Beyond the Shadow of War (14 page)

He leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Married my girl and decided to stay here in England and make this my home. And like I said, about a week ago I found myself here on this sacred ground, and I just
knew
. This is what I’m supposed to do with my life now.”

“I think it’s a wonderful idea, Charlie,” Anya said.

“I do too, love,” Sophie added quietly, her expression warmed with admiration. “I think it’s absolutely wonderful.”

Charlie’s toothpick moved to the other side of his mouth. “Seems like the least I can do, the way I see it. After all, we came flying in here, a bunch of boisterous free-spirited Yanks with our noisy planes and machinery, and basically moved right in on this land and made ourselves at home. Now, with the 390th ripping up stakes and heading home, seems to me folks around here deserve some help. And since I know how to design and build things, it just makes sense for me to lend a hand.”

“How will you start?” Sophie asked, wandering along what was once the main aisle of the church. “You can’t just start sweeping up and plastering bricks, can you?”

“No, I can’t. But I’ve talked to a few people, discussed it with one of the engineers on base, and it looks like I’ll be playing the role of a liaison, salvaging what we can from the base to use in the rebuilding of the entire county. Working with local officials and those from other American and RAF bases to help put England back on her feet. Pretty clever, huh?”

“Sweetheart, you’re brilliant.” Sophie stood on her tiptoes and planted a noisy kiss on his cheek. “But why didn’t you tell me? I’m excited for you!”

“Excited for
us
,” he countered. “I see this as a team effort.” He turned to Anya. “Only wish I could have talked Danny into staying on with me. Though, last time we talked about the future, he seemed rather determined to finish college back in the States and start teaching.”

“History, he tells me,” Anya said. “He wants to make sure the future generations don’t ever forget what happened these past few years.”

“Good for him,” Sophie said. “He’ll be a fabulous teacher.”

“Yes, I believe he will.”

“In the meantime, there’s work to be done, so off we go.” Charlie herded them back toward the Jeep with an arm over both their shoulders.

As they climbed back into the vehicle, Anya glanced back through the trees toward what was left of the old church. She swallowed against the lump in her throat, wondering when the scars of war would ever stop twisting her heart. Or if they ever would.

15

12 July 1945 

Chicago, Illinois 

Danny joined his mother on the back porch where she was snapping green beans. Sophie followed at his heels, slipping out the screen door before it slapped shut. “Hey, Mom. Mind some company?”

“I’d love some, Danny. Would you like some lemonade?”

“No, I’m good.” He dropped into the rocker next to hers and patted his stomach. “I’m still stuffed from lunch. I bet I’ve gained ten pounds since I’ve been home.”

“I hope so. I never saw you so thin as the day we picked you up in Rockford. Just look how your shirt hangs on you.” She “tsked” a couple of times for his benefit. “Guess I need to put an extra layer of icing on that carrot cake I made for dinner.”

“You do that. You know I’m a sucker for your carrot cake, Mom. Or any other cake, for that matter.”

She smiled, rocking slowly beside him, snapping away. “It’s so good to have you home, son. Are you getting enough rest?”

Sophie sat at his feet, her tail swishing across the porch, her eyes locked on Danny’s every move. “I would if it weren’t for Sophie. She never used to bother me when I slept. Now she’s spooning me all night. Which means I feel every movement when she’s dog-paddling in her sleep or when she sits up for a good scratch.”

She chuckled. “Oh, she’s just letting you know how much she missed you. Your father would never let her sleep in our bed, of course. In fact, back when you left for college, he closed our door so she couldn’t disturb us. But that didn’t go over too well with Sophie, so she would lie down just outside our door and stick her paws under it, making such a racket on the hardwood floor.”

“I bet Dad loved that,” he teased. Sophie slowly moved in, then sat on her haunches, resting a paw on Danny’s knee. He patted her head and scratched under her chin sending her back paw into a frenzy tapping against the floor.

“Oh, he tried everything. Even locked her in the kitchen, but she just howled and howled. So loud, I thought she’d wake the neighbors. He finally gave up and let her in our room, but not on the bed. Eventually, he made that bed for her to curl up in beside ours. She seemed to like that, and that’s where she’s slept until you came home.”

“I should probably move the bed to my room and give it a try.” He paused for a moment, scratching Sophie behind the ears. “Then again, dumb as it sounds, I’d probably miss having her up on the bed with me. But I’ve gotta tell you, not half as much as I miss having Anya sleeping beside me.” He slid his eyes over at his mother and waggled his brows.

“Now, Danny,” she scolded with a chuckle. “No need to tell me such things. A mother doesn’t need to know everything that goes on in her son’s life, you know.”

He laughed at the rosy glow coloring her cheeks. “I’m just teasing.” He gave Sophie a final pat on the head then leaned back and rocked his chair. “I sure miss her, Mom. She’s all I can think about, even though I know I need to start making some decisions now that the war’s over. But to be honest, all I really want to do is fly back to England and bring her home.”

“I know, honey, but just give it a little more time. I’m sure those in charge want all those war brides sent over here as much as you do. While I was doing the dishes after lunch, I heard on the radio there are more than 70,000 war brides needing passage to America from Great Britain, and many of them pregnant or with small children. I’m afraid the news was rather dire because of all the paperwork to sort it all out.”

Danny blew a long cascading whistle. “How hard can it be? They make a list, tell the ladies when to be at the dock, they put them on the ship, and off they go.”

“Yes, but multiply that by tens of thousands, and you can see how difficult it must be.”

“I guess. I just know Anya and how impatient she can be.”

“We’re praying for her, honey. We’re all praying for her. In the meantime, we’ll try to be patient ourselves and just take it one day at a time. That’s all we can do.”

They rocked in silence for a few moments. Then, snapping the final bean, she set the pot on the table and brushed off her hands. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something. Would it be all right with you if I wrote a letter to Anya? I thought perhaps it might help her get to know us a little better so we won’t seem like such strangers when she arrives.”

“I think that would be terrific, Mom. I’m sure she’d love to hear from you.”

“Good. If nothing else, it might give her something else to look forward to while she waits … letters from her new family. I want her to know how much we’re looking forward to meeting her and getting to know her; how much we’ve been praying for her. That sort of thing.”

“I’m not sure about the praying part. Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad you’re praying for her. Millie and Joey told me they’re praying too. But Anya … well, she’s a bit shaky on the subject of God. Though come to think of it, in her last letter she did tell me to ask you to pray. Obviously, I forgot.”

“She did?”

“Yes. Something to the effect of knowing you pray a lot, so she wondered if you’d pray for her to come here as soon as possible.”

“Well, that sounds like she still believes in prayer, right?”

He scratched his eyebrow. “Based on some of our conversations, I’m thinking it’s more a matter of her believing that
you
can pray because she can’t.”

“She’s still struggling with her faith?”

“Big time. The war pretty much shattered what faith she did have. And not just because of everyone she lost, but all the unspeakable things she witnessed. Things she had to do just to survive. She basically gave up on God, and who could blame her after all that? Still, I can see some changes. Little glimmers of hope that she’s trying to find her way back to God.”

“That’s good, son. I’m glad to hear it. And with that in mind, I promise I’ll be sensitive when I write. Mostly, I want her to know how welcome she is into our family. We’ve got to start somewhere, and the way I see it, everyone likes to be cherished and made to feel welcome.”

Danny reached over and placed his hand over hers. “You’re the best, Mom.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I can’t thank you enough for caring about her. I know it had to be hard, getting my telegram from a foreign country the day before I married someone you’d never met.”

“Honey, Anya’s not a stranger. My goodness, you’ve known her since you were still in high school.”

“Yeah, but
you’ve
never met her.”

“Yes, but I carried every one of her letters up to your room when they came, and you shared parts of them with me over the years. Anya and I may not have met, but I feel like I’ve known her for years.” She squeezed his hand. “I couldn’t be happier for the two of you.”

He rose from the rocker. “One day at a time, huh?”

“That’s right. One day at a time.”

He gave her a hand to help her up. “I was thinking about walking over to Mrs. Zankowski’s house and seeing what she has to say about me going back to school. I talked to Joey the other day about the GI Bill. It’s supposed to help veterans financially now that we’re home, including college tuition, down payments on homes, that sort of thing. He suggested talking to Mrs. Z and seeing what kind of courses I should take and what she thinks about the Northwestern Campus here in Chicago. Good idea?”

“I think that’s a great idea. Lara is such a pleasure. I’ve enjoyed getting to know her better since Millie and Joey married.” She picked up the bowl of beans and the paper bag of snapped ends and made her way to the screen door.

Danny and Sophie followed her inside. “I never dreamed my history teacher would end up being a relative. Joey says she’s been a real godsend to Millie and him, especially since Millie got pregnant.”

“Oh, she has. With Millie’s folks still living in Boston, Lara has been a tremendous help to Millie and Joey‌—‌to all of us, in fact. You go have a chat with her, and tell her I said hello. I’ll go upstairs and check on Millie. Be back in time for supper, all right?”

“Sure thing, Mom. C’mon, Sophie. Let’s take a walk.”

“Hello, Mrs. Smithson,” Danny said as he passed his neighbor’s house. When he was younger, he mowed her grass and shoveled snow for her. “I see someone’s taking real good care of your lawn. Looks good.”

“Well, hello there, Danny.” She made her way down the porch steps and extended her hand. “I heard you were back from the war. I’m glad to see you made it home all in one piece.”

He shook her hand, and noted the slightest hesitation as she stepped back and folded her arms across her chest. “Well, I’m glad to be home in one piece, I assure you.”

“I see Sophie has welcomed you home properly.”

He reached down to pat the beagle’s head. “Yes, ma’am, she certainly has. How’s Mr. Smithson doing these days?”

“Oh, he’s as ornery as ever, but otherwise doing just fine.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear that.” He tried to think of something else to say and went blank. “Well, it was nice to see you‌—‌”

“Danny, there’s something you need to know, and I might as well just say it. It’s why I didn’t come to your welcome home party the other day. The thing is, I didn’t buy any war bonds.” She straightened her back and looked him straight in the eye. “Fact is, I don’t believe in war. Never have. I think it’s a crying shame Mr. Roosevelt sent all you boys over to fight someone else’s war, and even though he’s dead and gone now, I think he still has blood on his hands for every soldier and sailor who died. And not just them, but all the others who came home maimed for life. You and your brother Joey are the lucky ones, but you never should’ve been sent to fight this ridiculous war in the first place.”

Danny froze. She’d never been the friendliest neighbor, but he couldn’t understand why she felt the need to say such a thing. Then, as his thoughts took flight, he said, “Look, Mrs. Smithson, I don’t mean to sound disrespectful, but it’s
because
of guys like me and Joey that you’re able to live in a country free from dictators like Hitler or Hirohito. It makes no difference to me if you did or didn’t buy any war bonds, but the next time you encounter a veteran, take my advice. Skip the pacifist speech and tell him thanks. If not for us, you’d be
sprechen sie Deutsch
.”

She bristled, sputtering a response as he tugged on Sophie’s leash. As he walked away, he looked back over his shoulder. “
Guten Tag, Frau Smithson.”

Danny was still trying to calm his nerves when he turned to walk up the Zankowski’s sidewalk. He knocked on the door and blew out a final grunt of disgust just before it opened.

“Danny!” she cried, opening her arms for a hug. “Oh Danny, I’m so glad to see you! How are you?”

“I’m good, Mrs. Z. How are you?”

“Fabulous, now that you’re here! Come in, come in!” She stepped aside to let him enter.

“Oh.” He looked down at Sophie. “Is it okay if I tie her up here on your porch?”

“Good heavens, no. Bring her in!” She gave the dog a good scratch beneath behind her ears. “Sophie and I are good friends, aren’t we girl?”

“You are?”

“Well, sure we are. I’m down at your house all the time visiting Millie and Joey and your parents.”

“That’s right. I keep forgetting we’re family now. Am I supposed to call you Auntie Lara now?”

“Don’t be silly. Just call me Lara. I’m not your teacher anymore, and besides‌—‌you’re all grown up now. And handsome as any movie star! Just look at you!”

“I doubt it, but that’s kind of you to say.”

“I was just about to call and see if I could come pay you a visit, so this is perfect timing. Come on back to the kitchen and let’s have some lemonade.”

Moments later, they were sitting at the kitchen table.

“I’m so sorry we had to miss your welcome home party. I was so disappointed not to be there, but we were up in Boston visiting my sister Gwen, Millie’s mother. We just got home late last night.”

“No problem. Millie told me you were out of town.”

They chatted for almost an hour as Danny answered all kinds of questions about the war, his experience bailing out over Holland, and all about Anya. Lara caught him up on news of friends he’d gone to school with, and of course, the excitement of Millie and Joey’s baby on the way.