be missing without Jason at his
side. While they had been apart during his years in Chicago, he’d never so much as entertained the thought that they would
never
see each other again. Now that thought was as real as an enemy soldier’s next bullet. Though his future held much to look
forward to, his budding relationship with Sophie Heller and his new job as a math teacher, Cole understood that there would
be a void in his life until Jason made good on his word and returned to Victory.

Jason never moved back out of the rain into the safety of the passenger car, never stopped waving to them, and was soon lost
to sight as the train took a gentle turn westward. Soon, all that remained was the billowing black smoke of the engine, and
then that too was gone. At this final loss, Mary Ellen collapsed against Cole, crying unabashedly, her shoulders quivering
with every sob. Cole did the only thing he could think might help; he held her gently and whispered that everything would
be all right, even if he wasn’t sure quite how.

S
OPHIE WALKED HAPPILY
down the street next to Cole, her heels clicking along the wet pavement. The sun had already set on the day, leaving behind
lazy, dark clouds to ominously drift across the nearly full moon that was bright enough to erase the stars. The last couple
of days had been filled with occasional streaks of rain and the sidewalk was spotted with puddles, the breezy night air just
cool enough to send a shiver racing down her bare arms.

The changing weather was something that Sophie paid little mind to; this was the night that she had been looking forward to
for a whole week. Tonight was the night that she and Cole were to go to the movies, an event she supposed was their first
real
date. Walking the short distance to the theater, Sophie felt as if she were walking on those slowly drifting clouds high
above.

“Too bad we couldn’t find a closer spot to park,” she said.

“That’s all right,” Cole answered. “A night as nice as this is just made for a bit of a walk.”

They’d parked the truck behind the hardware store, but it’d still been a little more than a block away. Thankfully, they had
arrived early enough that they didn’t need to hurry. In the days since their first picnic lunch, it had become much easier
for Sophie to walk beside Cole, matching her stride to his own. The problem with his leg was no longer an embarrassment to
her, but rather a concern that she needed to take into account.

“It could be worse,” Cole said.

“How do you figure?”

“The truck could just have easily broken down when I picked you up at the farm. Four miles is a heck of a long way to walk
just to see a movie.”

“If that had happened, my father would have brought us into town.”

“That’s only if I managed to make a good impression.”

“You would have known it if you hadn’t.”

Cole had arrived to pick Sophie up for their night out at exactly the time he had told her to expect him. He’d come into the
farmhouse, taken off his hat, and proceeded to charm her parents. Sophie had noticed that her mother had stolen a glance at
Cole’s bad leg, her smile faltering for only an instant, but her eyes had been those of a mother caring for another’s child,
more full of sympathy than pity. Her father had shaken Cole’s hand stiffly, but she could hear in his voice that he didn’t
begrudge anything to the man who had come to take his only daughter out for the evening. Gitta and Karl had chosen to stay
out of sight. Much as Sophie would have liked to introduce them to Cole, there had been a part of her that was relieved.

“Maybe they’ll even let me take you out again,” he said hopefully.

She laughed. “If you’re lucky.”

The Majestic Theater’s marquee brightly lit up the gloomy night; yellow, white, and red bulbs shone brilliantly against the
dark sky.
THE TALK OF THE TOWN—STARRING CARY GRANT AND JEAN ARTHUR
was written in large letters. Sophie’s heart leaped at
the sight; it had been a long time since she’d been to the movies. The fact that she was going in the company of Cole Ambrose
made it all the better.

After Cole purchased their tickets, they managed to make it to their seats just as the projector sprang to life and the first
black-and-white images began to dance across the screen. Sophie slipped off her light coat and relaxed contentedly.

“I hope you’ll like the movie,” he whispered.

“I’m sure I will.”

After a short cartoon that set the whole theater laughing uproariously, the mood grew much more somber as the first newsreels
began to roll. Before Sophie’s wide eyes, the war was everywhere; images of President Franklin Roosevelt sitting behind his
desk at the White House, the American flag snapping briskly at the top of a flagpole, and a long convoy of warships steaming
far out to sea. Watching most of these images set Sophie’s heart racing with pride. But there were two different vignettes
that set her heart pounding in a very different way.

First, there was a series of pictures that depicted the increasing readiness of the American serviceman: soldiers firing their
new weapons, columns of men dressed in their crisp uniforms and shiny helmets as they marched in unison, a sailor being inoculated
with a shot against some unknown disease, and an officer giving a crisp salute. The voice-over spoke of the willingness of
all able-bodied American men to step to the forefront and defend both their native country and the promise of liberty throughout
the world.

Through it all, Sophie could feel Cole holding his breath. She knew this was what upset him about his leg, what made him feel
that he was not doing his expected part, and her heart went out to him. He’d told her about watching his brother leave on
the train, about how he had come to the unexpected realization that war did nothing but destroy lives, but she could still
see his jaw clench and his hand grip the armrest tightly.

The second series of images struck much closer to home. In them, the hordes of Nazi Germans continued to cut a swath across
Europe, leaving nothing behind except death and destruction. It was as if the entire continent were to be bathed in the colors
of the swastika. Hitler was shown giving a fiery speech, his shaking fist punctuating every word as spittle flew wildly from
his mouth. Tanks, planes, and soldiers were then shown carrying out their Führer’s orders. But the most disturbing image to
Sophie was that of children crying in Britain, their homes blasted to pieces by bomber planes, their innocence in similar
shambles, their lives forever changed.

It galled Sophie to believe that there was anyone in Victory who believed her family could be considered part of the same
evil as the Nazis. Hitler and his followers were an affront to all of mankind! Though her family’s roots were in Germany,
the Hellers were every bit as appalled by the actions of their native land’s citizens as any other decent, caring person.
Images of Ellis, Riley, and Graham, their hoods covering their faces but not their intentions, swam through her memory. It
had been much easier to forget all that had happened when she was at Cole’s side, but even now, with him sitting in the seat
next to her, the fears that had plagued her returned.

The movie itself proved to be quite entertaining. In it, Cary Grant played a man on the run named Leopold Dilg, who is unjustly
accused of a crime he did not commit. Taking refuge in the summer house of a vacationing law professor, he tries to prove
his innocence. In the end, he is defended from an angry mob and eventually cleared of all charges. Both funny and intelligent,
the love triangle between the two men and Jean Arthur’s character was witty, if not completely believable.

Though Sophie often found herself laughing loudly at the film’s antics, there was still a nagging feeling that remained at
the back of her thoughts. Beside her, Cole seemed to be enjoying the movie just as much as she was, but she couldn’t help
but notice that he was also a bit reserved, quieter than she expected, as if he were not letting himself go completely.

“Did you enjoy the film?” Cole asked once the credits had rolled and they were out in the lobby.

“Very much,” Sophie answered him, content that she wasn’t truly lying, even if she wasn’t being completely honest, either.
“I was worried the judge wouldn’t let him go in the end.”

“That would have been one heck of a way to end a comedy,” he remarked.

Sophie was just about to answer with a joke of her own when, up ahead, she caught sight of Carolyn Glass. Standing just inside
the front doors to the theater, she waited impatiently beside her husband as he spoke with Ernie Kennedy, the owner of the
grocery store, a look of utter and complete boredom written plainly across her face. Much as she had been on the day she had
verbally accosted Sophie, she was dressed expensively: a mink stole tossed easily over a silk blouse, a fashionable hat over
her pinned-up hair, and enough gold around her neck to make a jeweler jealous.

“Wait… wait just a moment, Cole,” Sophie said, coming to a sudden stop.

“Is something the matter?”

“No, I just… wanted to check my makeup,” she stammered.

“Would it make any difference if I said that you were already beautiful?”

Sophie smiled weakly in answer but began to frantically dig in her purse just the same. So far, she remained beyond the other
woman’s notice. Thankfully, she had stopped just as soon as she had seen Carolyn; if she and Cole had kept going, they would
have walked right past where the woman stood. Still, she certainly was not out of danger of being seen. Over the top of her
purse, she watched as Augustus continued to prattle on with no sign of falling silent; Sophie hoped he would run out of things
to say and take his young bride home!